Founding Fathers on the Threat of Tyranny...

I thought this was worth sharing.
Powerful quotes from our founding fathers...


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Anticipating Autumn...

Though it's not officially autumn, yet,
the month of September has begun
with wonderful signs of its coming!

It was evident in yesterday's air,
as it was much less humid and a few degrees lower.
And this morning, I sit with my windows open,
feeling and smelling that wonderful, fall coolness
that fills the crisp air! I love it!
Autumn is like having a long missed friend return.

I hope y'all, too, are enjoying
the calm, welcoming changes of fall.

Below are a few poems/quotes I thought I'd share...
all about this upcoming season...



I love fall! Fall is exciting.
It's apples and cider. It's an airborne spider.
It's pumpkins in bins. It's burrs on dog's chins.
It's wind blowing leaves. It's chilly red knees.
It's nuts on the ground. It's a crisp dry sound.
It's green leaves turning And the smell of them burning.
It's clouds in the sky. It's fall. That's why...
I love fall.
~Author Unknown




When the trees their summer splendor
Change to raiment red and gold,
When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year.
~ Charlotte L. Riser




"The morrow was a bright September morn;
The earth was beautiful as if newborn;
There was nameless splendor everywhere,
That wild exhilaration in the air,
Which makes the passers in the city street
Congratulate each other as they meet."
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow




"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious
as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.
So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne



"And he changeth the times and the seasons..."
~ Daniel 2:21

Moving Beyond Conviction...

Below is a quote from a book I am currently reading...
"A Heart for God" by Paul Chappell



"As we live our Christian lives,
let us go beyond feeling the need for God's presence;
let us fix our hearts on experiencing His presence
each and every day.
Let us move beyond the conviction that says,
"I need to get closer to God."
Let us determine to do the things
that will bring us closer to God.

So many Christians
are in and out of fellowship with God.
They are in and out of church,
up and down spiritually.
The Christian life has become, for many,
a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows.
This is the exact opposite of having a heart
that is fixed on Christ.
This type of Christianity is not only
very frustrating to the Christian,
it is also detrimental to the cause of Christ.
America is becoming a post-Christian, pluristic society
because of Christians who will not humble themselves
and fix their hearts on God.

We must each take personal responsibility
for our spiritual neglect.
God's Word says,
"If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face,
and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin,
and will heal their land."
~ 2 Chronicles 7:14

Revival will begin in America
when God's people determine
to fix their hearts on Jesus Christ;
revival will begin
when we once again love God supremely."

Affecting Eternity...

"A teacher affects eternity;
no one can tell where his influence stops."

~ Henry Adams

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a sober reminder!
And how much more true is this for parents...
especially when the parent is the full-time teacher!
We are shaping and molding future adults,
parents, grandparents, etc...
We are greatly influencing their morals,
their character, their habits, their flaws,
their faith, and more...
which in turn, they will one day influence others...
and those others will influence even more others....
the timeline of influence is endless!
That is an extremely humbling thought...
My greatest prayer is that they will see Jesus in me
and that my influence will be an influence
that benefits them and others for eternity.

Below is a song that I sang
at my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.
I pray that my children (and others) will, one day,
be able to say this about me...



"I Saw Jesus in You"

When I enter Heaven's glory, And I see my Savior's face,
I will offer Him ten thousand years of praise.
Then I'll find that special one,
In whose life I saw God's Son,
And thru tears of joy with trembling lips
these words I'll say:


I saw Jesus in you, I saw Jesus in you.
I could hear His voice in the words you said -
I saw Jesus in you.
In your eyes I saw His care,
I could see His love was there.
You were faithful, And I saw Jesus in you.


When I stand before my Father,
To receive my life's reward,
And my soul is bathed in God's eternal day,
When this race on earth is run,
And God sees the works I've done,
More that anything I long to hear my Father say:


I saw Jesus in you, I saw Jesus in you.
I could hear His voice in the words you said -
I saw Jesus in you.
In your eyes I saw His care,
I could see His love was there.
You were faithful, And I saw Jesus in you.



Words & music by Ron Hamilton
Taken from "Majesty Hymn" page 513
Song cd can be purchased here.

Candles to Be Lit...

"We must view young people
not as empty bottles to be filled,
but as candles to be lit."
~ Robert H. Shaffer
(professor of education at Indiana University)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I appreciate the way this quote is worded.
Our goal isn't necessarily to fill
our children's brains with knowledge and such...
but instead, our goal is to ignite the fire within them,
to create and encourage a passion for learning.
When we have taught them to love to learn,
we have accomplished a wonderful thing
as a mother and as their teacher.
We have also set them up for a lifetime of learning
and our efforts have not been done in vain.

A Guiding Hand...

"A little child, when it first begins to walk,
is safe while it keeps hold of the hand of its mother...
So with the Christian.
He is safe while he keeps a firm hold of Christ's hand.
But the moment he attempts to walk alone,
he stumbles and falls."

excerpt from "A Practical Directory:
Helpful Instructions for Young Christian Females"
by Harvey Newcomb

What Remains...

"Education is what remains
when we have forgotten all
that we have been taught."
~ Marquis of Halifax


How true this is...
it reminded me of my own experience
growing up in institutionalized schools.
I spent almost all of my youth in public school
(even some time in Christian school),
being 'taught' many things for many years.
And I am constantly reminded of
how little I still recall.
Very little remains
of what I was taught.
I spent all of those years reading,
memorizing, researching, and working,
aiming to complete assignments
to procede to the next grade.
Yet, I hardly took any real knowledge with me
that didn't soon fade.

Now many years out of school
and spending eight years
of home educating my children,
I've come to the conclusion
that the majority of my years
in institutionalized schools
were spent in educational vain.
I have learned so much more
through home educating my children
in one year
than I did in all my years
of institutionalized schooling...
My education was at a minimum
from institutionalized schooling...
most of what I did retain,
I taught myself
(either afterschool, weekends,
vactions, summer breaks, etc...)
I have spoken with many other people
that hardly remember much at all
from their public school education....
hmmmm....
It appears that, in many cases,
public school education is found an oxymoron.
The two hardly coinside...
at least, that is in my case
(and many others I know of).

I praise the Lord that I have
so many teachable moments
as we home educate.
Home educate...
not home school....
I am educating my children for life...
not simply to pass on to the next 'grade'.
But to nurture in them
a love for learning and self-education.
I praise Him that we have
the freedom to step up
to our God-given responsibility,
to train and bring up our children at home.
My prayer is that I will do
all He has enabled me to do.

I just wanted to share
the definition of education
from Noah Webster's
1828 American Dictionary
of the English Language:

~ Education ~
"The bringing up, as of a child;
instruction; formation of manners.
Education comprehends all that series
of instruction and discipline
which is intended to
enlighten the understanding,
correct the temper,
and form the manners
and habits of youth,
and fit them for usefulness
in their future stations.
To give children a good education
in manners, arts and science,
is important;
to give them a religious education
is indispensable;
and an immense responsibility rests
on parents and guardians
who neglect these duties."


Wow, I think that's a pretty sober and charging definition.