We were supposed to have started on Week 6 last week, but things fell on the wayside.

But well, the lovely thing about homeschooling is you can just pick up and go!

One of the things I love about JBC (and every other subject using the Principle Approach) is that we must continually come back “to teaching concepts and principles and reasoning skills.” (Burtness, page 12). Each week, as I prepare my lessons, I have to remind myself that. It's so easy to get bogged down with details. Maybe this will become more part of me one day!

We had quite a fruitful experience with Theme 1 and I now look forward to starting on Theme II. In the next two months, we shall be looking at how God prepared the key characters for “Godly self-government and liberty”. As part of my own preparation, I shall be doing key sheets for myself. After two years, I'm just getting the hang of it. Boy, I'm a slow learner! But like what dear Ms. Katherine Dang says, “IV-drip”, and “kernel by “kernel” and I claim those wonderful picture reminders for myself too.

Some notes

1. Based on this chart. Noah was still alive when Abram was born. He died when Abram was 58 years old and Shem, the son of Noah, died 35 years AFTER Abraham died. Can I assume that Abram must have heard about the flood many times? So while his father was not a good example, he probably had other godly influences. 

2. The timeline here is different from above.

   Too bad I don't have the time to compare all the various time charts and to reason out which is more accurate. The point is whether Abraham had interacted with Noah or Shem, he did get the account of the flood first hand!

3. It was possible too that Noah had at least a second hand account of the creation because his father Lamech was 58 years old when Adam died.

4. I enjoyed this article.

   
   

JBC: Year Two Theme II Week 6

“God prepares a people for Godly self-government and liberty”

For the coming week, the theme focus will be based on the following passages:

Genesis 12:1-4
Genesis 12:4-9

For this lesson, I'll bear in mind the following concepts.

(My personal study of Abram will go beyond the recommended passages for my dd.)

1. Hand of God in history

God is sovereign and He had supreme authority over Abraham.

I enjoyed reading this lesson as part of my preparation.

Notice the covenantal view of the relationship between grace and works here.  “God clearly takes initiative with Abram.  God’s favor falls upon Abram and it is not Abram’s fault.  But Abram has responsibilities in this relationship.  Every relationship, by definition, is bilateral.  There are responsibilities in any significant relationship in life.  There are responsibilities on the part of both parties and Abram’s are frankly spelled out first here in Genesis 12. “

Why did He ask Abram to leave his country?

2. Hand of God in the life of Abraham

a) How did God prepare Abram?

b) Godly influence/s on Abram?

c) Godly character developed?

d)Abram's contribution in God's purpose

3. Relationship between individual (Christian) character and national liberty.

This is related to 2d above.

Okay, how will I be approaching this lesson? I plan to complete it in four days.

Laying the Foundation

I will print out the timeline and we will go over it. (Since I'm more familiar with AIG over the other two websites mentioned above so I'll use their timeline for this lesson).

Presentation

We will take turns reading the passages.

We will do some mapwork.
Map 1 and map 2. Quite cool.

Check out this too.

Discussion

We'll use the key sheet on Abraham for this.

Documentation

She will document on the keysheet

Other Activities

1. She loves to color and do crossword puzzles so I'll search for some of these worksheets for her.

2 Josh loves to role play, so we'll involve him in the journey Abram made. I'll have write out the various destinations based on the given passage, stick them around the house and we can recreate the journey.

Let's see, we will have : Ur, Haran, Schechem, Hill Country and Southern Desert.

The southern Desert is not the end of the journey, but we'll end there. Each time they reached a “destination”, Abram built an altar and worshipped God. Maybe we could all kneel and give thanks when we reach each destination.

Application

This will come to me while we're doing the lessons. :)

 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram waswere then in the land. seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites

7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

For the coming week, the theme focus will based on the following passages:

Genesis 6:13-22
Genesis :7:1-24
Mt. 24:36-39

Actually, we've already started work on the Key Sheet for Noah last week. DD read the passages and extracted relevant information for each category of the Key Sheet. She also had to give supporting evidence (book, chapter, verse) for each statement. We will discuss the above passages based on the following framework:

1. The hand of God in history – God is sovereign. He has the supreme authority over the affairs of men and nations.

2. The hand of God in Noah's life.

3. The importance of Christian self-government

Questions:

1. Event : flood. What did God do and why?

2. God has a plan for all our lives. How did God fulfill His plan in Noah's life?

3. How did Noah's choices contribute to and affect God's plan?

4. What was the result of a lack of self-government during the days of Noah?

5. What will people be like before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?

6. Point out verses in the passages that vividly reflect self-gratification.

We will complete the Key Sheet after the discussion.

Application:

1. Does God have a plan for you? How do you know?
   

2. How will your choices affect God's perfect plan for you?

3. Reflect on some aspect sof your life that needs self-government.

Other activities:

1. A wonderful poem by John Piper.

2. DD and Josh to make a mural together. Jan Brett's pages are always gorgeous.

3. Another Jan Brett's activity my children will love. More for Josh but hey, I know I'll enjoy it too!  

Genesis 6:13-22
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Genesis 7:1-24

 1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.
7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit^[a] of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Matthew 24:36-39
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,^[a] but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Meanwhile, we're making progress with our JBC. We're now working on ThemeV  Week 10. This past Friday, after we discussed Acts 4 and 5, I asked my daughter to document the leading idea and to create a poster based on the leading idea.

Here was what she did.

The poster is not clear as she used gel pens. I thought she did a good job.

For the heading she had:

God is more important than man.

On the pink rectangular box on the left, she quoted a Bible verse Acts 5:29.

Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men”

Then on something that looks like a blue tombstone, she wrote yesterday's date within a flower and stated:

Remember:

And on the bottom part of the poster she had a THINK! CORNER. She had this in the green box.

One thing I can say, she was able to pick the leading idea very quickly and the whole poster really zeroed in on that. The Principle Approach allows the learner to internalize lessons that worksheets and multiple choice questions can never do. It is very exciting.

If you have always wondered what The Principle Approach® is all about, now is the time!

There are several yahoo groups you can join to learn more about the Principle Approach®, but one group you may want to join NOW is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sdssupport/

Karen Brummett has taken over as the moderator of the group and I know she will bring into it a new lease of life. Brenda Mac Menamin did a great job last year but unfortunately I dropped out after a few weeks due to other commitments.

I have not abandoned learning more about the approach though.  I've been reading and studying on and off the following:

Mr. James Rose : Guide to American Christian Education (GACE)

Mr. Burt Burtness: The Third Althernative

The Noah's Guide to Teaching Mathmatics published by FACE.

America's Providential History published by Providence Foundation

I've also been blessed by Lisa Hodgen's Freedom and Simplicity in His Story.

Maybe after nearly two years of skimming on the surface, I'm ready to finally dig deeper into it. I know several of my BPA friends are excited about this. Won't you join us?

There is no stress. The discussion starts sometime in mid-April but you can take your time and not feel left behind. All of us are different with different amounts of responsibilities. I think Karen will ensure that anyone can drop in any time and no one need to feel pressured to do what she is not able to. We are all at different seasons of life, aren't we? And the Lord will show us how we can incorporate study into our busy lives when we let Him!

Description of the Self-Directed Seminar Support Group (sdssuport)

I have not posted in a while. One reason was I just couldn't log in! I finally contacted someone from customer service and she gave me a new password. Another reason was I didn't have the time to post everything we've done. We really enjoyed Week 3 and we created some really neat notebook pages. We spent three weeks on that week! I will try to share them one day!

Anyway, here is my plan for the rest of Theme 4.

1. March 5^th to March 10^tch – complete Theme 4 Week 4 Miracles/Power
   

2. March 12^th to March 17^th - complete Theme 4 Week 5 Evangelism

3. March 19^th to March 24^th - complete Theme 4 Week 6 Last Supper

4. March 26^th to March 3st - complete Theme 4 Week 7 Crucifixion

5. Catch up, or other activities

6. Easter Devotions in the evening

7. April 9^th to April 14^th – complete Theme 4 Week 8 Resurrection and Great Commission

I didn't plan fort the themes "coincide" with the Holy season. I'm glad for this flow though.

I look forward to doing Theme 5 for the rest of the school year. Then my first cycle will be done. After two years.

Notes
1. Christmas is just over. During the Advent period, DD did an inductive study based on various books of the Bible that culminated in the birth of Jesus, Our Savior! The stage is set for her to learn in greater depth Jesus' youth.

2. My emphases for this lesson (for however long it takes!) will be how Jesus, the Son of God, grew in WISDOM, STATURE and in FAVOR with GOD and MAN, and that youth is time for training.

3. I will make mention of Simeon's prophecy and Anna's faithfulness. DD's already familiar with these characters so I will not spend too much time on them. Just these points:
a) Jesus was presented in the Temple in Jerusalem when he was 40 days old.
b) Simeon had a close relationship with God. No death till He saw the “Lord's Christ”. He was there to receive Jesus. Made prophetic words. (Luke 2: 25-35)
c) Anna served God for a long, long time! She was either 84 years or she served 84 years after her widowhood (married only for 7). Spent time praying and fasting. She too was privileged to see her Lord. She bore witness to the Redeemer. (Luke 2: 36-38)

4. Luke is rich with Jesus' infancy narratives: Gabriel's announcement, Elizabeth's and Zechariah's prophecies, Simeon's and Anna's words and blessing in the temple. It also has the only account of Jesus as a young boy in the Bible.

5. When Jesus' parents made their annual a trip to Jerusalem for the Passover in Jesus' 12^th year, Jesus was left behind after the feast. He had remained in Jerusalem and had made His way to the Temple. There he listened, learned, questioned and discussed with the great teachers of the Law. They were astounded by His wisdom and knowledge. But of course, God was His Father! When Mary and Joseph returned to look for Him, they too were astounded. He probably felt more at home going about His Father's business, but he obeyed his earthly parents and returned home with them (Luke 2:51a). He was obedient and subjected himself to them. He was called but it was not yet time to fulfill that call. He would continue to wait, learn and grow. And He did.

6. Three areas of growth echoed that of 1 Samuel 2:26

a) WISDOM -intellectual growth; spiritual insight

b) STATURE -physical size; strength; helped parents

c) FAVOR – spiritual growth and social growth. Jesus found favor with God and with man- “favor” is same as “charis” or grace in verse 40. Jesus was favored by man and also God. He is the mediator between God and Man (1 Timothy 2:5). He was preparing himself for that time when he would enter into His ministry.

My Lesson Plan

1. Laying the foundation
   Quickl review of the first Advent and Christmas story.

2. Presentation
   Part 1 : Simeon's and Anna's blessings
   Take turns to read Luke 2:25-38
   
   Part 2: Take turns to read Luke 2:39-52
   Draw, using stick figures, sequence of events
   Events: Jesus lived with 'parents' in Nazareth; Jesus continued to grow
   Annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover
   12^th year, being left behind incident
   Encounter in the temple
   Parents were perplexed
   Jesus obediently went home with his parents

3. Discussion
   Part 1: DD to narrate the encounter with Simeon and Anna orally
   Discuss internal character of Simeon and Anna
   Significance of their blessings?

Part 2: Some questions:
1. Why did Jesus “linger” behind?
2. Why did his parents not know about his absence till much later?
3. What was Jesus doing in the temple? Why?
4. How did the teachers react to His questions? Why?
5. What was His response to Mary when she rebuked him?
6. Why did his parents not understand His statement?
7. What did Jesus demonstrate when He followed his parents to Nazareth and “was subject to them”?
8. What does it mean to grow in WISDOM, STATURE and to find FAVOR with God and man?
We will define each word and then discuss its application to our own lives.

4. Documentation
   DD to do copy work based on Luke 2:40 and Luke 2:52
   DD to fill chart based on Luke 2: 52 for personal application

5. Other Activities
   http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/pdf/New/Curr169.pdf
   
   
   
   

Next week, we go back to JBC. We will skip Theme 3 and go straight to Theme 4. When we took a break from JBC the summer of 2006, we spent a few months on the Divided Kingdom. It just happened as my daughter was enthralled by that whole period of history. So I don't feel 'bad' about skipping Theme 3 and this chunk of His Story.

Since Christmas is just over, Theme 4 fits in nicely. We spent much time during an inductive study on the Advent so we'll skip Week 1 and go straight to Week 2. I'm having a ball studying and preparing this lesson. I'm also reviewing Katherine Dang's “How to study” sections in GACE and will be coming up with my own version of the 4R charts soon. I already have the EVENTS one done last year, but I will definitely like to have the others on PLACES, KEY CHARACTERS and DOCUMENTS done as well. If you are keen to take a peek, go to www.miikogibson.com and look under “Free Goodies”. They won't be ready till Sunday evening though as I've a gazillion things to do today and tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I can't find my Intrepid A!!!! Please say a prayer for me as I am feeling yucky about it! I can't plan without it. Maybe it's lost among the Thanksgiving stuff I've put away (it was that long ago when I last used it).

In my last entry, more than a month ago (oops!) I mentioned a wonderful lesson my daughter gleaned from our study of Gideon. The events in Judges can be described as “a descending spiral of sin, servitude, supplication, and salvation”.

SIN; The Israelites disobeyed God
SERVITUDE: God allowed their enemies to make life horrendous for them
SUPPLICATION: The Israelites in despair prayed to God
SALVATION: God sent a judge to help them

Well, my daughter really liked that lesson and nodded with appreciation when I pointed out to her the cyclical 4S's . She kept that "cycle" in her head and when she was reading through her Bible (she completed reading through the entire Bible on Christmas eve, praise God), she was able to apply it to some degree. She was especially excited when she read Judges, Kings and Chronicles herself. She asked me why the people just didn't get it and she would point out how the Israelites didn't break out of the cycle. I was glad for her insights. From there we were able to discuss man's sinfulness and our own stubborn nature, etc.

So we had another round of visitors last week. My cousin and her husband were in Chicago and had a week to spare before they headed to Orlando (and then home to Singapore) for another company function. After their Chicago conference, they visited a cousin in NY and then flew over to our neck of the woods to visit my family. It was just a short visit but a truly enjoyable one. They had never been to the South and my cousin never experienced fall. What a treat for her! It's great to have relatives in almost every continent of the world. Surely God has a purpose in scattering us all over...one day, things will become clearer. Throughout my different life sojourns, spiritual and continental, I know His Hand has been evident, and I'm thankful. Very thankful.

And yes, school was once more “diluted”. And what with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, I'm not sure how much JBC I will cover for the rest of the year. MWOG too has been on the back burner. The Intrepid study has been progressing nicely though, abeit slowly.

I do have something to say about the last lesson on Gideon. But life beckons, so I'll let the matter rest till I have another sliver of time.

One of the things I enjoy is writing to and for children. I've always loved children (who are not mine, I mean) and enjoyed relating to them. Before I met my husband (I married relatively late in life and had actually thought God was going to let me remain a single), my days were spent relating to young teens (I was a teacher, then Director of Personal Development in an independent/private school). I loved every moment of it! When my married friends told me that having your own children was even more satisfying and wonderful (they were trying to get me married; which was strange as there wasn't anyone yet for me!) I wasn't convinced. I thought I had my fill (of course I didn't dare hope I'd be married and then have my own children so why not just be content with my lot?).

Well, the Lord took over and I'm of course now thrilled to be a mother of two gorgeous children. I'm so thrilled too that I can home school them. As a school teacher then, that thought NEVER crossed my mind. I happily played the role what parents themselves should have had been playing. Over the years as a teacher/Director, I must have had read hundreds of journals my hundreds of school kids diligently scribed. And I must have had spent hundreds of hours just responding to what they'd written in their journals. Oh, the fears, dreams, relationship quandaries that splashed across their journal pages...the philosophical questions they anxiously aired...the spiritual void their hurried words voiced...On retrospection, it really was sad that most, if not all, of those kids couldn't and wouldn't share with their parents what they had shared with me. To some extent, through my writing to them, I, the school teacher, was the one directing and shaping some of their thoughts.

Today, I try to keep the communication channels with my own children open at all times. I do not want to stop listening to them; to dismiss their constant chatter as idle babble. No, I do not want them to turn to someone else just as my pupils had turned to me instead of their parents years ago.

By being actively attentive to them, I also hope that they will listen to me when I take Deuteronomy 6:7-9 seriously. We want to reach the hearts of our children. We want to win their hearts. All too soon, they grow up and unless we have their hearts now, other interests and people will keep their hearts in captivity. And they must know too, beyond any shadow of doubt, that we love them, and that we desire the best for them. And that includes the kind of friends they keep, the kind of books they read. No, it is not about control. For day-to-day, we're also teaching them about godly self-government. We are teaching them the real meaning of liberty in Christ. The liberty to do what is right; to choose what is godly! But unless we have a real relationship with them, all our words and counsel will fall flat! Hence we need to win their hearts! A relationship cannot thrive if the heart is not there!

One way I draw closer to my daughter is to just talk about topics that she's interested in (like trains and Thornton Burgess characters for now). And while we laugh about the cleverness or silliness of some character or other, I bring in the Word and remind her of biblical principles we've covered. I want her to have a Biblical world view. Nothing is secular in this life. Everything is relevant to the Lord.

Sometime back, I noticed she had a little problem. She still has that tendency. We're working on it. She gets upset when her friends don't like what she likes. For instance, she will plan for days a particular scene she thinks her friends will certainly LOVE to act out. Well, not everyone is as passionate as she is about that scene from a current favorite book! She has to understand that! Then when her friends are ho-hum about it, oh my, she becomes devastated! If I don't correct this attitude in her now, she will be in for a lot of trouble when she is older. So I wrote a book for her. It is about friendship. Friendship based on sound biblical principles. One principle I covered was that of God's Individuality and Diversity. Some principles may be over her head now, but these are sound principles. And she needs them. For that matter, I need them myself! LOL.

Anyway, it is a book your preteen daughter can read alone. She will probably enjoy it too if both of you read it together. There are some thought-provoking questions for each chapter which may be fun for both of you to answer. The reading and discusion time is also a bonding time. My daughter always looks forward to it when we spend some time over it together.

Here is the link to the book if you are interested. It was a labor of love for my daughter and I hope some of you will be blessed by it.

Thinking aloud...

After the first five weeks, the JBC doesn't give very much in terms of the actual lesson planning. I believe this is deliberate so we don't depend on the curriculum writer (Bill Burtness) as much as our own study of the Word, our own reasoning process, and time spent with the Lord over how we can present the lesson to our children. A key to the whole plan too is how well we know and understand our children.

So, as with the other lessons, I needed to ponder over how to bring this lesson on Gideon across to my 8 year old daughter. As usual, it is tempting to want to present all the facts. Hence it is good to remember that we are sowing seeds at this stage. My dd doesn't need to know all the details of Gideon's calling, or details of Gideon's lack of faith as he tested God in a variety of ways, or how the army of 300 was eventually chosen and how the battle was finally won, exciting as everything was. She is already familiar with the story and whenever she needs all the tiny details, she can read them for herself. (Frankly, although I have read this story many times, I still cannot remember the details after some time has passed.) What is more important is whether or not she will internalize the biblical principles and leading ideas. The emphasis is thinking and deductive reasoning from the Word rather than memorizing facts.

Hence, I need to remember the following as I teach this lesson.

What is the general theme? (This is laid out by the JBC.)

From here, I need to figure out for myself (for this particular lesson, at this point in time) what the leading idea is I want my dd to grasp and articulate, if possible.

The principle. This is sometimes stated. This week's not too clear.

So after much pondering, this week's lesson is as follows.  It is a simple lesson, but in the process I think my heart and mind have been renewed a little bit more. 

I hope the lesson plans I share on this blog will spur you on to plan out your own. Only you, with God's help, know how much your children need and what their hearts and mind srequire.

JBC Lesson Plan: Year One Week 12

Well, it's time for me to get back on track. We'll pick up from where we have left off more than 2 months ago!

5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Notes

1. The Christian view of man and the state
   God is sovereign. The individual is God's servant. The state is the individual's servant.

2. The pagan view of man and the state
   State is sovereign. The individual is the state's servant.

3. Out in the wilderness, God commanded the Israelites to be His servants, to obey Him. They were to be a kingdom of priests to Him. (Ex. 19:5-6)

4. God was their king. Moses was their leader.

5. However, their lack of knowledge of God and their old dependence on the state resulted in ten crisis points. To them, returning to Egypt was easier as they didn't have to think, choose, trust and obey God. Life as slaves seemed “easier” than life having to depend on God.

6. Self-government (letting God direct and control oneself) was harder than being told what to do. They preferred bondage to liberty. Bondage is voluntary. Freedom takes godly character to maintain.

7. When Moses sent out men to spy out the land, just as God had commanded, 10 out of the 12 brought back a bad report.

8. The people rebelled and wanted a new leader.

9. Moses interceded for them.

10. New decision: the wilderness would now be God's training ground for the people. For the next 40 years, they would learn learn to depend on God. They would have to shed their pagan view of man and state.

My Lesson Plan

1. Laying the foundation
   Review the events that led up to this part of the story.
   

   DD to narrate past lessons leading up to this one.

   Ask: What do people's actions reveal about them?

2. Presentation
   We will take turns reading the scripture passages.

3. Discussion
   We will fill the chart on the white board together and talk about it.
   We will discuss examples of cause and effect in the story and how internal ideas give rise to external actions and behavior.

4. Documentation
   DD to fill in the chart herself for her notebook.
   DD to do copy work based on Ex. 19:5-6

5. Other Activities
   Crossword puzzles
   http://sewhttkr.home.comcast.net/bibleWS/bibleWS/31_canaan.htm
   Coloring page
   http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/pdf/Old/Curr049.pdf
   Acting out
   

I'm so embarrassed to confess that I got so far behind my SDS, I felt too overwhelmed to catch up. But confession is good for the soul. Now to move on...

I appreciate all that Bren is doing and I hope to return to the notes and personal study when I can make the time.  Thank you, Bren. God bless your efforts and encouragment.

Meanwhile, I've decided to study GACE (A Guide to American Christian Education) with the rest of the BPA moms instead. Thank you Anna-Marie and Lisa H. for starting this yahoo study group.

Why have I made this switch? Firstly, I just am ONE lesson behind and secondly, I'm more familiar with GACE on the whole, having gone through it (albeit perfunctorily) several months ago. I find it also more 'friendly' for a newbie like myself.

This summer is getting to be so cluttered, I hope I can at least keep up with this. Having examined so many curricula the past five years, the Principle Approach remains the one I feel very strongly drawn to.

Now to catch up on Lesson One and then proceed to Lesson Two as well. Please say a prayer for me that I'll persever. Thank you!

Word Study

I thought I could share a little of what I'd been learning from the SDS.

When I studied “Lesson 2 – Gaining the Mind of Christ in Education”, it hit me so strongly again that truly, the Principle Approach was what I'd been seeking all these years of foraging through tons of different curricula. I'm just so blessed to have “met” Anna-Marie last July when I “chanced” upon her PA blog. But we know there are no coincidences...I was just primed for it, by being at the right place at the right time...thank you, Lord!

Well, back to what I have learned in this lesson. I love that the Principle Approach inculcates the habit of research by beginning with the Bible through the Word Study.

Word Study Format

The Word Study is more than going to a dictionary to look for the definition of the word in question.

It is the tool of biblical scholarship that places the student on the pathway of reflective thinking and deductive reasoning derived from the elevation of Scripture.

God's Word is hence the center of learning.

So how does one do a Word Study?

The SDS has a sample Word Study based on the word, “heritage” on page 26.

I have written the following steps based on the sample Word Study and my SDS reading to aid me in my own Word Study. I also plan to use these steps when I do  Word Study with my daughter.

1. Define the assigned word by using the Webster's 1828 Dictionary.

2. Define key words within the Webster definition.

3. Record relevant Scriptures that use the assigned word. A Bible Concordance is needed for this. Doing a “Word Search” found in www.biblegateway.com could be used instead.

4. Relate the assigned word to my life by writing its definition in my own words.

5. Deduce Biblical principles from the study of the assigned word. This is what we usually describe as “reasoning out” in BPA parlance.

6. File the written record of the study on my notebook for future reference.

The most challenging aspect of the Word Study must be step 5.

What this entails is, based on the Biblical facts (from the relevant Scriptures), we draw out or deduce Biblical truths and identify them in the form of principles to the word being studied. The reasoning builds upon truth already researched.

The above steps represent the sequence used by the model Word Study. They are however not meant to be followed in a “lock stepped” fashion. For example, relating and reasoning (steps 4 and 5) can be or are usually done simultaneously.

In this lesson, one of the assignments was to complete a Word Study for the word “renew”. I was also to reason and relate Biblical principles in light of my study on education.

This was how I did my study.

Word study on “renew”

1. I defined the assigned word from the dictionary and underlined a key word from the definition which I had wanted further clarification.

RENEW', v.t. [L. renovo; re and novo, or re and new.]

1. To renovate; to restore to a former state, or to a good state, after decay or depravation; to rebuild; to repair.

Asa renewed the altar of the Lord. 2Chron. 15.

7. To make new; to make fresh or vigorous; as, to renew youth; to renew strength; to renew the face of the earth.

Ps. 103. Is. 40. Ps. 104.

8. In theology, to make new; to renovate; to transform; to change from natural enmity to the love of God and his law; to implant holy affections in the heart; to regenerate.

Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12. Eph. 4.

2. The key word within definition (1) I looked up was “restore”. I wanted further illumination on “renew” by looking further into this word.

RESTO'RE, v.t. [L. restauro. This is a compound of re and the root of store, story, history. The primary sense is to set, to lay or to throw, as in Gr. Solid.]

4. To bring back or recover from lapse, degeneracy, declension or ruin to its former state.

- Loss of Eden, till one greater man restore it, and regain the blissful seat.

- Our fortune restored after the severest afflictions.

5. To heal; to cure; to recover from disease.

His hand was restored whole like as the other. Matt. 12.

9. To revive; to resuscitate; to bring back to life.

Whose son he had restored to life. 2Kings 8.

10. To return or bring back after absence. Heb. 13.

3. Relevant scriptures are recorded on “renew”

1. 2 Chronicles 15:8
   And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.