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Keeping a Kingdom Perspective by heidi st.john
Dear ,
It's August! For many of you reading this, August means the end to "unstructured" free time, and for some of you, the closing months of summer mean you better get your game on and figure out what to do for school this fall!
Personally, I have always waited until the last minute (I know I know, but I function well under pressure). No matter how you look at it, we're all different. God has given us different gifts and abilities that He wants us to use for His glory as we move about His business here on this earth.
His business. When it's all said and done, that's what this life is all about. Recently, I had to ask myself if I really had a kingdom perspective. A kingdom perspective requires that we let go of our agenda. It requires that be unwaveringly focused on His call in our life, recognizing that with all our faults and frailties, God wants to use us in spite of ourselves. There is no moral superiority in obeying God's call on our lives. We would be foolish to do anything else. Having a Kingdom perspective means that we must use everything, even the things that cause us pain, for His glory.
This summer, when we were speaking at a homeschool conference in Kansas City, I was privileged to meet a young mom named Maggi Pivovar. Just a year and a half ago, Maggi was a homeschool mom like many of you. Then, the unthinkable happened.
Jay and Heidi St. John have been married for almost 19 years and are the homeschooling parents of six children who range in age from sixteen to three. Heidi speaks to mothers with humor and grace on many subjects dealing with homeschooling. If you are interested in having the St. Johns speak at your event, please contact them through FCHM.
Meet Mark and Lanae Pearson, directors of First Class South Seattle. God has given them a passion for adoption, and they are in the process of adopting a brother and sister, Brian and Josephine (below), from Ghana, West Africa!
First Class has a chance to help bring these two precious children home to the United States and into the Pearson family. Will you get involved?
"The first benefit is always the "Wow" factor when someone arrives at the convention," explained Cheryl Boglioli, State Chairman of the Florida Parent Educator's Convention (FPEA). "It is an awesome experience to realize that you are not alone in this endeavor and there are so many families of all walks of life with the same objectives."
"Awesome" is also how Scott Adams describes his first convention trip to the North Carolina Convention last year. Scott has four small children, but the concept of homeschooling is one that is fairly new to him - an idea that he at first greeted with skepticism. "I was surprised by the attendance. It was amazing seeing all those families there and there were far more men there than I expected. It really changed my view of homeschooling. It is one thing to hear about the numbers of families that are doing it; it is another to actually see them gathered together!"
The Encouragement Factor
Fearful new homeschoolers as well as veterans near the end of their journey are both in desperate need of encouragement. A homeschool convention with powerful and motivating speakers provides enough encouragement for both. New homeschoolers come away feeling like they can actually accomplish what they are setting out to do and veterans are given the precious fuel they need to continue on the journey.
Kim Roper, Events Director for the California Home Educator's Association (CHEA), explained how conventions benefit both veterans and newcomers to the homeschool community: "Newcomers often reignite the passion for homeschooling in seasoned veterans. The veterans, in turn, often give timely wisdom and understanding to new home educators who may be discouraged."
Deborah Wuehler is the chief contributing writer for Chapel, and Devotional Door e-Newsletter creator. She resides in Roseville, California, with her husband Richard and their six gifts from heaven. She loves digging for buried treasure in the Word, reading, writing, homeschooling, and dark chocolate. Email her at dwuehler@surewest.net.
Originally appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Reprinted with permission. Subscribe today and receive 25 free gifts. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com.
See what California Teachers are saying about Homeschooling in California!!!
The California Homeschool Network is collecting Teacher signatures for the CHN Teacher Petition. Here are some of the comments teachers wrote when they signed the petition!
African Adoption! 
The Value of Homeschool Conventions
ides enough encouragement for both. New homeschoolers come away feeling like they can actually accomplish what they are setting out to do and veterans are given the precious fuel they need to continue on the journey.
See what California Teachers are saying about Homeschooling in California!!! 