Help Us Celebrate Twenty Years
By the late 1990s, Ray and I had become avid writers of Bible class curriculum for churches. Our son John was trying to figure out his next step in life. The three of us decided to start a self-publishing business together. We began taking baby steps.
In 1999 Ray decided to make a career change. He wanted to continue serving God and teaching God’s Word, as he had been doing as a minister for 22 years; but he wanted to do that by writing full-time, instead of serving in a local church. (We are thankful that now he gets to do both!)
We hoped to write for homeschooling families and for churches. We began going to homeschool conferences, selling our handful of Bible curriculum, plus homeschooling resources that we liked. At our first convention, a mother told us that she wished someone would write a Tennessee history curriculum.
We naively thought, “We could do that.” After months of hard work by all five of us — Ray, our kids, and me — we published it in 2000 — in three-ring binders! In 2002 we published Exploring America for high school, in 2004 Exploring World History for high school, and the rest — pardon the pun — is history. Now we have seven years completed and plans for five more. We hope someday to have history curriculum for grades 1-12. Two of those five more are currently in the writing stage.
We are confident that God led us into writing history from a Biblical worldview. Our plan was to write Bible studies. We had no plans to write what we have written. In that first Tennessee history curriculum, we wrote from a Christian worldview, included a Bible verse at the end of every lesson, and included Bible instruction. That pattern has continued. The desire of that mother we talked to for a few minutes in 1999 was our jumpstart into now twenty years of writing history from a Biblical worldview.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8-9
We have decided to celebrate twenty years of writing history. We plan to host a Notgrass History retreat in October and we would like to invite you to join us. Here’s an invitation.
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Make memories with your family this fall in north Georgia. Notgrass History is hosting a family retreat. We have rented the Georgia Baptist Conference Center, located on Lake Louise in Toccoa, Georgia.
Toccoa is about a four- to five-hour drive from Nashville, Tennessee; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; and Montgomery, Alabama.
Here’s what you can look forward to during this event for all ages:
- Fun history programs presented by the Notgrass Family
- Music, traditional dances, and singing games
- Admission to the Currahee Military Museum and Camp Toccoa World War II site
- Special times for dads and moms to meet and talk about the joys and challenges of homeschooling
- Free time to meet other families and enjoy the outdoors (playground, ball fields, hiking)
Registration is $70 per family. You will also need to purchase a meal plan and either book a room at the conference center or reserve a campsite (RV or tent).
Please use this link (https://link.notgrass.com/2020/) to visit our website for details and pricing and to contact us if you have any questions. We hope you will be able to join us for this exciting family adventure!
Although this year’s budget does not allow for a trip from Montana to Georgia, we wish you all success now and for many years to come. Your service and contribution to our children’s education are much appreciated.
I wish you could. That is a long way! I do appreciate your sweet support.