One Million Arrows Christian Parenting Blog
- Wake Up to the Richness of Life of Motherhood
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Guest Author: Nicole Johnson
- September 28, 2009 | View or add comments |
- Survivor from Civil War Brings New Hope to Uganda
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Guest Author: Keith A. McFarland - New Hope Uganda
- September 24, 2009 | View or add comments |
- Parenting and Spiritual Warfare
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Guest Author: Brent Thomas
- September 22, 2009 | View or add comments |
- From Cardboard Box to Missionary
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Guest Author: Casey Scheberl - VisionTrust International
- September 18, 2009 | View or add comments |
- Is Homeschooling the Answer?
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Guest Author: Anthony Kummer
- September 14, 2009 | View or add comments |
- Changed Lives in Nairobi
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Guest Author: Alan Hunt, World Orphans
- September 4, 2009 | View or add comments |
- Get the Word into Your Kids
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By Julie Ferwerda
- September 4, 2009 | View or add comments |
- Meet Petra Anderson
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- September 1, 2009 | View or add comments |
Entries for: September, 2009
The following is an article interview featured in MomSense by Women of Faith comedian, Nicole Johnson.
In what ways has having a child changed your relationships?
I've never experienced such a major shift in priorities. I always was a terrific multitasker; I figured I'd able to hold a baby on my hip and stir a pot and write a few lines in my journal. But now I either have to be writing or cooking or spending time with Elliot, because when he needs me (which is most of the time), I don't like to say, "Mommy's at her computer now, honey. I'll get back to you." I can't do it all.
Paul Kusuubira lost his parents as a result of Uganda's civil war in the 1980's, a war that shook the country shortly after Idi Amin's regime collapsed. The bloody war centered 35 miles north of the capital city Kampala in an area that became known as the "Luweero killing fields."
Paul's family fled from their home and spent three years hiding in "the bush." They were constantly running from the warring soldiers, barely able to survive. The family ate whatever food they could gather from the "bush"—mostly wild yams and papaya. They drank any color of water they could find. They slept on leaves under the stars. During the rainy season they huddled together under trees. On occasions when they heard bullets coming from one direction they walked all day in the opposite direction only to be met by more gunfire. Exhausted and too tired to walk any further, the family would simply lay down on the ground to sleep, prepared to die.
We are currently expecting our fourth boy. Lord willing, Eli Calvin will be here very soon. We are often overwhelmed by the weighty blessing that is raising children. This became all the more apparent for us the other night as we were watching television and came across a preview for a show called something like "True Dreams of a Soccer Mom" or something like that. I can't remember the actual name of the show, but the premise was that three women had "put their dreams on hold" to raise their families, but this television show was going to give them the chance to pursue what they really wanted in life. One was a fashion designer, one a police officer and I don't know what the other was.
I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this. Our culture understands children to be an interruption. They might be a worthwhile interruption, but in the end, they're still an interruption to what your life is really about, to what you really want. This is entirely antithetical to the way the Bible presents children. Consider Psalm 127:
Ada and her mother made their home in a cardboard box in Lima, Peru, a city of nearly 8 million people. As young as age five, men who found Ada in the streets sexually abused her. When she was eight, one man tricked her into going to his home in Ayacucho, almost 60 miles away.
This same man sexually abused Ada regularly, and his sister who lived with him physically abused her. She hit Ada in the head with a hammer and burned Ada's arms with cigarettes and electrical cords. One day the police found Ada in the market, bloody from her most recent beating. They took her to a government orphanage where Ada's trauma began to express itself through violence when she began physically abusing the other children and the teachers. One time she bit one of the teacher's arms and did not let go until she tore the flesh. They took her to a Judge and told him "We cannot do anything for this child and we never want to see her again!"
Is homeschooling right for my son?
For our family, the answer was not as simple as you might think. My oldest son starts first grade next week. I am a full time Children's pastor - and get to hear plenty of strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Many of our friends want us to join the Christian homeschooling movement. But I need to know what is right for my son? To help decide, I've made this list of pros and cons. This is my homeshcooling verses public schooling list. In our town, we have an excellent public school system, a new Christian school and a strong homeschooling community. I've ruled out the private Christian school because of its price.
Martin
We squatted together in the shade on a sunny afternoon next to the soccer field at Fountain of Life Church/Home in Nairobi, Kenya. Martin is one of 48 former street boys cared for at Fountain of Life (FOL). I asked him about school and his favorite subject. Without hesitation he said math, and that he wanted to be an engineer and build airplanes. I taught him the word "aeronautical" so he could tell others of his aspiration.
I don't know Martin's whole story, but I do know his life has been changed. As an orphan he lived without hope or a future. Today he has both as he grows in mind, body, and spirit, cared for in a loving church family home believing in Christ, the life changer.
When Bill and Kristi Gaultiere of Irvine, California, were trying to decide how to raise their three children in the faith, they noticed that the Bible uses the word "Christian" only three times, but the word "disciple" occurs over 200 times. After careful study, they realized that a disciple of Christ is someone who is really serious about his or her faith, so they began looking for ways to raise disciples, not just Christians.
Discipleship is in essence training, not just teaching. The parent who trains, first explains to the children what to do (teaches), then shows them by example how to do it (models), then follows through to make sure the children implement and practice the behavior (holds accountable). Only when we follow this model can our children truly be empowered to become disciples.
When her big sister needed an original soundtrack for a culture impacting film she had written called Sisterhood, sixteen-year-old musically inclined Petra decided to step up to the adult-sized task of composing and recording all the tracks for the entire film.
"It was a lot of fun, but it was a lot of hard work, too," says Petra. "It was a really rewarding task, bringing the movie to life through music, because it was the first time I really got to use my art-form and my passion for music to touch other people's lives."
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