Hello Friends and family! Many of you already know that my name is Heather. For those of you who didn’t know that, now you do! 🙂

I had plans to start another blog as a New Year goal. After stressing and agonizing for several months to figure out a good name, and trying to think of an appropriate “theme” for my new blog, nothing was coming. Finally, I figured out that I am just too much of a random person to blog with a specific theme. I take interest and pleasure in too many things, and I like to blab about what I find interesting. There have been 2 other blogs in my  past that had specific themes, and I quickly got bored with sticking to a particular theme. We’ll see how long this one lasts. 😉

 

Why did I name my blog “Calluna Ecclesia”? My  website’s title reflects a little bit of who I am. Here’s How:

1.  The title is my name in Latin. Heather Church.

2. The Latin represents me as a mom who is homeschooling her children in a Classically eclectic way. 😉 Part of a traditional Classical education includes the study of Latin. The Latin also represents me a life-long learner who likes to “learn something new everyday”. However in real life, my Latin knowledge is very limited. This year it will be stretched considerably, as I have enrolled my daughter in “Challenge A” which is a program with Classical Conversations. There is a heavy emphasis in Latin with the Challenge Programs. With me being a homeschooling mom,  that also means I am a mom! 🙂   I am a mom to some terrific kids. They prove to me over and over again, how tremendously blessed I am that God gave them to me.  They will inspire a lot of my writing on this blog.

3. The word Classical represents me as well. Latin is a “Classical Language” I love to read, and I love Classical literature. (Jane Austen especially) I love Classical Music. (and other kinds too) I love horses, and my favorite style of riding was Classical Dressage. I didn’t get too advanced in either music or Dressage competition, but I had experienced enough to develop a sincere appreciation for them.  I find comfort in many traditions, but I also tend to be a non-conformist when I see a tradition as empty fluff. 😉  All in all, I try not to take myself too seriously, but I do love “tried and true” things that would be labeled as Classical.

4. My last name also represents me in two ways. It represents me as a wife, since I took my husband’s last name, and I love him lots! ♥  We will be married going on 13 years come this June. I  am also blessed to have married a man with a last name that reflects who I am personally. Jesus has made me part of his bride, which means I am part of His Church. I am part of His church because he died on the cross and paid the penalty for my sins. I was a sinner, and I needed Jesus to save me. I tried on my own to make up for my sin, by trying to be a good person and trying to live a “Christian” life. But it just wasn’t working. I failed miserably at the Christian life thing, even though I sincerely tried. Most people would look at my life and think I was a good Christian. But I learned through experience, that there was no hope of me being truly good, because my heart would betray me.  Thankfully Jesus sent someone along my life’s path who told me what Grace really was. They told me that  Jesus has already paid off ALL of my sin debt for me!   Jesus knew that I couldn’t be a good person/Christian, so he took all my sin on himself, and died and paid my sin debt over 2,000 years ago. All that was left for me to do was believe that He did this for me and be satisfied that his payment for my sins on the cross was all that is required to be saved. That was such good news and a relief to me! I was so so tired of trying so so hard, and failing.  And because I trusted in Jesus only, Jesus plucked me out of the world, and put me into His Church.

5. The Latin also represents History. Latin is no longer a “spoken language”…it’s very much a part of history. I love History and find it so thrilling…especially when I start connecting the dots.  Last year, I took one of those strength test quiz things, (a legitimate one) and found out that I have a strength of “context”. That means I need to know the history behind things, and the “why”  things are the way they are.

6. The Latin also represents (to me at least) herbs and natural health. Most people know that medical science relies heavily on Latin. The Latin word for my first name is Calluna. Calluna Vulgarius is the Latin name for the plant ” Common Heather”. Common Heather is also a herb that carries some medicinal properties.  Since I have been a teenager I have been interested in natural and alternative health and enjoy playing around with herbs, natural home remedies, essential oils, homeopathic remedies, and discovering healthier ways of eating. By all means I am not an expert, but I have found many benefits of taking this approach to my health.

7. That’s all I can think of right now.  Again, this list is just a few of the things that represent me. The things I listed (Homeschooling, parenting, History, Music, Health, Marriage, and Faith) are some of the things you can expect me to write about. And you can probably count on me writing about things other than the topics I just listed.  Thanks for visiting and I hope I can count on you being a regular visitor. 🙂