Welcome to part two of our interview with Rebekah Anast (formerly Rebekah Pearl) of No Greater Joy Ministries. Her parents' book To Train Up A Child has helped countless parents in their child training endeavors. Last issue we discussed what it was like being homeschooled by these famous Pearls during the homeschooling movement's unstable infancy. Now, let's talk to Rebekah about what is presently happening with the Pearl and Anast families.
TOS: Last issue you mentioned that you are busy with a number of projects, such as learning how to make an herbal cough syrup for babies and researching new heat-preserving materials for gardening. Besides all these things you are learning and doing, you also help with your parents' No Greater Joy ministry. How and when did your parents' child-training ministry begin, and what is it like now?
Rebekah: I think it was 1992. A friend of the family wrote my Dad, asking him how he had raised his children to be like they are. Dad sat down at his first computer – an old 286 – and started a reply letter. He could not answer the question without going back to the foundation of his philosophy in child raising. Occasionally he would come into the living room and ask us if we remembered this time, or that event, and what happened here or there. When the letter was finished, it was over a hundred pages long. Dad decided to ask a few friends to give their opinions about the manuscript. One of those friends offered to pay for the first printing. Mom sent out 30 copies to people Dad had won to the Lord over the years. From those 30 copies came a flood of orders for "the book". Within weeks every single copy was gone! We actually had to reprint. Then again. And again! A little over ten years later, there are over 450,000 copies of To Train Up a Child in print.
Mom and Dad have written and printed another five books, and there are three more in the process of being published. There is now a big office built on the old farm property, and ten employees stay busy keeping newsletters, mission details, products, and answered letters going. Mom and Dad still live like simple farm folks, and putter around in the garden when they have time. They don’t make any royalties from their books and audio CDs and tapes. They want young families out there to be equipped and prepared for whatever life might throw at them. All the profits from the No Greater Joy Ministry go to mission work and printing more materials. I am one of their biggest fans...obviously!
TOS: They must have done something right to have their own child proclaim to be their biggest fan. I would love that to be said by my children when they are grown. Rebekah, what was your childhood like under the famous "Pearl" philosophy of child training?
Rebekah: Probably a cross between boot camp and Pippi Longstocking's Adventures. I didn't know how lucky I was until I grew up. There is an amazing amount of security in consistent training. I never doubted I was loved, that my parents loved each other, or that I would grow up to be one of the world's most valuable members of society. After all, my family needed me, loved me, and made sure I was an upstanding citizen of "Pearl-land". I never went to bed guilty over a "crime" that hadn't been dealt with. I never spent a day locked away in my own introspection (Mom was sure to intrude!). And, I never watched my mom do a task without being required to pitch in and learn how to do it myself. Mom and Dad weren't perfect people, but they gave us all they had. And, it was enough.
TOS: Your answer holds a lot of practical help for today's parents: consistency, love, value, responsibility, and working together. Can you give a little further advice for those training young children today?
Rebekah: Read To Train Up a Child! To summarize the book in one phrase, "Enjoy your children!" And secondly, make bad behavior counterproductive, and make good behavior rewarding.
TOS: That seems so simple, and yet we try everything else first! I have learned so much about training my children from reading that wonderful little book. Rebekah, growing up as a well-trained child, and now having children of your own, what have you learned personally about training your children that you would like to share?
Rebekah: Actually, my brother Nathan said it just the other day. Child training can be mostly learned with a simple list of principles and rules of operation. But the real fine tuning is hard to pin down. Every child is different. It really takes knowing and loving each child as an individual, praying for wisdom in every circumstance, and being flexible! Your child might not be just like you. He or she might need more or fewer spankings than you did. He or she might need more quiet time, or more noise and action. Children are people – wonderful, individual, God-made people – with a specific purpose and calling in life. To discover your child is the best thing a parent can do for him or her.
TOS: This is a good exhortation to parents to pray for wisdom in every circumstance and to listen to God’s voice regarding their children’s purpose and calling in life. Rebekah, are there any other resources you would suggest for those of us in the child-training years?
Rebekah: The King James Version Bible, and the book of Proverbs specifically. It was an important part of our upbringing. And I really believe (at the risk of sounding biased) that the No Greater Joy materials on child training are some of the very best. Another great resource is a group of people who believe in child training AND have good kids to show for it! There is nothing like seeing it done right. You might have to move to another location to find that group of people. Another great "resource" is to live AWAY from relatives who disapprove of your methods. Bad pressure can ruin the preserving process. Don't be afraid to change your life radically: job, location, philosophy, etc.
TOS: I also believe the Bible to be the primary resource in our homeschooling and child training endeavors. Thank you, Rebekah, for reminding us to make our family our highest priority. What is in the future of the Pearl and Anast families, ministry-wise?
Rebekah: Busy, busy, busy! Mom and Dad Pearl are always writing, praying, and ministering to families all across the United States (and sometimes overseas). They have tried a few times to "downsize" the ministry. But families everywhere are always "upsizing", so they will likely be busy for years to come.
I am now Rebekah Anast. I still write for No Greater Joy and other small magazines, in between being mommy and wife – which I adore immensely!!! My husband is a wonderful man and is blessed to be able to work out of our home, building websites for people and organizations. He just recently finished the new nogreaterjoy.org and the bulkherbstore.com websites. He especially enjoys putting Christian businesses and ministries online.
TOS: Sounds great! Readers, be sure to check out that No Greater Joy website. Rebekah, how can we corporately pray for your families and their ministries?
Rebekah: For Mom and Dad (Mike and Debi Pearl), you can pray for: wisdom, energy to get it all done, health and stamina, insight and perception, and for the office workers who carry so much of the load. For the Anast family, pray for: wisdom, maturity, safety, and the ability to do what God asks of us faithfully and well.
And we all do thank you for your prayers!
TOS: Thank you, Rebekah, for sharing with us your pioneering journey and the wisdom you have learned along the way. It is so inspiring to see the good fruit in those, like you, who have been homeschooled and are leading successful, productive lives and are excited to tell about it. And, we will definitely be praying!
Rebekah Joy Anast is the daughter of Michael and Debi Pearl, authors of To Train Up a Child. Rebekah is now the wife of Gabriel Anast and mother of three children. She was homeschooled Pre-K through high school and later received a BA in linguistics. More of Rebekah's articles can be seen at www.nogreaterjoy.org.
Deborah Wuehler is the Senior Editor, Chapel Editor, and Devotional Editor for the Old Schoolhouse Magazine. She resides in Roseville, California with her husband Richard and their seven gifts from heaven. She loves digging for buried treasure in the Word, reading, writing, homeschooling, and dark chocolate!
www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/DevDoorDeborah
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