Encouragement to CHESS Families During This Challenging Time:
We hope your family is doing well in spite of this crazy time! We as a CHESS leadership team have been praying for all of you, and wanted to just send you a quick word of encouragement…
“Therefore go and make disciples... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:20 ESV
As you are doing the hard job of teaching your children at home through all the changes and uncertainties of these unprecedented days, don’t forget two very important facts from this passage of Scripture:
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What you are really doing is making disciples.
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God is with you through it all! No need to fear or worry. We can trust Him and rest in His presence- the One who’s got us, and the whole world, in His hands.
Discipleship is the teaching of obedience to all of Jesus’ commands. What greater curriculum can we have than the Bible, filled with the commands of God? Homeschooling allows us the privilege to add to the academic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic, the most important curriculum of all: God’s Word. What does it matter if our children “gain the whole world but forfeit their souls?” In other words, it’s really not about raising rocket scientists who can go to Harvard; we’re striving to train obedient followers of Jesus who can go to heaven!
During these strange days, please be sure you’re using the extra time to draw near to God, and to help your children draw nearer, too. Invest in your children’s spiritual training: Spend more time in the Word. More time in prayer. Establish some new routines of family devotions, family worship, family Bible time… In the end, this is all that will really matter.
As we’re all struggling with the change of routine and lack of normal ‘outings’ and ‘socialization,’ not only did we want to encourage all of you to use this time to dig deeper into training your children in the things of the Lord, but we wanted to remind you that we, as a homeschool community, have such a unique opportunity for ministry right now!
We all have a lot of people we know- whether family members, friends, or neighbors, who are educating their kids at home right now for the first time. We can offer them some help and encouragement, time management strategies, possibly books and/or supplies, website recommendations, etc.
We all know that homeschooling is a lot of work-- even when you've been doing it for a long time and are familiar with the routine. I can't imagine the struggle of someone who is possibly temporarily unemployed or working from home and also suddenly having to do school at home with their children. Talk about stressful!
Let’s remember that, as homeschoolers, we are in the unique position of being able to reach out to those who are struggling with kids at home right now. We have all been homeschooling by choice- some for many years, some started more recently, but in either case, this virus is not throwing our lives into as much of a tailspin as it has for many of those in our community who suddenly have kids at home with no choice in the matter.
I know for certain that a lot of you are already stepping up and helping friends and neighbors, and to all of you, we say thank you! Thanks for being the hands and feet of Jesus and for sharing your insights, ideas, and resources with those in need of them right now.
Have a great week of quarantine! Please let us know if there are any specific prayer requests which we can be praying about for your family.
Blessings,
Mike and Kim Winter,
For the CHESS Leadership Team
P.S. We’re including some links to free online resources and other discipleship materials that our family has used and recommends. We pray you find some helpful things in this list to use in discipling your children. God bless you as you go and make disciples--- in your home, in your neighborhood, and throughout the world!
Here’s a little song for your enjoyment:
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Do Re Mi COVID 19 version: https://youtu.be/MMBh-eo3tvE
A few resources to help with your home discipleship this week:
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COVID 19 Prayer Guide – downloadable resource: https://mfv.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/PDF/COVID-19-Pandemic-Prayer-Guide.pdf
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YouVersion Bible App has free family devotions, Bible reading plans, and a Bible App for kids- https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/
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Right Now Media – FREE trial access to a limited library of discipleship content: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/
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Seeds Family Worship Music & Devotions - https://www.seedsfamilyworship.com/twenty-verses-in-2020/
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Keys for Keys Devotionals – https://radio.keysforkids.org/
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Notgrass History Free downloadable Bible ebooks – https://history.notgrass.com/free-bible-resources/
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Not Consumed – “Time Planagement Challenge” – https://www.notconsumed.com/time-planagement-challenge-week/
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Visionary Family Ministries – FREE streaming access to six video Bible studies with participant workbooks. Use the code: REDEEMTHETIME -- https://visionaryfam.com/
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Ligonier Ministries – Entire library of hundreds of teaching series FREE to stream: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/
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Our 24 Family Ways Family Devotional Guide - https://sallyclarkson.com/blog/2018/9/16/what-is-most-important-loving-god-our-24-family-ways-1
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Foundations: 12 Biblical Truths to Shape your Family book – https://ruthandtroy.com/
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Parenting is Discipleship: Raising Them Up! Book – https://www.familyrenewal.org/store/product/raising-them-up-parenting-for-christians/
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Axis - Discipleship Materials specifically for families with teens – https://axis.org/resource-overview/
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Adventures in Odyssey Audio Dramas – FREE 4 week trial allowing access to over 900 episodes of these popular, kid-friendly Biblically-based audio dramas- https://www.oaclub.org/club#age_check_free_trial?refcd=379301
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Schoolhouse Teachers online Bible courses – $5 for 1 month trial membership with code TRIAL: https://schoolhouseteachers.com/school-subjects/bible/
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Answers in Genesis/Creation Museum – FREE Livestream events: https://www.facebook.com/CreationMuseum/
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Apologia: What We Believe series of books - https://www.apologia.com/product-category/worldview/?subject=what-we-believe
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Elementary Christian Worldview Curriculum: https://founnwodatiorldview.com/
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Summit Ministries Biblical Worldview Curriculum: https://www.summit.org/curriculum/
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Keep Calm and Homeschool On! FREE Online Christian Homeschool Conference- https://exploringhomeeducation.com/p/keep-calm-and-homeschool-on
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Homeschool Parenting FREE Online Summit: https://zb362.isrefer.com/go/parenting/inchmichigan/
Do you have more Christian discipleship resources to recommend? PLEASE share! Send them to Kim at mkjcwinter@sbcglobal.net so we can pass those on, too! (Or drop them in the comments below if reading this on FaceBook)