So this is kinda fun...

I put a site counter on my blog a little while back. I had published a very personal post and had gotten no comments, so in my little pity party, I took the post down.

Then I started getting the phone calls about what happened to it. So I reposted and then added this site counter. At least with this, if no one left a comment, I would at least know if someone was reading my blog.

So, yesterday, I hit 20,000 hits! That's kinda fun, huh? It's nice to know people read this stuff. Even if 90% of you are lurkers and NEVER leave a comment. I know you are out there!!

You know, I make it easy to comment. You can do it anonymously (but please put your name in your comment) and I don't do the annoying weird, unreadable letters/numbers thing.

Thanks for reading my ramblings...

Zen Sarcasm

My dad sent this to me. He loves feeding me "bloggable" material. I thought it was funny. I like number 3.


Zen Sarcasms

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt or a leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn , so if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed...... skydiving is not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

12. Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield.

13. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

14. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put back in your pocket.

15. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

16. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

17. There are two theories to arguing with a women - Neither one works.

18. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

19. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

20. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Let the Summer Reading Begin!

Just ordered this book, based on a recommendation. Can't wait!

Prince Caspian

Saw this on Saturday - I really LOVED it! More like Lord of the Rings. I highly recommend it!

I know it got some bad press for not following the book exactly. But what movie, in two hours, can follow a book that takes 10 - 15 hours to read? It was also panned for leaving out the central message of faith, but I think it did fine in that respect, too. It was clear to me at least, that the children erred in not having faith in Aslan, initially.

My favorite part involved Aslan conjuring up a river. It became man-like and set about on a path of distruction. At first, I thought, now see, this isn't fair. Aslan can make the water obey. Then I realized what an amaing picture this is of Jesus. After all Matthew 8:27 says, "The men were amazed, and said, 'What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?' "

It almost made me tear up to realize that one day, not only will every human bow down to Jesus, but nature as well. Is a river taking the shape of a man and bowing down to Jesus so far fetched?

What an awesome God I serve!

Squishing the trash

just thought I'd tell this funny story:

The other day, I was throwing away the solar blanket that heats our pool. It's 18' in diameter, so it's huge and did not fit well in the trash can. So, I dragged our trash can into the backyard where I shoved the filthy, wet, disintegrating thing in as far as I could. Then I climbed the ladder to our "fort" on the swing set and stepped into the trash can to squish it down.

Now I have to back up. I have been looking for some cute brown casual shoes. I've seen a few I liked, but never in my size. So I saw these at Payless (not afraid to say I shop there, I'm cheap!). I bought them for $9.99! They feel like air. I really like them.

So needless to say, these were the shoes I was wearing at the time.

Well, while standing in the trash, my feet got stuck somewhere in this huge blue plastic bubble wrap thing. Wary of losing my (new!) shoes, I gently took out one leg, shoe still intact.

My right leg was going to be tricky. I could already feel the shoe starting to slip off. No way was I diving in after it. The filth and mud on the blanket cured me of that thought.

So, while holding onto the ladder, left foot on a rung, gently pulling my right foot up millimeter by millimeter, my left foot slips!

I go swinging off the ladder, bang the rung with my shin, hang on for dear life trying to keep my right foot from slipping further into the trash can, and wondering if anyone with a video camera was around. Why? Because I instantly thought, how embarrassing, AND, this would make a good blog post if I had footage of it. Maybe I could recreate it later...

How sick is that?

Well, I and my shoes survived Amazingly they are not covered in dirt. Big bruise on the shin. Big bruise to the ego. Next time, I'll think it through a little more carefully...

Who am I kidding???

Emergent Church vs. Detergent Church

I love this guy, Doug Giles. He's an in-your-face type Christian on the edge. If we lived in Florida, we'd be hangin' with him (and going to DisneyWorld).

He posted about a recent interview and being asked asked his opinion of the emergent church:

I told mi amigo that I didn’t know much about the “emergent church.” I’m sure there are many good guys in it, and I’m sure it has caused some damage to el Diablo; however, it looks and sounds a tad narcissistic to me. In addition, from what I’ve observed both in life and via history is that once a church movement gets a “name” it usually means it’s toast and ends up being propped up by hype instead of heaven.

I went on to edumicate my inquirer that I prefer a Detergent Church to an emergent church. Yes sir, I think what we need is a “movement” that would purge the skid mark that sin has left on man’s soul and our society rather than a group of nerdy Christians trying to be Ryan Seacrest.

Yep, a Detergent Church is the type of church that flicks my switch. As far as I’m concerned, a “church” that does not alter culture in a weighty way isn’t worth its salt—no matter how “successful” it may be momentarily. And seeing that our culture is getting more bizarre by the flippin’ day I’d say that whatever the church is doing to be au courant just ain’t cutting it.
Here’s my laundry list (to become a book) regarding how the “called out ones” can be the holy hellfire Detergent Church they’re ‘spose to be. You might want to put on a cup . . .

1. Get men who dig being rowdy back in the pulpit.

2. Could we have some sound doctrine, por favor?

3. Preach scary sermons (at least every fourth one).

4. Get rid of 99.9% of “Christian” TV and sappy Christian music.

5. Quit trying to be relevant and instead become prophetic contrarians, I’m talking contra mundus, mama!

6. Put a 10-year moratorium on “God wants you rich” sermons (yeah, that’s what we need to hear nowadays, you morons, more sermons about money, money, money!).

7. Embrace apologetics and shun shallow faith.

8. Evangelize like it’s 1999.

9. Push lazy Christians to get a life or join a Satanic Church.

10. Demand that if a Christian gets involved in the arts that their “craft” must scream excellence and not excrement.

I love his candor and his attitude! He wasn't totally against the emergent church, per se, but he's definitely for a kick-butt-in-this-crappy-culture-we-live-in kind of church.

Love it!

What are YOU praying for?

In the Experiencing God book I am reading right now, Henry Blackaby talks about our prayers. He says we often pray and then go about our day and wonder why God doesn't answer. He challenges us to PAY ATTENTION. He prays and then watches, expectantly, for anything unusual that may indicate God's answer. So often we miss His answer because it is not what we expected.

I have been struggling with the idea lately that God isn't answering my prayers. It has seemed that He has, in fact, done just the opposite of what I am praying for.

So Sunday, I was sitting in church, listening to a good sermon on the church at Laodicea, and thinking about how good it is to get into the Word of God. Then I started thinking about how hungry I am for His Word. From there, I remembered a prayer I had offered up a few months back. I had asked God for a hunger and thirst for Him and His Word.

The next thing you know, my pastor implodes.

Fast forward a couple of months. Now I can hardly read or hear enough of what God has to say. I feel insatiable.

I started this year with the daily reading of Scripture intending to read it through this year. You know how that goes. By February, you hit Deuteronomy and forget it. But not me. Not this time. I am reading and listening to so much commentary that I don't believe I will make the whole thing in a year, but that's O.K. I am getting SO much out of it.

I had an epiphany in a much shorter time than it took me to write this. God answered my prayer! I am experiencing the hunger and thirst for Him and His Word I prayed for.

He certainly didn't do it in the way I expected or desired, but God used the current situation to send me straight to Him and His Word.

But isn't that just like God!?!

When He says His ways are higher than our ways, I always thought that meant His ways were just better. You know, the option we forgot about or didn't think was possible. But now I believe His ways are so much outside of our way of thinking that it's more like, "What the heck, God?" Then we SEE. He is answering prayer but because He is God, he orchestrates things in a way I cannot even see coming.

So I am not giving up on my prayers just because the answer seems to be not even in the realm of possibility. It may take years, but I believe God is God. He will bring about His will in His way in His timing. To me, it may look like He is sending things in the absolute wrong direction, but He's in charge!

A few weeks back, I was spending some serious time in prayer telling God how wrong everything was. How nothing was turning out right and nothing was going the way I assumed He intended for it to go. I so clearly heard Him respond in a very gentle way, "I'm taking care of it."

He's taking care of it. Whatever it is you are praying for, if it is within the will of God, He's taking care of it. It may not look like it, but don't give up. Keep praying in the direction you know He wants you to pray! Afterall He says in Luke 11:9: "So I say to you: [Keep] Ask[ing] and it will be given to you; [Keep] seek[ing] and you will find; [Keep] knock[ing] and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

What if we actually are getting the things we have asked for, but we don't even recognize it?

So, what are YOU praying for?

Pei Wei has struck again!!

In an effort not to overeat, I scrupiously count every calorie that enters my mouth. So today I went to Pei Wei for lunch - very yummy, by the way. I only had a second, so I checked the nutritional information quickly on a favorite calorie counting site before leaving and decided on a child's teriyaki bowl. I know from past experience that the calories Pei Wei lists are only for half the dish (I found that out after eating 800 calories, thinking it was only 400), but the third-party site I checked said for the kids, it was the full dish - including rice.

So I got home and decided to recheck on Pei Wei's official nutritional guide. Instead of the 260 calories I thought... it was 700!!!!! What kind of a restaurant serves 700-calorie meals TO KIDS!
Guess I'll be eating a lite dinner.

Is love enough?

Someone started a very pertinant discussion on their blog. It concerns the gospel, is Jesus the only way to God, and what about all the spiritual people who have found another path to God. I, as I am wont to do, responded with a book. So I'm republishing my comment here. I had a lot of fun writing this. I LOVE being challenged.


I definitely agree that we as Christians must love others.


Jesus says in John 13:34 - 35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."


1 John 4:7-8 says “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” So we are clearly called to love.And how does Scripture define love?


1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Jesus displayed the ultimate in love when He died to reconcile us to God.


1 John 5:1-3 says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,”


So the Bible clearly tells us to love each other, that Jesus is our example of love, that all who love God love Jesus as well, and we demonstrate love by carrying out the commands given in Scripture. He also says we are to stop sinning if we are truly children of God.


1 John 3:9-11 says, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

The very heart of Christianity lies in the fact that Jesus is the only way. That’s not my opinion, or me “playing God”, it’s what Jesus himself said. John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I know the idea of “one way to God” sounds harsh and not very tolerant. Unfortunately the world is very hostile to the gospel of Christ.


Yes other religions do contain within them nuggets of truth or things we can learn, but we MUST be very careful when going to these extra-Biblical sources.


Peter said it best in 2 Peter 2:15 - 18 concerning the words of Paul, “Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”


I know this next passage is long, but it speaks EXACTLY to the “wisdom of the world” and those who consider themselves enlightened in spiritual matters. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."


The world tries to make sense of the Gospel and in trying to reconcile it to their own thoughts and opinions, they distort it. Of them, Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:5, “having a form of godliness but denying its power. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.” This sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Have nothing to do with them. They are NOT of God. They are NOT telling the truth.


Jesus himself describes those who are “spiritual” but not following His Truth in Mathew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Ouch! That’s harsh, Jesus!


I’m sure I have OVERWHELMED you with Scripture, and that is my point. Please be careful when turning to any source outside of Scripture.


As Christ-followers, it is our foundation, it is TRUTH. Jesus IS TRUTH! So, yes, love others, even with their faults. We must love others, but judge EVERYTHING against Scripture. Our own opinions, thoughts, and feelings are NOT to be our standard. We are not to go along with what sounds good or looks good. We are to judge ideas according to Scripture! John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." (You won’t hear that verse from the “do not judge” crowd.)


This is why it appears that so many take sides in certain situations and forget to “love the perpetrator”. Please read 1 Corinthians 5 to see how we as Christians are instructed to deal with an unrepentant sinner, calling themselves a Christ-follower. I’ll warn you. It’s harsh! I won’t quote it all here, but it definitely doesn’t sound very loving… unless you mean “tough love”.


We are to call sin, “sin” – not sugar-coat it with “it’s not God’s best”. It’s sin, it’s serious, and its end result is eternal separation from God! (James 1:14-15) The most loving thing you can tell a person, calling themselves a Christian and continuing to sin, is that they are on a path to destruction. It WILL end in spiritual death.


So we love, but as Christians, we are sent “out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) I know this is long. I got a little excited when I started reading the Word of God…

Seven Irrational Fears

Some like to make fun of my seven irrational fears. But I don't think there is anything funny about them. We all have them. You know the ones, the things that scare you despite all rationality and reason. The things no one else seems to fear. The things people laugh at you for.

Fess up!

Here are mine, in no particular order:

1. Clowns - enough said.

2. Impaling - not that I am afraid of being impaled, I just can't stand to see any kind of impalement. That includes the needles on shots.

3. Things Falling Apart for No Reason - sometimes I lay in bed completely stricken with fear that my bed is just about to collapse. It paralyzes me.

4. Hitting My Head on the Diving Board While Doing a Flip - this scares me EVERY time I watch Olympic diving.

5. Putting Your Finger Inside a Coke Can - I don't know why, but it gives me the heebie jeebies.

6. Falling asleep in a car as a passenger - I fear the driver will fall asleep as soon as I do (a la Vacation), and so I have a very hard time sleeping in the car.



And finally...



7. Church Buses - Who thought it made sense to buy old, dilapidated school buses, the kind the GOVERNMENT no longer trusts to transport children around the city in, and put a ton of kids, their luggage and an inexperienced driver who may or may not have the proper license... and then... SEND THEM UP A MOUNTAIN TO CAMP?


So you see, no fear of heights, snakes or spiders. No normal fears, that I can think of... I don't like cockroaches... I'm sure I have some normal fears, but those are not the ones I dwell on.


So what are yours? Come on, I know I'm not the only one who worries about stuff like this.

More Scrapbook Pages - part 5

It's been a while since I posted some of my scrapbook pages, so... here are some I've been working on.



You fellow scrapbookers may recoginze some of these layouts. I admit some are blantant ripoffs of the examples found on websites and in magazines. Oh well. It's called "scraplifting" and it's legal!

Upcoming posts...

Because I have been in a blogging frenzy, I have a bunch of posts already written. I have had to stack them up though, and try to publish only one a day, because I don't want to overwhelm you.

This is bad because sometimes I refer to posts in my conversations that I haven't posted yet!

So to whet your appetite, here is what is coming up... check back!

Post-mania

O.K. fellow bloggers,

I'm talking to you here. Lurkers, move on.

All of you that fill the blogosphere with your wit and wisdom, do you find yourself thinking throughout the day of things to blog about? Do you think, it's been a while, I better step up? Or do you just see things or think things and think, gotta blog that!?

Is it just me?

Lord Save Me From Your Followers

I starting reading this book the other day in Sam's Club. I'm very bad about not buying books. I just like to sit and read them and put them back on the shelf. I probably need to think about this practice, but that's another post.

The subtitle is, "Why is the gospel of love dividing America?" And basically the author, a self-identified Christian, is very concerned with the image Christians portray to the world. He was inspired by Christian bumper stickers that seem to be an attempt to make an argument without allowing anyone to respond. So he sets out on a journey, covered in Christian bumper stickers and starts conversations around the country. He wants to know what people think of Christians.

The response he gets is pretty stereotypical. The word hypocrite is bandied about quite a bit. Apparently Christians are not well-liked.

So he met with some very liberal Christians to discuss what is wrong with Christianity. Basically the problem is Christianity is not liberal/tolerant enough. If we only loved more, tolerated more, set up more government, tax-payer funded programs, the world would love us more.


So here is my struggle:

John 15:18-25 - "18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.' "

John 17:14 Jesus says of the disciples in his prayer - "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world."

1 John 3:13 - "Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you."

Also, ALL of Jesus disciple (except one, I believe) died a horrible death of martrydom. Apparently they were not well loved by the world.

So my question is this - Are we supposed to be loved by the world?

I am well aware that there are Christians out there badly representing Christ. I know many leaders in the Christian community look very bad in our age of sound bite, gotcha journalism. I know there are charlatans and hypocrites and hate-filled people calling themselves Christians. But that is by far the small minority. And in a country like America, where half of the population attends church every Sunday, everyone know an honest-to-goodness, genuine Christian doing their humble best to represent Christ on earth.

So why are we hated? I don't think we are hated because of the good deeds we do or love we have for each other. Those things exist and Christians do many, many good things to help a world in need. We are loving and welcoming to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Church is home and family to many people. Just about every charity organization has Christianity at its roots. Most private homeless shelters, drug rehab, crisis pregnancy centers are showing the love of Christ and seek to serve Him through serving others. People know this. Everyone knows this.

But start bringing up the subject of sin, and you find out how quickly the world turns on you. That's not very tolerant! It seems we are hated because of our views on sin and our attempts to bring sinful behavior and its consequences to light. I know sometimes Christians, in their zeal, do a very poor job of this. But that seems to be the sticking point.

So what are we supposed to do?

Honestly, what are we supposed to do? Yes, we love. Yes, we serve. But do we let any and every sin go by without calling it what it is? Do we trade "intolerance" for acceptance? Is acceptance supposed to be our goal? How do we effectively reach a world that is dying and destined to be in eternal separation from God and yet still keep to the message of Scripture?

I don't know. I want to be liked by everyone just like everybody else. I don't want the world to hate me because I'm a Christian. I want to sing Kumbaya, hold hands, and love each other. But the world hated Jesus...

Where is the balance? How do we show the love of Christ and take a stand at the same time? How do we lovingly say, these behaviors are not only NOT God's best, they are not His second-best either, in fact, if you continue to live a life apart from loving and serving God and following His Word, you will end up eternally without Him - we call that place Hell?

Or do we forget the whole "sin" thing, tolerate and love, enjoy harmony and acceptance from the world, and grease the skids on the handbasket?



I don't know.

Coffee Cup Wisdom

Read this today on a coffee cup:



"Organized people are just too lazy to look for things."



I like that.

Quite Possibly the Best Thing I've Ever Tasted.

God has blessed me with the ability to enjoy food... or maybe that's a curse. Anyway, I am certainly NOT picky. I pretty much love all food.



But this Funky Monkey may be the best-tasting thing I've ever had... EVER. I'm sure it's about 4,000,000,000 calories... but I ONLY had one drink. What's 1/20 of 4,000,000,000? Worth it!

Sorry Liana, I DO love a good Strawberries and Creme Frappaccino with java chips and a pump of white mocha, but this thing rocks.

Lumpen

I read this today in the WSJ in an article titled, "Democracies don't let people die" by Daniel Henninger - "Bureaucracies anywhere are lumpen, but in non-democracies their sloth can be lethal."

It was referring to Myanmar and China. Your chances of death after a natural disaster in a non-democracy go up significantly. The corruption and laziness found in dictatorships moves from obnoxious to deadly when you need life saving supplies and equipment. "In such places, after nature kills people, delay and incompetence kill the rest." Whereas in a democracy, incompetence on this scale will definitely land you your head. Makes George Bush's desire to export democracy seem a little more altruistic.

But I digress... In my endeavor not to let a word I don't know pass me by... I bring you "lumpen".

lum·pen
–adjective
1.
of or pertaining to disfranchised and uprooted individuals or groups, esp. those who have lost status: the lumpen bourgeoisie. –noun
2.
a lumpen individual or group.
3.
mentally sluggish

I suppose he means the third definition - "Bureaucracies anywhere are mentally sluggish..."

Most disturbing photo I have ever seen

Best part... check out what happens to fake boobs when you're 100...

The Yard Sale Fairy

A while ago, I did a post on "consumerism". I don't even know that that word means. I think it means the belief that owning more stuff will bring happiness. I definitely agree that a belief in "stuff" is wrong and misguided, but I think it is usually used to heap guilt on Americans for being American. I don't agree with that. And, it's very hard to stomach some ultra-cool guy, with the latest ultra-cool brands on his body, typing on his ultra-cool Mac laptop, listening to his ultra-cool iPod, to the latest ultra-cool music, telling me that I am guilty of consumerism. Doesn't fly.

However, we Americans do have too much stuff.

The evidence: Yard Sales

The other day, I drove by about a million yard sales happening down Bellflower Blvd. I actually think yard sales are a healthy way to divest yourself of your junk if you have come to the realization that you have too much, but often, they lead to more junk. I digress - There was a woman on Bellflower Blvd., not a girl mind you, but a grown up woman, dressed as a fairy, advertising her yard sale.

I think the sign said, "I have so much stuff that I am displaying it on my front yard for you to peruse. Please, peruse. My junk is your junk. Take it home, see if it brings you the happiness it once brought me. I'll use your money to buy more junk I can sell to you at a later date. If you have no room for my junk, rent a storage unit. Everybody's doing it."

Tim's dad was addicted to yard sales. I don't know how many ladders and wheelbarrows he bought for us. They were cheap. They cost us to get rid of them, but apparently they were cheap to obtain.

My favorite was a black and white 9" television. "For the girls." He thought we could hook it up in the playhouse.

Think about that.

We are not going to get cable for the playhouse, so they would only have local channels available... in black and white... when they are supposed to be outside PLAYING! Do I want them watching daytime local TV anyways??? Worst $5 he ever spent. Fortunately, it didn't take up too much room in the trash can. (Sorry to those of you who are berating me for the ecological nightmare that is a tv in a landfill.)

So if dancing around like a fairy advertising the fact that you have too much junk is evidence that we are fallen victim to consumerism, well... ok, you got a point.




On a completely unrelated note... thanks, Sharon, for picking up the mirror for me at your neighborhood yard sale. Looks great in my bedroom and I love it! Best $7 I ever spent!

So you're thinking about homeschooling?!?

O.K. I know you are saying, "No, I'm not." Fine.

But what if you are? Every once in a while, I get someone considering homeschooling, coming to me with questions. I love that! It just happened recently and the poor girl didn't know the can of worms she had opened. I wrote a book!!!

So, in order for my efforts get the maximum effect, I figured I'd republish it here.

If you have NO interest in the why's and what's of homeschooling, stop reading now. I'm warning you, it's long. But if you have ever wondered, ever thought, "Could I do that?", ever felt God tug at your heart and you pushed Him aside, ever wondered why someone in their right mind would forsake a FREE education, read on.

I started off with "I will never homeschool!" You know, socialization and all that. My daughters were in a Blue Ribbon, California Distinguished School literally right across the street from our house. Teachers were all Christians, kids were from Christian families, they were excelling and doing very well. Also, homework time was a nightmare. My very bright, GATE first grader would spend hours each night crying because she couldn't think of three sentences to write in her journal. I thought, "If this is what homeschooling would be like, just shoot me now and put me out of my misery." In short, homeschooling made absolutely no sense.

Then my sister-in-law, with boys the same ages as my daughters, started homeschooling. I told her, "That's fine for you, but please don't judge me because my kids are in public school, and I won't judge you for homeschooling." So in her wisdom, she never brought it up. But at the end of her first year, she had an "open house" and showcased the work they had done. I was literally blown away at not only ALL they had accomplished but that my sister-in-law, a regular woman just like us, not a credentialed teacher, without even a college degree, with just a passion and desire to follow God, had very successfully guided and taught her children at home.

After that, the Lord started working in my heart. By the time my girls were in 1st and 2nd grade, I knew the direction the Lord was leading me. Everyday when I dropped them off for school, my heart was heavy. I felt a sense that I was doing the wrong thing. Not guilt exactly, but a sense that I wasn't supposed to be leaving them at school. But at that point my husband was laid off and homeschooling elicited a "We can't even think about that right now" response. I think his initial hostility towards homeschooling was diminishing, but his lack of a job loomed far more pressing. He was out of work for 9 months, so instead of homeschooling the following year, as I felt the Lord calling me to do, I went to work as a substitute teacher. The Lord is good. We should have trusted Him (my husband ended up getting a job just days before I started) and dived into His plan, but as He promises, He used it for good. Seeing the inside of a classroom day after day, not only demystified the teaching process, but gave me the confidence that I COULD do this. I WAS doing this. Then, because God has a sense of humor, He placed me in a long-term sub position with a student the same age as my oldest daughter who looked and acted IDENTICALLY to her. It freaked me out. In fact on the last day of school I had my husband take my girls out of school so I could introduce them to my class and the students actually gasped when they saw how much the student and my daughter looked alike. That was the nail in the coffin, so to speak. I thought, "Here I am getting paid to teach someone else's daughter, and someone else is getting paid to teach my daughter." In what universe does this make sense?

So we started the following year when they began 3rd and 4th grade. They are now in 6th and 7th and I have high school already mapped out. I will not lie and say it is all wine and roses... or milk and cookies, I guess! There are days when I have wanted to march one of them back across the street and say, "I'M DONE! She's yours. You deal with her!" But the good days FAR outnumber the bad. And when I think about how much we do and how hard we work and I remember what it was like in the classroom, I know they would NEVER have learned as much or gotten as far as they have.

Knowing the Lord has called me to this has led me straight to His feet on more than one occasion. I have days where I feel very inadequate. Especially in the beginning. But I come back to Him and say, "Lord, YOU asked me to do this. Give me the strength." This journey has done so much for my faith in God. He is faithful. He comes through for me time and again. But I have told everyone who asks, "If you don't feel the Lord calling you, don't do it. You will give up. You will find it's too hard. You will be swamped by your own insecurities. But if you feel the Lord has put this call on your life, you will not have any peace until you follow His will."

But onto the joy... It is a joy. To see them progressing academically and spiritually, to be there for every milestone, to be able to encourage them in each task and each new discovery is a joy. We have had our share of laughs and memories. Just the other day, I was reading from our poetry book (I read 3-4 poems out loud to them each day just to give them a love and appreciation of poetry), when I realized it was the poem Ronald Regan quoted from when the Challenger exploded. I immediately teared up remembering that very emotional time. I explained to my girls the significance of the poem and the reason for my tears. We watched the news reports of when the shuttle exploded on youtube (a homeschooler's favorite resource) and Ronald Regan's address to the nation where he quotes the poem. It was so powerful and although it cut 20 minutes into our day, do you think they will ever look at that poem the same again? Will they remember the Challenger and the nation that mourned? How much better is it to learn of these events in this way rather than from a dry, boring textbook that cannot convey the emotion that I personally felt when I lived through it! And how many times a day do they turn to me and say, "Mom, did you know..." or "This is interesting, listen to this...". Those moments make a homeschool mom's heart burst. They are learning and they are loving it.

About the guilt, well imagine how it is the first day of homeschooling and your children can literally see their friends waving to them from the schoolyard across the street. I felt guilty. But we continue to maintain those friendships to this day. You just have to be intentional. And I know that neither one of my girls would trade what we have to be able to see their friends more regularly. I thank God for the years they did spend in school. It gave them a sense of what's on the other side. The grass is not greener. They know what it's like and they are so glad to be home. In fact, one day, when I didn't want one of my daughters to interrupt me with a question, she said, "This is just like school when I raised my hand and the teacher never called on me. You said homeschooling would be different!" That made me stop and think.

As far as resources, I can recommend the books that have highly influenced my thinking: The Field Guide to Homeschooling, The Well Trained Mind, 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, and Teaching the Trivium. I have discovered a homeschool curriculum resource that I wish I had started with: Sonlight Curriculum. They provide packages of curriculum or individual coursework. I love their philosophy, they center their program around the study of history, and they are quite rigorous academically. They have a package called Newcomer 1 which is probably where I'd start. I'd definitely start with a package of some sort, whether from Sonlight or a publisher such as A Beka or Bob Jones. This way you can dive in without trying to research EVERYTHING out there and as you see what works you can switch things up. (One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that you are not tied to a set schedule, curriculum, or method of teaching. When one of my daughters really struggled with math we switched from traditional to a manipulative based curriculum and now she is flourishing.) A homeschool support group or ISP is good, especially in the beginning. There are many good groups that are out there. They provide feedback and help when you are desperate.

Well, this is book! I am very passionate about this, as you can see. Just the other day, I was talking to a wife of a public high school teacher. She is going to go with her husband to chaperon the prom. I thought it sounded fun. She rolled her eyes and asked what was fun about watching teenagers act out having sex on the dance floor? She told of the way they dressed and the way they talked. Of the junior who can't give up sex because she's addicted to the... well let's just say she likes how it feels. And the teacher who told her that's what mechanical devices are for! Thank you God for giving me these little reminders of the many reasons why we homeschool. I never run out fresh inspiration!!!

And finally, onto the verses I cling to when I need encouragement:

Proverbs 29:18 - "Where there is no vision, the people perish:" - Hold fast to the vision God has given you.

Ps. 16:8 - "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." - Let the Lord set your goals and vision for your homeschool

Heb. 12:1-2 - "1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Your focus is to be on Jesus, not the world and what they think. Remember, you are surrounded by those that have gone on before - cheering you on!

Luke 9:62 - "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - PERSEVERE! You can do this!!!!

Heb. 13:9 - "Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings" - You don't have to pattern your school after the way the world does it.

Prov. 23:17 - "Do not let your heart envy sinners,

But live in the fear of the LORD always." - Don't compare your children, your efforts, or your results to that of others!

Is. 30:1-2 -"Woe to the rebellious children," declares the LORD,
"Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;

2Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting Me,
To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!" - Don't go to the world or to their educational wisdom, but go to the Lord for your plans.

Acts 5:29 - "But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men." - This one will shut up the people who want to argue with you about your decision.

And finally the motto of every homeschooling family that does so to glorify God -

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 -
4"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
5"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
6"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
7"You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
8"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
9"You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "

These verses bring me great comfort and encouragement. I love that the Word of God addresses our every situation. God had something to say to us! Should you decide to homeschool, file this away, call it "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" and go to it on those days when you are discouraged, convinced you are screwing up your kids, failing miserably, and ready to scrap the whole thing. Believe me, those days will come!

You know what a precious gift God had entrusted to you. God gave your children to you and your husband because He knew you two were ABSOLUTELY the best thing for them. He trusts you! Now trust Him! The joy will far surpass the doubt. God and the great cloud of witnesses are rooting for you. If God be for you, who can be against you?!? These are not clichés. I have lived them and I know them to be true.

Told you it was LONG!

What do I do?

I'm rereading Experiencing God - an amazing book and an absolute MUST READ for all Christians - the premise is how to know and do the Will of God.

Since I have been having a bit of a struggle recently with what to do, this book's advice is especially helpful.

How do we know God's will for our lives? Basically there are three things that must be in agreement:

1. Your heart - the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts to give us direction, but we must be careful, our heart isn't enough. The heart can lead us astray as we can mishear God's direction.

2. Scripture - There is nothing new under the sun and the Word of God has something to say about everything. So go the Word of God to see what He has to say about a particular situation and to make sure what your heart is telling you doesn't conflict. Many (like Oprah) will hear Scripture and say, that just doesn't feel right or sit right with me. I don't like that part of Scripture. Bottom line, if your heart is in conflict with Scripture, your heart is wrong. YOU need to change.

3. Other Christians - those around you that you respect as mature Christians should agree with your decision or the direction you feel God is leading you. If you feel that you are doing what God wants you to do, but other Christians are cautioning you against it, BIG RED FLAG. Doesn't mean you are absolutely wrong, but strongly consider what they have to say. God will use those mature people He has placed in your life to confirm His Word to you. Even worse, if you are afraid to discuss what you are doing with strong Christians, take a break, go back to steps 1-3! That is a HUGE sign you are on the wrong track.

So now, as I apply those three steps to the decision Tim and I are trying to make, I feel confident of the direction He has given us. Our hearts, the Word, and other believers concur.

But that doesn't mean following through is easy.

Recently, I had a bit of an epiphany on the use of the phrase, "I'm confused. I don't know what to do." I believe that most of the time, we are misusing "confused". The facts are clear, the situation is not confusing, our options are pretty straightforward. The confusion comes in when we see what we need to do (what the right thing to do is) and what we really WANT to do. We are confused as to how to do what we want and somehow also do the right thing. So when I feel confused, I have to ask myself, "What is it I really WANT to do and what is I really KNOW I'm supposed to do?" There's the confusion, between the two.

So off I go, following God's will. This whole Christ-follower thing is not as easy as I might have hoped!

Another Mother's Day Post

I'm sure you've already heard the news: Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 18th child. Now obviously this is a very unusual thing and that is why it is getting the news coverage, but step back a second.



What's wrong with 18 kids?



They seem happy. They seem healthy. They seem to be doing ok financially. They devote themselves and their family to God. "The success in a family is first off, a love for God, and secondly, treating each other like you want to be treated," Jim Bob Duggar said. "Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen."



Is that the worst thing in the world? Love God and treat others like you want to be treated. Sounds like something Jesus said.



I know, eighteen sounds like a freak show and people talk about how lost the kids get in the mix. But there are more kids than that in every classroom in America and the teachers seem to be able to handle that to some degree. The idea of one teacher with 20 - 30 kids all day doesn't seem so crazy. And what if those students actually loved each other and looked out for each other? What if those students felt a responsibility to the others and considered themselves servants? What if each of those students had been taught to love God and put Him first? Would that class of 18 seem so crazy now? I know, unlike an American classroom, the kids are all different ages. That makes it even better. They all have a role to fill and their responsibilities are clearly laid out. They are not equals in ability. The weaker must be protected by the stronger. Isn't that a cool lesson to teach our kids?



I actually find myself envying this family. Crazy, I know. But here they are - apparently all the kids are friends. The parents get to enjoy eighteen people who bring them indescribable joy. The kids learn early on to be a servant and to help others. It doesn't take long to figure out the world doesn't revolve around them! Is that so bad?


Do I subscribe to the "quiverful" mentality? Have all the kids the Lord will give you? Well, no. Pregnancy is a consequence of certain behavior. I don't believe in jumping off buildings just to prove my faith in God. The world is governed by the laws of science for the most part and I'm not one to go around challenging those laws. Even God - the Everlasting Father - stopped at two. He knew Adam and Eve would keep Him busy!



But still... what amazing little person is not here because I didn't want to go through morning sickness again? Hmmm...

Happy Mother's Day

I put this on my blog a long time ago, but in honor of Mother's Day... enjoy!

Heck No!

I am so glad the whole ultra low rise jean and cropped top trend is over. I mean only one out a thousand girls who dressed like that wasn't disgusting. Not that the thin ones looked attractive, but they didn't necessarily gross me out.

Usually it looked like this:

or this

or this...

Apparently, she "dunlapped over the side of her pants".

But just when you thought it was safe for the weather to warm up, now comes this.



Imagine an American middle schooler in these things. I know if your gut spills over the waist line of your jeans it's called muffin top. But what do you call it when your fat spills out under the straps of your bikini jeans?

My New Favorite Blog by a Person I Don't Know

I got this link from Liana Dickson's blog and I LOVE it. It's called Stuff Christians Like. It is funny, but not cynical, well thought out, theologically sound and very funny (I think I mentioned that already).

Check it out.

It's HUGE!

... the refrigerator, I mean! I was worried about the size, and I was right to worry. They had to take the front door off the hinges to get it in! You can see it barely fits in the space.


How close? This is one side...
... and this is the other!


It's tight, but it's in! There is no food in it however, since the last five days have not been kind to our food supply. Oh well. Everyone needs to clean out their fridge from time to time! Time to fill it up!

Oh, and to those worried about our marriage, rest assured, we are FINE! Nothing a new fridge wouldn't fix! Of course, it's my mother's day gift, anniversary gift, birthday gift...

Scientists find something good about a big bottom

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A type of fat that accumulates around the hips and bottom may actually offer some protection against diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday...

YES!!!

Assessing our Marriage

One day, as all marriages do, Tim and I reached a point where we were in need of a serious conversation about the state of our union. Everyone goes into these things with high expectations, but there comes a time at which you need to evaluate. Does the reality match the expectations? Better? Worse?

And so the discussion began. "You know, honey, when we were first married, we were young and stupid, but we were in love. Our love, my $8 an hour wage and your promise of graduation would more than sustain us. Two children later, after I had moved into full-time motherhood, we accepted that sacrifices were still being made, but the knowledge that we were doing the right thing kept us going. However, at this point, after 10 years together, I really thought we'd be in a different place. I never believed we would still be where we are. My expectations were so much higher than what we have been able to achieve. I honestly believed, and I don't think I'm wrong in this, but I really thought... that by this point... we'd have a refrigerator with water in the door."

I think his eyes were moist when he replied, "I thought so, too, but..." He turned away. You know that feeling of failure that overwhelms a man when he knows he cannot provide in the way he would like.

So we sat in our mutual disappointment and discussed our options. They were pretty bleak.

Then God stepped in.

Or more specifically my parents. Having more money than they know what to do with, they remodeled their kitchen and not desiring a very old fridge in a very new kitchen, asked, "Do you want this thing? It has water and ice in the door." Did we want this thing??? We were in heaven.

And so the joy returned to a once stagnant and disappointing relationship. We not only had water in the door, but ice as well. Life was good. We rejoiced in our ability to, with almost no effort on our part, start with only but a cup and quickly and efficiently see it filled with ice cold water. We were giddy. We were kids again. The magic returned. We drank water like it was... well water.

Then, as happens in all relationships, the sparkle began to tarnish, those things that brought such joy now began to irritate, things began to break down.

The first to go was the icemaker.

No matter, that wasn't the fixation and the hope. The icemaker was simply a bonus. We could still buy ice and fill our icemaker ourselves. We still had water in the door and that would be enough. It had to be enough.

Fate once again stepped in and the water dispenser broke as well. Grumbling and complaining ensued. We felt our relationship slipping back into the pre-water-in-the-door days. Malaise set in. But we bucked up (for the children), put on a happy face, continued to buy our ice, and got water from the sink. The glimmer of hope was gone, but at least we hadn't turned on each other.

Until last week.

It was one of those days like so many others. I saw a puddle of water on the floor. Like any good wife, I simply rolled my eyes and cleaned it up. Not long later, I saw another puddle. This time, I think I grumbled a bit about ALWAYS being the one to pick up everyone else's messes, but I dutifully cleaned it up again. By the third time, I asked, in as sweet a voice as I could muster, "Honey, why do you keep spilling water on the floor? Didn't you notice that you did, and couldn't you have cleaned it up?"

He replied that he just had cleaned up a puddle. He thought I spilled it.

You know that feeling... that ice in the blood, something in the pit of your stomach feeling? I opened the freezer and sure enough, melted ice poured everywhere. Our food was in the beginnings of a spring thaw. The frozen quesidillas were no longer frozen. The ground turkey was bloody. The fish fillets looked and felt as fresh as the day I bought them.

But love reigned triumphant as Tim looked at me, with love in his eyes and asked, "How much is the fridge you really want?"

What a man! What a prize! What a keeper!

So after many hours researching, we bought this beauty.

It's to be delivered on Thursday.

But the story doesn't end here.

As I speak, or as I type and you read, my old fridge is like something out of an enchanted English garden. A waterfall is springing forth, cascading through he hole where once ice flowed. You see, after all this time we are back to where this odyssey began... the icemaker has started working again. Unfortunately without the "freezing" part in full commission, it simply pours out water.

And yet, I have hope.

Trials and Temptations - What to do?

So James chapter one has really got me thinking...

He starts off with a bang about being joyful in trials. Afterall, that is the way to growth in Christ and wisdom. He pities the rich man who will fade away. The rich can buy their way out of many trials. No growth, no wisdom for them.

He moves on to the flip side of trials... temptation. How can I get out of this trial as easily and quickly as possible? Cheat, lie, steal? Drugs? Alcohol? Remember, temptation is NEVER from God. We might fool ourselves into thinking He's providing a way out, but He wants us to walk through the trials.

So with all this in mind, I'm reading this GREAT blog Liana Dickson (who also has a great blog) turned me on to - Stuff Christians Like - and he goes into the story of the prodigal son. He found something in there that he had never seen before. I hadn't seen it either. Just when things get bad - friends are gone, money's gone, family's gone, no job, nothing - God sends a famine! What?!? GOD piles on. Why? Prodigal Jon surmises it's because the son needed to hit rock bottom.

I love this additional detail I had missed before. I, too, believe sometimes people need to hit rock bottom before they come to repentance. I've been thinking this for the last couple of weeks in light of current situations. Sometimes, God wants us at the very bottom, in the pit, with the pigs. Then, just to make sure no one else can help you out, He sends a famine. I'm sure someone could have helped the son, taken pity on him, but not with a famine. God took away anyone's ability to help out the prodigal. God knew that as long as he had a shred of hope, he would never come home.

So where does this put me? I know as a Christian, I desire to help when I see a need. Scripture tells us to do good if it is within our power to do good. But this is where the trial/temptation thing from James comes in.

I need to be careful not to stand in God's way with my willingness to help. Perhaps someone is going through a trial and if I step in and make it all better, they miss the blessing of the trial. Perhaps someone has given into temptation and I do what I can to help in the mess they've created. Perhaps I am giving them a leg up out of the pit God wants them in. Perhaps my act of kindness is the shred of hope they hang onto that prevents them from going back home. I might be the reason they don't come to repentance.

This is NOT an excuse not to help!!! But it is a call to PRAY, seek God, and study Scripture before we move in with our riches (not only money, but whatever resources we have) to help. This why Jesus says it is almost impossible for the rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. And if you are an American, you are rich. We must be very careful not to buy our way out of trials and temptations.

So what DO I do? This same James says to be a "doer of the Word, and not hearers only..." Does this mean we do and do and do? Most would say, James is saying to help, do, give, go, just DO SOMETHING! No, finish the verse. It says, "But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." It's not that we are to be just doers, it's that we are to be reading Scripture and acting on it, allowing it to change us and transform us into the likeness of Christ. This is the "doing" James is referring to. Then we will DO what Christ calls us to do, not just what sounds like a good thing to do at the time. We need His eternal perspective before we move in.

What did the Father DO in the story? Not much. It wasn't until the repentance was obvious that he ran and accepted and welcomed the son. He could have sent some money, he could have funneled something through a third party, he could have asked his other rich friends to help out his wayward son. But he didn't. He knew that every day in that pit was one day closer to the son's return. And to speed the process up, God/the Father sent a famine.

A famine. I don't want to experience that. I need to dive into God's Word so that I am VERY CLEAR on what He wants me to be doing. Because He might take away my ability to help. Ouch.

Maybe I just need to stand with another in the midst of a trial in prayer. Seek God and pray for His will. I can cry with them and rejoice in their trial with them. I can be God's arms in an embrace. I can be someone there so they are not alone. Maybe I need to step aside when I see someone suffering the consequences of their own actions and they have not yet come to repentance. Maybe by my refusal to help them out of the pit, I can be a part of the repenting process. Maybe one day, in Heaven I will hear their "rock bottom" story and their repentance and know that I didn't thwart that. Maybe.

Thoughts?

Happy Birthday Emma!

What a joy! What a little miracle you are!!! I love you, Emma!

Next Year's Schedule

Because I am sick and obsessed, I am already worrying about next year's school schedule. I readily admit that we do too much, but I am loathe to disregard any subject.

But, I desperately want the day to not drag on so long. So last night, I dragged out my curriculum guides and tried to make a more reasonable schedule. Very hard.

Here are the subjects I want to cover:
Bible
Language Arts: reading, writing, grammar, poetry memorization, and spelling
History
Math
Science
PE
Foreign Language
Logic
Art
Piano

Any suggestions?