WHA Blog

Easter and the Friendship of God

11 Apr 2022

The Decay of Friendship When I read the Passion and Resurrection narratives in the Gospels, I see a theme that is too little engaged within most Christian circles: one which offers us a glimpse into the nature of Jesus’ redemptive work. The theme is friendship. This school year, my students and I have encountered a number of compelling illustrations of friendship in ancient literature—Achilles weeping over Patroclus, Socrates consoling his heartbroken companions before his execution, Aristotle’s grand

By John Choi | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

Get to Know Our Founders: Nancy & Bob Donaldson

Nancy & Bob Donaldson7 Apr 2022

Where did the name 'Wilson Hill' originate? Nancy: In 1846, my great, great grandfather, Doctor Hugh Wilson, traveled from Greenbriar County, Virginia (now West Virginia), to the new state of Texas in a covered wagon, settling where Comanche Indians most certainly still lived. In fact, nearby Columbus was considered as a possible capital of Texas, but there were too many Indians.  That December, he and his family celebrated Christmas on his farm and ranch that would

By Wilson Hill | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

Mathematics and the Big Questions

30 Mar 2022

What does it mean to teach math from a Biblical worldview? After all, 2 + 2 = 4, regardless of one’s personal beliefs. Before we answer the question, maybe we first need to ask, What exactly is mathematics? If you asked one of my geometry students, she would answer, “Mathematics is the science of patterns and the art of engaging the meaning of those patterns.” Her classmates would give the same response because this is

By Kaye Pepin | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

Discerning Truth

12 Mar 2022

“Once an idea has taken hold in a brain, it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed, fully understood, that sticks.”   —Dominick Cobb, Inception (2010)   Have you ever stopped to really consider how absolutely magical and fantastical an idea is? In some ways, ideas resemble microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. Like those microorganisms, ideas can spread; like their biological cousins, ideas can change and mutate; and perhaps most significantly,

By Bart Martin | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

Rescuing Love

14 Feb 2022

Perhaps you have seen or heard the pseudo-wisdom expressed in the slogan “love is love.” What does that mean? In most cases, that slogan is being used to justify an idea that runs directly against what the Bible tells us is genuine love.   Given the confusion surrounding the word “love,” it is really tempting to just scrap the word in favor of a synonym that carries less baggage. This word, however, is worth rescuing. What

By Bart Martin | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

The Ordinary is Precious

31 Jan 2022

How does one foster a love of learning in a child? Will I find it if I google ‘What is the best app to help my child learn?’ Surely someone has figured out the secret sauce to turn these sweet little mini-mes into the next Einsteins who find their callings, love the Lord, earn free rides to college, land the perfect jobs and care for me in my old age.  While we don’t get to

By Nancy Donaldson | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

Some Things You (My Students) Need to Know About Asking Questions

2 Jan 2022

Many have said that wisdom does not consist in having the right answers but in asking the right questions. This means that the highest expression of wisdom is the perfectly formed question. We remember Socrates for this. Similarly, Confucius once said wisdom is not having knowledge but knowing that you do not know—the natural starting point, one would think, for being an “asker” rather than an “answerer.”    Perhaps for this reason, this essence of wisdom—that

By Dr. Tom Vierra | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

The Parable of the Amaryllis

29 Dec 2021

Hello. My name is Rachel, and I kill plants. I’m serious—plant-killing might be a certifiable hobby at this point. No plant has lasted in my house for more than about a month. This might sound strange coming from a science teacher, but I’m much more comfortable with chemicals in vials than in caring for living things. A few weeks ago, I decided to try my luck again and bought an amaryllis bulb on a shopping

By Rachel Verbois | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

New Birth

15 Dec 2021

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity! That is a remarkable line. What I have also found remarkable over the years is how many people (saints and pagans alike) will sing that line without blinking an eye, without pause, without any realization whatsoever of the profundity of what just exited their mouths. Similarly, has it struck you how oddly normal a nativity scene is, as if the truth that “the Word becoming

By Dr. Tom Vierra | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more

Looking Forward to the Second Advent

8 Dec 2021

HOPE FOR WEARY SOULS by Leah Coll In most of our lives, there’s the public story, and then there’s the other one. Here’s a recent chapter from my public book: Some of you may know my husband Rob nearly died of a brain aneurysm in May. Since we have many friends and family members in various places, not to mention our global homeschool community, I shared a lot of our journey on Facebook. After a

By Leah Coll | | In WHA Blog, Word on the Hill | Read more