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The Top 3 Challenges People Face on Missionary Trips

The Top 3 Challenges People Face on Missionary Trips

Everything is a whirlwind. I feel like I can never catch a breath. From living in Swaziland, Africa, for a summer, I know how it feels to live out of my comfort zone while on a missionary trip. Whether you are doing missions in your own town or if you and your family are international missionaries, some of you may also know the challenges of missionary trips. We face challenges and blessings every day from this lifestyle. How do we keep our daily walk with God fresh? How do we have “us” time? Below, I am going to dissect three challenges that many people face while on missionary trips.

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7 Ways Homeschool Can Help You Through a Teen Pregnancy

7 Ways Homeschool Can Help You Through a Teen Pregnancy

We can all agree that teen pregnancy—no matter the circumstances—is not an ideal situation; it is the result of a broken world, and it presents a dilemma for all involved. There are suddenly many things to figure out, and your life is no longer your own. Let’s not forget that, however costly, ill-timed, and inconvenient, children are gifts from God and blessings to their communities. We pray that your community is ready to receive and love you and your child, especially in a time such as this.

While teen pregnancy will change your life, it does not have to derail it. The tools that you need to press into this new path in your life are readily available, easily accessible, and will allow you to proceed in a positive direction.

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Preparing for Home School: 10 Tips to Launch a Great Year

Preparing for Home School: 10 Tips to Launch a Great Year

It is summer. Whew! You have made it through a whole year of homeschool, taking charge in your child’s education and teaching them—not just school subjects but how to live healthy, productive, curious, and spiritual lives. Hopefully you’re able to take a break this summer and regroup. We have some ideas for how you can use your family’s educational hiatus to recharge, keep them learning, and prepare yourself for the coming year.

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5 Tips for Families of a Future NCAA Student Athlete

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The primary role of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is to ensure that an NCAA student athlete is equipped to handle experiences that occur on the field, in the classroom, and in life, and its categorization of the diverse schools that make up its membership—over 1,100 schools which play in 3 divisions—put the NCAA student athlete on a level playing field with other like-minded institutions.

For high schoolers hoping to become an NCAA student athlete, pursuing this path can be overwhelming. You are left with a lot to navigate without much direction. Beyond the normal factors of SAT scores, AP exams, and choosing a school and career path, you have to consider schools with the sports programs and coaches you will thrive under in the division (I, II, or III) that you want. For Christian athletes, the values and culture of the school are also important factors.

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The Academic Benefits of Home School Education

The Academic Benefits of Home School Education

If you are dissatisfied with the public school system, you may be considering a Christian home schooling solution. Perhaps you are wondering how students who are home schooled compare academically to students who receive a more traditional public school education.

Did you know that on average students with a home school education outperform public school students in all subjects? In fact, a study of over 5,000 home school students showed that they average 30–37 percentile points higher than their public school peers.

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Expelled from School—Getting Back on the Track

Expelled from School—Getting Back on the Track

Discovering the root cause and finding hope.

 

While having a child expelled from school can initially feel like life has flown off the tracks, eventually you will be able to look back and see God’s guiding hand shaping the situation for you and your child’s joy, hope, and restoration. Just like when God brought Israel back from exile, His promises remain: “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy” (Isaiah 61:7).

This article is Part 3 of a three-part series on processing and responding to a child being expelled from school.

  • Part 1: How to deal with your own emotions about your child being expelled from school.
  • Part 2: How to help your child work through his or her emotions about being expelled.
  • Part 3: How to discover the source of the problem and get your child back on the tracks in his or her education.
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Bible Verses About Fathers that Transform a Dad’s Heart

Bible Verses About Fathers that Transform a Dad’s Heart

Since the birth of my son, Father’s Day has become a very special holiday in our family. My wife has a gift of celebrating other people, and she goes all out to make me feel special as a dad with a day full of my favorite activities and food, along with a gift. This year, she wants to buy me a new disc for disc golfing. Although receiving material gifts can be fun, there are a few other things that I would much rather receive from my son. These treasures are founded in a collection of Bible verses about fathers I’ve found inspirational as a dad.

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Expelled from School—Riding the Roller Coaster

Expelled from School—Riding the Roller Coaster

Part 1: Expelled from School—Riding the Roller Coaster

If your child has recently been expelled from school, this may be an uncertain time for your family. You have suddenly been forced to take a new direction in your child’s education. While the educational journey has taken a turn, you may also find yourself on a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

While you are riding the waves of emotion it can be comforting to find that you are not riding alone. Many parents have been—and are currently—in your place, researching what to do when their child is expelled from school. In fact, according to a 2006 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, over 100,000 public elementary and secondary school students are expelled each year. Remembering this can help you maintain perspective. And while you are realizing you are not alone, send up a prayer for those families, too.

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10 Fun Facts About Thomas Jefferson

10 Fun Facts About Thomas Jefferson

At a conference last year I heard Eric Metaxas, author of the bestselling books Amazing Grace and 7 Men, speak about the fact that our country needs to remember and venerate its heroes. Heroes give young people someone to look up to and emulate. They teach students that they can have a positive impact on the world around them when they use their God-given talents. Finally, they teach us all that greatness in the pure unselfish sense is something worth striving for. This does not mean we should focus only on their greatest accomplishments. Instead, we should accepted that the whole life of a hero or heroine is part of their legacy.

 

One of our greatest national heroes is indisputably Thomas Jefferson, who will have his 273 birthday on April 13th. Jefferson’s face is familiar to most americans. After all, it was famously carved into Mt. Rushmore, and is, perhaps less famously, printed on the 2 dollar bill. Jefferson accomplished much in his life, both in his career as third President of the United States and beyond. Perhaps the most interesting fact about Jefferson is that he apparently did not consider his presidency as his greatest achievement.

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Preparing Students to Lead an Abundant Life

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Knowing what is best for your child can be a challenge. Thankfully, God has provided guidance for us, not just for our own relationship with God, but for teaching our children in the ways of the Lord. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:5–7).

As Christian educators, we partner with parents to instill the truths of scripture through an education that begins with knowing our loving God. Enlightium Academy’s philosophy of Christian education rests on four pillars of education: 

  1. The first principles of education (i.e., the what and the why).
  2. The teacher.
  3. The student.
  4. The nature of the learner (i.e., the how). 

As we develop a holistic educational experience for students, we seek to offer more than an education in the skills students need to function in society and to make a living — we prepare students for pursuing an abundant life in service to Christ.

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Finding Comfort in Bible Verses Dealing with Death

Finding Comfort in Bible Verses Dealing with Death

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Loss comes in many forms and for many reasons. Certainly we experience loss when a person we love dies, but loss can also occur when a friendship or romantic relationship ends, when we lose a part of our life that defined us, or when a drastic change in lifestyle (positive or negative) causes us to change our previous environment and habits.

In this fallen world, loss is a daily part of life. I say “fallen world”, because loss was not a part of God’s original plan for the world. In Genesis 1 and 2 we see a picture of the completeness and wholeness that God intended. Loss entered the world with sin and has become part of the human experience ever since then. However,God has not left us to deal with loss alone; we can find comfort in Bible verses dealing with death and loss.

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5 Ideas for Homemade Kids Valentines Day Cards

5 Ideas for Homemade Kids Valentines Day Cards

I have always had trouble investing in the idea of Valentine’s Day that is promoted by stores with pink confetti, chocolates, expensive bouquets, and fluffy teddy bears. On the other hand, I am a huge fan of expressing affection and appreciation for people close to me, whether they are friends or family. John 13:34-35 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” One active step in following this commandment is to express your love to others with intentionality.

 

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5 Ways to Read the Bible In a Year

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What are some of your goals for the year 2016? Working out more? Eating better? These are excellent goals, but what about your spiritual diet? A survey from the American Bible Society showed that 60% of Americans want to read the Bible more. Just among teens, 62% say that they want to spend more time reading the Bible.

Where is a good place to start? I suggest making a plan to read the Bible in a year; this may sound daunting at first, but if you are able to set aside time each day, it is not difficult. Below, I will give overviews of five different plans to read the Bible in a year.

 

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Realizing You Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Realizing You Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Part 2: Helping Your Children Reach Their Full Potential

 

“So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

 

God works in mysterious ways, and everyone’s combined experiences affect them in ways that makes them unique. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). This truth is what is most important for us to instill in our children: every person is made in the image of God, the way that they are meant to be, for their own sake, for the sake of those around them, and ultimately, for the glory of God.

 

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Writing a Simple New Year’s Resolution for Christian Youth

Writing a Simple New Year’s Resolution for Christian Youth

New beginnings present a chance for renewal and a reminder to make a fresh start. Still, New Year’s resolutions can be intimidating, especially for students, who often feel that their lives are already full of assignments and commitments. Some make the mistake of making resolutions so monumental or complicated that they give up before they even start. A New Year’s resolution for Christian youth needs to be simple enough to succeed, while maintaining a strong foundation in the Word of God.

We encourage students to use this opportunity for contemplation and to consider some simple resolutions that they can meet and that will benefit them throughout the year.

Here are 3 simple resolutions for Christian youth who want a fresh start in the New Year:

 

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Confronting Bullying at School with Courage and Integrity

Bullying---blog

The bullying trend is on the rise among America’s top social problems. Although stopbullying.gov reports that 28% of children have been bullied, I believe 100% of children have been bullied, will be bullied, or have witnessed bullying at school. If this is true, each one of us has a role in stopping this trend. Although there are many types of bullying, I will be focusing on the two types: self-esteem/self-worth bullying and ringleader bullying.

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How to Choose Family Friendly Book Club Themes

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As an avid reader and lover of books I can testify to the fact that there are many benefits to reading. Not only does reading expand the brain’s capacity to think creatively and use language, but it also opens up a world of adventures and imagination.

After I finish a good book, I invariably want to discuss it, and when I find someone who also loved it, I discover new details about the book through our conversation. I have spent so much time discussing books with my friends that we might as well start a formal book club. For this reason I have put a lot of thought into book clubs and choosing book club themes.

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A Christian Parent's Guide To Setting a Good Example For Your Child

A Christian Parent's Guide To Setting a Good Example For Your Child

Most parents will experience a distinct moment when they ask the question, “When, where, and how should I start setting a good example for my child?” As Christian parents we know that God has given us children to teach and direct in the way of Him. It is a great responsibility! How do we know where to start?

Here a short guide to when, where and how to set a good example for your child:

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Missionary Stories from Around the World that Inspire This Christian Math Teacher

Missionary Stories from Around the World that Inspire This Christian Math Teacher

I love Jesus. There is no doubt in my mind. I also love people, and I know that Jesus calls us to share His love with others every day. Even so, sometimes I get distracted. From paying bills to watching sports, grocery shopping to reading a good book, there are a thousand things to compete for my attention.

Then I come across a story that reignites that passion to see people come to know my God and His great love, stories of people with great passion and deep faith. God has used the these stories of missionaries from around the world to remind me of His calling to share His word and His love. As you read these stories, may your faith be renewed and your fire relit, as mine have been.

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Finding Strength and Comfort in Bible Verses About Anxiety

Finding Strength and Comfort in Bible Verses About Anxiety

It was yet another sleepless night for me. Tossing, turning, mind-racing, heart-pounding nights were becoming the norm. My anxiety was most prevalent at night. This caused a season marked by stress and tiredness.

Though it no longer looks that troublesome, anxiety is an ongoing battle for me. And the more people I meet and speak with, the more I am convinced that I am not alone. From weathered adults with incredibly painful circumstances to children struggling with completing homework, anxiety is a form of suffering common to many, in varying degrees.

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