The Bible in 90 Days

With the new year, many bloggers and others are jumping on the new read the Bible in 90 Days bandwagon.  Our own church is promoting this concept.  Apparently, you can read the entire Bible from cover to cover in just 90 days.  It takes about an hour commitment EVERYDAY. 

That's awesome!  I encourage everyone to read God's instruction manual for life.  Personally, I have read and studied the Word from cover to cover several times.  Three to be exact.  Do I claim to have all the answers?  Absolutely NOT.  Everytime I read the Bible, I get something new out of it. 

BUT... I have several arguements against this concept.

• Let's be realistic here.  An hour a day?  Who has an extra hour of uninterrupted, downtime a day?  Not me!  I don't know if anyone with children has an hour a day!  What happens when life's unexpected happens, like I don't know, you're up all night with a sick kid or something.  You just don't seem to get your reading done.  Well, then what are you going to do?  Read for two hours the next day?  Not!  I believe this system is setting people up for failure.  When they get behind (which is almost inevitable in three months time), chances are they are going to get discouraged and give up.
• If you do find the time to devote an hour of time a day to reading the Bible, how much of it that you are reading are you actually retaining?  I read somewhere that the average adult attention span is around 20 minutes.  How long before you are just reading the words and not getting it.  Your mind begins to wander to the grocery list, what needs done, etc. etc.
• Once again, I think this concept is another attempt of man trying to put God in a box.  If you are too busy trying to reach a goal of reading the Bible one hour a day and staying on track, is your relationship with the Lord suffering?  I mean how will you find the time to um, pray, memorize scripture, and go where the Lord leads?   

What do you think of this new program?  Have you tried it?  Where you successful or not? 

Health Care Reform

My intent is not to start a debate on the public health care system. We can debate all day long. It's good for some, bad for others. I personally do not support it.


My intent is to make you aware that under proposed legislation, the same Congress who is passing the public health program, will not be participating in "the Sheeple Plan."


I think we can all agree that if this health care plan is so great, that Congress and their families should also be included in it.



Congressman John Fleming, also a Louisiana physician, has proposed an amendment that require congressmen and senators to take the same health plan they force on us, the sheeple.


(Curiously, under proposed legislation, they are exempt).


Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his website and sign his petition that says that you believe that any member of Congress who votes for government run health care should be forced to participate in the plan themselves.


Go to: http://fleming.house.gov/ and fill out the easy form. Name, email, and check the yes box. The next step is to urge as many others to sign the petition, as well.


If Congress forces this on the American sheeple, the Congressmen should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families.


Thanks for the heads up DeShanna!

Warning Shopping at Menards Could be Hazardous for Your Health!

You read that right! Seriously! I hate drama! Unfortunately, it arrived quite literally at our footsteps when we least expected it!


Yesterday our family was leisurely walking into our local Menards hardware store. We noticed a Menards employee outside against the building, but didn't think anything of it. We just figured he was on break.


Next we noticed the cashier looking outside the door. Again, we didn't think anything of it because they seemed rather, well, empty.


Next thing we knew, a 200+ pound man comes racing out the door and pounces onto another man standing outside the store. He identified himself as store security, as he restrained this man and patted him down for the authorities.


As I stated, we were strolling into the store, oblivious to this 200+ man barrelling into our path. He came about half an inch from knocking into our 8 year old daughter.


It makes me shudder to think what could have happened if he would have knocked her down onto the concrete at his size and speed. It could have meant life threatening injuries or even death! Morgan, my other daughter was directly behind Shayla. Again, the same possibilities from the domino effect.


Praise God the security guard did not hurt either girl, but I have to wonder what $5, $10, or even $20 item could have been that important? Would a lawsuit from hurting someone be worth it?


I was so angry I told the manager. He was not a part of this situation, instead, he seemed to be avoiding it altogether. We didn't even get an apology!


Upon getting our merchandise and checking out, the cashier that witnessed the whole thing gave a pathetic explanation. She said, "I was going to kind of warn you guys, but I didn't want the suspect to figure it out."


Ok...let's just let someone get hurt. Is it more sensable to watch someone get hurt than to allow a shoplifter to get away with a little bit of nothing? It's kind of like the police having a high speed chase and killing a whole family while trying to catch someone with a bag of dope or something.


Why is common sense not something taught in our classrooms anymore?

The Socialization Myth

When you have a special needs child, sometimes it seems like the whole world is judging everything to do.



We're often criticized for homeschooling our daughter. We've heard it all. People, (even some close friends) have even come right out and said, "Well, maybe she is the way she is because she's not around people, she's homeschooled."



Ok, first off, she's around people. All kinds of people, not just her select age group. I take her everywhere with me. The grocery store, the bank, the library, my older daugher's school events - everywhere. I also have her involved in a scout troop, library events, and church activities. I don't just take her to these things, we discuss every situation later on. Why did she say that? Why did he do that? It's important for her to learn by seeing in action, so I always try to model relationships with friends, and even with speaking to the librarian, store clerk, or bank teller. We discuss these things, as well.



Secondly, having her in a school setting is not going to help her. She attended one year of preschool. She had three of the most wonderful teachers in the world. They went out of their way to help her with her social issues. They came to our home and tried to play with her on several occasions. She ended the year and did not say one word to anyone the entire year (she speaks fine at home).



Furthermore, the selective mutism and anxieties are just part of my child, not my whole child. My daughter also suffers from learning disabilities. When she exited the public preschool system, it was estimated that she was functioning at a 18 month old - 24 month old level. She just turned six.



We just completed first grade. My daughter is now reading and writing. She still needs help forming her numbers and occasionally her letters. She does not understand that when you form lowercase letters you keep most of them under the middle line, in fact, you should stay between the same lines (LOL!), but the important part is she is getting it. She would not be getting it in classroom setting where everyone is making noise and moving around. She especially would not be getting it in a multiple handicap room setting. She definately exhibits ADD symptoms in these settings. Slowly, but surely, with the one-on-one attention, she is thriving at home.



Besides, I went to public school. All I remember about public school, or any organized activity, is the kids being told to "shut-up." Just sit still and be quiet!


How is that socializing?


Oh, well, there's time for socializing at recess.



I remember how teachers treated the kids that just didn't get it, or were busy day-dreaming, or just plain slow. These kids were punished by losing recess time or specials classes, like music and art. They had to stay at their desks, by themselves, and continue to work. Then when they still don't get the work done, send it home to work on in the evening with mom and dad.


I'll bet that's great for a kid's self-esteem. NOT!



Sometimes the special needs kids are thankful to avoid recess. Have you ever experienced the bullying that goes on? While the playground aides are doing whatever. The slow or special needs kids are fearful of being called names, hit on, and who knows what else on the playground.


Socialization, no thanks! I don't want my daughter using those words!



BTW, I'm not using my own public school experiences to make choices for my daughter's education. I was not one of the "slow kids." I seen it happen many times in each grade level. So it wasn't just one teacher, it was every teacher that I had.


I'll get off my soapbox now. These are just points I'd like to prove. Unfortunately, probably no one who has questioned my intentions is reading this because when people bring it up, I just smile and politely tell them that we feel it's the best choice for our daughter right now. We are not opposed to her going to public school later, if that is her choice, but we'd like her to get her basics down.


You see really I'd like to explode and tell the people that they are morons for believing that any valuable socialization actually occurs in a public school. And that they should be happy, she is not in public school, she is not requiring any extra time from your child's teacher, therefore, your child should get a better education. Her special needs are not causing the taxpayers of this community any extra money for teachers learning how to deal with her disability or special equipment. But, instead, I just dismiss their ignorance because I'm too busy modeling good behavior and healthy relationships for my daughter who is always quietly watching.

Mis-Matched Socks

Call me old-fashioned, but I must say, I don't understand, nor appreciate the one of the new fashion trends in today's pre-teen and teen girls clothing.





Unmatched Socks!


Recently we went shopping at the mall and my girls each picked a pack of socks. My girls love new socks, but that's a whole new topic.


Anyway, we get them home and there were 3 socks in the pack. Not 3 pairs. Three individual socks. Each one sporting a different design than the others. One striped, one polka dotted and the other with a monkey on it.


Of course Morgan knew that there were only 3 individual socks. She failed to point that out to me though, because everyone knows you buy socks in pairs, right? In fact, when I got home and discovered that each girl only had 3 socks, I vaguely remembered a conversation I had with Morgan. She told me not to throw away both socks from a set because only one had a hole in it.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I still like those. Besides everyone wears unmatched socks."

I didn't fully grasp the meaning. I thought she had another sock to match that one sock or that she meant that people didn't match the color of their socks with their outfits anymore.

Ugh! Excuse me! As a consumer I am mad that the newest trend in girls clothes not only makes them look stupid for wearing them, but me for buying them.


My girls, they think they are cool! Me, I would like to hide when they so proudly wear them with their summer crocs and sandals. If someone comments on their mismatched socks, I will probably proclaim my girls to be rebelling, making a statement, finally making choices about their own dress, expressing their creativity, or they must have been in a freak accident that makes them suffer from color blindness, or they had to wear these sock combinations because they were too lazy to do their own laundry.


Have you ever fallen for false advertising or misrepresentation of a product? Please share your stories.

The Phone is Driving Me NUTS!!!!

As a homeschooler, I am going crazy! I was thinking I was the only one who has a homeschooled child that thinks that every time the phone rings, it's free time. I mean she probably would be diagnosed with ADHD because every little thing distracts her. Sometimes she even makes up little things to distract her . . . but, the phone really distracts her . . . and me. It often takes 10 minutes to get teacher and student back on track. Just in time for the dog to bark, or the UPS man to drop off a package, or the neighbor to walk outside to check his mail. UGH!!!

Now, normally the phone doesn't ring that often. I have given family and friends the explicit instructions to not call before 3pm, unless it's a life or death situation. Seriously!!!! But, we have been getting political calls daily. Sometimes to the tune of multiple times, daily. The worse part is many times they are recorded - not even an actual person that you can say to please take our name off the master list. Then again, we've had four calls from the Obama campaign. The girl sounds like she's the age of our middle child. Why is she working for any political affiliation instead of playing dolls or learning to cook? Or wait ... maybe she should be in school, like my daughter ... anyway, she wants to know who we are voting for. Each time a member of our family has explained to her that we feel that voting is a private matter and we would rather not discuss it and BTW, please take our names off the call list.

Like I said, we've gotten the same call from the same little girl 4 TIMES!!! Isn't it ironic that politicians are above the national do not call registry? I mean you can actually sue telemarketers that make a living from the commission they earn from sales, but you can't sue a political or charity group (even when they call your home on Sunday or after 9pm!)

I think (until after elections) I will set my answering machine to one ring, turn down the volume and put a witty message on the machine like I read here.

Please don't think I'm unpatriotic. I enjoy my freedoms as much as humanly possible. I just wish that candidates would respect citizens' privacy. We are bombared with information 24/7. Let our homes be our havens.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now to resume this early Monday morning.

Does anyone else have any steam they'd like to blow off about this?!