BJU Press Blog

Shaping Worldview

You homeschool because your child’s faith is important to you. We want to support you in training up your child. These blog posts show how to give your child a biblical worldview of each subject.
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Creative Teaching: Homeschooling Is a Practice

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two children work on a creative painting project
Have you experienced frustration when trying to teach your own children? I can remember sitting at the table with one of my daughters, going over a simple sequence of events in American history, and she just couldn’t get it straight. The thought of “why can’t she learn this simple idea?” quickly led to “I’m such a failure as a homeschooler.” As a homeschool grad and a homeschool dad, I’ve had experience on both sides of this disheartening scenario. Often our frustration grows from our expectations about teaching. If we have a better understanding of teaching as a creative practice, we can also have better expectations for our children.

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God-Centered Self Care

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use your Bible for God-centered self care
I had to laugh at a recent advertising slogan I saw: “Mac and cheese is self-care.” As I thought about this matter of self-care, I realized that we don’t usually neglect to take care of ourselves. The problem is we tend to allow the world, our feelings, or our friends to dictate how we “self-care.” In every area of life, our purpose should be to bring glory to God, and this includes taking care of ourselves. If we do this selfishly, it will end up only hurting us and our families.

So what is the right way to approach this issue of self-care? As in all other aspects of life, we can look to Jesus, our perfect example. Though fully God, He was also fully human and experienced human needs. Jesus spent His earthly life serving others, but He also took time to take care of Himself in two main ways.

Read more about spiritual self-care…

Scriptural Responses to Earthly Leadership

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earthly leadership nero
As we approach Inauguration Day, you and your children may be having regular conversations about the outcome of the elections, how leaders are chosen, and how Christians should respond to leaders who do not value God’s commands. The Bible should always guide our responses to the major events in our lives. However, our world often appears differently from the way it did in Bible times.

In Bible times, when leaders were often born into their roles, it was easy to see how God chose leaders. In a democracy, the people choose our leaders. Certainly God remains sovereign over all the choices of man, but is it possible that God intended for us to have a better leader but allowed the people to choose a worse leader? Are our current leaders not the leaders He chose for us? How should we as Christians respond to earthly leadership?

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4 Tips for Creating a Positive Tone in Your Homeschool

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mother daughter with positive tone
Homeschooling is hard. Parenting is even harder. We homeschool parents probably have it the hardest of all—we have to be both the teacher and the parent all day long. This dual role can be a blessing. We have the opportunity to deal with character issues that would likely not be addressed if our child sat in a traditional classroom. But wearing both hats can also be deeply discouraging. Without a positive tone in our homeschool, we may feel like we are constantly having to correct our children. We’re correcting their schoolwork, their attitudes, and wrong behavior. Correction, correction, correction. All. Day. Long.

We homeschool parents have a unique superpower—we set the tone of the atmosphere in our homes. Have you ever noticed that when you are feeling grumpy everyone in your house gets grumpy too? The same phenomena happens when we are full of joy. It’s contagious. So if we want to change the tone in our home away from the constant doom and gloom of correction, we are going to need to change both our words and our actions. Here are some ways to get you started on creating a positive tone in your homeschool.

Read tips for creating a positive tone in your homeschool!

Celebrate the Life of Christ!

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merry Christmas: celebrate Christ!
This coming year holds much uncertainty. Uncertainty for families, uncertainty for our country, and uncertainty for the whole world. After a tumultuous 2020, the unknowns of 2021 may tempt us to be anxious and afraid. But Christ promises true peace and joy if we trust in Him. Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, let us all celebrate the life of Christ before the new year. And may we begin this new year filled with hope because Christ has overcome the world. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).