Quick Update

I am waist deep into my Homeschool planning and this break (for the kids) has been awesome. They are reenergized and ready for the new school year.

This year's planning has been very intensive for me because I am doing a complete overhaul. Almost no curriculum will be used this year. There will be a ton of hands on and real life learning applications. That also means that in order for it not to be total chaos I will need to do a lot of planning before hand.

While the planning has been mentally exhausting I have found myself giddier each day as the school year draws close. This coming week I am prepping the guest house to officially make it a school house. I can not wait to share pics, videos, and updates as to how all of this turns out. I am particularly happy to share weekly videos of our learning conquest during the week. This is going to be totally awesome and amazing.

I give all praise to HaShem for allowing a blessed life and lots of love and peace. Also thanks to my husband for shelling out the bucks 😘, and my amazing kiddos for giving me ideas on what they would like to learn. Looking forward to this  school year!

Shabbat Shalom and many blessings!!!
T. Henderson

Summer Break and Things to Come....

It is that time of year again! Summer break is here...almost. We do school year round with a 1 month break in July. In about a week my kids will lay down their books and follow a lot of their own interest. This year instead of sitting in the house we will be doing some traveling. We have plans to go to Chicago to visit Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation. We are going to SixFlags as well. I believe everyone is old enough to enjoy ( no infants this year ;) ).  There are plans for a family visit to the Ft. Worth Zoo as well as a few museum and cavern trips.  Wonderful thing about it is that we really don't have to leave our state to enjoy our summer. Texas has almost everything! 

After our summer break we will return with a new school year and a new (to us) way of doing things. Education wise, why do I feel that throwing all these stringent academics at my children will help in the long run. Does it help for my children to focus mainly academics? Will it really help my child to know how to do an algebra equation or balance their health and money? At the end of the day I want my children to experience childhood, adolescence, and adult life. I was never taught life skills i.e. money management, cooking, time management, organization skills etc. My education was mainly academics. Study, study, study then pass the test to pass the grade level. Wash...rinse...repeat. I am not interested in that for my kiddos. I want them to be able to be effective in everything they do. That means being able to manage their lives, to communicate, and to learn new things.  So stay tuned because I will be sharing how we will incorporate that into our new school year.

Our goal is to have TONS of fun this summer and to come back refreshed and focused for our new school year!

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer break and mazel tov for the new school year!

Restoration of A Nation

Today I have started on a new journey. With the help of HaShem it will be one of success. This change comes about from many conversations with my husband on developing topical writings for our people. These writing will hopefully help to explain certain teachings and concepts of our heritage as Yisrael. I will make it available here as a PDF. Please do not change or alter this document in anyway shape or form. As you share it, share its location from here. Todah!

Shalom and many blessings,
T. Henderson

Restoration of a Nation

Him Alone

In my studies I have come across many different Torah scriptures. These have been cemented in my heart the most and I reflect upon them daily.

Devarim 6:4
Shema Yisrael, YHWH Elohaynu YHWH echad.
Hear Oh Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.

Devarim 6:13
Revere only the Lord your God and worship Him alone, and swear only by His name.

Devarim 10:20
You must revere the Lord your God: only Him shall you worship, to Him shall you hold fast, and by His name shall you swear.

What does this mean to me as a Torah observer and inheritor of the promise made to my people?
Yah is telling us not once but twice to revere Him alone, to worship Him alone. Even when we swear, we swear by His name. If we love Him, we will follow Him, worship Him, revere Him alone. He is the creator alone. He is the Almighty, alone.

Shemot 20:3
You shall have no other gods besides me.

This mitzvah clearly states with no confusion who our God is and that we must only serve Him. There are no other Gods. Not even one who comes close. He does not share his existence nor inheritance. He does not share His power. If we diminish Him we err from His mitzvot. He is not a plaything He is a jealous God. Our reverence, love, focus is always to Him.

Exodus 34:14
For you must not worship any other God, because YHWH whose name is impassioned, is an impassioned God.

We must be very careful not to incite His anger. We must revere Him and Him alone  because we are His and He has given his name, blessings, and covenant to Israel his inheritance.

Be set apart, follow His mitzvot.

Shalom,
Tanisha Henderson

*I use the JPS Hebrew/English Tanakh*