This year we are studying from MIGHTY WORKS OF GOD: SELF GOVERNMENT. I did not write my own HisStory lessons this year…but I did want our principle this year to be SELF-GOVERNMENT so I felt this was an appropriate time to check this resource out and use it. I really like it. It gives several principles to discuss with your children for each chapter. I love how Mrs. Smith explains the concept of self-government, the concept of history being God’s story or HisStory, how she defines and explains government being direction and control. These lessons come in very small “sound-bites” if you will…very simple…nothing overwhelming to you or the child….but yet these topics are ‘heavy’ with meaning and application. I’m so grateful for this book because I don’t know if I’d be able to explain these difficult concepts and then offer such comprehensive reflective and reasoning questions. Even though the lessons are simple the concepts are not. The lessons conclude with an assignment to record the principle in the child’s notebook or print out an activity sheet. Most of the time the child just has to record one sentence. I just add on additional questions for my daughter to answer and write about, if I see the need. I sometimes add in my own application(if God gives me one) and my own questions for reflection in addition to what’s there. Some people may feel it is too simplistic but I love the freedom to be able to add on additional activities if I so desire or additional writing prompts. There are days when what is there is sooooo sufficient depending on how our day is going and how tired we all are. It is perfect for us for where we are right now!!

Some of the principle we have disussed and learned about so far are:

History is His Story

Studying History will help us to recognize God’s Hand as he works in the lives of men and nations.

God commands us to remember all H has done for us as individuals and nations.

Government is direction and control.

If I govern myself well, I will not need others to control me.

God has a plan for civil government.

Another incredible math resource that pointed me TO James Nickel’s book MATHEMATICS: IS GOD SILENT is BEYOND NUMBERS by Katherine Loop.  This gave me such a fresh and new perspective on Col 1:16-17 and how it applies to mathematics….and really that verse applies to all other areas of study as well.  You can read about Katherine’s book here.

It reinforced and enlightened me on how to teach math biblically; what to keep in mind and how to teach and see God’s greatness in your study/teaching of  math.  Katherine encourages you to keep God’s goals in mind teaching biblical math(and enumerates what they are).  Of course, other math resources are listed at the end of the book with her commentary.  I came across this book at a very crucial time in my re-education.  I know God led me to it.  This is another keeper!!!

This math resource has been such a wonderful blessing to me. God has used it to shed light on some very important factors in my biblical re-education. The one breakthrough that I consider to be the most important is that I’ve finally understood that one’s philosophy of education is based on your worldview. One’s worldview is religious(or can I say ’spiritual’) in nature…either you believe in God or you don’t and I’ve finally realized what FACE is trying to do in having a person go through the SDS; also what J. Rose does in GACE by talking about ‘thinking governmentally’ and the Christian idea of man and government and the Christian idea of a child….all of this terminology composes a person’s ‘worldview’. Your worldview(what you base the decisions and actions of your life upon…the foundation of why you feel you existence is, what meaning there is to your life) will determine completely your view of all areas of life, including education.

So for the Christian it becomes imperative to establish a BIBLICAL worldview. These questions (and others) need to be answered from the Bible, either directly or indirectly.

Part 1: The first chapter lays the foundation for what will be covered in the rest of the book…and that foundation is Jesus Christ…just as it says in scripture:

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ(I Corinthians 3:11)

The remaining sections of chapter 1 define worldview and how one’s presuppostions determine worldview. It then details the components of a worldview :

1. Metaphysics- the study of reality or the study of the nature, structure and origin of what exists. There are 3 subcomponents of metaphysics…they are:

• cosmology - the structure of what exists; i.e. how the world works
• cosmogony - how the universe came into being
• ontology - the nature of the kinds of things that exists

2. Epistemology - the study of the nature and limits of human knowledge; what does it mean to know something? How can we know what we know?

3. Ethics- the study of right and wrong attitudes and actions.

The components of a Biblical Worldview are contained in scripture. I won’t go into much detail about how Mr. Nickel describes the biblical worldview…I’ll let you get the book or you can study this out for yourself but I’ll document these scriptures:

For metaphysics:

• Genesis 1:1 speaks to the subcomponent of cosmogony
• Col 1:16-17 speaks to cosmoglogy
• Acts 17:28 speaks to ontology

Psalm 36:9 speaks to Epistemology
Leviticus 20:7 speaks to Ethics

These are just SOME of the many scriptures that one can find in the bible to establish godly thinking and mindset. This mindset undergirds all other expectations and though processes that we will have about life.

I absolutely loved Chapter 1.Chapter 2 - From Adam to Christ - begins the documentation of the historical flow of mathematics ; to discover that man uses the tool of mathematics either independently of God or in relationship with God and the outcome of these 2 ‘worldviews’.  This history continues until chapter 5
Chapter 6 - Talks about how mathematics Works

Part 2: Chapter 7 - talks about Objectives that the Christian educators should hold in view when teaching biblical mathematics

Chapter 8 - Pedagogy and Resources -

The books concludes with Timelines for the historical flow of mathematics along with the bibliography and indices .

This is one great resource. I tried not to give too much away as I would not want to spoil anything for anyone wanting to buy the book but hopefully I gave enough to whet your appetite.

I especially wanted to share what blessed me most about the book. This concept and clarification of worldview and how to arrive at a biblical worldview…that the bible GIVES us GOD’S VIEW…hence a biblical worldview…. has made many things come into clearer focus for me. It has confirmed for me that the Bible does indeed hold the answer for every area of life. It may not be a direct scripture that speaks to an area of study but there is inherent in the scripture underlying principles that can be deduced from scripture. God has marvelously ‘hidden’ the treasures of wisdom in knowledge in Christ…in His Word…it may not be ‘obvious’ but it is there and He will show us the infinite applicability of His Word. It has helped me to see that all of life is contained and is based upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified and that God has something to say from His Word about ALL of life(because He is The Source of All of life). It has helped me to understand more and more that in our quest for GOD’S TRUTH, we can study nothing(academia included) without it being rooted in the knowledge of God and has helped me to enlarge my vision of God of just how big and how great and how wonderful He really is; how all-encompassing He is..how He does indeed fill EVERYthing in EVERY way…making all things complete.

Ephesians 1:22-23

22And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],^(A)

23Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].