The Heart of Christian Homeschooling

Marc & Cynthia Carrier

Recently, a comment made by an acquaintance stoked our conversational fires for quite a while. This mother of two young boys said, with all sincerity, “We use public school as a tool to help teach our children how to interact in the world. But I homeschool in the evenings, since I really have a heart to teach children.”We could understand using public schools as a tool, albeit we would question the wisdom of that decision. However, the thought of homeschooling in the evening in addition to public school gave us pause. We wondered just what she meant. Did she focus on things like character training or Bible lessons that would be neglected in a public school setting? Did she try to engage in conversations or study that would compare and highlight a Biblical worldview versus the secular worldviews to which her children were being exposed? We didn’t suppose that she spent those precious hours supplementing the math, history, or grammar lessons that were already an integral part of her children’s academic education. The question we kept returning to was, just what does she think homeschooling is, and what is her motivation for doing it?These are valid questions for all of us to ponder. In fact, many of the homeschoolers we know (ourselves included) typically revisit their purposes and plans for homeschooling in anticipation of each new academic year. When this comment and subsequent conversation were fresh, in fact, we were not far removed from our annual evaluation. So it was easy for us to answer the question, “Why are we homeschooling?” Let’s face it, it certainly isn’t convenient. Think about all the sacrifices we make to educate our children: very often financial sacrifices, and most certainly a multitude of personal sacrifices. So is it for academics? Character training? To shelter our children from worldly influences? Or is it for the purposes of Biblical instruction? For most of us, it’s likely some combination of the above. But if we’re honest with ourselves, just which of these drivers would we say is our greatest priority—and more importantly, does our homeschooling lifestyle reflect that assertion?Almost without exception, the homeschool parents we’ve talked with all mention issues of peer pressure, secular worldviews, evolution, and the like. The comment we most often hear at the tail end of these discussions (and sometimes spoken a bit self-righteously) is, “Well, that’s why we homeschool!” And certainly, sheltering to some degree can be a benefit of homeschooling. We love our children and have their best interests in mind. Teachers, in contrast, are salaried professionals who can never share the affection that we have for our children. More importantly, the public school environment is devoid of (and very often antagonistic to) the faith that we as Christian parents profess.Sheltering can help us promote a more conservative worldview than is expressed in the public school environment. In particular, by homeschooling we can stand against some of the things that society says is best for our children, especially in terms of gender roles. Our daughters don’t necessarily need to have high-powered careers; our sons don’t have to go to Ivy League schools and prepare for enslavement in the high-stress corporate world. We don’t need to prepare both genders to be able to exchange roles with ease.As homeschooling parents, we have the privilege of preparing our children to function within their God-given roles when the time comes for them to have a family of their own. Our daughters learn to be loving and competent wives and mothers by helping Mom around the house; likewise, boys should have opportunities to work around the house or with Dad “on the job.” Public school “home economics” or shop classes are no substitute for home-based training. Instruction can impart certain skills, but only our modeling and sincere encouragement will enable our children to embrace the traditional Christian lifestyle of faith.Another benefit of homeschooling is that it provides us, as parents, with a unique opportunity to prepare our children for “real life” by training them in productive labor. This just isn’t possible in the traditional public school setting. Let’s face it—in life we will labor. How better to ready our children for this challenge than to ask them to share in household work or to encourage them in entrepreneurial ventures?Yet the most important conclusion we’ve reached about our schooling objectives reverberated throughout our conversation and re-solidified our commitment to our true priority in homeschooling: not academics, not life skills, not simply “sheltering,” but, quite simply, living the Word of God in an authentic and joyful way so that our children will grow up embracing our lifestyle of faith.While the net result of sheltering our children from some of the adverse philosophies and influences that are found in schools is certainly positive, what will ultimately please God the most is not that we simply remove these influences, but that we proactively equip our children to grow to love Him and abide by His Word. We can shelter our children from all of those “bad” things and still miss the mark if we fail to fill them up with all the good things. Consider the following Scriptures:And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4, emphasis added)And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, emphasis added)Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons. (Deuteronomy 4:9)These are some of the verses that have directed our planning and preparation for our homeschooling regimen. What impressed us about these commands is that they are not prescriptive of what we keep from our children, but rather descriptive of how we are to actively impart God’s Word to our children, both by instruction and by example. These verses (and others like them) should be at the heart of our homeschooling objectives.We also noted that these passages do not reflect the compartmentalized academic curriculum that is common to schools and all too willingly emulated by many homeschooling parents. As a result, we have decided to move away from curricula and toward a life-skills oriented “program” of doing life together with God’s Word at the center. Yes, we still use textbooks. Yes, we still have certain times that are set aside for “schoolwork.” Yes, we want our children to achieve a certain academic standard. However, what we do not want is to end up sacrificing our children’s character and their spiritual health on the altar of academic excellence.Likely, all of us as Christian homeschoolers pay some lip service to offering our children a spiritual education. When we began to honestly assess our homeschooling materials and methods, however, we didn’t like how we measured up, and we were forced to make some changes. Looking introspectively at what we’d been doing during the previous year, we found that we had, more and more frequently, simply brought some element of Bible teaching into our home education rather than integrating academics into our everyday Biblical living. It wasn’t that our children’s spiritual growth and faith were not important; in fact, we would have said they were essential. However, the curriculum approach to education had truly trapped us into a more rigid academic focus.Thus, another change we’ve made is to not have a “Bible curriculum.” While we will occasionally use Bible study materials or take part in a group study, that’s not our typical method of growing in God’s Word. We read the Bible daily (both independently and as a family); we seek God in prayer for guidance and direction in our reading; we delve deeper by using concordances and dictionaries; we challenge each other with thoughts and questions; we enjoy speaking and living God’s Word to the best of our ability. This is what we want for our children. We don’t want our children’s faith to become just another academic subject, or something to check off in a daily assignment book. We want it to be what they live and breathe.The question we’ve returned to again and again is the same one that we challenge you to consider afresh today: “Why do we homeschool?” Our short answer? It’s the only way we can do what God asks of us, which is imparting His Word to our children all day long! We feel that, Biblically, it’s our responsibility to do this, and it’s just not possible to accomplish this successfully in a public school paradigm. God wants us to homeschool so that we can teach His Word and raise our children in a lifestyle of authentic faith. All else is secondary. And it isn’t a part-time endeavor. The Word must be both taught and lived in order for it to travel the 18 inches from the mind to the heart.This active instruction in God’s Word must move beyond the academic if it is to be effective. It is through “doing life” in an authentic way that challenges and conflicts emerge. And it is only through these trials that we have the opportunity to make our Biblical instruction real (see, for example, James 1:2-4). There is no better way to prepare our children to succeed in this world than to impart to them a solid, Biblical character.Our answer to the question, “Why homeschool?” is indeed significant, but even more indicative of our true priorities is how we homeschool and how we’re living out the beliefs we profess. It may be that we clearly see both the academic and “sheltering” benefits of homeschooling; as a result, these become emphasized because they provide obvious goals and measurable results. However, if we neglect the essential element of constantly immersing our children in the Word of God and a lifestyle of faith, they may suffer the consequences of a misapplied focus.God cares little if our children score well on their SATs or go to an Ivy League school. He wants their hearts and minds to be centered on Him. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t properly prepare our children to be functional adults, or even that we should restrict them from experiencing success in a higher learning environment. However, it does mean that we can’t neglect the essential element of everyday Biblical living as we pursue the academic and social aspects that can often become the focus of our homeschooling.We would challenge all of us, then, to re-examine both why and how we homeschool, and to be mindful of God’s heart for all of our families on this homeschooling journey:I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God (Psalm 78:2-8).Our job is not just to prepare our children to compete academically or to fulfill a job description that might be a part of their future. Our job is to live the Word of God and teach the Word of God. Sheltering helps in this endeavor. Providing opportunities for meaningful labor and preparing our children to function in their God-given roles as wives or husbands is also significant. But it is being God-centered in all of our doings that is of utmost importance if we are truly seeking to fulfill the Biblical objectives of homeschooling.*This article first published August 10, 2007.

Marc and Cynthia Carrier are authors and speakers. Together they have written The Values-Driven Family. The Carriers have been featured on Concerned Women for America, SRN News, LeSea’s The Harvest Show television program, and numerous other radio programs and publications. The Carriers homeschool their five children (with number six due in August) in rural Indiana. For more information or to purchase a book, visit http://www.valuesdrivenfamily.com/. 

U.S./ ISRAEL Land for Peace Deal & U.S. Storms

Note: As President Obama convenes the first direct Middle East peace talks in 20 months, the possible division of Jerusalem may now be on the negotiating table. At present, Hurricane Earl threatens the east coast. Will the damage done be based upon the way our country negotiates peace? Let’s wait and see what occurs over the next few days.

These are a few examples of the many “Act of God” events that coincide with the timing of the country’s pressure on Israel to give up her land for peace. The land that God gave to Israel as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is documented by covenant in the Bible.?October 30, 1991: President George H.W. Bush opens the Madrid Conference with an initiative for a Middle East peace plan involving Israel’s land. On the same day, an extremely rare storm forms off the coast of Nova Scotia. (It was eventually tagged “The Perfect Storm,” and a book and movie were made about it.) Record-setting 100-foot waves form at sea and pound the New England Coast, even causing heavy damage to President Bush’s home in Kennebunkport, Maine.?August 23, 1992: The Madrid Conference moves to Washington D.C. and the peace talks resume, lasting four days. On that same day, Hurricane Andrew-the worst natural disaster ever to hit America-produces an estimated $30 billion in damage and leaves 180,000 homeless in Florida.?January 16, 1994: President Clinton meets with Syria’s President Hafez el-Assad in Geneva. They talk about a peace agreement with Israel that includes giving up the Golan Heights. Less than 24 hours later, a powerful 6.9 earthquake rocks Southern California. This quake is the second most destructive natural disaster to hit the United States.?March 1 to April 1997: The combination of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat touring America; Clinton rebuking Israel for not giving away her land for peace; and pro-abortion activity coincide with some of the worst tornadoes and flooding in U.S. history. On the very day Arafat lands in America, powerful tornadoes devastate huge sections of the nation, ripping across Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee. Arafat’s American tour also coincides with the storms in the Dakotas, which result in the worst flooding of this century, in addition to weeks of major storms throughout the Midwest.?January 21, 1998: Netanyahu meets with President Clinton at the White House and is coldly received. Clinton and Sec. of State Madeleine Albright refuse to have lunch with him. Shortly afterwards that day, the Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks into the mass media and begins to occupy a major portion of Clinton’s time.?September 27-28, 1998: Sec. of State Madeleine Albright works on the final details of an agreement in which Israel will give up 13 percent of the West Bank. The same day Hurricane George slams into the Gulf Coast with 110 mph winds and gusts up to 175. The hurricane hits the coast and stalls. On September 28, Clinton meets with Arafat and Netanyahu at the White House to finalize the land deal. Later, Arafat addresses the U.N. about declaring an independent Palestinian state by May 1999, while Hurricane George pounds the Gulf Coast causing $1 billion in damage.?October 15-22, 1998: On October 15, 1998, Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland, to continue the talks, which ended on September 28. The talks are scheduled to last five days with the focus on Israel giving up 13 percent of the West Bank. The talks are extended and conclude on October 23. From October 17-22 awesome rains and tornadoes hit southern Texas. The San Antonio area is deluged with 20 inches of rain in one day. The floods ravage 25 percent of Texas and leave over one billion dollars in damage. On October 21, Clinton declares this section of Texas a major disaster area.?May 3, 1999: This is the same day in Israel that Yasser Arafat is scheduled to declare a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital. The declaration is postponed to December 1999 at the request of President Clinton, whose letter to Arafat encourages him for his “aspirations for his own land.” He also writes that the Palestinians have a right to “determine their own future on their own land, ” and that they deserve to “live free, today, tomorrow and forever.” That same day, the most powerful tornado storm system ever to hit the United States sweeps across Oklahoma and Kansas. The winds are clocked at 316 mph the fastest wind speed ever recorded.?Week of October 11, 1999: Hurricane, Earthquake and Dow Collapse—As Jewish settlers in 15 West Bank (Israel) settlements are evicted from the covenant land in Israel, the Dow-Jones financial averages lose 5.7 percent in the worst week since October 1989. On October 15 the Dow lost 266 points, and a hurricane slams into North Carolina. On the next morning, October 16, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocks the southwest in the fifth most powerful CA earthquake in 20th century.?September 11, 2001: Just days before 9/11, Israel withdrew from Bethlehem and Beit Jala, when they had tried to reoccupy covenant land, a trilateral security meeting between Israel, the Palestinians, and the U.S. agreed that they would withdraw their military. Twelve days later the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were struck by a terrorist attack.

Also, according to the Washington Post, 17 days prior to 9/11, Bush, at the encouraging of Sec. of State Colin Powell and U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, and in cooperation with the Saudis, was working on the most comprehensive plan and message ever to be offered on Israel’s covenant land by an American President. Bush and his top officials had completed the majority of their work on 9/10.  Our “War on Terror” was birthed at the very same time that Bush and his administration were completing a plan on God’s covenant land.”?August 2005: And now we have Hurricane Katrina coming right on the heels of the Gaza evacuation that was supported and even urged upon Israel by the US. While Israelis were being forced from their homes, a storm was heading for the U.S. While the homes of Israelis were being destroyed by bulldozers, hurricane Katrina was destroying the homes of Americans. Many Israelis are now living in government housing - many Americans from New Orleans were forced from their homes and are now being housed in shelters. Projected to be the most expensive natural disaster in our history, it’s the latest in a string of events that most experts agree are too consistent to be mere coincidence, but disagree as to their relevance.?September 2005: As the Jewish temples are being destroyed in the Gaza region, their homes are being leveled to the ground, and innocent Jews remain homeless due to the lack of housing from the Gaza evacuation, Hurricane Rita makes her way to the U.S. Gulf to finish the job across Bush’s home state, and New Orleans, a sinful area of our country.The information in this article was taken, in part, from the book,“Eye to Eye” by William Koenig. There are several other parallels that are drawn in his book. It is also helpful to study the history of the Jewish nation, and the Muslims. The book titled, “The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad” by Hal Lindsey explains the importance of the land…

From the Kindred Spirits Journal #14, November 2005

 http://fanaticforjesus.blogspot.com/2010/09/us-israel-land-for-peace-deal-us-storms.html

The Power of Feminine Dress

The topic of dress is so fascinating to me!  There are debates about what is modest, what is unacceptable, what is too masculine, etc. Feminine dress seems often to be regarded as an outdated fashion that we got to “throw off” thanks to the feminist movement, left only for the ultra-conservative, jumper-wearing crowd.   Too often we get caught up in the  “pants versus dress” argument which I think is just a distraction.  This article is not about that.   In a culture where grunge is in, gender lines are grossly confused, and women have finally achieved the “freedom” to dress as they please, I think a fun look at “the power of feminine dress” is in order.What if women realized that their real power lay in what God had already given them…their femininity?  What if we considered it a privilege to be a woman and we weren’t afraid to show it? A few years back I received this letter from a college professor sharing his “two cents” about the power of feminine dress.“Here’s a man’s view on women and skirts.I’m a college lecturer, ok? So I’m “smart”. Big deal!Costume is powerful. It’s more than just something to wear.A woman in a skirt or dress looks feminine. There’s something almost mystical about that. Skirts make me stop and think. “She’s a lady, not just a female clone trying to act like a man, or imitating a man.“Oh” some women say, “pants are more practical”. Sure they are. But you lose something.“But”, some women will say. “My job requires body positions that skirts interfere with.”Really? Pioneer women WALKED (not rode) alongside covered wagons going out west. And they wore skirts. They had identity as women (distinct from men)Queen Elizabeth (the first) wore gowns….not pants. She was powerful.And if skirts make your job more difficult there’s a feminine alternative: Long pants sewn with wide legs….in silky fabrics and soft colors….and almost as feminine as a skirt.Of course, if you’re a woman who only cares about the masculine value of “efficiency at all costs”, if you don’t cherish your feminine power,as a woman; not a clone of men…..then by all means, keep wearing those pant suits.”          -Fred Bear

                      A Feminine Challenge

I challenge you to an experiment by which you dress femininely for a week, even at home.  Pay close attention to how you feel, how your family members treat you and how strangers treat you.I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!God created glorious womanhood and a mysterious power–an appropriate power–for women who embrace their design.

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Scheduling Your Priorities

Marcia Washburn

Ten years ago I felt like a candidate for Queen of the Unfinished Projects. A wife and homeschooling mother of five, I also held leadership positions in four state and local organizations and helped run three home businesses. There was never enough To-Day for the To-Do’s.GOD’S CLAIM ON OUR TIMEGuilt is an ever-present partner in parenting. I often felt guilty at the end of the day because there was so much work yet to be done. As I fell into bed, I longed to be able to say with Jesus, “It is finished–I have done what You called me to do this day.”Ephesians 5:15-16 speaks of “redeeming the time.” Kairos, the Greek word used here for time, really means opportunity or in due season. We are to be less concerned about shoe-horning as many jobs into one day as possible and more concerned about doing the right task at the right time. This is the difference between mere efficiency and true effectiveness, between self-reliant multi-tasking and God-reliant prioritizing.A HUMAN BEING, NOT A HUMAN DOINGGod loves and accepts you for who you are, not for what you do. He is head-over-heels in love with you, just because He’s your Creator-Father. He doesn’t love you less when you have unchecked tasks on your To-Do list at night.This is hard for Americans to accept. We are a Can-Do people who fill our days with Must-Do lists. Our families regularly supplement those lists with their own additions until we’re struggling under an overwhelming load. Remember: if we keep burning the candle at both ends, pretty soon we’ll run out of wax! So how do we decide which candles to burn and which ones belong on someone else’s cake?An old story tells of a professor who fills a jar with big rocks asking, “Is it full?” “Yes,” the students reply. Then he shows that he can still add smaller rocks, sand, and water to the jar before it is truly filled.What would have happened if the teacher had poured in the small rocks or the sand first? Could he have fit in any big rocks? No! The big rocks must be in place first. Then the small rocks can be added. Does this mean we should keep stuffing more activities and tasks into our already overstuffed lives so our jars are filled to the brim? Of course not!The big rocks are the high-priority tasks you must do. They also define which smaller rocks belong in your jar to support the big rocks. If providing for the physical, spiritual, academic, and social needs of your children is a big rock in the jar of your life, it will define how you spend most of your time. Getting meals on the table, doing laundry, and grading papers are all small daily rocks that support the big rock of meeting the needs of your family.Recognize that some of these rocks will be in your jar for a long time–that diaper-changing/potty-training rock seems to last forever! But recognize that it belongs in your jar for now. Realize that as you are meeting the physical needs of your family for health, cleanliness, and food, you are fulfilling one of God’s callings for you in this season of your life.TAKE INVENTORYYour calendar reveals what you really believe is important. For the next few days, list on paper how you spend your time, noting every task, interruption, and phone call–and every time you check your email! What are you actually doing with your time? Does it center on the big rocks, the priorities? Or is there a lot of gravel in your schedule–time-wasters or activities that you could delegate to someone else? Classify each activity according to its significance in this season of your life.Now list those priorities, those big rocks. Use your list to evaluate other opportunities that most surely will come your way. Are these options compatible with your big rocks? Then, each day, sit quietly before the Lord and ask, “What small rocks do I need in my jar today? What tasks can I do today which will move us along in the direction You have shown us?”After committing those tasks to the Lord each morning, ask Him to pour the water of His grace over all of your rocks, filling in every empty space, lubricating each sharp edge. When there are interruptions, He will be there in them, directing and fine-tuning your day. He will reveal which tasks can be delegated to others and which can be dealt with at a later time. He will help you discern which ones are important, and which ones are just gravel and sand that irritate but don’t produce fruit. And as you are planning, don’t forget to leave unstructured time for the delightful serendipities He loves to surprise us with.YOU BECOME EFFECTIVE BY BEING SELECTIVE“If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity.” (The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren)Ingrid Trobisch tells us in Keeper of the Springs that as women, we want to make One Grand Sacrifice–saving our child from an on-coming train or something heroic. But what is needed is a string of small sacrifices–lullabies to be sung, flowers in the vase–these actions are the putty that holds together the mosaic of family life.Don’t despise the day of small things–there is a season when wiping runny noses and sorting laundry are the big rocks in your life. Don’t yield to peer pressure. Don’t try to copy what God is leading some other homeschool mom or dad to do. You are uniquely designed to live the life He has called you to. Dr. Jeff Myers reminds us, “Your greatest treasure, and your greatest contribution to the building of God’s kingdom, doesn’t come from trying to become something that you are not. It comes from identifying and living out that which God designed you to be.”God didn’t do everything in one day. What makes me think I can do everything in one day? I still have unfinished projects. I still need to sift out the gravel and sludge in my jar. But when I drop my own list-making day plannings and make God my Day Planner, I find contentment and peace with what I do get done each day. “To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Do today’s work today. Don’t let concern for tomorrow’s work hamper today’s.REPORT FOR DUTYSoldiers report to their commander for orders each morning (II Tim. 2:4). Elisabeth Elliott says, “Christian discipline means placing oneself under orders. It is no mere business of self-improvement, to be listed along with speed-reading, weight-watching, [or] jogging… Such programs have a strong appeal that is largely self-serving: what’s in it for me?… in the end a do-it-yourself program depends on willpower alone, which is not enough for most of us.” Approach the Lord each day for your daily list, as well as your daily bread, so at night you can say, “I have finished the work you gave me to do.”You may find that morning is your best planning time. Or perhaps your best time to sit down with the Lord and plan the coming day is in the evening after you’ve tucked the last child into bed. Sunday afternoon while you are still fresh from your time of worship can also be a great time to lay out the week’s work.We don’t know what the expiration date is on our lives. God has the right to graduate us to heaven at any time. But we must realize that there will be time to do all He leads us to do. He doesn’t give us incompatible obligations. Let’s be found faithful in fulfilling what He has called us to do during this season of our lives. We do this by asking the Lord to reveal the Big Rocks He has placed in our jars, and by focusing our efforts on them and the actions that support these responsibilities.And at night when we crawl into bed, we can know that even though there is much left to be done–”A woman’s work is never done!”–we have done the things He called us to do that day. Then we can reap the reward of hearing His words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”*This article published August 10, 2007.

Copyright 2007 by Marcia K. Washburn, homeschooling mother of five sons. Adapted from an article published in The CHEC Update Fourth Quarter 2006; reprinted by permission. For information about workshops, articles, or books, please contact her at marcia@chec.org or 970-842-4776.

This article was originally published in the July/Aug ‘07 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more details, visit http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com 

BEAT THE FLU THIS WINTER!

As we approach flu season, it is good to be reminded of ways to prevent it. There are better ways to prevent the flu than being vaccinated. Check out the following points to keep yourself and your family in good health during this winter season.

1.    AVOID ALL SUGAR

This means to not only refrain from sugar, but all foods containing sugar, which are most foods on the shelves of the supermarket. Read labels very carefully. In fact, when you read the labels first, will find that you will have to put most foods back on the shelf.

Sugar makes a perfect environment for viruses. Sugar completely destroys your immune system. It destroys the germ-killing ability of white bloods cells to kill bacteria and viruses up to five hours after intake. It interferes with the transport of vitamin C which is needed to fight the flu and robs the body of nutrients such as zinc that are vital for the immune function.

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The power of a successful homeschool journey cannot be over emphasized. Every parent who home schools wants to enjoy the adventure, grow close to their children and have well rounded children at the end of it. But moms hold the power to sabotage their own homeschools and often they do not even know they are doing it. Here are some warnings (and remedies) for homeschooling parents so that you are do not become one of them.

Warning #1 – You have no systems in placeHow do you know this is happening? You cannot find your school books, the children cannot find their pens and pencils, your laundry is piling up and you cupboards and fridge are empty.

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If you would like to see a video of how this water system works, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LqJag3s-j0

I ordered ours from McMurray Hatchery.