How do you respond to change? When life changes and gives you new experiences do you respond well? As a mom, I have experienced a lot of changes. I went from college to marriage. We added kids to our life, and with each new child brings a new experience, with changes to your home. We have changed churches a couple times over our 25-year marriage. Extended family has moved in and out of our lives. There have been job changes. Kids have grown up and moved out. Some of our kids have gotten married and added kids of their own. Currently we are dealing with aging parents and health issues. Each time there has been a significant change in my life I have noticed there is a learning curve, and I do not necessarily respond well.

When I became a stay-at-home mom twenty-five years ago, it took me several years before I was confident in my calling and knew my self-worth in Christ. Life is busy and we get distracted. Satan likes to use distraction to keep us stuck where we are. Life will always be full of changes. That is how we grow in Christ. I have learned that as I struggle when those changes happen it is important to rely on Christ. In Ecclesiastes 1:9 It states, “What has been done is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” I may not know what tomorrow holds but God does. He has plans for our lives, plans for welfare and not evil, to give us a future and a hope according to Jeremiah 29:11. We can be confident as we walk out our life when changes happen. Changes do not need to cause us to worry or be fearful. Because we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control, according to 2 Timothy.

So, here I am getting ready to go through another change in my life. I graduated numbers three and four of my kids. There is a large age gap between my older four and my younger two. This year as we start our homeschool year I will be only homeschooling my nine-year-old, while hopefully keeping her two-year-old brother captivated, so we can accomplish what we need. I have not been in this situation, only homeschooling a young one, for quite a few years. I could panic and worry about the two I graduated if they are prepared enough, or I could get depressed and think about missed opportunities or memories when my older kids were little, or I could embrace this season of life and enjoy every precious moment with my 4th grader. After all, this is my moment now. This is where God has me in this life pouring into my two littles and teaching them. I can be confident that I do not know what tomorrow brings but God knows, and He will give me everything I need for that moment. As changes enter your life I want to encourage you to embrace the change and trust God. Not all changes are enjoyable, but we can confidently know that God is walking each step with us along the way.

Arkasia Cox
PAACH Board Legislative Liaison

 

Central Illinois Born Again Defenders' motto is to “think biblically, speak winsomely, and act graciously.” How do we do that? Through speech and debate and learning to glorify God in all we do. This year we have several opportunities: All camp and classes are at New Castle Bible Church in Mackinaw, IL.

Debate Camp

Aug 4-7, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Students will learn the fundamentals of debate including how to research evidence, make reasoned arguments, and write an affirmative case. Most importantly, students will get the chance to debate! This class will be taught by former top debaters. Ages: 12-18. Cost: $75

Mystery Storytelling Workshop

Aug 8, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Follow the clues to good storytelling! Students will enjoy using the mystery genre to explore the ideas of plot, setting, and characterization. In the summer workshop-the game is afoot! Ages 8-18. Cost $15.

Speech

Speech, apologetics, and debate classes start with a parent meeting at 1 pm on August 26 at New Castle Bible Church in Mackinaw, IL. All classes meet on Tuesday afternoons beginning on 9/2/25.

APOLOGETICS is for ages 12-18 and meets at 12 until 12:50. Being prepared to give an answer for the hope of Jesus Christ is the heart of apologetics. Students will learn to speak with confidence, clarity, and conviction as they begin the lifelong adventure of learning who God is and grow closer to Him. We use the biblical questions put out by NCFCA as our guide on what topics to cover. 

All speech classes meet from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

BEGINNING SPEECH 1 (BPS 1) is for ages 7-9. We cover beginning speech by playing games, songs, and giving speeches that are very short. We have FUN in this class so the students can learn that public speaking is a way of life.

BEGINNING SPEECH 2 (BPS 2) is for ages 9-12. In this class students are introduced to the 3 main types of speech. They will give 3 speeches in a fun, engaging environment.

NOVICE SPEECH is for ages 12-18. This class prepares students to give the 3 main types of speech and qualifies for a high school speech elective. The students will have opportunities to develop and refine their skills. For those advanced students who have taken the class before we will be offering some advanced training during class.

DEBATE class is for ages 12-18 students who have taken debate camp or received permission from the instructor. This class meets from 2:45 to 4:45. The students will study the resolution for the year, develop affirmative and negative cases, and perform research. We will also practice debate.

All classes end on November 18, 2025, with an all-day celebration. For more information contact

Cindy at cibaddefenders@gmail.com or Lonnie at rlulrich90@gmail.com

 

Hello to all PAACH homeschooling families. I enjoyed getting to meet many of you at the PAACH convention and getting to take the time to talk with many of you about your homeschool journey.

Following Valentine’s Day, Easter, and with the end of the school year passing, I have been thinking a lot about love, and how much we as people desire to receive and give love. There are all types of love that we experience on an everyday basis. We love our spouse, kids, parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors, and even our pets. We especially love God who gave us all the above to love. He put these relationships in our path to show his love.

Our love for God is not the same as our spouse, and the love of our spouse is not the same as the love for our kids and other family members. “We love because he (God) first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. There is no greater love than God’s as he gave us his son to save us for our sins and gave this as a gift for eternal life. It is like getting that love letter and gift on Valentine’s Day, but it is way better than flowers or a box of chocolates. He gifted us a way to eternal life and to be with him forever with the Bible as our love letter, and we get to celebrate this at Easter. The Bible articulates how much he loves us repeatedly.

God even explains to us what love is. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own ways’ it is not irritable or resentful’ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1Cor 13:4-7) This reminds me of what love is and what I should teach my children the true meaning of love. Love is not just an emotion that grows in sin or lust but that it reflects God. It also should not be wasted on worldly things but should be for God and the people that he gave you to share it with.

Everyone expresses love in different forms. God shows it in the Bible as well. The Bible has many examples of affection. There is being physical (God’s arms open wide), serving others (Jesus washing feet), gift giving (Gospel), and many more. We should be reflections of this love to our spouse and children. The beauty of homeschooling is that we get to teach our children this. We can teach them and show them how to model the patient, kind, humble, polite, tolerant, joyful, and truthful love described in 1 Corinthians.

As your school comes to end, the PAACH board desires for you lean on God and His Word, and to know that you have a community of homeschool believers that are here to help and support you during the summer months. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do. You are chosen to be a part of his family.

Carlos Gonzalez
PAACH Vice President

• Flip Flop Spanish
• Schoolhouseteachers.com
• Book Nook (Peoria and Washington locations)
• HSLDA
• CLT (Classic Learning Test)
• The Animation Course
• 7 Sisters Homeschool (NEW)
• ArgoPrep (NEW)

See Details

Malachi Andrew Cox

Malachi, son of James and Arkasia Cox, graduated from high school in May. He has been busy continuing to work at Casey's in Lacon making pizzas. He has recently been accepted to ICC where he plans to study HVAC. This summer he has started a mentorship program with a family friend. He also plans to work with his dad a few days a week getting hands on experience in the HVAC business. He plans to once again participate in Generation Joshua Civics Camp Statecraft in July. In his spare time he loves reading. His favorite authors are Andrew Peterson, Keith Robinson, and Bryan Davis. The last two authors he found attending homeschool conferences.

 

Timothy James Cox (TJ)

Timothy, son of James and Arkasia Cox graduated from high school in May. He has been busy continuing to work at Dollar General in Lacon. He will be going on a two week archeological dig with his mentor to the Biblical site Shiloh in Israel in June. He has currently taken up the hobby of RC cars and has invested in his first one. He will be saving this summer towards his gap year. He will be leaving in September for YWAM in Louisville where he will be entering a discipleship training program. At the end of the program, next spring, he will be taking an overseas missions trip.

 

Bladen Eugene Tisdale

Bladen, son of Steven and Rhonda Tisdale, has completed his senior year and graduated high school. He will be continuing his education in the fall at Illinois State University. He tentatively plans to study accounting. He is currently working full-time at Wal-Mart as a remodeler (sets up store displays.) He has participated in figure skating since the age of 3, earning a Bronze Graduating Senior certificate from USFS. In his free time, he enjoys art projects, playing creation games such as Minecraft, Terraria, as well as Deep Rock Galactic, and spending time with his 4 cats and 3 siblings.

 

Victory in Springfield! The house adjourned late on May 31st. What does this mean for homeschoolers? HB2827 is officially dead. Take the summer and celebrate the victory in this battle. It is because of all the hard work homeschoolers have put in this spring semester. Calling our reps and senators, attending ICHE cherry pie day, attending the committee hearings, and meeting in person with our legislators helped stop this dangerous bill. Sit back with a glass of lemonade and enjoy the temporary reprieve. However this has showed us we can not take our homeschool freedoms for granted. Keep your eyes to Springfield in the future and be ready to make a stand when appropriate. We suspect the sponsors will be bringing back this bill in some form next year's legislative session.

Arkasia Cox
PAACH Legislative Liaison

Check out these upcoming FREE events to preview BJU Press curriculum. For questions or more information, please contact Jessica Gonzalez at (309) 431-1747 or jgonzalezhwp@gmail.com.

• June 17, 2025 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Courtyard by Marriott in Champaign, IL
• July 8, 2025 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hampton Inn & Suites Peoria at Grand Prairie in Peoria, IL

ICHE Family Camp will be held on August 21-24 at King's Camp in Chana, IL. Register online

Peoria Cooperative Academy invites you to join them for 2025-26!

Science Class Enrollment

All classes meet on Fridays at Calvary Baptist Church in Peoria. For more information, please contact Tracy Castro at pcasciences@gmail.com.

• General Science: 7th & 8th grade - meets 8:50 to 9:50 a.m. - Class fee $170
• Biology: 9th grade & up - meets 8:50 to 10:20 a.m. - Class fee $225

Choir Enrollment

Choir rehearsals begin September 5th and meet 3 Fridays per month in Peoria. For more information, please contact Becky Lawles at pcachoirs@gmail.com.

• Joyful Messengers: 1st - 4th grades
• Cantate Choir: 5th - 8th grades
• Chorale: 9th - 12th grades

“The state should not be in control of raising children. Children do not belong to the state; they belong to parents,” Cox said. "It is our responsibility to raise them to be responsible, free citizens, not subjects of the state."

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