NCHE Conference Update

Glad to be at the NCHE conference again this year. Already bought our curriculum for next year (always the first thing we do). My Father's World has a BIG area at the book fair. Also bought great gifts and new (old) books. It was good to hear Mark Hamby again. Good coffee at Brew Nerds. Nice dinner at Mellow Mushroom. I checked out the room I will be speaking in tomorrow. Pretty big. Hope it's full. Pray for me. I don't want it to be "just another workshop." Of course, I assume (or hope anyway) that none of the speakers want theirs to be "just another workshop." But I am praying that a passion will be ignited (or fanned) for establishing authentic relationships with their children and helping them to follow Christ!

A Prayer for My Children

“May our sons in their youthbe like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace.” Psalm 144:12

May my sons be healthy, mature, productive young men. May my daughters be strong, beautiful young women, ready for honorable service.

What a contrast to our culture, which often produces immature, unprepared young men and women who are dependent consumers. I want to raise a different standard from my sons and daughters. I will do all I can to prepare them for a productive life of service.

Morning Prayer

Here in the High Country it is finally warm enough early in the morning to sit outside to meet the Lord. I can sit here and listen to the birds sing. I can look out at my garden. We have planted asparagus, about 18 tomato plants, peppers, leeks, and we have some mustard and collard greens coming up from last year. I love being outside! Here is a wonderful morning prayer from the Psalms:

"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!"

Psalm 143:8, 10

Speaking at the NCHE Conference

I am looking forward to speaking in one of the workshops at the North Carolinians for Home Education Conference. My time is Friday, 3:30-4:30 in the Gains Ballroom. Here is the title and description:

Who’s the Boss?: Biblical Authority in Parenting

Children are ever changing, complicated, individually unique little beings. How can we successfully love and teach them? How do parents establish control in the home and at the same time teach children to establish their own faith and motivation? Parents are given authority and responsibility from God to both discipline and disciple their children. In this session, the balance and timing of these two responsibilities will be explored.

Graduated Two Years Ago!

Thanks to Dave Black, who was my Ph.D. mentor,  for posting some excerpts from my dissertation, The Authority of Church Elders in the NT. I graduated around this time two years ago! I often think of how glad I am to be done; but I am even more glad I did it! The privilege of working with Dave Black was one of the highlights. I could say many positive things about his scholarship and how he challenged me academically, but the most profound influence he has had upon me is the love for Christ and his church the he and BeckyLynn have LIVED OUT! He posted our picture taken just after my Ph.D. oral exam in 2006. Dave is all the way on the left.

Children are Worshipers

“All humans have a Godward orientation. . . . Children are worshipers. Either they worship Jehovah or idols.” “He is wither worshiping and serving and growing in understanding of the implications of who God is, or he is seeking to make sense of life without a relationship with God. . . . Part of the parent’s task is to shepherd him as a creature who worships, pointing him to the One who alone is worthy of his worship.”

“Since it is the Godward orientation of your child’s heart that determines his response to life, you may never conclude that his problems are simply a lack of maturity. Selfishness is not outgrown. Rebellion against authority is not outgrown. These things are not outgrown because they are not reflective of immaturity but rather of the idolatry of your child’s heart.”

- Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart, 19, 21-23.

This last paragraph was especially striking to me. I so often hear the hope of parents that their self-centered children will one day "grow out of it." A brief observations of adults would quickly dash this hope. The only real progress with adults is that they learn to put up a good front, being more shrewd and socially acceptable with their selfishness.