Never Asking Anything More Than Everything

God never asks for anything less than everything, and in his mercy, never asks for more. He remembers our frame, our dustiness is never hidden from His eyes. A widow’s mite and a sower’s seed are both limited by physical and temporal “smallness,” as are the widow and the sower themselves. All four are finite creatures, and more humbling than finitude, the widow and the sower are both fallen, both sinfully natured and habitually inclined toward sin.

But He places the mite in the widow’s hand and asks, “What will you give?” She gives everything and He asks nothing more. He did not ask for two mites. She gave her fortune, little and limited as it was, and Jesus smiled as He smelled the redolent savor of her sacrifice. What did God do with a penny? I haven’t any clue, but I trust it was something great. He has made it a habit of doing grand and glorious things with the seemingly scant offerings of His creatures.

Hey, CC Dads! Are You Ready for Cycle 1?

Some of you may remember this post from last year. Here it is again, focusing on Cycle 1.

Hey, CC Dads. July is nearing an end, which means that the 2015-2016 academic year is upon us. In just a few weeks, our wives and kiddos will be loading up in the van once a week to head to the local Classical Conversations campus for their community day. Their summer schedule will end. Their school year schedule will begin, and most of our schedules will continue unabated. We will go to work at the same time every morning and come home at the same time in the evening (unless you work the 2nd or 3rd shift.) The day-in/day-out schedule of a working man is not too terribly exciting, but we’re not complaining; a status quo of work is good to have—day-in/day-out.

Classical, Christian Cardboard Cutouts

As parents, we have the opportunity to instill countless habits, tendencies, or trajectories in our children’s lives. Some of these come naturally by virtue of the atmosphere of our households; they simply breathe the same air as us for 20 years or so.

One tendency at the HaysHaus that I find funny is how our use of Essential Oils has changed the way our children look at minor first-aid and health care. If someone gets a headache, they ask their mom if they can smell some Peppermint; a minor abrasion, they ask to apply some Lavender; and a slightly infected area calls for Thieves. The presence of these remedies precludes any questions for pharmaceuticals. (However, when they get a cut, they still want a band-aid.) This aspect of their lives is under our control as parents; we created this atmosphere, and the children don’t know any differently. But not everything falls into the category of total parental control.

Alan's Presentation and His Liberal Education

Upon looking at the scope and sequence of any classical curriculum, one often feels an overwhelming sense of awe for anyone who could accomplish all that’s being proposed, as well as a sinking feeling concerning one’s own likelihood of being counted in that number. I propose that "checking off all the boxes" is the wrong way to look at a liberal arts education and the right way has more to do with helping our children to more fully realize their potential as human persons--as image-bearers of God.

My 11-year-old son, Alan, has Down’s syndrome. Ever since his open heart surgery when he was six-months-old, he has been exceptionally healthy. He started walking when he was 4. Early on, he learned a little bit of sign language to help communicate but quickly abandoned it when he decided to use words instead. The language he speaks is a rough approximation of English, but he has certainly created his own dialect. Fortunately for us he is a good teacher and most of the household understands “Alanese.”