Educating The Whole Child, For The Whole Of Life, For The Glory Of God

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

“The truth in its wholeness—for the whole child, for the whole of life, for the glory of God—this is what the curriculum is all about.”  (Norman E. Harper, Making Disciples)

Our lives are filled with different responsibilities and we take on different roles in fulfilling them.  I am a husband, a father, a deacon, a principal, a boss, an employee, a church member, a Sunday School teacher, a student, an American, a Marylander, a University of Maryland alumnus and fan, a friend, a neighbor, a son, a brother, an uncle, etc.  I could go on and on ad infinitum, ad nauseum.  Sometimes I am called to clean dishes, while at other times I run staff meetings.  Within the course of a day, I may go from changing a dirty diaper to writing an article for MAD21, church, or school to counseling an employee to playing with my son and so on.  The question: For which of these roles and responsibilities do I need to be educated in God’s truth?  The answer: ALL of them.

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Hang On - We're Getting Closer To Home

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." –Jesus (John 14:1-3)

Have you ever been on a really long car trip, one where it never seemed like you were ever going to get where you were supposed to be?  Long car trips can be frustrating—you’re looking forward to where you’re supposed to be, but the process of getting there can be irritating.  It can even make you want to disobey your parents and hit your little brother or sister after they’ve told you not to.

Sometimes life can seem like a long car trip, always heading somewhere and never quite sure you’re going to get there.  Ultimately, where we’re heading as Christians is to an eternity with God.  It’s the best possible destination, far better than we could ever imagine.  Yet along the way, we can lose sight of where we’re heading and our frustration can cause us to disobey our Heavenly Father and do what we know we’re not supposed to do.

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"Now What?"

By Renee, LSWA

Good question! I'm glad you asked. So you've made your list of SMART goals, mapped out your vision and created a great budget but still you can't seem to make any progress. What's missing? According to Adele B. Lynn in 50 Activities for Developing Emotional Intelligence, we can be deterred from achieving our life long dreams by what she terms "Spirit Killers." These spirit killers can block our growth and we have to work to overcome them. But first, we have to recognize them and understand how they work.

1. Celebrity Ego: Our own egotism holds us back. We already know how great we are so there's really no need to make changes. Right? This kind of thinking keeps us from confronting the truth and from seeing reality. We need to just throw off the celebrity status and get real.

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Speaking LIFE Into Our Children

By Sandra

I ran into a friend at a restaurant yesterday, who wanted to get our kids together for a fun day before her son’s school begins next week. She shared with me that she would love to homeschool, if her situation allowed. God touched my heart when she shared that. She had been shopping for school supplies and said that she hated this time of year.  I sensed that she loved the extra time with her son that summer allows.

As many children, teachers, and parents are filled with anxiety or dread as the new school year begins, homeschool parents can relax. Not because it’s so much easier for us. We know it is difficult to teach our own children on some days. We can be filled with joy and peace, though, because we have such a privilege in imparting knowledge and wisdom to our own family, and because we know that God is our help. We have positioned ourselves to keep our children on the narrow path, teaching them all the life skills for survival and all the spiritual truths they need to prosper.

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Dogs and Cats, Living Together…Mass Hysteria

By Alan

God tells us that “kind follows kind,” Genesis 1:25 and science has reinforced that with DNA. We can see the micro-machines that let the DNA from mother and father combine to give us offspring that should resemble a combination of the pair.

So, it becomes puzzling when you get children that look like you and your wife, look like your respective grandparents, and yet, you are convinced that the DNA must have come from the household pets.

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