The Annual Vellenga Newsletter
As most of you folks know, we are homeschoolers. I do delight (most days) in educating our seven year old. Our son is a delightful boy with a strong desire to learn.
One of the things I do as a homeschooler is to converse with other parents choosing to educate their children at home as well. I've talked with numbers of individuals with a huge variety in methodology. And most of them I can very much understand. I do have to admit to struggling to understand one group of homeschooler though...and those are the unschoolers... and not all unschoolers, a particular type of unschooler. Those who say “as long as my needs are met, then I can meet the needs of those around me”.
Sounds good doesn't it?
But the more I learn about this brand of thinking the more I'm aware at how different I am and why I can't embrace that type of thinking. My needs are met in Christ. My needs are NOT met by centering on myself, or examining my life to see what I am missing, or communicating my needs and desires to others. My needs are met by not focusing on myself but on focusing on Christ.
I know... for those of us who follow Christ that might not be that profound of a statement, but today I was folding laundry and thinking to myself...how do I have my needs met, and still be the person that God calls me to be and it was like God himself knocked on my head telling me that my focus is WRONG. Very wrong. My focus should NOT be on getting MY needs before I can meet the needs of others. My focus should be on HIM...not me, not my family, not anything else but HIM.
If my focus is correct, then everything else will fall into place.
That means a shift in my paradigm of thinking. It puts a whole different spin on the world it does.
NOW... do I know how that will affect me and my family and the community in which I live? Haven't a clue. And that's okay.
But it does make me very much want to say to all those that I care about....
Where is your focus? Truly and seriously. Where is your focus? Does it need to change? Does it need a shift?
Do know that God wants a relationship with you. He oh so very much does. He calls for you to COME to him. To recognize your need to have ALL your needs met by him. ALL OF THEM. Not just some, but all. God knows full well what you need. So come to him, admit to him that he really does know best, and then truly get your real needs met.
Now, on to the rest of our regularly scheduled newsletter :)
This year:
Jim. Lost more weight. Developed knee problems which put a kink into his exercise routine which caused him to gain some weight back. He's had knee surgery and is delighted to be able to get back into some exercise routine again. He's had a bad cold for the past bit which has been a challege for him. He's reorganized his office so he can do his work standing up. He still loves watching TV and is currently watching Stargate with our son. Highlights of Jim's year: going to the Banner of Truth conference, vacationing this summer with family, the guys camping weekend, fishing and actually catching a couple of NICE fish, and just chilling. He's fixed vehicles, helped around the house, and just all round been a good sort to have around. :)
The lad: this young lad is starting to read. He is slowly improving. He's learning to sound words out and sometimes I have to guess at what he's spelling but that's getting less of an issue. He amazes me at the things he picks up and then incorporates into his play time. Big on his list of loves are spiders, playing “spider FBI”, making weapons of all sorts.. today he made a slingshot that works really well, Angry birds!!!!, bugs, and playing with his friends. (yes, homeschoolers have friends too). :)
Me: well health has been a concern the past couple of months.. we learned I have gall stones, and that my digestive track isn't working quite the way we'd like it to. Positive from that is I've lost some weight (kinda helps if you aren't hungry for a good portion of the day). Things are still in process in that regard. I continue to raise and sell bunnies. Should mention I've had a couple of solid rabbit show wins this year... a couple of Best of Breed and Best of variety, opposite variety and what not. Makes me smile. I'm slowly making a foray into writing my own lessons in order to sell or give to others. I'm feel a bit daunted as learning new technology causes me a fair bit of hesitation. But Jim's a good support. :)
My garden did okay this year. Not great, but okay. I've gotten accepted as a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse which I'm quite excited about. :)
The cats: they continue to be cats. We attempted this year to teach them to go potty on the toilet but we'd get to a certain point and they'd just freak out so we gave up on that idea. We may broach the topic next spring but for now I really don't want to walk that road again. :)
The mouse: oh what? You didn't know we had a mouse? We were out of a walk one day and Jim said...it's a mouse! So we caught said mouse (a rather young domesticated one). We brought it home. I told that lad...if it's female it stays, if it's male it goes into the freezer. Fortunately (from Nicki's point of view) she was a female so now we have a pet mouse in the house. The lad enjoys her. The cats LOVE her and sit for hours staring at her. She really doesn't seem to mind. She did develop an eye infection which left her with a cloudy eye that she sorta seems to see through, but since she's in no imminent danger, it's not a hardship for her.
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas Season and an excellent New Year.
As most of you folks know, we are homeschoolers. I do delight (most days) in educating our seven year old. Our son is a delightful boy with a strong desire to learn.
One of the things I do as a homeschooler is to converse with other parents choosing to educate their children at home as well. I've talked with numbers of individuals with a huge variety in methodology. And most of them I can very much understand. I do have to admit to struggling to understand one group of homeschooler though...and those are the unschoolers... and not all unschoolers, a particular type of unschooler. Those who say “as long as my needs are met, then I can meet the needs of those around me”.
Sounds good doesn't it?
But the more I learn about this brand of thinking the more I'm aware at how different I am and why I can't embrace that type of thinking. My needs are met in Christ. My needs are NOT met by centering on myself, or examining my life to see what I am missing, or communicating my needs and desires to others. My needs are met by not focusing on myself but on focusing on Christ.
I know... for those of us who follow Christ that might not be that profound of a statement, but today I was folding laundry and thinking to myself...how do I have my needs met, and still be the person that God calls me to be and it was like God himself knocked on my head telling me that my focus is WRONG. Very wrong. My focus should NOT be on getting MY needs before I can meet the needs of others. My focus should be on HIM...not me, not my family, not anything else but HIM.
If my focus is correct, then everything else will fall into place.
That means a shift in my paradigm of thinking. It puts a whole different spin on the world it does.
NOW... do I know how that will affect me and my family and the community in which I live? Haven't a clue. And that's okay.
But it does make me very much want to say to all those that I care about....
Where is your focus? Truly and seriously. Where is your focus? Does it need to change? Does it need a shift?
Do know that God wants a relationship with you. He oh so very much does. He calls for you to COME to him. To recognize your need to have ALL your needs met by him. ALL OF THEM. Not just some, but all. God knows full well what you need. So come to him, admit to him that he really does know best, and then truly get your real needs met.
Now, on to the rest of our regularly scheduled newsletter :)
This year:
Jim. Lost more weight. Developed knee problems which put a kink into his exercise routine which caused him to gain some weight back. He's had knee surgery and is delighted to be able to get back into some exercise routine again. He's had a bad cold for the past bit which has been a challege for him. He's reorganized his office so he can do his work standing up. He still loves watching TV and is currently watching Stargate with our son. Highlights of Jim's year: going to the Banner of Truth conference, vacationing this summer with family, the guys camping weekend, fishing and actually catching a couple of NICE fish, and just chilling. He's fixed vehicles, helped around the house, and just all round been a good sort to have around. :)
The lad: this young lad is starting to read. He is slowly improving. He's learning to sound words out and sometimes I have to guess at what he's spelling but that's getting less of an issue. He amazes me at the things he picks up and then incorporates into his play time. Big on his list of loves are spiders, playing “spider FBI”, making weapons of all sorts.. today he made a slingshot that works really well, Angry birds!!!!, bugs, and playing with his friends. (yes, homeschoolers have friends too). :)
Me: well health has been a concern the past couple of months.. we learned I have gall stones, and that my digestive track isn't working quite the way we'd like it to. Positive from that is I've lost some weight (kinda helps if you aren't hungry for a good portion of the day). Things are still in process in that regard. I continue to raise and sell bunnies. Should mention I've had a couple of solid rabbit show wins this year... a couple of Best of Breed and Best of variety, opposite variety and what not. Makes me smile. I'm slowly making a foray into writing my own lessons in order to sell or give to others. I'm feel a bit daunted as learning new technology causes me a fair bit of hesitation. But Jim's a good support. :)
My garden did okay this year. Not great, but okay. I've gotten accepted as a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse which I'm quite excited about. :)
The cats: they continue to be cats. We attempted this year to teach them to go potty on the toilet but we'd get to a certain point and they'd just freak out so we gave up on that idea. We may broach the topic next spring but for now I really don't want to walk that road again. :)
The mouse: oh what? You didn't know we had a mouse? We were out of a walk one day and Jim said...it's a mouse! So we caught said mouse (a rather young domesticated one). We brought it home. I told that lad...if it's female it stays, if it's male it goes into the freezer. Fortunately (from Nicki's point of view) she was a female so now we have a pet mouse in the house. The lad enjoys her. The cats LOVE her and sit for hours staring at her. She really doesn't seem to mind. She did develop an eye infection which left her with a cloudy eye that she sorta seems to see through, but since she's in no imminent danger, it's not a hardship for her.
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas Season and an excellent New Year.