Good books

I just finished reading Lawana Blackwell's Gresham series.  Mrs. Blackwell imparts such wisdom through her writing, and as a reader I appreciate that.  (The stories are set in England, beginning in the 1860's- if that sounds like something you'd be interested in.) 

After I wrapped up those books, I declared to  Mark that I was definitely born in the wrong era.  In particular,  I was lamenting how very nice it would be to be living in England in the 1800's, complete with a cook and a housemaid. ;)

Now that I've left the village of Gresham, I am re-reading Educating the WholeHearted Child, by Clay Clarkson (with his wonderful wife Sally Clarkson (whose words have encouraged me countless times in this journey of mothering and homeschooling)).  This book is a wonderful resource, and I have checked it out from our library several times, always taking notes in my journal as I read.  I'm reading the newest edition and am just as encouraged as when I picked up this book years ago.  Here's an excerpt for you from the first chapter:

There is a reason that Moses, before Israel crossed the Jordan to enter the Promised Land, exhorted all of the people (Deuteronomy 6:1-9) to love God with their whole beings, to have his commandments on their hearts, and to diligently teach them to their children at rest and at work, in the evening and in the morning.  (In colloquial Hebrew, he meant everywhere and all the time.)  There was a God and home-shaped vacuum in the heart of every child in Israel that needed to be filled with God's reality and God's truth.  That, and only that, would create a generation that would find its fulfillment and purpose in God.  Moses was writing the prescription for the future health of Israel.  Unfortunately, the people of Israel did not love God wholeheartedly, or have his truth on their hearts, and they soon forgot Moses' admonition and even Joshua's "as for me and my household" challenge to serve God after they were in the land (Joshua 24:15).  It should not be surprising that the next generation did not know God, forsook him, and served other gods (Judges 2:10-13).  The vacuum was never filled in the hearts of their children, who grew up and filled them with substitutes and counterfeits. 

We must not underestimate the importance of building a godly, Christian home.  We are no different from the parents of Moses' day, and his exhortation is just as fresh for us today as it was for those undoubtedly well-meaning parents 3,500 years ago.  Though we are not building a physical nation, we are nonetheless building a spiritual one, and the health of the future of the body of Christ and his kingdom will be affected by whether or not Christian parents heed the admonition of Moses concerning our children and of the Apostle Paul to "bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).  We still must choose whom to serve and to build our homes for Christ.

I don't know about you, but sometimes this homeschooling journey can feel like a lonely one, and I need to be reminded and encouraged of truths like these.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it!