Bye-Bye, July....

Well, seven months of this year have gone by in the bat of an eye. You two faithful readers know that I have spent the majority of this year getting my firstborn out of the house and into his new digs. Hubby Tim told his boss this last week..."Remember my boy that I just moved up to Kentucky the other day?" (Boss nods affirmatively.) "Well, I need Monday off to go up and move him back!" (Boss laughs and nods knowingly. He has teenagers, too.)

I guess if Dan gets all packed up, Monday will be the day we retrieve him from the Bluegrass State. Actually, Tim and Sam will do the retrieving. I will be minding the small kids and animals. Small kids and animals are distracting when you are moving large, heavy furniture and boxes. I think I will be staying home and lending my positive thoughts to the endeavor! I know my husband is thrilled.

I can hardly believe it is time to start school again. Sarah is going to join her cousins Monday for a homeschool scavenger hunt (they have to find their hidden school supplies) and then going to see the visiting Egyptian exhibit at a museum nearby. She will have a full day!

Micah is probably going to get in some of the last of his pool time at Grandma's until next season. We'll "ride the wave" until the weather gets too cool to swim---which usually around here is the end of August. But with the unusual cycle of weather we have had this year, I am not ruling out swimming in December....yet.

Speaking of wacky weather....We have had very few thunderstorms this year as compared to previous years. (That is not a scientific statement by any means. I have nothing more than my perceptions to back up that statement. Perhaps I should say that it SEEMS like we have had very few thunderstorms this year, comparitively speaking.)

Now I hate tornadoes, but I LOVE a good thunderstorm to lull me to sleep. Every since we had the terrible day in April where many were killed in our state in a tornado outbreak, everything has been relatively quiet. We have had a couple of good storms, but nothing major since "the big one." I am just wondering if we are going to really have an active hurricane season like they said we were or not. Of course, we really don't have hurricanes in Tennessee, but we get the remnants of tropical storms coming up from the Gulf.

But I digress....Once we get Daniel back home, then, we will make the second leg of the trip to move what he needs to his grandparents' house so that he can ready for college. Then, I am going to bring him back here and work him like a slave until he starts classes. (Please don't tip him off beforehand!) I have so many things I need a big old strapping boy to do. We are going to clean out the GRODY garage, move a bunch of furniture, possibly do some painting, take some things off to charity and storage, etc. I hope the weather will cooperate---and the kids, too. We need to make some progress in the battle of the bulging closets.

Speaking of closets, we have had disaster in the master BR closet. First, I piled too many heavy things on the top of Tim's rack. The clips that held the shelf on the wall were deficient anyway. We learned this when we went to get more after Tim's shelf fell. There are new and better shelf-holding clips available at your handy-dandy home improvement store. Today, I heard a crash, but I never could pin down where it came from. When I went upstairs later, I found that my clothes shelf was down, and all the stuff on top is in piles on the floor. It is a huge mess. I have a feeling that my monkey-children, Hannah and Sarah, had something to do with the demise of this shelf. However, enough time had passed that I could not prove it. So, tomorrow is "clean the master BR closet day," "get the trailer hitch inspected day" and "tune the car up day" among other things I have on my list to do.

I am getting tired already!

In other news, I am happy to report that Dad has slept in a bed for the first time in a long time for two nights now. That means that enough of the water has come off of him that he can breathe when he lies down now. I pray it will stay off a while. He is still having some adjustments to his other meds, but hopefully, he will have a little season of peace for now.

It is hard to focus with all the stuff going on in the world now. One part of me says this "wars and rumors of wars" is just more of the same, and another part thinks that it really could escalate into something terrible. Whatever happens, God is in control. Yet, we have to be ready....

Have a good weekend, all! :)

Friends

She created the sweetest tribute to Daniel over on her page. She has some of the greatest photos of his time in Lexington with "the gang." Daniel has been so fortunate to share the last few months with one of the sweetest groups of "kids/Christians" on the face of the planet.

When he first began to tell me that he wanted to move to Kentucky, I'll admit I was not too keen on the idea. After all, I had heard the horror stories from many other mothers about how their kids left home, moved to some college town, and eventually fell into all kinds of sinful behavior and drifted away from the Lord. At some point, though, you have to hope that you have instilled the right things in them so that they can stand up to temptations on their own, and sometimes, we as moms and dads can not really tell a young man or woman that they can't grow up and move out! After all, they are 18 or 19 or 20.

After much prayer and discussion, and when a mother's tears failed to sway his thinking, Daniel decided that he wanted to cast his lot with three other Christian young men living in a house in Lexington. He went up and visited to make sure that it was really what he wanted, and he came home elated and ready to move on up there! It was a great comfort to me to know that all three young men were Christians, and at least they would all hopefully be helping each other towards a common goal (heaven)!

I was still not sure it was going to work. After all, Dan would have to get a job amd get himself everywhere without the watchful eye of Mom, who always had watched the clock for him and gotten him where he needed to be on time. Then, to top it all off, his driving experience had been limited to Tiny Town, Tennessee. I did not see how he would keep from being instantly killed in Lexington! :)

Somehow, believe it or not, he has managed to stay employed at one place the entire time he has been up there--without his mother! Imagine that! Either he has gotten much better at setting an alarm, or he is paying his roommates to get him up on time!




When we have had chances to visit with the "Old Manse" boys, it does not take long to see how much fun they have together and how much they care for one another. They are quite an animated group, and they manage to pull some pretty funny pranks on each other very often, it seems. Just look at the refrigerator picture in [her|sarahpet] pics for proof of their warped humor.) Late night runs to Taco Bell, Krogers, and to anyplace else that had food in the middle of the night gave occasion for some good old fashioned fun and frolic. I have heard rumors that making Big K cola bombs in the cul-de-sac provided many nights of hilarious science experiments!





(Tony manages to put every blanket in the house on the sleeping Jeremy, like every good roomie would do!)



It's probably hard for all of these young folks to know, but these are most likely some of the best days of their lives. Starving college students probably would not agree, but kids, when you look back on your lives, the friendships you have at this age will be some of the sweetest of your life. Memories you are making now will stay with you until you are very old, and they will bring a smile to your lips when you recall the closeness you have shared.

Daniel knew when he moved in that come August, another friend would arrive to take his place, and he would move somewhere else. For a while, he thought that somewhere would be another place in Lexington. However, God seems to have a use for him back home which we do not fully understand yet. Thankfully, Dan is the type of boy who looks to God for guidance and trys to listen and yield his life in whatever way God wants to use him. When things started coming together in Tennessee, and the "lease" was running out, we began to think that his address might be changing.

We all know that time and distance prevent us from seeing those we love quite often. But time and distance cannot restrict love, and the love Daniel has for all of you Lexingtonians and Louivillians and residents of all the other neighboring KY cities will not be hampered by a little thing like a state line. Trust that his affection for you will transcend all earthly limits, and that your lights will burn brightly in his heart forever.



I can truly say that it has been OUR priviledge to get to meet and know and love all of you. I doubt you have seen the last of the great Chipotle-eating Barista! I hope that in the coming days, when you think of our big, gentle giant, who has probably inadvertantly adjusted all of your spines with one of his "bear hugs," that you will hear the old John Denver song, expressed so beautifully in these words, playing in your hearts:

"What a friend we have in time
Gives us children, makes us wine
Tells us what to take or leave behind

And the gifts of growing old
Are the stories to be told
Of the feelings more precious than gold

Friends I will remember you, think of you
Pray for you
And when another day is through
I'll still be friends with you...."




"Friends"

Let's Get Moving on this Monday Morning!

Happy Monday! What's the matter? Having trouble getting motivated to start a new week? Go here, listen to this song, and affirm that there is indeed a God--He is Alive; in Him we live and we survive! If this doesn't get your blood pumping, nothing will! (It may not be the most 'professional' cut of the song I have ever heard, but what it lacks in polish, it doubly makes up for in spirit!) (If you are at work, put your headphones on, and give it a few seconds to load!)

Flying on the Next Leg of the Journey.....

Well, I have not been posting because I have been too busy filling out college forms getting a certain young man ready for his first semester at college. If all works out, he will be a college student here shortly. After much deliberation and prayer on his part, he felt that the Lord is guiding him back "home" to Tennessee to begin his college work towards a degree in Social Work. He hopes to get a Masters before he finishes so that he can go as far in his career as is possible.

Since he decided all this rather late in the summer, we have been rushing to fill out all the forms, have transcripts and test scores rounded up and sent, and even gotten his shot records from the pediatrician. He is going to live with his grandparents, Lord willing, and be able to practically walk to classes, seeing that they only live a field away from the campus. It is not a completely done deal yet, but things are looking pretty positive that he can begin this semester instead of waiting until January.

I am hoping that he is going to be a blessing to his grandparents, who have struggled and are continuing to struggle with health issues. I hope he can assist my mom in caring for Dad and by helping out in the house and yard. Mom does not fully know yet that she is getting a gem in this boy, because he cooks--he cleans--and he can lift lots of heavy things that women need lifted. He is a proficient shopper, for those times you don't feel like going to the store yourself. I think he will lift some of her load.

At any rate, a great time of his life is coming to an end. I know he will miss all of you in the Blue Grass State more than any of us can express. You have been gracious hosts, and you have taken good care of my "little man" while he has been there. I am especially grateful to his housemates, who have taught him how to set and use an alarm clock, how to successfully load dishes and clothing into the proper washers, and how to obtain and hold a job in spite of a challenging-to-get-along-with manager! In addition, I think that Dan is much better prepared to marry some day, after learning to live with roommates! Each one of the four is unique and wonderful in his own way, and learning to live together and still get along at the end of the day is good practice for marriage.

So, Dan, this post is to you and for you! I am proud of you, and I pray for you that you will have much happiness and success on this new leg of the journey....

Song of the Post (in honor of him!) (click to view my video tribute, and give it a minute to load!)

God Bless America!

As we witness all the unrest in the world right now, take a minute to go and view this.

It is very well-done and reminds us how we are so blessed in this country. (I wonder how many of you younger ones remember John Wayne.)

We'd better be praying for God to continue blessing America, and not just taking it for granted that He will keep pouring out His richest blessings on us and our children. This idea is as relevant on the 14th of July as it is on the 4th.

The Chill of an Early Fall???

I think it was Thursday afternoon that I stepped outside to take the children somewhere, and the cool just knocked me over! "In all my born days" I have never seen weather like we have had this year in Tennessee. I have just come to expect the unexpected.

I asked my family if anyone could remember a cool day in July. Nobody could. Of course, that does not mean much, but I think the last time we hit the 50's in July in Tennessee was in the early 80's, and I was out of state at the time, which would account for why I don't remember it---ever! Hey, nobody is complaining around here. I am sure there are some grateful road and construction crews, as well as happy people from all walks of life who are outside lots during the days.

Well, I take my big eaglet back to the bus stop after tomorrow's morning church service! I have so enjoyed having him home for nearly two weeks, and though his plans are not finalized, I might be seeing more of him in the near future. I think he has had a very insightful couple of weeks (and so did I, for that matter!) Plans are in the works for his next few years, and we will see what ends up being the Lord's plan for his future! It's gratifying to see God at work in your childrens' lives, because He is, truly, the Master Architect! (Jer. 29:11)

We had as nice of a 4th of July as you can have when one of your patriarchs of the family is ill. I got to see all my state-side brothers and sisters-in-law as well as some extended family on my mother's side at a reunion. It was wonderful, and I think they had the nicest spread of food I have seen in years at a potluck. Everything just went together so well, and a lot of the cooks had really put some time into some elaborate dishes---not just the simple stuff you do a lot of times for picnics. All the food was kept indoors, too, so we did not have the usual Tennessee fly problem to kill your appetite.

Tim and I took about a week of vacation for the price of three days off, because he had a 4 day weekend. It is always nice not to have to burn your vacation days. We spent a lot of time in Mom's inground pool, and my brothers would come over when they could, and before you knew it, all the guys would be wrestling like bear cubs in the water! My sister-in-law and I noted that girls do not seem to have the urge to throw one another in the pool, nor do they rig pool noodles up to the water holes on the pool to shoot huge water cannons at one another! Girls also do not feel the need to climb atop the whale float and bounce up and down until the pool has become a wave pool with 10 foot surges! I can also tell you that I was not at all tempted to do one belly flop! It's a good thing that at least one of the genders is generally a little more reserved, or all of our kids would have been drowned for sure.

While we were vegetating poolside, our younger two boys were off to camp in a state park in Alabama. They had a ball! Sam got his first experience with tubing on the lake! He and Micah made me the cutest coasters, and they had a great time studying the Bible and singing with their peers into the night.

After we came back home, we rested a day or two, and then Daniel talked us into taking him to his favorite restaurant around here...The Olive Garden! In the middle of dinner, I started feeling kind of queasy, but I did not think much about it. I boxed the rest of my dinner and ordered their impossible-to-pass-up tiramisu and coffee. That did not help my tummy any, either. By the time I got home, I was just miserable with nausea.

That is how I have stayed for the last two days. I am nauseated enough to be uncomfortable, but thankfully, I have not been bowing before the porcelain throne. So far, none of the family had shown any signs of being sick either, but within the last few minutes, Tim went up to lie down. We both have to teach tomorrow, so I am just hoping that we will not be deterred by this summer virus which seems to be going around the community. (Get ready with your buckets, Jen! :)

Thanks to all who have contacted me about my dad. His congestive heart failure has been really bad in the last week. As you know, it is really hard to find people or get things done during a holiday week. Next week, hopefully, they can run some more tests and try to pin down what is causing him to spiral downward. All prayers are appreciated.

Well, that is the update for now. I think I am going to catch a late nap, too and try to get rid of the rest of this virus, if that is what it is. I hear the heat is returning next week, so it looks like maybe things will get back to "normal"--if there is such a thing anymore! :)

Winds of Change

(That's an evil sailorman snatching away the blushing bride to carry her out of Dixie to "Yankee" territory....)

On the 4th of July, 8 years ago....



"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." Deuteronomy 32:11-12


Tonight in Bible study, we will be in Deuteronomy 32. As I was reading over the chapter, I came across the above verses describing God's relationship with the children of Israel. I got goosebumps thinking about the imagery here, because, as you know, I am a big fan of eagles.

The eagle was our high school mascot, and I guess we all thought a little about eagles yesterday (July 4th). I was just thinking about how the eagle could not fly without the wind under her wings, and yet sometimes, the wind conditions must not be at all favorable for flying.

It seems to me that the winds of change are blowing again. I guess what got me thinking on this subject were the events of yesterday, when my dad and I were sitting outside minding the "4th of July meat" on the grill. Dad has been deathly ill, got better for a while, and is having a rough time again. We spent the last 6 days over there, vacationing a little, hanging out in the pool and just being with my father as much as we could. Even though he has been having periods where he is sitting in an air conditioned room with 3 fans blowing on him (and we installed a window unit in the adjoining room to blow in and make it that much cooler,) he is still gasping for air at times. He gets so tired that he falls off to sleep, breathes more shallowly in his sleep, and awakens with a start unable to catch his breath. We sit and helplessly watch.

At any rate, Dad had decided that HE was going to barbecue ribs and tenderloin on the 4th, even though it meant sitting outside near a hot grill in the July heat. Add to that the smoke billowing from the smoker and the grill, and I was just sure he was going to do himself in. Somehow, he managed to sit there (God was good and sent a cold front,) and we rigged an outdoor fan to blow in his face.

He and I were sitting there quietly together, listening to the rest of the crew splash noisily in the backyard pool. The smoke was coming right at our chairs, and I was having a hard time breathing.

"Dad," I said, "you know that people do die from smoke inhalation, right?"

"I'll be o.k.," he replied, as cavalier as ever.

Then, as I sat there watching the smoke, it changed direction and started blowing 180 degrees east, off into the garden.

"Isn't that weird?" I commented as we breathed easier. "I guess that is what they mean by 'winds of change,' huh?"

The winds of change are indeed blowing, I perceive. At least they are in my life. I happily celebrated my 8th wedding anniversary yesterday with family all around. We ate ribs and Mom's marvelous potato salad and Steph's scrumptious squash dressing! We watched the news with one eye as North Korea launched missiles in our direction on our Independence Day. My older boys chatted online with the newly-rediscovered-and-much-appreciated-opposite-sex, while the young ones made anniversary "cake" out of blocks and tinkertoys. I got showered with jewelry, perfume, and dietetic candy by my sweet and doting husband! :)

I'm trying to do better about "being anxious in nothing" and maybe someday I will actually master the concept. But my mind wanders to what it will be like next Independence Day, if the Lord wills we stay here that long. Will the den still be overflowing with the offspring of two people who began their love affair 45 years ago? Will the pool be filled with overgrown sons and son-in-laws wrestling like bear cubs? Will I be holding my new little niece or nephew? Will my big old boys have found TRUE love? Will I go off to sleep wrapped in the arms of my beloved?

I counted my blessings yesterday, as the winds of change blew gently on my back. I thanked God for one more day to live in a free country. I was also thankful that I have a man who is true and honest and strong, and I don't think that anything but death or circumstances beyond our control could separate us. I hugged my husband and my kids and my brothers and my sisters and my parents and my nieces and nephew, and I thought fondly of my other family in far-away places. As we drove off into the night, watching the whole world celebrate our anniversary :) , I was grateful that, for today, the winds are calm and straight out of heaven.

Hot in the Deep South

As noted in my last (and possibly most succinct post ever!) it is hot here in the South right now. April was especially warm, but then we got a break in May. It actually cooled off and rained a bunch. June came back with a vengeance. Now, July is upon us, and I fear for mortal man if it does not cool down a bit. We were promised there would be no more earth-wide floods. I don't think there was anything mentioned about the possibility of us melting.

I don't know if I have just gotten to be a big wimp or what, but I just cannot take the heat like I could when I was a girl of 16 playing softball in all kinds of heat. Wednesday night, I got so hot getting ready for church that my asthma, which I have not had a problem with in years, reared its ugly head. This house of mine is hard to heat and cool to proper temperatures. If one room is comfortable, another is not. We are making progress in the war of the temps, but it has been slow-going.

I heard a great joke the other day. It seems the good Lord was graciously giving audience to a group of scientists who claimed that they had figured this whole "evolution" thing. One scientist said to God, "Yes, we have even figured out how to make man out of the dust of the ground." "Oh, is that so?" replied the Lord. "Show me how you do it." The scientist stooped down and began to pile the dust into a heap. "Ah,ah,ah!" said the Lord. "Go get your own dust!"

I marvel at all the stupid stuff scientists come up with these days, when it would just be so much easier to believe what the Bible says about how things came into being. They act like you do not have to have any kind of faith to believe their theories! To me, it is more of a stretch to believe their wild tales than it is to just take the Bible and believe what it says. Yep, fellows, go get your own amoebae!

Well, the next couple of weeks are going to be "killer!" Kids will be off to camp, Mommy and Daddy (that's us) will be celebrating our 8th anniversary, Tim's going to take a week of vacation, and Daniel will be coming home to determine if he wants to come back to TN and go to school! Squeezed in the middle of all of that will be a few doctor and dental appts., while I have some good babysitters around. In a family of 7, someone is always up for some appointment. I need to have a yard sale in the worst way, but I am afraid I have fooled around and let it get too hot to have one this year. I don't think fall yard sales do as well as spring ones. I may just price it, box it, and wait til the Spring, Lord-willing.

We went in my mom's pool last weekend for the first time this season. Can you believe it was cold? It takes about a month for the pool water to catch up with the season, I think. Anyway, I found it more enjoyable to lounge on the lounge chairs in the shade (away from those cancer-causing rays!) Yes, I am getting old. It will get better as the summer progresses. Of course, we may all melt by then.

Work continues on our new church building. We had to have all the doors taken down and have them put up so that they open outward, for fire codes. Painting is about done, and pretty soon, the call will go out for us all to show up and move the furnishings of one place to another. Thankfully everything only has to move a mile or so down the road. It should not take long. I am ready to be in the new place, where I can have one classroom for one group of kids, instead of two groups meeting in each classroom as we have been. Try keeping 9 kids focused when the adjoining class is singing all the cool little kid songs you get to sing in church.

Well, that is the update for today. Best wishes to my friend Jennifer who has been feeling a little green around the gills in more ways than one! That strep stuff is a booger...in fact, I think I am shutting down before we once again pass a virus through the net! :)

The Heat.....

"Scientists Say Earth Hotter Than it has Been in 2000 Years!"

I say, "Duh! Ya think so?"

Happy Birthday, Sammer!

Oh, how Sam's nurses loved him and hated to let him go after his 18 days in the hospital when he was born!


Newborn Sam, before they shaved off what little hair he had!


Well, another "baby" is legal today! This day, 18 years ago, at 4:53 in the morning, 7 lb. 5 oz. Sam was born into this world. Today, he stands about 6'4" and has not gained a lot of weight since his birth, relatively speaking. I call him my rail!

They are just getting away from me faster than I can stand! Sam is the kind of boy that every parent longs for. He is strong, smart, sensitive, and just plain old good! He has been a joy to me from the time he was a baby up until this very day! I can't remember him having a "hateful" period in his teen years.

Sam has a gift for healing! His hands are magic on a headache, and he has conforted so many who were sick or dying with his special touch. Maybe it is because he had so many healing hands on him the day he was born. I did not know if my little blue baby was going to breathe, but he finally did, and he continues to touch lives.

He drove solo last weekend with his brother to the next town, and sang until curfew with his peers in the Lord. It was a heart-tugging thing to send another little bird on his first "long-distance" solo flight, but he returned to the nest unscathed and jubilant and ready to do it again A.S.A.P.

I don't know why it is so hard for me to let go of my kids and send them off into the world, which is the natural order of things. I guess the more profoundly you love them, the harder it is. Wow! Shouldn't that tell us something about God's love in sending his Son down here?

Happy Birthday, Sammer! We love you!

Father's Day

When I started to write this post, my first inclination was to title it "Happy Father's Day!" Then, I realized that for some, Sunday won't be a very happy day.

For many of us, the day is a joyous one, full of ugly ties and useless homemade ashtrays given by tiny tots to their biggest superheroes. Family gatherings are used to pay tribute to dads, and preparing for the day causes us to reflect on the love of our earthly fathers.

I've heard that a lot of people view God based on how their earthly fathers treated them. That's not really fair to God, because He does not have failings that mortals do. He is perfect in His love and care for us. Unfortunately, some men can mess up the concept of a Heavenly Father for their children. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have a father who lovingly raised us to adulthood should thank God in Heaven every day.

Some have recently lost a father. That will make it hard to get through the day. For others, growing up in a home with a less than perfect or even abusive father makes the day an unpleasant reminder of days past.

We all need to be sensitive to those around us on "holidays" because these made-up days have different meanings for us all. The person sitting next to me in church may have to summon every ounce of strength to just make it through the day with the raw emotions they are feeling. Many of us who grew up "in the church" had the best of the best fathers, and it is out of the realm of our experience to understand, let alone sympathize with, those whose familial experience was more of a nightmare! Many times, we turn up our pious noses at broken families, as though they are not deserving of the Heavenly Father's love and grace.

Let us all help one another to see that our Heavenly Father is so much greater than any man; He will never let us down or hurt us or stop loving us or fail to provide for us, and he will never, never leave us! While our earthly parents deserve our honor, God deserves it so much more...and that is what this Sunday is really about....

Click here to watch 'Youve-Got-a-Friend-in-the-Family'

10 (or thereabouts) Guesses!

Over a year ago, my good friend Jennifer across town prompted me to get into blogging. Yes, she is the one responsible for this rambling, tangled mass (mess) of incoherent thoughts.

We've had a lot of laughs and a few cries out of each other's posts. We have also theorized that it IS indeed possible to pass real viruses (and a few cyber ones, too) through the computer, because no sooner does one of us announce a new plague in our house than the other one's 5 kids come down with the same thing! This has happened more times than we care to count! She can tell you that when I announce a new vomiting virus, she runs for her buckets, because she has only minutes to prepare for the coming onslaught of upchuck.

Having 5 kids each and both being homeschooling moms, on again and off again, we have had a lot in common. It also helps that we share a common faith and a common hope of heaven! You can see why Jennifer is a special friend....(that, and she is one of my two faithful readers!)

Anyway, this week, Jennifer announced that she has some fantablulous news, but she won't share just yet, because apparently, it is not an absolutely done deal, and she doesn't want to jinx it or something. I totally understand the concept, but I am anxious for the reveal!

Jennifer said that as long as we don't know what the news is, that we have the right to keep guessing!

So, without further adieu, and to keep her Haloscan comments box unclogged, I am here posting my new top ten guesses as to what Jennifer's good news is! (Remember, she said it involved phone calls, emails, filling out papers, lots of excitement and a little jumping up and down!)

Possible Sources of Jennifer's Good News!

Guess #1: We all know how hot an issue illegal immigrants are these days. Our town has gotten many immigrants in the past few years. Some are very nice and sweet people, and some are not. I think Jennifer is deeply concerned about how much longer it takes for the average citizen here in Gravyville to get to Wal-Mart now. Trip time has doubled or tripled for some folks because of the impossible traffic situation here in our little overcrowded county. Therefore, Guess #1 is that Jennifer has joined the Border Patrol and is shipping out to go train very soon. Single-handedly, Jennifer will return Gravyville to its former tranquil state, and it will once again be possible to get to Wal-Mart in under 5 minutes!

Guess #2: Al Gore called Jennifer and wants her to join his "Stomp Out G.W. Team!" Jennifer, an avid environmentalist (but a faithful Republican,) is flattered, but is not sure whether the "G.W." stands for Global Warming or George W.! She is withholding her gleeful jumping up and down and her reply until she is sure!

Guess #3: Jennifer got one of those emails from a Nigerian on the Space Station. He assured her that just as soon as she wired him money so that he could pay for a Space Shuttle to come and get him, he would split all of his back astronaut pay with her. Having wired a bajillion dollars to him, Jennifer is waiting for her confirmation email on where she can pick up her funds.

Guess #4: Jennifer has been so proud of her nephew Bryan and his service to our country with the Marines, that she, too, has decided to enlist. She has passed the first several enlistment tests and is now waiting for her guaranteed permanent assignment to Hawaii to be verified before she leaves for boot camp!

Guess #5: Jennifer, an avid Tennessee Titans fan, has agonized over the quarterback struggle between veteran McNair and newcomer Vince Young from Texas. Being the peacemaker that she is, Jennifer has graciously offered to arbitrate the "family feud," and she is awaiting news on whether the Titans take her advice and send McNair to someplace like, say, Baltimore.

Guess #6: Jennifer seemed to rather enjoy her recent travels South to meet blogging buddies she had never met before. Needing a replacement for Carmen Sandiego, PBS has contacted Jennifer with a possible t.v. contract. Jennifer is probably jumping up and down because she is anticipating all the wonderful music she is soon going to be hearing through her cochlear implant from the "too cool" group Rockapella!

Guess #7: Being the consummate eBay shopper, Jennifer has been hand-picked by the executives at eBay to be a guest speaker at eBay Live! this month in Las Vegas. She will ask her good friend D'Lee (moi) to come along, where we will both speak on clothing 5 kids and a hubby on a budget with the tremendous deals off of eBay!

Guess #8: Paula Dean, wanting some time off, has contacted Jennifer about guest-hosting her show on that cooking channel for a while. Jennifer, with her Grandma's sumptuous recipe's in hand, did not have to be asked twice!

Guess #9: Fisher-Paykel, being envious of all those great Maytag commercials with the bored repairman, has contacted Jennifer about being their new spokeswoman. (For those of you who don't know what a Fisher-Paykel (pronounced like Michael) washer is like, just trot on over to Jennifer's to see one of these babies in action!) Jennifer is quite excited about the possibility of a new t.v. career, as an even more-bored Fischer-Paykel repairlady!

And finally, Guess #10: Since my recent blog on the missing "Nun Bun," Jennifer has been tracking down every lead on our missing Nashville icon. I believe that she may have found the lost "Immaculate Confection" and is just waiting on confirmation that the kidnappers have been taken into custody so that she can go get the infamous treasure and bring the Bun home to Tennessee where it belongs!

So tell me, Jennifer, am I close? :) Maybe you can post the answer to this mystery so that we can all quit this speculating and jump up and down with you!

So, Do You Have Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia?

My husband accuses me all the time of using words that he thinks I make up. 99.99% of the time, I am just using a word that he never heard when he was skipping most of his high school classes. I have to admit, though, I would never be able to spell this one, let alone tell you what it meant.

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

It is defined as the fear of the number 6-6-6.

06-06-06!!!! That's today!!!! (O.k., honey, if you are reading this, you can start shaking now.)

I can hardly wait to see what "lovely things" happen in the world today. I think there are a few towns that are pushing the envelope with The Almighty if you ask me.

Over here, today's "rapture index" is 157, meaning that it is "fasten your seat belts" time. Well, I am not a Premillinealist, but I do await the return of Christ, and at the rate this old world and its occupants' morality is deteriorating, I would not be surprised to see Him in the clouds any day now, though Jesus Himself said He does not know when that will be....


And there are still people who ask me why I homeschool?

So, I thought in keeping with the six theme today, I would give you six things I WON'T be doing today!

1. I won't be going to see "The Omen."
2. I won't be visiting the nurseries of area hospitals to see if any of the sweet little ones are born with the mark of the beast.
3. I won't be freaking out if my groceries, McDonald's Value Meal, or any other purchase totals $6.66 today.
4. I won't be a bit surprised if California breaks off and falls into the ocean, or worse, after the church of Satan "celebrates" a satanic high mass tonight. (How low can you go?)
5. I won't be buying any books that come out today or attending any heavy metal concerts of groups starting their tours today.
6. Come to think of it, I don't think I will be going out in public if I can help it today, because I am too afraid that somebody is going to get struck by lightning out of the clear blue sky, and I don't want to be anywhere around!

Finally, (and remember this is very tongue-in-cheek) if you can have a sense of humor about all this rot, check out someone's sense of humor:

A Collection of Numbers of the Beast


666 Number of the beast
668 Neighbor of the beast
660 Approximate number of the beast
DCLXVI Roman numeral of the beast
666.0000 Number of the high-precision beast
0.666 Number of the millibeast
1/666 Common denominator of the beast
666[-/(-1)] Imaginary number of the beast
1010011010 Binary number of the beast
29A Hexidecimal number of the beast
-666 Negative number of the beast
00666 Zip code of the beast
$665.95 Retail price of the beast
$699.25 Price of the beast plus 5% state sales tax
$769.95 Price of the beast with all accessories and replacements
$656.66 Wal-Mart price of the beast
$646.66 Next week's Wal-Mart price of the beast
$333.00 After-Christmas sale price of the beast
$222.00 Going-out of business liquidation price of the beast
Phillips 666 Gasoline of the beast
Route 666 Way of the beast
665 Older brother of the beast
667 Younger brother of the beast
666 UP Soft drink of the beast
666lb cap Weight limit of the beast
666 F Oven temperature for cooking roast "beast"
666k Retirement plan of the beast
666 mg Recommended minimum daily requirement of the beast
6.66% 5-year CD rate at First Beast of Hell, $666 minimum deposit
20/666 Vision of the beast
1-800-666-6666 Toll-free number of the beast
999 Australian number of the beast
6"X 6"X 6" Lumber of the beast
66.6 GHZ Computer processor of the beast
666i BMW of the beast
666-66-6666 Social security number of the beast
6/6/66 Birth date of the beast
666.AC.com URL of the beast
IAM 666 License plate number of the beast
Formula 666 All-purpose cleaner of the beast
666 calories Diet of the beast
969 Dyslexic number of the beast
WD-666 Spray lubricant of the beast
66.6 MHz FM radio station of the beast
666 KHz AM radio station of the beast
Chanel No. 666 The beast's favorite perfume
666% What the beast gives in his game



Have a good day, and try to stay away from lightning, earthquakes, Armegeddon and such! :)

Update on My Top 10 List

Recently, I told my two wonderful readers about the things I have been doing and praying about lately. When I first started blogging, it seems I had more time to detail what was happening on a more frequent basis. Life changes, and people do, too. I evolve all the time as a wife and mother. One thing I like about reading inspiring blogs is that it challenges you to be a better person, constantly reminding you of things you need to do or do better.

I have found that blogs are like a box of chocolates, to borrow from a famous quotation. There are all kinds, because there are all kinds of people. Like some news stories that I just cannot bring myself to read, because of the usually depressing, gory or just plain wicked content, there are some blogs that I have come across that I cannot finish. However, there are a lot of inspiring ones out there as well, and I love the way that they tie in Bible verses and concepts with the theme of the day.

Having said that, I have to remember to always get a good balance of daily Bible reading, for there lies real truth and real answers to life's questions and challenges. No blog can substitute for the Word of God. Between studying the Bible and raising my children and training them, trying to be a good wife and daughter and sister, and attempting the impossible task of keeping a reasonably clean house (which I have decided is just going to be impossible until Hurricane Hannah gets a little age on her)and trying to find a little time to eBay and the like, there just is not much time for writing these days.

Anyway, I am very happy to report that my dad is doing remarkably better! So many people were praying for him, and he got cards from all over the land from people who cared and prayed. He still cannot exert, but his sense of humor has survived, along with his appetite, so I think he has had a reprieve for a while, and for that I am tremendously grateful.

My sister-in-law, Brooke, had a little twenty-four hour period of shock, when the doctor told her that she might be carrying twins! Poor little tiny size 2?? Brooke just about lost it. However, a subsequent ultrasound on stronger equipment revealed that it looks more like one (unless one is hiding!) She is at the "peanut" stage, when baby looks like a little peanut! I remember Daniel looking like that once! Those of you who know him now probably can't believe he was ever the size of a peanut, huh? :) I'm not sure we have a due date yet, but I will keep you posted!
Auntie D'Lee wants a little red-headed girl, but parents want a little boy! I think we will all be happy with any baby we get!

We are almost finished with this round of homeschooling, but I think we are going to continue to work through the summer with some fun projects to keep us in the swing of things. I think it is important for the kids to read during the summer, more than they have time to in the school year. I have several of the classics planned for them. Since I "majored" in English, I have my favorites that I want to share with them. Taking into account their interests, I think they will enjoy some of these books very much.

Sarah is reading every thing she can get her hands on. She requested that I order her a copy of "Through the Looking Glass" which I did, and she has been reading some of that. I think it is a little over her head, seeing that she is in kindergarten, but if she wants to read, I don't want to discourage her.

Writing is coming harder for her. It did for me, too. She is an artist, so I thought she would pick up on it faster. She can write anything she wants to, but she is still using a mix of capital and lower-case letters. I guess we will have to work all the harder on that next year. She is a lefty, and it feels really funny trying to teach her to write. I may have to cart her over to my father, who is the only living lefty (besides German resident brother Don) who could help her.

Micah wants me to take teacher's prerogative and skip him a grade! He has been doing a curriculum that is a year ahead of where he is, but I don't know if his maturity level dictates that to be a good move. We have plenty of time to decide that a little later.

My Sam is nearly through. I cannot believe I will have another little eaglet flying the coop soon. He is trying to decide what career path he would like to prepare for, and I don't envy him, as that is one of life's toughest decisions. Sam is a scrapper, though, and I know he will succeed at whatever he sets his mind to do.

Speaking of eaglets, the oldest is loving his life in Kentucky. He feels like he finally has found the peer group he never had here. There's quite a "fraternity" of Christians there who do everything together and share everything from car rides to food to advice with one another. Two particular housefuls of boys hang out all the time, eat together, date in groups (which Mom heartily approves of) and frequent lots of churches in the area when they are holding special lectures and meetings. There just really isn't time for him to do all there is to do. The church leaders where he attends provide numerous opportunities for the young people to have Bible studies, singings, and social events, and he gets frustrated because he would love to be at them all but can't, if he ever wants to get any sleep. He still is plugging along as a barista at Starbucks and is very happy that his benefits finally kicked in. I feel better knowing that if he gets sick, he can now afford a doctor!

Speaking of doctors, I had to go see one last Friday. I just felt awful. I still don't feel great, even though I have been through a Z-pac now. I hope it keeps working like they say it will. I really prefer good ol' penicillin to the other antibiotics, but the doctors will hardly give it anymore. I don't know what this is, but I woke up at 3:30 a.m. with a 101 degree fever. This---after 5 days of antibiotics. If I did not know better, I would think that I had mono. But I had that in college, and I have been told you don't get it again. I am beginning to wonder. I have read of so many people who have been getting it lately....

Well, that is the update. I have one more piece of cute news, but I will share that and pictures in the next post!

The Power of One

I meditate a lot during my days. No, I don't sit in funny positions and hum while I do it. Many times, I am meditating as I go through my daily chores. My children hate it, because, to them, I am quiet a lot of times, but my thoughts are keeping me well-entertained!

Today's meditation was focused on the power of just one person. I know that is not a new concept, but I have never read a book or seen a movie by that title, so my thoughts are original with me. I think one time, one of the armed forces had some kind of campaign going about "an Army of One," and I thought at the time that it was an entirely stupid advertising ploy. Can you see some private telling his sergeant that he's going to sleep in a little today, because, after all, he is an army of one? I don't think so.

However, I do believe that there is a time when the power of one is an incredible force.

My thoughts were focused on someone today, and I was thinking about how the actions of one person can impact so many people in unimaginable ways. The person I was thinking about has no earthly idea how one act, one decision, affected scores of lives in both positive and negative ways, and actually, the effects continue even now. This is the "ripple effect" in action. Drop one pebble in the water and watch the ripples go out from the spot where the pebble was dropped. A pond can be disturbed from one shore to the other with a big enough rock!

That being said, how much does it behoove me to carefully consider the repercussions of all I say and do? Chances are, I will never even see most of what comes from my own words and actions. It will play out in so many different theaters of life that I could not possibly ever see all the "shows."

One little boy....2000 years ago....5000 hungry people....5 loaves, 2 fishes and Jesus. Jesus took the lunch of one little boy and impacted over 5000 peoples' lives that day.

My daily life....a card mailed, a phone call made, an email sent....words spoken to my husband and children, to a stranger in the grocery store, to 8,9, and 10 year-olds in Bible class....things done and left undone....every decision I make in a day's time to say something or not say it, to do something or not do it....all these things will impact someone in days or years to come.

That's heavy!

Take the most insignificant "job" in the world (in man's eyes) and tell yourself that doing it won't change anyone's life. You will be wrong. You will change the course of someone's life either for good or for bad. Many mothers hate their job because they think that wiping noses and bottoms all day long couldn't possibly be the least bit important in the grand scheme of things. That's fallacious and dangerous logic.

Sometimes, the decisions we make yield fruit quickly or in our line of vision. If only he had not decided to take that trip to town today, he wouldn't have been in the car crash....If only she had not married that louse, her life surely would have been easier....If only he had decided to be a doctor instead of an airplane pilot....and on and on it goes.

What is not easy to see are the actions that we take today that do not have immediate results or results that take place out of our hearing and seeing. Many times, we never know how some of our actions changed lives until many, many years later, when it is too late to undo what we foolishly or unknowingly did.

The power of one is more awesome than we believe it to be. As Aristotle said, "What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do." To do, or not to do----that seems to be the relevant question!

Because Sometimes You Just Need to Smile!

Today was one of those days when nearly everything I looked at made me smile! Those days are sometimes few and far between in an era when we have a lot of images that are put before us that we had just really rather not see. I am always refreshed by the great pictures my friends send my way, as well as those provided by my ever-comical family!


The first image that made me smile was this one! This is my sister-in-law Steph (short for Stephanie) and she was going to do her "surprise" face with my niece, Kelsey some years ago at Christmas as we opened packages. However, Kelsey faked her out, and Steph ended up making funny faces all by herself! :)



Today is Steph's birthday (all at once now: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPH!) She is a wonderful wife to my brother ("Parson" Dan) and a great mother to her three kids, Kelsey, Ben, and Lauren! She is also a super daughter-in-law to my parents and a loving and caring sister-in-law/aunt to my family! Steph is a peacemaker, soft-spoken, and very godly in the way she lives her life before others. Being a preacher's wife is never easy, but she handles the pressures gracefully and prayerfully! She wears many, many hats, and she makes us all very proud! I should note that she doesn't always have the Surprise Face! Sometimes, she looks like this:










In other news, My crazy brother Doug sent me some great email today. I don't know if you have seen these pictures, but I thought they were adorable.

Apparently, this tigress was born in captivity, and she was nursed for four months by a pig. She evidently developed quite an attachment to her surrogate mother, because now, she does not mind playing with little piglets. The pictures are pretty self-explanatory. They are all in a Thai zoo, according to the email, but be aware that I did not check out the story. I am content to take the sweet images at face value, because they, too, made me smile today.












































































(The last one reminds me of myself in bed at night, when all the kiddies pile in.... :)

And finally, here is a news story that made me smile....

I am sure you have all been following the case of the missing Nun Bun, right here in my own back yard! The Nun Bun turned up in a coffee shop in Nashville several years ago, when a man, starting to eat his morning pastry, noticed that it looked like Mother Teresa. After several patrons confirmed the man's thoughts that his cinnamon bun looked just like the famous nun, the bun was shellacked and put into a case at the restaurant, where many made the pilgrimage to see the resemblance for themselves. Sadly, a "crummy" thing (sorry, could not resist the pun on the bun) happened on Christmas Day, 2005. Someone broke into the Bongo Java coffee shop and stole the Nun Bun!

By now, the owners had pretty much given the bun up for lost. The Nashville Police Department wrote up the theft report, giving the bun a value of $25. All of us who eBay know that she is worth so much more. (A partially-eaten grilled cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary went on eBay for $28,000 last year! Just imagine what an untouched cinnamon bun could fetch!) Now, someone has begun sending pictures to the local Nashville paper claiming to have the "Immaculate Confection" and photographing it with religious statues around the nation. With a complete lack of shame, the would-be ransomers are taunting the owners of the Bongo Java, who claim to have no interest in making money off the icon. Who would dare to fence such a "hot" item on eBay or in another visible market? (Sorry, again!)

For the full story, read here: You be the judge! Do you think the bun looks like her or not?



So that's it for today. I hope you have smiled a little, too. And please keep an eye out for our pastry-gone-missing! It needs to come home!

Since Mother's Day took a backseat to an ailing Dad....

My mother is one of the most gracious women I have ever known. Of course, she gets a lot of that from her own dear mother and grandmother, reportedly two of the sweetest women to ever grace the earth with their presence. While none of the three was/is sinless, they have always provided their children with wonderful examples of how a lady should act, live, and treat her children.

When my mother's time on earth is done, an image I will probably always carry with me in my mind is the picture of her smile. She has a wonderful laugh. It translates well over the phone, too, where we sometimes laugh until we cry. We did that just today. Those times are the best! A mother's smile can brighten the dreariest of days, whether you are 3 or 43.

This year, Mother's Day got shoved to the side because my dad was very sick. There was no real pomp and circumstance to mark Mother's Day---just a brief opening of the Mother's Day goody bags and cards for her and for me from our children. She still cooked dinner; she still cleaned up the dishes. There was no moping that we couldn't be taken out to dinner--only gratitude that Dad woke up another day. "He surely took good care of me last year when I was so sick," she remembered as we put up dishes. Now, it's her turn to try and nurse him back. That's what people who love each other do best!

If my parents did not get one more day on earth, I will feel good that they have had a couple of "retirement years" to spend together. The early years were not like that. Dad was a Highway Patrolman, working over 70 hours a week for no more pay than if he had worked 40 hours. Mom spent over 40 years as a cytotechnologist (many of those years at home in a "home laboratory" so she could be with us children,) diagnosing pap smears and biopsies, etc. Dad spent the last 12 years of his working life separated many nights from Mom, bringing in the dearly departed loved ones of others to the local funeral home at all hours of the day and night, working days on end sometimes without a break. Mom was always courageous and gracious, whatever trials came. They worked hard, and I am happy they have a few years now to enjoy the fruit of their labors on this earth, and to sleep and awaken together!

Mom and Dad on their 45th anniversary this year

So, better late than never, here's to a true lady--my heroine--my role model--my best friend--my Mom!

This poem reflects how she lived, and now, I proudly follow her example:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there,
Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows, little smudges on the door;
I should apologize I guess for toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read,
And if the windows do not shine, their eyes will shine instead.
And when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other,
I want to be a housewife, but first I'll be a mother.

--author unknown

On my wedding day...with 3 of my favorite "mothers"--my Aunt Marty, Mom, and my Aunt Fran

Late Sunday Update!

Well, it has been an interesting weekend! No boredom here! :) I've had one of those weekends where I have had an interesting mix of good news and bad news. The good has been really good, and the bad has been pretty sad and yucky.

Here's the good news:

1. Dad is better! THANK YOU to all you sweet Christians who have been praying for him. It's working! Don't stop now! We have a ways to go, but he made it out to both church services today and to a potluck out at my brother's house later! That is a huge step in the right direction! We think that he was once again taking a medicine which was conflicting with something in his internal make-up and exacerbating the congestive heart failure. I am going to go over there myself and throw away all the offending meds so that he cannot take them again. He switched himself (not usually recommended, but necessary in this case due to a hard-headed doctor) back to his old blood pressure medicine, and he started getting better. He really had me worried there for a couple of weeks. I pray we are on a upward road now!

2. Two precious souls were saved this weekend in the gospel meeting at the Marcella Falls church where Mom and Dad and two of my brothers attend. My brother the preacher, affectionately referred to in this family as "Parson Dan," was so moved on Friday evening by the response of one lady that he reportedly was blubbering in the baptistry! A big ole strapping country boy, Dan was fortunate enough to be able to baptize the 7-month pregnant lady without incident. My other brother, Doug, (who has been mistaken for Dan's twin, even though Doug is seven years the elder) quipped that it surely is rough to see an overgrown man cry! My truly-twin brothers Don and Drew were not able to be present. Don is currently in from Germany but ailing with a nasty flu-like virus, and Drew has been off in Mexico or somewhere celebrating his first anniversary and impending fatherhood which is expected around December or January!

3. Did I mention that I am going to be an aunt again? Brooke will give us a likely-red-headed little darling at the end of the year, Lord-willing. I'm betting on a boy at this point, as she hasn't been as sick as I think you get with girls.

4. We are seeing the end of a long run in an overcrowded church building within a week or two now. With lots of elbow grease, we should be out of the old and in the new by the first of June.

5. The new car is getting reasonably good gas mileage. A fill-up is half of what it used to be and lasts about twice as long. Too bad the family vehicle does not get the same mileage.

The bad news----

1. Word came today that Mrs. Agnes passed away. She was the lady who moved into my grandmother's house when they sold it at auction. She looked so much like my grandmother, and her husband looked so much like my granddaddy that it was scary. They took over the grandparents' tire business as well, and held it until my brothers Doug and Dan redeemed it a few years ago. Ironically, Mrs. Agnes died at the same age my dear grandmother died---83!

2. Our friend Mark lost his uncle in a fiery car crash in AR yesterday. The uncle had survived cancer, but he did not survive a collision with an 18-wheeler. I'm sad for the family, and we pray for them and send them love.

3. My air conditioner died. It was an expected death, but we were hoping it would make it a few more months. It knew we just got a new car payment. It wanted to be sure our lives were never boring or without challenge.

4. It just keeps raining and storming here. Is anyone else in the whole country having wacky weather? I had nine 2nd-4th graders huddled under chairs in a 8' x 8' swatch of classroom this morning at church while hail hit the windows. Children still reeling from the tornado/hail storms of April were clinging to me or underneath their chairs, while I wondered if my husband and two sons out in the portables would be flying off like Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz!" Fortunately, the hail never got too big, and all was well!

5. There is a minor stomach virus/disruption going around. I had it Wednesday, Tim had it Saturday, and it looks like Micah may be the next victim. Thankfully, no one has tossed any cookies or any other stomach contents yet, for that matter. It just hurts!

Well, that is the update for now, for all you two readers. Hope you have a wonderful week! And don't forget to keep praying!

Homeschooling

(available at http://www.homeschool.com/store/)

I know when it first occurred to me that I wanted to homeschool my children. It was right after 9/11 that it seemed like a lot of things were changed forever. Someone has said that those terrorists took away America's innocence; I know they took away any security I had!

Like the mother hen, I wanted to gather my chicks under my wings. Sadly, it is not a whole lot safer under there in reality, but for kids, the feeling of security is quite important, and I felt I had to do all I could to make it so. The tragedies of Columbine and Oklahoma City were still fresh wounds for the country at that time. In our small part of the cosmos, a drunken, abusive bus driver, incompetent teachers, and distraught children provided the final impetus to become a homeschooling family.

Our homeschooling has been "on-again, off-again," affected by circumstances, not choice. When I nearly died from complications after my fifth child was born, we had to put the kids into a private school for a time. When that was no longer expedient, they came home again, hopefully for the last time. When God says "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" and (regarding His Word) "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up...." I take Him seriously. I want to be an instrument in the Great Potter's hands, molding these little hearts.

I guess there will always be debate about the pros and cons of home education. I get asked often why I am homeschooling. In the end, each family must come to terms with what is best for the children of that family. It is as personal and private a topic as how many children a couple decide to have. No one should have the right to tell you how many kids to have or how to raise them and educate them, unless, of course, you have forfeited your rights due to abusive or irresponsible parenting. However, each parent must realize that some day, he or she will have to account for the decisions he/she made.

I think that some things are different now than they were even when I was a young girl in school, and barely one generation has passed since then! I believe that television and the internet have been two of the greatest factors in changing how we raise our children. Many parents are beginning to realize that if children are left to have all the time they want watching whatever they want on t.v., behaviors will come about in the children that are difficult or impossible to counter with any amount of teaching or hauling them to church services.

Additionally, churches have changed so much over the past few years that more of them resemble social clubs than they do a body of religious believers. We cannot expect the church to do the job with which we have been entrusted, anyway. More of us must get it in our heads that we cannot surrender that job to anyone or any organization.

Secondly, the internet has changed the way people live, and the fruit of unrestrained access is now beginning to be harvested by many a stunned and saddened parent. It is nearly impossible to hear a newscast without there being a story about someone who has been captured in an internet sting in some illicit online activity. Both adults and children have become addicted to the dark side of something that has so many wonderful uses otherwise. Yet, even with all the warnings, some parents bury their heads in the sand and pretend that their child will not become a statistic.

There is one more thing which I am not really sure about in terms of whether it is a new thing or something that has always been problematic. That would be the lack of love and communication between parents and children. We all know about "generation gaps" and times in our kids' lives where they are less likely to have meaningful conversations with us. What I am seeing, though, are families where the parents and the children rarely ever talk to one another, period! Meals are eaten on the run, and there is rarely any time to ever sit down and really talk with one another, much less share the deepest thoughts of the heart. In other families, communication is good between the parents and some of the kids, and others of the children seem like they are invisible to the parents. They somehow manage to grow up, raising themselves in effect, with no real encouragement or support from the parents.

I knew a family once where the mother and father were socialites, rarely home at all when the children were awake. The kids had everything they needed for a comfortable life---except available parents. I felt so sorry for those kids. They spent more time with sitters than they did with the man and woman who very much wanted them in the beginning. I should know; I was one of the sitters! To me, these parents sold out! They made a commitment when they created these kids, and they bought their way out of the contract about half-way through the child-rearing process. Neither of these kids have ever married or started a family. I guess they don't know where to begin.

I know why I homeschool my kids. I want them to have the best shot at heaven that they can possibly have. That is the bottom line for me. No one, not teachers or peers at public schools, or babysitters, or even my extended family members should have a greater influence on my kids than I do. Contrary to popular belief, it does NOT take a village. It takes a parent. My children are my responsibility--the greatest trust that God puts with me. Each soul gets roughly 18 years of shaping, and I had better use those years wisely, as I have already seen how fast that time passes. If we allow our kids to have more time with these people of the world than they have with their parents during the formative years, should we be surprised when they turn out just like those who really "raised" them?

Yesterday was Wednesday, and we attend mid-week Bible study on Wed. nights each week. I was feeling really yucky. I had a headache, my face hurt where I had stitches last week, and my knee had gone out on me, making it hard to go up and down the stairs. I was debating whether or not I would get out and go to church. About noon, my oldest homeschooler came to me, knowing that I was feeling poorly. He asked, "What do the girls need to wear to church tonight? Do you need something washed or pressed for them?" I did not tell him that I was thinking about not going. About 3 p.m., he started moving his younger siblings toward eating something and bathing and finding all their clothes. I never said one word to him about needing to do any of this. I thought to myself, if he can do all this now, automatically, without having to be prompted, what are the chances he will get himself dressed and to services when he is out on his on? I think the answer is that there is a pretty good chance that he will be able to make good decisions when I am not watching. As for me, I figured that if he could do all the hard stuff without even having to be asked, the least I could do was to dress myself and reciprocate the encouragement this 17-year-old had given me on this day!

Some 25 years ago, I had a first class education! By the grace of God, I attended one of the finest private schools in my state in its day! I have no doubt that I could have stepped onto "Jeopardy" straight out of high school and aced every category--even Bible! I attended over 2 years of college (which was a breeze after high school,) and got married. I have taken more classes along the way! Do you know how much I remember of all that I learned? I don't think I have retained enough to even beat my brothers at Trivial Pursuit! What I have retained are the important things. I still believe in character and honor and patriotism. I still love and respect my elders. God still comes above all else in my life.

I don't know that my children will get the same education I got. I am not sure that it matters. After all, "it's all going to burn up some day." As long as God gives me the ability to breathe and think, I will be plugging along here in my little home school, trying to instill the truly important things in the hearts of my kids.

Someone wrote this about home schooling. I thought it was a good way to end this entry:

Though I teach my children how to multiply, divide, and diagram a sentence, but fail to show them love, I have taught them nothing.

And though I take them on numerous field trips, to swim practice and flute lessons; and though I involve them in every church activity, but fail to give them love, I profit nothing.

And though I scrub my house relentlessly, run countless errands, and serve three nutritious meals every day but fail to be an example of love, I have done nothing.

Love is patient with misspelled words and is kind to young interrupters.

Love does not envy the high SAT scores of other homeschool families.

Love does not claim to have better teaching methods than anyone else, is not rude to the fourth telephone caller during a science lesson, does not seek perfectly behaved geniuses, does not turn into a drill sergeant, thinks no evil about friends' educational choices.

Love bears all my children's challenges, believes all my children are God's precious gifts, hopes all my children establish permanent relationships with Christ, and endures all things to demonstrate God's love.

Love never fails. Where there are college degrees, they will fail; where there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we teach in part. But when the trials of life come to our children, the history, math, and science will be done away and faith, hope, and love will remain; but the greatest of these is love.

----author unknown

Roles

It never ceases to amaze me that, as I get older, my hat collection is growing. No, I am not talking about physical head coverings. I am reflecting on the different roles I have and how they seem to keep multiplying.

Today was supposed to be about Mothers, I suppose. It is funny how events can cause you to change your hat faster than you would change it yourself, if only you were in control. I had a great Mother's Day. My crew was so sweet and had the appropriate cards and gifts ready to brighten my day. However, on this Sunday, I ended up being much more focused on being a daughter than being a mother, and that was a good thing.

When one of your own is hurting, I think you put on the most relevant hat and run to do what you can. I can only speak from the perspective of a woman, but I know that there are times when I wish I could be better at wearing a lot of hats at the same time. I am just not that great at multi-tasking.

When I say "one of your own," I don't just mean children. I think it goes for any group to which you belong. If you are a member of the military, you are taught to never leave anyone behind. There is not much difference in that philosophy in your church, your home, or anywhere you have living, breathing beings depending at least in part upon you.

Today, my dad continued to struggle with this congestive heart failure problem that has been plaguing him for several weeks now. He was determined to make it to church this morning, and by the hardest, he did. As his doting daughter and the eldest child, I was not sure that it was the smartest thing for him to attempt 2 hours of sitting on a hard pew when he can barely tolerate a few minutes in a Lazyboy with 3 fans blowing air in his face. By sheer will and with great determination, he dressed himself as impeccably as ever and let my little brother who is in from Germany drive him and Mom to services. My crew followed in the next vehicle. Then, with equal fight, he did not walk to the handicap entrance but rather climbed the steep wall of steps that provide the main entrance into the century-old church building.

I remembered that climb from a couple of years ago when fluid overtook my lungs after the birth of my fifth baby. It is not a climb for sissies. It has intimidated more than one weary worshipper. But the bliss on the other side of the doors makes the climb worth every labored breath.

At the front of the building in this little remote country church, brother Gerald took his place to lead us in the singing. Gerald isn't well either, but he never lets that hold him back. He admonished us not to worry what our singing sounded like to men but rather to enthusiastically sing praises to God. With those brief comments, he threw himself into the song service. Brother Gerald leads with his whole body, not just his arm. I honestly did not know if God would end up taking both Gerald and Dad right there, but I think that if He had, we would have all rejoiced that they went like that! What a way to go that would be!

When brother Gerald leads "There is Power in the Blood," (and he did!) no worshipper can leave there doubting otherwise! A few times, I thought he would fall down before he finished all the verses of some of the songs, but he did not falter.

Dad (left) and brother Gerald, when breathing came a lot easier to both of them

My other brother, the preacher, spoke eloquently about prayer and reminded us to continue in it more fervently and not to forget the thanksgiving part of it that is mentioned in so many of the verses that tell us how to pray. It was a very appropriate lesson for those of us who have been beseeching the Lord on Dad's behalf.

Then, brother George, a relatively new Christian, got up and presided at the table for the memorial of the Lord's Supper. He spoke a few words, simple and unrehearsed and so typical of one who is not immersed in years of ritualism. He shed some genuine tears and helped us to remember the One who died to give us life and hope beyond this world.

If I had any doubts about it being good for Dad to be there, they were long gone by the end of worship today.

It is hard to be anything but a mother sometimes. Being a mother often keeps me from having the time with my husband that I would like. It consumes me to the point that I have to remind myself constantly that I am a Daughter, too. I am a Daughter of the King, and I am blessed in ways that I do not fully comprehend. I understand being a daughter, mostly! I am a pretty good daughter, I think. I have lots of room to grow in being a Daughter, though, if you understand where I am coming from. I am one blessed girl to have the earthly father that I have, but I am blessed beyond words to belong to the Heavenly Father.

Yesterday, I stood in the graveyard putting flowers on my grandmother's grave. I miss her so much, and I find myself trying to convey to my kids that they need to absorb every minute of precious time with everyone cherished in their lives. My words fall on deaf ears. As Jesus said, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." They are not ready to hear it yet. They are at the age where they think everyone lives forever, including themselves. I know that by the time they are my age, if they live that long, mortality will begin to sink in a little for them, too.

I wonder how much we are like that to God. How much of what He says are we just not ready to hear yet? Which hat do we have pulled down over our ears? I hope I am a good wife, mother, friend, and servant to others, etc., but most of all, I hope I am a good Daughter, because I surely don't want to disappoint my Father.