There is much benefit to train a child to do chores while he/she is still young. Include them into your daily routine, according to their ages and abilities. Give them room to make mistakes (and they will) and be gracious to the result. Be prepared that you might have to redo whatever they were told to do. In a couple of years you will have a good helper. And in a couple more years you will have a capable, responsible and hardworking young man or lady. I am looking forward to that day.
Meanwhile, 3-year-old Shoshana is helping us to clean the eggs and place them in to a carton.

Click here to watch.

Day by Day

Help me then, in every tribulation,
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation,
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Every morning, we have a praising time that the child of the day will pick two hymns for us to sing while I play the piano. Then, we will take turns saying one thing that we are grateful for that child of the day. After that we will all pray for her. We love this time as it refreshes the atmosphere of love and peace no matter what had happened before in that morning. And it reminds me to be loving.

Today, a Thursday, is the day of our fourth child, Viviana. She picked this hymn. While I sang and played this hymn, it warmed my heart and eyes….It’s through our lost that we learned how blessed we were and still are, it’s through trails that we learned nothing is more precious than God’s presence, and it’s through crisis that we learned what God’s mercy really is…..

He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

We went to Arrowhead Provincial Park with other amilies during Canada Day weekend. We spent 4 days/3 nights camping there. This is our first endevour since we married for 10 years. Lots of preparation. Tent, sleeping bag, bikes, food, cooking utensils, clothes, etc….it is almost like a mini-moving. Although it was a lot of work, the Lord has given us pleasant weather. The children had a good time playing with other children. We walked on trails, went fishing, playing on beach and had our Sunday service beside the Arrowhead Lake. Next time tough, I would prefer a cottage style vacation, less work for dad and mom. 🙂

(I know I am a little bit late to post this, but with everything going on during the holidays and with a dial-up at home, I have to wait until I can get to the library and upload the video. So I apologize for the delay.)
Our girls had the honor to present some Christmas carols last Christmas at our church KCC. So here is part of it: Watch Here

Sometimes when you have lots of children, you can get some free labour. Well, in our home, if you want to eat you would have to work. End of discussion. So we have captured a video that shows our little ones peeling onions. Easy job yet a good exercise for them. If you train them well when they are small, they would not despise chores when they get older. Of course, you would have to be a joyful example and teach them the skills according to their ages. That is what homeschooling is about: it is a way of life where the parents teach their children life skills day in and day out. Click here to watch.

Do you believe that a 2 years old can be trained and encouraged to help in doing chores? I believe they can. Of course, it is more like a play than work to them and the end result is not going to meet your standard (i.e. the floor would still be dirty). However, we as parents have to instill the idea of “working” early in the life so our children would not become a slothful and unresponsible teenager that we see around us today. And it is mostly the parents of the teenager to be blamed. I read that the sons of the settlers were capable of running the farm at 12 while their fathers were away to town; while the daughters were capable of running the house chores at 12 as good as their mothers when they were not around.
We cannot expect our children to become responsible and hardworking adults overnight when they turn 16 if they are never taught to share the chores according to their capabilities. A child can be trained and should be allowed to “work” together alongside his parents, although sometimes it might seem he does more damage than help. But that’s alright! The idea is to build up the mentaily that WORK IS PART OF LIFE and WORK DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BORING. Work can be fun when you have the right attitude and passion. Men can fight under horrible situatons on a battlefield without losing morale if they believe in the cause. We as Christians can stand the persecutions and trials because we believe our Lord Jesus Christ is worthy for the sufferings. The children will work steadily if they see their parents do the chores cheerfully and without grumblings. Of course, the young children should get lots of praise and may be some tangible rewards (cookies or a special bike ride with daddy) if they perform exceptionally well.
Here we want to present to you Shoshana, trying to pour some baking soda and wipe the kitchen floor:
Watch here

I have volunteered to be a teacher assistant at Lake Simcoe Public School in Keswick for 3 weeks now. I am helping out in SK/JK and Grade 5 classes. It is a wonderful experience to see how homeschooling is far superior than sending your children to school, be it a public school or Christian school. Both teachers in the Sk/JK and Grade 5 are good Christians that they take their roles very seriously, hoping to teach the core Christian values in a hostile public school system, which prohibits Bible and the mentioning of the name Jesus Christ. I admire their courage and sacrifice they have made in this course.

My parents have always questioned me why we homeschool. They say the school is like a mini-society where the kids can learn how to “survive” in the real world. No where this is close to the truth.

1. The grade 5 teacher told me there is so much gossip and jealousy in his class that he has to constantly deal with. With a ratio of 1 teacher to 29 students, it is simply impossible for the teacher to properly address the need of every student. Some teachers simply give up. Without proper admonition and discipline from an adult, I believe a child cannot learn how to survive in a society with a right attitude.
2. The school is not a mini-society. It is a special place designed by humanistic educator and “experts” to exclude day-to-day real life in the class. The students do go to field trips or visit a fire station, but are these “real life”? I believe real life should be working along with adults, talking and doing business with adults, serving others with adults. A homeschooling child actually interact with the “real society” when his parents bring him along wherever they go. He can meet the banker, the lady at the grocery store, the postman, the customers of the family business etc…..
3. In a school, kids learn from peers and this does not make sense. A child learns to be a responsible adult when he is around with an adult. Also, putting kids of the same age together is very strange. They become uneasy with people of other age groups, even when they are with their siblings. They like to “hang out” with their classmates rather than be with their own families. I speak of personal experience because my daughters are very close to each other while my wife is not so with her sisters (they all went to school) or myself with my younger brother. While we still talk to each other, I hardly know his friends or vice versa.

There are many more advantages in homeschooling over sending your child to a school. I strongly believe it is a parent’s responsibility before God to teach his own children. There are exceptions where a child has to be in a school (like single parent families) but in general, a loving parent with a right heart with God is sufficient for homeschooling. The parent does not need a bachelor of education to be successful in homeschooling. Building characters based on biblical principles is far more important than teaching knowledge to a child. If you care about your child, consider homeschooling. Mothers, let go of your career. Is your job more important than the soul of your beloved child? Fathers, work with your wife so the family can live on single income. Do you really need a big house? Do you really need a big screen flat panel TV? Homeschooling is tough and demanding but also very rewarding. Your child will thank you eternally.

Children can be trained to be your great helpers at a very young age. Make it fun for them to help you. Let them know you appreciate their help with lots of praise. In this way, an 18-month can help you peel the onions together with your 3-year-old. Your 4-year-help can peel the parsnip for you. Your 6-year-old can peel potatoes while your 8-year-old can fry the eggs. Then you can sit there and enjoy the scene 🙂

If you read English and are going to get a Bible, please get a King James Bible. It is true that there are some words were “old English”, but there are lots of resources and dictionaries to help us. The more I read the KJV, the more I believe it is the Word of God and I can trust it. If you are a Christian, you need to get your foundation correct — the Bilbe.

It is often said that all Bible versions are basically the same, that their differences are just minor wording changes. Read the following comparison between the King James Version and the best-selling modern Bible translation, the New International Version, and then decide for yourself whether or not this is true. We have added bold text to assist the reader in recognizing changes.

Why did Jesus come to earth?

Is repentance important?

For whom did Jesus die?

In Whom must you believe to be saved?

Was Joseph really the father of Jesus?

Did Jesus give His disciples power to heal?

If it’s hard to do, should we just remove it?

Who is in charge?

How must we deal with our enemies?

Where did Jesus go?

Question: Aren’t some of these things included in the NIV in the footnotes?
Answer: That is not the same as including them in the text. When a young Christian sees these passages have been moved to the footnotes, he or she will assume that they are probably not really part of God’s Word. After all, the translators did not include them in the text, but simply implied that “some” manuscripts include them. What they are not told is that the vast majority of texts used by the early church included these words. They are God’s Words!

The above passage is taken from Chick Publications KJV vs NIV

To all visiters of our online store and blog, we would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. Remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for Christmas. That is the historical truth. It is not about Santa Claus, not about exchanging gifts, not about boxing day shopping. It is about Jesus, the only Saviour of mankind. It is sad to see so many people purposely or ignorantly forget about this. Living here in North America with an abundance of material, I fear that my children will expect gifts during Christmas and take it for granted. It is pretty hard for me to explain to them that millions of children around the world never receive a gift, let alone they struggle each day just for a piece of bread or a bowl of rice.
We are so blessed by God that we have a roof over our head, food in the fridge and storage, a vehicle for transportation and clothes to keep warm. As another year approaches, I pray that we Christians will be serious about our faith and separate ourself from the world. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15 KJV)
May God give peace and joy to those that abideth in Him.