Thomas Aquinas, surnamed the angelical doctor, who was highly esteemed by Pope Innocent 4., going one day into the pope’s chamber, where they were reckoning large sums of money, the pope, addressing himself to Aquinas, said: "You see that the Church is no longer in an age in which she can say, Silver and gold have I none?" "It is true, holy father," replied the angelical doctor, "nor can she now say to the lame man, Rise up and walk!"
Clarke, A. (1999). Clarke's Commentary: Acts (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Clarke's Commentaries (Ac 3:6). Albany, OR: Ages Software.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
So My Feet are a Little Slow
But they eventually get back to business.
"We should teach children, too, not to 'lean' (too confidently) 'unto their own understanding,' because of the function of reason is, to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth; and (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case reason is, perhaps, an infallible guide, but in the second it is not always a safe one, for whether that initial idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs."
Yes, I had to look up "irrefragable." No, my spell check does not recognize it as a word. But I'm pretty sure I spelled it correctly.
There, I made it through the preface of Book 1. (There are 6.) This could take a while.
"We should teach children, too, not to 'lean' (too confidently) 'unto their own understanding,' because of the function of reason is, to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth; and (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case reason is, perhaps, an infallible guide, but in the second it is not always a safe one, for whether that initial idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs."
Yes, I had to look up "irrefragable." No, my spell check does not recognize it as a word. But I'm pretty sure I spelled it correctly.
There, I made it through the preface of Book 1. (There are 6.) This could take a while.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Jumping in with Both Feet
I'm beginning to explore the ideas of Charlotte Mason, a turn-of-the-century British educator who has much to say about teaching children at home. Our current curriculum is based in her work, so I thought I should probably understand it.
"The child is a person with all the possibilities and powers included in personality."
"It stultifies a child to bring his world down to a 'child's' level."
"Education is a discipline...of habits formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body."
"A child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet, with which it is prepared to deal, and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does foodstuffs."
"...Our business is, not to teach him all about anything, but to help him make valid, as many as may be of
'Those first born affinities,
'That fit our new existence to existing things.'"
I think I like this. But it's going to take a loooooong time to get through it all.
"The child is a person with all the possibilities and powers included in personality."
"It stultifies a child to bring his world down to a 'child's' level."
"Education is a discipline...of habits formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body."
"A child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet, with which it is prepared to deal, and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does foodstuffs."
"...Our business is, not to teach him all about anything, but to help him make valid, as many as may be of
'Those first born affinities,
'That fit our new existence to existing things.'"
I think I like this. But it's going to take a loooooong time to get through it all.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A2's Prayer
Dear God,
Please help me be good. Help L1 and Mommy and Opa. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. (I actually didn't count all the pops. But there was a longish pause between each one.) Help Allie get better. Give us a wonderful day. Amen. Pop. Amen.
Please help me be good. Help L1 and Mommy and Opa. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. (I actually didn't count all the pops. But there was a longish pause between each one.) Help Allie get better. Give us a wonderful day. Amen. Pop. Amen.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Random Breakfast Conversation
J: Mommy, do lions like to eat snakes?
Me: Not particularly, I don't think.
10 minutes later:
A: Mommy, if we ever have a real snake...
J: (Interrupting) OH! LET'S NOT HAVE A REAL SNAKE!!
A: Let's give it to a lion.
A: Mommy, I mean if Papi has a snake, I mean if he finds a snake outside, and he picks it up, I want him to find a lion and give it to the lion to eat.
J: OH, NO!
Me: The poor snake!
J: What if the lion eats Papi?
A: No! I mean a lion in a cage that's really close to the door where he can just hand him the snake through the door and the lion can't get him. Then we'll watch the lion eat the snake.
Me: Don't you think that would hurt the snake?
A: Yes.
~~~~~
Currently, J and A2 are "playing church." A2 is standing on the girls' bed (the top of the stage) playing his Wiggles guitar (turned off, of course) while J "runs the speakers" which are made out of A2's train trestles and the lid to his blocks box. And the song they're singing for "church?"
In the town where I was born
There lived a man who sailed the seas
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
We all live in a yellow submarine
Etc., Etc., Etc.
Me: Not particularly, I don't think.
10 minutes later:
A: Mommy, if we ever have a real snake...
J: (Interrupting) OH! LET'S NOT HAVE A REAL SNAKE!!
A: Let's give it to a lion.
A: Mommy, I mean if Papi has a snake, I mean if he finds a snake outside, and he picks it up, I want him to find a lion and give it to the lion to eat.
J: OH, NO!
Me: The poor snake!
J: What if the lion eats Papi?
A: No! I mean a lion in a cage that's really close to the door where he can just hand him the snake through the door and the lion can't get him. Then we'll watch the lion eat the snake.
Me: Don't you think that would hurt the snake?
A: Yes.
~~~~~
Currently, J and A2 are "playing church." A2 is standing on the girls' bed (the top of the stage) playing his Wiggles guitar (turned off, of course) while J "runs the speakers" which are made out of A2's train trestles and the lid to his blocks box. And the song they're singing for "church?"
In the town where I was born
There lived a man who sailed the seas
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
We all live in a yellow submarine
Etc., Etc., Etc.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Bedtime Prayers
After I prayed for J at bedtime tonight, I asked her if she'd like to pray too. She said yes. In order to prevent the perpetual "Dear God, thank you for our wonderful day. Please help us have a wonderful night," I tried to give her a direction for her prayer.
Me: Great! Who do you want to pray for, honey?
J: I want to pray for Allie to feel better.
Note: Allie seems to have been miraculously healed. But she's still at the top of both girls' prayer lists. As a matter of fact, she's about the only one on both girls' prayer lists.
Me: Ok, and who else?
J: I want to pray for someone who has a kid that is sick, but doesn't have enough money to go to the doctor.
Me: Ok, who is that?
J: I don't know. But I want to pray for them. Dear God, please help Allie feel better and help the person who has one or two or three kids who are sick but doesn't have any money to go to the doctor to be able to go to the doctor.
After sorting all of this out in my mind, I told her it was a good prayer.
Then it was A's turn.
Me: Who do you want to pray for?
A: I want to pray for the person who has sick kids and has money to go to the doctor, but doesn't have a car or a minivan or a motorcycle to be able to drive to the doctor, that He will go pick them up and take them there. Dear God, please help the person who doesn't have a car or a vinivan or a motorcycle that a taxi won't have to pick them up, but they can go to the doctor because they have the money and they can.
My brain is scrambled for the rest of the evening. But I was able to think clearly enough to realize that God can definitely use those prayers, even though they are for an un-named and unknown person at a possibly even un-defined period in time. Because God exists outside of our time limitations, He can take those prayers and turn them into messages of good. So far be it from me to discourage them from reaching out in prayer to someone they don't know. God give us all the faith of a little child!
Me: Great! Who do you want to pray for, honey?
J: I want to pray for Allie to feel better.
Note: Allie seems to have been miraculously healed. But she's still at the top of both girls' prayer lists. As a matter of fact, she's about the only one on both girls' prayer lists.
Me: Ok, and who else?
J: I want to pray for someone who has a kid that is sick, but doesn't have enough money to go to the doctor.
Me: Ok, who is that?
J: I don't know. But I want to pray for them. Dear God, please help Allie feel better and help the person who has one or two or three kids who are sick but doesn't have any money to go to the doctor to be able to go to the doctor.
After sorting all of this out in my mind, I told her it was a good prayer.
Then it was A's turn.
Me: Who do you want to pray for?
A: I want to pray for the person who has sick kids and has money to go to the doctor, but doesn't have a car or a minivan or a motorcycle to be able to drive to the doctor, that He will go pick them up and take them there. Dear God, please help the person who doesn't have a car or a vinivan or a motorcycle that a taxi won't have to pick them up, but they can go to the doctor because they have the money and they can.
My brain is scrambled for the rest of the evening. But I was able to think clearly enough to realize that God can definitely use those prayers, even though they are for an un-named and unknown person at a possibly even un-defined period in time. Because God exists outside of our time limitations, He can take those prayers and turn them into messages of good. So far be it from me to discourage them from reaching out in prayer to someone they don't know. God give us all the faith of a little child!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Stewarding Our Time - A New Perspective
Tonight our lesson was on putting God first in our lives, especially in the area of how much time we give to Him.
There were 3 boys present. No girls. Two boys are 12. One is 11. Two are home schooled. One goes to public school. Two are white. One is black. It was hilarious!
We played a game with a clock face that had different activities depicted on it, and hour/minute hands for spinners. Each player spun the hour hand and then discussed the particular activity it landed on. This is a synopsis of the funny parts:
Church: D1 spends 9 hours at church on Sunday. He plays drums the whole time. B spends 7 hours at church on Sunday because his mom practices that whole time with the worship team.
TV/video games/junk food: D1 spends all day every day eating junk food because he is allowed to eat anything he wants to during school. B only spends 2 hours a day watching TV, but reports that D2 spends at least 4 hours a day playing video games.
Chores: D1 spends 4 hours every night washing the dishes. When asked how washing dishes could possibly take 4 hours, he replied that he only washes 1 dish at a time and then goes to his room to play a video game or talk to some girls on the phone. Then he comes back to wash another dish. B and D2 both spend 3 hours every day cleaning their house. They have to clean half of their house and their sisters have to clean the other half. When asked how it could take 3 hours to clean half a [fairly small] house, B insisted I only asked such a question because I hadn't seen their house. I pointed out that if they cleaned their house every day, it shouldn't take 3 hours. Only if they only cleaned it every now and then, it might take 3 hours. At that point, he acknowledged that maybe they "get sidetracked some."
Bible reading/prayer: D1 sidestepped the question. B said 10 minutes. D2 said 3 minutes at night when he asks God to keep him from having nightmares. Then B and D2 remembered that they read 2-3 Bible chapters every day for school, so they changed it to 30 minutes. Ironically, later when I asked what they could do to do a better job of putting God first, all three immediately said God is already first, and they spend plenty of time with Him. Hmmm...I think we may have missed the point somehow.
School/homework: D1 claimed to spend 9 hours in school. I talked him down to a more reasonable 7 with lunch included. He does his homework in 10 minutes. B said he is in school all day and sometimes stays up until 3:00 AM to finish his homework. I don't remember D2's answer.
Sports/hobbies: D1 said 4 hours, and talking to girls on the phone seemed to be the major hobby. B said 3 hours, mostly playing outside. D2 said 3 minutes dribbling a basketball and sometimes playing soccer in the house, which he gets in trouble for.
Note: B's schedule adds up to approximately 21 hours of activities. I asked him when he sleeps. He said, "Oh, I'm a very poor sleeper."
And the most amazing quote of the evening? I asked near the beginning of class what they would be willing to give up for God. D1 said "I'd give up my clothes, if it was for a girl."
Which leaves me wondering why I am teaching this class of pre-pubescent boys and whether I am getting through. *Sigh*
There were 3 boys present. No girls. Two boys are 12. One is 11. Two are home schooled. One goes to public school. Two are white. One is black. It was hilarious!
We played a game with a clock face that had different activities depicted on it, and hour/minute hands for spinners. Each player spun the hour hand and then discussed the particular activity it landed on. This is a synopsis of the funny parts:
Church: D1 spends 9 hours at church on Sunday. He plays drums the whole time. B spends 7 hours at church on Sunday because his mom practices that whole time with the worship team.
TV/video games/junk food: D1 spends all day every day eating junk food because he is allowed to eat anything he wants to during school. B only spends 2 hours a day watching TV, but reports that D2 spends at least 4 hours a day playing video games.
Chores: D1 spends 4 hours every night washing the dishes. When asked how washing dishes could possibly take 4 hours, he replied that he only washes 1 dish at a time and then goes to his room to play a video game or talk to some girls on the phone. Then he comes back to wash another dish. B and D2 both spend 3 hours every day cleaning their house. They have to clean half of their house and their sisters have to clean the other half. When asked how it could take 3 hours to clean half a [fairly small] house, B insisted I only asked such a question because I hadn't seen their house. I pointed out that if they cleaned their house every day, it shouldn't take 3 hours. Only if they only cleaned it every now and then, it might take 3 hours. At that point, he acknowledged that maybe they "get sidetracked some."
Bible reading/prayer: D1 sidestepped the question. B said 10 minutes. D2 said 3 minutes at night when he asks God to keep him from having nightmares. Then B and D2 remembered that they read 2-3 Bible chapters every day for school, so they changed it to 30 minutes. Ironically, later when I asked what they could do to do a better job of putting God first, all three immediately said God is already first, and they spend plenty of time with Him. Hmmm...I think we may have missed the point somehow.
School/homework: D1 claimed to spend 9 hours in school. I talked him down to a more reasonable 7 with lunch included. He does his homework in 10 minutes. B said he is in school all day and sometimes stays up until 3:00 AM to finish his homework. I don't remember D2's answer.
Sports/hobbies: D1 said 4 hours, and talking to girls on the phone seemed to be the major hobby. B said 3 hours, mostly playing outside. D2 said 3 minutes dribbling a basketball and sometimes playing soccer in the house, which he gets in trouble for.
Note: B's schedule adds up to approximately 21 hours of activities. I asked him when he sleeps. He said, "Oh, I'm a very poor sleeper."
And the most amazing quote of the evening? I asked near the beginning of class what they would be willing to give up for God. D1 said "I'd give up my clothes, if it was for a girl."
Which leaves me wondering why I am teaching this class of pre-pubescent boys and whether I am getting through. *Sigh*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)