Faith Bible Blog

A number of families at FBC have chosen to adopt and I know of no family that regrets this decision.  The sister-in-law of someone in our church just adopted a cute little Chinese girl named Sadie Mei.  For her friends and extended family, she’s been keeping a blog of the adoption process and journey.  On the day of her adoption, she penned some very sweet thoughts about the process.  Here’s they are for your enjoyment & contemplation:

It’s about 4:20 am China time. Guess I’ve fully adjusted to the time
change cause I could never sleep around this time at home either. These
wee hours are when I do my best thinking and so I felt compelled to get
up and try to capture some of these thoughts before they slip away.
Please know I’m writing this post for Sadie but I’m happy to let you
eavesdrop on my ponderings.

Sadie I wish could tell you
everything I felt the day I met you. It was fully two years from the
day I felt God gave me His great invitation to trust Him for you until
the day He delivered us to you. What a remarkable gift you are. I
continually marvel that He should find us fit to be entrusted with such
a precious gift. So many families in the world and He chose ours! I
can’t get over it.

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Justin Taylor posted a short but interesting piece back in September on ‘The Eight Myths of Homeschooling.’ 
With the number of homeschoolers that I know, I read his post with
particular interest.   His post is mainly informational, designed to
get people to read two other worthwhile pieces.  Since I am not
planning on giving a fully developed critique or endorsement of
homeschooling, I guess that places this post in a similar vein.  All
the same, the two sites Taylor mentions are well-worth reading through:

A.  Dan Edelen published a series of articles (1, 2, 3, 4) on ‘The Myths of Homeschooling:’  Here are his theses:

• Myth #1 ~ If you don’t homeschool your kids, you’re not a good parent.
• Myth #2 ~ Homeschooling more actively involves parents in their children’s educations.
• Myth
  #3 ~ The educational methodology behind most homeschooling curriculum
  is superior to the methodology used in public schools.
• Myth #4 ~ The ________________ method is by far the best way to homeschool kids.
  
• Myth #5 ~ A parent is a child’s best teacher.
  
• Myth #6 ~ It is "more Christian" to homeschool.
  
• Myth #7 ~ Homeschooling protects our children.
  
• Myth #8 ~ Homeschooled children are smarter than their peers.
  

If
you believe one (or more) of the above posted "myths", you should
definitely read through his article.  Lest you think Edelen is just
another public school booster, read the first article and notice that
his degree is in Christian Education and he is planning on
homeschooling his own children.  His ambition is to:

 "to slice through the rhetoric that surrounds homeschooling and to
honestly examine its strengths and weaknesses. I understand that this
is a touchy subject loaded with potential landmines, but many of the
issues wrapped up in homeschooling are bothersome and few Christians
are examining them honestly. Instead, many Christian families are swept
along by the homeschooling tsunami unable to clearly consider all the
issues at stake."

After working through those four articles and reading the myths, do also take the time to read a follow-up post Edelen did, ‘A Few Thoughts on Home Schooling‘ that has some positive suggestions for those who do homeschool…ten of them in fact.

B. Doug Wilson has published a helpful article on ‘Homers‘ — highlighting the difference between being humble and being radical about homeschooling…or in his language being a "homeschooler" vs. being a "homer."  I pray that none within our church fit the description he gives of ‘homers.’

DISCLAIMER:  On this topic, particularly, it’s important to state that I don’t agree with everything that said in each of these links…perhaps, most notably, Edelen’s emphasis on the need for agrarian education.
 

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Todd Bolen is a professor at IBEX, just outside of Jerusalem.  His particular focus is on archaeology and history.  For the last year, I’ve subscribed to his occassional newsletter (available at www.bibleplaces.com).  About 4-6 weeks ago, I found his blog entitled, Todd’s Thoughts, and have been enjoying it ever since.  His posts typically focus on recent archaeological finds & his thoughts on all things Israel, but sometimes he posts thoughts on life, the pursuit of God and happenings with his students.

What follows is a helpful post from Todd on understanding the larger context of books of the Bible…in other words, seeing the forest amidst the trees:

It seems to me that one of the problems that believers have is that
they learn the Bible in bits. The preacher focuses on a paragraph (or
even a single verse). The daily reading plan has you reading portions
of 4 books (OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs) every day. Bible "study"
automatically means a detailed look at a small portion of Scripture,
with a focus on individual words. The result is that no one knows the
Bible. They know bits of the Bible, but they can’t see the big picture.
They can tell you what the parable of the sower means, but not how it
fits into the larger context of Jesus’ ministry (why he told it at this
time, who it was directed towards, etc.). They know the story of David
and Goliath but they don’t have a clue what it is really about (hint:
it’s not about David and Goliath).

I’m not claiming that this is the only type of Bible study to do,
but I am suggesting that it be one of the types of Bible study you do.
And I have found it immensely satisfying. How enjoyable it is to know
the main point of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and to have figured
it out for yourself (instead of just reciting some formula you once
learned in a class). Admittedly, some books will be easier than others;
the logic of Paul’s argument in Galatians is much simpler than the
oracles of Isaiah. So start with the easy ones. Later this week, I’ll
give you an example of what I mean.

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{mosimage}Every other Wednesday, a group of men gather together in my home in the wee hours of darkness to look more deeply into the Old Testament together, practicing their preaching, teaching & study skills.  As we work through the OT, they are expected to read it and to memorize key passages, themes, people, etc.

To test your knowledge of the Old Testament, here’s a replica of the test they took last week on Genesis:

1. What is the outline of Genesis?
2. Who was Enoch and how did he die?
3. Where in Genesis does it talk about Sodom & Gomorrah?  Which city did Lot live in?
4. What is the difference between chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis?
5. In what verses is the Abrahamic Covenant first described?
6. What chapter describes the fall of man?
7. Who did Jacob like better: Rachel or Leah?
8. Where does it say, ‘you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"?
9. What does Genesis 22 describe?
10. What verse describes how a man should ‘leave and cleave’?

Answers follow…

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Perhaps it’s only an issue for men, but I’m fairly confident that the problem is more widespread…  Have you ever begun to mentally compose a reply while the person you’re speaking to is still in the midst of talking?  John Piper recently offered an illuminating meditation on Proverbs 18:13 ~ "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame."  Hmmm…notice the use of the masculine pronoun… 

In what he wrote, Piper mused over ten reasons we should listen before we speak.  The full text of the meditation is available online and is worth reading through.  In fact, I got through writing reason #7 in short form before I decided that it’s too rich to abbreviate.  What follows below is the full text of his meditation…

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