Not-So-Secret Secrets of Homeschool Support Group Success

I have been homeschooling for nearly 20 years.  Seventeen years ago,  two friends and I decided to start a new homeschool support group.  We had been part of a small group that didn't quite fit the needs of our families at the time.  We wanted to be part of a group that would be a source of encouragement for homeschool moms,  provide activities for our children, and provide a source for friendships for both!

We had 20 moms at our very first meeting, and the idea became a reality. Today this support group is made of just over 300 families, and is one of the strongest and most active groups in our area.  Here are a few things that I think have been instrumental to its success. 

Structure :  It would have been easy at the beginning, when it was just the 3 of us, to think that we didn't need any formal structure to the group. Why have By-laws and a leadership council for a small support group?  But we were given good advice  and so set up a structure for our group from the beginning which allowed us to distribute responsibilities, utilize the gifts and talents of our members, and grow without overburdening any one person.  Our group has a 7-member Leadership board consisting of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, membership coordinator, calendar/event coordinator, and hospitality coordinator. There are also "non-board leaders" who take on important roles in the support group such as librarian, yearbook editor, Iowa testing coordinator, webmaster, sports program director, etc.  When our group passed 200 families a couple of years ago, we added Advisors to help the Calendar/Events coordinator, and those Advisors helped in specific areas -  Academic Activities, Social Activities, Family Activities,  Field Trips, Teen Activities, Parent Support. Their job is to  help find activity coordinators, secure a facility if needed, offer advice in planning and carrying out the group activities, and also communicate monthly with the Leadership Board.  Structure is just one of the things that has led to longevity and growth for our support group.

August Parent Meeting

Focus on Encouragement and Relationships:   Why do people join support groups?  While field trips, park days, and spelling bees are all fun, encouragement is the most fundamental need that homeschool parents have. And although encouragement can be found in a book or magazine or website or blog, the best kind of encouragement comes from real people with whom we have real relationships - i.e. from friends!   Relationships are the glue that holds a support group together. With people all around us telling us we are crazy and probably ruining our kids, we NEED the moral support of others who have chosen the same path for their families. When we  have those days when we reach the end of our rope and declare the the kids are getting on that school bus TOMORROW, we need someone to call who can not only sympathize (because we've all been there), but can also offer guidance and suggestions to get us through the crisis, help us see the forest for the trees, and remind us of the reasons we are homeschooling in the first place.  Is your support group a place of support and encouragement?  Are there leaders or experienced homeschoolers available to answer questions or talk with a member who is struggling? Are there regular  meetings or gatherings where moms can talk, ask questions, share struggles, and celebrate victories? Some of the ways our support group offers encouragement is through monthly parent meetings, mentor groups, Facebook page, Yahoogroups email loop, Dads' breakfasts, informal rendezvous in the parking lot or at McDonalds after the monthly meeting, parent workshops, and park days. The format of our monthly meetings varies, and while sometimes we have a speaker or panel talking about a topic, other times we spend some or all of the time broken up into small circles with a leader/seasoned homeschooler in each circle to help facilitate discussions. In addition to encouragement, members are able to share experiences and glean from the wisdom of the older homeschool moms.

 New Homeschool Moms Brunch

Building up  New Leaders:  An integral part of support group leadership is identifying and building up new leaders.  Our Board positions are 2-year terms, with 3 or 4  Board members being replaced every year.   One benefit of this is that it is easier to ask someone to serve for 2 years, than to ask them to serve indefinitely! We also have numerous other leadership positions, which a person may hold for longer or shorter.  Keeping an eye out for active members who show a committment to homeschooling and a willingness to serve others is the beginning of building up new leaders.  First we ask these people to take on small jobs, and then larger ones with more responsibility, helping them along as needed.  We also look for those members with particular talents or abilities, such as accounting or graphic design or website design, and encourage them to contribute that talent to the group.  Leaders set the tone and promote unity in your group by focusing on what you all have in common, rather than on your differences.  They should be expected to set an example of wisdom, mercy, and humility.  All leaders are invited to a monthly leaders meeting, where support group business is discussed and relationships with the other leaders are built.  A day long "leaders retreat" is scheduled each June, for the purpose of making plans for the upcoming year but also for training new leaders and discussing the support group's mission, vision, and bylaws.


Vison:  Why do we homeschool?  Why do we have a support group?  What does our support group do?  What does it not do?  These are some of the questions that go into defining the vision of your support group.  Are you a co-op that provides academic enrichment classes? Are you a play group?  Are you focused on teens? On parent support and field trips?   Leaders should know the group's vision, mission, and purpose, and use those things to evaluate the direction of the group from time to time. Print it and hand it out to your members.  Put it on your website.  Add it to the bottom of your emails. 
Share the vision with your members often.

OUR VISION STATEMENT (why):
We believe God has given parents the authority and responsibility to direct the education of their children. Education includes the whole child - not only the mind, but also the heart, soul, and body. True education begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT (what):
We are an association of homeschooling families and our purpose is to provide support and encouragement to one another in our homeschooling endeavor; to provide opportunities for our children to participate in large and small group activities for academic, social, and character-building purposes; to share information about local, state, and national happenings of interest to homeschool families.

HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Championship Tournament 2014 = a.k.a "LIBERTY!!!"

Just returned from our 8th year at the HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Tournament with the Lighthouse Eagles! This post-season tournament is the highlight of the year for our varsity and JV players, and win or lose, we always have a great time! This year did not disappoint, with over 80 homeschool basketball teams from NC, SC, GA, VA, TN, KY, MD, NJ, and NY in attendance!

Chris Davis, the tournament director, and his staff does a phenomenal job! And Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA is a fanstastic, family-friendly location with their wonderful sports facilites ( LaHaye Center, Vines Center, and LCA ), pretty campus, and friendly community.

This season, Jason was the starting point guard for our JV Boys team, but also played up on Varsity for non-league games. So at Liberty, he played both! Ten games in 4 days - 1 on Wednesday night, 4 on Thursday, 4 on Friday, and 1 on Saturday. The 3-point contest was held on Thursday night after games ended, and Jason's turn didn't come until about 10:30pm! But apparently he shoots well after playing 5 games in 24 hours, and shot 18 3's in 60 seconds to come in 2nd for the JV Boys!

To help him stay strong and energized, I packed a cooler of protein shakes, protein bars, string cheese and crackers, trail mix, water bottles and powdered Gatorade. Cracker Barrel has a great breakfast menu - pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, a banana, and milk is a great start to a long day of basketball! I brought Epsom salts and had him soak in a hot bath before bed. We got home from the gym pretty late, but part of the fun of tournament is hanging out with teammates at the hotel - at least for a little while; and a late night Cook-Out run is apparently a tradition!

There is a lot of team bonding that occurs during a tournament. The JV portion of the tournament ended on Friday, and our Eagles won the 1A Divison championship. Varsity championships were held on Saturday. Our Varsity boys won the 3A Division championship and our Varsity girls finished 4th in the 2A Division.

 I am proud to be part of the Lighthouse organization and proud of our kids, for competing with heart, courage, conviction, and honor. These are the intangibles that high school athletics should impart.

The Homeschool Mentor #1: 5 Reasons to Homeschool

men·tor

noun

1.

an experienced and trusted adviser.

synonyms:

adviser, guide, guru, counselor, consultant

I love being a mentor to new homeschool moms and  to younger women in general.    It is one of the good things about "getting older.  I led a mentor group of 8 new homeschool moms this fall, and really enjoyed getting to know them and sharing information from the mentor manual, Home Education 101, byVicki Bentley,  as well as from my nearly 20 years of experience as home educator.
It dawned on me that I could share those things here on my blog as well.  So here we have a new series of posts: The Homeschool Mentor.

First up:  Reasons to Homeschool

A quick Google search will bring up many, many lists of reasons to homeschool, as well as few lists of reasons NOT to homeschool.  My list won't be unique, but nonetheless, here is MY list of some reasons to homeschool.

1. INDIVIDUALITY.  Each child is uniquely and wonderfully made, with individual strengths, weaknesses, talents, and challenges.  It is a common observation among parents to see a young child who is bubbling with enthusiasm, energy, curiosity, and excitement for learning when they start school become increasingly discouraged, disinterested and distressed as time goes by. Just as not all babies are ready to walk or talk at exactly the same time,  so children are not ready to read or write or learn fractions at exactly the same time.  Homeschooling lets you go slowly or speed things up, depending on the needs and readiness of each child. The ability to individualize a child's education according to his learning style  and particular talents is  a tremendous benefit, and something that a classroom teacher cannot do.  The institutional nature of traditional schools, with emphasis on conformity and test scores,  is stifling instead of inspiring. The social atmosphere in schools does not nurture children's individuality and make them feel safe and secure, but instead fosters conformity and cliques  and a battle for survival of the fittest and most popular.  Parents rationalize the suffering of their children as "part of life", "a necessary evil", "learning to deal with reality", etc.   Allowing your children to grow up free from that kind of pressure and stress is a wonderful gift, and I believe it will make them stronger, not weaker, in the long run.

2.  STRONG FAMILY.  A family that spends every day learning together builds strong connections. Part of the teaching that a homeschool parent must do also involves dealing with conflict, respecting one another, showing kindness, developing patience, etc., but these lessons have life-long benefits!  My five children, spanning 13 years  from oldest to youngest, are all great friends and enjoy spending time together as adults.  They also like coming home and being with us... and they often bring friends with them who enjoy the laid-back, fun-loving, affectionate  atmosphere of our home

3. FAITH and VALUES.   Everyone has them, everyone teaches them.  There is no such thing as value-neutral education.  Every curriculum writer, every author, every teacher, every administrator has a worldview, which is simply a set of assumptions about what is true and right, and that will come through in what information is presented and how it is presented in a lesson.  Everyone has a set of values and everyone puts their hope and faith in SOMETHING.  Educators, books, experiences, peers - all these things have a mighty influence on the development of a child's values and worldview, and home education allows parents to choose materials, teachers, and experiences that will nurture and develop the values of the family, rather than of the "school" or of "society".

4. FREEDOM.  Embracing the homeschool lifestyle is intensely freeing. It is "outside-the box".  Your family's schedule is your own, and not dictated by a school.  You decide what time to get up in the morning, when to go on vacation, how long to spend on a lesson. You can spend the entire day reading aloud from a great novel or watching historical DVDs.  You can do school 4 days a week or 6 days a week.  You choose the books and materials that appeal to you and your children, and adapt them however works best for you! You can make volunteer work or missions work part of your school curriculum, or focus on the arts this semester and the sciences next semester, or do schoolwork at the beach or on the back porch or under a blanket fort.  It is true that each state has its own requirements, and some  are more restrictive or demanding than others.  But homeschooling is not just "school at home", and can look and feel VERY different from institutional schooling, and produce wonderfully intelligent, creative, compassionate and interesting adults!

5. GIFT OF CHILDHOOD.  Children today are expected to "grow up" so quickly, and the hours spent in school plus a typical busy family schedule leaves little time for imaginative play, for just being a kid!  My adult children express gratitude for their childhood, and for the fact that they had time to play, explore, investigate, and dream.  TV and video game time was limited. Craft materials were readily available and mess-making was okay. School lessons were broken up by breaks for outdoor or indoor play.  Blanket forts, homemade play dough, building blocks and LEGOs, American Girl dolls and stuffed toys, Polly Pockets, baseball trading cards, Matchbox cars, board games,  musical instruments, Nerf guns, the costume box featured prominently in our daily life.   Entertainment - television, movies, music - was chosen carefully.  They may have heard of them, but there were no posters on the bedroom walls of pop stars, pro-athletes, or teen heart-throbs.  Innocence was protected and valued. We read fairy tales and biographies and classic stories - stories of  heroes and heroines, both real and imaginary,  who possessed courage, fortitude, compassion, conviction.  We baked cookies, went on interesting field trips, volunteered at a nursing home and food pantry, went to the library, spent time with friends.  Homeschooling allowed my husband and I to shelter our children in a good way, and give them a variety of rich and memorable experiences.

How Homeschoolers Measure Up

Source: TopMastersInEducation.com



 

50+ Field Trips Around Raleigh, NC

updated:  8/23/18

Here is a list of fifty over sixty field trips that are close to Raleigh, NC. A couple of them are up to 3 hours away, but they are ones we have actually done in a day - get up really early and get home late - and are worth the drive. There are lots more that would require an overnight stay, but I'll put those in a different post.

1. Airborne and Special Ops Museum (Fayetteville)
2. ArtSpace (Raleigh) 
3.  Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education (Raleigh)
4. Blue Jay Point County Park nature classes (Raleigh)
5. Camp Flintlock (Four Oaks) 
6. Carolina Ballet - Nutcracker Student Matinee (Raleigh) - Dec. 
7. Carolina Theater - Arts Discovery Educational Series (Durham) 
8. Carolina Tiger Rescue (Pittsboro)
9. Clemmons Educational State Forest (Clayton)
10.  Country Doctor Museum (Bailey)
11. Duke Homestead State Historic Site (Durham)
12.  Duke Lemur Center (Durham) 
13. Durant Nature Preserve (N.Raleigh)  
14. Durham Bulls Education Days - baseball (Durham) 
15. Fort Macon State Park (Atlantic Beach) 
16. Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (Greensboro) 
17.  Harris Energy and Environmental Center (nuclear power) (New Hill)
18.  Hill Ridge Farms (Youngsville)
19.  Historic Oak View County Park (Raleigh)
20. Historic Oakwood Cemetery history tours ( Raleigh )
21. Historic Stagville Plantation (Durham)
22. Homeland Creamery dairy farm (Julian )
23. Imagination Station Science and History Museum (Wilson) 
24. Interfaith Food Shuttle Teaching Farm (Raleigh)
25. International Civil Rights Center and Museum (Greensboro) 
26. Joel Lane House (Raleigh) 
27.  Marbles Kids Museum / IMAX Theater (Raleigh)
28. Millstone Creek Apple Orchard (Ramseur)
29. Morehead Planetarium and Science Center (Chapel Hill) 
30.  Museum of Life and Science (Durham)
31.  New Hope Valley Railway (New Hill) 
32.  NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher (Kure Beach)
33.  NC Museum of Art (Raleigh)
34.  NC Museum of History (Raleigh)
35. NC Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh)
36. NC State Capitol (Raleigh) 
37. NC Symphony concerts  (Raleigh)
38.  NC Transportation Museum (Spencer) 
39. NC Zoo (Asheboro) 
40. North Carolina State Parks (statewide)
41.  Old Salem (Winston-Salem)
42.  Raleigh Little Theater: Beyond the Stage Door (Raleigh)
43.  Red Hill Farm - horses (Franklinton)
44.  RDU Airport Observation Park (Raleigh) 
45. Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences (Rocky Mount)
46.  Scrap Exchange (Durham) 
47. Snow Camp Outdoor Theater: Pathway to Freedom (Snow Camp - summer) 
48. Tryon Palace (New Bern) 
49. USS North Carolina (Wilmington)
50. Videri Chocolate Factory (Raleigh)
51.  Vollmer Farms : Pumpkin Patch and Back 40 (Bunn) Oct.
52.  Wake Weekly newspaper (Wake Forest) 
53.  WCPE Classical Radio Station (Wake Forest)
54.  WRAL TV Station and Weather Center (Raleigh) 
55.  US Post Office   ( local)  
56. Wake Forest Fire Department (Wake Forest)
57. Wake Forest Police Dept. K9 unit (Wake Forest)

We haven't been on ALL of these field trips, but definitely a lot of them over the years -  Blue Jay Point, NC Museums of History and Natural Science, Historic Oak View,  Harris Nuclear Energy Center, USS North Carolina, WCPE Radio Station, Wake Weekly newspaper office, Morehead Planetarium, International Civil Rights Center, Duke Lemur Center.    Alamance Battleground "Colonial Week"is one of my all-time faves.  WRAL TV Station  and Weather Center was great, as well as performances at Carolina Theater, NC Symphony, and Carolina Ballet. I'm a fan of art museums, and the NC Museum of Art has a great children's program.  Airborne and Special Ops Museum in Fayetteville is fascinating for military buffs and the NC Zoo in Asheboro and Museum of Life and Science in Durham are both top notch.

 

 

Turning Off the Television

While I am not a big TV watcher, the boys in my family are.  SportsCenter is the first thing J turns on in the morning.  Sports events of all kinds, but especially basketball and baseball,  are a staple. Certain TV shows capture their attention for a while - NCIS,  Big Bang Theory, Duck Dynasty. 
And when they watch TV, I typically am on the computer, although I do enjoy a few shows too. Cupcakes Wars and So You Think You Can Dance are set up to record on our  DVR each week.   Since it is something my husband enjoys doing to unwind and relax after work, he isn't always willing to put limits on screen time.  However, from time to time, we both agree that it is time for a "No TV Month". 

We have done this numerous times over the years.  We try to be considerate of any big TV "events" that are being looked forward to, like March Madness or the Olympic Games, or even the American Idol finale, IF we have been watching all season. (we didn't watch at all last season, but were glued during the Scotty McCreery season.)  But this spring after the NCAA Championship college basketball game was over, the TVwent off.

The only exception  during "No TV month" is if I have planned something to watch for school - a movie or documentary for history, for instance.   Or extreme weather that perhaps warrants keeping tabs on the weather reports.  Otherwise, the screen is off, and while we don't forbid computer time, we do try to curtail it.  It is amazing how quiet and peaceful the house is when the TV isn't on all the time.  Much more reading gets done. Board games come out.  There is more talking.  We go on more walks  After a couple of days, nobody really misses it anymore.  After 30 days, I was more than ready to go for month 2, but got overruled.  Still it was a nice respite, and good for each of us to remember what other things we enjoy doing during "down time".

What would you do with your time if you turned the TV off for 30 days?

Ten Resources for Learning Geography

What is the largest freshwater lake in the world?

        What is the capital of Nevada?

                     Is the Tropic of Capricorn north or south of the equator?

                                     What language is spoken in Switzerland?

 I have always enjoyed learning geography - memorizing states and capitals, rivers, bodies of water, countries and continents, etc. Geography study is included in our Tapestry of Grace history curriculum, so we label outline maps and learn about the geography of the places we are reading about in history. This really helps with understanding how people and places are connected through time, and how factors like climate, topography, language, etc. play into the events of history and the way people live. In addition to outline maps, we utilized websites as well as games that I accumulated to build our geography skills.

 Another way I encouraged geography knowledge in my kids was to host a monthly Geography Club for middle schoolers/ high schoolers , where we played quiz games, geography board games, puzzles, sampled food from different countries, let the kids do presentations. and had a lot of fun! 

Here are some of our favorite geography resources that you might enjoy using to increase your and your children's geography literacy!

1. Geo Puzzles  -
These puzzles are enjoyed by young children as well as teens and adults, and will help you learn the countries and continents in a hurry!  There is a puzzle for each continent, and puzzle pieces are the shapes of countries or groups of countries. The pieces are sturdy and thick, easy for small fingers to handle, and they fit together cleanly.  Good quality.

2.  Ten Days in the Americas  ( Asia, Europe, USA, Africa )
  This board game seems complicated at first, but is surprisingly easy to learn, even for elementary age children, so the whole family can play and learn together!  Using country cards and transportation cards, you must be the first to put together a sequence of 10 cards that constitutes a  "journey" from country to country.

 3.  Professor Noggins card games
Players take turns rolling the dice and asking each other questions from the cards, choosing from the Easy or Hard section depending on the age of the player.  If you answer correctly, you get to keep the card; incorrectly and the card goes to the bottom of the pile.  The player with the most cards at the end wins!  Simple and fun way to learn or review basic facts and trivia. 

 

4. MegaMaps
These have been a lot of fun and a favorite in my TOG Co-op class!  With your regular printer at home, you can print outline maps of continents and countries in a variety of sizes, ranging from a single sheet of paper to an 8 page x 8 page monstrosity that is over 6 feet across!  My favorite size is 4 pages by 4 pages,  which as great size for laying on the kitchen table or taping up on wall or door.  Once printed, it takes a bit of work to tape the pages together.  I then color ( or have the kids color ) bodies of water, countries, etc with crayon, and use Sharpie markers to add whatever features I desire, like mountain ranges, stars for capital cities, etc. An atlas book or a detailed map printed off the internet is a great help with this part.  Then I cover the entire thing with clear contact paper, add self-stick Velcro dots, and print off labels on card stock, also covered with clear contact paper and stuck with a Velcro dot ( I buy them in the craft section of WalMart ).  Now I have a great, reusable teaching tool!   Put all the labels on the map and study it together, then remove the labels and use a digital kitchen timer to make a contest out of seeing who can put the labels back on correctly in the fastest time!

5.  Enchanted Learning
This has been one of my very favorite websites for printing off school enrichment activities, not just for geography, for my kids from K-8th grade!  Maps, phonics helps, graphic organizers for writing, holiday projects,  foreign language words,  fun worksheets on science topics... all kinds of neat things can be found here and are definitely worth the annual $20 fee.

 

 

6.  WorldWise geography card games

This is another fun and educational card game.  Younger children will need help at first, and you may allow them to look at the enclosed map for "help", while older players have to use their memories. This game is similar to UNO, with players putting down cards on top of each other in a pile. Instead of matching a number or color, however, the card must show a geographic entity ( country, ocean, etc.) that shares a border with the previous card.  Passing is not allowed, but bluffing is.   Great fun, and you'll learn some obscure seas and bays that you never knew existed!

7.  Sheppard Software

This is a free website with tons of learning games and quizzes for all ages  - geography, science, health, animals, history, math...    The geography games include a Tutorial level for learning, and then Beginner, Intermediate, Expert, Explorer, and even harder levels for some games, making this a site to test the knowledge of mom and dad as well as the kids.  

8. GeoSafari:   Electronic Game and Talking Globe

There was a GeoSafari electronic game under the Christmas tree our very first year of homeschooling, and it has gotten use pretty much every year since!  The styling is different now - there was no such thing as a "laptop" 19 years ago - but the fun of trying to beat the timer, or the time of your brother or sister, is still the same.  Card packs are available for just about every subject area - geography, phonics, science, art, math, history.   We've gotten a lot of mileage out of our game.  The Talking Globe is a new product that we never used, but it looks like it would be a great learning tool as well -  and every household should have a globe!

9.  National Geographic for Kids

National Geographic is the iconic source for photos and articles highlighting the variety of earth's people and places, and NG Kids has fun learning games, photos, and videos.  Teens and adults can click over to the main National Geographic site for more in-depth information.   *The magazine subscriptions are a good investment for those who like print media in their hands to encourage reading  and want a good source for photos to cut out for craft projects, etc. 

10. Mapping the World by Heart
This unique geography curriculum teaches students to draw from memory a detailed world map. 





Answers to the questions at the top of the page:
1. Lake Superior (by surface area )
2. Carson City
3. south
4.There are 4 official languages spoken in Switzerland - German, French, Italian, and Romansh

A Homeschool Love Story

 There was a little girl....

 and there was a little boy...

who grew up not that far from each other, being homeschooled, playing sports, going to summer camp...

and it was at this summer camp that they met and became friends.

Before the boy left home for college, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and she said okay.
Because here's the thing.  She really liked that boy.

It just so happened that a year later she went to the same college. And soon they fell in love.

Then one day the boy asked the girl a very important question.

 She said YES.

So they picked a date in June. Made plans for a special celebration. Invited their friends and loved ones to share the day with them. And they vowed to love, honor, cherish, and care for each other for the rest of their lives.

But that is not "The End".  It is just the beginning.... of a new and great adventure.



 

He Pushed the Clouds Aside...

And the rain just keeps falling... We've had one wet month of June here in the Triangle. Even as I sit here writing this, I am listening to the deluge coming down outside.  It would come as only a small surprise if we started seeing animals lining up by twos. Normal rainfall amount recorded at Raleigh-Durham airport for the average month of June is 3.52 inches. The actual amount we just received in June was 10.08 inches. See what I mean? This particular wet month of June also happened to be the month for two very special weddings - the daughter of one of my dearest friends got married on June 9th and my son married his long-time sweetheart two weeks later, on June 22nd. 

Both couples planned outdoor ceremonies. Gulp.

Weeks and weeks of planning and frantic preparations (I would say months, but I try not to lie here on this blog) led up to both of these days as two precious, young , Christian couples prepared to commit to a lifetime of love, devotion, and shared everythings before God, family, and special friends.  Neither wedding was lavish, but both were do-it-yourself celebrations marked by the contributions of time and labor by an army of loving volunteers.  As details fell into place and checklists were marked off, the one variable that could dampen the festivities ( pun intended ) was the weather.

Two days before Ellie & Jonathan's wedding, her dad posted this request on Facebook.
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. James 5:17
 ...I am asking all of God's people to pray as Elijah did, that God would hold back the rain, not for 3 1/2 years, but only for about 3 1/2 hours. Please LORD ! Thank you all for praying!"

That's right. All that sunshine is making her squint -  God answered this father's prayer and Ellie and Jonathan had a beautiful day for their wedding.

Jump ahead 2 weeks and several inches of rain later.  The forecast for June 22nd had started out calling for partly cloudy with widely scattered showers, but as the day drew closer, the forecast became more foreboding.   Here is my Facebook appeal from the morning of the wedding.
"The weather forecast for today has deteriorated slightly, and is now calling for scattered showers and storms. The ceremony is outdoors at 5:30pm and the reception following is partially outdoors. Please pray with us for N.Durham/Bahama to remain rain-free this afternoon and evening. Thank you!"

The wedding venue for both ceremony and reception was an hour from our house. The wedding party and a few other friends spent all morning out there setting up and then went home to get ready. Around lunchtime, the clouds started to roll in and we saw the big expanse of green ( rain ) on the Doppler radar on the local weather channel, headed straight for us. It poured at our house.  Friends in the area were reporting rain at their locations as well. We got in the cars and headed towards the venue, fully expecting to initiate Plan B, where we would pack all the guests into the small reception lodge and make the best of the weather, celebrating the new couple even as the decorations outside became drenched.  But still I prayed. "Lord, we will praise you no matter what, for You are always good and we know that Your ways are not our ways.  But I ask for Your favor. Could you just push those clouds aside over Spruce Pine Lodge,  just for a couple of hours?"

1 John 5:14  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

As we approached Bahama, NC, we saw that the clouds overhead were breaking up.  Upon arrival at the venue, we found everything nice and dry.  And it remained that way. For the entire rest of the day. The first raindrops started to fall, no lie, as the couple was saying goodbye and walking out to their car at 10:30 pm.  And there was only a very light rain as we spent the next hour packing up, loading up, and heading home.  God pushed the clouds aside and gave my son and his bride a gorgeous outdoor June wedding...  His wedding gift to these children of His.