Carnival of Family Life

We are in the new Carnival Of Family Life.

Tags:
Carnival of Family Life, Parents, Parenting,

Lost Sheep and Answered Prayer

This is something my wife wrote and sent out in an email.

Hello!

Over a month ago we lost Mr. Ellie, Seth's favorite, beloved stuffed elephant who is 'well-loved,' and VERY 'real.' (If you've ever read the Velveteen Rabbit, you'll know what I mean by 'real,' loved so much and so heartily you are not so good looking any more.) Seth has been very sad about this and has refused to sleep with a replacement animal.

Yesterday we were reading the Bible story about Jesus going after the one lost sheep and that brought to mind Mr. Ellie. We talked about how sad we were that he was lost and how we had looked everywhere we could think of but still hadn't been able to find him. Tears welled up in Seth and Isaac's eyes. Then it occurred to me to ask him if he had prayed to find the elephant. (I wonder where that thought came from? Ha!)

He said he had not and I told him, "Why don't we pray now that the God who loves to find the lost would help us." So we did. They could not pray because they were choked up so I prayed for us all.

A little while later, it occurred to me to look in our bin that holds coats, hats, etc. that we were getting ready to put away, wondering if he might have been thrown in there by mistake. (I wonder where that thought came from? Ha!) I had no natural reason to look there.

Well I forgot to look right away...

So later, when I was talking to Robert, the thought came to me again to look in the bin. (I wonder where that thought came from? Ha!) So I started emptying it out and lo and behold, THERE WAS MR. ELLIE!!! You should have seen me. I was ecstatic! Such a tender and obvious answer to our prayer.

When Seth saw that elephant, JOY was written all over his face. He hugged that elephant like he would NEVER let it go again. Tears were in his eyes (and would be off and on for quite awhile). We talked about, with much praise and rejoicing, how Jesus had helped us to find our 'lost sheep,' just like the Bible story that morning. I know this memory will imprint that story and the Lord's love for us and the lost indelibly on my mind. (And I pray that it will also be stored in the hearts of my 2 small children who witnessed this answer to prayer.) That He cares enough to help us find a lost stuffed elephant speaks volumes since, in the eternal scheme of things, stuffed animals are low in priority I would imagine!

So I send out this story as an offering of praise to a wonderful Holy God who cares about the minute details of my life and my family's lives. To the God Who cared enough to send His only Son, Jesus, to die for sins of all (including mine) so the lost could be saved if they would believe in Him! Thank Father and Jesus for the sacrifice You made on our behalf.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved!" John 3:16-17

May God treat you as tenderly today as He treats me!
Love,
L

Tags:
Prayer, Parenting

Chip Ingram on Parenting

As I’ve said before, there isn’t just one person or philosophy that we follow. So what follows is not an uncritical endorsement, it’s just info. No, I'm not making any money if you buy from clicking on these links, they are just there for your convenience.

Lately in our Sunday School class we have been listening to this guy Chip Ingram from Walk Through The Bible. My wife says he looks a lot like me. That may be true except his teeth look like they are filed off smooth while mine look like they were placed by a drunk (my wife didn’t say that). First we listened to a CD set House or Home on parenting and marriage and now we are watched a DVD set called Effective Parenting in a Defective World. I like a lot of what he says, but you can tell he is preaching to yuppies, and sometimes I think he softsells to them. Though actually he hits quite hard on several things that many of us as Americans, Westerners, whateverers, Parents, struggle with.

Anyway, the best thing he says that too many people parent out of fear. I know I see this a lot, and I think these are the kids that get out and have trouble, rebel, whatever. It’s best when parents have a focus, a target, a positive that they are shooting for, not a negative that they are cowering from. The kids from the positive focus grow strong and confident and go out in the world strong and confident for God. The kids from the fear families are unsure and as a result waver.

BTW that “focus” or “target” is holiness and godliness, not excellence in sports, or academics, or perfection in church attendance, etc. Ingram does caution against holiness without fun. There is a balance. He talked about how they would once a week, as a family, share prayer requests, pray, and then go out for ice cream. Make it a celebration! YEAH! GOD IS FUN!

Tags: Parents, Parenting,

Put Parents In Control Of School

This Christianity Today article is what I've been saying for a long time. The ACLU has no business telling a local school what to do. Give back local control, within reason. Or take your kids out and homeschool. It's not easy, but it's not as hard as so many people seem to think. Plus, it's what's BEST for the kids. Have we forgotten that we are to do what is best for the kids and not what's convenient for us?

Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling,

How to talk to your kids about sex

Well, I had "the talk" or "the sex talk" with my oldest boy. He’s 11. His 18 year-old unmarried cousin just had a baby. "How can that happen?" he asks. Other things have been happening and I knew it was time. We went out for coffee (decaf for him) and pie and a talk. It was a good talk, he didn’t quite understand it all, but we were both comfortable and it opened communication on the topic and I think that is the most important thing at this point. I say "the talk," but I believe it is the beginning of an education that will continue.

Here is an outline of what we covered:

The physical act: This blew his mind and I kinda backed off. "Just don’t get naked with a girl until you are married."

If you father a child, you are responsible for that child. That's why you are supposed to be married to have sex. That means marrying the girl if you aren't. Don’t have sex if you don’t want to marry her.

Sex is more than physical, there are a lot of emotions that go on, and it gets complicated, that's why we have divorces, broken hearts, etc.

Temptations: If you go to a friends house and a magazine or movie shows naked women, don’t look at it. If you give in to a temptation at a young age, it’s like you bend your own armor. What happens to metal when you bend it? It’s never the same and it’s weak. Satan will know this weak spot and use it against you your entire life. Not just this temptation, but any sin (anger, lying, etc).

We talked about more, but this is a good outline.

Tags:
Sex Education, Parents, Parenting, Preteens, Homeschooling,

What is Going ON???!!!

Joplin, MO, about 40 minutes from me had a school shooting! A 13 year old took an [edit it's an AK-47-like wepon with an altered 30 round clip that may have caused it to missfire saving the principal's life] into school and fired one shot in the ceiling. In a Middle School! A 13 year old! Thank God no one was injured. Thank God the school had a competent and brave principal.

Riverton, KS, High school, about 15 minutes from me, had 5 boys arrested for planning a "Columbine-type" shooting. On the news last night some mother of a Joplin Middle Schooler was crying and she said, "That's it. I'm homeschooling."

Is an inner-city school now safer than a small-town school? When I was 14 (about 1979) a friend brought a switchblade to school. But he kept it hidden from teachers and most other students. It was to show off to friends, not to threaten anyone. Most of us carried pocket-knives to school, but we never thought about hurting someone with them.

I even had friends that had guns in their car at high school, but no one thought about using one unless one's life was endangered. No one wanted to lose the gun to the authorities I suppose.

What has happened that so many students feel so disconnected that they are willing to go to such extremes to get attention or revenge? How are these kids not getting the message that there is an entire life to be lived? And that taking that life from someone else is serious business? I know that the teen years are self-focused, but, empathy can still be there.

Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, School Shootings, Joplin, MO, Riverton, KS

Goals for Parents

Here is something my wife wrote:

Good, Better, Best
Most people seem to think if a parent clothes and feeds his/her children well, gets them to school on time, and makes them do their homework then the job is over. My parenting philosophy has evolved a lot from that over the past few years, both from things the Lord has been teaching me and from things I have been learning from other godly parents I’ve met who are striving to protect, teach, and enjoy their children.
I believe that a parent seeking the BEST level:
—protects children from harm and evil influences at all times as far as humanly possible, no matter the criticism from others and prays for God’s protection to cover what the parent cannot.
—trains children in all life skills necessary to function in a capable and excellent manner in their adult lives.
—teaches children to love God wholeheartedly and to serve Him first and fully.
—ensures children learn everything academically necessary to succeed and excel in the purpose God has for each one. Another person might do the actual teaching of the skills, but the parent is responsible to see the children are educated.
—loves children in all the above mentioned ways, as well as being deeply affectionate and spending great quantities of time lavishing attention on the children in the forms of working, playing, reading, learning, and laughing together.

Any thoughts?

Tags:
Parents, Parenting, Home School, Homeschooling,

Kids say

The other day we made pizza. There were two pieces still on the table when we were finishing up. Erik (9 years old) called the plain cheese piece for lunch the next day. Joshua (10 years old) started to call the sasuage and pepper slice, but I said I might still eat it tonight. Joshua looked at me and said, "You wouldn't deprive me of my lunch, would you?" What could I do? He got it.

Carnival Of Homeschooling is Ready

Patricia at Pollywog Creek Porch has the new Carnival of Homeschooling using the Everglades as the theme. Check it, it's informative as always.

Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling,

Alternative School Year Plan

Many people have asked us, "Have you started school yet?" or "When do you start back up?" We do things a bit different here. We work on a schedule of 3 weeks on, 1 week off, with 3 weeks off for summer and 2 weeks off at Christmas. So we pretty much school most of the time, but with lots of "breaks" to allow my wife (who does most of the teaching) a chance to recover and plan for another short burst. This is what works for us. You may have to do something different. If you are an unschooler, this is probably irrelevant to you.

Tags:
Home School, Homeschooling,

Big Famililies are OK and More

Here are a few links I would like to let everyone know about. The first two are from Christianity Today.

The Case for Kids and A Counter Trend—Sort Of.

In other news on college: Walter Williams and Don't Think Outside the College Box By Debra J. Saunders

And Chuck Colson on Kansas and Evolution, Michael Medved on gay marrigage
Tags:
Large Families, Parents, Parenting, College liberals

Here's a Book for You...

Contemporary Critics of Education. edited by Howard Ozman. Danville, Ill., Interstate Printers & Publishers [1970] Contents:
How to read a book, by M. J. Adler.--The house of intellect, by J. Barzun.--Educational wastelands, by A. E. Bestor.--The process of education, by J. S. Bruner.--I and thou, by M. Buber.--The citadel of learning, by J. B. Conant.--Compulsory mis-education, by P. Goodman.--The conflict in education, by R. M. Hutchins.--Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, by A. Huxley.--The miseducation of American teachers, by J. D. Koerner.--Education at the crossroads, by J. Maritain.--Education and human relations, by A. Montagu.--The secret of childhood, by M. Montessori.--Summerhill, by A. S. Neill.--What are they doing to your children? By M. Rafferty.--Education and freedom, by H. G. Rickover.--Education and the good life, by B. Russell.--The science of learning and the art of teaching, by B. F. Skinner.--The aims of education, by A. N. Whitehead.

Kinda old, but the criticisms stand. Not all the critics agree with each other either. It's amazing to me just how many of our current problems were being written about 50 years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same. See if you can find the book, perhaps through Inter-Library Loan. At least 329 libraries own it.

Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Books, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling,

A nine year old on abortion

Nat Hentoff tells about a 9-year old boy who sees clearly.

A longtime friend of mine is married to a doctor who also performs abortions. At the dinner table one recent evening, their 9-year-old son — having heard a word whose meaning he didn't know — asked, "What is an abortion?" His mother, choosing her words carefully, described the procedure in simple terms.

"But," said her son, "that means killing the baby." The mother then explained that there are certain months during which an abortion cannot be performed, with very few exceptions. The 9-year-old shook his head. "But," he said, "it doesn't matter what month. It still means killing the babies."

Tags:
Abortion, Pro-Life

Rebecca Hagelin warns us about what we let the kids read. I prefer the classics myself.

Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling,

On Prop 82 and Universal State-Funded PreSchool

Jennifer Roback Morse on Prop 82.

These same kinds of studies are used to browbeat stay at home mothers into placing their kids in preschools or daycare centers. "Am I harming my child by depriving him of the enriching preschool experience?" mothers ask me all the time. No, I always reply.

After all, we wouldn’t want to give credit to parents. Everyone knows parents are the problem. The sooner we get kids away from their parents and into government run schools, the better off everyone will be.

Proposition 82 requires preschool teachers to have approximately five years of college. Proposition 82 funds would pay a half billion dollars to colleges and universities to develop new courses. There is no proven benefit to this increased credentialism.

Also Nathanael Blake is one of the best young writers out there, even if I don't always agree with him.

Conservatives generally hold to the traditional perspective of homosexuality being something one does (i.e. sexual acts with others of the same sex), for liberals, homosexuality is something one is. The whole point of morality is the suppressing of wrong or inappropriate urges, and the encouragement of good ones.

Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling,

Texas Vacation Highlights

We went to Texas last week to see my dad. He has an antique store in Taylor called Wooden Heart Antiques, and he and his wife were on HGTV a while back.

Anyway, while we were there we went to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum and the Dr. Pepper Museum, both in Waco. As a former Soda Pop Bottle collector (I have about 400 bottles), I really liked the Dr. Pepper Museum, but they didn't give free samples. Two years ago we went to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. They gave free samples. The Texas Ranger museum had lots and lots of guns. Pretty neat, especially for 4 boys.

In Austin, there is a cool Austin Science & Nature Center that is free. In addition to fossils, lots of trails and some wild animals, they also have a sand pit where kids can dig for cement fossils. We then went to the overpriced Austin Children's Museum. It's not so much a museum as it is a big play house with some science thrown in. It was $33.50 for two adults and 4 kids. I don't think we will go back to the Children's Museum. The kids seemed to have as much fun at the park, but, the park isn't air conditioned.

Of course, all the museums count toward homeschool hours.

We also ate some really good food. Mexican, barbecue, and real hamburgers that will spoil you from the fast-food junk forever. The city of Taylor has a very nice park that is very shaded. A good thing to have in Texas. The temps were in the mid-to-high 90s all week.

Tags:
Texas, Dr. Pepper, Museums, Austin, Texas, Waco, Texas, Antiques, Homeschooling,

The Supreme Court of the United States has Already Said Marriage is Between One Woman and One Man

U.S. Supreme Court MURPHY v. RAMSEY, 114 U.S. 15 (1885) This case deals with a law in Utah not allowing bigamists or polyamists to vote. This is toward the end of the decision, 4th paragraph from the bottom. And we know that once the Court decides, by golly, that is binding LAW.

For, certainly, no legislation can be supposed more wholesome and necessary in the founding of a free, self-governing commonwealth, fit to take rank as one of the co-ordinate states of the Union, than that which seeks to establish it on the basis of the idea of the family, as consisting in and springing from the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony; the sure foundation of all that is stable and noble in our civilization; the best guaranty of that reverent morality which is the source of all beneficent progress in social and political improvement. And to this end no means are more directly and immediately suitable than those provided by this act, which endeavors to withdraw all political influence from those who are practically hostile to its attainment.

Tags:
Marriage Amendment, Marriage, Murphy v Ramsey

Links on Education

Don't give us government childcare for Mother's Day by Carrie Lukas. It's amazing to me how many people find ways to get what they want without the government's involvement. People who make due with less, or women who find ways to earn money at home. Why should my taxes be used to pay for your kid to be picked on and ignored? If that's what you want then pay for it yourself.

"[F]eminist author Kate Millet argues, children are better served by “professional” caregivers: “The care of the young is infinitely better left to trained professionals rather than to harried amateurs with little time nor taste for the education of young minds.” American parents disagree. Harried amateurs that we are, we tend to think that young kids are better off at home—and even many career mothers wish for more time with their children. "

Star Parker writes about the NAACP's fight against private school vouchers. In Florida,

"During the past school year, 740 students participated in the Opportunity Scholarship Program, of which 64 percent were black and 30 percent Hispanic. The students are practically all from low-income families."

Let's see, 64+30=94. So 94% of kids using vouchers were minorities and low income. The NAACP can't let that happen. Such a thing might weaken the bonds between them and the NEA. Why there is a bond there I don't know. Any union or group that kept my race from advancing for the last 50 years wouldn't have my support.



Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling, Vouchers, Universal Daycare,

Debra J. Saunders on Raising Education Standards

Debra J. Saunders talks about the crazy world of California. Specifically, the education and judicial systems. Seems a judge has put a halt to the test all people must pass to graduate.

"It's sad but true: All California schools are not equal. The question is: What do you do about the inequity? Do you sanction the inequity by allowing students to graduate ignorant? Is that fair? Or do you require that all graduates be able to read a news story and know what it means when a sale sign says "25 percent off"?"

I hope to actually write some soon, but in addition to my full time job, I've been hired to do some writing for one person and web site designing for another, so I have other priorities at this time.


Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Teachers

Links for Families and Luddites

To begin, Jerry Large wants to push "pause" on all the new stuff. Specifically all the new stuff that has too much stuff. Meaning, a dishwasher with more than 3 buttons. Call me a Luddite, but it's overkill. Why is it that you can't buy a high-quality, well-built item that doesn't also do 20 things you don't need it to do? I want a well-built, comfortable car, but I don't need each seat to have it's own thermostat. I want a VCR with a fantastic picture and sound, but I don't need 800 programming options. Can I get the one with out the other?

Second link, An Education that May Pay for College. Straight forward investing, without all the bureaucracy.

Third link, and a good one, Rebecca Hagelin reviews Christian Ethics in Plain Language.

It may seem like the height of sophistication to think that we can (or should) load our children with facts and figures and then leave it up to them to decide what'’s right and wrong. In fact, it'’s a moral abdication of our duties as parents.

And of course the Homeschool Carnival, week 19. Some good thoughts on raising boys this time around.

And lastly, but never leastly, The Carnival of Kid Comedy.


Tags:
Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Teachers, Home School, Homeschooling,