World Day of Bullying Prevention

"There is a social hierarchy in all schools we all know the rules to even though they go largely unspoken. It is a stupid, broken system, but one that persists none the less. The only time anyone dares to say the rules out loud is when some well-meaning friend intervenes to either caution someone on their choice for a date request by saying, “dude, she’s outta your league” or to remind someone that to be seen talking to someone beneath his own current level is to be committing social suicide. Without ever being formally told how these circles work, everyone just automatically knows. ...When someone successfully jumps social circles it is worthy of observation, and I have had the chance to watch one person do it very well. 

"I knew this kid for three years, but I didn’t know how special he was until I encountered him in the cafeteria near the beginning of his senior year. That is when I realized that he made it his mission to make sure no one ever sat at a table and ate alone. It didn’t matter who it was, what their social status was, or how weird the rest of the student body perceived the loner to be, this young man sat down and talked to the student through the lunch period. Of course, he had a normal group that he ate with most of the time, but he left to branch out several times each week. Sometimes he joined the “cool” group. Sometimes he joined the athletes, sometimes the musicians, sometimes the academics, sometimes the drama kids…it was a revolving door." ~ Mary Kramer

To read the rest of this inspiring article, visit the Blue Shirt Day Facebook page.

Community

"For this reason I bow my kneeds
to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named"
(Ephesians 3:14-15).

the whole family in Heaven and Earth . . .

A few weeks ago, God fulfilled a lifelong dream of travelling to Africa to help children in poverty. I flew across the Atlantic Ocean, switched planes across Europe, crossed the Mediterranean Sea, and sped over hours and hours of rock and sand in the Sahara Desert until finally landing in the tiny, crowded country of Burundi. And what did I find there? My God, the one true living God, active and worshipped by a thriving community of believers. I was at home there in the community of God's people.

Just like here.

Except a little different. There, it is appropriate to talk to everyone around you. It is right to greet everyone in the room, and to shake each hand. The markets and buses are full, body-to-body. You don't have personal space, and honestly it's kind of refreshing not to have to worry about staying out of everyone else's physical and emotional bubbles!

When I said goodbye, they sent greetings.
"Greet everyone, your parents first of all. Greet the believers in America. Tell them the brothers and sisters here greet them in the name of Jesus Christ."

Then last weekend at the Emmaus Walk - I mean Grace Young Adult Chrysalis Journey #5 - coming together with brothers and sisters from all around Kentucky and Tennessee to love on twenty-five young women and lead them closer to the Father, it was there again, this sense of community: "the whole family."

I think of the greetings at the end of every letter in the Bible.

Then there were Paul's journeys.
"And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. . . .
We came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. . . .
And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. . . .
At Sidon, Julius gave Paul liberty to go to his friends and receive care. . . .
And the next day we came to Puteoli, where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us."

And then today, reading in 1 Corinthians, I found this beautiful verse:
"To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."

Why is it that the Christian feels at home so many places all over the world, wherever his brothers and sisters are? Could it be because this world is not our home, but Heaven is, and wherever God's people are gathered it is a little taste of that Home?

Martin Chuzzlewit

The longest Dickens novel I have read, and the best! The theme is selfishness, and Mr. Dickens describes it thoroughly with many very different obnoxious characters as well as its antonym through some very charming ones. Some characters change, which is all the better. Most don't, which is very realistic. If you don't have time to read a several hundred page book, at least watch the 1994 BBC version on youtube.com. I believe it's 6 hours long. Many scenes had to be cut out, but nothing was altered. They brought the story to life very well.

Mr. Pecksniff and "decrepit" Mr. Chuzzlewit

Merry Pecksniff and her mercenary fiance

Martin and Mary

A Day of Thanks

This year is the first that Caleb and Jedidiah and I haven't dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians for our family's Thanksgiving celebration, mostly due to the fact that we outgrew our old outfits. But we still had a great time! God has provided all of our needs and most of our wants (which He didn't need to do!), so we had plenty to rejoice and give thanks about.

Do we have enough Thanksgiving books?

Cathy Corle says it's impossible to have too many good books.

Mammaw, having seen our house, says it is. . . .

Jedidiah sending a golf ball down the stairs

And Caleb sending it back up

And down again

Making a blessing list

Studying

We still had pictures of Pilgrims and Indians, at any rate. :)

Jedidiah decided that the picture-taking had been too one-sided.

Mom tried to wear something a little Indianish.

I took a funnier picture of us together,

but Mom said there was no way it was ending up on the blog.

Dad and I took on Caleb and Jedidiah in a game of team Guess Who?

And then it was time for Dad to cut the turkey.

And oh, how good it all looks!

Did you know that at one time during the Pilgrim's first winter in America

the ration was as low as five kernels of corn?

Every year we drop five kernels of corn into a big basket of them

as we tell five blessings from the previous year.

Dad talked to us about how important it is

not only to thank God for the big blessings we notice

but also to recognize that the whole basket -

all the good things in life - come from God.

Dessert!

Caleb gets to finish the job. :)

Isn't that a great picture of Jedidiah?

Dad stroking his mustache

The wishbone

We also played some other games like Boggle and learned lots of new words like fie (an expression of distaste which comes from a word expressing disgust at a terrible smell). It was a lot of fun. I think we spent more time in the dictionary than we did actually playing the game. But everyone was concentrating so much that no one took any pictures.

An Overview of Your New Health Insurance!

Here's the link:

http://www.liberty.edu/media/9980/attachments/healthcare_overview_obama_072909.pdf.

Please read this. It may surprise you, or it may not. It may start you thinking. It may scare you. It may make no impression on you at all. It may do any number of things. But whatever it does, just know that unless God intervenes, this is what our government plans to implement very soon.

Parental Rights

A parent’s right to raise their children as they see fit is a time-honored American tradition, but today it is being threatened. The Supreme Court’s Troxel v. Granville decision in 2000 undermined a 75-year heritage of Constitutionally-protected, fundamental parental rights, which 8 of the 9 justices abandoned. At the same time, a growing body of international law fuels activist judges to legislate foreign standards from the American bench, while treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child would subject parental decisions to government oversight and international review.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (MI-2) has proposed HJR-42, the Parental Rights Amendment, to stop the erosion of parental rights in American courts while simultaneously defending our laws from international invasion. Please, visit parentalrights.org to learn more about the Amendment, and to join their email network by signing the petition to protect parental rights.

Partial Victory and Potential LOSS

I should have posted the first part of this weeks ago, because that's when I heard about it. The authorities in Missouri reversed their decision and are no longer publicly profiling conservatives. It doesn't mean they aren't secretly profiling them, but at least they backed down as much as they did! That is certainly good news.

The bad news is the hate crimes legislation that is currently being considered in the United States. Indeed, it has passed the House and is just waiting for the Senate to vote on it. If it's passed, it will make it a crime to say anything that might seem to insult or offend people of practically any sexual orientation - and this includes bestiality, homosexuality, pedophilia, incest, and many other things, many of which are crimes in and of themselves. See the following link for more information about what this bill will do:

http://cfcamerica.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=936%3Ahate-crimes-bill-will-kill-freedom-of-religion-in-america-hr-1913&catid=12%3Alegal-issues&Itemid=12&limitstart=1

If it's passed, our freedoms of speech and religion will be little more than non-existent. And what of our safety? It will mean that anything goes sexually. It doesn't say anything about "consentual" but seems to imply that if someone wants to do something they have the right to do it no matter what anyone including the other person might think. And that's scary. How can we protect ourselves and our children?

America, we need to wake up. Watch and pray! And thank God that though the end be near and the wrong seem so terribly strong, His coming is that much closer and His might that much stronger! He will win and all will be well!

"In a little while we'll be with the Father;

Can't you see Him smile?

In a little while we'll be home forever,

In a while!

While we're here we learn to love Him,

But we'll be home in just a little while."

New Definition of Terrorism!?!?

If I lived in Missouri, I guess I would be considered a terrorist. I guess most people who live there now are probably considered terrorists. Why? Because the law enforcement there are now "thought police," as they have been told to profile everyone who supports 3rd party candidates such as Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, or Bob Barr or talk about (just talk about!) such things as:

The New World Order

The United Nations

Gun Control

The violation of Posse Comitatus

The Federal Reserve

The Income Tax - almost everyone I know talks about the income tax!

The Ammunition Accountability Act

A possible Constitutional Convention (Con Con)

The North American Union

Universal Service Program

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Abortion on demand

Illegal Immigration

If you talk about even one item on that list, then you are considered a domestic terrorist just like I am. We're the violent milita type! This is serious business. This is another foreshadowing of the end of our liberties in the "land of the free." This is tyranny. It is Nazi Germany. It is Communist Russia. "It is Obama America," as someone said yesterday.

As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." We must not sit idly. We must fight this!

To comment on the Modern Militia Movement document, contact the Missouri Information Analysis Center at:

Email address: Brandon.middleton@mshp.dps.mo.gov
Missouri Information Analysis Center

Division of Drugs & Crime Control

P. O. Box 568

Jefferson City, MO 65102-0568

Phone: 573-751-6422

Toll Free: 866-362-6422

Fax: 573-751-9950

For more information, read the following articles:

http://www.crosstalkamerica.com/shows/2009/03/new_definition_of_terrorist_in.php

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/
http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin498.htm

A Day to Celebrate!!!

On July 4, 1776, a very important document was written - the Declaration of Independence! Excitement reigned across the colonies, and John Adams wrote TWO letters to his wife Abigail.

In the second, he prophesied that this day "will be the most memorable . . . in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.

"You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means."

How are you celebrating our nation's anniversary today? However you do it, remember to thank the God from Whom comes every good gift including life and freedom, pray for God's will to be done in our nation, and determine to do what you can to exalt Him in your celebrations!