From Homeschool to Bible School

It’s like living on a different planet, yet it feels as natural as singing.

A few weeks ago I was living at home having just finished my college degree online, feeling very “in between.” I had a degree, but no job, no car, and no plan for my life. What I did have was a passion for Britain, and a need to get closer to the Lord. After finding out about Capernwray Bible School I knew what I had to do, and on April 14 I began the biggest adventure of my life so far—a journey to Lancashire, England that would mean attending a “real school” for the first time in my life.

Maybe you’re on the verge of just such a transition. If so, you’re wondering, “Did homeschooling prepare you for Bible school? What was the transition like?”  

As you all know, it’s sometimes difficult for us homeschool girls to find great numbers of friends. We usually have a few deep friendships rather than a broad spectrum of acquaintances. That was certainly characteristic of my childhood. I have five or six girls I would consider my best friends, and I’ve never been able to break out of that. Part of me has wished for more friends, but my introverted self is more than happy to stick with my few dear friends rather than settle for more shallow relationships.

Bible school has plunged me into the 24/7 company of 152 students, many around the same age as me, most of them at the same place in life—in between. Men, women, boys, girls, Canadians, Germans, Romanians, Brits, missionary kids, homeschoolers, public schoolers, all these are swirled into a motley jumble of people longing to know the Lord. It’s a radical departure from my normal, sitting at home quietly working through school with my little brother for company. Now I’m attending six lectures a day, participating in a family group and interactive group, and sharing a bedroom with four other girls. 

The amazing thing is that I don’t feel uncomfortable. Beyond the initial nervousness, I have been able to cope with the drastic difference, and go beyond coping—I’m loving it here. From the first day I was making friends, and right now I have a great crowd I enjoy being around, but more importantly there are several people I feel I can confide in, whom I trust to share my joys and struggles with. I’ve learned to sit with strangers in the dining hall, strike up conversations with the least encouragement, and participate in just about every possible activity.

Me and my dear roommates!

Maybe you think I’m just different. You could never burst right in and start making friends like that, you’ve never been able to. Well let me tell you, I’m no social butterfly. It’s a struggle for me to speak sometimes, and it’s never easy to open up to a stranger.

Homeschooling was actually a great preparation for another form of education. Growing up I was forced to make friends with all kinds of people, kids near my age as well as adults and the elderly. That stretched me in vital ways, and now I feel comfortable with a wide variety of personalities. Doing college studies at home helped me get used to deadlines and the basics of essay writing, which is making the transition even easier.

The hardest part about "real school" is balancing social time with study time. Hanging out with friends has never been something that interfered with my schoolwork, but now there's a jam-packed schedule and so many great things to do. If you're getting ready to graduate from homeschool to something different, give some thought to how you will balance your social life and your homework. Both are important, and one shouldn't be sacrificed for another, but they need to each have their place.

I'm still figuring this thing, out, but it's a wonderful experience so far. Have you experienced some other kind of schooling, maybe a few years at a private or public school, or college? What was the hardest thing to get used to?

Good Girls Really Do Have More Fun

Who says that you have to be lewd, rude, and worldly-wise to have fun? My summer trip is proof that a few girls with spunk, imagination, and a big sense of humor can have a blast without resorting to gossip, trashy talk, coarse programming, or any real naughtiness beyond one-too-many cups of tea.

The adventure began with my first ever flight on an airplane (It was definitely something special!). I flew down to Austin, TX to meet one of my best friends, Aubrey, who then drove with me to San Antonio where we spent several glorious days with two of the sweetest, fun-est girls ever, Brittany and Victoria. All of us have something wonderful in common—we are all Christian homeschool girls.

You have probably read and heard people talk about how “sheltered” girls are no fun at all. They’re naïve, clueless, and utterly dull. We know that this is so far from the truth! However, if you’re like me you’ve probably wondered how the other half lives…maybe you’ve been tempted to do something that went against your conscience because you wondered if you were missing out on something really wonderful.

Because we do miss out on things, right? There are movies we can’t see, books we can’t read, music we can’t listen to, places we can’t go, people we can’t befriend, experiences we can’t have, all because we love the Lord and want to please him. And, to be honest, sometimes that feels incredibly limiting. Even if we don’t respect the “bad girls,” even if we know the consequences of their actions, isn’t it hard not to go there ourselves, if only in our minds?  

Tea, scarves, and friends—what could be better?

Some people would probably say that it’s impossible to keep oneself separate from the things of the world. They argue that evil is too pervasive, and if we truly cut ourselves off from everything that didn’t honor God then we would be living in a cardboard box in the middle of the desert. But do you know what I learned from my trip to Texas? That girls like Brittany and Victoria can dress modestly and be cute. They can watch movies and avoid profanity and innuendo. They can show their girlfriends a good time without resorting to cheap entertainment like alcohol or seedy nightclubs.

 Tell me if this sounds like fun:

·         Watching Doctor Who while wrapped in a life-size replica of Tom Baker’s scarf

·         Shopping for teaspoons at a quirky little antique shop

·         Trying weird new foods like kippers, Marmite, and Fevertree ginger beer

·         Laughing over our celebrity crushes (most of my friends’ would be over 100 years old if they weren’t already dead)

·         Watching hilarious YouTube videos late into the night

·         Talking in British accents—constantly

·         Having afternoon tea once or twice a day (complete with jammy biscuits and scrummy muffins)

·         Singing along to Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, and The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

·         Doing the Happy Dance in front of the Alamo (I have provided a video for your enlightenment)

People can call us sheltered. They can say we’re missing out. But do you know what I say? Good girls really do have more fun.

still the same

Well, the past several months have been absolutely amazing for me. There's just something about summer that gets me excited sometimes--and it has nothing to do with the heat or the sudden ability to get soaking wet outside without freezing or enjoying cookouts. It does have a lot to do with the bevy of summer activities I sign myself up for, though. This summer, I've attended Christian Youth In Action (a nine-day training program put on by the Child Evangelism Fellowship), gone to Romania, and then gone on to summer camp with my youth group in Ringold, LA.

CYIA was epic, as always--most of my best friends attend, mostly because that's where I met them--and I learned a lot. They basically teach us how to run a five day club, which is a VBS-type program where we take kids and teach them about Christ and missions and the Bible and the Gospel over the course of a week that is usually pretty crazy. I'm doing another five day club right now and, let me tell you, it's nothing short of an adventure.

Romania was even more of an adventure. As some of you may know, I've taken two other overseas trips, to Zambia and China. Flying all the way across the Atlantic Ocean is, while not yet a commonplace happening, isn't quite so much of a novelty anymore. In other words, it's pretty boring. But then we got to Romania. We helped run a VBS for our missions, Tim and Debra Tyler, in Timisoara. On our peak night, Wednesday, we had over 70 kids. It was a huge blessing.

There's something amazing about going overseas and seeing how similar things are. Yes, we have different languages and different styles of living, sometimes even different cultural values and ways of looking at the world. Yet at a fundamental level, all people are the same. They live, laugh, love, die the same everywhere. Not only that, they pretty much worship God the same way. Oh yes, there are different styles of music, and some cultures (Africa comes to mind) get into it a whole lot more than Westerners usually do, but that doesn't change the simple fact that people are people, that when they really love God, they do it with all their hearts, and one of the purest expressions of that love is lifting praises to the Lord of the universe.

Romania didn't "change my life" per se, but it did refresh some things in my mind and show me a few things I need to change in my own life. So, I suppose it was a success. Pache (peace).

Niagara Falls! A place filled with examples of our Creator's Creativity!

Hello Friends!  It is good to be back with all of you!  I know all of us Bloggirls had wonderful vacations and are looking forward to sharing what the Lord, taught, shared and showed us on our trips.

I've been trying to figure out how to fit our vacation into a short blog post and it just isn't possible :] Therefore, I'm going to focus on just one of the many highlights of our families trip......Niagara Falls!

Have you ever been somewhere where the power of something just overwhelms you?  Where something so enormous is hard to comprehend?  Well Niagara had that affect on me :o)

As I wrote this post the following verse came to mind.  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."  ~ Isaiah 43:2

When I put the context of this verse next to Niagara Falls and realize that no trial, no matter how hard, even if it is as powerful and overwhelming as a raging, forceful river in early spring, it "shall not overwhelm you" because God is with us and is bigger than the trial! Praise God.

The first falls we visited were American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.  Both of them fall inside the United States and were beautiful to see.  Here are some pictures:

Standing next to the observation tower looking at
American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.

Standing on Goat Island looking at Amereican Falls.
At the bottom left hand corner you can just a small portion of
Bridal Veil Falls.

We then walked to the other side of Goat Island to view Canadian "Horseshoe" Falls.  1/3 of Horseshoe Falls falls inside the U.S. border and therefore the fall is considered Canadian. The falls make a "U" shape hence its name, but because of that feature it is hard to get a good picture unless you are on the Canadian side....however I thought you might enjoy a couple pictures anyway!



Looking over at the Canadian side with the mist from the falls
rising up.

I though you all might enjoy these quick facts about the falls:

150,000 gallons of water flow over the American Falls every second!! - (Give or take what time of year it is)
600,000 gallons of water flow over Horseshoe Falls every second!! - (Again the amount may change depending on the time of year it is.)

As our family discovered different parts of Niagara State Park, we were overwhelmed by the amazing creativity of our Creator and the power that He has and uses on our small planet, in our country, in the state of New York, in the park of Niagara!


I would definitely recommend visiting Niagara and our family hopes to return someday!  We thank God for the opportunity He gave us!

Travel Time!

It just so happens that a few of us Altogether Separate bloggirls are going to be traveling over the next couple of weeks, so we'll be taking a little break and figuring out what comes next for this little community. When we get back we'll be sure to tell you all about what we've learned during our trips :) 

Do you have any topics that you'd like us to cover or questions you need answers for? Are you going on a trip or vacation too? We'd love to hear from you! Just comment on this post and  one of us will be sure to get back with you. In the meantime,

 "...the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." -Numbers 6:25-26

Beach Baby, a photo by thephotographymuse on Flickr.