Reforesting Faith

I have been fascinated by trees and what they have to teach me about faith for years.

I've been praying that my children grow to become "mighty Oaks of Righteousness" since they were little.

So imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that there is an entire book written about the theology of trees (and by a medical doctor, like myself, I might add!)

I devoured this gem in a single day and just had to tell you about it, too, dear friend.  It is entitled Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love For Us authored by Matthew Sleeth, MD.

If you are a nature-lover like me, I am sure this book will serve to refresh and encourage you as you follow the path of trees God laid out through the Scriptures.

I never realized that the opening and closing chapters of the Bible, the first Psalm, and the first page of the New Testament include trees. 

Nor did I ever know that most major biblical characters and events are marked by trees.

Both Jehovah God and Jesus Christ frequently called and commissioned their followers from under, or within, a tree (or bush).

A tree was the only thing that Jesus ever harmed (interestingly, a fig tree--the same kind of tree that bore the leaves Adam and Eve used to hide their nakedness from God; see Matthew 21:18-22).

And conversely, a tree--in the form of a cross--was the only thing that could harm Jesus. 

Trees teach us to take the long view of life.  They are the oldest living organisms on the earth and the largest living organism (that prize goes to a stand of aspen trees sharing the same root system in the state of Utah).  They are the only thing on the planet that gains a ring every time they do a lap around the sun. It is as though God is literally marking time with trees.

Trees make us feel small, and they remind us that compared to them, our lifespan is very brief.

General Sherman, Giant Sequoia

Trees are also symbols of hope and resurrection.  Noah's ark was built from trees, the dove returned with a branch from a tree, God's Tabernacle was made from trees (covered in gold), and we will live forever with Him at the Tree of Life in the new heavens and the new earth.

Huge biblical concepts like wisdom are compared metaphorically to trees.

"She [wisdom] is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

    those who hold her fast are called blessed."  Proverbs 3:18

They are one of the few things that continue to give, even in their death, as they supply us with building materials for our homes and furniture.  Does this remind you of anyone?

Trees have much to teach us about who God is and how He loves and calls us.

This brief book summary is just scratching the surface of the goodies found within the pages of Dr. Sleeth's book!

If you'd love to know more, I hope you will treat yourself to this little treasure this summer.

It makes for a wonderful summer-time, lake-side read!

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Freedom in Learning

Whew!  I am finally on summer vacation and taking some time to reflect back upon our homeschool year. This was my first year as a homeschool reviewer for our community; I reviewed the curriculum and progress made in two different homeschooling families within our church.  It was a refreshing experience as I realized in a new way that homeschools can look very different from one another, but they can all be effective, rigorous, flexible, and fun in their own unique ways!

It seems so ironic to be a homeschool reviewer, because I still feel like a newbie in sooo many ways.  Each year, it feels like I am laying track ahead of a moving train. That is probably because in some ways I am: even if I have taught that particular grade level before, I have never taught THAT specific grade to THAT specific child before, nor have I ever taught all those grade levels at the same time, or with THAT particular curriculum. While some things feel like "old hat" to me, so many other things seem new and fresh.  That can be scary...and exciting!  

A few years ago, we took a step away from our weekly cooperative learning group and went "rogue."  (To read more about that decision, check out this post).  That choice has given us a lot of freedom to choose exactly what we've wanted to study and to learn at our own pace.  

It seems pretty fitting that on freedom week--the week of Independence Day--I am relishing my FREEDOM in homeschooling my children as I select our curriculum for next year.  What a blessing!

But as we all know, with freedom comes a HUGE responsibility and seemingly ENDLESS choices.

How do you make sense of it all, when you have so much curriculum and so many online services to choose from?

Well, that's what we are going to talk about today, dear friend.

Even if you don't officially "homeschool," I know that Covid has thrown so many families into a new learning situation.  How do we teach our children from home in this unprecedented season of life?

It's easy to get lost in the weeds of particular curriculum choices. What I'd like to do is just start with some basics, to hopefully serve as a help and an encouragement to you, whether you are just starting out on your homeschooling journey or are a "veteran" like me.

First, to borrow the words of business leader Stephen Covey, the best place to start is with the end in mind.

So I ask myself: What kind of students do I want to see at the end of the school year?

For me, it comes down to producing students who care more about God and the world, because I know that if they care, they will be self-motivated to work hard, learn more, and apply themselves to truly make a difference in the world!

Now, how do we get there?

Well, with every passing year, I become more and more comfortable with ditching the fill-in-the-blank and test-taking approaches to learning that were so ingrained in me through my own educational upbringing. While these methods help with memorizing and regurgitating facts (in the short-term), they do not nourish a children's desire to care more about the world.  So, in lieu of workbooks, we've incorporated the use of blank notebooks where the kids can journal, write, draw, record, and make their own personal connections with a subject and even between subjects of learning material. (The only exception to that is for a skill-based subject like math, as I have yet to find a rigorous enough program that does not include doing primarily workbook pages!).

Besides writing and drawing in notebooks, reading books is the backbone of our curriculum.  Through reading fiction books, the kids and I can enter into a different world through the eyes of various characters, helping us to understand and grow in empathy about the world around us.  In fact, studies show again and again that fiction writing helps to foster empathy for others.  Historical fiction books are wonderful ways to engage with the challenges of the frontier or understand about the tragedies of war.  We are even using more fiction science books as we learn more about sea life and birds, for example!  Books don't have to be dry and boring.  They can be wonderful gateways into our past and present world. (For more about how fiction books have transformed our prayer lives, check out this post, here).

Lastly, we incorporate LOTS of conversation.  (This is probably the area where traditional school lags behind the most).  We get to talk about what we are seeing on a nature walk, experiencing through a book, or while we watch a documentary together. Lots of our discussions happen over a lively board game or over a plate of delicious food.  In fact, for some areas of learning, I intentionally pair them with food, like "poetry teatime" or cultural food with history and geography. 

In short, these are the ways we grow in empathy and make a personal relationship with the subjects we are learning: through notebooking, reading, and discussing things together.

With Covid and the possibility of hybrid schooling and e-learning in the fall, I hope today's post may help and encourage many of you.

It doesn't have to be complicated!

Notebooking.

Reading.

Discussing.

And just see where it takes you!

  

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Hope for this Brute Beast

Source: bettyjoseph.com

Once again I find myself alienated, sulking, angry, and holed up alone on a Sabbath day.

Why this day of all days of the week?

Perhaps it's like a glass of pond water--after a prolonged period of stillness and rest, all the junk settles to the bottom. 

And I find myself once again dealing with all that junk.

I've felt misunderstood, under appreciated, dismissed and disrespected this afternoon.  I don't want to deal with another need, another complaint, or another ungracious heart (including my own!).

I've cried, stormed off, and said hurtful words I didn't mean to those I love the most.

Ugh.

I wonder at times if there is any hope for a sinful and selfish person like me.

I turn to God and His Word later this evening, because whatever I feel or am experiencing, it always speaks truth.

I read how the Apostle Paul laments how he, too, does not comprehend his own sinful behavior:

"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."  Romans 7:15-19

 The psalmist speaks to this as well in Psalm 73:

"When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
    I was like a beast toward you." v. 21-22

Yep.  A brute beast.  Now that is an accurate description of how I feel and how I've behaved.

My pastor talked about sin the other week using the metaphor of a tornado.

A tornado can have a narrow tip, leaving behind a narrow path of destruction, or it can be a few miles wide, carving out a ginormous wake of devastation.

Either way, it is a tornado.

Big sin, small sin, it is all sin.  It devastates, destroys, and divides.

But it is startling how the psalmist goes on:

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  Psalm 73:23-26

My throat runs dry.

My eyes well up with tears.

Even in this sin...God still wants to be with me?

He still guides me and counsels me, receives me, and strengthens me?

No strings attached?

No contingencies, bargaining, or contractual agreements required?

Even when I want to run from myself, I can always run to Him.  (And as Jonah will tell you, even if you think you are running away from Him, you are still running to Him!)

May you run to Him, too, dear one.

If you are like me and sinned your way into a hard place of isolation and condemnation, you are not alone.  You are always loved.  You are always being held.

And may the Lord enable you and me to forgive and ask for forgiveness, seek reconciliation and pursue peace within the walls of our homes and beyond.

Will you pray for me, as I pray for you?

Thank you, dear friend, and good night.  Now I have some things I need to go and do to make things right...

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