Cherry Ames, Veterans' Nurse: A Living Book

Here is what I would consider an ideal example of what Charlotte Mason called a "living" book.  Several years ago, I stumbled upon the Cherry Ames series, and began collecting volumes as I find them in thrift stores, Goodwill, or even through a rare deal online.  They captivate adults as well as children, and my 8-year-old and I have delighted in them for over a year.

Nancy Drew aficionados will savor this series.  Although Cherry is a nurse and not a detective, there is usually an element of mystery woven into the plot.  As in Nancy Drew books, the author brings readers to a high level of vocabulary and information, rather than talking "down" to children as modern literature tends to do.  Cherry is a winsome protagonist, a jovial caregiver who goes the extra mile for her patients.  

Veteran's Nurse, book six in the series, has Cherry occupied at a rehabilitation hospital for convalescing soldiers following World War II.  Written in 1946, this book captures the mood of our country at the time, and shows the challenges faced by nurses seeking to aid wounded soldiers in fitting back into civilian life.  Forget impersonal textbooks or lists of facts; Veteran's Nurse will suffice in piquing young peoples' interest in this rich historical era.

Charlotte's goal in teaching history, science, and literature through living books was to make it come alive for students, to give them a reason to care about and enjoy the subject.  Dry dates will never spark curiosity, but I am begged countless times for "one more chapter!" of a living book.  It's a much more gratifying experience for the teacher and/or parent as well.  

Cherry Ames is also an ideal role model for kids interested in nursing or the medical field.  Again, details are rich in vocabulary and terminology.  These books teach about "probies," the capping ceremony, the psychology used in dealing with patients from children to soldiers to senior citizens, a litany of medicines and procedures, and the hierarchy and methods involved in daily hospital performance.  Readers will discover the stamina required and challenges that come with being a nurse.

Be on the lookout for Cherry Ames.  She is a well-kept secret worth dusting off, even for adults seeking leisurely evening or beach reading.  Early books were published with plain brownish-red covers, so keep your eyes peeled when digging through Goodwill bins.  Visitors to my house will see copies of Cherry's series all throughout, as she has become a regular with us.

A Vile Attack Against My Motherhood

My motherhood and relationship with my children has been under attack since I was a child myself.  If a little girl can be made to feel useless and dirty, then she has the potential to grow into a mother who is easy prey for the enemy's lies. She fears at every turn that her toxicity has seeped into the hearts and minds of her little ones. 

There is a "protector" piece of my heart that usurped God's role as Protector long ago; one who, out of good intentions, felt it was her job to rescue little, helpless me.  My head is understanding that Christ wants to tenderly take my self-created protector and gently sit her down so He can take over what belonged to Him in the first place.  My heart is taking its time getting there, but God knows how to heal my wounds His own way.  David says in Psalm 27, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." (27:14, my italics).  I also see a perfect picture of God's protection in Psalm 23.  Sometimes it takes a while for my heart to catch up to what my head "knows," but I rest in the fact that God's Word says it, even if I have trouble getting it.  My heart isn't beyond His reach.

There is a balance between awareness of the enemy's schemes to derail us, and being obsessed with how he works.  Christ Himself was looked upon as a target and had apt words for Satan, yet He never feared or went looking for him.  In the preface to The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis notes,

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." (Lewis, 1942)

My position is that although most Christ-followers acknowledge the presence of evil, many fail to see the slow, deliberate damage done through the wiles of the enemy and his minions.  We fret and fear, wallowing in guilt and self-condemnation because of the lies he shrewdly weaves into our daily lives.  It is time to expose the darkness and live in the freedom that Christ has given us.  Note that this is not said motivational speaker-style, fist in the air, expecting applause and "Amen!"s.  These are the trenches of the narrow road, calling only those courageous enough to be "refined...but not as silver...tested...in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10).  This is walking "through the valley of the shadow of death"-type stuff (Psalm 23:4).  Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 12:7 as "a thorn in the flesh...a messenger of Satan to buffet me," and begged the Lord "three times" to take it away.  This, brother or sister in Christ, is what we have signed up for.

Because my eyes have been opened to the schemes of the fiend, his maneuvers to scare me and get me to believe lies have kicked up to the varsity level.  I will not relent in making the darkness manifest.  We need to stand up to him, to beat him at his own game.  Charles Spurgeon, the "prince of preachers," wrote in his work, All of Grace,

"'Oh,' said the devil to Martin Luther, 'you are a sinner.'

'Yes,' said he, 'Christ died to save sinners.'  Thus he smote him with his own sword." (From The Essential Works of Charles Spurgeon, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission).

How do we know when the enemy is at work?  Well, we can be sure he is striving at all times to deflate our trust in Christ.  As I said at the beginning of this post, he has ruthlessly attacked the tender areas of my femininity and especially my motherhood.  He seeks not only to cause my failure as a mother, but to make me question God's sovereignty and protection in these areas.

My girls and I have taken an interest in the Titanic.  After reading several books and listening to a fascinating CD, I decided they would enjoy the James Cameron movie from 1997.  Having viewed this picture several times, I was well aware of the inappropriate love scene between Jack and Rose, as well as the scene during which he sketches her nude body.  I felt comfortable enough with navigating us through the unnecessary storylines that Hollywood invariably weaves into otherwise decent plots, and remembered there was a lot of foul language to be muted in the underwater present-day scene.

However, in spite of my efforts to be "protector," forgotten problems slipped in.  When the nude sketch of Rose is discovered in the beginning of the movie, it is placed in water and shown.  Somehow I had not recalled this, and maybe thought it was only her face that we would see this early in the movie.  At any rate, as the camera panned farther down the drawing of Rose's naked, provocative body, I couldn't fumble fast enough to forward us through the scene.  Thinking that would be my only blunder, we watched on...until the scene happened where Jack takes out his sketch book and Rose flips through the pages.  I only remembered seeing a woman dressed in an old coat and wearing pearls; imagine my horror when Rose flipped to a page revealing nude women!  Strike two, and it was too late to take it back.  

What I had intended to use as an illustration of our favorite historical topic ended up providing a different kind of education to my young girls.  And make no mistake, the enemy had a field day.  "What kind of mother exposes her children to this?" I asked myself.  No...the enemy said it, and I believed it.  "They were innocent until I allowed them to watch that." And the implication is that I set out to pollute their minds...because I'm toxic, remember?

Now, I know that we cannot shelter our children from all the horrible things on television and out in public.  But I was having a terrible time not believing the lies that "I've seen this movie countless times.  How could I not know that part was coming up?  They'll see these images forever.  They're scarred for life.  Their thinking will be warped.  I'm exposing my children to porn.  I could've stopped it if I had moved faster.  Other mothers may mess up, but never like this." Even when I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to "fear not," and the Lord said to me in a dream that He remembers my iniquities no more, and my girls will remember this no more, still I couldn't allow myself complete peace.  Why?

Again, the enemy has woven his sick web of dirtiness around me for a long time.  One day when this was particularly eating away at me, I asked God for help in allowing me to see the deeper issue.  I saw little girl-me having access to dirty magazines, and wondering why pretty ladies like those were posing for cameras without their clothes on.  Little girl was confused as to why men would want to look at that, and oh no!  I just saw it, so I must be unclean.  The memory of it was painful and when counselor-friend asked me to "feel" it again, I wasn't sure I could go there.  

See, the enemy was there long ago, making a little girl feel vile and confused, preparing her to be a mother and experience those feelings double by convincing her that now, her children would also feel gross and by the way...it's because of her.  He will pull the vilest plans out of the gutter and relish in using them not only against us, but also against our children.  And while another mother might have had the same situation happen to her, if she has a healthy history and doesn't fear contaminating her children, she might just say, "Oops!" and move on.

God can redeem anything.  Remember Romans 8:28?  It's not just for coffee cups.  "All things working for good" isn't always rosy and pretty.  He takes the ugly and exposes it.  He is bringing my fears and the lies I've believed to the surface and lovingly having me face them in order to make my heart whole.  We can't just panic in the face of the enemy's web; we have to do as Martin Luther did, and smite him with his own sword.

Back to the nude scenes.  It might not have been the day I would've chosen, but God allowed me to have some sensitive talks with my girls.  I explained that God designed their bodies beautifully.  It's okay for me to help them when they need it, and for the doctor to examine them, but other than that, those bodies are being saved for their wedding nights one day in the future.  That wedding night will be special, and their husbands will be chosen especially for them by God.  Sadly, there are women who will believe that it's okay to take off their clothes for any man, and they will do things like be drawn or photographed.  I asked them, is it ever okay to allow anyone other than the ones we've mentioned to see you naked?  After their resounding "No!", I reminded them that I was sorry they had to see those scenes, and they can always ask me about anything.

Since that day, not only does the enemy continue to attempt to throw guilty feelings at me, he tries to make me fear the contamination of my girls' purity.  He puts scary images in my mind of things that sick people could do to them, and seeks to make me afraid to help them with normal, everyday things like drying off after a shower.  If he can make a mother back off in areas important to her children's upbringing, sacred areas like a girl's view of her body, then he could make my girls wonder, "What's wrong with me that causes my mom to back off?  I must be bad in some way." Again, we're not talking about fluffy "I'm in a valley"-type Christianity here.  This is war.

Sharing this with whoever wants to read it is nothing I take lightly.  I feel like I'm the one who's naked, bearing myself and my soul before everyone.  It's too important to not do it, though.  My head knows that I'm not crazy, that I'm not toxic to my kids or anyone else, and that I don't think the horrible thoughts the Father of Lies puts before me.  

As I said, God is getting me to a place where my heart will believe it, too.  It requires a little girl learning all over again that she is beautiful in His eyes because He made her that way.  It means that she will have to run the race with perseverance, and spit in the face of the serpent who seeks to keep her where she's been for so long.  It means trust, something she never learned to do.  It means hanging on to Jesus's every word of, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it to the full" (John 10:11).  It means allowing Him to love me through this, and move my heart toward knowing Him as Protector through the harrowing experience I know as sanctification.

The War Against the Father of Lies

We walk onto a battlefield as soon as our feet hit the floor in the morning, and stand with bullets flying around us all day long.  Satan is God's enemy, so he is out to destroy anyone who is a Christ follower.  If you decide to go the way of Jesus, I mean love the things He loves and detest the things of the world, be assured you will face torment.  Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness..." (6:12, NKJV). 

We are at war.  Satan, a fallen angel and the leader of demons, is labeled by Christ Himself as "a murderer from the beginning [who] does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him...he is a liar and the father of it [lies]." (John 8:44). He is neither omnipotent nor omnipresent; as he seeks to undo those who love Jesus, he relies on the help of legions of evil spirits, or demons, to do the job for him.  A "yes" to Christ is a guarantee that one of these fiends will begin relentless pursuit.  Jesus Himself was not exempt: "And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts." (Mark 1:13).  There is nothing we experience on earth that Almighty God cannot comprehend.

Note that the enemy's tactics can range from benign to utterly vile.  We allow ourselves to be victims every day without even realizing it.  Have you ever said anything like, "This is going to sound stupid, but...," or "I need to get it into my thick head that...," or "I must've looked (or sounded) crazy."?  Condemnation is not from God; it is from the enemy, no matter how subtle.  Mental gymnastics, even if they are over whether or not you really do deserve that late fee added to the water bill, come from the devil.  He coaches his demons to drive us nuts, and we unknowingly indulge it.  As long as our minds aren't concentrating on Christ, he doesn't care what the distraction is.

Then there are what should be called blatant maneuvers, although we're desensitized.  I will tweak them to show how the enemy uses them: temptation to talk about others, pornography at the click of a mouse, one drink over your limit, thinking it's okay to wear revealing clothing, allowing society to steal our common sense about raising children, money spent unwisely, squandering God-given time, self-promotion on social media, convincing ourselves it's okay to "break the rules" over a technicality, copies of Cosmo on the rack screaming at people about better sex, rampant off-color humor, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," "God wants to give you a blessing!" from a TV swindler, hustling children to insane amounts of activities, self-esteem in place of self-respect, a glance at someone else's spouse, "Man, I wish I had their house."  The enemy is in the world to demolish marriages, convince us to believe lies, pervert the union of husband and wife that God designed, make sex dirty, and pollute everything good.  Because he hates us, he hates our children.  We are in serious war.

My sister in Christ and I did battle last night against attacks that both our families are experiencing.  And for the record: while believers in Christ are indeed tormented, we cannot be demon-possessed.  Although this does happen, those who are in Christ are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  While the enemy might attempt to make us think this is the case, it can't be.  So, back to fleshing this out in life, my pal and I were on the phone doing battle last night for over an hour.  She called and brought darkness caused by the enemy into the light, and I was able to do the same.  We are safe havens for each other, image-bearers who understand the enemy's aim.  

This is an ideal time to state that we need not be afraid of Satan's tactics.  It is everything to seek discernment about them so we can see them in their true light, but there is no attempt by the evil one that Christ's shed blood did not cover.  When He drank the cup of God's wrath, he felt the pain of everything.  Jesus proclaims, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).  His word is truth, the opposite of Satan's.  It is our weapon, "living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword...a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12). It's the job of Scripture, not Satan, to set us straight...and we get to use it to set him straight!

A new way in which I'm learning to combat these lies is to make them known.  Shame and pride, by the way, are yet another arrow of the enemy.  Surely you don't think anyone else goes through this, or understands what the enemy has put before you (tone dripping with honey-like sarcasm from the devil)?  Paul tells the Ephesians, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them...all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light" (5:11, 13).  God is giving me courage to bring darkness into light.  I'm over the enemy's destruction and what it does to our hearts, minds, marriages, children, families, and culture.  The things we have accepted are far from okay, and it's time to bring this to the surface.

I delighted in doing this last night with my dear friend.  We felt Christ delighting in two broken sisters, crying out to Him on behalf of what is sacred, calling the Father of Lies out on the destruction he has wrought upon us.  My pal could have easily believed a demon's attempt to convince her that she should be ashamed, that I wouldn't understand, but she valiantly laid her wounds out for us to take up together and place before our Creator whose Name is above all names.  Jesus states, "Behold, I give you the authority...over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19).  

Please mark that this is not fluffy, feel-good Christianity.  Verses on coffee cups will turn into real life.  The God of the universe wants to purge us and sharpen us "for His name's sake" (Psalm 23:3), and "no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful" (Hebrews 12:11).  Peter says, "Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8).  As my counselor-friend says, sooner or later, our heart theology has to meet our head theology.  Walking with Christ is more than finishing Chapter 2 of the women's Bible study book.  It is imperative that we do battle for our hearts, minds, marriages, children, friends, and culture.  I'm beginning to see it as a privilege.  I get to fight for the glory and honor of God, for what is good, true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).  The enemy is so threatened by true Christ-followers that he deems us worthy of destruction, and it's not an option to lighten up on him.

What this looks like is finding someone, I suggest one or two trusted, godly people, and having the courage to say out loud how the enemy is seeking to destroy you.  It can be frightening to reach down and pull darkness into light, but once there, darkness cannot exist.  Go into that black room and flip the light switch, and revel in what happens.  Confess your fears to a trusted person, and fall on your knees before your Maker who knows all about it.  Be unafraid to speak bring lies into the light.  The more we engage in this, the more courage abounds, and the fear is shifted to the one who deserves it, the evil one bringing havoc.  

This is not an overnight process; lies and/or habits take time to heal.  Continuing to proclaim God's truth aloud, and confessing our troubles to each other, clamoring out to the One who formed us, brings about the sanctification that is harrowingly beautiful.  When David was struggling, he was able to say, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8, my italics).  It is only through tasting, or "know[ing] Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings" (Philippians 3:10) that we are able to see, and call ourselves Christ-followers.  

Do this battle with me.  We have no choice, really: Jesus or Satan.  Fight, cry, pray, quote the Word, don't allow the darkness to hide.  God's way is worth the fight, and it's worth giving Him the glory.

Broken-Hearted

I am broken and battle-weary.  Most people have no idea, as I haven't a clue about their wounds, either.  God has given me a counselor-friend, an older, godly person who helps heal wounds with his gifts of discernment, patience, and hearing from God.  He once told me that we see today through the eyes of our past.  That explains a lot.

No matter how many times I bring out my shovel to cover over past wounds, they don't disappear.  I'm learning that being afraid to face the past only keeps me in bondage.  Christ was there, He always has been, even in those moments long ago when I was alone (or so I thought).  Counselor-friend is encouraging me to go back to those dark, frightening times, because the only way to bring darkness into light is to actually face that darkness first.  We have to go back and allow ourselves to find Christ there, and let Him be our Rescuer.  If I face today and tomorrow through ideas formed from past experiences, then the way to get out of today's chains is to go back to yesterday's hurts.

Incidentally, I'm not ashamed about seeking counsel from someone who understands these things.  My counselor-friend, a longtime pastor, devotes his retirement days to healing hearts.  I will refer in these posts to him often.  He helps me hear and process the Word, God's still, quiet voice, and the lies of the enemy I've believed too long.  God bestows the utmost patience on me through him, and he and I are on the journey of growth, sanctification, and healing together.  I thank God for him.

I cannot recall a time that the enemy wasn't spinning a web of lies around me.  He can take a little girl and ingrain a cacophony of lies deep into her heart:

     "You're not good enough for that."

     "You're no one special."

     "You're vile and dirty."

     "You serve no purpose."

     "You're white trash."

     "Everyone is looking at you."

     "There's something abnormal about your appearance."

     "You have no common sense."

     "You're unlovable."

     "You're not worth getting to know."

     "Joy in life is for others, not you."

And continue into her years as an adult, where the lies morph into:

     "You're a terrible wife."

     "You're going to traumatize your children."

     "You're still dirty and vile."

     "You're toxic and you poison people."

     "Everyone is still sizing you up."

     "You sounded so stupid."

     "It's your job to keep everything going."

     "They probably thought you sounded like such an idiot."

     "You should be paranoid about your kids' safety."

     "If anyone knew what you were thinking, they'd think you were dirty."

This is total torment.  It's not what Paul meant in Galatians 5:1 when he wrote that it is for freedom that Christ shed His blood and made us free, so "...do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (NKJV).  I am a believer in Christ still in the chains of slavery because there is a piece of my heart that doesn't yet trust Him, and what is our command? "You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart..." (Luke 10:27).  A broken heart is unable to fully love God.

My only choice is to fight for the little girl who believed all the lies from so long ago.  She is worth getting to know, and she's worth healing.  I have shed buckets of tears not only for the adult me, but now for the younger, confused me.  I was asked how that little girl feels about Jesus, and realized that she doesn't know Him.  Yes, I now know him, but the little one who first believed the lies didn't....and probably still doesn't.  This may be the beginning of bringing that unbelieving piece of my heart back together with the others.

I need to do some time travel and get to know that little girl.  It's painful to feel her hurts again.  It's beautiful to see the gifts God gave her to cushion her pain.  This wrecks me, completely saps me of energy, and threatens to produce endless tears sometimes.  I must face my burdens head-on in order to lay them down for good.  I'm not there yet, but I've started with no turning back.  Progress is slow, scary, but undoubtedly sweet. In order to love God with my whole heart, I must learn to love a little girl I was forced to despise.  We are promised, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18, NIV).  Since I fit that description, I choose to walk through the pain and believe this promise.

     

The Curriculum Question

A common question I get is, "What curriculum do you use?"  There is no way to answer this in one word.  I wish I had at least an hour with those who ask, because I am a follower of the Charlotte Mason method.  Throughout my posts there will be references to Miss Mason, but I can attempt to capture her style in a few sentences: 

Charlotte Mason was a British teacher over a century ago.  She believed in the formation of habits, and that children were small people whose minds should be fed with ideas, mainly from a steady diet of books.  Miss Mason spoke sharply against children being read "twaddle," or or silly items that do nothing to provide enrichment.  She promoted the teaching of many subjects, each for ten or fifteen minutes at the most.  As a child matures, he or she should be assessed in the form of narration, or repeating back in his or her own words any and all information gleaned from the presented reading.  Children should be exposed to the best in literature, even if this means stretching a certain book out for a year or more because just one or two pages (or even paragraphs) are read each day.  Miss Mason believed in teaching her pupils to identify works of art, poetry, and music through daily study in these areas.  She also encouraged her students to keep nature journals in which they drew and recorded facts about what they saw in nature.

There is no one curriculum for those of us who enjoy the methods of Charlotte Mason.  The thrill is in piecing together one's own curriculum, and moving and shaping the instruction to best suit the individual.  I admire the writings of Karen Andreola and Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, and obviously have spent much time poring over the works of Mason herself.  I share all of this because I'm asked all the time, but also to give anyone who is interested a peek into how homeschooling works for us.

Our schooling is divided into table work, which starts around 8:45, followed by work we perform in the schoolroom.  Table work is done while my girls are still in their pajamas, after breakfast and a few minutes of playtime.  We memorize a Bible verse every week, which we read and recite, then do a reading from a supplemental Christian storybook.  Our math book is from Horizons, a fabulous program.  Colorful pages and various activities per page make work challenging yet fun.  Each child completes a page every day, and sometimes we do addition and subtraction flash cards to keep them on their toes.

Reading is also part of our table work time.  Each girl has part (or whole) of a story to read aloud to me, just so I can check progress.  I love using the reading program on which I learned to read: Open Court's Headway Program, no longer in publication, but worth paying a few bucks for on Amazon.  There is also a phenomenal web site put together by a former teacher; this is more valuable than gold for reinforcing and teaching phonics.  Other phonics resources we enjoy are Pathway's Climbing to Good English, as well as a gem I ordered from Amazon called Word Mastery by Florence Akin.

Poetry is easy to incorporate and takes literally two minutes.  Mason recommends choosing one poet and staying with him or her for a year, enjoying and learning different works by this individual.  My girls and I love Robert Louis Stevenson, and spend a few minutes on his poems three or four days a week.  We do one poem a week; one or two days, I read it to them; another day, they copy it or maybe only a verse if it's too long.  By the final day, they're ready to recite it along with me.  

Because I am a believer in teaching children cursive, we practice every day.  There is a Pentime book, but we also do random words and letters on paper or in the girls' notebooks.  Cursive is a form of art that will leave a terrible void in our culture if we allow it to slip away; it's a travesty that many educators find it acceptable to let it die.  

Once table work is completed, there is a break in schoolwork during which the girls get dressed and make their own beds.  If we have housework and are good on time, I may have them complete a chore before picking school back up again.  Today, for instance, their job was to vacuum and mop their bedroom floors.  Again, Mason was a believer in the formation of habits.  My girls are old enough to do their own floors, fold their own clothes, put dishes away, dust, clean up after our pet, and many other things that we moms exhaust ourselves doing for them.

Our school room is really a bright sunroom that is a perfect spot for our many books, games, Legos, desks, paper, drawing supplies, chalkboard, puzzles, and other creative treasures.  Here, we work on spelling, which I didn't think I had to teach at first, because reading came so easily.  However, I was informed that a good reader might still need help with spelling, and honestly, who is exempt from learning the spelling rules of our confusing English language?!  So I discovered All About Spelling and haven't looked back.  I admit, it's a tad regimented for my Charlotte Mason mind, but I'd be hard pressed to find anything better to teach the rules of spelling.  I divide each lesson into short, ten-minute exercises, as we don't enjoy camping out on any one task for too long.  I also take my own spelling words from the girls' reading or sight words that they need to learn, and make a list of 6-8 words per week that we spend time writing out, spelling aloud, and creating sentences with. (I know...preposition at the end of a sentence...what's one to do??)

I tried a real science curriculum that will be ideal in the future, but we have so much fun with animal books and nature study, why do anything else?  We go outside for a nature walk (as our science lesson) every Wednesday.  Each child has a nature notebook, or art sketchbook, and we decide what we will observe.  It may be a maple leaf, dandelion, certain bird, or simply the dew on a blade of grass.  In her notebook, each girl draws the object, writes the date, and we label it somehow:

                                                 "Sweet roses are treats for our noses."

Two days a week, we read a selection from a "living" science book.  Living books are non-textbooks, rich in description and ideas.  I have fallen in love with anything by Thornton Burgess, and so have my children.  His animal characters, with their funny comments and quirks, are delightful, and provide robust insight into the world of God's creatures, their habitats, instincts, and characteristics.  We are taking time to linger over The Burgess Bird Book for Children, reading a short chapter at a time, and taking in more than we thought we would ever know about any type of bird under the sun.  Burgess's books can be found at the local library or for pennies on Amazon, and cover every animal, from skunks to chipmunks to foxes to rabbits.  We have begun using Mason's assessment of narration, usually a paragraph at a time.

We cover history formally about three times a week, and I do use a curriculum, Beautiful Feet books.  Students read living books, and the teacher has the help of a guide to know what pages to read, and what to do with them.  I like to use the guide as just that, a guide, but will tweak things now and then.  There are verses and questions to go along with lessons, and we often color pages from the books and write sentences under them.  This year we have covered Leif Ericsson and just finished Christopher Columbus in time for Columbus Day.  The girls prepared an oral report in which they alternated telling facts from their book, as well as pointing out Spain, Italy, China, India, and Columbus's route to the New World on our well-worn globe.  Our principal (my dear husband), was the audience.

Charlotte Mason urged teachers to introduce 5-10 new foreign-language words to students per day.  Don't be alarmed by this.  I'm a Spanish-speaker, and even I bend this a little.  We incorporate a formal Spanish lesson three times a week.  Some days we sing a song, others we do some writing or read a short book.  My girls have learned Spanish phonics, which are much easier than English, and I will often choose five or six words to dictate and see if they can spell them based on their knowledge of sounds.  We are currently working on an oral dialogue in which they will take turns being doctor and patient, asking about and expressing what "hurts."  The principal looks forward to being the audience here, too. 

Copywork is a big deal among Charlotte Mason fans.  This involves copying a passage carefully several times a week in a notebook, reinforcing spelling, punctuation, and memorization.  We may do this with a poem, Bible verse, maxim from Poor Richard's Almanack, or any saying at all.  

As for art and music study, I confess my music study has been more stellar than the exposure I've given my kids to good art.  Rome wasn't built in a day!  I'm learning how to piece all of this together so we are finished by lunchtime and I don't feel totally overwhelmed.  We own a record player, but for music study, a cd player or even a YouTube clip works fine.  The idea, as with poetry, is to choose one composer and learn to appreciate his works.  My girls can identify some works of Tchaikovsky simply by my playing them while they do copywork or while we walk outside for fresh air.  I will select one piece, such as "Swan Lake," and play it over and over as we do another activity.  That's all; nothing more to it.  I imagine the art study is just as simple, as I will choose one artist, and merely have the girls observe the work of art.  I need not force my own opinions on them about it, as Mason says they will form their own in these short observations.  Children will learn to tell a Van Gogh from a Vermeer when this is done several times a week.

So, this is my school week in a nutshell:

 Now you have some understanding as to why, as a fan of Charlotte Mason, I need time to answer questions about curriculum and the flow of our day.  I'm crazy about Mason and her methods because they work and are delightful to boot.  Planning is work, but the execution of my plans brings fulfillment.  I will talk off the ear of anyone who wants to spend time on this topic, because I believe in it.

Hair

We are sensitive about our hair.  How many hours does one spend on his or her hair during any given month?  It's obviously one part of physical appearance people see when they look at us, but what's the big deal?  I have to ask myself this impossible question.

When I was an impressionable teenager, a trusted adult barked at me, "Your hair looks terrible, like you haven't brushed it in a month!"  Damage was clearly caused, proven by the fact that I'm writing about it 23 years later.  Once, in my days of pharmaceutical sales, I complimented a nurse on her lovely new 'do, only to realize she was battling cancer and donning a wig.  Talk about foot in mouth disease!  

Recently I had my hair pulled back, and someone close to me noticed aloud "all that gray!"  For the record, I am rather pleased to have gray to prove my wisdom (insert laughter here).  Seriously, why are we ladies afraid of going gray?  Does it mean we're getting older?  Well, we ARE, with each fleeting moment!  God created our bodies to age naturally, and we (myself included) do many things to squelch this beautiful process.  The truth is, my almost forty (!) raven head should be showing signs of aging, or else I would be worried.  

Kay DeKalb Smith, one of my favorite funny ladies, sings about hair hangups  here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kay+dekalb+smith+hair. Another of my best-loved ladies, the late Barbara Johnson, says:

"A friend who is bald says he will never wear a turtleneck sweater.  He's afraid he'll look like a roll-on deodorant!  This is the same friend who said he used to use Head & Shoulders.  Now he needs Mop & Glow!"*

We all struggle with our hair: men, women, gray, balding, too straight, too thin...no one is exempt.  Jesus tell us, "...the very hairs of your head are numbered," as he goes on to remind those He loves of our worth to Him (Matthew 10:30-31).  David's account of our beauty to God is laid out in Psalm 139.  He says to God, "You formed my inward parts...I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  When I my gray hair was called out that particular day, I was ready with an answer: "Gray hair is a crown of splendor," (Proverbs 16:31); the NKJV says, "The silver-haired head is a crown of glory."

To quote one Hollywood notable, "Gray hair is God's graffiti." 

Love the hair that God has bestowed on your precious head.  Praise Him for it.  Whether you have thousands or few, the Lord of the universe knows, and He loves you.  He knows your circumstances and self-consciousness.  We grow closer to Him when we lay everything at His feet, even our hair.  We allow Him in and invite intimacy as we talk over the little things with Him, either praising Him for them, or confessing that they are a burden.  I'm starting to recognize His glory in the uniqueness of every head, every special one that He loves.

*From Daily Splashes of Joy, Barbara Johnson, 2000. 

Generation Gap

A funny thing happened at the market yesterday.  My girls and I were approaching the checkout line and I noticed a small elderly lady shuffling her way into the line.  All she carried was a head of lettuce, but when I offered for her to go ahead, she said shrilly, "No, I just have a question!"  Her question, "Where's the saccharin?", received two hollow stares from the teenagers working at the station.  When she repeated her request, the no-older-than-sixteen cashier said, "I'm sorry...what?"  I wanted to burst with laughter, but knew that this generation gap would not be bridged without an interpreter, so I had to explain to the girl that the item in question was sweetener, "...you know, stuff like Sweet & Low or Splenda." 

I'm not sure which was more amusing: the perplexed faces of the checkout gal and bag boy, or the confusion of the senior citizen, who simply could not comprehend why these two people born around the year 2000 had never heard of saccharin!  Incidentally, when she first uttered the word, I had a momentary flashback to the NutraSweet symbol circa 1984; remember the red and white swirl?  Who these days uses the word "saccharin"?  The dear woman might as well have been speaking Greek!


The beauty of this little incident is that the particular store in which it took place hasn't been updated probably since the days when people actually knew what saccharin was.  Just stepping in there takes me back to 1984.  The disenchanting side of the place is that the groceries are all stocked haphazardly, forcing the shopper (me) on a scavenger hunt for each item.  For example, the sugar and flour are on different aisles.  In fact, when the gap was somewhat bridged and the lady asked for the sweetener aisle (she pronounced it "sweet-nah"), a new conundrum came upon us when the teenage girl then asked, "What do you want it for?  To sweeten coffee, or what?  We have different ones on different aisles." For Pete's sake.  I wanted to hug the third worker who finally put us all out of our misery by saying, "Ma'am, just come with me." 

Communication can be challenging.  It's one of the factors that causes bumps in marriages, friendships, and family relationships.  Our culture promotes spouting off without regard for the feelings of others, or there's the flip side...don't say anything at all because it's just not "correct."  Jesus was the perfect communicator.  He, too, spoke in ways that confused people, but unlike a minor saccharin miscommunication, His words took what people believed and rocked their worlds.  He spoke as "one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:29).  Jesus unwaveringly made statements that the God of the Universe is allowed to make, such as:

"Many who are first will be last, and the last first" (Matthew 20:30).

"I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

"I am the light of the world.  He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12)

"For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." (John 9:39)

"I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture...I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:9,11)

"Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:58)

"Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:24)

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor  hidden that will not be known." (Luke 12:1-2)

"Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

As I read over Christ's words, ponder them, meditate on them, and ask Him to clarify and help me mull over them, I'm understanding His power, glory, might, and authority.  He is God the Son, fully God, the "first-born of every creature: For by Him were all things created...all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by him all things consist...[he] is the beginning...For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell." (Colossians 1:15-19, KJV).  We can have confidence that in this crazy world of uncertainty and miscommunication, Christ is never confused, stumped, or unaware of the answer.  There is no room for misinterpretation when the Creator of the universe speaks.  And He has the power to clarify it all...from the most monstrous discombobulation to "Where's the saccharin?" 

The Lord Made Me Do It

I'm only doing this because the Lord told me to, and for no other reason.  Starting another blog, that is.  Several years ago I did have a blog, but in the interest of transparency, my motives were way off.  The main purpose was to prove to my family and friends that homeschoolers were intelligent, socialized people who spend their days doing exhilarating activities, and don't you wish you had thought of all the cute ideas I posted?  As positive comments began to roll in, my head began to swell, and pretty soon I had to put on my mask and feign perfection.  Isn't everything we post in cyberspace about ourselves, after all, neatly groomed and sterling?  Keeping up an image got old quick, and the joy flew right out with my desire to continue the posts.  Where was the real me in all of that?

The trouble with blogs is that any nincompoop can have one.  You may follow this one and decide that I rank right up there with them.  My desire is to be the real me: what you see is what you get.  Before you imagine me snapping my fingers as I say that, know that what you get is a broken wretch saved by the blood of Christ.  I am a longtime mask wearer slowly exposing my real face.  That face is recognizing its stamp of Christ's image, the stamp He has placed on each countenance, all of which He calls beautiful.  I am wrecked by the world's ugliness and grateful that a rugged cross makes it lovely.  I have gaping wounds that are slowly healing through the deliciously harrowing process called sanctification.  He is healing me to love Him with my whole heart.  I know firsthand the vile attacks that come from the Father of Lies, and am learning what it means to resist him.  I am longing for my true home, for The Good Shepherd to make the crooked places straight.

So this time, it's different.  The Lord told me to, so I will.  He told me to be me, wounds and all.  He told me that we all are broken in this topsy-turvy world, and we need each other.  We need to be genuine, the ones who God created us to be, not mask-wearers.  Some days I will share my testimony, and the posts will be weighty.  Others may pertain to homeschooling, specifically material that can encourage all parents, not just home educators.  And still others may be about funny stories, or even hobbies I enjoy.  Life is like that...our brains have ideas spilling one into the next, and again, I said I wanted to be the real me.

The title of this blog is inspired by what motivates me, and that's bringing darkness into light.  Our culture has allowed common sense to slowly slip away and be replaced by reckoning contrary to God's design.  Paul firmly states in Romans 13:12,
"The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."  Yes, let's do just that.