Update - and getting up!

From 091218

So, I've been bad about ignoring this blog for some time. We had our sixth child and third boy, Nahum Joseph Hicks ("Nacho" or "Mr. Stretchypants" for short), on October 13th, 2009. We also made considerable progress on our homeschooling, saw Aunt Kate off to college, had a family vacation to Denver over Thanksgiving, a great Christmas, a fun New Year's party. There are many other things I should have posted about but haven't. Moving on...

Crystal and I have felt convicted for a while now about getting up in the mornings. Neither of us are "morning people"*, and especially after you've dealt with a fussy baby all night long it's hard to roll out of bed in the morning. However, we could see the necessity of getting an early start to the day for several reasons:

1. We need time to pray together and discuss God's word apart from the kids.


2. we need time to discuss our plan for the day


3. we both wanted time to exercise and keep in shape


4. we wanted a time when we could consistently do family worship with the kids


5. we wanted to get the kids started on chores and school before 11AM

While we were trying to do some of those things in the evenings, there were often too many interruptions. Even when there wasn't something else going on we often were too tired and worn-out by the end of the day to stay motivated enough to get it all done.

We've agreed several times to start getting up at 6AM before the kids, but it was always too easy to shut off the alarm or hit the snooze, but in the end we realized the toll this was taking on our family. So yesterday, for the first time, we both got up when the alarm went off. I know this may seem insignificant to you morning people out there (you know who you are...), but it was really difficult for us. We prayed together while we exercised, and then woke up the kids and had family worship together. What a great start to the day.

To be honest, the rest of the day was miserable. We were grouchy. The kids were grouchy. They doddled through their chores, they fought with each other, they weren't obedient, they barely got any schoolwork done, which made us even more grouchy. But, in the end, we're still glad we did it.

We got up at 6AM today again too. It was a little bit easier (not much, mind you), and so far things have gone a little bit better. I'm hoping this pattern continues...

It really is refreshing to get a good start to the day. While we're both rather exhausted, being able to spend time focusing on God (both as a couple and together with the kids) first thing in the morning really will change things. I'm looking forward to it (all but the getting up part).

* Emery, unlike his parents, is a morning person. Regardless of what time he goes to bed he rises early to greet the new day and cheerfully (and loudly) lets anyone who is sleeping know that it's time to be up!

Call to Dunkirk

Homeschooling goes boom in America

Homeschooling goes boom in America

Interesting Quote

"When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already… What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.'" - Adolph Hitler

Interesting Video

Take a look at this video. Although twenty years old it includes rather interesting commentary on education and the current American political climate.

Train Ride

One of the things I like best about homeschooling is the ability to be flexible with the schedule. We take advantage of this often to get out and show the kids the world first-hand. On Thursday Kat and Crystal took the five oldest to ride the narrow-gauge railroad in Georgetown (thanks to Nana for generously buying the tickets!). Enjoy the slideshow:

You believe what?!? (part 2)

So, if you've read the Introductory Post you have seen the two "wisdom tidbits" (as I called them) that God has revealed to us. Let me stop for a moment to explain that though I call them widsom tidbits, any wisdom found in them is certainly not from our own thinking, but from Gods. I have searched the recesses of my mind and found them to be utterly devoid of wisdom apart from that which I have obtained from God :)

Now, previously I posted about the first of these two tidbits. You can find that post here. In this post I want to talk about the second one: Dads and Moms have a God-given responsibility to disciple their children. Let's start by looking at what God has to say. Just prior to the Israelites entering the Promise Land, they assemble before Moses. He reads them the 10 commandments, and then tells them this:

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. - Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV)

Much later, Paul reiterates this point in his letter to the Ephesians:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:1-4

Proverbs is perhaps the key piece of evidence for this point. Not only does it mention repeatedly that parents are to discipline and instruct their children, but the majority of the book of Proverbs was written from Solomon to his son for the purpose of discipling him and instructing him in the Lord.

As parents, we are given a huge responsibility! One we can't afford to take lightly. This is one of the key reasons why we have chosen to homeschool. By doing so we have the opportunity to spend most every day - each teachable moment - with our children...not merely educating them in reading, writing, and arithmetic, but training them to walk as Jesus walked. As parents, there is nothing more critical then training your children to be like Jesus: not your job, not your ministry, not your financial status.

Take a look at the story of Samuel as a boy if you need evidence of this. Eli the priest had failed to properly disciple his sons as children, and they grew into adults who, though they were priests (by lineage), failed to honor God. Because Eli was still unwilling to step up, correct them, and lead them by example, God brings judgement upon his household:

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” 1 Samuel 3:11-14 (NLT)

A chapter later Eli and his sons die. Now, I'm not saying that God will deal with us as harshly. Eli and his sons were priests and were supposed to lead the nation of Israel in service and devotion to God. The punishment for our sins has already been paid by Christ's death on the cross. However, God does not take it lightly when we ignore this responsibility.

Let me take this a step further: Can we fulfill our responsibility to train our children as disciples of Christ when they are spending the majority of their time in a government school that not only fails to teach them about God but in many cases teaches principles that are opposed to God's Word? I won't go so far as to say the answer is no (as I know a few families who have taught true discipleship to their children despite their schooling) but I do think the answer is Not Easily. I'm not pushing for legalism here...there is no verse in scripture that says "Thou shalt not send thy children to public school.", but I do think it is a subject that every Christian parent should evaluate carefully. If you reasons for sending your children to be educated by the government are selfish, due to finances, feelings of inadequacy, or the inability to get along with your children then it is likely that you are missing God's best, both for you as a parent and your children.