The One-room Schoolhouse? Is anybody out there thinking about school this week? My head is all full of Christmas baking and decorating, cleaning the house for company, getting the last few presents, and shipping Christmas orders. The One-home Madhouse is more like it!

Our struggle this week, like many of you, probably, is to remember this season is about the birth of the Savior, not a huge list of expectations and a billion things to do. So let's stop a few minutes, maybe brew a cup of tea, and think about what's really important this week.

Remember stress is like water, it finds every crack in our character. That means it's easy to be rude to one another or lose our tempers. We can't skip devotions this week! We've got to let the stress make us more Christ-like by dealing with our sin when it gets exposed.

We've got to be patient with our children and show delight in them, even when we're strung out. Our little one totally lost it tonight because she's decided all she wants for Christmas is a jar of marshmallow fluff and she is sure no one will get her one. Wow. Don't even know where that one came from, much less the tears over it. It's hard to be patient when our children aren't even making sense, but sometimes they just need our attention and reassurance. (She's back to being her sweet angelic self after some serious mommy hugs, by the way.) Remember stress (good and bad) brings out the struggles of our children, too.

The good can crowd out the best, if we aren't careful. It's more important we sing the real Christmas carols with our children, the ancient ones that are full of God's Word, than it is that we go to yet another Christmas pageant that waters down the gospel--like the municipal tree lighting we went to where the local school sang, "Winter Lights, Night Lights" (If Christmas doesn't exist, why were they singing?) or the church musical we attended in another city last year that made Jesus sound like a self-help guru. It was gorgeous, but truth is better than pageantry.

This season of wonderful truths, pungent scents, delightful tastes, and lovely sights is a perfect time to build life-long memories for our children. Let's slow down and take care to share all the really important stories and moments with the sweet blessings God has placed in our home. They'll be grown up before we know it.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Hal & Melanie

P.S. Only one more day to shop for Character-Building (and FUN) Gifts in our Merry Christmas Shop. Run over there now by clicking here! We've got everything from Rubberband Machine Guns to great Children's Classic Audiobooks!

Check out our blog series on teaching the carols. Click here. Or download our book, Christ-Centered Christmas for loads of great ideas to make the season mean more. Click here. 

Philosophy Adventure from Home School Adventure Co.

In Philosophy Adventure, Stacy Farrell helps us explore the history of ideas. When I first received the textbook and student workbook to review, I was a little nervous. Philosophy? The word brings to mind dusty bookshelves, deep theological texts, and eyes struggling to stay open under the weight of heavy eyelids. I couldn't have been more wonderfully surprised.

The book skillfully takes us through the lives of eight philosophers, but the text does far more than simply recount historical facts. In the introduction, author Stacy Farrell shares, "What we learned when we delved deeply into the study of the history of philosophy is too significant to sleep through. In fact, the future of freedom may depend upon how many of us wake up to the world of ideas and seek to discern and defend truth."

Why is understanding the history of philosophy so important? Do any of these questions sound relevant to today's life?

Where did the universe originate?

Was the universe created or has it always existed?

What happens to a person when they die?

Is there more to life than the physical body?

Is the spirit reincarnated into other living creatures?

How does the character of a group's leader impact his followers?

Could there be one omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God?

Who or what can solve the mysteries of life?

Can truth be known or is all of life an endless string of confusing contradictions?

What happens when you try to blend science and myth?

Is it possible to know God exists?

In addition to exploring the historical foundations of ideas that continue to shape modern thought, author Stacy Farrell also introduces us to a world of logical fallacies, teaching us how to identify them and think critically about the "facts" that are presented to us. (Click here to read the rest of the review!)

You can WIN this set!