Yesterday was our first day of Classical Conversations – Challenge 1 level, and this is our class pictured above – Kory, me, Briana, and Megan. We had a great day, but also a big dose of reality. High school/college prep coursework is difficult! As I began the Latin instruction, I thought that the kids would only be required to work with first declension nouns. As the lesson continued and I kept flipping through the pages of reading and assignments for the following week, I realized that they would also need to memorize second declension, the “I am” verb forms, and the use of a few conjunctions! And, I have one student with no prior exposure to Latin – Yikes! So…27 Latin exercises, 2 science lab reports, plus chapter reading, study guide and test, 4 math lessons plus a test, 2 short stories plus a 500 word creative essay, 30 pages of economics reading and questions, collection of articles for death penalty debate, and read induction of Taming of the Shrew! We did get to make copper hydroxycarbonate in science class which was pretty cool – so thankful that Kory has the opportunity to work through this wonderful curriculum.

Below is what I wrote for the “Personal Testimony” portion of the CC tutor application. It is both a spiritual and an academic requirement.

As a college student at the University of Texas at Austin, I struggled to fill out an application for a summer camp that required a written testimony of faith – or the story of my conversion. I had been involved in Campus Life (Youth for Christ) in high school and Campus Crusade for Christ in college, and had heard many testimonies – some quite dramatic, but could not quite figure out what my own story was. I went to my Bible study leader through Campus Crusade and told her I didn’t think I had a testimony. Laura, who I had been meeting with weekly in a discipleship relationship, said that I must have a testimony if I’d been eager to study God’s Word with her and share my faith on campus for several years by then. She asked me to tell her my earliest memories of the Lord in my life. I told her about the time I had been playing at a friend’s house, and longed to have one of her “dress up” bracelets that we had been using. I decided to sneak one of the plastic segmented bracelets, linked by elastic home with me, under my shirt sleeve. Upon returning home, I was overcome with guilt, and I headed straight to my room where I began to pray to the Lord and tell Him how sorry I was. In my own 6 or 7 year old way, I asked Him for forgiveness. (But, I’m fairly certain that I did not return the bracelet!) My family went to church, but faith was never really discussed at home, and I wasn’t ever told how to have a personal relationship with the Lord. My grandmother had given me a small blank book around this time, and somehow I also acquired a little green Gideon’s Bible. After the bracelet stealing episode, I began to read the Bible, and even copied down verses in my blank book. I, of course, had no idea where to start, so I just began at the beginning. The first verse I copied was; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 I continued off and on with some semblance of this spiritual practice until high school. There I discovered a ministry called Campus Life. It was lead by one of the guidance counselors, Mr. Simons, as well as a teacher, Miss Riggs, to whom I had become close. It was in this ministry that I heard the gospel clearly, and was exhorted to surrender every part of my life to Christ. Joining Campus Crusade in college only continued this encouragement, and it was here, through Laura, and two other women named Cas and Tracy, that I learned to study the Bible and grew to love God’s Word even more. Now, about 32 years later, homeschool mom to three, wife of a godly pastor, and yet still a child in desperate need of grace and guidance, I am so thankful for Laura’s question about my earliest memory with the Lord. When I told her my story, she explained to me that all that is required for salvation is recognition of sin and a need for forgiveness from Christ – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 3:23-24) She reassured me that the experience in my bedroom back so many years ago was a true conversion, and that the longing to know the Lord and His word which followed were further evidences of the salvation I had received as a gift that day. Recently, I came across these verses in Psalm 71: “For Thou art my hope; O Lord God, Thou art my confidence from my youth. By Thee I have been sustained from my birth; Thou art He who took me from my mother’s womb; My praise is continually of Thee.” (v. 5-6) Those words encapsulate my testimony. He drew me to Himself at an early age and has sustained me through many years filled with both joy and pain. He continues to be my hope and confidence to this day.