We enjoyed all of the workshops that we went to, but I wanted to mention a couple of things that stood out to me; those things that I'm still contemplating a week later...
The most significant to me was the workshop entitled "Battling Satan on Behalf of Your Ministry, Family, and Home School" by Chris Klicka, an attorney for HSLDA (You can download an actual MP3 of his talk HERE).
Points I'm pondering: Please take time to consider these thoughts and see if they aren't true for you and your family, as well as mine...
- All Satan wants to do in well meaning Christian families is to neutralize the parents, and then the children. The devil wants parents to shoot dull, deformed arrows (children), incapable of hitting the desired target (righteous lives, soul winners, and ultimately Heaven).
Psalm 127:3-5 "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate."
- Men (and women?) start out strong, then let down - when we lose our vision.
- "High-tech" often hides or softens the distinction between right and wrong.
This is not a statement about technology, but rather an observation about the human heart as changes or "improvements" come in technology.
It occurs to me that this has to do with any place and time, not specifically in the United States in the 21st century. But - we are here and living now, and we need to think about it. I enjoy the internet; reading, listening, watching, posting pictures and thoughts, etc. I obviously don't consider the technology to be evil. But does the fact that I have highspeed access to the internet at home and at work (really 24/7) cause me (or my family) to lose my vision, neutralize my life purpose, energy, or fervor, and do I have a firm understanding of what right and wrong are? Perhaps a worthwhile exercise would be to take time (away from any technology!) to thoughtfully, prayerfully consider and write down these things:
My vision - like a mission statement for the rest of my life
Our family vision - what is our purpose, responsibility and goals - as a family?
Am I, and are we on track? If not, where did we get off track, and what adjustments, large or small, do we need to make to get back? Do I (we) have the gumption to make any such changes?
Mr. Klicka then went through Ephesions 6: 10-18 about the armor of God - most of which was not new to me, but I needed the reminders.
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The other workshop was by Dr. Jay Wile, the author of our homeschool science curriculum (Apologia). He presented: ""Eco-hysteria: A Scientist Examines the “Environmentalist” Movement".
He called the hype about global warming the "Hoax of the Century", then proceeded to provide scientific evidence to back up his claims. If you are interested, please get another cup of coffee or iced tea and study the data on these relevant websites:
