Education?

Well, we made it. We finally memorized all 43 presidents of the United States of America. I've included a clip below of Logan racing through them. It represents Logan's personality perfectly - get it done quickly, efficiently and don't waste his time. He is a no nonsense type of guy. I pray for his future wife. A lot. She will be an amazing gentle woman of great patience and understanding. I can't wait to meet her.

I must admit I was hesitant to post this video of Logan. But then I thought it'd give me a great opportunity to expand on something that God has been teaching Rich and I for a number of years now. We're finally starting to get it.

Why are we educating our children? What is our goal? Several years ago I would have responded, 'To get into a good college.' But what kind of goal is that? So, they get into a good college. Is that really the goal? That may or may not be a stepping stone, but that really isn't the goal. The goal is for them to be successful. But what does that mean? Whose glasses am I seeing success through? The world's? Or God's? God's Word is full of references to anyone who is a disciple of Christ - they are the successful ones. If my children love God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength, then they will be guaranteed success. A very wise friend of ours wrote this recently:

"I am amazed at how unwittingly we fall into the pagan worship of higher education. We are mortified that this 'pagan god' will not view us favorably. Will I send my kids to college? Maybe. My fundamental goal is discipleship. A disciple of Christ will be successful. A college educated kid may or may not be successful. A disciple of Christ may or may not go to college but will always be successful. God guarantees success: colleges can't."

While we are teaching our kids to read, communicate the spoken and written word with proficiency, the intricacies of proper punctuation, their math facts and more - it is no longer our primary focus. Their success in these disciplines does not guarantee them success in life.

Our 'school' day always begins in the Word of God. The past few weeks I have been praying for my kids to have a love for the Word of God that will last them their entire lifetime. I can already see the Lord answering. Rebekah runs up to me several times a day asking me to read her a story from her Bible storybook. Our Easter gift to the kids this year was the Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos. It's great! Our daily reading leaves them begging for more and into amazing discussions with depth of insight that amazes me for their ages. I see them growing in wisdom.

Then, if we have time we learn the 43 presidents of our country, in order. I can't wait to tell them they'll have to add another one in a few months...

Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush