It’s official. Summer is here. We wrapped up our school year and did the mandatory standardized test. Not that I like to think of life as school or non-school. I much prefer a “lifestyle of learning” mentality no matter what the season. We spent the last nine months immersed in American history and the human body, but there were many other things we learned along the way. And while many of them have no value on a standardized test – they are far more important and eternally significant.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled that my children rank above average according to someone else’s idea of what they should know (aka standardized test), but I’m even more excited that they love to learn and are learning to love, learning to be responsible, learning to take the initiative, learning to be kind…and learning to be more like Jesus. They’re becoming who God created them to be and being equipped to do what He has called them to do. And that is actually the definition of education – at least the definition by which we choose to live.
Yes, there are some basics that all human beings need to know…like how to read, write, and do some basic math. But what’s more important? Being a straight A student who behaves like a self-centered brat trampling over others while climbing the ladder of success? Or being a kind, compassionate, loving human being who will never make it in trigonometry, but can balance a checkbook and lives a life of faith, hope, and love?
Where’s the grade for character? Does the Department of Education concern itself with such things? Or is it too…abstract? Too hard to measure? Or simply not significant in the pursuit of financial prosperity? Not that I’m recommending we try to slap a grade on the character of our children. I think there is far too much labeling, grading, and sorting already. But isn't there more to education than what can be sliced, diced, measured, graded, and compiled?
Just my two cents. Would love to hear yours :-)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Spring in MN - Back in the RV
Long time, no blog! We spent a few weeks living at the Staybridge Suites in Maple Grove while the snow melted and the weather warmed up. We really enjoyed the perks…like the breakfast buffet (thanks, Sue!), and the laundry facilities, but we are very happy to be “home” again in the RV.
In March, my mom and I spent ten glorious days at Bella Vita in Lodi, California where we went through a cleanse and learned about natural health and healing. I was blessed to be part of the staff as a volunteer and learned so much going through the cleanse myself and helping in the kitchen. It was wonderful to be there with my mom and the experience re-ignited my passion for health.
My mom is doing well. She has chemo once a week and radiation five days a week. She just finished her second week of what will be five to seven weeks total. So far, she has not been nauseated and we are praying that continues. She is strong and determined and she’s a fighter. Cancer is a battle that must be fought from many angles – and prayer is absolutely essential. It’s a huge blessing to know there are so many people praying for her including people who read our blog, but we don’t even know. Thank you so much for making a difference in our lives through prayer!
Rich recently returned from San Antonio, TX, where he was speaking at a conference about Dashboard Gear – his software that helps companies quickly and easily create reports from their Lawson financial and human resources systems. We are really happy to have Daddy home again after six days.
Ashley and Jake are gearing up for soccer and baseball season and we are finishing up our homeschool studies in the next few weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our first year using Sonlight studying American history and the human body. The two things we love most about Sonlight is their schedule (we didn’t know if we’d like it, but we do), and their use of real, living books. More on this another time…
For now, a few photos from the last few weeks of our journey. And a song by Jonny Diaz that sums up our hearts desire to “love like You love, serve like You serve, to speak only words of truth.” Lord, show us how to love like You.
In March, my mom and I spent ten glorious days at Bella Vita in Lodi, California where we went through a cleanse and learned about natural health and healing. I was blessed to be part of the staff as a volunteer and learned so much going through the cleanse myself and helping in the kitchen. It was wonderful to be there with my mom and the experience re-ignited my passion for health.
My mom is doing well. She has chemo once a week and radiation five days a week. She just finished her second week of what will be five to seven weeks total. So far, she has not been nauseated and we are praying that continues. She is strong and determined and she’s a fighter. Cancer is a battle that must be fought from many angles – and prayer is absolutely essential. It’s a huge blessing to know there are so many people praying for her including people who read our blog, but we don’t even know. Thank you so much for making a difference in our lives through prayer!
Rich recently returned from San Antonio, TX, where he was speaking at a conference about Dashboard Gear – his software that helps companies quickly and easily create reports from their Lawson financial and human resources systems. We are really happy to have Daddy home again after six days.
Ashley and Jake are gearing up for soccer and baseball season and we are finishing up our homeschool studies in the next few weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our first year using Sonlight studying American history and the human body. The two things we love most about Sonlight is their schedule (we didn’t know if we’d like it, but we do), and their use of real, living books. More on this another time…
For now, a few photos from the last few weeks of our journey. And a song by Jonny Diaz that sums up our hearts desire to “love like You love, serve like You serve, to speak only words of truth.” Lord, show us how to love like You.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Mad Dash for Minnesota
It’s amazing how quickly things can change. One day you’re searching for seashells, the next day you’re making a mad dash to Minnesota. Cancer has a way of changing things – quickly. Unfortunately, that has been our reality the last few weeks.
On February 16th, my mom called with her test results: lung cancer.
We left Naples, FL on February 18th stopping at North Trail RV in Fort Myers to get the fluids and tires checked before the long journey north. What a blessing we got in on short notice because we were 9 quarts low on oil (out of 26). Then our water pump died. After two days in the shop, we finally hit the road on Saturday, February 20th for the four day drive back to MN.
If you know anything about Minnesota in March, you know it’s cold, snowy, and living in an RV is next to impossible. Thus, our house is now parked safely at my aunt and uncles house in Oklahoma. We’ll pick it up when the snow melts and the campground opens. For now, we have an opportunity to take minimalist living to the next level: four people, one dog, and whatever fits in a minivan.
In all honesty, we’re living very comfortably here at the extended stay hotel. It is weird to have so much space though. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living room, and a tiny kitchen - must be at least 600 square feet – double what we’re used to.
My mom had an x-ray, a CAT scan, and a biopsy – and next week she has a PET scan and an MRI. We’re meeting with the oncologist again next week to talk about treatment options. I’m really grateful to be here, along with my sister, to walk through this with my mom. She is strong and feels good right now.
Today is a gift from God. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
On February 16th, my mom called with her test results: lung cancer.
We left Naples, FL on February 18th stopping at North Trail RV in Fort Myers to get the fluids and tires checked before the long journey north. What a blessing we got in on short notice because we were 9 quarts low on oil (out of 26). Then our water pump died. After two days in the shop, we finally hit the road on Saturday, February 20th for the four day drive back to MN.
If you know anything about Minnesota in March, you know it’s cold, snowy, and living in an RV is next to impossible. Thus, our house is now parked safely at my aunt and uncles house in Oklahoma. We’ll pick it up when the snow melts and the campground opens. For now, we have an opportunity to take minimalist living to the next level: four people, one dog, and whatever fits in a minivan.
In all honesty, we’re living very comfortably here at the extended stay hotel. It is weird to have so much space though. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living room, and a tiny kitchen - must be at least 600 square feet – double what we’re used to.
My mom had an x-ray, a CAT scan, and a biopsy – and next week she has a PET scan and an MRI. We’re meeting with the oncologist again next week to talk about treatment options. I’m really grateful to be here, along with my sister, to walk through this with my mom. She is strong and feels good right now.
Today is a gift from God. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Naples & Minne-snow-ta
It’s been a month and half since our last post and we have been so busy with friends and family – which is a real treat (and very unusual) for us being on the road! We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with the Perrins, and then a few days later, Ashley and I headed to Minnesota for her ortho appointment – and more importantly, to see many (unfortunately not all) of the people we know, and love, and miss! It was such a blessing to spend a long weekend savoring precious moments of sweet conversation before we headed back to Naples.
Grandma Carole escaped the Arctic to spend ten glorious days in sunny Florida – a few of them alone with her grandchildren - while Rich and I went to MN (again) for a retreat with our church group. Yes, we are very grateful for frequent flyer miles!
We said goodbye to Grandma and hello to some of the Singh's - who totally blessed us by staying in the RV with us for a couple of days. We had so much fun at the beach, the pool, playing games, walking, and talking and trying to pack it all into a short visit. So much to talk about…so little time!
It’s really interesting…when we lived in a 3,000 square foot house, we rarely had overnight guests. But now that we live in 300 square feet, we have lots of people spending the night – and we love it!
We are truly blessed with the best family and friends ever – and we’re so grateful for your love and friendship. This slideshow is precious to us because it’s filled with familiar faces we rarely get to see – which makes it all the sweeter when we do.
Grandma Carole escaped the Arctic to spend ten glorious days in sunny Florida – a few of them alone with her grandchildren - while Rich and I went to MN (again) for a retreat with our church group. Yes, we are very grateful for frequent flyer miles!
We said goodbye to Grandma and hello to some of the Singh's - who totally blessed us by staying in the RV with us for a couple of days. We had so much fun at the beach, the pool, playing games, walking, and talking and trying to pack it all into a short visit. So much to talk about…so little time!
It’s really interesting…when we lived in a 3,000 square foot house, we rarely had overnight guests. But now that we live in 300 square feet, we have lots of people spending the night – and we love it!
We are truly blessed with the best family and friends ever – and we’re so grateful for your love and friendship. This slideshow is precious to us because it’s filled with familiar faces we rarely get to see – which makes it all the sweeter when we do.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Bradenton & Naples, FL - Playing the drums for Him
Last summer we were blessed to spend a week at Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat in Northern MN – which is why we were so excited to visit their southern location in Bradenton, FL. What a great community of people making a difference in the world.
We were also blessed to reconnect with an old friend we haven’t seen in over ten years. Marie recently moved back to the states from Bermuda with her husband and three-year-old daughter, Sienna. We spent a day with them catching up, kayaking, and checking out the manatees. Looking forward to seeing them again soon.
Next we headed a couple hours south to Naples and were so happy to see more familiar faces! Our dear friends, the Perrins, flew in from MN. They are here for a couple of weeks so we’re spending Christmas with them at Janet’s mom’s place.
Praying your Christmas is filled with the love, peace, joy, and hope that Jesus came to bring. We had a blast playing our drums for Him in the slideshow…Merry Christmas from the Bendicksons!
PS...The last blog about Tampa was from last year...sorry...I was messing around with the blog and somehow it sent it out...technology...
We were also blessed to reconnect with an old friend we haven’t seen in over ten years. Marie recently moved back to the states from Bermuda with her husband and three-year-old daughter, Sienna. We spent a day with them catching up, kayaking, and checking out the manatees. Looking forward to seeing them again soon.
Next we headed a couple hours south to Naples and were so happy to see more familiar faces! Our dear friends, the Perrins, flew in from MN. They are here for a couple of weeks so we’re spending Christmas with them at Janet’s mom’s place.
Praying your Christmas is filled with the love, peace, joy, and hope that Jesus came to bring. We had a blast playing our drums for Him in the slideshow…Merry Christmas from the Bendicksons!
PS...The last blog about Tampa was from last year...sorry...I was messing around with the blog and somehow it sent it out...technology...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Orlando, FL - What Matters Most
We had a quiet week at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground. Rich flew to Minneapolis for a few days while the kids and I decorated the RV with our homemade Christmas crafts. I think we left the campground once… to stock up at Whole Foods, but other than that we spent the week reading, biking, playing tennis, decorating, and sending a few Christmas cards.
Jake finally got his birthday present – a LEGO Mindstorm – which is a LEGO robot that you build and then program to do different things. He was up at the crack of dawn building – his happy zone. He’s really excited that Dad is back to help him get creative with the programming part.
We didn’t do any Disney parks, but the kids took an archery class at the campground. This was their first experience with a bow and arrow and they had a blast perfecting their aim. The campground, by the way, is very interesting at this time of year. It is packed full of campers who take holiday lights to a whole new level. Many set up displays that make us wonder how they could possibly plug it all in without blowing every fuse in the place!
Our Christmas seasons have definitely changed since we hit the road. December was always a rat-race with so many good things vying for a spot on our overbooked calendar. There was always more to do than could be done. Unfortunately, what matters most usually fell by the wayside. It was exhausting. And often frustrating and disappointing. We definitely miss spending time with family and friends. But overall, we feel very blessed to enjoy a much slower pace of life these days. We’ve been journeying through the scriptures with our Jesse Tree, watching history unfold, and looking forward to the birth of Jesus. We are grateful to have enough margin in our days to stop and smell the roses once in awhile – to watch a deer in the woods - or an armadillo foraging for insects. Less is definitely more. More peace. More joy. More time for what matters most.
Jake finally got his birthday present – a LEGO Mindstorm – which is a LEGO robot that you build and then program to do different things. He was up at the crack of dawn building – his happy zone. He’s really excited that Dad is back to help him get creative with the programming part.
We didn’t do any Disney parks, but the kids took an archery class at the campground. This was their first experience with a bow and arrow and they had a blast perfecting their aim. The campground, by the way, is very interesting at this time of year. It is packed full of campers who take holiday lights to a whole new level. Many set up displays that make us wonder how they could possibly plug it all in without blowing every fuse in the place!
Our Christmas seasons have definitely changed since we hit the road. December was always a rat-race with so many good things vying for a spot on our overbooked calendar. There was always more to do than could be done. Unfortunately, what matters most usually fell by the wayside. It was exhausting. And often frustrating and disappointing. We definitely miss spending time with family and friends. But overall, we feel very blessed to enjoy a much slower pace of life these days. We’ve been journeying through the scriptures with our Jesse Tree, watching history unfold, and looking forward to the birth of Jesus. We are grateful to have enough margin in our days to stop and smell the roses once in awhile – to watch a deer in the woods - or an armadillo foraging for insects. Less is definitely more. More peace. More joy. More time for what matters most.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Williston and Titusville, FL
After Destin, we headed to Williston, FL, near Ocala in Florida horse country. We spent a few days at Williston Crossings over Thanksgiving and had an opportunity to visit the Parelli ranch. This is a working ranch where horse lovers from around the world come to learn “Parelli” horse techniques. You might remember we traveled to Kansas City last summer to attend a Parelli horse conference. Ashley’s horse instructor is a Parelli trainer – so needless to say, it was a highlight to visit headquarters and see the facilities.
Next stop was Titusville, FL, on the space coast. We enjoyed the nature trails and wildlife at the Great Outdoors RV Nature and Golf Resort. God really drew our attention to the heavens last week. First, we watched two incredible space-related DVDs: The Privileged Planet and Star of Bethlehem – both of which brought us to a place of awe and wonder about the Creator of the universe and tremendously strengthened our faith. Second, our memory verses for this week just happened to be from Psalm 19 – all about the heavens declaring the glory of God. To top it off, we visited Kennedy Space Center and spent the day pondering life from a very different perspective.
It is deeply moving to glimpse the complexity, enormity, and synchrony that God set in motion when He created the heavens and the earth. And is it not amazing that He created us in such a way that we can discover and begin to understand it? How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Lord!
Next stop was Titusville, FL, on the space coast. We enjoyed the nature trails and wildlife at the Great Outdoors RV Nature and Golf Resort. God really drew our attention to the heavens last week. First, we watched two incredible space-related DVDs: The Privileged Planet and Star of Bethlehem – both of which brought us to a place of awe and wonder about the Creator of the universe and tremendously strengthened our faith. Second, our memory verses for this week just happened to be from Psalm 19 – all about the heavens declaring the glory of God. To top it off, we visited Kennedy Space Center and spent the day pondering life from a very different perspective.
It is deeply moving to glimpse the complexity, enormity, and synchrony that God set in motion when He created the heavens and the earth. And is it not amazing that He created us in such a way that we can discover and begin to understand it? How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Lord!
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