ReACHE member businesses and ministries

A couple of weeks ago, I encouraged ReACHE members to let me know if you have a business or side job or ministry that you would like to have promoted.  I heard back from 3 families and wanted to pass their information on to everyone.  If you have need of any of their services, I would encourage you to please consider checking them out.

From Debbie Huff--

Our sons operate a lawn care & landscaping business called The Lawn Rangers.  They prefer to serve customers in the Rankin county area as we live just 5 miles north of Puckett on Hwy 43 S.  They also operate our farm, Hidden Arrows Farm, which is a dairy goat farm.  We sell the raw milk and make handmade goats' milk soap and lotion.  They can be reached at the following numbers:

Alex Huff-601-906-6745

Andrew Huff-760-257-4490

From Jennifer Crowe--

Mason and Preston mow yards.  Preston's cell phone is 601-918-7172.

From Leigh-Anne Ainsworth--

Jeff owns Ainsworth Foundation Repair Co. and we are also very active in inner-city ministry at Southside Baptist Church in south Jackson and WeWillGo ministries in downtown Jackson. 

601-540-7282

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I am just becoming aware of WeWillGo ministries, and plan to find out some specific needs/requests they have in the coming weeks.  ReACHE members John and Marci Ferguson are very involved with this ministry.  In the meantime, you can check out that website here.

If you have any businesses (no matter how small) or ministries you would like to add, just let me know.  

Posted by:  C Miley

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

My mom called me the past Monday, saying that my dad had been admitted to the hospital with heart rhythm problems.  This isn't a new thing for my dad, but it usually leaves him a little weak and out of it for a few days.  They were going to keep him for a couple of days, and I knew my mom would feel a little more at ease if someone could stay with him during the day while she was at work.  So, guess who that someone was?  Because, you know, I don't work...

photo image by @junebug--panoramio.com

So, like so many of you have had to do, I rearranged schedules and made new arrangements, and loaded up the youngest to head home for a few days.  And, because I had nothing better to do, and this particular child likes to do school work, I packed up some books/papers for him to work on.  At my parent's house.  Where they would be seeing exactly what we have done for the day.  Can you tell where this is going?

Well, I chose to just take his reading, math and science stuff with us.  He had to read a story out of his book, complete a math sheet, and for science I read two pages and then he draws his own picture and has to summarize what I read in at least two sentences.  I don't make him correct his spelling on this sheet, because I learned the hard way with child #1 that this will just lead him to choose a very limited vocabulary when he has to write.  I just use those incorrect words for spelling words.

I am also not too much of a stickler for accuracy.  Mario just happened to appear up in the tree John drew, along with the pretty accurate depiction of the bird of the day and its nest.  Mario had also set a trap for Luigi, who was hiding in a bush next to the rollercoaster on the mountain.  OK, so it is not completely accurate, but he is getting the gist of his lesson, and he loves looking at his book (John's Book of Knowledge).  Somewhat unfortunately, he also likes showing it to his grandparents.

My dad (who is doing really well, BTW) looked at John's page, and of course asked what everything was.  As John launched into the elaborate explanation that really had nothing to do with birds--other than that 'they pooped on Luigi', I cringed as my dad just seemed confused.  But, he let it pass.  Then, my mom came home...

She looked at his math worksheet first.  I knew it wasn't going to end well when she was asking him why his didn't write his numbers neatly.  I'm not a stickler for that, either.  Then she asked him if he ever read from 'real books'--as opposed to his Sonlight issued Beginner's Bible.  Then, the science page.  Why did he draw all that other stuff?  Did he know that two of the words were misspelled?  His response--"Mom doesn't care about spelling".  She said that she would tell him how to spell them correctly so he could re-write it.  "No, that's OK".  Why didn't he take more time to write his sentences in a straight line?  Would they let him do that in 'real school' last year?  "No, but you don't have to be neat or smart in homeschool".

I was sighing and cringing in the other room.

Mom didn't say anything about it to me last night.  I'm bracing myself, though.  There is no school work to show for today.  We totally chucked it and spent most of our time outside near the lake, and then watched cartoons.  We counted the baby ducks (math and science) and he figured out how long we had to wait for the Jetsons to come on (math and reading).  Now he is playing with his cousin.

It may not be the kind of learning my parents necessarily appreciate, but that's where we are.  I guess its a good thing I don't ever work, huh?

Posted by: C Miley

PWAGT Class Fall Festival for MS School for the Blind

Thanks so much to Paula Stogner and Jennifer for setting this up! And all the others who worked so hard to pull it off. Our kids did GREAT job ministering to the resident kids at MS School for the blind. I am not sure who got more out of this-- the kids at the school or our ReACHE kids! My own kids, I know had a really good time. They were admittedly nervous before hand. But both of them really stepped out of their comfort zones, and found, as all of us, that God can work through our weakness and insecurities if we only get out of the way and let Him! Every one of our kids did such a super job! I am so proud of them.

Here are some pictures. (Sorry I don't have one of all of the kids. I took a ton, but some of them were too blurry)

Pumpkin Patch 10/20

October 18 Science Co-op on Germs

September 20 Co-ops

Galileo Presentations in PWAGT - 6th graders

Homeschooling Facts for the Discouraged

Things you need to know/remember about homeschooling:

--You aren't the only one who has ever curled up in bed, admitting defeat for the school day after only 12 minutes of 'instruction'.

--Your kid isn't the only one that can't read/write/spell.

--You are not a failure as a homemaker because you don't grind your own wheat.  Or bake your own bread.  Or forget to buy bread--again.  Or forget to feed the kids lunch.

--Not everyone has a school room or designated school space.  Some people have books and papers and science experiment parts on every flat surface in the house.

--Not everyone is organized or efficient or sanitized.  Life happens, and can be very messy.

--Others lose pencils/erasers/rulers/protracters on an hourly basis.

--Your kids will be OK if they don't learn Latin (I'll just keep repeating this one myself).

--Yes, it is possible to forget to do whole subjects for large chunks of time.

--Sometimes, science experiments fail.  Even the simple, no-brainer ones.

--Yes, others have to miss cool field trips because they don't have even a few dollars to spare.  Some of us never go on vacation, and know our kids will never get to Disney World on our watch. (This one I remind myself every year, especially during Facebook picture postings).

--You aren't the only one who may not feel 'called' to homeschool.  You may even hate it at times.  Shh...here's a secret they don't tell you in those encouraging homeschool magazines and Facebook pages--It's OK. You are not the only one who has ever felt this way (Don't worry, I won't tell your in-laws).

--You are not alone.  You don't have to feel together, or organized, or competent to do this.  If you can encourage someone on this crazy journey, great--do it.  If you need encouragement, please let others provide it.

Because this one thing I know, whether we are willing to admit it or not.  We need each other.

Posted by:  Charla Miley

The Age 18 List

Last night some of us met together for the homeschool parents' small group (this is on the ReACHE calendar--we meet one Sunday night a month and it is very encouraging--check it out sometimes).  We watched a DVD presentation by Matt and Mary Freideman, about discipleship in the home.  The topic was very interesting--The Age 18 List.

The general idea is a checklist/set of guidelines that they developed soon after their first child (of six) was born.  It included things they wanted to make sure their children had been taught before they were 18.  The areas we learned about were related to finances, sexuality, Biblical literacy and spirituality.  It opened up a good discussion time, where we all basically acknowledged that while the tendency may be to walk away feeling overwhelmed at 'how behind the curve' we are in some areas, it is never too late to get started doing something.

Being a parent is difficult.  It helps to not only know that others are going through/thinking the same things, but also to know about and use tools that give direction and encouragement.  While I have thought through many of the things I hope my children take with them into adulthood, I have never come up with any definite type of plan.  I feel like I am doing good most days to have some type of meal provided (and yes, cereal counts as a meal at my house--a lot), and on co-op days we are doing good if we can find our green shirts and folders and the list of what supplies are needed that day.  And don't even get me started on Sunday mornings...

Our 'homework' was to begin thinking through our own Age 18 lists.  Whether I get anything actually written down remains to be seen, but I think the concept is great.  It has definitely gotten me curious--do you have a list like this for your family?  If so, what kinds of things have you included?  If not, do you have things in mind that you DEFINITELY want your children to go out in the world knowing/doing/being?

Your turn now--comment.  :)

Update:  After I posted this, I found this video on the Skit Guys website, entitled 'Can We Talk - Parenting 101'.  It made me laugh, and fits right in with what we are trying to do with our kids.  I consider it a good investment of 2 minutes and 49 seconds.

Posted by: Charla Miley

What did YOU learn this week?

When I first started homeschooling, I was almost daily amazed at the things I was learning/re-learning, especially about history.  I don't know where my mind was for the 12 years of my school experience, or even college for that matter, but so much just seemed new to me.

That has been many years ago, and I have forgotten a lot of that information.  I guess that is one benefit to having several kids spread out--I have the opportunity to go over that information more than once.  As we were going through 2nd-ish grade history this week, I remembered some things again.  Stuff like:

--people were sailing and living on Mediterranean Islands during the time of Abraham.

--Homer told the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey 700 years before Jesus, around the same time Isaiah was endearing himself to the Jewish population.

--Slaves were brought to the Pharoah from other parts of Africa long before Joseph showed up.

--why spinning in circles will make a person dizzy, but turning cartwheels will not.

Sadly, though, I also learned that I have completely forgotten how to do those geometry proofs that I breezed through in high school.  So, my son got a math break this week, until I can have some time to focus on just that.  He didn't complain about it at all, either.

What about you?  What neat things did you learn/remember this week?


Posted by Charla Miley

Boz Preschool Co-Op Class

Hanging out at the Skating Rink

What Am I Afraid Of?

(Edited to Add: I am NOT a blogger or a writer. I started not to put this here because of that reason, but then I determined that those were excuses to cover up fear;-).................


So....... the kids and I were having a conversation (prompted by discussions of Halloween and the State Fair) about why people love to be frightened. We talked about how they got a kick out of hiding behind the door when Dad is coming in from work and jumping out to scare him. We talked about spook houses (I don’t know how they know so much about these, as they have never been to one???). Anyway, we talked about the free-fall ride (and others) at the fair. Everyone had the general agreement that we, as people, tend to like being scared. It’s scary for a moment, but when you “come around” you laugh and think it’s great.

Well, the conversation we had was just trivial, of course. But later I began to dwell on this word --FEAR. Why is it that we are so drawn to it? The stuff with the kids involved being drawn to fear for entertainment purposes. But when I really thought about it, fear draws us in to some areas that it really is definitely NOT for entertainment purposes.

When I examine the things I do day to day. How much am I driven by fear? Not consciously, of course. After all, I do things because I want to and I really don’t care what others think, right?!?! But seriously, if I am completely honest with myself, I probably do most things (particularly parenting) out of fear of something. That something may vary from situation to situation, but….still fear.

I like to think I am passed the whole caring what other people think. When I examine decisions I make though, I see that this is not always true. But what I am noticing more and more, is that I am making too many decisions with fear of what *I* think. Do I fear myself? Not really, I guess. What I fear is (perceived) reality. That probably doesn’t make any sense. What I mean is that I do (or don’t do) a lot of things based on what I think will (or will not) result. My fears have shifted from being afraid of what people will think to my perceptions of “if….then….” scenarios. It’s still fear. Fear of the known or fear of the unknown. Still fear.

Of course I know its wrong to do anything out of fear of ANYTHING other than the Lord. I know all the “Christian” answers about fear and how Satan and sin is the culprit, if we trust God enough, we will have no fear, yadee yadah. But as I thought about it, the kids are really right. We are drawn to fear. Plain and simple. We don’t mean to be. It’s just where our (perceived) comfort is. If we didn’t use some type of fear to guide us, we would feel flippant about our choices. Just something to think about.

……..Father, help me to be drawn to You. Not fear. You are all that matters. I know that I know that I know this. Help me to live in that place. The fun and rides of fear may have its place in playful endeavors, but not in my relationships, whether that be with my kids and how I lead them, or my friendships and how I pursue and cultivate them, or even with myself and how I make simple day to day choices. May I be drawn to You and only you…….

Nora Hill is baptized!!! Aaron Hill baptizes his daughter this Sunday at PLBC. Praise the Lord - ReACHE member comes to know Christ.

Leading little ones-D'Lynn Clegg has been doing skits each Sunday in Children's worship at PLBC - one of ReACHE's own!

Rainwater Observatory at French Camp with PWAGT class - September