Age Appropriateness of Upcoming WE

We've received numerous inquiries asking about the age-appropriateness of the sessions at the upcoming Mother/Daughter Winter Encouragement with speaker Leslie Ludy.  We realize this is a concern for many of you, but we want to reassure you that it is also a concern of ours and of Leslie Ludy's. 

All four sessions will be suitable for all ages.

We also want to let you know that this is such a concern to Leslie that she has just finished negotiating with her publisher to allow her to edit her book Authentic Beauty and make it suitable for all ages.  This new version should be available in May 2012.

On a different note, we want to announce that we have our very own website!  Please visit www.sechdf.com and check it out.  Any and all feedback is very welcome so tell us what you think!!

We look forward to seeing you all in a couple of weeks!

There's Still Room for You!! (registration form below)

You are cordially invited to the third annual

Mother-Daughter

Winter Encouragement

“Then Sings My Soul”

Proverbs 29:6

Hosted by

Southeastern Christian Home Discipleship Families

on

February 10-11, 2012

at

Grace Community Fellowship Chapel

of

Newnan, GA

With special sessions led by author Leslie Ludy (Authentic Beauty, The Lost Art of True Beauty, and Set Apart Femininity)

 

Cost: $60/ mother and one daughter

$10/each additional daughter

Price includes dinner on Friday evening, and lunch plus a formal tea party on Saturday.

For more information, please call 770-487-3635 or check www.sechristianhomediscipleshipfamilies.blogspot.com
or our new website:  www.sechdf.com

Friday Schedule

Noon-2 pm  Arrival and Sign in

2 pm-2:30 pm  Opening

2:30 pm-3:30 pm  Session I

3:30 pm-4:15 pm  Craft Time

4:15 pm-4:30 pm  Singing

4:30 pm-5:30 pm  Session 2

5:30 pm-6:30 pm  Dinner and Closing

Accommodations are available (two queens and one double hide-a-bed in each room) Friday night at the Springhill Suites in Newnan, Georgia.  Room sharing is encouraged to help with cost.  Breakfast is included in the price.  Please call 770-254-8900 to make your reservations and mention the mother/daughter event with Southeastern Christian Home Discipleship Families.

Saturday Schedule

8:30 am-9:30 am  Arrival and Settle-in

9:30 am-10 am  Opening

10 am-11 am  Session III

11 am-Noon  Craft Time

Noon-1 pm  Lunch

1 pm-1:15 pm  Singing

1:15 pm-2:15 pm  Session IIII

2:15 pm-2:45 pm  Q&A Session

2:45 pm-3 pm  Preparing for Tea Party

3 pm-4:30 pm  Tea Party and Closing

Attendees are asked to dress nicely and bring their favorite teacups for the Tea Party.

Please register before 27 January 2012 to reserve your place at this year's Winter Encouragement

Please print and return the following form to secure your place at the Mother-Daughter Winter Encouragement

Name of mother: ______________________________________ $60

                                  First                                         Last

Name of daughter: _____________________________________ $--

                                  First                                         Last

Name of daughter: _____________________________________ $10

                                  First                                         Last

Name of daughter: _____________________________________ $10

                                  First                                         Last

Name of daughter: _____________________________________ $10

                                  First                                         Last

                                                                     Total:  _____

Please make checks payable to Brian Toussaint

Address: _____________________________________

     _____________________________________

Phone: _____________________________________

Email: _____________________________________

Send completed forms to:

Southeastern Christian Home Discipleship Families

122 Clarin Way, Peachtree City, GA 30269

or email them to mother_daughter@bellsouth.net

You are cordially invited to the third annual

Mother-Daughter

Winter Encouragement

“Then Sings My Soul”

Proverbs 29:6

Hosted by

Southeastern Christian Home Discipleship Families

on

February 10-11, 2012

With special sessions led by author Leslie Ludy (Authentic Beauty, The Lost Art of True Beauty, and Set Apart Femininity)

Cost: $60/ mother and one daughter

$10/each additional daughter

Price includes dinner on Friday evening, and lunch plus a formal tea party on Saturday.

For more information, please call 770-487-3635, email mother_daughter@bellsouth.net, or check www.sechristianhomediscipleshipfamilies.blogspot.com

Gear up for the Fall Family Worship Conference!

Summer is really flying by!  We hope that everyone is enjoying it and making memories with their family.  We sure are!

Summer speeding by means that our Fall Family Worship Conference is almost upon us!  You'll definitely want to be sure to register to reserve your seats!!  You can do that by clicking on "Fall Family Worship Conference 2011" on the right-hand side of the website, printing off the form, and mailing it in.  We'd love to see you there!

Family Worship Conference

Family Worship Conference

With Pastor Marcus Serven

Presented by Southeastern Christian Home Discipleship Families

Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 2011

Hope Presbyterian Church

4101 Sandy Plains Road

Marietta, GA  30066

Could you use some help and encouragement with the Biblical practice of family worship? Join us for an inspiring and practical conference taught by Pastor Marcus Serven. You’ll go home with a new vision and enthusiasm for discipling your children and glorifying God in your family devotions.

Friday Sept. 30, 7- 9 p.m.

Get excited about our topic as Pastor Serven casts the vision for Family worship. Following his introductory remarks, he’ll introduce his family who will sing a couple of their favorite Psalms. Afterwards, stay for a fellowship reception and get to know the Servens and the other families attending the conference. Light refreshments provided, and outdoor games, weather permitting.

Saturday Oct. 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After each 45-min. lesson taught by Pastor Serven, you’ll get a chance to reflect and consider how to apply what you’ve learned in a half-hour small group discussion. After lunch (pack your own or visit a local restaurant), we’ll all tune our voices for congregational Psalm singing led by Dr. Dan Steenson.

Topics include:

     Family Discipleship – the Bigger Picture

     Family Worship – its Motives and Rewards

     Family Worship – its Joys and Challenges    

     Family Worship – its Implementation and Practice

     Q & A Session – Pastor and Mrs. Serven

Admission: $20 each first two adults; $10 each additional member of the family up to five. Children 3 and under free. Make reservations by sending a check payable to Brian Toussaint.
Mail to: Brian Toussaint, SCHDF, 122 Clarin Way, Peachtree City, GA 30269

Early Registration Offer: A FREE copy of the book “Family Worship” by Joel R. Beeke will be awarded to the first five families to register.  All paid registrations must be received by Sept. 23, 2011.

About our speaker: Pastor Marcus Serven has been a Presbyterian minister since 1980 and currently serves at Covenant Family Church (RPCGA) in Troy, Missouri (www.covenantfamilychurch.net). In addition to his pastoral ministry, Marcus has a great love for the history of Christ’s Church and has written and lectured widely on the Reformation and the lives of the key Reformers (www.genevanfoundation.com). He recently played the part of John Calvin in a debate against Charles Darwin at Vision Forum’s Reformation 500 event. 

The Serven family, Marcus and Cheryl along with their nine children, have been actively engaged in multiple areas of cultural transformation—church ministry, hospitality, home education, film-making, writing, and encouraging Hymn & Psalm-singing. Pastor Serven has earned degrees from the University of California, B.A. (1976); Fuller Theological Seminary, M.Div. (1979); and Covenant Theological Seminary, Th.M. (1992) and D.Min. (Candidate).

About Dr. Dan Steenson: The Lord led Dan and Katie Steenson to the Psalter in 2001 while visiting a local church in Atlanta. They soon began singing psalms together in their home and were especially drawn to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the Psalms. Within a few months, their church began singing from the Trinity Psalter. Since then, Dan has been providing musical support and encouragement to the body of Christ in the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. The Steenson family also hosts a psalm fellowship in their home on the first Friday of each month. It is a joy to spend these evenings in song, prayer and Christian fellowship with believers of like precious faith who represent several Bible-believing congregations in Atlanta.

Southeastern Christian Home Discipleship Families is a regional, not-for-profit support group ministering to homeschooling families. Our desire is to be a tool to train and equip Christian homeschooling families to stand firm in the faith, pass on a Biblical vision to the next generation, and provide an opportunity to network with other like-minded families.

For more information, call 770-973-4098 or visit: www.sechristianhomediscipleshipfamilies.blogspot.com. 

Below is a list of some of the hotels in the area for overnight accommodation.  A list of area restaurants will be provided at the conference.

Hampton Inn

450 Parkway 575

Woodstock, GA 30188

770-592-2323

 

Comfort Suites

340 Parkway 575

Woodstock, GA 30188

770-517-9650

 

Microtel Inn & Suites

305 Molly Lane

Woodstock, GA 30188

678-738-0001

 Please print form below

-----

FALL FAMILY WORSHIP CONFERENCE

COST: $20 per parent, $10 per child (age 4 & up) for the first 5 children. Subsequent children free as well as those under the age of four.

(List any additional names on back. Please list all names for name tag purposes).

Number	First Name	Last Name	Subtotal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Total			$

Address:

Email Address:

Phone:

Send Registration Form with Check made payable to Brian Toussaint to

Brian Toussaint, President SECHDF

122 Clarin Way

Peachtree City, GA 30269

Registration Deadline is September 23, 2011.

Conference Registration Opens Tomorrow!

Registration for the Family Worship Conference (September 30-October 1, 2011) opens tomorrow, June 21st!

Early Registration Offer: A FREE copy of the book “Family Worship” by Joel R. Beeke will be awarded to the first five families to register.

Fall Family Worship Conference - Save the Date!

Mother/Daughter Memories

What a blessed time we had at this year's Mother and Daughter Winter Encouragement!  Below are few picture memories from the weekend.

Meet Our Photographer!

Christine Soto, of Christine Anne Photography, will be joining us at the Mother/Daughter Winter Encouragement! We are so excited to have her coming down all the way from northern Illinois to bless us in this way. She will be taking candid shots and mother/daughter portraits during the event.

One Week Left!

Hurry!!  There's only one week left to register for the Mother/Daughter Winter Encouragement!  And today is the last day you can register and receive a free CD.  Let us know if you're registering today!

Meet Our Speaker...Laura Boyer

Laura Boyer, daughter of Rick and Marilyn Boyer, will be speaking with her mother at our upcoming Mother/Daughter Winter Encouragement.  (You can still register for the Winter Encouragement by clicking "Mother/Daughter Registration" on the right-hand side of this blog and printing off the registration form from there.)


You can read more about Laura HERE.  Below is an article written by Laura and published HERE.  Want to learn more about the Boyers?  Visit their website HERE.

When my parents began homeschooling in 1980, they were the only people they knew who were doing it. It was my mom’s idea, simply as a matter of convenience. With four young boys, and another child on the way, the long drive to and from the little preschool 5 times a week to accommodate both of the oldest boys’ schedules was getting to be too much.
My dad agreed to try it for a year, and, as the old saying goes, the rest is history. What had started as convenience grew into a strong conviction that this was what God wanted them to do.
In 1982 my parents were taken to court on truancy charges. Though they had a perfectly legitimate case, (and homeschool today under the same law as they were back then), the judge refused to listen. He didn’t want to hear anything about religion, he said, and ordered my parents to put their children back in school.
To finish out the school year, my mom was allowed to use a classroom at their church’s preschool to teach her own children, and the following year she brought them back home. They knew to stay indoors and keep the curtains drawn during school hours; if anyone knocked on the door, they were to hide under the bed, knowing that if they were discovered, they might be taken away.
Meanwhile, my parents and others were lobbying for a new law, which passed in 1984. Now they were free to home educate without fear of prosecution, and they have been doing so ever since.
Six years later, I came along, as the tenth of the fourteen children that would make up our family.
In our house, homeschooling was not simply a different way of teaching us the basic academics, but rather it was a whole different lifestyle: the lifestyle of discipleship. As Jesus chose His 12 disciples so that they might be with Him and learn from His example, so my parents, though not perfect by any stretch, endeavored to follow Christ’s model, teaching us diligently, as it says in Deuteronomy 6:7, “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
Early on in my life, I was taught that the Scriptures were to be the basis for everything we did. Everywhere you looked in our house, there were Bible verses. (Deut. 6:9) Mom made flashcards, games, and crafts to help us memorize Scripture, and Dad recorded books of the Bible on cassette tapes for us to listen to at night as we went to sleep.
I am so thankful for this training that I had in the Scriptures, beginning at such a young age. I learned from the beginning what was truly important.
Of course, we learned the academics as well; they just took second place to training in God’s Word.
Even though Mom at one time had 12 school-aged children at once, she managed to have time for each of us. Not only that, but we would complete our school work in about 3 hours a day! As every child learns differently, and no one curriculum fits all, Mom picked pieces from different curriculums, tailoring our education to our own individual learning styles. My brother Tucker, for instance, loved science, and for a time Mom performed experiments with him every day. My brother Rick was fascinated by history and politics, so he did a lot of extra reading on the subject, and for writing assignments he would write letters to the editor of our local newspaper regarding current events.
A typical day for us also often involved what my dad called, ‘incidental learning’-like the time dad and the boys were driving down the road and saw a freshly killed raccoon. What did they do but throw it up on the roof of the station wagon and bring it home to enjoy an impromptu lesson on anatomy-and, after the major organs had been identified, a game of ‘What is it?’
Or the time I learned all about energy and motion with a sheet of plywood nailed to the deck stairs, a croquet ball and a mallet…and a window…
Homeschooling also gave us much more time to minister to others. My dad and brothers helped out with numerous Habitat for Humanity houses, us girls helped make meals for families in need, we watched children for young moms who had just had a child, we frequently had guests over for dinner, and so much more.
One ministry that I was involved in was that of visiting some elderly folks from church with my Mom. One couple were retired missionaries, and their stories from the mission field were incredible! I loved visiting them, planning gifts to bring to them, writing them letters, making cakes for their birthdays…And while our goal was to be a blessing to them, they blessed me in so many ways. From them I learned about having a true servant’s heart, and saw what it means to be totally devoted to the Lord. I still regularly correspond with the one lady who is still living, even though she has moved out of state.
I always find it comical when people who are considering homeschooling are worried about socialization. In our home, at least, we were much better socialized than if we had gone to school, and spent all of our time with our peers. We learned how to interact with people of all ages, and were just as comfortable talking with an adult as with one of our peers.
I decided in high school that I would attempt to complete 3 grades in 2 years, and graduated a year early, at 17.
I also decided not to pursue a college degree, mainly because I did not fancy going thousands of dollars into debt to earn a degree I probably would not use. What I really want to do in life doesn’t require a college degree.
Since then, I have done lots of babysitting, worked as a tutor, volunteered with various ministries at our church, and gone on a mission trip to Romania. .
Currently I am working as a nanny 3 days a week, cleaning houses 2 other days, and volunteering in the tech crew at church. I also travel quite a bit in the spring and summer with my parents’ business, The Learning Parent. They have written several books on parenting/homeschooling, and speak at conferences all over the US and some other countries.
I love my jobs, especially nannying. To some it may seem mundane or unimportant, but I see it as an enormous privilege to be able to help train these precious children to ‘love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls, and minds.’
Life in a family of 14 children was rarely dull. Having spent so much time together, we were (and are) a very close family. Even now, no one can make me laugh like my brothers. No one can laugh at my predicaments and then give advice like my sisters. No one can lend a listening ear like my mom. No one can embarrass me like my dad. I am incredibly grateful for the time we spent together, truly getting to know each other and cultivating such close relationships that will last for a lifetime.
One of the defining moments for us was when my brother Josh was diagnosed with leukemia in September of 1996. For seven months he suffered, most of that time being spent at a hospital about 2 hours away. It was difficult for Mom and Dad, as they tried to spend as much time as they could with him, while my oldest sister cared for us younger children at home. In March of the following year, Josh went to be with the Lord. It was a very hard time for all of us, yet the Lord used it to bring us closer to each other and closer to Him. For years afterwards, we were learning of people who had been touched by his testimony. In fact, God used Josh’s testimony to show me my need for salvation, and I gave my life to Christ just a few weeks after his death. I am looking forward to seeing him again one day, and worshipping our Savior together!
Overall, I had a wonderful homeschool experience, and cannot even begin to share how grateful I am to my parents for making the sacrifices they did to allow me to have that privilege. I know I will reap the benefits for the rest of my life.
Rather than sending me out to have strangers constantly bombarding me with their ungodly worldviews, I was discipled by loving parents who, although not perfect, desired to ‘train me up in the way I should go’ and teach me to be a servant of Christ.
Parents, regardless of the sacrifices you are making today, you will never regret the time and effort you are spending pouring into your children. They are arrows that you will one day be able to send out, to glorify God and fulfill His plans in ways beyond what you could have imagined! Yes, it takes much effort, and much sacrifice, but I assure you, it is worth it!