Archives | Heart of the Matter

The Tale of a Son

As you begin homeschooling, there are a host of questions that may be in the back of your mind: Can I really do this? Can I really teach my child what he needs to know and give him a proper education? Can I find the balance...

Encouraging the Love of Literature

When I hear the term “Literature Analysis,” I develop cold sweats. My mind is yanked back into the 11th grade and flashes back on eight page literary analysis essays, along with difficult and cryptic names for what...

Reminder: The 25 Days of Christmas Cookies

Starting December 1st Heart of the Matter will be presenting you with “The 25 Days of Christmas Cookies” recipes. This year we would like our readers to take part in making this feature a great success. If you would...

Habits and Hypocrisy

Throughout childhood, I read a chapter of the Bible every night. My good habit was challenged in high school. Routine became hypocritical, so I stopped. I only read the Word of God when I felt like it. I cannot recall a specific...

Learning to say “No”

Growing up as an only child, the pressure was always on me to answer “yes” to everything. After all, there was no one else to split the responsibilities or chores with. It was all me – all of the time. After...

The Lessons I Am Still Learning

Ever had one of those weeks that everything goes wrong? Um, of course you have. I started out this week intending to write a happy column about joy, the next Fruit of the Spirit in the list. I tried, really I did. I tried to tell...

How God Carves a Pumpkin

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. –George Eliot With cooler breezes, autumn hues, and shorter days……FALL has arrived… and...

Serious Quiet Time

Are you in need of a serious quiet time? Time to reflect and ponder, time to shut out the distractions of life so you can hear from God more clearly? Is your life weighing on you so heavily that you need Him to breathe His life...

Party Tithe

The Bible on Stewardship “I don’t care if ‘the cattle on a thousand hills’ are the Lord’s (Psalm 50:10), because He isn’t giving them to me.” “I need to be good steward of what I...

5 Fun Early Learning Reading Games

Dolche Words I wrote the 100 most common sight words on index cards and punched a hole in the upper corner of each one. I placed all the cards on MY metal ring. When he was able to read a word he got to “steal” it...