{inspiration}

So after weeks of no snow we finally got some more winter weather. Woohoo!!! But it all melted today. Bummer. Good thing I got out this morning to capture the frosty scene. I had been longing for a muse and inspiration and it came this morning. In a glorious sunrise that set the landscape to glittering. Here are the fruits of my cold fingers ~

i love how the sunshine makes everything sparkle

frost flowers

and my personal favorite

isn't she sweet! this is in our outdoor room

{purpose of fighting}

A couple of weeks ago I babysat the two young boys of a sweet family from our church that also homeschools. Well we had a good time playing games and watching movies. But as I pondered the events of the day I had to pause and go deeper into the issue of violence. One of the video games we played was Monster Wars and while I am sure it was rated "E" I found it to be very violent. Granted, there was no blood or guts, but I was slightly stunned at the intensity of fighting. I need to clarify that I'm not a person that shies away from violent material. I enjoy watching movies like Lord of the Rings, Batman Begins, and other "hero" films. But the senseless fighting I was confronted with in Monster Wars bothered me. After thinking over it for a few minutes I realized that the video game, and others like it, had no purpose in their warfare. On the other hand characters like Aragorn, Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, etc. are fighting for something. There is a purpose to their violence. They were not out there decking some Joe Bloke just for the fun of it. No, they singled out those that were threatening what is good in this world and fought with them to put an end to their malice. And the same thing applies to real life. War is not something we want to engage in, but when we run into a force that seeks to do evil we must confront it and do what is within our power to end it. Whether this war is fought across multiple countries against an army that seeks to destroy us and all that we stand for or it is a small scale battle between a handful of people does not matter. What matters is that we recognize the true purpose of violence and know its proper place and time. And when evil has been defeated we go back to our daily lives of peace and contentment. I think one of the saddest tragedies of the day and age we live in now of video games and gory movies is that we have desensitized ourselves to why we fight. No longer do we read of the glorious deeds of King Arthur and Robin Hood and the tales of their fighting against injustice. We have consumed the kind of wrong violence and now we are reaping what we have sown. Men no longer look to protect women, instead they take advantage of them. Recently on a "Primetime: What Would You Do?" episode, the example was a couple out on a first date and when the actress is in the restroom the actor slips a "drug" (actually sugar) into her drink. They wanted to find out if anyone would notice and if they did what would they do about it. It was sad to see people ignore, and in one case encourage the actor. But then when someone did step in to protect the actress you wanted to cheer. Our kids get in fights and shoot or stab each other over petty things instead of keeping an eye out for wrongs being committed and seeking to right them. Since they have filled their lives with examples of the violence on video games and movies/tv they no longer know how to stand up against the malevolent forces in this world. What if their heroes were not football players and actors, but figures in history and literature such as Robin Hood, Aragorn, High King Peter of Narnia, Pres. George Washington, Davy Crockett, Stonewall Jackson, King Arthur, Winston Churchill and the like? What if? What is it going to take before we deal with the root issue of the problem of senseless fighting? When will we realize that it is not the violence or fighting that is wrong, but what we use those tools for?

{ring in the new}

I had every intention of posting about once a week during December. *laughs* What was I thinking?! Fat chance of that happening during the holiday season, especially since I wasn't in the habit before. I can imagine my last post left you all wondering if I had gone off my rocker. Well I still haven't completely decided on the matter. Plus it was a rather bad time of year to bring it up. Best to talk of such things in the middle of summer when you're removed from the emotion of the season. Anyway...onto something pleasant and happy.

I have discovered a new song through who I think is one of the funniest people on the planet, Daniel Gardner. It's called "Sunray Smile" and was written and recorded by a fellow HomeschoolAlumni member, Amber Van Vleet. It's on the blog music player, make your ears happy and listen to it!

The only pictures I have to share are from last month's snow and other winter weather...

And now I am tickled pink for two reasons - 1) I got the link in a word thing to work (yay!), and 2) I drove all by myself today! Now I know what you're thinking, "She's 22 and hasn't driven alone yet?!" Well for starters I didn't get my license until I was 21 (long story), and secondly I don't have anywhere to go by myself. Yeah, my social life is one rung higher than that of a monk, but that's okay. I'm a homebody as it is anyway.

Have a great weekend everyone!

{questions}

As I type there is snow falling outside the window. And I am listening to a lovely rendition of "In the Bleak Midwinter" performed by Corrinne May. Check it out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC9C5kHL884 What a wonderful day to stay in and knit or craft! Or blog...

With Christmas approaching a friend and I are having a discussion on whether Christians should celebrate the holiday. The pagan roots of Christmas are well documented and so is the fact that Christ was not born on December 25. So, what do you do? Do you continue to participate in the festivities since it is now considered a Christian holiday or do you choose to refrain from because it really isn't a Christian holiday no matter how you try to reason away. We know from the OT how much God warned the Israelites to not practice any heathen rituals and I believe that the warning still holds true for modern Christians. In that light, Christmas should not have any place in a Christian home. That's right, no tree, decorations, presents or anything. This doesn't mean that you have to alienate yourself from family and friends that do keep Christmas as my friend assured me. On the other hand, if you hold to the reasoning that it is no longer a pagan holy day, though there are neo-pagans that do practice Saturnalia, then there is no problem. But what I wonder at most is for Christians that do realize the pagan root of Christmas why do we still celebrate it? Isn't that when it becomes a sin, when we know it's wrong but still do it anyway? Why not as a whole body decide to move our celebration of Christ's birth to the actual time of His birth? Now granted, it would not fall on the same day each year because the Hebrew calender is based on the lunar cycle, unlike our Gregorian calender which is based on the solar. Or even is it neccesary to celebrate Jesus' birth? We are not commanded to do so from the Scriptures, indeed the early church did not celebrate His birth. Nor even in early America was it lawful to celebrate Christmas.

Personally, I was raised with Christ as the center of the season. Never had Santa Claus. In fact, when I was a dinky do I told my grandma that Santa was a pagan. *laughs* She was shocked, needless to say. Instead, by using an Advent calender, I sat on her lap and read out the story of my Lord's birth. My family a few years ago stopped celebrating Christmas as Christ's birthday so we've already come halfway. Now we just enjoy the season of giving and as a European cultural holiday. Now as an adult I'm questioning the whole Christmas thing on all levels. Theologically, culturally, personally. What to do, what to think...

{give thanks}

Happy Thanksgiving to you dear readers! I just wanted to leave a quick note. Today is a day to remember and give thanks. So here are the things I'm thankful for -

~ My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
~ Family
~ Friends
~ A happy home, good food and warm clothes
~ The talents and skills I've been granted so that I may serve God and others
~ Trials and hard times to remind me of the mercy of God
~ Pleasant times to remind me of the goodness of God

What will you give thanks for today? Wishing you a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

{remembrance}

Just one more week until my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. A time to remember and reflect upon our rich history. I know that the leaves have fallen and the trees are bare, but there is an air of promise and hope. Maybe it's just the invigorating north wind blowing in my face. And yet, one cannot but think of how Fall is a picture of life. There are times when the joy is mingled with the sadness. When we realize that death and birth are necessary to each other, we become reconciled to the sadness and are able to embrace the joy. If the leaves did not fall, we wouldn't have flowers later. Then the flowers fade so the verdant foliage may break forth. It is the ultimate reminder that God's ways are perfect. Everything in due season. Everything in its time. I can see this in my own life. I do not like to be rushed. If I have a deadline, I'll take care of it, but don't push me. Socially, I was a late bloomer. I was a severe wallflower until a couple of years ago and used to be embarrassed about it but now I feel that it was for the best. I am still no social butterfly but I am at ease in society now. Enough about me...see, this is what happens when you are an only child.


I have added some Fall-ish/Thanksgivingy themed music to my player. I had the hardest time finding a Doxology that I liked. The one on the player wouldn't have been my first choice, but I really wanted to include Doxology and you could say this track grew on me. My best friends' family sometimes sings Doxology instead of saying a prayer before meals and they sound fabulous, so I think that is why I had a hard time finding one that sounded "right." I was hoping for an a capella version. I once saw someone call a capella cold and boring. They have obviously never heard what I hear every Sunday morning. My family goes to a church that sings without instruments. Oh the boxes we live in...

Now to tell you the story behind the pictures. Early in October I went out one morning to get some sunrise shots. I love doing this, except when I forget an empty dog food sack and come back in with a wet rear and knees. So I was walking along when I saw this spider web right in my path. The dew just sparkled on the fine filaments. God is awesome!

After I took several pictures of this wonder I turned aside so that I didn't disturb Mr. Spider thinking to myself what other marvels I would see that morning when lo and behold I caught sight of this...

A dragonfly with the dew still on its wings! Now that's something you don't see everyday. I stand amazed at the ingenuity of the Creator. These next two I took one evening a day later. I love Fall!

Whew, that was long winded. Sorry dear reader. I shouldn't ramble on so. But sometimes I just can't help myself...

{mini reunion or bust}

Last weekend my family traveled to Kansas City to go to the Homeschool Alumni Midwest Mini Reunion. I've been a member of HSA for a couple of years now and haven't been able to make it to one of the national reunions. So when I saw the MO mini reunion posted on the event board I was thrilled. And then ecstatic when I told my dear father about it and he said "we're going" before I even had a chance to ask. Late Friday morning we set off for our destination. About mid afternoon we reached the Cabela's store in KC and decided to stop and stretch our legs, again. I always enjoy going into Cabela's and looking around. While we were there we bumped into some other homeschoolers but they were not HSAers. Being homeschooled turns on some radar that allows you to pick up on other homeschoolers. No kidding. Anyway, then it was off to the campground to set up the tent before heading to HQ a.k.a. one of the other HSAers house that was hosting the event. We were the last ones in because of how long it took to just pick out a campsite. *sighs* But supper was cooking and the house was warm and inviting which was welcome relief after putting up a tent in the cooling temps of a Fall afternoon. After supper there was a Boggle tournament and other games plus lots of talking and laughter. I had a hard time staying awake and at one point had dozed off for a couple of seconds. But then a couple of friends shook the couch to make sure I would stay awake. Thanks guys. Needless to say I am not a night owl. I'm not exactly sure when we girls crawled into our sleeping bags (my parents had already left for the campground) but it was about 1 in the morning. Whew! Saturday was packed with activities. In the morning we went on a 3.8 mile hike around the lake at the local state park.

"The road goes ever on and on..."

Someone in our group decided to take a little detour and we thought he would catch back up before long so we didn't wait. Back at the parking lot and eating our picnic lunch he still hadn't shown up. So then we were worried. Just as we were planning a rescue mission he walked up. No Chris, we're not going to let you live this one down. Then it was off to the WWI museum in Kansas City.

Here's our reflection on the glass walk over the field of poppies and you can see the tower, too.

Very interesting and informative. Lots of artifacts, most of them original, to view. After that we dashed back to HQ to throw some grub down the hatch and change before the dance. It was my very first ECD and I loved it.

Here we are before the dance. Aren't mirrors handy for taking pictures!

Sorry to those whose toes I stepped on. We laughed 'til it hurt, which wasn't very hard. We danced The Hole in the Wall, the Gay Gordon, the Virginia Reel and another one I'm not sure of it's name.

The white blur dancing with the blue blur is yours truly.

Note to self: use shutter mode at next dance.

But now I'm hooked and don't know how long I can make it without another dance! When the dance ended it was back to HQ for dessert, more games, laughter and talking. We also had a few surprise visitors. Missionaries from Siam to be precise. There's something wrong with the leg on the last missionary. *laughs* Saturday night we stayed up until 2! I was able to remain awake a lot easier though. Sunday morning we had a time of scripture reading and prayer. Then my family left right before lunch and headed home. I wish it could have gone on forever. But life called and said it was time to get back to work. Bummer. Now I'm already thinking about next year...

Thanks to all my homeschool family for the wonderful memories made this weekend. We won't easily forget them.