Five Practices To Grow Family Resilience

21 Jul 2020

This year isn’t what any of us had anticipated. The spread of COVID-19 drastically changed everyone’s lives and will continue to do so for months ahead. Despite the daily changes and uncertainties, these five practices can help you navigate this season with confidence while fostering a stable, resilient and joyful family life. 

Beyond the Great Conversation: Loving Our Neighbors

Graduation26 Jun 2020

We graduating seniors have come to the end of high school but the beginning of a new journey. As T.S. Eliot so eloquently said, “What we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” But what is this end, which provides the foundation for us to move forward?

Embracing God’s Invitation to Stillness

Embracing stillness12 Jun 2020

Last week,  I found myself getting a little agitated. I was supposed to be getting on a plane, heading to the beautiful mountains of Colorado for LINK 2020. I was looking forward to seeing my community and worshipping together. But instead, I was standing in my living room, meeting with my community through a computer screen. I felt a little antsy. But in the midst of this agitation, two words came to me: “Be still."

Preparing Purposefully For Fall’s Uncertainty

1 Jun 2020

Everyday, it seems like there is a different version of what school might look like in the fall. Some schools have announced they will be open as usual. Others may stay closed. Many have not yet determined a course of action. While it can be unnerving, this season of “wait and see” can also provide an opportunity to prepare your child to learn well, no matter where they are in September.

Who Killed History?

12 May 2020

The Washington Post recently ran a column by Valerie Strauss entitled “Why history is hard — and dangerous — to teach and how to get kids to stop thinking it is ‘boring and useless.’” In it, Strauss references the newly released National Assessment of Educational Progress scores which reveal that “American eighth-grade students don’t know much about U.S. history – or civics for that matter.”

Maximizing Virtual College Tours: Three Tips for High Schoolers

How to make the most of virtual college tours30 Apr 2020

In light of COVID-19, families all over the country are forced to explore and invent creative ways to continue conducting daily life. The same applies to high school students who were in the middle of their college-exploration process when colleges suddenly closed their doors. While these circumstances have brought some uncertainty about how best to move forward, they also offer some favorable opportunities including online testing, extra time to spend developing college-relevant habits, and now: virtual college

High Schoolers: Five Ways to Make the Most of your Spare Time

This is a great time to learn new hobbies23 Apr 2020

For thousands of high schoolers around the world, these days of extended time at home are presenting various challenges: trying to maintain a normal schedule, not having usual extracurriculars, and getting ready to take major tests online. It’s not easy! But, as we’ve written before, this challenging time could also be one marked by creativity. Here are five ways that high school students can leverage their extra time while preparing themselves for college.  

Not on My Watch

Doubt is often the domain of mothers. Mothers who school their children at home seem particularly plagued because they make decision in two realms: in the home and in the school. Even the graduation of a child from homeschooling and into the next stage of life does not release mothers from the nagging thought that perhaps she should have done something (or even everything) differently. Second-guessing curriculum or providers or even the decision to homeschool

Wait and Go on the 30

8 Jul 2016

Have you ever wanted to pull your car to the side of the road, get out, sit on the curb and have a good cry? You’ve been juggling end-of-school schedules, kids, the expectations of others, such that it seems like your world is spinning out of control.  And now that the school year is over, summer activities threaten to be just as overwhelming.  Is there a solution? Perhaps a principle from a different context will

Chickens in Church

9 Jun 2016

The following is an open letter from Scott Baker, WHA Rhetoric Instructor, to his students in the Rhetoric 2/Senior Thesis class this year. Dear Seniors: Congratulations on a great year completing the Senior Thesis process!  Now that you have survived the Defense and have completed your Final Draft, it’s time to celebrate.  Everyone in the WHA community is suitably proud of your achievement, especially since writing and defending a thesis is such a rare accomplishment