Good Friday Church Services 2023

Each year we try to list Good Friday services, based on the church's website advertising they are having such a service. If I go to a website and can't find information about a Good Friday service, it isn't listed here.

The churches we can recommend fully as sound churches to attend are marked with an *. 

Chancellor Baptist Church  (Fredericksburg, VA) 6:30-7:30 pm 

Choice Baptist Church (Fredericksburg, VA) 6 pm

CityLight Baptist Church (Culpeper, VA) 7 pm*

Grace Fellowship Church (Fredericksburg, VA) 6:30 pm*

Celebrating Good Friday

I've been reposting this annually since 2010! I try to keep links updated since they tend to disappear as the years pass :). 

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This year as we've remembered Christ's sacrifice for us in dying on the cross and being raised from the dead, we've done activity/coloring pages from Family Life that I found somewhere online but can't find now...they've been simple and a sweet way to get the story into the forefront of our minds. I read from John as the kids work on their sheets.

Today, a most sacred day, we are breaking in the midst of John 18 to go on a scavenger hunt for the items to be found in the traditional Resurrection Eggs. I've assigned each child an equal number of items, knowing everything can be readily found around the house and yard. This is a fun way to involve older children in the retelling of the events of this week so long ago.

Tomorrow, 'Holy' Saturday (we don't really call it that), we will bake Resurrection cookies before bed, using chocolate we can beat instead of nuts, and Sunday we will enjoy Resurrection rolls in the afternoon.

Some links for activity pages you can do with your kids: 

https://deeperkidmin.com/product/triumphal-entry-printable-bible-story-and-activity-pack/ (paid)

 

https://sermons4kids.com/triumphal_entry_colorpg.htm (free)

Complete Easter study free from Calvary Chapel-scroll down on the page to find Triumphal Entry, Jesus is Crucified and Jesus is Risen! Takes some work now (since 2021) but is worthwhile!

 https://calvarycurriculum.com/nt-matthew-john/


God bless you this Good Friday.

Distracting Thoughts

As someone who has wasted time, too much time, thinking of something different from my reality, I've got a few thoughts to share. The fact of the matter is that those who use their time well, the vast majority of it that is, do not exert energy on what isn't reality. When life is hard, some personalities are more prone to want to escape by thinking of a new direction to take their life. They are the dreamers by nature.... folks who think of new ventures often. This can be a valuable trait in the right setting. Where it is a problem is when time is squandered away on these dreams, or different venues to go. 

When we're excelling at life, doing all we clearly have to do very well (which is our best), then we can be free to fritter away mental time and mental energy. Usually the energy lost in thinking of "anything other than what we should be focused on" is just lost. Wasted. 

Time management, prioritization, a solid work ethic, and being good stewards of our thoughts, time,  and talents go hand in hand. 

Do you work heartily as unto the Lord... that is a big instruction for Christians. 

Losing time on the internet, sleeping too much, researching things that turn into wasted time, day dreaming, or pursuing vain interests will make valuable time disappear. Are you pressed for time? Try taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Be thankful for the job at hand, and do your best with it. Keep your thoughts on the here and now. 

Brilliance Test

The phrase 'pecking order' is easily understood if you have chickens. The most aggressive chicken is not the top chicken but rather the second in line for the throne. 👑 The first is relaxed and knows it is the boss. There is nothing to prove or get worked up about when you are number one. You know what you know. The number two chicken really wants to be in the place of number one!! Watch them long enough and you will see it. 

I think it might be the same with people regarding their intelligence. 🐓

In the Beginning, God Created...

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1: 1-5

There are a lot of people who do not believe this portion of Scripture, literally the opening words that God wanted to communicate to mankind. To not believe this is someone's prerogative. Believing it requires a response, and there are many who do not wish to give it the response it obviously demands. To recognize this as truth means that we must acknowledge that not only does God exist, but that He created all that we see and know. This opening passage of Scripture shows an active, orderly, in charge God. An omnipotent God that calls forth, creates, sees, moves, determines, separates, and speaks. 

To literally believe Genesis 1 means that there was initially darkness, and that God is the One who brought light to that darkness. God saw that the light was good and separated it from the darkness, which shows that the darkness was different, and the One who created that, saw it and made a move. Order was being directed and decided upon, and that was done by God. These passages require holy worship to the only One with the authority to determine the course of all things, including our lives as those who worship and follow Him.

This same God of Genesis has designed the family to operate in a particular way. There is a head to the family and there are subordinates. There is a picture of Christ's relationship to His church in the family unit. It is a mystery that God has outlined for us. When we believe it and follow it, we will experience the consequences of that decision. When we pick and choose what to believe or reject it all outright, we get to experience the consequences of that decision. 

It is not new for people to think they are smarter than God. It is not new for wives to question the authority of God Almighty because they have a husband who does stupid things. It is not new for mothers to talk incessantly to others about their children's behavior, while never disciplining them as they should, deceiving themselves into thinking that talking about a situation equals corrective action. It is not new for the godless to write books that promote child training that runs completely against the loving truth that God has given us in how to point our children to Him. And it is not new for husbands to shirk their God ordained role to lead their families (whether or not it is because their liberal wives make it hard for them to do so). It is not new for husbands to lord their position over wives who are emotionally beaten down. Sin is not new, my friends, and it comes in all the same colors and shades that is always has. 

The reality is, as Christians who are tasked with pointing others to the truth, we do all we can to make Christ attractive. We do all we can through prayer and lovingkindness. But we must hold on loosely because the world, and its sin, is alluring; and many who start on the path of righteousness leave it for worldly wisdom. Many who seem firmly planted in the truth wither and dry up when the heat of hard decisions starts to bake them in the hot sun. We cannot be discouraged as the true followers of our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ. We must move on to the next mission God has directed us to, always striving to be sanctified more and more so that we can't help but bring God glory through our kind submission to those He has placed us under. We who walk with God are all under authority. Let us make sure we are following the right one. 

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. Matthew 7:6 

A Perspective on Essential Oils

https://urls.grow.me/ZdP1W5WeK

This is worth a read, including the comments. I use essential oils, not with a diffuser as is so common, but topically and orally. Fragrances are fragrances for those allergic to them. It isn't necessarily a synthetic chemical allergy that causes people with fragrance allergies problems. (It's rather unpleasant to go in a home with diffusers going if you are sensitive to smells due to a health condition. It's like scented candles burning.) This said, I've been helped by some EO, and so have family members, but caution is warranted as far as radical claims and anything that gets spiritualized. I'm not loyal to any one company. I've got a favorite doTerra blend, a YL I like, and others I've bought and mixed myself. It's important to realize the plural of 'anecdotes' isn't 'data'. I'll still try certain ones to see if they help, but if they don't, they don't. And researching ingredients is important as with anything medicinal. 

Jonah Chapter 4

Jonah 4

Worth your time!

Homeschool Q&A #10 Creating a Positive Learning Environment

Q: How do you keep students motivated and create a positive learning environment?

A: You will foster a love of learning by having a good attitude toward work,  teaching, and learning yourself. Show you enjoy reading to them, going outside together and observing, teaching them how to fold laundry and cooking.... Talk about something you recently learned...homeschooling flows naturally out of day to day teaching that starts as soon as we bring our babies home.  We're always teaching our children, particularly with how we respond to our own work. 

Practically, honing homemaking skills creates an orderly and peaceful home and as touched on previously, setting a standard of first-time obedience with a good attitude is very helpful. Being able to sit still at the table is very helpful: eating, coloring, painting, doing puzzles... then later you look at A,B,Cs and numbers... 

Schedules and routines are great. Plan the eating, chores, playing, reading, schooling, skill time, quiet time etc. Some children need to know what is ahead!

Homemaking is a lost art, but it is an important part of a welcoming, fun homeschool environment. Kids learn a lot watching us practice hospitality. Think of it this way, a wife at home with no children does a lot of important things so her husband is free to advance in his job. She enjoys less stress from the world (and in turn so does he since she's not bringing in more), but she is still very busy with the housework, cooking, laundry, gift buying, maintaining family relationships, car upkeep,  whatever else... you want to model joy and enjoyment in those things. It's your work. When school time begins, the good attitude continues.  

Whatever we set our hands to, we want to do it as unto the Lord.

Moms who resent their home duties create a bad environment....a good school environment starts with the basics.

It's Not For Me

There are two ways to approach life: positively or negatively. 

It's not fun to talk with people whose general bent or response is negative. It's wearing. Learn to reply with a question in a pleasant tone if you don't agree with what's being said to you. 

A sign of ignorance and immaturity is to think, AND SAY ALOUD, that if someone is doing something different from you (or that you think is not worthwhile), it's a worthless venture for them, too.

A person who is friendly, has friends. People, whether intelligent or stupid, do not like being insulted. And they aren't inclined to enjoy being told what to do. 

Homeschool Q&A #9 Assessing Progress

Q: How do you assess progress?

A:

Elementary-aged:

You will use materials for a certain grade, so you will be able to see if your student is doing well or struggling. You won't need a test to tell you in the early years. You will be able to see if they are grasping concepts rather fast, normal, or slow. What matters is that your child will be learning, developing a love for learning, and increasing knowledge at their pace. No need to have everything graded. That said, with math, there will be quizzes and tests, even at a young age. Your curriculum will have them. Use grades as a tool to say,  "Hey, no problem, let's see where we need to look a little harder or work through this more. " It's not to do great and feel like a boss, or do poorly and feel like you are a failure. Grades at this young age are a tool to help mom teach and understand her student's needs. The tests are helpful to see what needs work, plus it is a skill to be able to work quickly,  which shows proficiency. If your student takes Latin starting in 3rd or 4th grade, there will be grades there also.

Middle:

You won't have to grade a lot of material until this point. It's a ramp up time.  Science, history, Latin, logic, literature,  English, math... all will likely have graded work.  The curriculum will include tests and quizzes. We did live online classes at this point. These are typical classes taught be a teacher with normal grading. 

High school:

These are the only grades anyone cares about outside your home. This is because of the transcript you'll want to start building. You want your students prepared for real deal academic evaluations before this time. 

A word on academic levels:

We had a student who was technically one year ahead academically. We realized that we didn't want our student graduating a year early and then going to college a year early. So in 4th grade it was really 5th grade material being done... but that was "her" 4th grade level. College turned into taking only 3 yrs to finish instead of 4, so she finished early, which we thought was better than starting early. 

A story:

I've seen parents take schooling very casually until HS, then suddenly everyone realized school mattered. Unfortunately, the kids weren't prepared for this. Mom wanted things to be fun and heavily prioritized socializing and friends. For the first time, dad started paying attention, and since he understood the real world, expected high school to be what most of us think of as a full load of academic courses. Not surprising, failure ensued because no one had a plan to gradually increase the pressure and discipline harder academics demand. Learning requires mental lifting. You'll see this with math early on. There are tears, kids think it is too hard... mom has a choice. This is one of the challenges. How much to push. Dad is usually a better judge. Kids work on mom and we tend to back down our buckle, worrying we will ruin them if we push and they can't do it. But no one knows what can be done if they aren't pushed. Mental lifting IS work, and their little brains feel it. Help them push through, have a high standard. You'll be glad later. Crying does not necessarily mean you should back off. It might mean more time is needed, you might need to explain more, but to pull back entirely.... you can be clipping wings and creating a dynamic where the child is suddenly in the driver seat, prematurely.

Standardized testing:

If a person homeschools based on having at least a high school diploma, they have to test their children annually using a standardized test. This score is submitted by either Aug 1st or 15th to the Superintendent of your counties public schools. Kids in government run or private schools do not get tested annually. The test is merely to demonstrate incremental improvement from year to year, there is not a required grade to achieve. That said, year-end testing is not difficult. We did it the last week in May each year. 

The California Achievement Test (CAT) tests math and English which is all you have to test for in VA. It can be taken online and graded immediately, or you mail in a paper version and receive the score in the mail. The mother can administer this test. The Iowa is another test and Stanford is another. These others have to be administered by someone besides mom. There are always people offering to administer for a small fee. 

If a person home schools under the "religious exemption " they do not have to test annually.

Jonah 3

Jonah Chapter 3

Another good sermon on Jonah

Homeschool Q&A #8 Common Misconceptions

Q: What are some common misconceptions about homeschooling that you've encountered?

A: People who do not yet understand homeschooling have a lot of ideas that are erroneous, but that is ok. We're all wrong about something! They might think you need a teaching degree to be a good teacher, they think you aren't actually educating well when you homeschool, they think there are no set grade levels since some homeschoolers act that way, and they think socialization is best done by being around a hoard of same-aged people. Interestingly, at no time in life are adults only around same-aged people, and I'm not sure where the logic is to think being surrounded by mostly immature children one's own age is going to help develop skills for success in life.... Anyway, the more you educate yourself, the more confidence you will have, but honestly, the proof will be in the pudding. We had a LOT of naysaying and at first I felt it was my duty to convince others and educate them, and eventually I was just too busy doing the work I was tasked with (by choice!) and decided I didn't care what anyone else thought. Years later and everyone on both sides of our family have continually praised the result, even my family members extended families. Our children are academically inclined by God, and we did our best to nurture that. People see that plus the godly character He's instilled, and I even have a niece planning to homeschool even though she does not walk with Christ. It is hard to describe what I endured at the start vs. where things are now. I believe Voddie Baucham's The Children of Caesar videos (free on YouTube, part 1 and part 2) give some good statistics that are likely even better now regarding homeschoolers academic prowess v. public schools. Even children homeschooled by parents who didn't finish high school perform better than about 70-75% of their public school peers. The numbers get better with high school graduates doing the teaching, parents who attended college...all those "professional" teachers and same-aged kids are not resulting in better performance academically, and that is the main point of school I thought. 

A closing truth to this idea you'll hear: 

"Aren't you sheltering your children too much by homeschooling?"

Truth: it is right for parents to shelter their children. This is a wicked world and until they are strong enough and grown, you better believe I'm going to shelter them and train them as best I can. I thank God I was able to stay home and choose what influenced my kids. As the parent, that is the privilege and responsibility. Throwing them to the wolves is a real crap-shoot in today's world. 

Amen

In thinking whether we trust God or not: 

I'd like to remind us that God saw what was happening with Babel and the building of the tower therein. He took action, clearly demonstrating He is God and we are not in control. We humans like to think we're in control. If we are very careful about X then Y will not happen. Some parents think they are in control of aspects of their children's lives which no mortal can actually control, for example. 

As we see more Christians get obsessed with the way medicine works, often for reasons not hard to comprehend, it is essential to always put our actions and the expectations of those actions in the pool of God's sovereignty. Our putting them in the pool does not change the reality He IS sovereign and in complete control. Rather, it changes our focus--our obsessing. It changes our telling people off regarding their health decisions. It changes our pride and self-assurance. It changes our anxiety over making sure it is all perfect. Bear in  mind, God chastens those He loves. 

Doing all we know to be right to avoid a certain circumstance, and then having that circumstance become our reality, changes us in ways nothing else can. When we are people with terrific conviction, drive, and discipline, we can make many things happen. It can be easy to forget it is God who enables success and brings results,  regardless of whether they are positive or negative. They are His to bring. 

So we buy organic meat and dairy and our child still starts puberty prematurely. 

We don't vaccinate and our child grows up to be infertile. 

We are careful in pregnancy and our child still gets life threatening allergies. 

We don't use traditional medicine and cancer still comes. 

We clean with natural products and uncontrollable rashes still turn up. 

We never used chemicals on our skin or went out in the sun,  and skin cancer still showed up.

How can this be?? We did all we knew to be right, faithfully, and yet, we suffer. 

Beloved, let us remember that God is sanctifying His children. It's not about creating the perfect scenario to then bring the perfect outcome. It's not about us having it ALL the way we've worked to have it. 

Don't you see? The issue is this: are we going to work hard to do what we believe is right, trusting Him if it turns out we're wrong, or trusting Him if it turns out we were right but it still went all wrong? Where is the grace and mercy if that isn't how it works? Because some do it ALL wrong and get the results we'd want. Right? The mother who smoked in pregnancy had a healthy baby. The mother who never went around second-hand smokers had a child who developed asthma early on. And we recognize that as grace and mercy with the smoker,  right? The issue isn't the ISSUE at all. It is where our trust is. God's grace and mercy are not dependent on anything we can muster or control. They are His gifts to give. Our job is to serve Him faithfully and work hard, always trusting the results to be part of His plan. Not our plan.

We're not to be fatalistic because God calls His children to righteousness and excellence. He expects us to trust Him and if we do not, He cares enough to make the trust happen. Even if the fallout of that process is something we must look at for the rest of our lives. 

God is good, all the time.