Susan at High Desert Home is writing a wonderfully thought provoking series, perfect for those of you contemplating the wherefores of  the homeschooling adventure. I found her thoughts affirming, charming, and right on. An Inspiring Home For Learning, the first of ten posts. It just beckons you over, doesn’t it?

Once you get there, follow the links in Susan’s sidebar to read all the entries. She’s over halfway through, and I couldn’t not share it with you all. Let me know what you think.

“You may find it hard to believe that God could make everything out of nothing, but the alternative is that nothing turned itself into everything. Which takes more faith to believe?”

I took the above quote out of the highly believable and thought-provoking book I’m currently reading: One Heartbeat Away, Your Journey Into Eternity by Mark Cahill. Though this book is not solely about Evolution, it is about finding answers. Cahill does an excellent job countering arguments for the culture’s most common complaints about God and the Bible. Consider a visit to his website, get a copy of his book(s) and get to reading/witnessing! His enthusiasm and compassion for God and the lost is contagious…

A few more quotes taken from One Heartbeat Away:

“You will never hear of a tornado ripping through a junk yard and leaving a fully formed 747 jet, a Mercedes, and a skyscraper in its wake. Why? Blind chance cannot do that.” p. 23

“If you placed all the pieces of a watch into a shoe box and shook it for ten minutes, do you believe it would shake into a functioning watch? Of course not. What if you shook it for a year?” Would a functioning box then come out of the box? Say you were able to shake it for five billion years; would you then have a functioning watch? There is no possible way for that to happen.

And if it couldn’t happen by chance to something relatively simple like a watch, it most certainly couldn’t happen by chance to our magnificently complex universe.” p. 23

It amazes me what the evolutionary theory proposes about birds for instance. Take this on macroevolution from Wikipedia:

“An example of macro evolution is the appearance of feathers during the evolution of birds from one group of dinosaurs.”

This has always astounded me, the claim that birds evolved from dinosaurs. That reptilian scales evolved into feathers. Are there records of fossil scales that even partially resemble a feather? Not to mention that my girls and I recently revisited information from our science textbook showing that birds have four chambers in their hearts, while reptiles have only three. That’s quite a feat. What are the scientific odds?

If the fossil record is where the major evidence supporting evolution lies, then forget about “one missing link”–there must be thousands of missing links. Shouldn’t there be fossils galore of species in transition on their way to becoming new species? I’m not a scientist, but to my way of thinking, if this earth is billions of years old, then there should be millions of creature fossils that are halfway evolved. Part-bird, part-reptile, etc. Where are they?

Mark Cahill explains God’s design as seen in nature so eloquently,

“Every time we look at something built by man–a house for example–we know it had a builder, someone who assembled it. When we see something that has design, like a watch, we know it had a designer who planned it. When we see artwork, like a painting, we know there is an artist who painted it. When we observe order–say twenty Coke cups lined up in a row–we know there was an ‘orderer’ who set them up that way. When we look around the universe at things not made by man, what do we see? We see creation, design, art, and order. So if everything man-made has a Creator, designer, artist, and orderer behind it, why would we not think that there is a Creator, designer, artist, and orderer behind the universe?” pgs. 15-16

Cahill proceeds to tell of a street conversation he had with a self-proclaimed atheist, in which he asked the man to prove that a nearby skyscraper had a builder.

“The man answered, ‘That’s easy. The building itself is proof that there is a builder.’

He was 100 percent correct. We know that you don’t just gather some concrete, pipes, windows, paint, wires, etc., then turn around and look back to suddenly find a building. A building requires a builder.

I said, ‘Exactly. The building requires a builder.’ I then added, ‘The sun, the moon, the stars, the oceans, the sand, each unique snowflake, the three billion pieces of your DNA that are different from mine, are absolute proof that there had to be a Creator of this universe.’”

A few sentences later he continued,

“Just because you can’t see, touch, taste, smell or hear the builder of a skyscraper doesn’t mean that such a person doesn’t exist. You don’t need any amazing faith to believe there was a builder of a building you can see; you just need to look at the evidence and make an informed decision. And the best piece of evidence is the work that builder left behind.” p. 18

One Heartbeat Away is a resource we all need to own. If you visit Mark Cahill’s website, you’ll see his heart for God even extends to making this resource available for free to those who can’t afford it. That speaks volumes to me about his motivation for the lost. For more about his books and discs–this book is available as an MP3 Audio Book CD as well–visit http://www.markcahill.org.

And remember, Evolution isn’t the basis of this book, it’s just the topic I zeroed in on for this blog post. Mark also covers:

• New Age issues, among other religious beliefs
• How historical, archaeological, and scientific evidence supports the Bible
• Testimonies of people who have seen Heaven and Hell
• How the Ten Commandments are necessary and for our benefit
• The expensive cost of sin, and how we are all guilty
• Why Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that pays for our sin once and for all
• The how-to’s and importance of repentance, belief, commitment, and evangelism
• What God says about you as a Christian
• How to let your light shine for Him

Please pass the word along, and be encouraged!

Printed with permission from Mark Cahill

That’s the title of my post today at Writer…Interrupted. Here’s a hint, real life is full of real interruptions. The beauty of it is, they are very educational…for the most part!

Here’s another gem of a quote:

“Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them.” ~William Arthur Ward

Whether it’s a cross-country move, a family crisis, or a child facing a road block in the learning process…we’ve all had these “this too shall pass” times. I’d love to hear of your personal experiences in comments!

Sickness is a good thing. For ten days now, I’ve been on an escalating ride, experiencing the various symptoms of the cold/flu virus. You know what I miss the most about being healthy? Everything!

My voice especially. I’m so grateful that this virus isn’t a terminal one. I never realized how dependent I am upon my voice…I miss reading aloud to my girlies. I’m just now able to speak above a whisper without spiraling into a coughing fit that leaves me exhausted on the couch. Not to mention humming along to favorite songs without scaring my children!!!

My 3 year olds response to my whisperings, has been to perk up, glance around, and whisper right back. As if we have this grand secret, which puzzles her out, if the wrinkled-nose expression on her face is any indication!

Because of this sickness, and thanks to all the TLC I’ve gotten from my dear family, I’ve had plenty of time to rest up. I’ve done a load of laundry here and there, and a few dishes, but everything has really been taken care of for me. Yesterday it was therapeutic to clean the bathroom, wash all the sheets and make a chicken and rice casserole for supper. So satisfying to be able to take the reins back on this household of mine…

“To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors, and holidays; to be Whitley within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes, and books; to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute.” ~G.K. Chesterton

Love that quote!

Yes, sickness is a good thing. It reminded me of how blessed I am when healthy.

And my family is SO glad to have me back!!!

First~

Come over to Writer…Interrupted today and read my post, “Finding the Time”…

Second~

Have you noticed the new “Comment Luv” plug-in here at the site in the comments section? It’s a pretty nifty way of letting us know what your latest blogpost was, and you only have to enable it once. Go for it, I’m waiting!

Third~

Some of you know about my seven year old daughter’s two month long ordeal with inclusion cysts on her foot. Long story short, she got the mother of splinters neatly stuck in and out of the ball of her foot. I got most of the splinter out, but had to take her in to the doctor to get the rest. He thought he got it all, but in the next few weeks, she developed two blue-ish cysts about an inch below the “excavation” site of the splinter. Took her back to the same doctor, he lanced them, drained them and said if they came back we’d probably need to go the surgery route. So yesterday we took her to “the big city” to a podiatrist who gently manipulated her foot, X-rayed it, and is setting us up for a foot ultrasound. If the ultrasound shows a foreign body within the cyst, then he’ll want to cut it out, which means somewhat of a recovery and that 7 yo will have to hobble around on crutches for a short while. If there is no foreign body evident, then we play the “wait and see” game. This is what we’re praying for. I’m also making an appointment with an expert in Alternative Therapies to get her excellent advice before we jump into the surgery solution.

Thanks for all your prayers! Btw, 7 yo is in no pain from these cysts, and she is still feeling great after her four days of 103*+ fevers!

A young mother sat at the end of the last pew, in a church filled with wedding guests. In her lap, a nine month old baby girl squirmed, threatening to destroy the peaceful decadance of the sacred occasion. Alone in a sea of strangers, there to witness her childhood friend’s special moment, the young mother began to wish she hadn’t come. Where does one retreat, in a strange church, with an unruly baby, when every ear is craning to hear the maiden whisper of emotion filled vows?

At the reception later, she planned to stick it out through the receiving line so her friend at least knew she’d made the journey to be with her, when an older woman behind her in the long line tugged playfully at her baby’s foot.

“Is this your only child?”

“Yes, she is.” The mother turned, and recognized the older woman as one who had spoken to their MOPs group about homeschooling. Quickly she re-introduced herself to the tall blonde, and in turn was treated to meeting each of the woman’s teenage daughters.  

“Where do you live now?” The older woman asked, resuming their initial socializing.

The line of guests moved along, and the two women chatted like old friends. The young mom went from feeling lost, to deciding to stay longer. Soon a dark-haired toddler tumbled to the floor, landing at her high heels.

“This is Clarissa.” Sheila, the older woman, stooped to steady the little one and help her on her way.

The younger mom’s arms ached from corraling her own youngster the past two hours. She watched curiously as Clarissa’s mom reclaimed her little girl and thanked Sheila.

Surprise heated her face when Sheila beckoned her to come over.

“Mary, do you know Kim yet?” she asked, her kind smile smoothing over any initial discomfort between the two young moms. “Kim is a stay at home mom, out in the country just like you, and Clarissa is only three months older than your little girl. Best of all, you gals only live maybe fifteen minutes from each other.” Leaning forward, she rescued the nine month old from her exhausted mother and departed with her, saying over her shoulder, “I think you two are the answer to each other’s prayers.”

***

And come to find out, we were. Kim had been praying fervently for a heart-to-heart friend, someone who shared her values and had children the same ages as hers. Right there in the line, with the friendship only five minutes old, she confided to me that she was expecting her second baby and hadn’t told anyone but her husband yet. Our bond forged, we planned a playdate for our little girls and we’ve been great friends ever since. We started homeschooling together; we attended Taste of Home cooking shows together; we’ve canned pickles and peach lemonade together, in her kitchen and mine, at night and during the day; we’ve bemoaned our shabby back porches together and brainstormed parenting issues for many phone hours together; we’ve welcomed each other’s new babies with casseroles and home made baby wipes…and best of all, out of all our acquaintances with kids the same ages as ours, we couldn’t pick any children we’d rather have our own hang out with.

Isn’t God good?

We parents have the great responsibility of protecting our children by choosing appropriate playmates and families with which to form lasting bonds.

Are you feeling alone, wishing you had another mom who loved the Lord as you do, someone to sharpen and grown alongside as you raise your children together? If you have young children and haven’t yet found another family at your pace in life, I encourage you to pray about it. Give the desire of your heart over to the King of Kings. Don’t you think He wants to pair us up with godly friends, so together we can spur ever onward and let His glory be made known?

Maybe there’s another mom out there, waiting around in a wedding line of strangers, and a future God’s got all mapped out just waiting for you both to discover…

First, I don’t believe all the hype propagandized out there about homeschooled kids lacking social skills. In every area of involvement that we’ve had with non-home educated children, 4H for example, my kids have passed the “friendly” test with both the adults and the kids. What’s more, my oldest (only one in 4H) has never been inhibited about speaking or singing in front of groups. The truth is, social and anti-social kids exist in both arenas. Personality and life experiences combine to create confidence or reticence.  

My husband’s uncle recently told me his brother’s take on the socialization argument. This man and his wife homeschool their children, and firmly agree that their kids aren’t socialized to the world’s standards.

They aren’t drinking, smoking and having sex–

With that said though, I do want to emphasize the importance of providing a social outlet for your homeschooled children. What a boost it is to be a part of a home school co-op, or to have weekly plans with another homeschooling family. Even participating at the library’s story hour, or in a church club, such as Awanas, provides an energizing much needed to keep everything from deteriorating to ho-hum status. Just as science, history, music lessons, etc all deserve a place in your children’s weekly lesson plan, so should “social life”. Think about it this way, what is the real appeal of public school to most homeschooled children? The socializing! So provide it for your kids from a young age, and they’ll never see it as a “lack” in their educational experience.

More soon on the topic of friendships and young children…

Do you have internet access and a printer? Then you’re set!

This morning I’ve been printing off math worksheets to aid me in teaching my second grader about rounding and estimating numbers to the nearest hundreds. Googling “skip-counting” and “number charts” and “rounding to nearest hundreds” led me to a mountain of information! Along the way I also found some great worksheets for practicing Roman Numerals…and an incredible number chart generator which allows you to input your numbers (I created one for skip-counting by 500’s, starting at 1,000 and going to 50,000), and an interactive number chart that uses a flash 5 plug-in to allow your child to color whichever squares you want them to learn in their skip-counting journey.

In November and December, when I was teaching a unit on Creative Writing to our co-op’s 4-6th graders, I relied heavily on the internet for my worksheets on hyperbole, alliteration, metaphors, similies, imagery, idioms, onomatopoeia, etc. I also found many story starter helpers, and other middle school writing resources.

Last week, when searching for fun stuff about the Pony Express, I stumbled on this site featuring many worksheets having to do with the westward expansion…which is right on for our 4th grade history lessons.

My three year old is loving these traceable number worksheets that I’m using to reinforce her Professor B math. At the same site there are printable alphabet worksheets for preschoolers–and it’s more than just tracing. They first trace, then freehand, then color the number or alphabet letter being taught, and then complete an activity at the bottom of the page. Exciting! My little one always wants to do her “math”!

Want to know how to play the trumpet, or free online guitar lessons? How about beginning crochet, or how to grow herbs on your windowsill?

It’s easy to see how the internet makes supplementing your child’s education a breeze, and with the teacher helps out there…any subject is detailed, outlined, and available…right at our fingertips!

Translated: Anyone can homeschool! And anyone, no matter what age, can learn new things.

What are your favorite internet helps? I’d love us to share together in the comments!

Jen tagged me so here goes!

1. Currently reading Sixth Covenant by Brock and Bodie Thoene, sixth in their awesome A.D. Chronicles series!
2. Loving our Professor B Math…getting into long multiplication and division with oldest, and “vocabulary and symbolism of numeration” (whew!) with 7 year old!
3. Just listened to the best email forward I’ve gotten in a long time…a phone call made by a 12 year old boy to a Houston radio station…89.3 KSBJ’s morning show
4. Roasted a turkey yesterday and made pumpkin soup with some of it today! So delicious we all had seconds and thirds!
5. We are so enjoying a weekly Bible study with friends…we’re using Tommy Nelson’s A Life Well Lived DVD series, all on the book of Ecclesiastes. Really. Good.
6. Got the girls’ room cleaned today! Big group effort!
7. My oldest daughter has already sold two of her border collie pups and they’ve only been weaned a few days! (5 to go! Any takers?)
8. I just got some great news from Tricia Goyer, that EVERY writer/blogger should check out! Hint: Would you like to see one of your popular blog posts published?

I’ve actually done the 8 Random Things meme before, so today I stuck with today’s random things. Hope you enjoy some of the links!

And consider yourselves tagged, if you so desire! I’d love to learn more about each of you!

Two of my dearest homeschooling friends hosted a Fall Party this weekend. Perfect weather for it, too. We had outdoor games such as a “caramel apple walk”, treasure hunts, egg-and-spoon relays and a picnic-bonfire with a guitar-led sing-along time.

At the outset, I found myself with another mom, slightly older than me and a complete stranger, behind the scenes in the fishing booth. And as we hooked candy to clothespins and tugged away at fishing lines, we chatted about life, our faith, and homeschooling. Sharing from our hearts. Complete strangers with strong common denominators.

Afterwards, at home, I told my husband about it–through tears. Now I’m not easily given to tears. Perhaps they came more easily because I was losing my voice and in the beginning stages of a bad cold. Or perhaps it was our hugely busy week or my 2 A.M. bedtime the previous night. Mostly I think it culminated from weeks of feeling discouraged about the many flopping hats I’m attempting to wear in this life.

It really hit home to me the other day in the grocery line, when the friendly cashier asked me if I was still homeschooling. I told her I was and we talked about how busy life was, and that it never slows down. Then I said something in kind of a flippant manner:

“Homeschooling takes so much of me I have no time for other hobbies.”

I may have said it flippantly, but I’ve been really down about the lack of writing time since school started. I fear that my novels will still be waiting in their files when this computer crashes, and if they somehow survive on my flash drive it will be years before I get back to them. Part of me is okay with that. Part of me is viewing homeschooling as a sacrifice, which doesn’t feel good at all. Because really, what are mere books–which may never get published–compared to the lives and futures of my children?

I’ve held a lot of these feelings in because everyone in this world makes sacrifices. And I’ve got the most wonderful job in the universe…sometimes I wish the payscale was better…but that’s why my moments in the fishing booth were such a reward to my soul.

There are people who look down on families that choose to home educate. They’re always touting the perks of public education, they’re making good money with their two incomes and able to not only “keep up with the Joneses” but leave the “Joneses” in the white-out of their private jet streams.

I’ve been surrounded by these kinds of people lately, and buying into the lies of discontentment. Not seeing the wealth I have within arms reach. My children! My few little acres of promise here in the country. My freedom to love God, and to teach my babies to love Him (and enabling them to learn everything else they need to know). My hard-working husband who wants me here alongside him at the helm of our little world. Our amazing marriage. My parents and sisters who are my biggest cheerleaders in this homeschooling journey. Loving in-laws. My friends, new and old.

Homeschooling is hard! It takes hours of planning, especially now that I’ve got a 4th grader to keep up with (!)…it means saying “no” to many things I’d love to be doing. But it also means maxing out on family-love, and discovering awesome truths about this life together. It’s a team experience, where one looks out for all, and all look out for one. That kind of genuine love is a by-product of this lifestyle.

Not saying it can’t happen outside of homeschooling, not at all. My husband is proof that it can, as are many others. But it’s a truth of which I needed reminded.

And I was reminded. Behind the humble cardboard partition of a homemade fishing booth, which incidentally, was plastered with botanical pictures and scientific facts.

All in all, a very educational and enlightening experience.