Patriot Moms

CONGRATULATIONS to the second grade class for collecting the most box tops!

Thank you to all who contributed to the successful campaign for box tops this year.

Kindergarten Graduation was a special night on Tuesday evening.

Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Keylor officially promoted their classes to first grade.

CONGRATULATIONS! We are proud of you all!

Patriot moms,

The Providence 3rd Annual Golf Tournament is set for this Friday, May 1st at 1 pm at the Lost Springs Golf Course. This is a four-man scramble format and the cost per individual is $75; Team cost is $300.

We still have great opportunities for sponsorship. Registration forms are available in the office.

You are invited to attend an Art Exhibit this Tuesday at our Lower School campus.

Our first through third graders have done a fantastic job this school year in their art elective class.

You are invited to view some of their pieces on Tuesday, April 28th from 2:00p.m.-3:00p.m.

If you would be interested in helping Mrs. Poole and Mrs. Waind with exhibit set-up please email spoole@providence-academy.com or kwaind@providence-acaedmy.com

Patriot Moms,

First, we want to welcome all of the NEW Patriot moms who are reading the blog who will be joining us for the 2009-2010 school year! We are looking forward to getting to know you. Please join in on our blog conversations and feel free to submit a blog entry yourself.

Second, we only have two more weeks until summer! Can you believe we have made it through another wonderful school year? God is good, and He is faithful isn't He!

This is our question for you this week. We are looking for some moms to commit to writing a post a month (or more) this summer to keep the moms blog going.

We certainly hope you have enjoyed having this resource to stay connected.

Please comment back to this post if you are willing to help out! You can also e-mail me at Patriotmoms@gmail.com

Thank you all for your contributions this year, and thank you to all of the moms who have joined as "followers" and have commented on the posts. It keeps us encouraged. We look forward to hearing how you will contribute this summer!

Friends In Christ, Debra Guthrie

We are all familiar with the portion in Scripture where Samuel is called by the Lord. But let us take a good look again as to WHERE Samuel was when He called him, and why this matters!

“The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the Word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, his eyes had began to grow so dim that he could not see and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord (where the ark of God was) and while Samuel was lying down there to sleep, the Lord called Samuel and he answered “Here I Am.” (v.5) and he ran to Eli and said “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call, go back and lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

Again the Lord called “Samuel!” and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me”… and he said “I did not call; go back and lie down again”. Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” (1 Sam. 3:1-7).

Samuel heard the voice of the Lord in that place of waiting. Samuel heard the Lord lying down where God’s presence was (represented by the ark of God). The Lord is calling us to seek Him and wait expectantly (Ps. 5:3) in His presence! That we may minister and seek the Lord by simply coming before His presence, His Glory…quieting our soul, quieting our mind, waiting in Him.

When He calls us, may we be found in that place of waiting, and hear His voice. May the Lord teach us to wait expectantly, and when He calls…and when He calls again…and when He calls again, that we may have ears to hear! That we may not be like Eli whose spiritual vision was failing (1 Sam. 3:2), but that we may minister to the Lord like the boy Samuel: waiting, resting, laying down, listening expectantly.

He is calling, do you hear His voice? Let’s wait with expectation, ready to hear the voice of Jesus when He speaks…maybe through circumstances, maybe through a family member, a friend…importantly He speaks to us through His Word!

God wants to raise for himself faithful servants who will do according to what is in His heart and in his mind! All Israel recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to reveal himself to Samuel through his word. (1 Sam. 3:20-21)

May we learn to hear his voice and obey Him to be a blessing to the new generation (our children) and they may also discern His voice to be a blessing to the entire nation!

By Kristi Crafton, Patriot Mom

Maggie Crafton thinks there's just something about doing homework with help from "Miley" the cat that makes school work so much more fun!

Send in your "No Place Like Home" photos to PatriotMoms@gmail.com to be posted on the Patriot Moms Blog.

For our frugal Patriot Moms, you might want to check out this web-site for frugal recipes for $5 meals for your family.

Click HERE .

We are looking for a photographer to volunteer to take pictures at some of our Providence events.

If you know of anyone who would be willing to volunteer, please comment on this post, or call the school front office.

By Shelley Cassar, Patriot Mom

"God is concerned with the heart - the well-spring of life"Proverbs 4:23

Shepherding a Child’s HeartBy Tedd Tripp

As a parent, the biggest responsibility I feel I have been given is teaching my children to love Jesus with all of their heart, soul, and strength. So I love when a book comes along that really encourages me in this quest. A sweet PCCA Mom passed this book on to me and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it with all of you. Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Tedd Tripp, gives a fresh biblical approach to child rearing.

Often times when it comes to my child's behavior I tend to focus on the good or the bad of it instead of the "why". Shepherding a Child's Heart was a great reminder to me that I need to look more closely at each situation so I can help my child understand the underlying "why" of the behavior, without trying to control the behavior itself. Most children can learn to behave because they don't want to get into trouble or they want to please, but helping a child understand that their behavior is directly linked to the condition of their heart and their walk with the Lord, is how a deep, everlasting change can take place.

Shepherding a Child's Heart has been a great tool for our family that has helped us open lines of communication about behavior. This communication has made the children more aware of the connection between the condition of their heart and the way they behave . One line that really stuck with me from the book is "Change the heart and you will change the behavior".
Tripp has divided his book into two parts. Part one deals with the goal of parenting, your child’s development, and discusses unbiblical methods vs. biblical methods. Part two describes training objectives and training procedures.

Some of the chapters included are:

- Getting to the Heart of Behavior
- You're in Charge
- Examining Your Goals
- Embracing Biblical Methods

If you are looking for a good book to read this summer about parenting, I think this would be one you would enjoy.

Ryan, you will be missed!

The Hoyt family is a charter family at Providence Academy who has been here since the first day the doors were opened five years ago. God has recently called them to move back to Charlotte, North Carolina, and they will be deeply missed by the Providence family. They have already found a University Model School in Charlotte where they are moving, and are already enrolled for next fall!

We will truly miss the Hoyt's and are thankful for the time God gave us all with their family. Please pray for their family during this time of transition.

The Hoyt's would like to share with other families their experience at PCCA in the letter below:

Providence was definitely an answer to prayer for our family. Our son originally started out in a traditional five-day a week school setting. It just didn’t seem to be the right fit and we were experiencing some challenges and concerns. We began to consider homeschooling and even went to the state convention to learn more about it. However, I really didn’t feel comfortable with it and continued to pray for guidance. A neighbor of ours told me about a friend of hers that was going to be attending a new school called Providence. When I found out more about it, I thought "this is the best of both worlds."

We knew at that point that God had answered our prayer by directing us to Providence.

Ryan has attended PCCA from the 2nd grade through the 6th grade, and each year has just gotten better! It has been a wonderful experience. The more challenging curriculum, the smaller class size, and the awesome teachers have been just what he needed. He has learned so much and it has truly been a blessing to our family. We have also made some special friendships through the years. We are so thankful for the teachers. They are truly amazing and it is obvious God has them there for a reason. I am so grateful for the additional family time that the University-Model provides.

I cannot say enough good things about Providence. It has truly been a fantastic experience!

The Hoyt Family

Many of you supported and prayed for the Rogers family on their mission trip to Guatemala over spring break.

You can get an update on their trip by clicking HERE.

You won't want to miss out on seeing how God blessed their family by being obedient to His call. Please read about it on their blog, and continue praying for them.

Patriot moms,

WE NEED YOU!

Would you like to be a mentor mom next year for our new Providence moms?

What a wonderful way to minister to new moms at the school, and make a new friend.

If you would like to volunteer, please respond to this post by commenting or e-mail me at TomandDebra@cox.net

All of the moms at Providence would make great mentor moms, so make sure and respond quickly as we are organizing for the 2009/2010 school year.

Thanks so much for your willingness to serve!

Debra

Crying, complaining, huffing, and stomping, these and other more subtle displays of rebellion sometimes creep their way into our homes through our children. Although I hate to admit it, there have been times when the tears of my children find their way into my own eyes, as I give in to frustration and despair. There is a way to overcome these attacks of the enemy. As poor Pilgrim in the much acclaimed book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, was overtaken by despair, we too can give way to this devil in our lives. As Pilgrim found the key to unlock the bars of the dungeon, we too have that splendid key available to us. Jesus Christ inhabits the praises of His people. Did you catch that? Jesus Christ inhabits the praises of His people!

Psalm 22:3 “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”

We need Jesus to come into our home and drive out despair and complaining.
When King Saul disobeyed God by offering a sacrifice that only the priests were allowed to offer, God sent an evil spirit to torment him.

1 Samuel 16:14 “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”

Saul, tormented by this spirit, sought relief, and found it when a godly young boy praised God in Saul’s presence.

I Samuel 16:22-23 “And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

When we, or our children, are discouraged, we need to seek the Lord and praise His name.

Psalm 42:11
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”

Here is how this practice of praise has found its way into our school days. When I see the spirit of grumbling and frustration on my children’s faces, I will take a break, go to the kitchen, and start the iPod. I put on some refreshing praise music, and let the spirit of the Lord dwell richly in our praise. The music transforms the atmosphere in our home. It is truly amazing to see the children uplifted and encouraged by the words of praise. Often I will find them singing along, and the sour faces melt away. On occasion, it takes a few encouraging words and a cheerful attitude on my part to break through the frustration, but I always see a change in my children when praises are ringing their way through our home. One of our favorites is the New Hallelujah CD by Michael W. Smith. So, get your feet stomping and your hands clapping and let the praises of the Almighty reign in your hearts and your homes!

Cindy Palen, Patriot Mom and Teacher

By Shelley Cassar, Patriot Mom

This summer reading program is offered by University of Arkansas, School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach, and taught by the Institute of Reading Development. The Institute teaches summer reading programs for preschoolers through adults.

This program gives students a jump-start on reading for their grade level, developing important new skills over the summer. Your child will work on phonics and word-attack skills, build comprehension, receive fluency training, and participate in a regular program of independent reading.

You will receive materials to support skills development that you can use with your child through their next year of school. Based on an individualized assessment of your child, you will receive guidance for confidently selecting books at the right level for your child.

This program meets once a week over a 5-week period, and includes group instruction, individual attention, engaging instructional materials, and home practice.

There are several program locations and schedules throughout the summer. Customized schedules and make-up classes are also available if you cannot attend all five classes of a program.

To find out more information about the program, go to http://uark.readingprograms.org/. Use discount coupon code D837A15 when enrolling and save $30!

We are pleased to announce the results of the 2009 National Latin Exam sponsored by the American Classical League and the Junior American Classical League.

PCCA students competed against 140,000 Latin students from public and college-preparatory schools in the U.S., and 13 other countries.

We are excited to report that PCCA students performed very well on the exam, exceeding the national average score by 6% on the Intro. to Latin exam.

PCCA’s High Score:

Abbey Stewart 38/ out of 40

GO PATRIOTS!

By Shelley Cassar, Patriot Mom

I would like to know what multi-vitamins Mom's are giving their children, or if there are any other supplements they use? We use Coromega for our children. It would be nice to find an all in one vitamin too.

Do you have any suggestions for a good muli-vitamin for kids?

By Shelley Cassar, Patriot Mom

With the summer months quickly approaching, I am already beginning to seek out options to keep the kids entertained. One thing we love to do is read. So when our daughter's 5th grade teacher Mrs. Palen supplied the class with a great catalogue of books from Lamplighter Publishing, I knew it would be something worth looking into!

Lamplighter Publishing takes classic stories from the 1700's to 1900's and reprints them. They have books for the whole family, and are full of biblical truths. The wholesome, old-fashioned stories are not only well written, exciting books, they also incorporate into their stories everything from evangelism, trusting God through trials, humility and much more.

They could make for some great reading material for the summer or as gifts throughout the year. You can check them out for yourself at http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/!

By Lori Bova, Patriot Mom

For the past 5 years, I have struggled with a variety of medical issues ranging from extreme fatigue to chronic arthritic symptoms. I do not share this for sympathy, but to alert all of you to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY (it is God’s temple you know). When you mommas think something is wrong, it usually is.

Of course the symptoms were nagging, but I explained most of them away with the birth of our daughter and the start of a new business (not to mention a 2 year old running around). I really began thinking that I might be going a little crazy or worse (the “D” word…depressed). I consulted my OB/GYN…probably a little hormone imbalance or stress. I visited a rheumatologist…found nothing “wrong” but offered to send me home with a prescription. I began to just accept that this was my new reality. Of course I prayed about it, but mostly along the lines that I would not be a complainer. I didn’t want anyone to know that something was “wrong” with me.

One day I was sitting in the good Dr. C. Wade Fox’s office at Wellquest (http://www.wellquest.md/) for something totally unrelated. My right thumb had become completely immobile. I could not bend it or put any pressure on it. Most of my daily tasks had become compromised because of the absurd amount of swelling and discomfort. I casually asked him if he could figure out what on earth was wrong. He actually LISTENED to all of my symptoms and concerns. We took immediate x-rays and located the problem…bonespurs all over the joint. Now at this point, most doctors would have given me an anti-inflammatory and the story about fusing the joint together and sent me on my way. Not the good Dr. Fox. He said, “Let’s figure our why you body is depositing calcium here.” Novel idea! Let’s find the cause, not just treat the symptoms.

After a little blood work, the results were in. Glory be to God that ALL of my issues could be attributed to a little disease called Celiac Sprue (http://www.celiac.com/). My body does not like wheat gluten (neither does super cool PCCA mom Shannon Vitiello’s). It cannot tolerate it. My body goes on the attack when it enters my body. Within 2 weeks of starting a strict gluten-free diet, all of my symptoms were resolved (and I even lost a few pounds!). Glory be to God (and props to Dr. Fox!).

1. Listen to your body
2. Seek wise counsel
3. Pray for a conquering spirit
4. Honor your temple with appropriate food, activities, and sleep
5. Take care of you so that you can glorify God and tend your flock

I Corinthians 6:19-20
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

I was lying in bed early one morning this week, dreading the sound of the alarm. I was so tired, and the thought of getting up and doing the long day ahead of me made me feel like a child staring at the face of Mount Everest.