Surely you've had at *least* one, right? My friend Mrs.Incredible
has a neat contest going on right now. Check it out; she has a
very cool prize up for grabs. She is looking for 'incredible
School Day Moments'. So here is mine…. (it's sort of a cheat, I
wrote this a loooooooong time ago)
The Christian Compass
Jenefer Igarashi
Senior Editor, The
Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Lessons are everywhere, and
the longer I teach, the more I realize that there are opportunities in every
situation and for every subject. As a Christian, I have seen first hand how all
things point back to the Creator, and can be used to accomplish my main and
first priority-instructing my children in the way of the Lord and establishing
a firm foundation of knowledge. And with this foundation, it is my prayer
that (God-willing) they will someday draw upon it to make decisions for Christ
and develop a great love and relationship with Him as their Savior.
One of the earlier lessons came during a history/geography lesson. We
were studying Christopher Columbus, where he came from, his love of ships and
exploration, and how the Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to finance his
trip. We were tracing his route, very simply, using a map and seeing
where he started and where he landed. The lesson turned to navigation,
and how he had to map out his own route to India, because there was not a map
for him to follow. Can you even imagine that? How incredibly
difficult! What faith he must have had! How could have he done it? In
the past, and even now, we rely on compasses and star patterns to know where we
are and in what direction we are heading. In our lesson, we talked about
how people must have compasses or some physical point of reference otherwise
they would end up sailing in circles. Many people have died in the
wilderness or forests, walking endlessly, yet getting no-where.
To emphasize this point, I
took my children outside with a large piece of pink sidewalk chalk and a
blindfold. On the sidewalk, I chalked out a straight line- about 20 ft
long. I then made a little wager with them. I said if any of them
could walk straight down pink line blindfolded and end up with even one foot
still on the line, that I would give them $20. After assuring them that I
was serious and would honor our little 'bet', you can imagine the enthusiasm
and whoops and hollers that ensued. They began slapping each other on the
back, all grins, and making plans how to spend this easy cash. But to
their dismay, one after the other, try after try, not one could walk that
straight line blindfolded. It was impossible. They were all so sure they
could do it. They kept begging for one more try, until finally coming to
the realization that it was futile.
We went back inside and I
opened my bible up to Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a
man, but in the end in leads to death.” Jesus the Messiah, The Son
of God and the only Savior who can cleanse us of our sins and lead us to
heaven, said in the book of Mathew (8:12), “I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life”. We need Him desperately. The bible is how he
speaks and leads us. As Christians, it is our compass.
As our children's teachers,
we are responsible to give them all the tools and skills they will need to
succeed in life. If my child becomes a doctor and saves 1000 peoples'
lives, or becomes the President, or just a hardworking man who gives 100
percent in any job he does, yet does not know God and fails to make it to
heaven, all of my teaching was in vain. I cannot make the “salvation
decision” for him, but I will teach him- foremost- REAL life lessons, and
that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”
As a home schooling mom, I
have the greatest opportunity in the world. I pray that my schooling and
daily life would not wander in circles, but rather be led forward and upward as
all of us, together, learn more and more of His great love for us and grow to
know him better.
Jenefer Igarashi is the Senior Editor of The Old
Schoolhouse Magazine for homeschoolers. She can be reached for comments on this
article at Jenig@TOSMag.com. You can also check out Home School
Magazine online by clicking here.
Copyright 2003. Used with
permission by The Old Schoohouse Magazine.
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on July 13th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
Amen!Amen!Amen!!
That is just what I needed to read after a somewhat discouraging week! Yeah God!! Jen, thanks for letting God use you to help me remember what the main thing is. I need to keep the “main thing” the “MAIN THING!!”:)
God bless!
Love,
Angie:)
on July 13th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
I knew you would not disappoint, Jen…
that was truly an Incredible homeschooling story. It is so important to integrate our learning with our whole lives, and especially our faith, so we and our children can continually see that Jesus is not just a part of the world and our lives, but that He is the center! Well said, Jen, and thanks for entering my contest!
Jen
on July 14th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
HI!
My nickname is “Wabbah”. I am Noah. I wrote a letter to Dippy! I have my own blog now. My mom types what I say, but I will learn to type fast soon.
Can Dippy read my blog?