Home Learning Freely

The Mission ~ Written by Jacque Starr

We have met a lot of home school families where a single Mom is the sole provider and is doing her best to home school her children on a tight budget (meaning many of us cannot imagine how tight). In an effort to help out these Home school Moms, I am making a list of places online where they can find FREE Home school Resources. This will obviously benefit any home school mom, but I see a great need for single moms to have the freedom to home school, regardless of their financial burdens, and I am taking steps to aid them as much as the LORD allows us to.

We have felt this burden for single parent home school moms for the past year, and I feel it is a part of the Body of Christ’s place to make a way and to care for these moms and their children so that they are not forced to put their children into the public’s government school system, where they will be led in humanism, socialism, and all works of evil.

Below is a list of many sites you will find FREE home schooling resources. The best resources we know of are the ones that God freely gives to us, His WORD and our lives as Believers.

The Best Free Resources: The WORD of God and Living Learning Moments

I hope you are blessed with all that you need to teach your children about God and His ways. Honestly, if you want to keep their hearts and allow God to heal them… the best and free resource we have is the Bible.

Here is a beginner list of subjects you can use the Bible for in teaching: You can do reading and writing assignments from it; They will learn history; Culture-Studies; Poetry: the KJV is written almost in prose; You can use it as a copy book; studying it will build character; Critical Thinking, How to defend their faith; Memorizing Scripture not only hones the mind, but renews the Spirit and the mind each time it is brought to our remembrance. How to manage their lives and emotions; How to manage their homes and become kind and considerate citizens; As we seek to follow the LORD as we walk with them and talk with them, as in Deuteronomy 6, teaching them ALL that He has commanded us, He will surely lead us and show us what He has for our children.

We don’t buy a bunch of curriculum either. We prefer to use textbooks and workbooks as complimentary resources for the real learning tools: Living Learning Moments . LLMs are any moments that happen throughout life that teach you a lesson. Because God created us to be thinking creatures, made in His image, this is all of life. Anything that can be used as a life lesson or an example by which to learn is worthy of learning.

We use any free means we can to home school. One wonderful resource that we have is our small farm. Learning to become a responsible, hard-working adult who enjoys taking pride in a job well-done and an attitude befitting a Believer is important for children to learn at an early age. Having our goats, chickens, dogs and cats has enabled us to use the LLMs as character-building times and also as other learning times as well.

Nature Study: A wonderful way to pull children into God’s world is to take a bit of time each day and get out and see His Creation. You can find information on the internet of plants, trees, etc. that are indigenous to your area. Adding sketching and or classifying to their observation is a great way to do nature science and art.
I have found that allowing my children guided freedom to explore their own educational interests has shown me and them what God has for their lives.

Please, above all things, do not forsake the Power of Prayer. Only God can meet our deepest spiritual needs. Only God knows what our true physical and financial needs are. Please commit to pray for these families as they endeavor to walk in the way, teaching their children in the LORD.

Sites with Free Learning Materials (updated by ministerial staff as time permits)

  • Ambleside Online “Ambleside Online is a curriculum guide and booklist designed to follow Charlotte Mason’s method of homeschooling. Each year/grade has a list of books to lay out what resources will need to be collected or purchased, and an optional weekly schedule based on a 36-week school year to break the resources into smaller increments to help with pacing the books throughout the year. There is no fee to use the curriculum or website. Parents may use as much or as little of the booklists and schedules as they like. Some families follow it exactly as laid out, most tweak it a little here and there to use books they already have, or because they prefer another resource over the one listed. And some use just the Picture Study, Composer Study, and other similar components.
  • An Old-Fashioned Education is a site that offers links to free curriculum resources as well as a curriculum that Maggie set up herself. Her Old Fashioned Education Curriculum was created using free texts which are available on the Internet. Most of the books were published before 1923, so they are now in the public domain. Most of the original copyrights have expired, and these books may be used by anyone, any way they like. Most of those whose copyrights are still held allow you to download, print or copy their books free for personal use. Most of what is listed on her site is free to you. There are a few exceptions that you can find listed on her site.
  • Easy Peasy Homeschool Curriculum – complete, free, Christian program
  • Little House Kindergarten – pay what you can, complete curriculum
  • My Audio School – free audio books
  • Catechism for Young Children
  • A Charlotte Mason Bible Study Lesson – many links to free resources in this well-written article
  • Charlotte Mason Simple Languages – Spanish Bible Cards with audio links
  • Growing in Grace – beautiful, free home learning planner to print
  • Trello – free online/app planning tool that can be utilized for home learning! Here is a sample of how it can be set up, please read the instructions if you choose to utilize the cards!
  • Wonder & Wildness – cultivating habits is one of the first free help in smoother days in any home! Read through this introduction article and there are links galore – including to the author’s collection of games and resources to cultivate a variety of habits in our own lives and our children’s lives.
  • Handwriting Worksheet Wizard
  • Queensland Italic Handwriting Program – there is a lot of free resources at this link
  • Mathemathics Enhancement Program – this is a complete K-12 maths program (through the UK, so measurements are in metric, not an insurmountable issue) that is completely free. It includes teacher guides, student workbooks, printable manipulatives, and more.
  • Mike’s Math Page – a lot of great, free prompts to think mathematically with our children
  • Play, Discover, Learn – free 12 week study using Gattengo’s first maths book and Cuisenaire rods
  • Natural Math – a wealth of resources, including free math story books, games, and courses
  • Using Map Drills for Geography
  • Mapwork Discussion Group – this is a facebook group that offers a wealth of free resources in their files section
  • A Year With My Camera – a free online photography course
  • Sing Solfa – free singing training program
  • Under The Home – free art history books
  • A Humble Place – free picture study resources
  • Homeschool Giveaways – regular freebies

Gleaning the Harvest Standards of Ministry

We have had many inquiries from supporters asking how we can assure them that the families they are giving to are real, really in need, and really who and what they say they are, etc. While there are no guarantees that families will not misrepresent themselves to us, we do our best to present families which are truly in need to the Donors, because we truly value your giving, and we take the responsibility of presenting the families to you very seriously.

This letter is to give you as a Donor and the families who are looking for referral and support an understanding of the guidelines and standards we hold at Gleaning the Harvest. We want you to know what we believe and hold to in our support of our families.

These standards and guidelines have been thought-out and are not meant in to condemn anyone’s choices, lifestyles or beliefs in any way, nor are they to keep anyone from benefiting from Gleaning the Harvest. As with all charitable associations, which we are in our representation of families to the community, we must have guidelines and be able to know that these guidelines are being adhered to. This is a very hard thing to do online, not knowing a family in real life, so we have found we need to set specific standards and parameters for referral and acceptance to GTH.

To clarify, here are the qualifications for representation we have had at Gleaning the Harvest since its inception.

*The family must home school all of their school-age children, not sending any to a government or private school institution.
*The family must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and Messiah, and endeavor to train their children up in God’s Word.
*The mother must be at home or seeking to be at home to care for her family.
[Mothers who seek employment outside their homes are not discriminated against; we just are choosing to aid those home school mothers who choose to be home and have no other income from an outside job.]
*The family must, in their lives, strive to live in a manner reflecting  Scriptural  guidelines.


Here are the Scriptural applications we look to for our guidelines that will prove this out:
Titus 2 gives us standards on how “to behave the way people leading a holy life should.” so that “God’s message will not be brought into disgrace.”

Titus 2:3-5
Likewise, tell the older women to behave the way people leading a holy life should. They shouldn’t be slanderers or slaves to excessive drinking. They should teach what is good, thus training the younger women to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled and pure, to take good care of their homes and submit to their husbands. In this way, God’s message will not be brought into disgrace.

So, by this Scripture alone, at Gleaning the Harvest, for widows and single mothers, we are asking that GTH families strive to live these standards of holiness.

**Watch your speech
**No drunkenness – 
this includes other worldly habits also, such as smoking, partying, drugs, pornography, and such.
**Teach what is good 
(by God’s standards)
**Love your children
**Be self-controlled and pure
minded
**Take good care of your home, 
including yourself, your finances, and your children.

In order to clarify the standards we have about women working, we have added this portion  to this page: Our standards do not state, nor is it our belief that women should not work at all, for if that were the case, a wife and home keeper would not take on its true meaning. We are to be business-minded and entrepreneurial as women.
We do not believe it is wrong, nor do we withhold sponsorship from moms who work their own businesses, including cleaning houses or businesses, work at home, etc. Many a godly woman has maintained her home, keeping it and training her children in her home as she works on her own business in her home, married or not.
We are a big supporter of our families. We expect that these women will be single for many years, and are grateful to Yehovah God that he has given them talents and desires to work with their hands to be productive and also to teach their own children to do the same. It should be so also in a marriage, where a wife, such as the Prov. 31 woman also, was a great blessing to her husband and his household.

We consider the GTH families to be an extended part of our family relationships and circle of fellowship. We do not require personal relationship with the family, but do need to be welcome to be a part in the lives of the families, so we can “know” them and properly represent them to the Donors online.

We have to know you either in person, through personal emails, or through a blog or website or social networking site.

References, which are also required, will have to be able to be verified in the same manner, in a manner acceptable to us. If we feel that we cannot recommend you because we do not know you well enough, we will not be able to represent you on the site.

~Though not required, speaking directly to your Pastor, verified by a website and a phone number online is one of the best references you can give.

There will be no exceptions to this.

Accepting families into Gleaning the Harvest will also be on a trial basis. We will not set the trial time, because we do not know how long it will take to get to know each individual family. That will depend on the relationship between the family and GTH and the family’s online presence.

By knowing each family in a more personal way online, we will be able to better apply the GTH Standards of Ministry and guidelines to each family.

If anything becomes apparent or we see a change in your life that applies to these standards of our representing you on GTH, we will contact you. If it is something you choose to ignore, and, we understand if you choose to, because we are not your Biblical authority, we will strongly consider discontinuing your representation to the public on GTH.

We do not view ourselves in any manner as an authority over or in anyone’s life, while we do consider the call to be responsible for making sure the other families represented to others on our site meet the guidelines that we set. We are presenting each family to the public, with this assurance to our Partners – that families are living the standards and guidelines we set. This is a great responsibility, and we will make sure our representation to them is true. People who give to others want to make sure they are giving to the Lord and His People, and most do not wish to support worldly things in their giving.

If any circumstances in your life changes, please be up-front and let us know about it. These are not the only reasons we wish to know about changes, but it is necessary to know them.
Things that could change might include:
*changing residences (that will likely affect the amount per month needed.)
*if you decide to put any of your children into a school outside of your home;
*the status of a romantic relationship (1Timothy 5:11-13);
*if you are looking for or get a job outside your home;
*if you decide to start a business in your home;

Even if a family would choose to not let us know, if any circumstances change in any of the families we represent, we are responsible for noticing that and removing any families who no longer meet the original guidelines and standards originally agreed to.

Family members, in their real life and online interactions, whether on blogs, social networks, or in comments to others, should diligently try to reflect these guidelines. That is not to say we are not all human, nor can any of us be perfect in our lives, but, we are called by God to Be Holy and Be perfect in Him, as we live for Him.  Certainly, when one decides that they are in control and God is not, and turns to the ways of the world, in speech and/or actions, these things become evident to the reader, and if this happens, determination will be made by personal contact if removal from GTH representation is necessary.

If at any time, any family member becomes hostile, negative or non-communicative toward any member representing Gleaning the Harvest, we will immediately remove the family from GTH representation. That is an obvious expectation, since you would not expect someone to give to you if you would treat them in this manner.

If you are interested in seeing our understanding of God’s Word for our families, in respect to widows, please read Widows in the Word. We base our standards, guidelines and approval of families on these verses.

Please understand that this is not a set of rules of who you must be, but, rather, a Biblical look at who we are all to be striving to be as holy women of God. No one is perfect, and though God commands us to be perfect and be holy, he also imparts the grace when we fail daily.
It is not our job to look too closely. If we have to look too closely, well, we are looking too closely. Godliness – striving to be who God desires – is immediately noticeable in a person. Losing that first love is also immediately noticeable, and that is more what we are concerned about. We are not here to judge or to moderate, but to uphold the Word and live it in love and grace, allowing God to lead us and shape us.
Scripture references: Matthew 5:43-48, Leviticus 11:44-45

If anyone looking for referral or presentation on Gleaning the Harvest feels that they cannot abide by the standards and qualifications set forth in this letter, please do not request submittal for consideration to Gleaning the Harvest.

Please note that this letter and its standards and guidelines are subject to change, be added to, etc. at any time at the discretion of the trustees of Serenity’s Haven in agreement with the ministers of Gleaning the Harvest.

Gleaning the Harvest Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ

Q: How can I support Gleaning the Harvest?

A: The best way to support Gleaning the Harvest is to partner with us and get the word out and to send some of your gleanings to the families we promote. Putting a GTH banner or icon on your site will give GTH good exposure. If your think GTH is a worthy cause, blog about it! Tell your friends! Join us on social media and promote the site. Putting a “Supporting” icon on your blog or a ChipIn widget is an instant announcement that you are supporting a Gleaning the Harvest Mom. You will find banners and icons to put on your own website or blog on our Word of Mouth Resources page. Giving just a couple dollars a month truly means a lot to these families. If you can, give liberally!

Q: What do I have to do to give money to a family?

A: We have set up a link directly to each individual Paypal account or Liberty Dollar donation button for each family. Please note that you may give any amount, from a couple of dollars to thousands. Every little bit helps these Moms.

Q: Can you tell me how donated funds are administered and overseen? Where does my donation to a family go?

A: Gleaning the Harvest is solely a facilitator in presenting widowed and fatherless families in need to the public. The funds are given directly to the families through their Paypal accounts or their Liberty Dollar donate buttons, at Gleaning the Harvest. Gleaning the Harvest does not touch the monies at all and only have a record of them through donation tracking bars. We do not have passwords, so we have no access to the funds. The only fee is taken out through Paypal or Liberty Dollar, and it is slight. This ensures that all the monies go to the families and not anyone in conjunction with Gleaning the Harvest. Basically, we are a fund-raising site, presenting the families to the world via our site. Any fees that may be taken out at any time will never be taken out by Gleaning the Harvest. There will be no monies exchanged between Gleaning the Harvest, its owners, affiliates or partners from any donors and/or recipient families for being featured on the Gleaning the Harvest website. Neither the families presented on Gleaning the Harvest, nor those who donate, nor linked websites have paid any money or given any donations either as material items or otherwise to be featured on the Gleaning the Harvest site.

Q: Are recipients verified to be a member in good standing in local churches with some form of elder oversight?

A: When we verify the families, we speak to their Pastor or someone that we know well to be sure that they are real families in real need. We do not require that they are in a local church, but we do know whether they are in a local church or not. We require that they are growing in the LORD and spend daily time in their Bible, teaching it to their children.

Q: Just WHO does Gleaning the Harvest support?

A: We are still working it out as to whom it is our responsibility to support Biblically, as far as widows and orphans goes. We want to present those who are honoring God in their lives, not walking in blatant sin, and faithfully serving him with their whole heart in their homes first, then their churches and communities. We will soon be publishing our guidelines.
In a nutshell, we support widowed, divorced and single home school moms who are at home with their family, keeping their homes and not out in the workforce. You can read what the Word has to say about widows and orphans in our post: Widows in Scripture.

Q: Can I give anonymously to the families?

A: When you give through Paypal or through Liberty Dollar, you will be sending your information to the recipient. Because of all of the possible negative things that can happen on the internet, and because the families we support are single moms, we do not advocate giving anonymously. It is our belief that the Church, the Body of Christ is responsible to support the widows and the fatherless. Because we are supposed to be supporting these women, it should not be an uncomfortable thing for either party. It is one way God has provided for them, and it is through Him and from Him these donations will be given, by our hands.
We do fully understanding both sides of the situation though, and do not mean to judge anyone who may feel uncomfortable either giving or receiving, we just hope you understand this is just one way that love is expressed to the families.

Q: Is there any other way to give to a family?

A: As of right now, we are working on getting wish lists up for each family of household items and special needs they may have. If you have anything you would like to give to a family, please send an email to us stating what you would like to give and to whom, and we will email the family. We will leave it up to them if they would like to email you about it or give out their personal addresses. If you would like to be more specific in your giving, you are welcome to send gift certificates for online stores to the families. We can also arrange to send the families gift cards. They are easy to share and the family can get just what they need.
You may send these emails to gleaningtheharvest@serenityshaven.com . We will let you know that we have sent the email on to the family when we do so.

Q: I have my own company and would like to support these families with tangible products I have in my store. How do I go about doing that?

A: If you are a company interested in donating home products, home school, or family resources and products to any families on Gleaning the Harvest, please contact please contact Jacque with your information, so that we can refer you to families directly. We would love to have some companies donate products or gift certificates to the families!

If you would like to offer discounts, free shipping or free product to families or to others, to purchase for the families, we would be happy to work with you to do that. When we contact the families with your email about sending anything to a physical address, we will leave it up to them if they would like to email you about it or give out their personal addresses. Any items given to families is done directly from partners to the families.

Q: Is this a tax-deductible donation?

A: Because Gleaning the Harvest does not keep records or have access to giving and receiving of donors and referral families, there is no record of taxed or tax-deductible donations. The ministerial project of Gleaning the Harvest does not keep track of, nor do we email, any tax-deductible information to anyone.

Q: How do I refer a family to Gleaning the Harvest?

A: If you would like to refer a fatherless or widowed family, there is information we request from you about the referral mother and family. You will find this information on the Referring Families page. You will find specific information to send in to gleaningtheharvest@serenityshaven.com .

If you have any questions we have not answered on our site, please contact us by email at

Widows in Scripture

Written by Jacque Starr

The study of widows in the Scriptures is a very deep topic, one that we are still learning about. It seems like it would be so simple, yet there are so many different aspects and requirements and commands from God about it. We are learning and searching and studying what God said in many verses and then the few references Paul also made, and James.
The command to care for widows in Deuteronomy is one verse we chose to base Gleaning the Harvest on, and it is very implicit on leaving some of what you earn or have behind for the widows, orphans and strangers. It was interesting to me that, in verses 18 and 22, the Father made sure to tell us that he commanded these things as a reminder that Israel was set free from the bondage of Egypt, as he also commanded Passover and the Sabbath and several other commands.
Deuteronomy 24:14-22

“You are not to exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or a foreigner living in your land in your town. 15 You are to pay him his wages the day he earns them, before sunset; for he is poor and looks forward to being paid. Otherwise he will cry out against you to YHVH, and it will be your sin. 16 “Fathers are not to be executed for the children, nor are children to be executed for the fathers; every person will be executed for his own sin. 17 “You are not to deprive the foreigner or the orphan of the justice which is his due, and you are not to take a widow’s clothing as collateral for a loan. 18 Rather, remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and YHVH your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am ordering you to do this. 19 “When harvesting the grain in your field, if you forgot a sheaf of grain there, you are not to go back and get it; it will remain there for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, so that YHVH your God will bless you in all the work you do. 20 When you beat your olive tree, you are not to go back over the branches again; the olives that are left will be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes from your vineyard, you are not to return and pick grapes a second time; what is left will be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. 22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. That is why I am ordering you to do this.

1 Timothy has quite a bit to say about widows and the different classifications and circumstances in which to help them out or not. It is quite an eye-opening passage, and will be affecting our ministering here at Gleaning the Harvest. I have broken the passage up to the different points Paul made to Timothy about the different circumstances and biblical commands when caring for widows.
1 Timothy 5:3-4, 5-7, 9-10, 11-15, 16:

3 Show respect to widows who are really in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, first let them learn to do their religious duty to their own family and thus repay some of the debt they owe their forebears, for this is what is acceptable in the sight of God.
5 Now the widow who is really in need, the one who has been left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in petitions and prayers night and day.
6 But the one who is self-indulgent is already dead, even though she lives. 7 And instruct them about this, so that they will not be open to blame. 8 Moreover, anyone who does not provide for his own people, especially for his family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 Let a widow be enrolled on the list of widows only if she is more than sixty years old, was faithful to her husband, 10 and is known for her good deeds – as one who has reared her children well, showed hospitality, washed the feet of God’s people, helped those in trouble, and engaged in all kinds of good work.
11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they begin to feel natural passions that alienate them from the Messiah, they want to get married. 12 This brings them under condemnation for having set aside the trust they had at first. 13 Besides that, they learn to be idle, going around from house to house; and not only idle, but gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t. 14 Therefore, I would rather the young widows get married, have children and take charge of their homes, so as to give the opposition no occasion for slandering us. 15 For already some have turned astray to follow the Adversary.
16 If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, she should provide relief for them – the congregation shouldn’t be burdened, so that it may help the widows who are really in need.

Deuteronomy 16:11:

You are to rejoice in the presence of YHVH your God – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L’vi’im living in your towns, and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you – in the place where YHVH your God will choose to have his name live.

This one in 2 Samuel was interesting to me, because there are still situations where this applies to women/mothers. I believe that they, too, are forced to live like widows with their husbands still alive, though in a lot of cases their husband is not providing for them as King David did his wives.

2 Samuel 20:3 :

When David arrived at his palace in Yerushalayim, the king took the ten women who were his concubines, whom he had left to care for the palace, and put them under guard. He provided for their needs but never slept with them again. They were kept in confinement until the day of their death, living like widows with their husband still alive.

Psalm 146:

1 HalleluYah! Praise YHVH, my soul! 2 I will praise YHVH as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God all my life. 3 Don’t put your trust in princes or in mortals, who cannot help. 4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust; on that very day all their plans are gone.
5 Happy is he whose help is Ya’akov’s God, whose hope is in YHVH his Elohim. 6 He made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; he keeps faith forever. 7 He secures justice for the oppressed, he gives food to the hungry. YHVH sets prisoners free, 8 YHVH opens the eyes of the blind, YHVH lifts up those who are bent over. YHVH loves the righteous. 9 YHVH watches over strangers, he sustains the fatherless and widows; but the way of the wicked he twists. 10 YHVH will reign forever, your God, Tziyon, through all generations. Halleluyah!

Though our Father loves the widows and orphans amongst his people and desires us to care for them, he still expects them to live for him. In Isaiah, he is passing judgment on Israel, including the widows and orphans in those he will have no compassion on, “for everyone is ungodly and does evil, every mouth speaks foolishly.” There is a lot to learn about the compassion and righteous anger of the Father, who desires and deserves the love and pure behaviour of His People.

Isaiah 8-17 :

YHVH sent a word to Ya’akov, and it has fallen on Isra’el. 9 All the people know it, Efrayim and the inhabitants of Shomron. But they say in pride, in the arrogance of their hearts, 10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stone; the sycamore-fig trees have been chopped down, but we will replace them with cedars.” 11 So YHVH has raised up Retzin’s foes against him and spurred on his enemies – 12 Aram from the east, P’lishtim from the west; and they devour Isra’el with an open mouth. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens. 13 Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them, they don’t seek YHVH-Tzva’ot. 14 Therefore YHVH will cut off Isra’el’s head and tail, [tall] palm frond and [lowly] reed in a single day. 15 The old and the honored are the head, while prophets teaching lies are the tail. 16 For those leading this people lead them astray, and those led by them are destroyed. 17 Therefore YHVH takes no joy in their young men and has no compassion on their orphans and widows; for everyone is ungodly and does evil, every mouth speaks foolishly. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.
In the Scriptures, the Father, YHVH, also tells the people to go and to leave the orphans and widows, and He will care for them and sustain them.

Jeremiah 49:11 :

“Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive; let your widows trust in me.”

Zechariah 7:10 :

Don’t oppress widows, orphans, foreigners or poor people. Don’t plot evil against each other.

In 1 Corinthians 7 and 1 Timothy 5, Paul speaks to widows about marriage, presenting two different opinions for their understanding.

1 Corinthians 7:8-9 :

8 Now to the single people and the widows I say that it is fine if they remain unmarried like me; 9 but if they can’t exercise self-control, they should get married; because it is better to get married than to keep burning with sexual desire.

(see full passage above) 1 Timothy 5:14

Therefore, I would rather the young widows get married, have children and take charge of their homes, so as to give the opposition no occasion for slandering us.
Interestingly enough, James also instructs us about caring for widows and orphans, lining it up with keeping ourselves from being contaminated by the world.

James 1:27

The religious observance that God the Father considers pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being contaminated by the world.

God obviously is very concerned about his people and knows it is best for us and for the widows that His own People support them in Him. Whether it is to turn our hearts to his compassion or to open our pocketbooks up to what his heart’s desires or to keep the widows in fellowship with the Body, even if they have no husband and supporter, or just because this is his provision, these are his ways and commands, and he cared enough about us all to spell it out many times in Scriptures.
I know there is so much to learn about, and I am thankful He is leading us in His paths! Mostly, these verses show us that our Father loves us so very much and WILL care for His People. He promised to, if we will be His People and love and follow Him.
Be blessed!

How To Refer Families to Gleaning the Harvest

We have tried to make it as easy as possible to refer a widowed or fatherless family to Gleaning the Harvest while still maintaining integrity and discretion. The families who are referred to Gleaning the Harvest are widowed or fatherless families we have accepted to promote so that the public may offer support to them. Simply said, these are families whose husband or father is not present in the lives of the family due to death, leaving the mother a widow;  or due to abandonment or divorce, and is not financially or physically supporting the children, rendering them fatherless. We are mainly focusing on widowed and fatherless families where the mother desires to be a Keeper at Home and is currently home schooling or trying to become a Keeper at Home/ home school family, but will consider all families in need.

TWO WAYS TO REFER A FAMILY

One way is to send the information below to the person you would like to refer. If they are interested in support through Gleaning the Harvest, you or they will need to send that information to us at gleaningtheharvest@serenityshaven.com.

Another way, if you prefer to refer them anonymously, is to send us some brief information about the family from below and include their names and an email address. We will then let them know that they have been referred to us by a friend who would prefer to remain anonymous and send them to the Referral page on our site to see if they are interested. Once they say they are interested, we will start the process of setting them up with their own Bio page and donation button.

We would much prefer that you contact them and refer them to us so it is a personal contact from you, but we will be happy to make that contact for you if you prefer.

REFERRAL BIO

If you would like to refer a fatherless or widowed family, below is the information we request from the referral mother and family. All or part of this may or may not be used for the public bio.  We will always respect wishes as to what they would like to keep private and in most cases do not need specific details.

  • Full Name: (Please tell us how much of your name you want revealed):
  • Marital Status:
  • Husband’s Name, if a widow:
  • Children: Include all children, names and ages (ages at least, please)
  • Favorite Bible Verse?
  • Do you work outside the home?
  • Please write about your story of becoming a widow or single mom (see below about Bio Page).

These are optional but suggested:

  • Add a photo of only the mother. We do not include pictures of the children, intentionally. It will be uploaded to the GTH pages.
  • Link your personal blog
  • Link your church
  • Link other favorite websites

Your Bio Page will include the story on how you became a stranger, widow or the mother/caretaker of fatherless children. Please see below.

Needed, but Not for Public Profile:

  • We will need a reference person. This person must be associated with a public website address. We will need a name and title, an email address and a phone number. We will be contacting this person and they will need to verify that you are who you say you are, your situation is as you explained to us, and that you qualify under the GTH Standards of Ministry page.
  • Your Email: for correspondence only and possible Paypal or Liberty Dollar info (not for public profile)
  • An estimation of the amount of funds you will need to raise each month above what you can expect to raise on your own: $
  • Do you have a Paypal account or a Liberty Dollar membership (both are free)? If yes, please send your email for that account. We do not need a password.
  • You will need to become a part of the Gleaning the Harvest community so that we can socialize with you and get to know you personally. We will give you that information after we have read your application and contacted you.

This list may be added to as we work with widowed and fatherless families to present them to the Body for their needs. There will be more information needed after you are selected to be on GTH.

Each Referral Family will have a public Bio Page for those who visit Gleaning the Harvest to view. We would like to present each family for visitors to learn about your family and story if you would like to share. Please write up some information about your lives and family for your Bio Page. It can be as simple or in-depth as you would like it. You may present photos or not, but this will be your page.

Please email all referrals to gleaningtheharvest@serenityshaven.com .

ABOUT REFERRALS

Referrals taken at Gleaning the Harvest are taken for the sole purpose of referring them to the public, mainly home school supporters, so that they may consider supporting these families in a way they see fit. Referrals are taken by personal reference only. Referrals will be considered based on information given to Gleaning the Harvest about their needs, situations, and information given by the referral party. Approval is on a person-by-person basis.

All Information gathered from the recipient families may or may not be placed on a bio page about their family. This information may or may not be edited for content or length, is collected for the sole purpose of use on Gleaning the Harvest site, and will never be shared with anyone. Referrals and those who donate to referral families agree to release Gleaning the Harvest from responsibility in the case circumstances are not as described by the referral families.

RECEIVING FUNDS

Referrals may or may not qualify for promotion on Gleaning the Harvest. Referrals are required to fill out and email the information above to Gleaning the Harvest. After checking out references and reviewing the information, the referral family will receive an email from Gleaning the Harvest as to the approval status and if there are any further details needed or information on the next step.

Gleaning the Harvest is solely a facilitator in presenting widowed and fatherless families in need to the public. Neither the families presented on Gleaning the Harvest nor any advertisers nor linked websites have paid any money or given any donations either as material items or otherwise to be featured on the Gleaning the Harvest site.

Any donations go directly to the families. Any fees that may be taken out at any time will never be taken out by Gleaning the Harvest. There will be no monies exchanged between Gleaning the Harvest, its owners, affiliates or partners from any donators and/or recipient families for being featured on the Gleaning the Harvest website.

Each referred family must have their own paypal-type account or Liberty Dollar membership so that people may chip in and send funds directly to you with no delays or problems. Each referred family must give Gleaning the Harvest their proper paypal account address or Liberty Dollar button information, so that we may properly set up a link on this site. Giving Gleaning the Harvest this email address will in no way give Gleaning the Harvest access to any monies in accounts.

When you give through the accounts listed on our site, you are giving directly to a home school family in need.

GOVERNMENT AID

It is our intent at Gleaning the Harvest that there be no conflict with any government aid and the donations given to referrals by donators at our site. We do not feel it is the government’s responsibility to care for the Fatherless or the Widows. The mission at Gleaning the Harvest is to provide these funds and resources through the Body of Christ as commanded in Deuteronomy.

Gleaning the Harvest will not have access to amounts given to referral families by donors and will not furnish any official documents to such information.

If you are receiving government aid, we are sorry to inform you that it is quite possible you will not qualify for the blessings here at Gleaning the Harvest.

Gleaning the Harvest

This ministry was begun from the beautiful heart of a dear friend to Serenity’s Haven, Jacque Starr, many years ago. Through time and circumstance, she too eventually became a widow. The ministry went quiet for some time, and eventually, one of the trustees of Serenity’s Haven asked if they could envelope Gleaning the Harvest as a ministerial project for widows and their children. Almost every article about Gleaning the Harvest, is written by Jacque, years ago. She has graciously allowed us to further this ministry through Serenity’s Haven. Minor editing has been done to update information and to reflect ministerial adjustments.

This ministerial project is designed to support the widow and the orphan. We want all donations to go directly to the families, and not funnel through Serenity’s Haven church, at all. What we are enabling is a landing page to highlight and support each of these families, who need us to follow The Word, Jesus. We want to encourage in practical ways, keeping mothers and children together and thriving, when they are bereft of husband and father.

Do you feel called to give to these women and their children, whether through financial support, prayer, or both? Please, please do!

For further reading:

Widow Families Bios & Donation Buttons ~ In Progress
How to Refer Families
FAQs
Standards of Ministry
Widows In Scripture
Word of Mouth Resources ~ In Progress
Freely Home Learning