Mountain Musings

Family Encouragement Weekend 2011

Meeting other families, eating, and talking...

Singing and listening to messages and testimonies...
 

Playing games outside...

...and cultivating family harmony!

Read more thorough accounts and photos of the weekend shared by the Wilkes, Neely, Staddon, Hynes, and Martin families.

~Hannah

Family Strategies Audio Giveaway Winner!

Family Strategies: Practical Issues for Building Healthy Families is a new audio webinar to encourage Biblical thinking in several areas of raising children and building God-honoring family life, such as mealtimes, family worship, sibling rivalry and character training, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and more. Read further details and hear samples of the topics here.

This morning we used Random Number Generator to see which one of you readers would receive a free "ticket" to this series, allowing you to participate by downloading the 30 minute weekly episodes, hosted by Doug and Beall Phillips. The series begins tomorrow--Tuesday, March 1st, and lasts 20 weeks. Listen to the messages at your convenience.

And the winner is comment #13............................Jenny!

Jenny commented: My favorite topic to hear would be the one on Mealtime! I'm interested in being able to maximize on all our together time, and...well...everyone eats so we'd have a captive audience:)

Jenny, please email me (girotti at wildblue dot net) your mailing address so we can get the information to Vision Forum as soon as possible!

Thank you to everyone who participated! If you didn't win and are interested in ordering this series, be sure to do so by midnight CST February 28 to save $10 and get 2 bonus messages.

~Deb

Family Strategies Audio Giveaway

strat-e-gies: The art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal.

Calling all Christian families--it's time for another special giveaway here on Mountain Musings (courtesy of Vision Forum)!

Family Strategies: Practical Issues for Building Healthy Families is a new audio webinar to encourage Biblical thinking in several areas of raising children and building God-honoring family life, such as mealtimes, family worship, sibling rivalry and character training, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and more. Read further details and hear samples of the topics here.

One of you readers will receive a free "ticket" to this series, allowing you to participate by downloading the 30 minute weekly episodes, hosted by Doug and Beall Phillips. The series begins this coming Tuesday, March 1st and lasts 20 weeks. Listen to the messages at your convenience.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us one of the 20 topics you'd like to hear or that interests you the most. I'll start. I'd be interested in listening to How to Prepare for a Year of Home Education.

This post is now closed and giveaway winner has been announced!

If you are interested in ordering this series, be sure to do so by February 28 to save $10 and get 2 bonus messages.

~Hannah

Another Home Schooling Interview

Since Jonathan and Sarah graduated together from home school six years ago in 2004, the juggle of daily lessons, keeping records, math problems, and scheduling exciting field trips seem in the distant past and no longer a part of our lives. However, we enjoyed those years tremendously and are thankful our family had a very positive experience.

Sherrin, over at The Drew Patch, interviewed Hannah in April and asked about her homeschooling experiences from a daughter's perspective. You can find the interview here if you didn't get a chance to read it.

Sherrin also asked to interview me this month, and she's posted that interview here.

If any of my homeschooling friends can add any positive and constructive tips and resource helps for Sherrin as she anticipates homeschooling her children, please leave a comment about your experiences.

~Deb

Homeschooling for Life

Our regular readers know that we were a homeschooling family for 17 years, teaching all four of our children from K-5 until high school graduation...the last student graduating in 2004. Everyone agrees that it was a great experience!

Sherrin Drew, over at The Drew Patch, has interviewed Hannah and asked her to share some of her experiences on her blog.

You can find the interview here.

~Deb

New Audio Album Giveaway

 

We're excited to have another opportunity to host a giveaway here on Mountain Musings, featuring more Biblical worldview resources from Vision Forum. This time, Vision Forum is offering to give a copy of one of their newest audio albums to a reader of our blog. The 5 new collections of messages are:

• Let Freedom Ring! The Philadelphia Faith and Freedom Tour
• True Beauty: Cultivating Christ-Centered Father-Daughter Relationships
• History Has Been Made: Moments and Messages from the 2009 SAICFF
• Lights, Camera, Action! Highlights from the 2009 CFA
• The 2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy

These conference CDs will help you consider topics as important as the battle for Biblical marriage, the significance of the Electoral College, an analysis of how Christians should depict violence in film, how to build the father-daughter bond, and what the Bible has to say about female magistrates.

You'll also be able to hear special event highlights such as a “Give Me Liberty” recitation by Dean Jones, dramatic performances by George Sarris, music from the Von Trapp Children, and a behind-the-scenes look at Fireproof with Stephen Kendrick and Kirk Cameron.

Go here to read more descriptions of each of the albums and determine your favorite. To enter for a chance to win the album of your choice, comment on this post with the album you would select. You have until Friday the 27th at 8 pm EST.

If our family could pick just one of these albums, we would probably want to listen to Let Freedom Ring! The Philadelphia Faith and Freedom Tour. We've never been to Philadelphia and would enjoy hearing on-location tours as well as talks about historic leaders like George Washington or Jonathan and Sarah Edwards.

One last thing: Our research from past contests on this blog shows that you will likely have a 2-9% chance of winning our giveaway. :) So for those of you who want to make sure you get to hear these messages, be aware that the 50% off sale on this set ends tonight!

~Hannah

Reclaiming the Culture DVD Giveaway

It's time for our special giveaway!

Vision Forum has recently released a new DVD Series for the Christian family, featuring speakers Geoff Botkin, Doug Phillips, Ray Comfort, Paul Jehle, and Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin. We will soon be reviewing this set here on Mountain Musings as part of being an affiliate, but for now, we have the chance to hold a giveaway for our blog readers!

The titles in this series include:

• The Promise: The Beauty and Power of the Fifth Commandment
• What is Biblical Femininity? 
• Training Dominion-Oriented Daughters 
• Foundational Elements of a Godly Estate
• Providential Nexus of Jamestown and Plymouth
• We Cannot But Speak
• Guerilla Apologetics for the Glory of God

More titles will be periodically added to this collection. We have heard some good things about these messages and look forward to seeing for ourselves. Listen to sample clips from the presentations here.

If you make a comment on this post, you will be entered to win the entire set of 7 Reclaiming the Culture DVDs! If you post about this giveaway on your blog and link to this post, you will be entered twice!

This contest is open to those in the U.S. and Canada, as well as members of the U.S. armed forces. Please make your entry by the deadline of Sunday, June 29, at 9:00 p.m. EST. We will post our winner on Monday, June 30.

~Hannah

Home Church & Home School Graduation

Today we traveled to Amelia Courthouse (just a little over two hours away, near Richmond) to attend a home church gathering with our friends. We had been looking forward to today as it was a special time to honor a graduating son from one of the families and also to renew acquaintance with home church friends.

First, we all gathered with our folding chairs under the big oak tree and sang several hymns. Prayer time was next, followed by a teaching time, and communion together.

During the time set aside for the graduation acknowledgment, special friends thanked the Lord for the character qualities observed in Philip's life and encouraged him to always put the Lord first in everything. His parents then came forward, and his dad presented the long-awaited diploma.

Here's a picture of Philip with Eli, the young man who brought today's teaching, which included exhortations from Ecclesiastes 11:9... "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth.." and Ecclesiastes 12:1..."Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth."

Delicious food, desserts, and music followed in the afternoon. Here are Tom and Jonathan playing guitar along with some of the other men.

Hannah and Sarah enjoyed conversing with some of the girls and moms and seeing a couple of new babies added to the group since we last visited. I had a fun time chatting and making the rounds snapping pictures. It was a very enjoyable Sunday! Thank you, Trent Family, for your hospitality and congratulations Philip!

~Deb

We Were Nominated!

Edited to add: We have responded to the coordinators of the blog awards after a comment was left on this post. We let them know that it is correct that we are not officially home schooling at present, and they are welcome to remove our blog from the contest. We wish the best to those home schooling blogs participating and for the remainder of the awards process to run smoothly. I'm sure the coordinators have a lot of work to do to make sure all goes well.

As stated in the original post, we are and will continue to train our young adults in all areas until they have homes of their own. Thank you to everyone who commented here in regards to the awards. We appreciate it.

We just found out this morning that Mountain Musings has been nominated for a Homeschool Blog Award! Thank you to whomever nominated us in the Best Family or Group Blog category.

Having finished our 17-year home schooling journey a few years ago, we actually rarely write on home schooling topics, although you can go to the Home Education category on our sidebar to read past posts.

The continued schooling going on in our home now is home training geared towards helping our daughters learn to be godly wives and our son learn to be a godly husband, and it involves all of life's lessons as they come along on our journey. We are enjoying this season of life just as much as the younger home schooling years!

Voting began on Monday, April 9, and continues through Friday, April 13. Go here to check out all the blogs listed in the Family Blog category, and go here to vote in all other categories.

~Deb

God's Grace

Thanks to Lydia at Renewed Day by Day for posting the letter from Chris Klicka, one of the attorneys with HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association), and his testimony of God's grace and provision. Since we are finished with homeschooling, we aren't as up-to-date on current news with the local homeschool organizations or with HSLDA, so I especially appreciate Lydia's including this on her blog. If you haven't seen the letter already, it's a good way to find out how to better pray for Mr. Klicka and his family.

~Deb