Grateful??

"A grateful child of God  

can't help

 but be a

joyful, peaceful, radiant

person."

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

 

Really makes me think.... am I grateful?? 

 

~~Praising Him today for what He has done. Seeking to radiate His Light...

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Penni on Pinterest

He is Tender

The latest "5 Minute Friday" writing exercise, done today which is Saturday, a day late. ~wink
From the website: "Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.
We write because we want to, not because we have to. We write for fun, for joy, for discovery.
We just write without worrying if it’s just write or not....Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking."

These exercises cause me to really stretch my thoughts... today's word is: 

Tender

Touched by His tender hand

Under the shadow of His wings

Loved...

Sheltered...

Protected...

It is amazing how tender our Lord is. He calls with a still small voice—He doesn’t shout at us or hit us up beside the head…. He tenderly calls us… “Come unto Me.”

Gentle...

Caring...

Giving...

He is so tender with me when I fail Him. He reproves me with love. The correction may hurt but through it I know just how much I am loved.

Sharing...

Reaching...

Showing...

He wants me to show His tenderness to others. Share His great love with them….to REACH OUT with His tenderness.. 

Oh how wonderful it is to know His tenderness… to feel His tenderness… to have Him sharing that tenderness to others through me (I am such an unworthy vessel!).

He is indeed...

Tender.

(The "He" of course is Christ. ~smile)

A Red Flag for the Homeschool Community

After reading about the latest controversy in the homeschool community, (see below for more information),  I dared to enter the fray (as one friend put it in a phone call- she was glad I had shared some information and my point of view in an email to an homeschool email list.) However, I found myself quickly becoming impassioned about the topic. So much so, I made a comment on my post on Facebook that implied (or seemed to on my reread through an hour later) that many people were not able to understand Susan Wise Bauer's book The Well Trained Mind. I did not intend to insult anyone's intelligence, rather, the point I was trying to make was that in places in her lengthy volume she got a bit wordy, (deep, intense, etc.) so much so, that she may have muddied the waters a bit about key issues if one isn't familiar with certain topics about worldviews (i.e. a humanistic worldview vs. a strictly Biblical worldview.) I suspect that she did not do this intentionally, but rather it is just her style.

As I read and conversed with others about the topic, I found myself once again caught up in the old zeal I had years ago. What to me is a real danger in the homeschool community and one in which I noticed years ago, ... many homeschool moms instead of researching out a curriculum for themselves will buy a curriculum or follow a method because a friend is doing it or because a reputable company is selling the book and or curriculum.  I know that homeschool Moms are very busy people. I was one for 16 years. I know time is limited and I do realize we can and do learn a lot from others. And of course, it is wise to seek counsel in making decisions, so I understand the trusting of others in the choices we make.. but if we seek advice from others, we need to be sure they are doing their research and that they have the same worldview we do, if we do not intend to or have the time to search out the matter for ourselves. 

My intent is not to criticize anyone, but rather send up a warning flag. 

Here is the issue.... if a writer or a publisher does not believe the WHOLE Bible to be true and literal, their philosophy will subtly (or not so subtly) be throughout their entire book or work. We may think that if they speak of our world beginning with evolution or old earth creationism, we can just skip over that section of the book and continue on teaching it to our children. The problem is.... that principle or train of thought will be throughout the entire book,

      -in whom they decide to write of as historical figures, 

      -which events in history they choose to highlight,

      -and ...here is the vital point...in how they portray  
             each person and event.

Parents, we must be wise in choosing which books we will use in the training up of our children. 

~~~~~

The controversy:

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis was cancelled as a speaker at at least 2 homeschool conventions because he spoke out against the gross errors in thought in the following curriculum.

 

Telling God's Story Presents the Bible as a "Book of Myths" and More
Curriculum: Telling God's Story, A Parents' Guide to Teaching the Bible - for use with Telling God's Story series: Year One
Author: Peter Enns
Published by: Olive Branch Books, imprint of Peace Hill Press (Susan Wise Bauer)

Please read the well written and well researched review by Heather Idoni at the following link.

http://www.familyclassroom.net/Articles20111/20110328.html 

 

Those are mighty powerful words, Mister!

Old Ironsides

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

September 16, 1830

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;

Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon's roar;--
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,

No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;--
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered bulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;

Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!

Don't you love the feeling you get when you read a poem like this? It is so dramatic, so powerful.  This has long been a favorite of mine to read aloud.

I found it interesting that Oliver Wendell Holmes was only 21 when he wrote this. After reading in the newspaper that the Navy planned to scrap the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides was it's nickname), he was moved to write this poem. He evoked a lot of passion with his words. So much so, that the Navy changed its plans to scrap the Constitution and eventually restored it instead.

Thinking of the power Mr. Holmes evoked by his words, makes me think of the words I am using every day. Do my words built up or tear down? Our words are powerful ~ we need to use them wisely. We never know just how much they could mean to someone else (for good or for bad.)

Critically speaking...

Writing is fun for me.

~This I have mentioned before.

Although, I know I am not a great writer,

I have a desire to write better and am working towards that end. 

However, since I started this blog, I have developed a bad habit. 

You see...

I tend to write posts then delete them. 

Or 

I'll 

write them,

save them,

then delete them 

at some point in the future.

So many times, the words just don't sound right.... 

My previous post on France is an example of this. 

I wrote it.

Let it sit. 

Posted it. 

Withdrew it to drafts. 

Was GOING TO delete it.

Instead, I decided that I would reword it a little bit and post it again. And this is exactly what I did. Yay! ~smile~

Well. I have made a new goal! Even if I am not completely THRILLED with a post, I WILL go ahead and post it anyway! I will, yes, I will!

In the future, 

I 

hope to be... 

really should be... 

WILL be...

less critical about my writing and will actually post more often and leave it there.... 

at least I'll try to...

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I have mentioned before I love having a blog and enjoy writing in general. I love words. Love to read them, write them, play with them, manipulate them.

I have at times even intentionally mis-used grammar in my posts to make a point or just to make it sound better or because I like to use ---dashes--- (and parenthesis.) 

One of my favorite books is the Rod & Staff English Grammar Handbook. Honestly, it is.

So, if you read a post and notice a participle dangling,  improper: use, of, punctuation: (excessive use of parenthesis), or ---dashes--- and 

returns 
in 

odd places. 

Please understand, I am writing for the enjoyment of it and in most cases, I do know better. Really, I do. :)

There is something I must say....

Know what? I love having a blog. I love the idea that I can share what I want, when I want. It is so gratifying for me to be able to write about what ever happens to interest me at the moment. It doesn't matter if anyone reads it or not, it is just the writing of it, getting my words "out there" that is important to me. I have had some writings of mine published before and that was a great experience too, money does come in handy at times. ~ (smile), but it is the WRITING of it that is NECESSARY for me.


Maybe it is because I am by nature a quiet person. I prefer to listen rather than talk.  People fascinate me. I love to watch and listen. But that is another topic for another time.--  

Maybe it is because I have learned the hard way, that I have a amazing ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. I have learned to be a good listener rather than always having my say. I remember once being interviewed at the Border's in Bangor by a local news crew about homeschooling - I twisted my words around so strangely they could only show about half the interview - what they had to delete was embarrassing when friends shared with me afterwards just what I had said!! Eek!! And no, I'm not sharing what I said. ~(Anyone out there remember that night??) On another occasion, I chose to gossip about someone (a horrid, horrid confession) and as life would have it, that person was sitting DIRECTLY in front of me. Mind you, I was sitting in bleachers. Yep. I was a COMPLETE moron. I didn't realize they were there, let me assure you. So I ended up hurting someone's feelings and making myself look like a cruel, uncaring person all in one shot. It was NOT a pretty picture. 

Hopefully with blogging, I have hurt no one - I certainly have no desire to and also, I hope I do not come off as being crude as well.

Maybe it is because I am not always willing or able to share my thoughts orally, that makes writing that much more important to me.

Whatever the reason, I enjoy my little blog and even if no one else ever reads this blog, (which in a sense means I am talking to myself right now - hah!) That's cool, too.

Now, I'll go off quietly and cook dinner,


God bless,
~Penni

My blog's look... naturally....

I think I finally figured out what I wanted for the look of my blog. A design that is a wee bit more "me". The header is a picture of  Little Machias stream in northern Maine and the background is aptly called "Nature Walk". The header I actually made myself - quite easy once I figured out how. The background is from Shabby Blogs. For me, this is most definitely a treasure!
Another delight today is the cool breeze and drier air. 73 and breezy. My kind of day. I am so very thankful.
~Penni