The Gospel

My husband preached today... as he normally does each Sunday.  And it was one of those sermons that just sticks with you all day long, and you digest bits and pieces throughout the day.

The sermon was from the Gospel reading in Luke chapter 10 about the Good Samaritan, but I'd say 2/3 of the sermon was law... what God expects of me... what God commands from me.  So, I'm sitting in the pew hearing this law, all the while knowing there's no WAY I can do perfectly what God commands...it's heavy, hard to hear.  But I've been listening to my husband's sermons for a while and I am on the edge of my seat inwardly begging for him to get to the Gospel.  I know he will, I know it, but I can hardly stand the wait.

He talks about what it means to love our neighbors.  That our neighbors are whomever we come in contact with, and loving them means caring for them in the most remedial tasks as the Samaritan did when he cleaned and bandaged the beaten man and took him to the hospital.  Okay, so, we are the Samaritan...we are to meet the needs that we see in front of us for whomever is in front of us.. be it friend or foe. We show God's love to our neighbors by doing our family's laundry, allowing someone with small, tired children to get in front of us at the grocery line, returning a harsh word with a kind one... and sometimes I do this.  But sometimes I don't... many times I don't.  And I know this as I sit and listen to the sermon.   I'm the Samaritan, and I'm not doing such a great job.

Then it comes.  Jesus is the Samaritan.  We are the beaten and broken man.  Jesus sees us in the road, friend or foe?  Doesn't matter, he cleans our wounds and brings us to the hospital to heal.  HE does what God commands of us perfectly, HE shows us God's love, because we can't.  Ahhh Gospel.  And when we fail... because we always do, the gospel heals us.  It cleanses us in the waters of our baptism.  It heals and strengthens us in the Holy meal of communion.  And leads us to rest in the company of other saints as we hear the Word of God preached on Sunday morning.

 Because of the perfect life of Christ, I am now able to do the work that he has prepared in advance for me to do...I will show the love of God to my neighbors, and I will come back to church regularly to receive forgiveness and to hear the healing Gospel.  Ahhh, Gospel.

Lily of the Valley

Awwww, Lily of the valley.  What a lovely plant with lovely little bell like flowers...  Um, yeah, not so much for me.  Lily of the valley has taken over a section of the garden to the point where they are so dense, that the little flowers they produce get smothered by other LOV plants, greatly diminishing its appeal.  I might have considered keeping the invasive bugger if the bunnies were attracted to them, but they seem to instinctively know that these delicate multipliers are poisonous.  So I have decided to thin them out... which is just gardener speak for "get rid of as many as I possibly can".

Being the novice gardener that I am, I googled some information about the best way to go about my task.  Of course there was no shortage of opinions.  There were those who were fans of the plant and simply couldn't stand the thought of someone destroying perfectly good specimens, offering to drive hundreds of miles to adopt any in need of a good home.. puhlease. Then there were those on the other extreme whose answer to any unwanted plant is hefty doses of Round-up.  While, I would love to adopt out all my orphaned plants, the reality is that there are too many of them and not enough of me.  Surely, I will make known to others that there are free pickin's at the parsonage and all are welcome, but for now let's just say there WILL be casualties.   As for the round up... it's like killing an ant with a bazooka.  Serious overkill, and frankly I don't want my soil ruined for any newcomers to the garden.   Somewhere nestled in the middle of these two extreme sides of debate lay my answer.

Humor me for a moment of gardening introspection and reflection:

 At the risk of sounding philosophically lame...why do we naturally seek out the easy answer?  Instant this, automatic that. When did we forget that there is value in the journey... in the work, sweat and effort?  We opt for labor saving devices...dishwashers, elevators, riding lawn mowers... then hop on our treadmills or spend an hour at the gym to get in our daily dose of exercise... huh?   It is here that the answer to my Lily of the Valley dilemma is found.

Allow me to set the scene: Me, a wheelbarrow, a pitchfork and my sheer will.  Certainly not the "easy" answer, but the answer which benefits me AND my garden the most.  For nearly 3 hours I poked at the LOV with my pitchfork.  I stabbed the soil, hoisted the roots, shook off the dirt and discarded them in the wheelbarrow to be hauled down to the compost pile.  Two wheelbarrow loads later, I called it quits.  I was literally soaked with sweat, filthy with soil, and bleeding from blisters.  My pitchfork didn't keep track of how many calories I'd burned and the wheelbarrow didn't know how many miles we had logged up and down the hill... but my body told me it had been a good workout.  Something tells me that my fight with the Lily of the Valley is far from over.  But that's okay, I need the exercise.  :)

After:

Veritas Press Scholars Academy Online

For the last few days we have been getting to know the people who are influencing our daughter. Emily takes classes at an online school called Veritas Press Scholars Academy... a classical approach to education.

Some background:

     Two years ago when we moved from the Seminary campus to Dan's vicarage placement in Iowa, we knew we needed to make a change in how we were schooling Emily. While I consider myself reasonably intelligent (no snickering), I became aware that it would be a daunting task to academically challenge my more than reasonably intelligent daughter through high school. While in St. Louis at the Seminary, we were fortunate to meet Joanna Hensley, who is one of the online instructors for Veritas. She was their best marketing ploy in my opinion. If this woman was representative of the quality of teachers being hired by this up-and-coming-technologically-suped-up-online-classical-school... sign us up.

     In August of 2008 we enrolled Em in three of the online classes, but because of the late date, she would only be able to participate fully in one of the three classes. The other two she would "audit". This meaning that she could watch the live class, but could not answer questions, "raise" her hand, or submit work to be graded. She would however get to benefit from class discussion and wisdom of the teachers. One of the classes she was auditing was an Omnibus Primary class. This "3 in 1" of Literature, Theology, and History involved mounds of reading and oodles of great discussions... just what Em was looking for. However, telling my daughter that she couldn't participate in heated theological debates in class was like telling a starving man he could only watch through a window as others feasted at a banquet! Regardless, she was hooked.

     It's been fascinating for us to see just how a "virtual" school can give our daughter such a concrete experience like it has. She's had classmates in our kitchen working on science labs.. goggles and all, via skype. She has assembled power point presentations for classes with classmates thousands of miles away. And walking into her room at any given time, I can hear, "Hello Mrs. Pool," from any number of kids, their beaming faces coming in clear over the video cam. She's used her computer to reach across the world... literally. She has made friends from Belgium to Mexico City, from Sri Lanka to Alabama, San Francisco to Bermuda... all through a computer screen. And these "virtual" friendships are anything but virtual. They are quite real.

Back to the present:

     This past weekend our family has enjoyed the End of the Year Gathering hosted by VPSA in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This event is an opportunity for the students, teachers and parents to meet "in real life". The kids get ridiculously excited at the prospect of meeting their best friends for the first time...to actually hug and confirm each other's existence beyond a monitor screen. It takes a minimal amount of time for newness to wear off, and although they have only just officially met, their relationships really continue from the last time they logged out of cyberspace.

   Yesterday, we said our goodbyes and it was quite emotional to watch as the tears flowed.  Each student headed home to climb back into their electronic boxes miles away from each other. I know Em will be sore for several days, and the ache of not having her friends within arm's reach will slowly dissapate into her normal rythym of life.  But there is no escaping the impact they have had on her. 

And we are thankful. 

Thankful for like-minded parents.  Thankful for teachers committed to excellence.  Thankful for administrators who look at our children and see potential and promise.  Homeschooling was never about doing it on our own or being renegades.  It has always been about discerning what is God's best for our children.  Thank you Veritas for being the best for my daughter.  We are grateful beyond words.

Emilyann's Parents.
http://www.veritaspress.com/

Panoramic Parsonage

For those in my family who haven't yet come to visit me... A little temptation ;)

*Click on any of the images to see them larger... totally worth it! Just be sure to hit your "back" arrow to come back to the blog. The "X" will close the window AND the blog.

So I stood in the center of my grassy area and took panoramic pictures of the back yard. Starting at the left you can barely see the stone steps that lead up to the east side of the house. The house sits on a hill so the garage is at basement level. A door from the garage into the basement is the family's first choice for entrance. Another set of steps leads you up to the patio area. The sliding glass doors are actually what our guests use as the main entrance. The patio is L-shaped with a side section that wraps around the west side of the house, taking you to the kitchen door; the second favorite entrance of guests. There are so many ways to get into the house... but we rarely use the front door.

Warning: If you are a stalker/burglar-type person lurking through innocent people's blogs for unsuspecting victims to thieve, take note that these entrances are all well lit and ALWAYS LOCKED.
Just sayin'...

Hanging over the patio and shading the back yard is a rather large and messy Black Walnut tree. Technically, its trunk is in our neighbor's yard, but we get the pleasure of cleaning up after it. blah. Last year we were thankful that the cold winter kept the tree from producing any walnuts. Otherwise we send Eric out each day to collect the walnuts in 5 gallon buckets to toss into the compost pile. I like to think of it as the squirrels' one-stop walnut shop.

Along the west side are several variegated hostas, two severely pruned forsythia, day lilies, honeysuckle, and a mock orange. (There are a couple other large, flowering shrubs that I am not mentioning because I don't know their names and would like to avoid appearing ignorant... oops). The green mass growing alongside the lawn is comprised of millions... did I mention MILLIONS, of Lily of the Valley and one lonely iris trying desperately to find some sunshine. Fear not my bearded friend, I will transplant you this fall, and you shall once again bask and bloom in the wonder of dappled sunlight!

Situated in a garden urn on the broken base of an old birdbath (like that alliteration?.. I didn't even plan it!) is an ever blooming tuberous begonia. Basically, it means I can dig up the plants' root (tuber), store it all winter in the basement and pot it again next spring... FREE PLANTS!!!

I LOVE THAT!

Above the urn is... contented sigh... a lilac. Need I say more?

Queen Victoria "something or others" (read: red flowers that bunnies and deer won't eat) and hostas are growing at the base of an evergreen-type tree.

This is the section of the yard that I am currently dreaming and contemplating about. At the far left, barely seen, is my pride peony bush (white flowers). There are actually three bushes, but two of them I only just planted last year and they won't flower for another year or two. I'm sure at some point I will dedicate a whole blog entry to my beloved peonies, but that won't be today.

Several evergreens and one oak make up the sloped edge of the yard. While edging the lawn, I discovered an abandoned stone path that leads to the church's pavilion. My dreams almost always include restoring that path. Sometimes with an arbor... sometimes a gate... who knows. Yesterday, I started clearing away the lower branches in an attempt to make that dream a reality.

Note to self: You will get wet if you cut back tree branches right after a thunderstorm.

The sunnier slope on the eastern side of the yard will be home to azaleas, hydrangea and maybe even a bridal spirea! I plan to use Tennessee Ostrich ferns under the trees to keep the current secluded feeling without looking or being overgrown, which is how that area looks right now. If you are a keen observer, you've no doubt noticed the clothes line.

Yeah, that usually isn't in my dreams...

The lawn slopes dramatically at this section which requires me to pay homage to my "lawn guy", Kurt Dell, who fearlessly rides a mower up and down these treacherous angles. Yikes. At the base of the lawn you might recognize the previously blog-honored hostas. In the background is the church parking lot and sanctuary. I love living next to the church.

Here is a view of what I call the "driveway garden". I was standing by the church sanctuary as I took this picture. Blooming right now: blue and yellow bearded iris (left), pastel pink verbascum, daisies, and pink dianthus (far right).

Purple coneflowers, various lilies and Missouri primroses to come. Stay tuned!

Here Comes the Rain Again...

Quick update on the rain barrel. We had some thunderstorms and some light to moderate rainfall in the last hour or so. This would be the first rain since I installed the barrel under the drain pipe. In the following video I claimed to have collected nearly 2/3 of a barrel o' rain in a mere 20 minutes, but in reality it's probably not that much... yet. In my defense and quite understandably, I was caught up in the sheer excitement of the moment. ;D

"Why Do You Homeschool?"

I have been asked numerous times to explain why we homeschool. I don't mind the question at all. In fact I look forward to talking to others about our decision to homeschool. Right off the bat, let me preface my answer with saying we don't think homeschooling is for everyone or every family. To be sure, there are many who are successful in educating their children in other ways. There are just too many variables to consider for me to definitively say, "Everyone should homeschool." Besides, I wasn't homeschooled and I think I turned out all right ;)

So now, back to the question. Why did the Pools decide to homeschool? Well, the original reason differs greatly from the current reason... with several medial reasons to fill-in the gap. Probably the greatest influence for homeschooling in the beginning was my desire to watch my kids learn from a very close proximity. I wanted to be the one who would teach them to read, write, tie their shoes, do a cartwheel... My dad taught me all those things. (Well, maybe not the cartwheels.) And I thought he was so cool. I wanted that connection with my kids. Dan and I wanted to be the major influences on our children. How could we do that if they were out of our care for up to seven hours each day?

As the years moved on, we revisited the homeschooling questions... Is this working? Is this the best for our family at this time? Is mom still sane? We took it year by year. Often I was asked, "Are you planning to homeschool through high school?" I wasn't even sure sometimes if I was going to make it through the week let alone several more years. I recall one particular day when Dan was very concerned with the amount of stress homeschooling seemed to be putting on me. He actually said, "I just don't want to come home one day to a note that says you've had enough and are gone to Mexico." Seriously, there were many occasions when I felt like a complete failure. I'd lose my patience, my focus, my inspiration, and my desire. I might have been the one educating my kids, but God has taught me so much about grace, forgiveness, and faith.

When we made the decision to leave California for Missouri where Dan would attend Seminary, the question about homeschooling was an easy one. We were facing four years and tentatively four moves within those years. Would we homeschool? DUH! All that change is crazy enough on its own, but with homeschooling we had a built in schedule; no new teachers, no new curriculum. It was a no brainer. We continued to homeschool through Seminary.

So what has made us continue to homeschool? Results. Plain and simple. It's worked for us. We saw great progress in our kids' performances academically, socially, and spiritually. What Dan and I had envisioned for our family was happening. We wanted empathetic, intellectual, responsible children who loved learning. A bonus we hadn't foreseen was how well homeschooling works with a Pastor's schedule. The flexibility that homeschooling affords us is something I could never relinquish at this stage.

So, this is how our family has functioned for the last 13 years, and we don't even ask ourselves the question anymore.

We homeschool.

It's what our family does.

Lotsa Hostas

If you are a friend of mine on facebook, you no doubt have heard me wax poetic about my garden. It is no exaggeration to say that I LOVE my garden. Sometimes even I am shocked at the extent of my adoration for all things green (minus creeping charlie).

My first summer caring for the parsonage gardens introduced me to hostas. I didn't even know what a hosta was. I was clueless about midwestern gardens. The only reference books I owned catered to West Coast gardeners. Plus, the area of California I lived in would literally be hell for a hosta... dry and HOT, hence my ignorance about them.

In the last three springs of caring for these wonderful faithful growers, I have come to adore the hosta. My goal is to learn all the different varieties growing here in our yard. For now, I know them only as green hostas, blue hostas, yellow hostas and striped hostas; small hostas, tall hostas and ginormous hostas. Lotsa hostas!

One of the greatest traits about the hosta is that you can divide them and plant them nearly anywhere semi shady and they will thrive. (In my head I hear this translation: "FREE PLANTS!") They are fantastic to grow under trees and along lawn edges. The leaves gracefully arch or fan and they are perfect for hiding the dying foliage of early spring bulbs such as tulips or hyacinths.

To the left you can see some hosta shading the base of my delphinium plants and covering the remnants of purple hyacinth. The next picture shows some hostas that I transplanted earlier this spring. They will be the forefront for my gladiolus just beginning to show here.

The verigated hosta in the picture below is hiding an Easter Lily... which doesn't really bloom at Easter, but actually, in June. Notice the beginnings of flowers on the hosta. Not only do you get wonderful foliage, but the flowers are often beautiful as well.

The pictures here are a small biopsy of the numerous hostas here at the parsonage, and as long as I am tending these gardens they can only increase in numbers. Viva la Hosta!!!