Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

“Grandpa, Tell Me About the Good Old Days”

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“Grandpa, Tell Me About the Good Old Days”






Do you remember the song Grandpa, sung by the famous country music artists, The Judd’s?
Some of the words go like this:
Tell me 'bout the good ole days/ Sometimes it feels like/ This world's gone crazy./ Grandpa, take me back to yesterday/ Where the line between right and wrong/ Didn't seem so hazy.
Did lovers really fall in love to stay?/ Stand beside each other come what may/Was a promise really something people kept/ Not just something they would say?/ Did families really bow their heads to pray?/ Did daddies really never go away?/ Whoa oh Grandpa/ Tell me 'bout the good ole days.
Grandpa/ Everything is changing fast./ We call it progress,/But I just don't know./ And Grandpa, let's wander back into the past,/ And paint me a picture of long ago.
Did you notice the line, “Where the line between right and wrong didn't seem so hazy”?
Do you ever ask yourself what happened to the good old days? While flipping the TV channels, I ran across a sitcom with two lesbians as major characters. It was at that moment that I reflected back on what I felt were the “good ole days.” Remember the family shows such as “The Andy Griffith Show”?
Again I ask, what happened to the world I grew up in; the world where there were family sitcoms with a traditional family? What happened to the world where Christian values were the norm? Schools and government building openly posted the Ten Commandments. Now, the Ten Commandments are ordered to be removed by atheists fighting to get God out of the schools and government buildings.
What used to be a taboo to talk about in the “good ole days” is now openly flaunted and worn as a badge of courage! People who oppose these lifestyles because of religious convictions can easily find themselves in a lawsuit or their business closed, or even fired from their job. Everyone has rights and a voice; everything is tolerated, it seems, except the Christian conservative values.
Here’s what has happened to the world I grew up in: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God , having a form of godliness but denying its power” (Timothy 3:2, emphasis added). Isaiah:5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
Thankfully, there is hope, hope of a new world coming! A world even better than the world I remember in the “good ole days.” We are to watch, be vigilant in our obedience to God, and not be swept into this declining world. Be a light, a shining example of how God’s way works to your neighbors. Perhaps we can help influence people for the better. And we can take comfort that God will intervene and restore His laws on society, which will produce total peace and happiness for eternity.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Free Bible Study Materials for Homeschooling Families

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632. Please follow on twitter here: https://twitter.com/UCGElPaso.




Free Bible Study Materials for Homeschooling Families






Free Bible Study Materials for Homeschooling Families
Source: Sherrie Giddens
If you are a homeschooling parent, you are probably in the process of considering next year's course of study. After looking through the various company catalogs offering full curriculum choices, or taking the time to seek out used and less expensive options for your needs; your budget might be hitting its limit. Gaining access to quality educational material that is also affordable, can mean searching through various websites and is a time consuming endeavor.
The United Church of God offers several study guides that might be of interest when it comes to Bible Study courses and religious training. All materials are free of charge and written to encourage, uplift, and educate the reader.
Sabbath School lessons for children in levels K - 5 are available. Each level is designed for 10 months with 4 lessons per month. Parents can teach the lessons and then use them to create follow up conversations and activities.
The Teen Bible Study Discussion Guides have been designed to fit the needs of a family. You may want your older teens to use them as a launching pad for independent study while the younger teens in your family choose to list examples of how the study can apply to life today. Since there is no one way to use the guides, they will allow for flexibility and creativity when it comes to Bible study and your homeschool.
Vertical Thought Magazine is a magazine of understanding for tomorrow's leaders. It brings relevant content to young people ages 12-22 in helping them to discover and live God's way of life. While this magazine can be used in the homeschool environment, as a learning tool, it is also an invaluable addition to any home where raising great kids into great adults is a daily focus.
For the student who is looking for a more in-depth study or is interested in learning on a more adult level, you might consider the Bible Study Course or the free booklets which are available on various topics of interest.
While this school year draws to an end and plans for the next year are already being made, consider making these free materials a part of your family's Biblical studies. As parents we can ensure a better life for our children when we provide them with a straight path, using God's word and His way of life as the foundation.