No Excuses {Our Weekly WrapUp}

I did not plan to face my excuses this week.

This week was one like so many others. There was planning and baking and cleaning, and a little bit of schooling (it was Easter week for us).

But then this morning, I walked into our bedroom and I found myself facing off against my excuses.

I picked up a little book fallen from my husband’s nightstand this morning. The book opened to a page about Hugh Latimer and the quote,

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

These words grabbed me, so I sat down on the edge of the bed and read the story.

You see, that is a phrase I hear my husband quote all the time. Years ago, when we first met, I thought he was just making excuses. But now I think I understand.

Hugh Latimer is not one of those people whose name I recognize. It turns out he was chaplain to Henry VIII, a leader of the Protestant reformation in England, and a martyr burned at the stake by Queen Mary in 1555.

I spent years and years laying English history into my children’s hearts and minds so that they could fully understand our own history. My kids know all the English kings and their exploits. They know the wars and treaties and leaders, political and religious. But we somehow missed Hugh Latimer.

I am glad we did. If I already knew who Latimer was, I wouldn’t have read through Fastened Like Nails from Lamplighter Press this morning. And I wouldn’t have realized the actual meaning of that quote from 1 Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:15 isn’t an excuse. It is a confession. An acceptance of how things are and a determination to be as honorable and good and true as you can, always.

And that is a great way to end the week, don’t you think?

Our Blog was busy this week – Thank you to everyone who is commenting and joining me as we talk about homeschooling life! I really enjoy the conversation and fellowship.

This week I wrote about how I dug deep to grab the courage I needed to teach the subjects I never liked, and a few thoughts on where we draw the line we will not cross.

A wonderful book for preschoolers that we reviewed this week:

We are evaluating lots products & books this week that will result in interesting and exciting reviews in a few weeks:

Fourth Form Latin (what may be my son’s favorite review this year, from Memoria Press)
Always Fall Forward by Todd Gerelds (the son of the coach from the Woodlawn movie)
A Pocketful of Hope for Mothers by Robin Jones Gunn
Where the Fire Falls by Karen Barnett