Voting for a 3rd party candidate

I have posted a few things about Obama because I have felt very strongly convicted that Christians have no place voting for this man and some people are, in my opinion, not aware of all the issues, they don't care what the issues are, or they agree with Obama. I haven't joined in the discussion about McCain or voting for a 3rd party because I don't have time to write a whole bunch right now, but I did want to say this...

There are some Christians who will not vote at all because they believe that Christians are to be IN this world, but not OF this world. This is an interesting article on this topic and he raises a bunch of good points: http://www.cogwriter.com/vote.htm

There are people who will vote for Obama because they are unhappy in their own lives and they have fallen into Obama's trap of believing that he can "change" the world. Only when people turn from their sinful ways and seek the Lord will we see dramatic change in this world. We already have a savior. What we need now is a revival.

There are also people who are saying McCain supports this or that, but honestly, I have researched the man and his principles and I believe that he and Sarah Palin pass my "litmus" test. Did I believe there was a better option? Absolutely! Did I think that person could win? Not a chance. If we lived in a perfect world - or even a world where people let the Holy Spirit guide them on every choice or even a country where the majority of citizens were truly Christian believers, then we would not be having this discussion and both the Democrat and Republican candidates would be trailing someone else.

But then again, if we actually lived in a nation where people followed the word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, we would live in a whole different world anyway. Sadly, we don't live in this kind of world.

It's kind of like when we go to someone's house to eat and they REALLY like junk food. At home, we normally only eat healthy food - veggies, meat occasionally, fruit, salad, organic when possible, home grown when possible, etc. When we go to someone else's house to eat and they only have what I consider "junk" food, I have a decision to make. I can - (1) not eat at all, (2) eat all the junk food I want, (3) ask the person to give me something more healthy with the likelihood that they don't have anything (remember, this person ONLY serves junk food in their home so they don't keep healthy food sitting around), or (4) eat a little bit of food to tide me over until I get home, when I can have a healthy meal.

I guess I kind of see the current elections like those choices. As Christians, we can either (1) not vote, (2) vote without discretion, (3) vote for the 3rd party who is very unlikely to win, or (4) vote for the lesser of two evils who I think would at least TRY to turn us back in the right direction until Christ comes back OR we have a revival in our nation.

So I speak for myself, but perhaps others remotely share the sentiment... Do I feel a little bit guilty for not voting for one of the 3rd party candidates? Yes, I do. I'll even admit that. Would I redo my vote if I had the chance? Well, probably not because I don't like "junk" food, but when the choices are a little bit of junk until you can find something better versus a LOT of junk that may be irreversible, I'll take a few potato chips any day of the week.

Sonya Haskins

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Concerning Obama's Birth Certificate

This is unbelievable. Read this article in World Net Daily.

If you read the entire article, it basically states that Congress would have to request a review of the actual birth certificate, but when it's a Democrat-heavy Congress, the self-interest of these politicians is going to trump any attempt at getting to the truth of this matter. The Democrats want Obama elected president and I do not believe they will request a review of the actual birth certificate. (Now I'm not opposed to Democrats in general, but it's true that there's something fishy going on with this whole election!)

People keep saying how you can see the birth certificate online and the original has been shown to FactCheck.org so we need to stop complaining, but since FactCheck is affiliated with Obama and has supported his campaign, that's obviously a HUGE conflict of interest. There has to be a non-biased third party reviewing this birth certificate. Not only that, but I wouldn't trust a thing that is shown online as "proof" of anything. We all know how easy it is to manipulate documents electronically so that's ridiculous for people to say, "Go to his website. The birth certificate is right there." Any of us could create the same thing.

It's going to come down to the states demanding the right to view it. With a primarily liberal Supreme Court, I also don't see this happening. They will find a way to dismiss these cases.

And again - people ask, "What's the big deal?"

Well, there was a reason our forefathers created the requirements for POTUS. It's almost as if we now have a whole group of people stating that these requirements are outdated and don't matter anymore. I heard someone the other day saying that Obama has a "right to privacy" and he doesn't think he should have to show his birth certificate...

I did read somewhere that we would be hearing a huge outcry from the Republican party if they didn't think Obama was a US citizen (and thus not an eligible candidate) and I haven't read anywhere that they are even concerned about this issue. (If anyone else has, I would appreciate reading the article/news related to this.) At the same time, I wonder if they are just keeping quiet on this particular issue because someone else was working on it and it seems like everything they point out about the man seems to be seen as an attack on him when it's nothing more than the truth of the matter (ACORN, abortion, increased taxes, etc.).

Anyday, if he is telling the truth and he really was born in Hawaii, why not just produce the birth certificate for everyone else besides FactCheck to see?

Sonya

One or Many?

One of Abraham Lincoln's most famous quotes (and one of my favorites) is, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

As I watch the news, listen to Obama's speeches, and see our nation torn apart during this election over issues such as abortion, gay rights, parental rights, the economy, and several other key issues, I cannot help but think of this quote.

Parents should be in charge of their children and the decisions that surround them - whether the decision is not to receive a vaccination or to teach the child at home.

Freedom of speech dictates that if your tv station run pro-abortion ads, you're not allowed to ban pro-life ads. (That's viewpoint discrimination. This is what happened to me last year when the mayor of Washington County said I couldn't do a book signing for my new homeschool book, but people could do any other kind of signing there. He said he just didn't think homeschool should be a legal option and banned the signing. With the help of the media, I pointed out that this was viewpoint discrimination and the library rescheduled the book signing.)

We are losing our nation and I'm not talking about just conservative Christians when I say "we." I am talking about every American who loves our country and who respects the principles upon which our country was founded. I frequently talk with atheists and others who do not share my religious convictions, but I respect their right to worship (or not) as they choose. That's the whole point behind "Freedom of Religion." There is currently a tendency in our country to respect NO religion, but not "Freedom of Religion." Recently someone even misquoted this to me and stated that our country was founded on "Freedom FROM Religion," not "Freedom OF Religion." That's what happens when you start changing history to fit your agenda.

This morning I was listening to one of Obama's speeches and I noticed his great seal. He started using this seal earlier this year and it is basically a recreation of the Presidential Seal with some variations. (Photo from Brandon/Associated Press.)

The seal is almost identical to the true Presidential Seal, but there are a few variations. Take a look at the actual Presidential Seal:

Some of the wording is obvious, but I wanted to point out the wording between the eagle's wings. On the Presidential Seal, the words are "E Pluribus Unum." This means "Out of Many, ONE." The significance of this phrase in my opinion, goes back to Lincoln's quote. From many people, races, backgrounds, we are ONE. Many states come together to form ONE nation. However, even with all these differences, we must be one because, as Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Obama's version of the seal says, "Vero Possumus." This can be loosely translated to mean, "Yes, we can." If this sounds eerily familiar, you're right. It's simply the mantra the Obama followers across the world.

Yes, we can!

Yes, we can allow abortions up to the moment of birth.

Yes, we can deny medical treatment to babies born alive.

Yes, we can put government-paid nurses in the homes of private paying citizens when they have a new child.

Yes, we can force parents to give their children vaccinations even when they oppose them or believe they are harmful to their children.

Yes, we can raise taxes to pay for all the government programs.

Yes, we can spread the wealth - take money from hard-working folks to share with those who sit on their bums or get their money illegally through drugs, but since it appears that they don't have any income, we'll share with them.

Ok, so perhaps I'm a bit cynical tonight. I'm tired of Obama already and he hasn't even been elected yet, though I fear he will be in another week.

I respect people with different viewpoints - including those who choose not to worship the Lord. However, I don't see how it isn't obvious to people that this IS a spiritual battle. In my opinion, Obama stands for everything that our country was founded to prevent.

We are not going to survive as a nation of "vero possumus."

"Yes, we can" is a nice mantra, but it's not realistic as a guiding force for our nation.

McCain was willing to give his life for our country. That is "Out of many, one." Throughout our history, MANY men and women gave their lives for the sake of ONE - our country. Obama has not done that and will not do that.

Please pray with me that God will have mercy on us and save our nation!

Taxes versus Change

Daniel (7) came to us this morning and said, "I know why everyone is voting for Obama."

"You do? Why," Chris and I asked.

Daniel said, "Because they can't tell the difference between taxes and change."

"What do you mean," I asked.

Daniel said, "Well, taxes are something you have to pay and change is something you get back. They think Obama is going to give us change, but he is really going to raise our taxes."

Out of the mouths of babes...

Sonya

Good fantasy book recommendations for young people

I wanted to share something my daughter wrote for her blog. This is a list of good fantasy book recommendations from a well-read 12-year-old!

I am a fantasy / sci-fi addict so if you don't like that kind of stuff, you shouldn't take the time to read this. There are three bookshelves at my house that belong to me and they are stuffed full of books. I won't list ALL of them.... just a few of my favorites.

Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow
This book has everything - adventure, suspense and a really good ending. You can read the whole book at www.codebearers.com.

Seed of Seerling
This book is really good, too.
www.seerling.com is the author's website.

Ryann Watters and the King's Sword
This book just came out. You can read and excerpt at www.ryannwatters.com.

The Moorchild
The author does not have a website as far as I know, but this is a really book.

Bethany: The Adventures of the Mighty Mustard Seed
This book is EXTREMELY good! It taught me a LOT. (Read the book to get that joke.)

The Dragons in our Midst and Oracles of Fire series are absolutely terrific. I have read them over and over again. www.dragonsinourmidst.com

The Unicorn Chronicles
These books are good - terrific, actually. Nice for a quiet read... ahem, hem. I did not say that, but don't read them if you don't like suspense.

The Spindles books
The series does not have a name as far as I know, but the books are great. www.barrychant.com
I would recommend anything written by Dick King-Smith. He is a really good author and as far as I know there is nothing bad in his books.

The Children of the Red King series
I would highly recommend. They would appeal to most Harry Potter fans and others, too.
www.charlie-bone.com

The Harry Potter series I would only recommend to some people. If you have strict rules about witchcraft and magic, you might not want to read the books. My mom said I could read them only if I promised to tell her if there was anything bad in them. I didn't find anything other than the occasional magic spell, about 3 kisses (but only when the characters get older), and mild profanity (bad words). There is also a little bit of killing and fighting, but what do you expect, a romance novel?!? For more information on these books, go to www.pluggedinonline.com and type Harry Potter in the search bar. Click on one of the movies that comes up and scroll down to the bottom of the page. It should have listings of all the books with "book review" beside them. This is a trustworthy site and an extension of Focus on the Family. (www.focusonthefamily.com) The sites for the Harry Potter books are: www.jkrowling.com and www.warnerbros.com/harrypotter . (You have to have Adobe Flash Player to go on the Warner Bros website.)

The Cooper Kids Adventure series is really good and written by a Christian author. www.frankperetti.com

The Dragon Keeper Chronicles kept me reading for many an hour. I HIGHLY recommend these books. www.donitakpaul.com

The Inheritance Cycle books are proabably my favorites not counting the Bible. They are absolutely terrifically wonderfully PERFECT!!!! I love the books, but as to the movie, I despise, loathe, hate, etc. .... in other words, I think it's awful!!! But oh well. At least they aren't going to make a sequel. Oh yeah, the website ... www.alagaesia.com

The Left Behind series
After I read these, I became completely addicted to the study of the end times, so beware!!
www.leftbehind.com

The Seven Sleepers series - same as above, no website

For more recommended reading lists, go here.

Wall Street Bailouts, Obama, etc.

I am basically an intelligent person. Usually I can understand things that go on in the world, including issues with the economy, elections, education, etc. However, I seem to be having increasing difficulty understanding the bailouts that have already occurred and the additional bailouts that are being proposed. Here is an example of how I've tried to explain this to our children:

Kids: I don't understand what this "bailout" stuff is. Can you explain it?

Me: Well, I don't exactly understand it all either, but I'll try. Basically, to make a long story short, a bunch of banks gave a bunch of money to a bunch of people who shouldn't have had loans in the first place. Now the people can't pay back their loans and the government is going to pay the banks the money.

Kids: Why would they do that?

Me: So the people won't lose their houses.

Kids: Did the people pay their house payments every month like we have to do?

Me: Well, no.... That's why the banks are trying to take the houses back and that's why the banks need more money.

Kids: Couldn't they resell the houses to people who would pay their bills if they took them back?

Me: Well, yes, but some people don't think it's fair that the banks are allowed to take the houses back even though the people couldn't pay the bills. Since they did give them the loans, we have decided to give the banks money so that the people can keep their houses and the banks won't go out of business.

Kids: It doesn't really seem fair that Daddy goes to work every day and has to pay taxes, but then the government is going to use the taxes to help people who don't go to work every day. What if Daddy stops working and then we just let someone else give us money to keep our house?

The reason bailouts do NOT work is because you create a mindset that SOMEONE ELSE IS GOING TO FIX YOUR PROBLEMS!!!! Live within your means. Even better, live below your means.

I understand that everyone has periods when they have difficulty paying bills or making ends meet on even a very basic level, but this is where friends, neighbors, relatives and churches should come to the aid of those people and it should be TEMPORARY! I am so sick of hearing about "helping those in need." We (my family) does this as much as we can. Yes, I do believe Jesus said to help others, but I also think it is very clear in the Bible that if a man is not willing to work, he should not eat. And certainly we should not be paying his mortgage. (2 Thessalonians 3:10 "If a man shall not work, he shall not eat.")

We need to instill a work ethic in the next generation, not bail them out.

We need to teach children that if you don't have any money, you don't get a loan to buy what you want, you should wait until you have enough money saved to buy the item (whether it's a new toy or a house).

We need to teach the next generation that there will be consequences to their actions: cheating on a test results in a FAILING grade, not a slap on the hand, pregnancy does result in a child (not murder through abortion), overspending might very well result in foreclosure, stealing will result in jail time, etc.

We have taken away most of the consequences in our society. People talk about the poor, the oppressed, the minority populations, etc. In my opinion, when we excuse people's actions, help them avoid consequences, take away all work ethic by GIVING everything to someone, etc., we have doomed not only that segment of population to failure, but we have also doomed society to failure. I grew up "poor" - VERY poor actually. I understand what it means not to have anything to eat for dinner and I'm not talking about a segment of our American population that says if they don't have steak for dinner, there is nothing to eat. I remember eating the last box of Kraft macaroni and cheese many times when I was a kid and I couldn't wait to get to school to eat free lunch the next day. (Yes, I did benefit from these programs, but they have gotten out of control and need to be limited. Throwing more money at the problems in society is not going to fix the problems. I was always ashamed to have free lunch and today people not only expect it, but they brag about free lunch, welfare, social security benefits, and more as if these things are a right rather than a supplement during a difficult time.)

I am tired of hearing about Obama and how he is going to "save" our nation. That man is going to do nothing but bring turmoil, strife, and persecution to God-fearing people who strive to live by Judeo-Christian values.

I pray that the Lord will protect us.

Sonya
P.S. If you are interested in an investigation of Obama's educational philosophies, visit this page.

New Website

I love my new website, but it is soooo much work trying to get everything reorganized. Chris is helping me and we hope to have it finished by the end of this week. We have most of it done already, but there are a few things here and there that still need to be tweaked!

I'm really enjoying the ability to have polls, keep track of how many hits each article receives, and accept reader feedback. Everything is also much easier to organize on the new site. If you have a chance to visit this week, check it out!

Sonya : )

www.sonyahaskins.com

Children...

I wanted to share some notes I’ve written to myself over the years and I thought they might bring you a little encouragement, too.

- Read to your child every night. It brings joy to your child’s spirit.

- Children are like pieces of clay. We can ignore them and they will gradually dry up and fall to pieces. We can pound them and chip away their spirits so that the “sculputure” you’re left with is rough and misshapen. Or, we can gently mold them with love, compassion, and kindness so that they can become the people God intended for them to be.

- “Get closer, not louder.” (This wonderful piece of advice is not my own. Someone told me this many years ago and I’ve never forgotten the advice, but I have forgotten who gave it to me so many years ago.)

- If you think of your children as flowers, remember to care for them with love and tenderness. When you pull off the beautiful petals, they don’t always grow back.

- And one of my favorites came from an interview I watched one time about the author of Peter Pan. This one is not my own, but I have always remembered the comment. “You should never put little boys to bed. They always wake up a day older.”

I pray that you enjoy your children this week with a fresh perspective and a renewed joy for the privilege we have when we care for children.

Sonya

Teach Your Child in the Early Years (Preschool and Kindergarten)

This is for new homeschoolers or those of you who may have friends just beginning the wonderful journey of homeschooling...

First off, there are many out there who know more than me, but I just wanted to offer some suggestions that I've shared with other homeschoolers who have said it was helpful.

1. The MOST important thing you can do for your child(ren) during the first 6 or 7 years is to develop their character. This includes training them to obey, helping them learn to respect their siblings and others, showing them lots of love and modeling good behavior for them. Here is why: If you train them to obey, homeschooling will be a much more pleasant experience for all involved. If you help them respect their siblings and others, yours will be a much more peaceful household. If you show them lots of love, you will be following Christ's command to us to love one another AND you will reap the rewards of a more loving household. And, if you model good behavior, your children are going to be more likely to learn good habits themselves. (This may all sound silly to point out, but our society is so "accomplishment" driven that we forget it's more important to say "please" and "thank you" than have a higher SAT score.)

2. The second most important thing you can do during the first 6 or 7 years is to read aloud to your children A LOT. Of course you hear this all the time, but it is so true. Children who are read aloud to are more likely to become readers. Not only does this make your homeschooling job easier, but it opens the world of knowledge to them. When you read aloud to your children, they learn vocabulary, discover other continents, hear about the adventures of explorers and the trials of missionaries, learn from the mistakes of others, experience heartache with characters in pain, and rejoice when good triumphs over evil - all in the safety of your own home!

3. The last thing I recommend to others that you work on for the first 6 or 7 years is training your child in housekeeping tasks. A two-year-old needs to learn that if she gets blocks out, she has to put them up. Children can put their clothes in their drawers, help put away dishes, take out the trash, and even clean the bathrooms. There are so many chores children can do and usually it's parents who prevent them from doing them because they aren't done well enough. (In our house, everything doesn't look perfect, but the kids do a lot of the cleaning. I love to clean, but I think it's important for them to learn the skills so they do it.)

To sum all this up, just remember ... You can always teach a child math, science, language arts, foreign language, music, whatever else it is that you feel compelled to teach him or her, after the age of six. However, if you have NOT taught your child by the age of six to love and respect others, obey you, and that he/she is a special creation who deserves love and respect him/herself, you're very unlikely to be able to "catch up" and do that later. Your child is also more likely to have a LOVE for learning, an inquisitive mind, and a heart that listens to his/her true calling if you don't box the child in a corner with workbooks or things YOU think he/she needs to learn. Train the child to age 6/7, teach them the essentials after that, and pray fervently that God will show you both what your youngster's calling is so you can develop those skills most of all.Now, in the event that my ideas are totally stressful to you and you just HAVE to buy something, here are some suggestions.

- Story Hour tapes/cds - great dramatized history stories that kids of all ages just love (most are appropriate for kindergarten age)

- Kumon books (available at Barnes & Noble) These are expensive and my kids could get through one of these in a couple of hours, but they have some really neat books that teach targeted skills (mazes, etc.)

- Bob Jones kindergarten workbooks Great workbooks, price is a little higher than Kumon books, BUT these will last you for a full year. Try to stick with math. You can do Bible stories with your child, discuss the facts and do memorization. Language arts (in my opinion) is silly for a child that age (reading aloud provides the same benefits - what verb is appropriate, etc.).

- Sonlight is a terrific curriculum For moms who absolutely feel like they need a "guide" there for them, then I would recommend the teacher's manuals. There are many helpful tips, etc. in the teacher's manuals. It says on the Sonlight website NOT to purchase the books separately as you'll spend more money, but I disagree with this. Actually, you can get most of the books (especially for Sonlight K - 4) at your local library. That's the best thing to do as far as being economical. Then, buy at the used book stores and the NETHEA used curriculum fair (this year May 31).

- Charlotte Mason - Another good curriculum, but my caution on this would be to make sure you have time to read her philosophy so that you'll understand what you're doing. (It's great reading.) OR, here is a more practical idea for many... Join a Charlotte Mason support group. You can get ideas, share books, and find out more about this method.

- Five in a Row These books were written by Jane Lambert and they are wonderful. You read the same book for five days and do activities related to the book for five days. Some of the books are out of print and hard to find, but when we were doing FIAR, what we would do is simply do the activities and stuff for the books we could find and it was sooo much fun. You could do this curriculum just for the cost of a FIAR book, which is about $15 - a very minimal investment considering it will give you a whole semester of fabulous activities.

- You might also keep a copy of The Homeschooler's Book of Lists handy. Of course it is by no means meant to be a curriculum, but it is a supplement to any of these. How I would recommend that homeschoolers with younger children use it is simply to use the recommended reading lists in the back of the book to get books at the library and meanwhile, just browse the other information yourself and enjoy learning something new!

When is my child ready to read?

There are several signs to look for to know that your child is ready to read. Does your child:

- try to sound out words

- write letters

- write letter combinations (ARBC or hsC24) and ask you what they "say" (Notice I put numbers in the examples as well. Children who are just beginning to develop reading skills may not discriminate between numbers and letters.)

- ask you what words say

- ask you to read a lot to him/her

- memorize short books and "read" those back to you

- "read" to her dolls or his younger siblings

If your child is doing several of these things, then you're doing something right! It most likely means that you read a lot to your child and he/she sees reading as a valuable activity. This is terrific and I congratulate you on this!

Once your child begins to show these signs of reading, then you should read the essay "Early Reading Curriculum." (Click on the title to hyperlink there.)

I have one big caution when considering when your child is ready to read: Do NOT let relatives, friends, other homeschoolers, church members, teachers who live in your neighborhood or anyone else tell you when to teach your child to read. If you try to force your child to read too soon, you're going to squish his/her love of learning. I think this is one of the biggest problems we have today with education is that we force kids to do "schoolwork" too early, which takes away their natural desire to learn, THEN we turn around in a few years and ask why they hate to learn so much, are lazy, have no initiative, and get into trouble. It makes no sense. Guide your child, teach your child, help your child, push your child, encourage your child, but don't carve away the natural desire that God instilled in us to seek knowledge. One way humans are unique is the fact that we seek knowledge. I believe one of the results of a secular, institutionalized school setting is that our society is wrenching the desire to learn out of kids instead of helping them develop a thirst for it.

Sonya

Obama - some things to think about...

I can't get the essay I wanted to post in this blog to come in with the correct formatting so I'm just going to include a link for this one.

Homeschooling with Chronic Pain

While I was pregnant with our fifth child, I knew something was terribly wrong, but the doctors ignored me. They brushed it off, saying this was my fifth child in less than seven years and that I must just be tired of being pregnant. My husband and I believe children are a blessing from the Lord and I welcomed another baby. I was not tired of being pregnant and I knew something was wrong with my body. The labor and delivery were different from every other child I’d had and then immediately afterwards my blood pressure plummeted. Within a couple of days, I had developed a fever of 105.9 and I was deathly ill. My problems had just begun.Over the next few weeks, I went from bad to worse. The doctors discovered that the pain and pressure I had felt in my abdomen while I was pregnant with Hannah was in fact a mass of blood clots around my right ovarian and renal veins. The standard treatment is IV Heparin, but unfortunately I am incredibly allergic to this drug. Instead of dissolving my clots, it created a hyper-clot situation in my body and within another week, my blood was so thick that they couldn’t get the samples to the lab from my body before they were too thick to test. My doctors gave me a 30% chance of living and even if I lived, the outlook for my full recovery was grim.

That was five years ago this April. After two months in the hospital, six weeks of chemotherapy, and many doctor and hospital visits, I am still alive, but I do have permanent complications. Because of the clots in my abdomen and legs, decreased blood flow damaged nerve and muscle tissue. It took me months to be able to walk normally again without a walker and to this day I experience great pain in my legs and feet. The medicine I take makes me sleepy and irritable, but without it, I could not go on. I am a Christian and I know the Lord will not give me more than I can bear, but sometimes He provides medicine to help us bear things. I discovered this after days of being on my knees begging the Lord to heal me, but refusing to take the pain medicine that had been prescribed. Finally, one day I knew that I was going to hurt myself if I did not have pain relief and from that day forward I’ve tried to keep the pain at a manageable level.

I don’t get as much done as I did before I was sick, but I do live differently. I hug my children every day - many times. We say, “I love you” frequently in our house. I don’t stress as much over a messy house or children who don’t know all the answers to their “schoolwork.” I would not choose this path for us, but my children are kind, loving, and respectful. When I feel bad, they sometimes sit with me. When I need water, they fetch it. When I’m irritable, they are patient with me. We don’t go to bed angry or upset because we know there may not be a tomorrow to say “I’m sorry.”

So if there is one thing I could share with other homeschooling moms who deal with issues of chronic pain or chronic illness, I would say to keep your focus on eternity while enjoying every moment of today. I believe being sick has made me more acutely aware of the limited time I have with my children. I am so thankful for this. I am also thankful that while I love my children, I trust the Lord to decide what happens to me because He loves my children even more than I do. Don’t give up teaching your children at home because you are sick or feel that you’re aren’t doing such a great job. Your children may be learning math, writing, and history at a slower pace right now, but they quite possibly are learning about patience, faith, sacrifice, love, and forgiveness. These things will have eternal value!

Sonya
www.sonyahaskins.com