The concept of advertising intrigues me. Think about it with me for a moment. People who live thousands of miles from us, who don’t know us at all, get paid a whole lot of money to get us to buy something we really don’t need. How often have you gone into someone’s home or even a place of business and there on the television set is the Home Shopping Network? It takes me back to my nostalgic high school days of Ronco and K-Tel. (I just dated myself.)

Our first trip to the ICHE Convention was in 2000, some 13 years ago. We’ll never forget that initial five-hour trip from our southern IL home as we drove through sunshine, torrential downpours, excessive winds and tornado warnings. We even had to pull off the road once because we were afraid the hail was going to crack our windshield.

“I love to live on the brink of eternity”

Track athletes recognize the world of difference between the sprinter and the marathoner. Two divergent types of runners who train and compete dissimilarly. And yet, the prizes at their respective finish lines are quite the same. The trail to the trophy is worth the toil. In the Christian life, the treasured target is eternal life. Paul exhorted his Philippian brethren, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3.14).

The tendency of most people—Christians included—is to wait for things to get really bad before they react and, unfortunately, that reaction can get pretty ugly. Legislative Days has been ICHE’s way of being a proactive and positive presence in Springfield and beyond for several years. Because of this forward thinking, who knows how many potential pitfalls have been avoided that would have otherwise threatened our home schooling freedoms here in Illinois. An ounce of prevention …

“Here I Stand! . . .”

How would you respond if you discovered a rare jewel which seemed hidden, but was actually always in your possession? Would you not guard its virtues and gauge its value? A 16th-century theologian, named Martin Luther, discovered the treasured worth of God’s Word, much as Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3.15--”[Wisdom] is more precious than jewels and nothing you desire compares with her.” In his quest, he reformed the place of the Scriptures among the common Christian.

By Barbie Dixon, 18, Lynwood, Il

"We're here," our family of 6 six kiddos shout when we arrived in the state capitol of Illinois, Springfield. After leaving our house at 4:30 am to get to our destination by 8:00 am, we were so glad to finally arrive at the "X" on our treasure map.

by Morgan Dowell

“With all my might while I do live.” - Jonathan Edwards

Vision. Perspective. Those are the words that I would use to describe Legislative Days.

We have all heard our parents, pastors, and speakers say things like, “Passing on the baton to the next generation” or, “We need to pass on a multigenerational vision to our children.”

Surely, most of us have heard the saying, “He who defines the terms wins the argument.”  We see this most clearly in modern day culture throughout the media.  Words such as “tolerance” have been twisted and bent so that they mirror little of their original intent but it matters not because society as a whole has bought into the new definition and it has opened up a Pandora’s box of sin that will infect several future generations until it is corrected. 

"You are the true, the Sovereign Joy!”

The distinguishing delight, and prayer,  of “bring[ing children] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), is witnessing their own faith in Christ. But what about those who struggle toward transformation for years, if not decades? One case in point was Monica, a North African (present day Algeria)  dedicated Christian married to unbeliever Patricius, a middle-income farmer. What would become of the spiritual path of their son, Aurelius Augustine?

The face of home schooling has changed much since its infancy. While we may not be considered mainstream yet, the overall culture has definitely taken notice, which is evident from the recruiting of home-educated students at the collegiate level to the marketing of curriculum and other educational tools to the growing populace. It has provided numerous opportunities that seemed but a far off dream to its forefathers.

Deuteronomy 8 was given as a strong warning to the Hebrews who stood at a similar place of prosperity in their history: