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Leaving a Legacy

Driving in the car…washing dishes…sweeping the floor, preparing a meal…reading a good book…visiting the new neighbour…running errands and paying bills. What do these have in common? These are a few things that I have had opportunity to do this week…to do with my children. And it is through these tasks and delights that I have opportunity to share the good news of God with them.

One of my favourite verses in God’s word is Deuteronomy, chapter 6. I particularly like Chapter 6: but that’s only because of the surrounding verses. The writer of these verses is Moses.

Moses went to Egypt and led the Israelites out of Egypt. They wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years. So close yet so far away from the Promised Land. During all this time the people of Israel had fallen away form the Lord and the teachings of Moses. Moses goes to Mt. Sinai and receives the Commandments from God. I often need to remember why the Law was given. It was given to reveal divine holiness! It showed who God is… His standards of righteousness. When I look at the commandments I can see how far short I have fallen…and how I can never attain adherence to them of myself.

I was intrigued to learn that it took the Israelites about 40 hours to get out of Egypt but it took 40 years for the Israelites to find the promised land- or as I’ve heard is said somewhere before, “It took 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel.” However, the other interesting point is that Moses didn’t get to enter the promised land. Only two of the Israelites who were taken out of Egypt got to enter it and they were Joshua and ‘Master C’ . Al the others had died and there was a new generation.

Just before his death, before the entrance to the promised land, Moses gave a final word of admonition and exhortation or additional instruction. (Interestingly, Jesus also quotes this verse)
Moses was their leader. He helped them to live godly lives amongst heathen nations. As THE Word was taught to us, so we must teach it to our children.

God knows that our teachings, lives and beliefs can influence future generations. He wants us to think this way. How many generations can you see in the verses? Three! That means me, my children and my grandchildren!

I’ve heard many people say that they wish there was a? handbook or guidebook for this whole parenting caper. But there is!!!!! It is the Bible!

So, what are we to pass down to the generations- to our children. Head knowledge? Well, I believe it can start there but it must be more than that. It must be in our lives. The word must change us. Along with a knowledge of God we must also have a fear of the lord – a love. Otherwise, all we have is religion.

I wasn’t raised a Christian although my mother converted before I came to know the Lord so I say that my mother is the first generation Christian. It began with her :-)? She started to live out her life in God in front of me…and I picked up on that passion. I think that a possible danger for me is that I may become complacent in the living out of my faith and thus my children will become that way or even acknowledge God’s commands but not live in the fear or love of the Lord. Oh Lord, create in me a clean heart…keep my heart drawn to you.

I often ask myself if I am really excited about what God is doing in my life or has done for me? Do I share my walk with them? How are they to ‘catch’ my passion if I don’t share it with them?

Basic Wi-Fi behavior could enable a passing public user, who is connecting to the Wi-Fi router through its internal Wi-Fi link, to see the Wi-Fi network name from another location on the network and exploit that information in order to find out where the victim is, enabling the attacker to find out the precise location of the victim and/or access the victim’s private data.

The bug was initially reported in July, but the researchers only reported their findings to Cisco late Monday and have publicly disclosed the bug on Tuesday, the researchers said.

Cisco published a blog post Tuesday detailing the bug, which it says is the result of a “flaw in the device-to-device communications path within the WPA2 Wi-Fi Protected Access II network protocol.”

“This flaw was introduced by a third-party vendor when deploying the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi Protected Access II standard in 2012,” the researchers wrote.

“An attacker could exploit this flaw by connecting directly to an unauthenticated access point without first authenticating himself as a member of the access point’s authentication domain.” The researchers said they have not been able to replicate the flaw but noted that they were able to capture audio streams between devices within a private network, and that it was possible to manipulate the audio on a stream as a means to “obtain sensitive information.” The researchers said their findings should not “affect end-users that are unaware of this vulnerability.”

A Cisco statement said that “cisco believes it is important that vendors disclose known security issues to the public.” The company said it is continuing to work with researchers to “address this vulnerability.” Cisco Security Advisories can be found at: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7/productssecurityadvisories.html

If you want to keep reading more about the best internet providers, we recommend to try Eatel, they offer some of the best internet services.

Advent Readings

Looking for something to read? leading up to Christmas?

How about ‘Jotham’s Journey’ and the following books for future years?

Jotham’s Journey
Bartholemew’s Passage
Tabitha’s Travels

We have only read Jotham’s Journey so far but we all loved it!

Good Books To Read Before They Leave Home

There are so many books, aren’t there? There are so many good, worthy books to choose from. I will never read them all and neither will my children. I’ve thought long and hard for some time about the books that I especially desire my children to read and have come up with a very small list. Of course, we read many more books (especially historical fiction) but if this ALL that we could read, I’d be content.

Books that I want my children to read…one day…

Biographies ? lots of them. We try to read biographies of people who lived in the time period or the country or the subject that we are studying. Biographies of musician?s artists, scientists, missionaries, etc.

Seven Men Who Ruled the World from the Grave

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell

More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell

The Jesus I Never Knew and The Bible Jesus Read by Philip Yancey

Mere Christianity/ Screwtape Letters/ by C.S. Lewis

What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? By Yancey

Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler

Understanding the Times by David Noebel

Short Stories by Geoffrey Bingham

Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis

Mr. Pipes and the Hymns of the Reformation and other titles by Douglas Bond

Know Why You Believe by Paul Little

The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

How to be Your Own Selfish Pig by Susan Schaeffer

Fiction:

Mary Jones and her Bible

Christy?s Old Organ by Mrs. O.F. Walton

Pilgrim?s Progress (two or three times) by Paul Bunyan

A Basket of Flowers by C. von Schmid

How the Bible Came to Us by Meryl Doney

Older/Youth Fiction

Atonement Child, Mark of the Lion Trilogy, Selected books by Francine Rivers

Israel, My Beloved by Elizabeth George

Hadassah: One Night with the King by Tommy Tenney

Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Best of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

BIBLE STUDY GUIDES

Either Heart of Wisdom schedule with Calvary Chapel curriculum or

The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History

And for catechism study, Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade

I’d be interested in hearing in others thoughts on this topic.

Should You Register To Homeschool?

Do I have to register or follow a particular curriculum?

If only I had a penny for every time I’ve been asked this question.

In Australia, each state has different laws and different policies. I would encourage everyone to become familiar with their state’s laws and policies, so that they can make an informed decision, rather than a decision based on misinformation and fear. Personally, God is my highest authority and it is to Him that I am accountable. My children are individuals and the Course of Study that we have mapped out for each child is based on prayer, being open to the Holy Spirit and observing their lives, interests and talents. I would be quite worried if I had to pass someone else’s standard. I don’t think the issue is about whether or not my children would pass…it is that I don’t believe they should have to. Although I am probably a fairly free spirit and I often feel that as natural learners/Spirit-led learners we are relaxed in our home-based-learning, I am concerned about the educational standard of my children but not because I have to satisfy some external force… but because these children are my responsibility and I am accountable to God and to them! Deciding not to delegate the teaching of academics, rather to take on full responsibility for it was a HUGE decision… one that was not taken lightly. I am often on my knees before God… with respect to these young persons in my care… The last thing I need to do is to add to that by caring what someone outside of my family (who only has limited interest in my child) thinks or cares. My responsibility is to God, and not man.

Once I have delegated authority and responsibility to this other force/ system I am at their whim and mercy. This year it may be that they require me to tap dance… next year it may be jumping through hoops and the year after that it may be jump through hoops of fire! Who knows? The question is, in the long run who is responsible for the education of my children? The educational authorities or my husband and I? Why do I need to ask them for an opinion/permission?

What would I decide to do if the system was not happy with my endeavors at educating my children and ordered us to return them to a school where they must attend? What would our bottom line be? For us, it would go against our convictions to obey… so why would I ask them for permission in the first place if I don’t intend to respect and obey their decision?

If one decided NOT to abide by their decision and ended up in a court of law it could be argued that one delegated authority to the educational authorities by applying in the first place? one would be bound to obey. Unfortunately, the law doesn’t always suit each one’s thoughts or ideals, and just as ignorance is no excuse, neither is changing one?s mind when one decides that, (when it comes to interference in one’s chosen educational methods) enough is enough!

After obtaining legal advice, which if in doubt everyone should do, we wrote a letter to the SA Ed. Dept. years ago stating that we would never again ask for exemption of attendance from school or register because ‘they’ were not responsible for the education of our children and that we are. Of all our States & territories, only Victoria recognises that parents are fully responsible for the education of their children. All other states assume that the Minister for Education is responsible for the education of children. So, by applying for permission or registration we felt that we were actually agreeing with this situation!

We want the freedom to be able to raise our children, to educate them and care for them in every way (discipline, health, moral, emotional, etc). I think that parents should have the right to be able to home educate in whichever way they feel is best: Traditional, Classical, Unit studies, Unschooling / Child-directed / Delight-directed, Eclectic… whatever.

Some questions that I have asked myself are:

* Do I know what the law says with respect to home educating?
* Do I understand that there is a difference between Law and ‘policy’?
* Do I understand what my obligations are to the Ed. Dept and to my children?

Most importantly I’ve found it helpful to know the education laws for the State we live in, and what they mean for me. I’ve only been homeschooling for eight years (at time of writing this) across Australia and in that time I don’t believe that things have been made better for home educators by changes in legislation or regulations, nor do I believe that the situations will improve. It may appear to become more ‘homeschool friendly’ but in the long run I believe that the rights and responsibilities of parents will be tied to financial assistance, which will slowly cause to make more parents put themselves under the authority of government bodies. . Decide who to be answerable to…who to give account to…I believe that each family needs to do what is right for them, before God.

Seek Him!

We Actually Completed A Resource

As a home-school family, we have actually finished a curriculum resource! We actually used it from beginning to end- I am so surprised yet happy as I have that rare feeling of seeing something through to completion.

We have finished our Heart of Wisdom unit~ Adam to Abraham. We all enjoyed it and all of the children learned a lot. We also finished ?Adam and His Kin? and the children enjoyed it a lot more than the last time I tried to read it aloud. I started it a few years ago but I think that the girls might have been a bit too young and not have had as many *mental hooks* in place. This time round, it tied in beautifully with the HOW unit and was thoroughly enjoyed by all- even the boys. We also finished ?Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? and thought it was a hoot!

So, what next? I am putting the children back on to a more individual schedule as there are some things around the home that I need to focus on.

As a family, we will follow the ?Greenleaf Guide to the Old Testament? and I?m about to start ?Farmer Boy? as the read aloud. We?ll also continue ?The Fallacy Detective? as a family.

The children?s schedules are as follows:

A – dd

Heart of Wisdom unit on? Mesopotamia? along with the historical fiction,? ?God King?.
Finish reading ?Pride and Prejudice?.
English ? Writing for History/Bible, etc along with Wordly Wise.
Maths ? continue with Saxon Maths
Finish Life/Energy unit in Apologia Science
Finish reading ?As You Like It? and then watch a movie version.

R – dd

To read through the youth version of ?Evidence that demands a verdict? by Josh McDowell.
Maths ? continue with Saxon Maths
English ? Wordly Wise, Copywork and Dictation, write a book synopsis on a literature selection.
Read a Shakespeare play thoroughly and then watch a movie version.
Continue on with ?Basic Science Mysteries?.

J – ds

Read from ?Day by Day Bible’? and then narrate to me.
Maths ? Continue with Singapore Maths
English ? Continue with LLATL, Copywork and Dictation, Wordly Wise.
Continue reading ?The Mexican Twins? by Lucy Fitch Perkins and ?The House of Pooh? by A.A. Milne.
Read another Leslie Rees book for Nature Study.
Continue to slowly read through Arthur Mee?s, ?Talks to Boys?.
Read a ?Horrible Science? book and narrate.

C – ds
I haven’t figured this far yet ~ hope to do it tomorrow.

Constant Chatter

Our home is noisy! Our home is loud! And is filled with constant talk! But, this is a good thing- discussion is a cord that helps to bind the family together. Nevertheless, constant talk can be a drain upon others and it isn’t necessarily beneficial for the talker either. We have discussed a few slogans that have been able to help us to control our tongue- I’ll share them here.

THINK

T – It is True?
H – Is it Helpful?
I – Is it Inspiring?
N – Is it Necessary?
K – Is it Kind?

“The good person brings forth good things from his store of good, and the evil person brings forth evil things from his store of evil. Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken; for by your own words you will be acquitted, and by your own words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12: 35-37

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“If you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
~Acts 13:15

Speak when the words build up.

Speak if the words bring a smile.

Speak where reassurance is needed.

Speak what gives hearts courage.

Speak how He would.

Words that encourage. Words that give life. Words that bless. If you have those kinds of words on the tip of your tongue, then please speak.

Otherwise, maybe it is best not to.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Practice of the Presence of God. 2

Well, I’m trying to read The Practice of the Presence of God. I’ve endeavored to take notes as I often do with a lot of books. But, I’ll confess that I’m having a hard time with it…maybe I’m going through a few things which I’m struggling with but I’m finding it hard to practice the presence of God each day, all day, especially the hard times.

Nevertheless, I said I’d put my notes here and so I will…but you have been forewarned. I’ve had a week where I felt I didn’t cope very well. Everything seemed to go wrong: the car broke down a few times; once on the way to a paediatrician’s appointment and another time on the way to art class. Of course, we weren’t helped by the fact that we left a little late because for some unknown reason our clothes dryer decided to go on strike and stop working, leaving ‘Miss R’ with no jumper until it dried over the heater. At least the dryer is now employed again and has resumed its usual service. However, even having the car for the day is no easy feat! My 12yodd lost my identification pass so that I now can’t take John into work without stopping at the gates, filling in forms and getting a pass. This all seems ridiculous seeing that we only live a few minutes away but it’s cold and my hubby ain’t gettin’ any younger.

I also struggle with shopping week. It just seems to stressful. I go to one town to pay laybye’s and shop for clothes and all my bulk foods like seeds, nuts, grains, and flours. I’ve been having some trouble with paypal that has caused me some angst. It seems that some overseas sellers will not accept credit card payment through paypal yet there is no way that I can transfer funds from my account into my paypal account! After weeks of trying, and having a mutual agreement with a seller to pull out of one sale, I finally figured a way round this, but not without the help of a friend! This takes care of Thursday.

Friday is the day when we go to the closer town and do shopping for various things like stationary, or the Post Office, thrift store shopping, Christian book store and other bookstores and then we go to Coles or Woolworths to do our usual grocery shopping before we head to the butchers and the green grocer. On the way home, we fill the car up with fuel and then one of the children will ALWAYS ask me what is for tea that night!!! Can you believe that we’ve been shopping, the car is full of groceries and food yet I have no idea what we can eat that night? How or why is this so?

All this just tops off a week where I feel like I’m not getting any time or lessons with the children. We have so many interruptions! We live with the consequences of our previous actions and sometimes it is draining, so very draining. I REALLY want to feel the presence of God…to practice the presence of God but I start to get cynical about this book. You know, I’m sure I’m not the only one who says things like this…

“Yeah well, I bet he didn’t have to live with a car that breaks down regularly while trying to get a child to the doctor and have to rush back home again to feed seven people and worry about whether or not the children can read and write…” that sort of cynicism. I’m in danger of losing the spirit of the message so I might put it away for a few days and just spend some time in God’s Word until I feel ready to tackle it again. It’s strange but the Word never makes me feel like that- in fact, I often relate to the walk of the Israelites and I see the character and nature of God throughout their story- yet I don’t feel cynical or condemned.

So, for now I’m putting ‘The Practice’ aside while I just go to God’s Word. I’ll just post recipes instead.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Delight-Directed Education- Resources For Each Child

Classical? CM? Unit Studies? Workbooks? Natural Learning?
Acckkk! What’s a person to think of all these labels? They are labels that help us to define *how* we learn at home. Hopefully though, no-one feels the need to conform to these methods rather feel free to what from them what they need.

Here are a few resources that we are currently using in our home-based studies.

BIBLE ‘Miss A’ is reading through a chronological Bible plus various other books like, ‘Case for Easter’, ‘Case for Christ‘ by Lee Strobel. ‘Miss R’ is going through ‘Genesis, Finding Our Roots‘ by Ruth Beechick plus various other books like, ‘Prayer is an Adventure‘ and ‘Young Person?s Guide to Knowing God‘ by Patricia St. John. John is just starting to learn to read his Bible for himself. Our devotions are not daily- we do not have rigid or regular devotion times.

MATHS ‘Miss A’ and ‘Miss R’ use Saxon and John and ‘Master C’ are using Singapore Maths.

ENGLISH ‘Miss A’ uses LLATL, and some units from ‘Write With the Best‘ along with Copywork, and Wordly Wise. ‘Miss R’ does a unit from WWtB here and there and Copywork and WW. John & ‘Master C’ are using Rod & Staff and John is doing Wordly Wise plus Copywork.

SCIENCE ‘Miss A’ is going through all of the John Tiner books and is currently working through ‘Exploring the World of Chemistry‘ along with the ‘Mystery of the Periodic Table‘. When she finishes this, she will go back to Apologia General. ‘Miss R’ does various living books and will soon be starting the ‘High School Science Mysteries‘ by John Tiner. John and ‘Master C’ read (or are read to) various books from *living* to a little twaddly but they love them. Some in the Horrible Science series and John Tiner’s biography books. Plus, ‘Wonderland of Nature‘ by Nuri Mass.

GEOGRAPHY John & ‘Master C’ are being helped by ‘Miss R’ using Leagues & Legends and the accompanying workbook. And I read ‘Exploring Planet Earth‘ (Tiner) to the three of them. ‘Miss A’ is nearly finished EPE so she does that by herself. After that, we will go on to ‘Exploring the World Around Us‘, yep, also by Tiner.

CHURCH HISTORY ‘Mr. Pipes & the Hymns of the Reformation‘. Selected chapters from ?Trial & Triumph? and the ?One Year Book of Christian History? and ?100 Most Important Events in Christian History?.

POETRY Each child reads poetry about twice a week from their poetry book that I made from from suggestions from AmblesideOnline. ‘Miss A’ & ‘Miss R’ do a poet or poem synopsis occasionally, just so I know how they’re going.

AUSTRALIAN STUDIES Each child has been working through an Australian Society and Environment workbook and doing assignments using this book as a spine.

SHAKESPEARE Both girls choose 2 plays per year and explore them- starting with easy stories such as Lamb, Nesbit or Mee, then the unabridged play (or even excerpts are fine with me) and then a movie.

LITERATURE ‘Miss A’ is reading through Arthur Mee’s writings to gain an overview of English Literature. Other than that I don’t have much of a formal list anymore as the girls are so very good at choosing their own good literature. Plus, they read a lot for their history studies as well.

HISTORY We are taking a break from history at the moment while we finish some Aust studies and then we will finish a *modified* version of SL 5- Eastern Hemisphere Studies.

ART Just hasn’t happened this year so far.

MUSIC Formally? Hasn’t happened yet. Informally? All the time!

We use movies, TV, the newspaper and discussion * a lot* in our home too. As to a schedule- argh, one isn’t happening here at the moment! We try to get up, have brekky, do chores and all head into the book room but even that simple routine has been all over the place this year. I have a ‘Course of Study’ that I have mapped out for each child but it doesn’t need to be done in one year, rather over the 4 – 10 years.While it isn’t happening for us at the moment as I’d like it to, we just keep plodding along knowing that life has its different seasons and that one day, we will bog in and hit the books again. I don’t worry or stress (Well, sometimes I do) but just keep plodding along when I can.

To Have and To Hold

Seventeen years ago my life drastically changed...all with two little words...but oh, so much more than words.

"I do"

The commitment that goes with those words is life changing...breath-taking..awesome.

I studied a man on Saturday...looked deep into his face and saw the lines around his eyes, the greying hair and other things that tell of the passing years. But I didn't see that...instead I saw a man who has accepted me wholeheartedly. A man who would lay down his life for me, who has given up some of his dreams in order to provide for me; a man who has stood by me and continually thinks of my welfare. A man whom I've shared both tears and laughter with, angry words and forgiving words...has been there like no-one else ever has for me. Deep, true and honest love welled inside of me at recalling memories of my husband.

Yet, I was also reminded that there is One who knows even more of me...who has had to forgive more and sacrifice more for me. He bought me at a great price...who rescued me even when I didn't realise that I needed it. He completely gave of Himself, emptied Himself so that I could be *His*. What great and glorious love is this...that I might live in Him.

Thank you Lord, thank you for marriage and the picture of You that it is. Thank you for loving me completely and the great sacrifice you made to make me yours.Thank you for making me your *beloved*.

Make The Most Of A Book Fair

Book Fairs? Curriculum Fairs? Don’t you love them? I do!
But, I had to devise a strategy so that I could get the most from them. Here are the things that I try to do in order to survive a book fair.Check with friends as to their *must-have* books. Devise plan of action so that we do not fight 😉

Have a pre-arranged amount of spending money and know that I will stick to it.

Take esky and/or thermos for drinks and sandwiches and also doubles as a stool.

Backpack containing : Sandwiches. Water bottles. Snacks for kids.Thermos of tea. Lego or other toys for kids.

Large bags for books. (Red & White stripey bags) Or bag on wheels. (Gee, a shopping trolley would be ideal eh?)

Wear layers of clothing- t-shirt, jumper, etc. I have to be comfortable. Wear comfy shoes.

Take my glasses!

Assign ‘Miss R’ and ‘Miss A’ to areas. Devise their booklists. (‘Miss A’ takes cooking and literature while Becky takes Rare, Children’s and Nature)

Find suitable area for younger kids to settle.

Go up and down the aisles so that I can read the spines of books.

After collecting and gathering, sit down with a cuppa and go through
them all. Weed them out and see if other homeschoolers want to go through
discard pile. Ask other homeschoolers if I can peruse their discard pile 🙂

Sort books by category- HB, PB, etc

Queue lines and pay. Accepts credit and eftpos but take cash!

Have pizza delivery slips on table for easy access or we starve that
night because Mum won’t be cooking!

Have table cleaned down to peruse my new books with a fresh cuppa.
😎

Our Family Bible study

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
~Proverbs 25:2

The Bible can be a mystery- we want to read it and study but how? How can we study the Bible for ourselves, and lead our children into a lifetime love of study of the word of God? The Bible isn’t an easy book to read, let’s be honest about it. In fact, it isn’t one book- it’s a whole library containing sixty-six books! However, that shouldn’t deter us from reading and understanding it. It’s good that we desire for our children to read the Bible. This site is an attempt to give you some tools to do just this: read, understand and communicate the word of God. As Christian home educators the question of why should we read the Bible isn’t the biggest question, rather the how should we read it?

Many Christian home-school parents are aware of their own deficiencies in various subject areas so they spend money or time to ensure that their child receives an adequate education in that area. As believers, God’s children, we have been given the awesome task of discipling our children, of hiding God’s Word in their hearts, of leading them to His feet. If we value our Christianity and believe it is something worthwhile, something of value to be passed on, do we impress that upon our children…do they know what is truly important to us? While reading and studying the Bible together, our children will learn what is most important to us…we have to model (live) the behaviour and attitudes we want to instill in our children. In many Christian schools and even some home-schools, Bible, Religion or Christian Faith is tacked onto the school day as though it is an elective. Parents of newborns, teens and new home-schoolers often lament over the lack of an Instruction Manual for parenting and life. But we have one!

It’s the Bible!
If our goal is, as Christian parents, to train and raise our children to the glory of God, then surely study of the word must have a strong focus in our home. Surely we need to be God-focussed with our education. Biblical illiteracy is the front-runner to deception! Don’t let this happen to your child. Don’t let this happen to you!

We hope that this site encourages, informs, edifies and equips as you pursue your study of God and His word.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
(2 Tim. 3:16–17)

Our Family Goals

Our goal in studying the Bible is that we may know God…that we may know the mind of Christ…that we may be transformed by the power of the gospel, and to grow a Christian world-view.

Below are some of our family’s goals. Have you considered your own goals for your family? They will probably look different to our goals, and that’s the way it should be. I list our goals to give you ideas, in case you have not reflected on this as yet.

Read through the Bible twice in the years while they are at home with us.
To memorise key verses. (Hide the word in our hearts)
To read key books of the Bible several times – develop a lifetime habit of studying the Bible.
To learn how to use resource tools-to use study materials such as, concordances, lexicons, and dictionaries.
To learn the flow of biblical history and geography.
Learn from Proverbs and practical wisdom.
Learn about the life of Christ and develop a relationship with Him.
To learn about the story of God’s kingdom on earth- the history of the church.
Become hears and doers of the Word!
To learn the fundamental truths of who God is, and what He has done and therefore, what he requires.

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 9:23-34

Which Bible?

Which Bible do we use?

Quite a few! Some are better than others for reading or studying. What am I able to read and understand? What will I actually read, as opposed to leave sitting on the bedside table? The Bible has been translated into over 75 different translations! Many countries don’t have a Bible in their own language. But before we go there, let’s take a quick look at the different types of translations.

Some people are confused by the various translations on offer. In summary, there are two types:

Actual Translations.
These are translated from the Hebrew test of the Old Testament and the Greek text of the New Testament. These are Bible such as, King James Bible, Revised Version, and the Revised Standard Version. Then, there are other translations which were very carefully translated such as, The New English Bible, The Good News Bible, and The New International Version.

Paraphrased Translations
Paraphrased Translations such as the Living Bible, The Message and the Amplified Bible can be beneficial for understanding the richness of God’s Word by using modern vocabulary, but not for study. Don’t use these types for Bible Study.

Types of Bibles:
Each translation comes in different formats. There are Study Bibles, Devotional Bibles, and more. A Study Bible has notes and explanations which can be very helpful. Some Bibles have a concordance built in with it. Many Bibles contain historical and geographical maps but these individual reference books can also be purchased separately.

Want more? Read on…

When translating from the original language (Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek) to the Receptor language (in our case, English) there are three ways in which translators go about it.Translators, theologians, clergy and laymen have been debating for centuries over which approach is most accurate in communicating the message of the gospel. I find it helpful in using more than one translation and in our studies we will often three translations – one from each translation theory group.

Translation Types:

Dynamic equivalence translation: A “Dynamic Equivalent” attempts to used the original language as a guide in translating, and then “elaborates” to enhance understanding. The aim is to convey the ‘thought’ of a text.

Formal equivalence translation (similar to literal translation: word-for-word) Some translators use the formal correspondence approach, translating word for word. This may sometimes cause a sentence to sound a little awkward but it is a word-for-word translation. A “Word-for-Word” translation attempts to add the fewest number of additional words to the translation, and when they do, the generally place the added words in italics.

Idiomatic, or Paraphrastic translation. A “Paraphrase” simply attempts to put the meaning of the text into modern day English

Word-for-Word Translations

The American Standard Version, (ASV) also known as the Standard American Edition, Revised Version, is a revised version of the KJV. It was completed in 1885 and newly edited by the American Revision Committee in 1901.
The Holman Christian Standard (HCS) is a highly readable, accurate translation written in modern English. It is published by Holman Bible Publishers.
The English Standard Version Bible (ESV) is a relatively new Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and readability.
The King James Version (KJV) is the first version of Scripture authorized by the Protestant church and commissioned by England’s King James I.
The New American Standard (NAS) is written in a formal style, but is more readable than the King James Version. It is highly respected as the most literal English translation of the Bible.
The New King James Version (NKJ) is a modern language update of the original King James Version. It retains much of the traditional interpretation and sentence structure of the KJV.

Thought-for-Thought

The Good News Translation (GNT) was first published in 1976 by the American Bible Society in a “common language.” The simple, everyday language makes it especially popular for children and those learning English.
The New Living Translation (NLT) uses modern English. The translators focused on producing clarity in the meaning of the text rather than a word-for-word text. They wanted however, to remain faithful to the original texts.

Combination of Word-for-Word and Thought-for-Thought

The New International Version (NIV) offers a balance between a word-for-word and thought-for-thought translation and is considered by many as a highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English.It reads more smoothly than most translations and scholars praise it for its accuracy. It was put together by a large team of well recognized Bible scholars.
The New Revised Standard (NRS) is a popular translation that follows in the traditions of the King James and Revised Standard Versions. It was written with the goal of preserving the best of the older versions while incorporating modern English.
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is a revision of the King James Version, the Revised Version, and American Standard Version. This text is intended for both private reading and public worship.

English Paraphrases

The Message (MSG) is a paraphrase from the original languages written by Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor and an excellent writer. It’s great for light reading. Actually, that’s what it id designed for…no verse marks so it’s easy to just pick up and read. However, I believe that Mr. Peterson takes great liberties with words/sentences in his attempt to effectively communicate the thoughts of Scripture(Thought-for-thought, paraphrase)
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips. This is, In my opinion, one of the better paraphrases. This version translates some of the Greek puns and word plays that are sometimes lost in word-for-word translations.especially handy when reading letters written by Paul.
The Living Bible (LB),is a paraphrase of the American Standard Version. It is easy to read and was my first ever Bible!

The following is a chart comparing the different English translations of the Bible. I hope this helps you in selecting a translation.

The important thing to remember is that the central theme of the Bible is the coming of Jesus Christ, his ministry, death and resurrection. This page is not designed to be authoritative or exhaustive on the subject (far from it) but to give a general idea of the different types of versions/translations available today.

The key is: JUST DO IT! The gospel the good news of Christ and His work on the cross] is the power of God for salvation. You won’t be saved by which translation you read, so go on…grab a translation or two and read it…today!

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