Apples of Gold Home School News

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Volume 13                                                                                                                                       Latest updates and posts added on August 29th

    Welcome to Apples of Gold Homeschool News!

Scroll Down for the latest news, updates, and ideas.                 Click on An-Apple-a-Day to join in the discussion on these most recent topics/articles as well as a host of others:

*My son...my son" - Thoughts on Preparing for the School Year

*Feeling Sifted? (Doing Battle with Satan's Certain Attack)

*Let's Go Shopping at a Used Book Sale! (Joys of Book Sales)

*Thwarting Our Common Enemy, Remembering Our Common Goal (Passing Judgment on Others)

*Homeschool "Daily Scales" Practice (3 Life Principals to Keep Us Limber)  

On This Page:

*The Secret to Homeschooling Freedom  - How the Self-Teaching Method Can Revolutionize Your Homeschool!

*Leaders are Readers - Parents, do you find time for reading in your busy schedule? Where and how do you begin? Read the inspiring article below for starters!

*A Home School Retreat - Find out about the keynote speaker at this October weekend family retreat for homeschoolers.

New on the Calendar of Events Page: 

• Homeschool Bullets Boys Basketball Information
• Free Ballet Presentation for 3rd-5th graders 
• Fall Rollerskating Schedule
• Free Woodworking Projects Classes
• Homeschool Writer's Contest
• Homeschool and Parenting Conference
• Eagle's 4-H September meeting announcements and Camp-out details

We've added a new page! Check out some of the terrific sites on the Fantastic Links page.

Home School Enrichment magazine is currently offering a free downloadable report on their website entitled “The Secret to Homeschooling Freedom: How the Self-Teaching Method Can Revolutionize Your Homeschool!”  This report consists of the series of articles Joanne Calderwood wrote for them last year that was featured in HSE. To download this "practical approach to teaching that will save your sanity and prevent burnout" click on the link: http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com/resources/report.htm

The following is reprinted with permission from Pastor James Walsh - Selah - Mission Covenant Church - Poplar, WI

Pick Up A Book This Summer

As ministry leaders we use a lot of different methods to keep growing. We attend conferences. We find mentors. We listen to pod casts. But one of my favorite ways to grow as a leader is to read. Our Conference Superintendent frequently tells our church staff – “every leader is a reader.” Not all readersare leaders, but all leaders are readers. If you’re going to lead, you’ve got to be thinking further in advance than the people that you’re leading. That means you have to be reading.

Paul understood this. In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy from prison: “When I was in Troas, I left my coat there with Carpus. So when you come, bring it to me, along with my books, particularly the ones written on parchment.”

Paul is at the end of his life. He’s in prison. He says he wants two things – his coat and his books. C. H. Spurgeon, commenting on this passage, says, “He is inspired, yet he wants books. He has been preaching at least 30 years, yet he wants books. He’s seen the Lord, yet he wants books. He’s had a wider experience than most men, yet he wants books. He’s been caught up to heaven and has heard things that are unlawful to utter, yet he wants books. He’s written a major part of the New Testament, yet he wants books.”

We should all want to grow like Paul did. And we should value reading like he did. But our time is precious. So how do we get the most out of our limited time to read?

Here are seven tips that I’ve picked up and used:

1. Analyze your reading habits.

Ask yourself important questions about your reading habits, such as:

Is your reading planned or spasmodic? If you don’t plan your reading, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time on books that will have limited impact. Reading takes time, so choose the books you read carefully. Be intentional. How many books have I read per year? I remember reading a book that claimed the average pastor reads only 2-5 books per year and the average lay person 1 book per year. It’s no wonder our churches aren’t growing in the United States.

2. Schedule time for reading.

The schedule is going to vary with each person. You have to decide the time that’s best for you – probably when you’re uninterrupted. I read primarily at night. There’s very little on the television that’s worthwhile. If you just set aside 15 minutes a day, you’ll read up to two dozen books a year. That means in a normal lifetime, you would read more than 1,000 books. That’s equivalent to going through college five times.

3. Balance your reading.

The biggest mistake we make is to concentrate our reading on our own favorite field. You like a certain area, so you tend to read over and over in that area. In a sense that’s OK. If you don’t read often, that’s a good place to get started. But you need to get occasionally outside of your pet subjects.

4. Don’t just read a book; respond to it.

Practice active reading. Mark up your books. I always read with a pencil in my hand. Even when I’m reading magazines, I’ve got a pencil in my hand. A book only becomes your book when you mark it up. The most important thing about a book is not what it teaches you. It’s what it stimulates in you. I’ll often read something, then write down its application to our church. A. W. Tozer said, “One of the tests of a really fine book is while you’re reading it, you put it down to start thinking.”

5. Know what not to read.

The best way to save time in reading is to be discriminating. James Bryce says “Life is too short to spend it reading inferior books.” More than 1,000 books are produced around the world each day. Several thousand new religious titles come out every year. The Christian Booksellers Convention is big business. As a result, many Christian books are not worth reading.

6. Make a monthly trip to the library.

Put on your calendar a monthly trip to the library. Why? Not for Christian books, which you’ll rarely find at the library. Instead, go to see what’s new in other areas. I look for books on management, advertising, human behavior, psychology, and other secular disciplines. But the most important reason I take this monthly trip is to get caught up on the latest magazines. That way I don’t have to subscribe to them. (Most of them aren’t worth a subscription.) You can cover about 40 magazines in two hours. Flip through them. Once in a while, you’ll find a good article, and you can photocopy it. Most of my illustrations come from Time, Newsweek, and other current publications. Why? That’s what people are reading.

7. Build your own library.

Books also make a great heritage to pass on to your children. Whether your kids go into ministry or not, you’ll be able to give them a library that’s invaluable – because you’ve been collecting the books for years. That’s an instant heritage you can pass on. Reading is an invaluable habit if you want to grow. Remember, all leaders are readers!

In Christ,

Pastor James

SUGGESTED SUMMER READING LIST

Non-fiction Christian books

On the Bible: (Besides the Bible)

Craig Blomberg’s The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (IVP, 2nd edition, 2008.) This makes the case that the Biblical account of Jesus is not legend but historically trustworthy. Blomberg incorporates insights from Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, an important work but much longer and more difficult to read.

On Jesus:

Scot McKnight’s the Jesus Creed. A wonderful look at the Shema and Jesus’ teaching. For a summer devotional use the shorter 40 Days Living The Jesus Creed.

On the Resurrection:

N.T.Wright, Surprised by Hope (HarperOne, 2008) It’s always a little dangerous to recommend a thick book, but I suggest it because it is basically a shorter and more accessible summary of his bigger classic The Resurrection of the Son of God, which is wonderful but very long and academic. This book is not for the faint of heart.

On Church History:

Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Baker, 2001, 2nd ed) This is maybe the best, short, accessible overview of Christian history. It doesn’t try to survey every century, but chooses 10 major turning points (the split between the eastern and western church c.1000AD, the Reformation, the Great Awakening, etc)

On Faith and Culture:

Andy Crouch, Culture-Making: Recovering our Creative Calling (IVP, 2008) This is coming up during the summer, so order it and read it before Labor Day. It’s one of the best books yet on how Christians can integrate their faith with their work.

General:

C.S.Lewis, Mere Christianity (Harper, 1952)If you have already read it, read one of the other big CSL classics: The Screwtape Letters or The Great Divorce or even The Narnia Chronicles.

Beach/Cabin Books:

Series picks to keep you busy at the beach or cabin (mostly secular fiction, except Lewis, Tolkien, and Chesterton, but nothing offensive)

1. Patrick O’Brian’s novels of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars. Features the friendship of Stephen Maturin (physician) and Jack Aubrey (ship’s captain) and their adventures in exploration, seafaring, and political intrigue. Also romance and sea battles, sometimes indistinguishable… Written in the style of the period, using contemporary diaries and descriptions of battles, storms, events.

2. The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters(archeology, mystery, romance, women's’ rights and quite a lot of information about the early years of excavation in Egypt. Set in 1885-1920. )

3. John Adams by David McCullough. Read McCullough’s John Adams or 1776 to get you pumped about firing off those fireworks for the 4th of July.

4. Anything by Jane Austen. (Guys Beware)

5. Classic English mystery: Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Josephine Tey. Also, GK Chesterton’s Father Brown series of short stories, featuring Columbo’s spiritual ancestor, Father Brown.

6. Laurie R. King’s recent series featuring the retired Sherlock Holmes and his young wife. The first in the series is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.

7. For fans of historical novels, Dorothy Dunnett’s Francis Crawford of Lymond series set in the 16th century. Unquestionably the best historical novels ever written. All have chess themed titles; the first is The Game of Kings. Hang on; it took me a while to get into them.

8. If you just don’t think the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is for you, think again. Force it down, it will change your world.

A big thank you to everyone who took part in the Apples of Gold Used Book Sale (both buyers and sellers)! We will begin planning next year's event by January, so start sorting your library early! It will be held at about the same time as this year's sale. Keep loving those books!

Keynote Speaker Pastor Dan Deatrick

Even though the Home School Retreat is still a few months away, we would like to provide a little background information concerning our main speaker, Pastor Dan Deatrick. Saved at the age of nine, Pastor Deatrick began preaching and filling pulpits during his last two years of high school. Pastor Deatrick started a church in Ellisville, Missouri after graduating from Bible College and he has been the pastor of this church for eleven years.  He then began to serve as pastor of First Baptist Church of Wayland.  While serving full-time as pastor, Pastor Deatrick and his wife have home schooled their six children since 1988. Four of their children are now serving the Lord either in churches as pastors or leaders or working as missionaries.  Their two youngest sons are currently finishing their schooling before heading on to full-time ministry. Pastor Deatrick has much wisdom and experience in areas pertaining to home schooling and we look forward to hearing him preach during the Home School Retreat.  Find out more next week about Pastor Deatrick’s topics and other keynote speakers.

How Does Your Church Support Home Schooling?

Jonathan Lewis, editor at Home School Enrichment magazine, is trying to collect some ideas on what churches across the country are doing to support the homeschoolers in their congregations, in terms of support groups, co-ops, activities, etc. If your church has any kind of support for homeschoolers whatsoever, he’d be interested in learning more about it. You can email him at jonathan@HomeSchoolEnrichment.com .

If you are earning an undergraduate degree (e.g. an associate's or bachelor's degree) you may be able to accelerate your degree by taking CLEP tests. CLEP is an acronym for College-Level Examination Program. It is a test that you can take to demonstrate your knowledge in a specific subject.

There are a number of colleges that allow you to take CLEP test to accelerate your degree, especially if you enroll in an online program. The fee is US$65.00 per test, with testing sites all over the United States. You can take a CLEP test for a number of academic subjects, like: Composition & Literature, History & Social Sciences, Science & Mathematics, Foreign Languages, and Business.

Each college differs in its CLEP test acceptance policy. Talk to an Enrollment Counselor or Advisor about CLEP testing.