Well, you made it! You’re graduating. I’m sure that all your plans and new responsibilities have your head swimming.

I’d like for you to take a minute and let God speak to you about His plans. Psalm 46:10 tells us

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!” (ESV)

His plans are what matters in the end.  Not scholarships, not honors, not parties, not boyfriends or girlfriends. It might sound harsh, but it’s about Him, not you.

However, He does have wonderful plans for you, if you choose to follow His plans for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (ESV)

Our church family is here for you every step of the way, and we are praying for you. We are praying that whatever your plans after graduation, that you follow God first.

If you ever need anything, feel free to call me at ———— or email me at ————-

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What do you do? Join the discussion below.

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Dare2Share is putting together a week-long discipleship and evangelism training for students and youth workers called Lead The Cause University. It is designed to give tools for students and youth workers to turn their town on its ear for the Cause of Christ.

You will be getting training in an intimate setting at Colorado Christian University with Greg Stier, Zane Black, Jason Petty (Propaganda) and others. I highly encourage you to look into it. I will be there with two of my leadership students. See you there!!

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There are many tools available now for use in homeschooling that were simply not available just a few years ago. One of those tools is the iPad. We were blessed to be able to get ours free (If you’d like to know more about that, go here..)

Ages and stages…

The iPad is a “shared” device in our house. Everyone has their folder, with apps (most free, some paid) for their developmental stage.

Our youngest (3) has her folder full of apps that teach shapes, colors, letters, etc.

Our middle child is finishing up kindergarten (5), so his apps are reading words, basic math, and grammar/sentence construction.

Our oldest (7) is finishing up 2nd grade, so apps involving science, more advanced grammar, cursive handwriting (even though it is no longer required to teach it in Indiana!…), geography, and etc.

We have one more collection of apps that is the “everybody” folder. It has some educational games and items like the PBS Kids app that allows you to see video on demand of many of their shows. These are very “free time friendly” apps that can be used to fill time when one child is done with their work well before the others. It is a nice incentive for getting work completeted correctly.

We do not have a ton of money invested in the apps, as most are free and the rest were largely under $3. It is probably around $20 total. The hardware is by far the largest expense.

A nedded expense is also a case that gives better grips to little hands. We use the Griffin/Crayola Trace and Draw ($30 – includes screen protector), largely because I got it free in a contest. If i were to buy one that works with Pre-K to Early Elementary, I would look at a Zagg Screen Protector and one of the cases from Gumdrop. The cost is far below relplacing an iPad…

I am sure that if you do some looking around, there are even apps that handle the progress reporting and recording that is required in some states. We have a great paper-based form that works for us, so we have not done a lot of research on it.

If there are particular apps here you’d like to know more about, leave a comment below.

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I am thankful and privileged to know a couple that have chosen this as their “Jerusalem” from the command in Acts 1:8..

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This sign welcomes you at the local food pantry in my community…

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I am looking to get one of these. (A Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 – 7.0) to replace my original nook. I would prefer to do it with as little out of pocket as possible (I did an iPad 2 and accessories for less than $50 out of pocket this way, so pay close attention!)

I made an account with YourFreeTabletPC.com. The short version of how this works is that you do one trial offer (Free or Cheap) and get a few friends to complete an offer, they get paid by the advertisers, you get your reward (gift card or tablet) – and everyone is happy. I have a more detailed explanation here…

It is legit.

They have paid out for me 3 times already (iPod Touch, iPhone 4, and iPad 2).

The iPad2 was really a blessing. My wife and kids are making great use of it in homeschooling . I am amazed what is now available to them on a slab of glass, aluminum and silicon.

If you want to know more about how this works or have questions, visit the explanation, comment below, or click here to get started!

You can watch my progress below…

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He is Risen indeed. Happy Easter!

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I won a Griffin/Crayola Trace and Draw case for the iPad 2 from iMore. I received it about 2 weeks ago, and my kids love it! It is large and gives them good grips. Here are some of my other thoughts about the product in no particular order:

•  I am leery of the idea of a child using a marker on an iPad, period. An iPad 2 is a rather large chunk of change in my book, so we “failed to tell” my kids about that app/feature
•  It does offer a decent amount of protection, but it is not an Otterbox/Gumdrop grade case. But the price is also substantially lower.
•  They made the ports fairly accessible, once you realize that the pull-out trays at each end give you more clearance
•  Be careful sliding on and off. you can peel up a thick screen protector like a ZAGG Shield…
•  I love the ease of removing the case to shift to a more “Adult-Friendly” case. (Almost makes me want to walk into a meeting with it on, and see what happens… But don’t try it!)
• It really is a kid-appealing design. It looks very nice with a white iPad2.

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Some of us expect it to be easy. It is not. You must work at it. But the payoff is amazing!

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