Building Up Fathers and Sons Since 1995

For nearly 30 years, it has been our mission to help fathers and sons deepen their relationships and create lifelong memories.

We hope you'll join us this year October 17-20, 2024 for a weekend to remember.

What began as an overnight outing for three dads and three sons grew to a four day event with over 500 fathers and sons in attendance. By combining outdoor adventures with inspiring ministry, the Miller family hopes to strengthen family bonds and ignite a passion for serving Jesus Christ.

See FatherSonCamp.org for more details.

 

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope your family is doing well as you seek to honor Christ in your home every day. If you have already begun your school year, I hope you are finding your rhythm and enjoying your children. Exciting changes are happening with the PAACH board. Over the past 2 months we have said goodbye to 2 beloved board families and welcomed 2 new board families.

There are 2 families that deserve our appreciation who have served well and been an integral part of the rebranding and rebuilding of our organization. Matthew & Lisa Lewis served on the board for 9 years and have stepped down to give another family the opportunity to serve. They will continue to be a part of the PAACH community. Scott & Kristina Meyers served on the board for 4 years and have moved to Kentucky to serve at the Creation Museum & Ark. Both families believe strongly in family discipleship and have shown their heart for homeschooling. They will be greatly missed. If you would like to send either of these families an encouraging card or letter, please contact us for their addresses.

Two new incredible families have joined the PAACH board. Tim & Stephanie Irwin are experienced homeschoolers, and they are excited to use their experience and talents to serve the PAACH community. McClean & Yvonne Wendt are somewhat new homeschoolers who are passionate about bringing new ideas and enthusiasm to the homeschooling community. Both families exhibit a heart for family discipleship and a desire to help other families grow and thrive as homeschoolers. We look forward to seeing how PAACH families will benefit from their service.

The PAACH board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH Presiden

Greetings PAACH homeschool families. It’s almost time to begin a new school year, which means that some of you have already begun planning out your school year. Meanwhile, others of you will begin your yearly panic as you read this because planning and organization is just not in your blood. In fact, you’ll probably just wing it… again. Either way, your kids can have a good school year full of learning, fun experiences, and relationship building. As you are doing your school prep, I wanted to remind you that your greatest teaching tool is… you. How you live before God will teach your children way more that any book curriculum, or experiment, or anything you could possibly say to them. So here are a few questions to help guide towards setting the most Christ-like example.

First, do you continually seek to be filled with the Spirit? When Paul emphasizes that we should “look carefully how we walk, being wise and understanding the will of the Lord (Eph 5:15-17),” he recognizes that we cannot do these things on our own. His solution for how to do these things is to “be filled with the Spirit so that we may encourage one another and be thankful toward God for everything.” (Eph 5:18-20) Realistically, we cannot do anything else in this passage without the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul knows that we are imperfect “leaky” vessels, which is why we need to continually be filled. Is that the example you are living out in front of your kids? Do they know that living a life of repentance allows the Holy Spirit to claim and redeem more and more of your heart?

Second, do you know where you draw your lines? Do you hold those lines faithfully despite the consequences that will follow? The book of Daniel lays out examples for us in chapters 1 and 3 of how to draw a line and stand. Daniel and his three friends determined in their hearts to trust God with their lives and God miraculously sustains them on an impossible diet and saves them from certain death. What is important to note in these two examples is that they make it clear that they will NOT compromise even if God chooses not to save them. Are you confidently trusting in the sovereign God who always holds your life in His hands? Do you really believe that He is sovereign or do your children see fear or doubt ruling in your life?

Third, is sharing Christ with others your highest priority no matter what? The church that my family attends has been teaching through the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. I had the privilege of teaching through Acts 8:1-8. The trials faced by the early church included being hunted down, imprisoned, and even being executed for their faith in Christ. Because of this, they were forced from their homes into places they might not have chosen to go otherwise. Even through all these difficulties, they continued to “preach Christ” wherever they went. Too many times we go through hard situations in our lives, get focused on ourselves to the point that we question God, and then try making the case that we “don’t deserve” what is happening to us. Truthfully, we really don’t want to know or receive what we deserve, but that isn’t even the real issue. The real issue is that we were created and live for His glory. The fact is that our hardships are opportunities for God to be glorified and for unbelievers to see and be witness to His goodness. This is what Luke points out in Acts 8, that many came to salvation because of the suffering and hardships of believers because they were faithful to always preach Christ. Preaching Christ gives purpose to trial or hardship because God is glorified and proves that He really does “cause all things to work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) That’s right, God can use your difficulties not only for your good, but for the good of others who are called according to His purpose and will love God even when they don’t know it yet.

I don’t know how many times you have said “ouch” or had an “aha” moment in the last few minutes, but I do hope you are challenged and encouraged in your faith as you strive to be Godly parents and teachers. (If you are interested in further exploring these ideas, some of this article was inspired by Alistair Begg’s book Brave by Faith.) As always, the PAACH board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

Written by Kelly Crawford

Raise a virtual hand if you can remember what years WWII was fought? Can you find the length of the hypotenuse? Do you know what a hypotenuse is? What element on the Periodic Table is abbreviated Sn? What about Os? Can you identify an intransitive verb in a sentence? How about a diphthong? And have the answers to any of these questions helped you be a more successful person?

As a homeschooling mom, you have probably felt the load of guilt from “not doing enough.” And by “enough”, you likely are comparing your homeschool curriculum with either your memory of school or with others around you as they attempt to “do school.”

It is imperative that we ask ourselves the question: “What is really important in the education of my children?” instead of assuming that the system has it figured out.

Do we want our children to be good at school, good at tests, or educated in a meaningful way that will benefit them in their real lives? Force yourself to think outside of your experience and see the difference between schooling and educating.

“I’ve come to realize that being “academic” doesn’t tell you much about yourself. It tells you you’re good at school, which is fine if you plan to spend your life in academia, but very few of our students do. It doesn’t indicate whether or not you’ll be successful in your marriage, raising your kids, managing your money, or giving back to your community. All things that matter much more than being good at school.

School should be a place where kids can discover what they love. They should be able to ask the questions that matter to them and pursue the answers. They should discover what they are passionate about, what truly sets their hearts and souls on fire. They should discover they can make a difference now. Above all, they should leave school knowing what they are good at.” (English teacher, Shelly Wright, Academic Teaching Doesn’t Prepare Students for Life)

Because we only have so much time in a day, and so many days in a year, and just like that, our children are done with their education.

So What Matters?

Is it not true, that we believe an education is the key to [earthly] success? So why is it that so much of what is included in a standard education has nothing to do with being successful? And shouldn’t we be concerned enough about that to question the status quo?

Here is my opinion of what really matters when it comes to a practical preparation for life: (It’s a given that I believe everything should be undergirded with our love and fear of the Lord. The following are more practical things as it relates to earthly success.)

1. Financial Literacy

Honestly, I think this is at the top of the list of things that will MOST impact our children in their practical lives. Because no matter what academic subjects are mastered in school, if a person grows up without a solid foundation of how money works, how to manage it and make it and how to keep it, it will matter little what he does for a living or what he scored on his ACT.

The truth is, we’re preparing our kids to have a family and make a living. That’s pretty much what we all grow up to do, one way or another. On the financial side of things, our kids have more opportunities than ever before, to make money doing what they love. But, they have to see it and have an intelligent grasp of economy in the real world.

Schools, in tragic irony, aren’t giving our children a solid foundation of economy and real-life finances, on which most of their earthly success will depend. We love Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance for high school.

2. The Three Rs

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Our children need a good foundation in these three, and after that, the sky is their limit. We live in an age where information is innite. Our children have anything they want to know at their ngertips. They just need to know how to access that information and the freedom to do it. We can’t learn a fraction of everything. So why not learn what we’re interested in, because that’s the only thing that we will retain anyway. Really, our job is pretty simple. And if we think that their education is limited to what we impart to them, we’re wrong.

3. Relationships & Conflict Resolution

Because, life and people.

4. Problem-Solving

We have two choices as we live life. Complain and despair, or find solutions to our inevitable problems. We need to be talking prolifically to our children about the right choice of facing our problems head on with an optimistic, problem-solving stamina. Largely, a person’s success will depend on his willingness and ability to solve life’s problems. The end.

5. Character

Even though this is listed last, it really encompasses the others and isn’t necessarily just an item in the list. Diligence, honesty, integrity–these are the traits that, along with the aforementioned things, will serve our children well, bringing them success in their endeavors. The Bible bears it out, and so does experience. Character is best taught by our living example, so we have our work before us. Let us live lives worthy of emulation.

So what I really want to say to you, my fellow homeschooling mama is this: chill out. It’s OK if your kids can’t answer all the questions on Jeopardy. Granted, that would be impressive, but we shouldn’t be about the business of impressing. You’re doing more than you think. The endless worksheets aren’t going to make a big difference in your child’s ultimate success. Even the test scores can be a decoy from true learning.

Keep it simple and homeschool on.

Kelly Crawford
Generation Cedar

Kelly will be a Keynote Speaker at our upcoming PAACH Convention

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of making memories with family and giving thanks to God for all the many blessings He has given you. Now, as we look towards Christmas, I want to encourage you to remember God’s greatest gift. Jesus came offering salvation to all who trust in Him. He gave us the precious gifts of hope and forgiveness.

Christmas is a time to experience great hope. You may be wondering, “how do I experience this hope?” In his letter to the Romans, Paul proclaimed “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may over ow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 15:13) According to Paul, hope begins when you trust in Him and grows as your trust in Him grows. As you trust Him, you are filled by the Holy Spirit with joy and peace which overflows your heart with hope. The challenge for us is to look for opportunities to trust God every day. Do you and your family look for ways to exercise your trust in Him? Do you look for ways to be a blessing to others so that God may draw others to Himself through you? If you want to increase your hope, look for opportunities to serve and bless others and share your hope with them. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5)

Jesus has also given us the incredible gift of forgiveness. This gift can be received over and over again. John tells us that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Forgiveness is offered to us as many times as we need through confession. However, this gift comes with one caveat…it must be given as freely as it is received. Paul tells us to “be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph 4:32) Jesus warns us that this gift can be revoked if it is not given. (Matt 6:14-15) In fact, forgiveness is so important that it can hinder our worship. Jesus says that we should reconcile with our brother before offering worship before God. (Matt 5:24) The Christmas season is the perfect time to reconcile (if possible) with a brother or sister. Look for opportunities to share the gospel with someone and help them receive the gift of forgiveness this holiday season.

The PAACH board wants to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We pray that you experience the gifts of hope and forgiveness through Jesus Christ this year. The board also desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope your homeschooling journey has been exciting and full of adventure so far this school year. I’m sure you have had your challenges as you endeavor to grow with your kids and show them how to live every day to glorify God. I want to share a little bit about my experiences navigating the difficulties of walking your child into adulthood. I also want to touch on the importance of finding joy during those difficulties.

One of the goals you should have for your child is to grow into a responsible adult. Teaching them how to think critically and weigh out consequences will go a long way in helping them to learn from their mistakes (which they WILL make). As parents, we tend to set unrealistic expectations on our children. When this happens, we are almost sure to overreact and be too hard on them when they mess up. This can exasperate your child and cause them to become discouraged (Col 3:21) You want to build your child up in the Lord, teach them self-discipline, and give them the tools they need to continue to learn and grow as an adult. If we are to be God’s representative, then we must learn to follow His pattern of discipline. In scripture, God often warns us of consequences while still leaving the choices up to us. I have tried to do this with my children starting around the age of 12. I will often talk with them about a problem they are facing and help them weigh out possible choices and the consequences. Then I remind them that they are the one who has to live with their choice and let them choose. This process has helped my wife and I keep a strong relationship with our children and gives an opportunity to build trust. When your child makes a decision that results in the bad consequences you warned them about, they learn to trust your wisdom.

Another conversation that my wife and I have with our kids regularly is that we are for them just like God is for us. We assure them that we are not wanting to control them, but rather teach them to control themselves. When they are younger the consequences come from you as the parents, but as they grow older the consequences come from God. Many are built into His design, and some come from His discipline directly. (Hebrews 12:5-11) We also walk them through the process of repentance, restitution, and reconciliation. God’s design in the law (throughout Leviticus) shows that God wants us to make right the damage done by our bad choices. This seems to be a lost concept in today's Christianity, but it is necessary for those in a church to maintain good relationships. The fact is that saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t magically fix our mistakes. However, it can be a good first step when accompanied by an acknowledgement of the hurt caused and an effort to replace or rebuild what has been broken. The truth is, teaching these things is in itself painful because they must be taught by example. Some time of self-reflection on how you handle fixing your mistakes might be beneficial at this point. What kind of example are you living out when you make a mistake and hurt your spouse or child?

Finally, I want to share a practice that has helped my wife and I through some pretty tough times when our children’s decisions have hurt us deeply. At times, we have felt disrespected, betrayed, attacked, discouraged, and incredibly frustrated as a result of a child’s bad decision. We have often asked ourselves these questions:

1. Did I make this mistake when I was their age?
2. Have I treated God the way I feel my child is treating me?
3. How did my parents respond when I made this mistake? Was it helpful or hurtful to me?
4. How can I love my child in this situation?

When it comes to the end of the day, we strive to restore the relationship with that child because that’s what God does. No matter what we do, God works it for our good because what is best for us is to remain in relationship with Him. He always draws us back towards Himself. No matter what your kids do, they will always be your kids. You love them because God loves you and your kids. One last tip: Enjoy the times when you are in good relationship. Remembering the joyful times can be very helpful when persevering through the hard times. I pray that you will have much joy in your family.

The PAACH Board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

 

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope this month finds you well and thriving in your homeschooling activities. As we dig into the school year, I wanted to remind you of the reasons we homeschool. We want our children to have the best education possible and nobody wants your children to succeed more than you. More than this, we want our children to grow in a biblical worldview and to know and have their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Homeschooling is how we meld these two things together as we “train our children in the way they should go.” (Prov 22:6)

First, we want our children to get the best education. It is important to keep in mind that our children are individuals with unique personalities and gifts. As homeschoolers, we can tailor each child’s education to grow them in their specific gifts and interests. Doing this gives them a head start towards excelling in those subjects of interest. For example, my second oldest daughter spent the last two years of high school studying and training along side other women 5-15 years older than her and completed her doula certification right after she graduated. Many of those women told her they wished they had started their training at her age. This same daughter started her own business career at the age of eighteen, has attended multiple births as a doula, and even had the opportunity to deliver a baby when the midwife was held up. I share all this to say that your children will have advantages and opportunities that others their age do not because you are homeschooling.

We also want our children to grow in a biblical worldview. We want them to know who God is and that He has created them for a purpose. We have the privilege of helping them discover what that purpose is, or at least help to point them in the right direction. In order to accomplish this mission, we must endeavor to know them better and grow in our relationship with each of them. We also need to show them how to relate to God and others by how we live and serve. We want our children to grow up into contributing members of the church and in the world. We must warn them about the difficulties waiting for them as they go out into the world (John 16:33) and how to turn to God in their weaknesses. (1 Cor 1:26-31 We must teach them how to stand on the rock of Christ and walk in His ways. We must point them to the simple command to love God above all else and to love others.

Homeschooling is ripe with possibilities and opportunities to grow our children up in “the fear and admonition of the Lord” (Eph 6:4), and to teach them to use their gifts to honor Him. It is the best way to help them grow into fruitful believers who want to serve God and His people. It is also the best way to grow ourselves as we learn together. Don’t get too caught up in repetitive daily schedules where you miss the many opportunities to plant seeds and water your children’s souls. Finally, remember to leave all your worries and shortcomings in the gracious hands of our sovereign God and his providence. (1 Pet 5:7) He knows the path they must walk to find Him and trust in Him. (Ps 37:23, Job 23:10)

The PAACH board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be godly parents who lead your children toward Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

Who? Former, Current, & Future Homeschool Families

What? ICHE Family Camp

When? Thursday, September 7 - Sunday, September 10, 2023

Where? Camp Timber-lee, East Troy, WI

Why? Because, yes, we CAN take off school right after Labor

Day for fellowship, rest, encouragement, fresh air, campfires, carpetball, gagaball and volleyball.

Register online

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope you are doing well as another school year begins. I have been challenged over the last month as I have been meditating on 1 Corinthians 13. I have been thinking about how this passage denes family relationships. I would like to share some of my thoughts and struggles with you.

I love my kids. If anyone were to ask me if I love my kids, my answer would be an immediate “yes.” However, what if I were to apply Paul’s definition of love (1 Cor 13:4) and reword the question like this: Is my relationship with my kids defined by an abundance of patience and kindness? Am I quicker to judge my child’s motives or to offer forgiveness when they make mistakes? Do I keep a scoreboard of those mistakes? Questions like this cause me to hesitate before answering that original question. Now I am forced to re-examine how WELL I love my kids. I am fully aware that there is no such thing as a perfect parent, but I must also remain vigilant in acknowledging my shortcomings as a parent. I am challenged to walk with God and before my children in a worthy manner. (Col 1:9-10) Scripture urges me to walk in humility and forgiveness, giving grace to all. Why is this so important as a parent? Because I am trying to set an example that I hope my children will follow; an example of what it looks like to live a life of repentance which bears fruit. (Matt 3:8, Gal 5:22-23)

As a parent who now has children currently ranging from adult to teens to newborn, I have been given a multitude of opportunities to prove my love for my children. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to find out that patience and kindness are not my default response. I have had plenty of opportunities recently to discipline my children. It seems that the bigger they get, the bigger the mistakes. In most of those opportunities, I have found myself needing to apologize for responding poorly and to share my past where I made many of the same mistakes that my children are making. What I am learning through all of this is that God’s grace really is sufficient in every circumstance. (2 Cor 12:9) Humility, an apology, and (age appropriate) straight-talk go a long way in building trust with your children. These same things also build their faith when they can see that God has forgiven you and blessed you after making some big mistakes. Paul knew what he was talking about when he said that God can work all things for the good of those who love Him… (Rom 8:28) He can take your past mistakes and turn them into wisdom, ministry opportunity, and even tools for relationship building with your children. What an amazing God who saves us and then uses us to bring others to salvation… maybe even our own children. Homeschooling has so many possibilities and benefits. I encourage you to take some time to reflect and learn to love your children better.

The PAACH board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

Fall Soccer

Register online or in-person at the Christian Center Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Cost until June 30: 1st player - $70 | 2nd player - $65 | 3rd or more player - $60

Cost after June 30: 1st player - $80 | 2nd player - $75 | 3rd or more player - $70

Homeschool Bowling

Looking for a P.E. credit for your homeschoolers? The Christian Center is again reserving Friday afternoons for Homeschooler Bowling sessions. All skill levels supported. Family-friendly facility. Reasonable fees for bowling and shoes.

4100 N Brandywine in Peoria. For more information call (309) 685-4218

Dads & Lads

Fridays 5 to 8 p.m. FREE Bowling and/or Billiards (dads must participate with sons to be eligible to play for free)