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Every year, as long as I can remember, our family puts aside a day to eat a feast of a breakfast, to drive up the hour long mountain road, singing as we go, and to celebrate us, “The Clarksons.” Many of you have read about this in my book, the Lifegiving Home.
Last week, amidst multiple deadlines, demands and responsibilities for all of us, we scheduled a day to remember who we are, what God had done to show His faithfulness and to re-cement the bonds of faith and love we cherish together.
Always, always, always, taking the time to do this fills my heart with renewed gratefulness. We always see more of the fingerprints of God than we have taken time to notice. In the sharing of our gratefulness together, I am reminded that God will be faithful in the future, because he is my loving, Heavenly Father who cares deeply for us, his own children. But if we do not take time to remember, to notice, we can become dark of soul and discouraged of heart.
Hiking our trails and taking countless pictures, we giggle, tell stories, act out ridiculous antics as we hike. Then I am reminded again that family is sacred. It is the microcosm of place and love where the reality of God’s love and truth is celebrated.
And, especially this year, I am reminded of the heritage our family mutually values and cherishes of the impact of our having decided to home educate our children. I have copied a couple of ideas down for you that will provide the smaller peek at some of the ideas behind my new book, Awaking Wonder.
For years, we lived free, read the best books, discussed life, had adventures, did our chores together, celebrated prayer and devotions hundreds and hundreds of times and lived an organic life subject to the beauty of endless days together. Here are some of my thoughts.
What is Wonder?
Wonder is the engine that drives curiosity and shapes a robust intellect. Wonder is the vehicle that nurtures spiritual formation by engaging in the miraculous, the sacred, the intricacy of our world around us. We ponder the personality, inspiration, breadth of the One who crafted all of the sublime natural art we behold. We respond in awe and worship.
A child fashioned by a wonder-filled life will cultivate inner strength, an inner confidence in his own ability to think, evaluate, know. But those who influence children must fight to make time for the imagination to have space to work, to have time to engage.
How does wonder impact learning?
To give a child the gift of time to imagine, to dream, to create, to engage, and to wonder is to allow time and space for his heart to be touched by the surrounding beauty, for his mind to have room to grow strong with a feast for imagination, and for his emotions to bathe in the tranquility of a peaceful life in an unhurried rhythm. Then we offer a feast of theology, math, story, literature, virtue, faith, science, nature, art, music, and culture, upon which to apply their wondering and wonderful minds. It is to give them beauty and strength of imagination and the strong pleasure of learning and acquiring knowledge over a lifetime. Wonder is the catalyst in shaping a powerful, engaged intellect.
You will be hearing a lot about my new book, Awaking Wonder, in the weeks ahead. Not just because it is launching soon. But mainly because I believe this is a very ripe time for parents to understand hat they are the primary teachers of their children; that their children’s foundation of faith must be laid intentionally, that in order for their children to face this world with faith and confidence, their children’s hearts and souls must be filled with stories, images, words about the love, beauty, goodness, faithfulness and holiness of our God. Souls must be intentionally shaped.
It would mean the world to me if those of you who listen to my podcasts would purchase your copy of Awaking Wonder now. I would be so honored if you would do that. And my hope is that we will renew the vision and excitement of parents all over the world for building a robust, godly generation of strong believers right in the walls of their own home.
Books Referenced in this Podcast:
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