Archives For Inspirational

July’s A-List: The Fantastic Five

July 16, 2017 — 1 Comment

Tomorrow we embark on Term 3. The past year has been full of privilege and anticipation. We’ve made some new friends, been encouraged and branched out into new areas of learning. One of the biggest being our commitment to Driver’s Education.

In my particular State, each learner driver has to complete 120 hours of supervised driving before sitting for a practical drivers test. If they pass that, they can go on to drive unsupervised, working their way up through two different levels, over three years, before being able to attain their full licence.

One of the challenges of drivers education is monotony. Discipline requires repetition. Practice requires discipline. Overcoming a dreary routine requires creativity.

So, from the beginning I laid this journey before the Lord, and then come up with a road map. Each lesson will be a road trip. They won’t be the same every time and each lesson will have a deliberate goal and destination.

In addition, once we nailed down the basics, and worked up confidence to a satisfactory level, we’ve just come into the stage where we can safely add “mix tapes”. Music and driving go hand in hand. Since our young drivers are at this more confident level, adding music, takes the lessons to a new level.

With this in mind, here’s what’s on our current A-list:

1.  Lift Your Head Weary Sinner (Chains) [feat. Tedashii] [Live], Crowder

The lyrics and music already shine, but Tedashii makes this version. Heart felt, honest, raw.

2. Ghost Ship, Theocracy.

I started listening to Theocracy around the beginning of the year after having had the band pointed out to me in a Facebook post from an internet friend. The quality this band puts out meets the genre head on. It’s solid, lyrically intentional and well thought out.

3. Kyrie (Eleison), & Serve Somebody, Kevin Max.

Released this past week, Kevin Max’s cover album, ‘Serve Somebody‘, fills some gaps missing in the eclectic, electric musician’s anthology. His version of Mister Mr’s, 1985 Kyrie Elesion (Lord, Have Mercy) levels up against the original, at some points, even exceeding it. I had added this song without really thinking about the lyrics, but God has a sense of humour, so as He does from time to time, the humorous set-up couldn’t be more relevant. The album also contains a rock version of Bob Dylan’s, ‘Serve Somebody’. It’s the best cover of the Dylan original that I’ve heard; Johnny Q. Public’s version on their ’95 album, ‘Extra*Ordinary‘, coming in a close second.

4. Golgotha, W.A.S.P

I never really clung to this band. It wasn’t until last year when I read an article about front man, ‘Blackie Lawless’s’ conversion to faith in Jesus Christ, that my interest in the story of W.A.S.P. was peaked.

“Certainly, lyrically everything is written from the eyes of my faith, everything is through that filter. You’re also talking about a genre that, in general, is obsessed with the idea of God and/or the Devil. Jazz, pop, there is no other genre that is absolutely obsessed with it as this genre is.’ [i]

Golgotha is lyrically intense. It reaches straight into the void, the silence, its pain, the feeling of absence, abandonment and points the listener to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a bonus the finale of this epic seven minute song, contains one of the best guitar solos I’ve heard. There’s no glam rock finger tapping, every string is hit, every note played, every beat felt.

5. Who’s The (Bat)man, Patrick Stump.

After watching the Batman Lego movie, our homeschoolers came to me and said, ”hey dad?”, ”check this song out, it’s you’re new anthem.” So, I log into Spotify and find it added to a few of my lists. It’s not a bad song. The guitar work, works. The lead solo is okay and the lyrics remind me of Weird Al, so win-win.

 

‘If there is one word, which describes learning, it is process. Hence, to teach is to enhance and facilitate that process. The teacher is the facilitator. The function of education is to do everything to promote the process.’
– ( Obed Onwuegbu, Teaching That Guarantees Learning).

References:

[i]  Sourced 16th July 2017, W.A.S.P. Frontman Blackie Lawless Delves Deep Into His Faith + New Album ‘Golgotha’ 

In Homeschool, Homeschool Notes, Inspirational, Music , , , , ,
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Our Current Read & Discuss List (The 2017 Autumn Edition)

April 10, 2017 — 1 Comment

The read and discuss summer edition was something I aimed at putting together, it just never eventuated. So, I’m skipping right to an autumn post.

One of the chief reasons for this is that we’ve been carefully treading through Paul’s letter to the Romans. The letter itself represents the most significant theological outworking from the Apostle to the Gentiles, in the New Testament. As I recently heard said, Romans is the closest thing to a systematic theology from Paul.

Reading through Romans is something every Christian should take the time to do. For our journey we employed the services of John Calvin, Karl Barth and Charles Spurgeon.

Calvin for the direct reformed theological exegetical exchange, Spurgeon for a straight forward word about the text that comes directly from a Pastor’s heart and Barth for a closer to our times, look at how Marxist language, politics, psychology and Romans meet.

I should add that due to the intensity of its structure and content, my use of {Uncle} Barth’s, Der Römerbrief (Epistle to the Romans) was selective.

Our Autumn reading list for Homeschool:

1.‘Speech to Conservative Women’s Conference, 1988’ (hyperlinked) & ‘Post-IRA Assassination Attempt – Brighton Bombing Speech, 1984’ (hyperlinked) (Margaret Thatcher):

On one of our walls we have a number of photos of key historical figures surrounded by the words ‘Thinkers & Doers’. From this list, my youngest daughter chose to read up on and research conservative British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. The material we found was so good, that I made the call to expand this into a unit for our read and discuss group activities.

After introducing Thatcher via YouTube, I asked each of our homeschool high schoolers to tell me, based on the footage, what kind of person they think Margaret Thatcher was. Following on from that we jumped into reading through both speeches. Like every speech, we looked at applying Aristotle’s modes of persuasion; hunting down: pathos, ethos and logos.

Once we reached the end of the speech given in 1988, I asked each of our homeschoolers to pick out a quote which stood out to them. Each quote was passionately chosen and reasons for why it was chosen were discussed among the small group.  Each quote chosen reflected the personality of each one of our kids who participated.

I was surprised by how relevant some of the content of Thatcher’s speeches are, and I was encouraged by how passionately our daughters worked to complete this homemade unit. Be sure to check out the amazing, Margaret Thatcher.org

2. Settlement & Convict history

Second on our list are two books. The first is from Karin Cox, the second from Nicolas Brasch. Each book provides a balanced retelling about the discovery and later arrival of Europeans in Australia. These books also helped pad our Latin vocabulary.  For example: Terra Australis (land south – South Land).  Both Cox and Brasch were a welcome addition to our Australian history studies.

3. A Confession (Tolstoy)

I read Tolstoy’s, ‘A Confession’ a few years back and will be forever thankful for having done so. I picked this up again to help buttress our eldest daughter’s year 11 study material with a primary document for her history work, which is focusing on 19th Century Russia. This work includes reading up on the ‘’intelligentsia’’, which was something Tolstoy was swept up in. ‘A Confession’  is a testimony from someone who is raised in Christian culture, only later to reject Christianity. This leads Tolstoy to an epic existential crisis, from which he describes his long journey back to the cross. I’m pretty excited to have this added to our list.

4. Esio Trot (Roald Dahl)

For our youngest, we’ve once more embarked on the journey through this quaint story. This will be last ever study we do on Dahl’s small tale of Mr. Hoppy and his scheme to woo Mrs. Silver. Every chapter has a worksheet and we’ll add some open discussion in there for good measure.

5. I Am David (Ann Holm)

One of the most cherished books we own is Ann Holm’s 1963 novel, I am David. The story follows a young boy as he escapes from a concentration camp, runs from Nazis, is befriended by a dog and meets people along the way.  With permission, our 5th grade homeschooler has decided to pick this up early. Given the content we’ll open this up for discussion. It also allows for us to begin our units on World War Two, beginning with a focus on Dietrich Bonhoeffer & Corrie Ten Boom.

What I’m currently reading:

African-American civil rights activist, John M. Perkins’ 2017 book, ‘Dream With Me’, Eric Mason’s 2014, ‘Beat God to The Punch’ & ‘Manhood Restored:How The Gospel Makes Men Whole’; along with Karl Barth’s III/1, Ebherhard’s Biography of Bonhoeffer and Hollywood & Hitler. In addition to this, I’m also prepping for next term’s journey through the Book of Numbers.

The plan over the next few months will be a re-read through Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. My hope is to integrate this into topics from our Wednesday news and presentations taken from The Australian.

‘Children need to be taught traditional moral values and to understand our religious [Judeo-Christian] heritage. We can’t leave them to discover for themselves what is right and wrong.’
(Speech to Conservative Women’s Conference, Margaret Thatcher, 1988.)
In Homeschool, Homeschool Notes, Inspirational , , , ,
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Review II: ‘Accidental Courtesy’, A 9th Grader’s Response To Daryl Davis’ Relational Activism

March 23, 2017 — Leave a comment

‘Accidental Courtesy’ is a recent release documentary featuring African-American musician, speaker and activist, Daryl Davis.

Davis explores the possibility of change through dialogue and relationship. In the documentary we see and hear about how he actively sought out members of the Klu-Klux-Klan in order to ask them one on one, why, because of the colour of his skin, he was hated so much. Especially since they didn’t know him nor had they ever met him. Throughout the process, documented over a series of years, Davis presents the outcome.

Here is the promised part two of our reviews of, and responses to, this phenomenal story. Part one can be located here.

Accidental Courtesy

In his documentary called ‘Accidental Courtesy’ Daryl Davis, who is an African American, talks about racism. He knows what it’s like to be oppressed and set apart by others. He has befriended members of the Ku Klux Klan and even though they have different opinions, they respect each other. The KKK is an American post-Civil War secret society who wants white people to have “supreme authority”; its members claim to be Christians, and are known for burning crosses on the front of black people’s houses

Merriam-Webster defines Racism as the ideological belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and the racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. This is something that should not be encouraged. Racism bullies others because of their skin colour. This is similar to the bullying of kids at school. Racism, like a bully, picks on people who are different. It makes them feel powerful and strong.

When members of the KKK met and talked with Daryl Davis, their views of African Americans changed significantly. For example, some of the members have resigned from the KKK and have given him the cloaks and hoods they wore. Daryl has a few dozen of these. He also has badges and accessories. Daryl didn’t intend to help change their hearts and minds, but he’s criticized for interacting with them.

Some African Americans don’t like Daryl Davis for doing this. He met with representatives of the Black Lives Matter movement and they refused to shake his hand or to listen to what he had to say. They stated their opinion to him but chose not to listen to what he had to say.

Daryl Davis also is a musician and lecturer. He plays the keyboard and piano very well. He also goes to colleges and talks about how two people with different views have a conversation. According to him, two people might be yelling, screaming and banging their fists on the table, but “as long as they’re talking, they’re not fighting.”(-Daryl Davis) If both people can discuss their views and opinions with each other then there is a kind of respect between them; Daryl and the people he met from the KKK did this well.

In conclusion, I think that Daryl Davis’ documentary is good. It shows how racism works and how it can be countered. His being open to talk with members of the Ku Klux Klan was a decision he made. I believe that God used Daryl Davis like a messenger to help those members from the KKK to realise that harassing African Americans wasn’t God’s way. I learnt what racism looks like and it isn’t something to be proud of. People should respect each other even if they look different. Everyone should be treated equally and be shown respect. From different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, God made all humans, no matter what race or colour, unique. We shouldn’t resent that, we should accept and embrace it.

Whether a person’s skin is black or white, it doesn’t matter because we’re all created in God’s image. To say otherwise is to create God in our image.

(A.Lampard, Yr 9 23rd March 2017)

Sources:

‘Racism’ Encyclopaedia Britannica

Davis, D. 2016 Accidental Courtesy

Disclaimer: We received no payment of any kind for our response to, or our review of this material.  

In Homeschool, Homeschool Notes, Inspirational , , ,
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Review: ‘Accidental Courtesy’, A 7th Grader’s Response To Daryl Davis’ Relational Activism

March 20, 2017 — 2 Comments

‘Accidental Courtesy’ is a recent release documentary featuring African-American musician, speaker and activist, Daryl Davis.

Davis explores the possibility of change through dialogue and relationship. In the documentary we see and hear about how he actively sought out members of the Klu-Klux-Klan in order to ask them one on one, why, because of the colour of his skin, he was hated so much. Especially since they didn’t know him nor had they ever met him. Throughout the process, documented over a series of years, Davis presents the outcome.

He found himself becoming friends with some members of the Klu-Klux-Klan. Developing an understanding about the reasons for why a person might hold a racist view in light of the civil rights gains for African-Americans that have been made since the 1950’s.

This relationship, first formed by mutual respect resulted in a turnaround for those he’d made an effort to get to know. Whilst there is obvious evidence of this radical change, Davis is not afraid to highlight the fact that many remain ardently affected by the ideology they serve.

On the other side of the issues, Davis includes an exchange between himself and Black Lives Matter representatives, who despite the evidence and without allowing him to respond, passionately oppose his approach, claiming that no one can change, especially not a white racist.

After watching Davis’ documentary, I looked at my wife and immediately said to her that we need to add this to our watch list. I’ve since packed it into our resources for the key learning area we Aussies call, HSIE: Human Society and Its Environment, and last week I walked our homeschoolers through the issues presented by Davis.

I should also add, that our homeschoolers were already very aware of the importance of Martin Luther King Jnr. and the civil rights movement. The documentary helped to educate them on areas, such as the existence of the Klu-Klux-Klan, and the claims, reasons and issues surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement.

As part of bolstering the learning outcomes associated with ‘Accidental Courtesy‘, I have had two of my three high schoolers write a review and response. Daryl is also receiving flak for his outreach, by posting these reviews I hope to suggest to his critics that this documentary goes further in inspiring and educating than might be thought otherwise. The following review is the first of these two reviews:

 .

Accidental courtesy

Daryl Davis is a musician and a lecturer. In “Accidental Courtesy” he talks about racism and how Martin Luther King Jr. wanted the blacks and whites to live together instead of separating the people by the colour of their skin, which helps different groups to put each other down and beat each other up.

Daryl Davis talked about racism in America. Some police officers there have been abusing their power and are beating up black people because of their colour. For example: an African-American teenage boy was arrested and the police ignored his requests for an ambulance. The teenager died, in jail, the day after he was arrested.

In America there are groups of people called the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), that hate black people. They are known for burning crosses on black people’s lawns and throwing rocks at their windows which sometimes have hateful messages tied on them. Some Klans make out that God wants white people to rule and own America for themselves.

Daryl Davis is amazing; he has talked to many members of the KKK. Some of them, after they have talked to him, left the Klan. He has around 25-26 Klan member uniforms from the people who left. He also went to talk with a couple of African-American members from the Black Lives Matter group. One of them didn’t like where the conversation was going so he got up to leave and wouldn’t shake Daryl’s hand, then soon the other one left. He tried to talk to another man, but the man just swore at Davis and left. I think after that he felt very discouraged because they didn’t even give him a chance to talk at all about what he’s learned.

In conclusion, I think Daryl Davis is doing a good thing for America. It’s sad to know that people can’t get along, because someone’s skin is different to theirs. Martin Luther King Jr. would most likely have agreed to what Daryl Davis was doing to help America because Martin Luther King believed in removing the distinction between black and white. Those Klans are wrong!!! God wants us to love one another and get along with each other no matter what our skin colour, or disabilities. God made all of us and we are all the same on the inside no matter what the colour of our skin is. We need to learn to love people who look different to us, because everyone has a life that needs to be loved.To me there is no difference between black or white people.

(C.Lampard, Yr 7 20th March 2017)

.

Davis, D. 2016 ‘Accidental Courtesy’ 

Disclaimer: We received no payment of any kind for this review.  

In Homeschool, Homeschool Notes, Inspirational , , , ,
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Lights, Camera, Action

May 23, 2016 — Leave a comment

Blog Post 23rd May 2016

 

There’s a whole lotta smoke n’ mirrors commentary and appearances out there.

Most of which contains very little substance or decisive action. May we be set free from the cult of self. May our words, deeds and attitudes speak more about Jesus Christ; about the way to fullness of life, than the appearances or people pleasing that fuels likes, shares and comments; all things that ultimately only serve to excessively pad wallets and entertain egos.

As James puts it:

‘…the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.’ (James 1:25,ESV)

Allow no double talk.

                   Be real.

          Entertain no vain glory.

                   Buy real.

                  Confront all imitations.

                   Live real.

                           Apply gratitude and prayer.

                   Live well.

Image is my own.

In Gratitude, Inspirational, Poetry, Theological Reflection , , , , , , ,
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The Glow Of Holly

December 10, 2015 — Leave a comment

Holly_project_without sprayclip projectWHITEtagged

……………………………..‘In all the winter in our woods there is no tree in glow but the holly.’
– G. K. Chesterton, Heretics 1905:50
In Advent, Art, G.K Chesterton, Inspirational , ,
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For Those Days When You Feel Like You’re Only Just Getting By: Salva Nos Domine Vigilantes

August 20, 2015 — Leave a comment

…

Salva Nos Jean Mouton_Latin and English

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In Church Music, Inspirational, Music, Prayer, Renaissance ,
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