Article Archives
Child Training, Homeschooling, and Spiritual Development are my favorite topics to "chew on" with others. So most of the articles that follow will fall into those categories. Scroll down, find one you like, and discuss it with a friend.
May you be blessed and encouraged,
Sharon Duke
These articles require Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download this program, click here. Philippines Missions Trip
Then early last year she came to me and said, "Mom, can we get serious now about going to the Philippines?" My husband, Tom, and I agreed it was time. So we began the adventure! We prayed that God would give us creative ways to raise the $5,000 that it would cost for Kelly and me to go. We put a bucket out in the kitchen to gather change and tithes from lawn mowing and odd jobs. We bred our golden retriever and she gave us nine purebred golden beauties that we sold to go toward the trip. Our family sings together for various events, so our occasional earnings from that went into the pot as well. But I remember specifically asking God if I could raise my fair share of the cost through writing, since this is something that I enjoy and that I can do from home. With a busy homeschooling household of nine children, I don't have a lot of time for extra "jobs" away from home.
That March our family sang for my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary Party. That was great fun. A friend of my parents, who heard us sing that day later sent a news clipping about a writing contest. The theme of the contest was something our family had done together over the years that helped keep us together as a family. This friend had remembered our singing and thought that would make a good topic for the contest. Having forgotten my previous prayer, I was going to assign the task to Kelly as part of her homeschooling. But contest entrants had to be 18 or older. So I thought I'd give it a try. The essay was to be less than 200 words. I write more than that in a typical email! Here's what I wrote:
Song flows freely in the home of Tom and Sharon Duke of Bryant, Wisconsin. From the harmony of the family worship times to the songs of thanksgiving around the dinner table, the nine Duke children are growing up on healthy doses of music and ministry.
Their home-grown harmony went public in 2003 when Rosmarie Trapp visited their home. Rosmarie, firstborn of the real Maria and Captain Georg Von Trapp of "The Sound of Music" fame, was in town to promote the highschool's spring musical. "Our children reminded her of her own singing family. So she asked them to sing during her presentations around town," says Tom. "We had often been called the 'Von Dukes', so it was fun to actually meet and sing with a real Von Trapp."
The family's most recent "gig" was for Sharon's parents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration. "My parents have given us a musical heritage," says Sharon. "We thanked them with a concert by all their children and grandchildren. It was a perfect way to celebrate the generational bond that grows through singing together. There's nothing quite like it!"