“Got teens? You lucky dogs.  

Spend time with them; enjoy them; listen to them; and love them. 

They are the most incredible people, these emerging adults, 

and they can become the best friends you’ll ever have.” 

~Diana Waring, Reaping the Harvest. The Bounty of Abundant-Life Homeschooling~ 

(This article appeared in my weekly “Homeschooling Through High School” column at HSB’s “Company Front Porch on June 9th, 2010.) 

I have often blogged about the need for us parents to view our high school age teens as “emerging adults.”  I feel that more keenly than ever.  We are currently watching the unfolding drama of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  I fear it is just getting started…the worst is yet to come, and will continue, likely, for decades to come, unless God Himself decides it is finally time to “clean up” the world.  

Are your teens aware of the  Gulf catastrophe and its murky details?  If not, why not?  If so, what do they think about it?  And the most important question of all…the question we must train them (and ourselves) to ask about every challenging situation that comes along…how does this fit into God’s eternal plan for His creation? 

If you haven’t figured this out for yourselves, let alone had a Biblical discussion about oil spills and a holy, loving God, then grab your teens, grab your Bibles, and open to Romans Chapter 8.  Read then entire chapter, and then focus in on the sections.  This wonderful chapter tells of our release from the bondage of the flesh, from the bondage of fear.  It also speaks of the joint sufferings we must experience if we are to be joint heirs with Christ.  We suffer with purpose!   

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:16-18) 

But what of the Gulf?  What of the creatures living in the oily mess?  What does that have to do with God’s eternal plan?  Read on, starting with verse 22… 

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”  (Romans 8: 22-23) 

I think it is safe to say that the creation is groaning in pain.  And it pains us to see it.  We are all longing for our “redemption,” for our release from this “alien” and corrupt world, and for our citizenship in Heaven to begin.  The fallenness of this world and the consequences of sin shout loud and clear in this present darkness.  Be sure your emerging adults look with joy and longing at the light beaming into their own lives, if they are followers of Christ, and understand that they can be beacons of this same light to those around them.  For we know what God has promised to His children, and for the creation, in the end: 

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”  (Isaiah 65:17) 

“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”  (Isaiah 66:22) 

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
(2 Peter 3:10) 

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1) 

I like to remember, as I ponder these things with my own emerging adults, that God has given them a particular role to play in these remarkable times in which we all live.  I like to ask them what they feel that they can and/or should do, as a Christian, in response to the multiple disasters (not just ecologic) around them.  And then, where possible, I try to join them in their ideas and begin…by taking a first step.  Maybe that means we try harder to consolidate a few car trips, in order to decrease our own personal demand for oil;  that we try to buy our strawberries from the booth at our weekly farmers market, rather than the grocery store  (remember to ask at that booth if they actually grew the fruit/vegetable themselves…when there are multiple produce booths, ask, and buy it from the one who actually grew it when possible);  that we try hard to remember to bring our own reusable grocery bags when we go to the store. 

The boys and I have discussed at length future “green energy” technology (one of Nathan’s engineering interests), nuclear power plants, and the impact of more small, organic or at least “all-natural” family farms in this country, as opposed to the toxic wasteplants that now produce our nation’s food.  We have watched a GREAT documentary, that I recommend everyone in America (and Canada, yep, you too!) see: 

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

 At the ripe old age of 2-weeks-before-I-turn-50, it takes very little to fire off that spark of discouragement.  But that is one of the wonderful things about having these incredible young-people about…they are filled to the brim with ideas, with solutions, with hope!  Especially when the understand the source of these problems as sin, they look to their Creator as the beginning of wisdom for answers.  But we do not tap this wealth of passion and idealism and ideas until we dive into the problems.

However you choose to go about it, the important thing with our homeschooled high schoolers and teens is this: do not be afraid to have the conversations about the deeply troubling things of this world.  Your teens will rapidly  turn into adults.  They will be the ones who will have to take their places with boldness and complete trust in the wisdom and power and plan of their mighty God.  They will not make it victoriously through the difficult days to come  without it.  

One last thing…I would love to hear from you on this subject, and what kind of personal action responses you and your teens have come up with!  (For example, our “consolidating car trips” idea.)  Take great care that no one gets into “worshipping the creation” (extreme environmentalism).  We worship only The Creator.  We were, however, charged with “tending the garden.”  God gave it to us, in part, to sustain our physical bodies.  It also declares His Glory!  So we must watch over and care for it.   

After you’ve talked with them, and looked into Scripture together, please share what their ideas are.  Perhaps you and/or they may be encouraged to start up their own blogs here at HSB, to share the light of Christ and His plan of redemption for mankind, during these troubling days! 

May you have a blessed week!
 Anyone & Everyone can join TTAT on any given week…here’s how: 

•  Simply write a positive post about something (or things) that your homeschooling teenager has done which impressed you this week. Keep it focused on good/encouraging/growth-maturity-related things you’ve observed about them; lessons they’ve learned, or that you’ve learned through them.

• Link back to me (Lori @ Plans4You) in your post somewhere, so your readers will know where to go to join Thursday TAT. If you’d like the link-button to put on your blog and/or at the top of your post, you can get it HERE.
• Sign the Mister Linky below.
• Be sure to leave me a comment, and then visit the other participant’s blogs! (To see who else has participated, simply click on the Mister Linky below…any participants names will appear for you then.)

“Got teens? You lucky dogs. 

Spend time with them; enjoy them; listen to them; and love them.

They are the most incredible people, these emerging adults,

and they can become the best friends you’ll ever have.”

~Diana Waring, Reaping the Harvest. The Bounty of Abundant-Life Homeschooling~

It’s just about all I can do, unfortunately, to try and get this post up this week!  While the community college finals are over (whew!), the homeschool high school exams are still in full swing!  This week the boys have their last Chemistry exam (due on Saturday); their 5th out of 6 Economics exam (due by Saturday); and Nathan will have his first day of Farmer’s Market knife sharpening on Saturday!  He starts at 9am, and goes until 1pm.  Bryan is the “accomplished” sharpener, with 2 years under his belt…he taught Nathan the business in December, and Nathan’s been sharpening here at home since then.  Saturday he goes “live.”    Next week Bryan has a Spanish final test on Tuesday, and his last class to get his grade for the year is on Wednesday.  After that, it’s one more week of Economics study, and then the 6th and last test.  So it’s a busy, busy week here, and we are all pretty tired! 

With the new HSB platform, just writing a blog post is a bit too much for this over-stretched mommy!  I have sooooo much to share, too…but it’s going to have to wait either until next TTAT, or perhaps I can get it into a Weekly Wrapup with CanadaGirl.  For now, I’m just trying to figure out how to make the new blog “mine” (my old one felt like “home” and this new one is so clean, I don’t know where I am!), and we are once again holding our breaths here until these last few final exams are done, and we can close the books on this year!  I’d love to say it was a complete success…and hopefully, I will!  But I give credit AFTER it’s been earned…so hang on for another week, I think it’s looking good!

Hope you have a blessed week!

 Anyone & Everyone can join TTAT on any given week…here’s how:

• Simply write a positive post about something (or things) that your homeschooling teenager has done which impressed you this week.  Keep it focused on good/encouraging/growth-maturity-related things you’ve observed about them; lessons they’ve learned, or that you’ve learned through them.  
• Link back to me (Lori @ Plans4You) in your post somewhere, so your readers will know where to go to join Thursday TAT.  If you’d like the link-button to put on your blog and/or at the top of your post, you can get it HERE. 
• Sign the Mister Linky below.
• Be sure to leave me a comment, and then visit the other participant’s blogs! 

(My friend Tina at HSB "Solid Rock" started "Quiet Moments." This is from my "Homeschooling Through High School" article series, published at HSB’s Company Front Porch blog.)

This week’s entry honoring National Women’s History Month is a bit of an extension of my last month’s writings.  We’ve been talking about developing our emerging adults’ (our high schoolers’) "saltiness."  I began to think of the many wonderful young ladies in our circle of family friends whom I’ve come to know and love over the last 6 or 7 years.  These young ladies are being carefully and intentionally raised for the Lord, and to esteem the role of wife and mother, and I am so grateful to their parents!  (I have two sons, you know….)

At the same time, I know that among homeschoolers, in my close circle of friends and abroad, there are many strong opinions about what is "best" for these homeschooled daughters.  I have personally heard both ends of this spectrum, plus everything in the middle:

"My daughter will stay at home, under the protection of her father, and will serve God by serving her father and our family until He brings a husband to her in His perfect time."

"My daughter is going to college to get her degree and plan for a career; if God brings a husband to her, and she then decides to be a full-time wife and mother, that’s wonderful…but she will finish her education and have that degree." 

I tell you what, this is one hot debate.  I won’t "weigh in" here, at least not directly.  I see incredible validity in both points.  I see serious potential problems in both points.  

What I will say is this, and I’ve said it before in my "Engage!" article series: these children are given to us by God to raise for Him for a season…and then, to give them back.  Back to Him.  Serving our daddies and our families as young adults is good.  It’s valid.  It’s worthwhile.  Praise God for the daddies who are guarding their young adult daughters hearts from unworthy guys who would prey upon their beauty and innocence!  

But here’s something to think about: as these young women (and how about the daughters at home who are nearing their 25th or 30th birthdays, and to whom God has not yet brought a husband?) grow and mature, are we giving them back to Him?  Are they daily seeking God’s direction for these years of unbridled time and physical energy, when they are not yet bound in childrearing and homemaking? (Do NOT get me wrong…it’s a GOOD thing to be bound to!) 

My thoughts turned to such questions this week as I finished yet another enjoyable read from the YWAM Publishing Series, "Christian Heroes Then & Now."  These are quick and easy reads, but not without impact.  I have read, among others, these biographies (all descriptions are taken directly from YWAM Publishing’s webpages for each book):

• Gladys Aylward  Gladys Aylward, a housemaid from England, dared to trust God in the face of dire and seemingly hopeless circumstances. Her amazing adventure of faith and determination is one of the truly great missionary stories of our era (1902-1970).
  
• Amy Carmichael  Amy Carmichael’s life was one of simple, determined obedience to God, regardless of the consequences. Her service in India is a vivid example of the impact one person who will fear God and nothing else can have.
  
• Corrie ten Boom Corrie ten Boom’s life of determination, faith, and forgiveness in the face of unimaginable brutality and hardship is a stunning testimony of the sustaining power of God (1892-1983).
  
• Mary Slessor  While many missionaries died within months, this fiery mill worker from Scotland labored in love among the unreached tribes of Africa’s Calabar region for thirty-nine years (1848-1915).  One of my top 3 favs!!!
  
• Betty Green WWII veteran Betty Greene’s desire to use airplanes to help spread the gospel was realized when she helped found the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) (1920-1997).
  
• Lottie Moon  After becoming the most educated woman in the American South, Lottie Moon (1840-1912) spent thirty-nine years in China. As she watched her fellow missionaries fall to disease and exhaustion, she became just as dedicated to educating Christians about the often preventable tragedies of missionary life as she was to educating Chinese people about the Christian life.
  
• Ida Scudder  During nearly sixty years in India, Dr. Ida Scudder pioneered rural healthcare and the medical training of Indian women. An amazing testimony to the courage, compassion, and truth found in Christ (1870-1960).  One of my top 3 favs!!!
  
• Lillian Trasher  Others thought that a lone American woman in Egypt would surely be killed or starve to death. Instead she cared for thousands of desperate children, with unwavering faith that God does indeed look after the orphans (1887-1961).  One of my top 3 favs!!!
  
• Florence Young  New Zealander Florence Young (1856-1940) rose to her calling and became a fearless and faithful witness for Jesus Christ in the remote and dangerous Solomon Islands and in China during the deadly Boxer Rebellion.
  
• Rachel Saint  Despite the martyrdom of five missionaries by Waorani spears, Rachel boldly persisted in following God. In one of the greatest testimonies to God’s grace and power in our time, this pioneering Bible translator would live for two decades with her own brother’s killers, for the joy of seeing them become brothers and sisters in Christ (1914-1994).

As I read these wonderful books, the over-arching message stood out in stark relief: God called these brave young women into HIS service.  These were young women who were listening for His call.  By obeying Him, they were able to do nothing short of miraculous feats through the power of Jesus Christ. 

Even if your daughter’s deepest heart’s desire is to become a wife and mother (just like me!), I highly recommend that she becomes familiar with some of these remarkable women of faith.  God may have His eye on your young adult daughter to do a remarkable work for His service, like one of the women from the YWAM Publishers series.  He may want her to volunteer her time in a soup kitchen, or assist a Christian magazine publisher like "Above Rubies" for His glory.

Speaking of Above Rubies, its founder, Nancy Campbell, is a modern-day pioneer of the faith!  You can learn more about her story in a series of 3 short videos, HERE.  In the second video clip, Nancy mentions the overwhelming office-work load of the ministry.  Did you know that Above Rubies  offers graduated homeschooled young women a 2-month missions opportunity in Tennessee  to help them with their magazine and web tasks?  They call them "Rubies’ Girls."  After you’ve watched the videos, if you want more information, click HERE and scroll down to "Volunteer Opportunities."  

The high school years need to be a time of training for many things, but most importantly for seeking God’s will and listening for His voice, and being prepared to answer His call with, "Here am I, send me."  

May God Bless you and your homeschool this week!

~Lori

Hey there!  I posted this article on HSB’s Company Front Porch for my "Homeschooling Through High School" section.  I know not everyone reads there, so I wanted to post it here, too, as it’s really great stuff!  Enjoy!

In honor of Amelia Earhart’s solo flight across the Pacific (this week’s topic for the Front Porch Team articles), I wanted to share something that we have really enjoyed here in our home as we’ve tried to learn more and more about possible career options related to the things our sons were interested in.  In this case, it would be my youngest son Nathan’s interest in design, technology, and the fun of flight simulation. 

What career might this be?  If you guessed Aerospace Engineering, you’re right!  Now, I have to admit, I would find it just so much fun to say "yeah, my kid’s a rocket scientist!"  Nathan’s not so sure about all of that, but a mom can dream, right? 

Anyway, this link will take you to a wonderful "Interview with a NASA Aerospace Engineer," Jill Marlowe.  (Just in case you thought this might only interest the boys, take note…this rocket scientist is a "she!")  I learned a lot about this exciting field of engineering, and I hope you enjoy it, too! 

http://meweb.larc.nasa.gov/meweb/Aerospace_Engineer_Interview.html

We’ve also discovered a wonderful place on the web called "NASA e-Clips."  From their website comes this description:

NASA eClips(TM) are short, relevant educational video segments, designed for a spectrum of learners. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see the value of their classroom learning through real world connections. New video segments are produced weekly, exploring recent and relevant applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM topics. The programs are produced for targeted age groups including: grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and the general public.

The video segment produced for grades 9-12 is called "Launchpad."  We just love to watch these!  Below are two of our favorites (I provide the URL links beneath the videos, just in case you aren’t able to view them here for some reason).  This first one is a wonderful glimpse into just some of the practical problem-solving done by aerospace engineering:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqVs2G62lJ4

This second video is pure fun and imagination for the budding aerospace engineer!  Just in case you’re wondering, Nathan started his now beloved hobby of computer flight simulation by using the free download of Flight Gear.  It takes time to figure out, but if you have a kid like mine, they’ll love every confusing minute of it!  Someday, Nathan would love to be able to "play" in something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOs-LKCPhmo

May God Bless you and your homeschool this week!  And if you know someone who works at Langley, and could arrange a tour for us, let me know!!!

~Lori

Let me know you stopped by today!  Have a blessed day…

I have the blessing of writing for the Front Porch of Homeschoolblogger.com this year.  I write the "Homeschooling Through High School" column, which is published every Wednesday (click here to view the articles). 

Normally, the Company Front Porch is the only place you’ll find these articles.  But the one I submitted today for tomorrow’s edition represents my heartbeat and my passion when it comes to this time in the lives of my kids, and it is what I really desire to share with everyone through my blog here, Plans4You.  So I decided to post it here today.  I hope you enjoy it, and perhaps are blessed by it.  Let me know you’ve stopped by!

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!

The Front Porch theme for this week is "Back To School."   My 15 year old son and I were heading from the parking lot of our community college to the building in which he takes his German class, and I asked him if there was anything that he did to "gear up" for the fact that, this week, our school year begins full-on.  The first thing he did was to look at the can of diet Pepsi-Max in his hand, raise it up slightly, and say, "WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!" 

If you do not see television at all, this would make no sense to you.  But if you’ve seen it on occasion, as we have, you may be familiar with the humorous commercial which features multiple sleepyheads in need of a "jolt" to bring them to a state of consciousness. 

Once we got serious, he said that, typically, he would play as hard as he could for the couple of days leading up to the Monday start!  Play for him would be ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and practicing/playing with "Flightgear," the computer flying program he enjoys doing with a couple of serious aviation students in our church.  This season, owing to a badly sprained ankle the beginning of August, he has been sitting with his foot up for a few weeks.  So, he told me, the beginning of full-time school is a welcome relief from not having enough to do.

Telling…our high school students are not little kids any longer.  They are young men and women; adults-in-training.  I love to reflect upon the things my sons tell me…to "chew" on them for a while in order to extract the full "flavor and nutrition" from them.  What have I "extracted" from this brief interlude?

1.  "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:27-28)

Our young people were created in the image of God and for the purpose of "having dominion" over the earth.  If they are not engaged in such pursuits, they will feel a sense of restlessness.  They will seek "something" to "dominate."  Is it not best that we guide them in this quest? 

Have your homeschool students grasped the link between the work of school that they are doing and the fulfillment of their created purpose and longings?  Have you???  What about the student who fanicies himself a future engineer…and just isn’t excited about the study of Government and Economics…how does he "gear up" for this course?  How about the daughter who has to take freshman biology this year, but has NO interest in the inner workings of a dead frog? 

Find the tie-in.  Find that which will take the present situation, from which they feel "disconnected," and link it to the future that God is planting, whether subtley or overtly, in their hearts.  Link them…connect them…help them to see it, to look for it.  Teach them to pray for it, and pray with them!

From homemaker to engineer, everyone in this nation is going to experience a major change in the structure and scope of "power" of our government…and soon.  As Christian adults, perhaps as married adults with children of their own, should Jesus’ return be yet another generation away, our sons and daughters will have a pressing need to understand the basis of government (God’s Word and Love), the various ideologies that have crept into our society and are being applied in this country and how to spot them in political rhetoric, proposed laws, etc.  (I hope, by this age, that we do NOT fear having such discussions with out young adults, as we are not citizens of this world, but of Heaven).  Understanding the past is the key to unlocking a "big picture" comprehension of the present and the future!   

Does your daughter enjoy flowers?  Food?  She LIVES in biology!  Would she, as a future wife and mother, like to have a vegetable garden to help provide nutritious, cost-efficient food for her family?  A study of the science of life, created by God, will help her to understand what happens when we hybridize and genetically modify our seeds, our animals…our food.  

Do our students comprehend that the entire universe operates via mathmatics???  Every single thing?  That it is clearly important to God, as he used it to make everything run…so doing the best we can in math thanks Him for it, and honors Him?  And that grumbling and complaining about it "disses" His created order?

We’re back to school now, and we want our students excited, motivated, and engaged.  Help your sons and daughters to formulate a vision of their futures, based upon their God-given gifts and the desires of their hearts…then show them how their homeschool studies, one course at a time, are moving them along the path to the fulfillment of those God-given desires.  Each child is different, as God has created and gifted them.  Delight in the process of "preparing them to launch!" 

I like to compare these years to the Space Shuttles of NASA.  If you’ve ever visited the Kennedy Space Center, or watched the preparation for a launch, you are familiar with "the crawler."  The crawler is the enormous vehicle upon which a finished and ready rocket is placed and secured for the trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the launch pad.  These rockets are heavy, and must be moved extremely carefully.  Thus, the crawler moves at the incredible pace of 1 mile per hour, with the entire trip from VAB to launch pad taking between 5 and 6 hours.  It is almost painful to watch, it’s so slow!  And yet, with every passing inch by every passing inch, the anticipatory excitement of the coming launch builds.  If you’ve never seen the crawler in action, you can view it here in this one-minute-long video…(click the "stream" icon when you get to the intro page.)

Did you see what I saw?  As the crawler inched along the path, the launch pad was clearly in view.  "Atlantis, Welcome to Pad A" signs awaited it!  The anticipated arrival was planned for, thought out, acted upon, celebrated!  The folks operating the crawler could see it!  They knew, while on that slow, arduous, heavy path, what the target was, and they had it in their sights, ever before them, urging them on through those long 6 hours of slow, slow progress. 

I’m sure you can see what I’m getting at: can your homeschooled high school student see his or her launch pad?  Do they understand that they are the Shuttle, preparing for launch?  Can they see how the classes they are taking now are part of the things that make up the crawler, which is supporting them, transporting them, to the launch pad (Graduation Day)?  Are the classes they are taking transporting them to the life that God has put in their hearts to pursue?  Or are they on that crawler with no launch pad in sight??? 

Back to school?  No idea where the launch pad is?  Perhaps you need to delay the start by a week or two, and take an extra camping trip with your teen, or have some backyard picnics with the whole family if that is how things can work for you, to discuss the things of the heart…your teen’s heart.  Help them see the launch pad.  They’ll tolerate the crawler much better…and maybe even enjoy the ride.

May God Bless you and your family this week!

Lori

Lori Havens has been married to Kevin for 24 years.  They live in Illinois with their two sons, Bryan (17) and Nathan (15), and dog Sunny (9).  Lori enjoys writing, gardening, reading, and the outdoors.  She is the author of "Should I Be A Nurse? A Journey of Self-Exploration for Those Considering a Career in Nursing" and  "7 Essential Questions Every Future Nurse Must Ask."     You can find her blogging at both Homeschool Blogger and Homestead Blogger  .

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Let me know you stopped by today, so I can visit and say "hello!"