Jonathan Franzone, Author at Franzone Family Blog

Happy Thanksgiving (2019)

November 28, 2019 by Jonathan Franzone

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Psalm 107:1-3 (ESV) We have so many things …

Why We Catechize Our Children (and Why You Should Too)

October 23, 2019 by Jonathan Franzone

What is a catechism? What does it mean to catechize? Does the mere mention of these words mean that one is Roman Catholic? Does catechizing one’s children save them? Is this an unbiblical practice? The word catechism isn’t in the Bible! Are we brainwashing our children? Inquiring minds want to know!

Misconceptions and misunderstandings about this time-honored tradition abound. I have been asked many of the questions posed above or heard similar doubts about the practice in various contexts and conversations. I would like to address some of these misconceptions.

The Homeschool Family Relationships Summit

October 8, 2019 by Jonathan Franzone

Do the relationships inside your home feel stormy?

Then maybe you can relate to the Ephesian church. When Paul wrote them a letter of admonishment and encouragement he recognized things were stormy.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:25-32 (ESV)

Falsehood. Anger. Corrupting talk. Bitterness. Wrath. Clamor. Slander.

And sometimes our homeschooling days can have their fill of these things, too.

Leaving (a Church) Home is Hard

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 by Jonathan Franzone

May 19, 2019 was our last Sunday at Grace Community Church (Pensacola, FL), our church home and family for the last thirteen years. It was an extremely difficult decision to make and was not one that we made lightly or spontaneously. The convictions of our immediate family and our church family have been growing steadily further apart over the past year or two. Our differences were not such that they would compromise the Gospel or any primary doctrines of the church, but they were differences that had a significant impact on worship. Having served in music leadership for the past twelve years, this was no small matter to me or my family. However, it should not be supposed that we left merely because of a difference of the type of music. The purpose of this post is not to dig into those differences, but to say a few things about the journey.

10 Books I Plan to Read in 2019

January 8, 2019 by Jonathan Franzone

I consider myself to be an avid reader and I like to have a reading plan. This past year (2018) I had a few books planned, but I mostly just rambled through a bunch of books at random. This year I want to be more thoughtful and plan out what I will be reading. I generally read more than 10 books per year, but this will be a good basis to start from. This list is heavy on the Family & Parenting side (you know, since it’s a family blog and all).

Check out my GoodReads Profile

2019 New Year’s Resolutions

January 1, 2019 by Jonathan Franzone

Happy New Year! This is the first day of 2019, which means there is only one year remaining before we find ourselves in the year 2020 (twenty-twenty). Wow! That sounds like science fiction for those of us who grew up in the previous millennium. 2018 was quite an extreme year for our family, and may be one of the toughest we’ve encountered. It was full of many, many blessings but also many trials and opportunities for God to stretch us and turn us into the people that He wants us to be. I may write about some of the things that happened this past year in the coming weeks… but then I may not. You’ll just have to wait and see.

For this year’s resolutions I wanted to change it up a bit. My resolutions this year are all verbs. Actually, present participles if you want to get technical. These are really just areas that I want to improve upon. To be sure, there are specific steps and goals within each that may or may not be listed below, but the idea is that I just want to get better. They are in no particular order, except for the opening resolution which is really the foundation of them all, and the closing resolution which buttons things up quite nicely. Without further ado, here are my resolutions for the year of our Lord two thousand and nineteen.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

April 4, 2018 by Jonathan Franzone

Aubrey and I are in the middle of our second adoption. We began the journey back in June of 2017 when our youngest turned one year old. We built a new profile, went to meetings, had our thumb prints scanned, and our backgrounds checked. As of the first of this year (2018) our home study has been complete and we now find ourselves in the “big wait”. In domestic, infant adoption this wait could be over today or it could last for another year. We really have no idea. We must be prepared to receive a baby at any minute, while being open to the possibility of waiting for months (or more) with no news. I have been asked if this go ’round is easier than the first time. Surprisingly, it has not been. As the song says, “the waiting is the hardest part.”

The real question is, how do we pass the time during this period?

Jonathan’s New Year’s Resolutions 2018

December 10, 2018January 1, 2018 by Jonathan Franzone

I sat down this weekend to work on my New Year’s Resolutions for this coming 2018 year. The brief list below is roughly what I came up with.

Bible Reading Plan for 2018

December 10, 2018December 28, 2017 by Jonathan Franzone

I usually try to pick a plan to read the Bible through during each year. I’ve used several different plans over the years, my favorite being the Tabletalk Bible Reading plan from Ligonier Ministries. However, this year I had some special requirements that I wanted to try out. I could not find a plan that matched what I wanted, so I created my own.

Win an AMAZING Christmas Quilt!

December 16, 2017November 25, 2017 by Jonathan Franzone

As you all know, we are raising money so that we may adopt another baby. We are continuing our efforts with a raffle for this beautiful, homemade, Christmas themed quilt. To date, we have raised just under $4,000, which means we still need to raise around $19,000. We thank you all for your prayers and support as we pursue our God given passion for adoption. I hope that these fund raisers are a fun way for you to participate in our journey.

UPDATE: WINNER ANNOUNCED at the end of the post!