Paideia Conversations

In this episode of Paideia Conversations, Melissa Cummings from Paideia Northwest is joined by Kristen Kill, lately of Portland, OR to talk about the wonder, wisdom, and worship of poetry. Really, it was just a fun conversation about all things beauty, poetry, and language... we kept chatting, because it felt like there was so much to say! Find out what Kristen loves about poetry reading & writing, who some of her favorite poets are, and how she incorporates poetry in her own Christian walk of faith. This is a peek into the Paideia Northwest bonus event on November 4th, where Kristen will come talk to us about the intersection of wonder, wisdom, and worship in the art of poetry... and maybe even help us with a poetry-writing exercise while she's at it.

The last of our three main speakers for this year's Paideia Northwest conference joins us for this conversation, continuing to ponder the themes of wonder, wisdom, and worship. As a photography journalist, homeschooling mama of ten, and recent co-author of the book Gather, Heather Tully is a font of encouragement and grace on these topics! She shares some of her own favorite bits about educating her kids at home, focusing primarily on relationships - individual relationships with God, relationships with one another, and corporately together as a family having a relationship with God and neighbors. What a beautiful tapestry! Heather also gives some of the inside scoop on the backstory from the book, Gather - what it was like to photograph the Gathering times of nine different families, traveling around the country to see the Lord at work in such a variety of different homes, and she even throws a nod to conversations she and I had as we daydreamed about Paideia Northwest and Paideia Southeast collaborating... and how this year's own conference theme ended up as the subtitle of her beautiful new book. If you have a rocking chair on a porch, if there's a summer breeze, and if you can top off a cup of coffee with a healthy splash of cream, then you will not want to miss joining in on this latest Paideia Conversation.

We are one day closer to the 2022 conference brought to you by Paideia Northwest, and in this episode of Paideia Conversations, we are joined by author, blogger, speaker, and podcaster Pam Barnhill to chat about wonder, wisdom, and worship - and how they work with one another, challenge us, bless us, and equip us... especially for those of us who are homeschooling moms trying to balance all the housework, homework, academics, and attitudes day by day. Pam's contagious laughter is sprinkled throughout, and this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Pop open a bottle of ginger kombucha, pop in your earbuds, and come chat with us!

As we prepare for the opening of registration for Paideia Northwest's 2022 conference for Christian mamas raising their kids for Christ, I get the pleasure of checking in with the conference speakers one by one... and you get to listen in to find out what they are preparing to share with us in November as we discuss Wonder, Wisdom, & Worship. And as today's podcast guest suggests, we might throw a little Work into the discussion as well! It all ties together so nicely when Christ is at the center of it... why not?!

For this paideia conversation, we get to hear from Mystie Winckler from SimplyConvivial.com and ScholeSisters.com to find out about her plans for this year's Paideia Northwest event. She will not only have hard copies of her first book, The Convivial Homeschool, available for purchase but will be expanding on some of the principles and experiences shared therein for her session at Wonder, Wisdom, & Worship. As a seasoned homeschooling mama with two graduates so far, and three more well on their way, Mystie shares with us about her own need for wonder in her pursuit of wisdom as well as the perspective that keeps worship as the central element in their home and life. Don't neglect the gathering of the saints! From that centrality of worship flows wisdom and wonder to carry into family worship, personal piety, and home education routines. Also, just for fun, find out what drink, hymns, and books Mystie has currently at her fingertips.

I hope this whets your appetite for learning more from Mystie on November 5th! This is just the beginning.

In this Paideia Conversation, Melissa Cummings is joined by her friend and cohost Jenn Discher from Paideia Southeast... who also happens to be today's guest! Jenn's first novel, The Elk King, was recently released, and this is a conversation all about what it looked like for her to create that kingdom, cultivating the world of Animalia while simultaneously creating a home and cultivating life there with her family for the kingdom of God. We promise there are zero spoilers in this episode! Just a lot of happy stories from behind the scenes, and chatting about how Jenn's work as a homemaker and homeschooling mother overlapped and influenced her work as an author. Enjoy this friendly conversation, be inspired to pick up a copy of The Elk King for your own family, and may the peace of God be with you.

In this episode, Paideia Southeast member Anya Harrison and Melissa Cummings from Paideia Northwest continue their conversation about incarnation, and it’s time to get practical. How do we incarnate the Incarnation? Let’s dialogue about some ideas. There is so much freedom of conscience here. Seek to glorify the Lord and bless your families. As Anya said, we can disagree about things like Advent calendars, manger scenes, or how we create traditions or practice Advent… but what we must agree on is the centrality of Incarnation, and understand that the doctrine is not about an event in Christ’s life but His identity itself.

Paideia Southeast team member Anya Harrison joined Melissa Cummings from Paideia Northwest for a conversation which was born out of a discussion they had had about Incarnation after reading St. Athanasius' book On The Incarnation. The difference between truth and tradition, and how one informs the other while the second can give us tangible means of practicing and pursuing the first... let's just say, we got a bit tempted to be carried away. So this is Part One of the conversation, and you can find Part Two in Episode 11. We hope that you join with us in the wonder and discomfort of considering our God-made-flesh, while you are engaging in something real and fleshy. Maybe dishes or laundry, maybe baking cookies or wrapping gifts. Maybe rocking a baby or driving to pick up a teen. It all starts with John 1, where we consider the Word, the Lord of creation, putting on a human body in order to dwell among us. But that's not the end of it... it's so much bigger than that. Praise the Lord!

Have you taken the time to survey your children about things like truth vs. tradition when it comes to your family's holiday observances? Specifically asking what they actually remember year by year? Have you ever giggled at their responses or given yourself a face-palm for what they say? Have you taken it to heart and humbly learned at the feet of your children? Melissa from Paideia Northwest and Jenn from Paideia Southeast took a chance on their kids, and are happy to share a little insight with you! It is fun to hear what these seven kids had to say when asked about the meaning of Advent or the traditions & atmosphere in their homes during this season. Maybe this will inspire you to ask your children some similar questions and get the conversation going around your dinner table.

Melissa and Jenn also then took the time to share with one another (and with you!) about some of their own favorite ways to cultivate a specific paideia in their own homes during Advent. Everyone pursues traditions (for marking of days or celebrating annual events or creating memories) differently from family to family, and we love to learn from one another as well as just pause to reflect on why we do what we do. Why do my kids love the Jello their grandmother makes? Why are Advent countdown calendars such a thrill? Why do we love getting presents? How do these tangible, practicable, experiential things point us toward Christ as we repeat them year over year?

This isn't about teaching anyone to do anything particular: rather, this episode is all about sensing the atmosphere in two homes (three thousand miles apart), and how these particular mamas seek to bring their children with them into the unnecessary-yet-completely-lovely practice of Advent. It is our hope that it will simply serve to inspire you to pursue a godly paideia with your own kids, think about your traditions, and maybe give you some new ideas or ring with familiarity.

Spending the season of Advent cultivating an atmosphere of Savior-centered conversation is a goal many of us mamas have, which can honestly feel a little counter-cultural during the weeks before Christmas when the world around us is spinning with gharish decorations and messages of materialism under the guise of incredible sales your holiday can't exist without. In Cindy Rollins' book Hallelujah: Cultivating Advent Traditions With Handel's Messiah, we are encouraged to keep things simple, humble, doable. She writes, "I highly recommend that you do not complicate it too much... Advent is a time of anticipation and joy. What I love most about using Messiah as an outline for the season is that it is just so simple."

For this paideia conversation, Melissa and Jenn get to visit with Cindy Rollins to talk about the changing dynamics of life seasons from year to year while seeking to cultivate the foundation of a family culture which fosters familiarity, community, and anchors us in Christ. Cindy encourages us that "we do all these things, and we want to be faithful, but it's Christ that gives the increase."

While you are wrapping Christmas gifts or taking a walk on a crisp Advent morning, listen in and be encouraged. As Cindy said, "the plodding along as a mom with a family is more important than the actual accomplishing of some great feat of getting it all in during the holidays."

Katie Westenberg joins Paideia Northwest's Melissa Cummings today in a dialogue about motherhood, family culture, book writing, and resting in the peace of the Lord. Katie will be speaking at the Paideia Northwest conference in one week, and this is a sneak peek into the energy, joy, and passion she will bring to our day of Rest. While all the time sharing about the need for open hands and extra measures of grace, Katie has words of wisdom and perspectives of gratitude which translates into exhortations not to grow weary in the good word of raising children in the nurture, admonition, and enculturation of Christ. From resurrecting picture books in her read aloud rotation to digging in to deep conversation with her teens, Katie tells us what the atmosphere of Christian family life looks like in this current season of their home. To the Kingdom!

Paideia Northwest's Melissa Cummings is joined in this conversation by Paideia Southeast's Jenn Discher, with guest Rachel Jankovic. From the paideia principles found in Rachel's books to the webinars she hosts on topics of Christian living and domesticity to learning from her hospitality every weekend for a Sabbath kickoff with multiple dozens of people around multiple tables... we knew this would be a conversation bursting with fresh ideas and classic reminders. Go to worship every Sunday. Read the Scripture continually. Obey God. Be joyful. Engage in hospitality. Rest according to God's ways.

In advance of Rachel speaking at Paideia Northwest's 2021 conference Rest, we got a special glimpse into what Sabbath hospitality, Sunday rest, and "getting to not" looks like in the Jankovic home. There's a little bit of microphone static (sorry!) and a handful of laughter (you're welcome!), but mostly just a lot of practical conversation about building Christian culture and resting in the work of the Spirit. To the Kingdom!

For this Paideia Conversation, Jenn Discher from Paideia Southeast joins Melissa Cummings from Paideia Northwest in a conversation with today's guest, Mystie Winckler. Protecting family margin on the calendar, prioritizing Lord's Day rest & fellowship, and picking soul-filling books like God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis are some practical ways Mystie encourages us to pursue godly paideia as well as rest... and don't overlook her tips of quieting the mind by learning how to nap and honing the skill of brain dumping! 

This conversation between Melissa Cummings from Paideia Northwest and Kristen Kill, author of Finding Selah, is a contemplation of beauty, Christian culture, and making space in the midst of busy life to purposely rest in the Lord. If you are anticipating the upcoming Rest conference with Paideia Northwest, this ought to really whet your appetite. To the Kingdom!

In this episode, Paideia Northwest's Melissa Cummings reconnects with longtime friend Jen Carlson of Hysa House. Jen shares what godly paideia includes for her young family, emphasizing hospitality, music, Sabbath... and ultimately a variety of ways to make the gospel centered home nothing less than delicious. Including specific book and music suggestions, and personal insights on how to live Christianly while pursuing all that is good and true and lovely, this is a golden conversation. To the kingdom!

Join today's conversation as Paideia Northwest's Melissa Cummings chats with Amy Sloan from Homeschool Conversations with Humility and Doxology. Listen is as they chat about godly paideia from the philosophical to the practical, and glean wisdom from Amy's experience as a second generation Christian homeschooling mom with recommendations for habits, routines, and books. Take notes! Because this is a Paideia Conversation you won't want to forget. To the Kingdom!

In Episode 1 of Paideia Conversations, join Melissa Cummings from Paideia Northwest in a conversation with Jenn Discher from Paideia Southeast discussing paideia. What does that mean? Who is it for? And how can we pursue a godly paideia in our homes? Using Douglas Wilson's essay, The Paideia of God, as a springboard for this conversation, Melissa and Jenn open our upcoming ongoing conversations about the paideia of the Lord.