Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 111
September 30, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: September 23-29, 2013
On Friday, we discovered a desert does exist in Minnesota. We found it at the University of Minnesota’s greenhouse. In this temperate land of four seasons, we do not see spiny, succulent plants. We got a head-start on our tropical rainforest research, too. Great place for a field trip!
One Good Thing Every Day: September 15-21, 2013
2 Corinthians 4:6-9, 16-18 NIV
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
September 16, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: September 8-14, 2013
My oldest son is attending our local community college part-time as a junior in high school. We are grateful for the wisdom of gradually transitioning from full-time home education to full-time PSEO. He has acclimated well to the accelerated pace, but there have been screeching-to-a-halt moments of stress and anxiety.
One night, he vented about the technical inaccuracies of his online web assignment format. Both my husband and I attempted to problem-solve a solution, but it became clear did not want my advice.
I could have been offended. Maybe I was a little bit. But, then I decided to help in another way. Throughout the weekend, I finished his laundry and made his bed. I reduced his chores to keeping his room clean and mowing the lawn. If he needed to vent, I listened. If he needed a hug, I supplied. Whatever he needed, I gave in little ways such as keeping Brisk stocked in the fridge.
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, a few days later.
“For what?” I said, feigning ignorance.
“For just being mom. I didn’t need you to be teacher-mom this time. I just needed you to be ‘the mom.’”
He and his brothers returned the favor on Friday. I have battled several migraines over the week, and by Friday they were taking a toll on my concentration and well-being. My youngest doled out a much-needed hug. My middle son did his best to finish his assignments thoroughly. My oldest offered to drive as we went on errands. We had great discussions traveling around town. It was my turn to acknowledge gratitude for my student-sons “just being sons.”
September 7, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: September 3-7, 2013
As we are studying trees, these verses are all the more applicable.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
September 5, 2013
Books of the Month: August 2013
It’s a Wonderful Imperfect Life by Joan C. Webb: I have enjoyed several months of daily insight from this devotional. I recommend it to other recovering perfectionists! 4 stars
The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy: This romantic classic is a favorite of my literary friends, and now I am adding it to my list of favorites. 5 stars
One Good Thing Every Day: August 26-September 2
As a home school family, we may appear to be “all work and no play.”
In fact, a year ago, my youngest asked, “When is our first day of school?”
My oldest responded, “Our first day of school was when we started home schooling.”
This year I purchased composition notebooks with favorite themes to create the illusion of transition from our lighter summer-school fare. Suddenly, work was judged more by these playful covers.
More playfulness ensued as we journeyed to our camper for our last jaunt of the season. We brought school with us. Why? Our geography lesson suggested drawing a map of our neighborhood and going on a treasure hunt. Our science lesson focused on leaf collecting. After getting settled at the camper, I snuck into the woods with poetic clues, a resort map with color-coded X’s, and two sets of trading cards. Once I buried the treasure, I raced back to the camper to my eager hunters. They caught onto the clues and snapped up their prizes in record time. Good thing! Dinner time and sunset quickly approached.
The next day we collected leaves. Unbeknownst to the boys, this foliage was a treasure in itself. Next season, we will be at a different campground. These pressed leaves will identify cherished summer memories of this resort.
Labor Day honors hard work with a day of play. We did just that!
August 25, 2013
One Good Thing Every Day: August 21-25, 2013
I find my blog buried under a stack of days. Yet, these days have been filled with growth-bearing composites. Here are just a few of the personal seedlings that sprouted our first week of the 2013-2014 school year.
Through Properties of Ecosystems by Debbie and Richard Lawrence, we are studying ecology. I have used this curriculum series before and continue to be impressed by its multi-level approach, spanning from kindergarten to sixth grade. My boys are old enough to maximize the lessons by answering all the questions and completing the experiments. I am appreciating learning more about this area of study. Science was not one of my favorite subjects, but this week’s lessons inspired personal application.
Our first experiment took us into our backyard to study habitat. We were to observe the organisms in a small area. The boys chose the tree stumps in the middle of our yard. We noticed one was covered with fungi while the other sported moss. Ants crawled over the fungi-shelves, but the moss-covered stump lacked occupancy. Even though the stumps are only three feet apart, they revealed very different results.
Our second experiment was creating an earthworm niche. We layered soil, sand, oats, more soil in a glass jar. We topped it off with a dozen donated night crawlers from my fisherman-husband’s stash being stored in the refrigerator. The jar stands covered with black paper in our schoolroom where we will observe how these earth-movers disperse the layers over the span of two weeks. The experiment reflects the jobs of species within populations and communities.
This morning’s Sunday school lesson culminated the personal application of these experiments for me. The reading came from Ephesians 4.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
My niche defines my role within my family. I am wife, mother, author, home educator, home maker, and finder of lost things—just to name a few. But, the Holy Spirit has equipped me spiritual gifts essential for fulfilling my niche: teaching, showing mercy, encouragement, and administration.
What if I fail to see the bigger picture in the microcosm of my life? I may miss the beautiful diversity in my own backyard where I can have the most influence. Even as I nurture my familial population, my reach can extend beyond my natural borders as I exist with other populations and interact with different communities.
Without God’s guidance in using my gifts, there would be more than just a few buried blog entries in my life! It is through the lessons in every aspect of my life that He shows this child the specific roles He desires me to share within His glorious ecosystem.
