About

Subscribe! 

 

About Afterthoughts

Afterthoughts is a place to nourish the mind.

This blog got its name from what it does, which is to attempt to think through the thoughts of God and man. Very few original thoughts appear on this blog. The bulk of the ideas are simply afterthoughts: thoughts that other people thunk first. Anything original is purely accidental.

So what do we think about? Good books. Charlotte Mason. Educational philosophy. Random stuff. My rambunctious youngest child. Messy homeschooling days.

Basically anything.

Everything.

It’s all fair game here.

About Brandy

My name is Brandy Vencel and I’m a sinner justified by grace through the redemption that is in Christ. I’ve been married to my husband, Si, for 21 years, and we have four children: E. (20-year-old boy who has graduated our homeschool and attends New College Franklin), A. (18-year-old girl), Q. (16-year-old girl), and O. (14-year-old boy). Please note: the name Vencel rhymes with “pencil” — it’s Slavic, not French.

I am a native Californian. I imported my husband from Florida.

I first heard about Charlotte Mason and classical education from Cindy Rollins many years ago when my children were tiny (and some as yet unborn). It was a divine appointment. Charlotte Mason’s philosophy sung to my soul; it was everything I didn’t know I wanted to know. ♥ I was given a six-volume set for my 27th birthday. Those books are now falling apart at the seams from years of reading them over and over again.

If you’re familiar with MBTI, my personality is the INTP type. Examining life and truth is my game. Being aware of my surroundings? Not so much. It’s the same personality type as Albert Einstein (supposedly). Decent thinking, but challenging hair and a messy desk.

Or something.

I host the popular Scholé Sisters podcast and serve on two boards: the Auxiliary Board of AmblesideOnline, a free 12-year Charlotte Mason homeschool curriculum, and the Board of Directors for Providence Classical School in Bakersfield, California.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
I believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.