Checking In

This week I completed 3 days of training at my new job. The first day was basically an orientation and review of company policies. Day 2 and 3 were pretty intense.  We have received so much information to the point of being slightly overwhelming. I’ve found myself wondering, “Am I really going to be able to remember and implement all of this stuff?” I know, of course, that there will be things I will forget and need to review. One of our instructors assured us that in time, most of these things would become second nature to us, so I am not stressed. I am praying and trusting God that He will help me to do a good job.  Next week there will be 3 more days of training and also an opportunity for shadow training. Shadow training is when you go to a client’s house and watch an experiened skills trainer work with the child. I am looking foward to that. I’m also looking forward to when I’ll be working closer to home and not commuting daily to go to training. I think I’d wear out quickly if I had that commute everyday.

Anyhow, I am enjoying this new challenge in my life and praying that God will be glorified in all of it. More later. Eyelids are heavy.

Science Fair 2008

On Friday, April 25th, our homeschool support group held its’ 2nd annual science fair.  This year, my children participated along with about 33 other kids.  Each child had prepared a display board which told about their experiment, hypothesis, data, procedure and their conclusion.  First, second and third place awards were given for the various grade categories and each child received a special medal for their participation.  The special speaker this year was my husband whom I volunteered(okay, I asked him first if he wanted to do it before volunteering him)for the job.  In addition to being a pastor, he has his own business doing industrial hygiene consulting.  Most of what he does deals with infection control in hospitals.  He spoke for about 15 minutes on how science can be fun and shared some personal examples of how some of his work made a difference in people’s lives. (actually saving lives through some of his investigating).  It was a good time, and now that it’s all over, we’ll be working on converting our science lab back into a garage.  Here are just a few pictures from the science fair.

 

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What I Learned On The First Day Of School

We are studying a portion of World History this year, beginning with Napoleon and going through the Korean War.  Of course, I have heard the name  Napoleon many times, but I really couldn’t tell you much about him.  In listening to a history CD today, I heard something that Napoleon said about Jesus Christ.  It blew me away!  I looked to see if I could find it online, and I did.  Here is what I heard.

Napoleon expressed the following thoughts while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There, the conqueror of civilized Europe had time to reflect on the measure of his accomplishments. He called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, “Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?” The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered:

Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

You might think I’m weird, but I just thought it was incredible that someone as prideful and full of himself as Napoleon said this, and I just wanted to share it.

Out of the mouths of babes

Last night, I pulled a little switch on the kids at Youth A.L.I.V.E.  I told them that I wasn’t going to teach them, but that they were going to teach me instead.  We played a little game I found on a website called Seeing God In Everything.  Ahead of time, I had gathered some household objects and put them in a paper bag.  Each kid had to grab an object out of the bag and tell how they thought the object related to God or to a truth in the Bible.  Pretty interesting!  Here are some of the things they shared.

Box of Candy Cane Lane tea – This sweet smelling tea reminded one of my students of the fragrant gifts of frankincense and myrrh that were given to Jesus by the wisemen.

A roll of electrical tape – The next student said, “This tape reminds you that the devil cannot bind you.”

A somewhat pointy potato peeler – The next creative thinker said that this potato peeler reminded him of the dagger that Ehud used to stab Eglon in the book of Judges.  (By the way, if you’ve never read the book of Judges, and you like unusual stories, I recommend reading it.)

A sheet of address labels – This reminds us that God knows where we live.

A bear shaped plastic jar that used to be filled with candy – This student said that this bear once was filled with candy that you could access by taking off the lid on top.  Then you could pour out the candy and share it with people.  When we’re filled with God’s Spirit, we have something good inside of us, but other people won’t know unless we open up and share it.

A 4 oz. vacuum sealed bag of ground coffee – The bag of coffee is like a person and the grounds inside are the sins in our lives, but God can help us get rid of those sins.

I was impressed by the creativity of these kids.  Afterwards, I told my husband about the game, and he wanted to play too.  I brought in the paper bag, and he went through most of the items in the bag and gave his 2 cents worth.  He’s definitely preacher material.  :l0l:

Favorite Teachers

Ever since Maria happened upon my blog a few days ago, I’ve been thinking a lot about my two favorite teachers in grade school.  The reason for that is one of my teachers was Randall Toth. (I checked with Maria, and they are not related.) I will talk about Mr. Toth in a little bit, but first I wanted to mention Beverly Frye.  She was my fifth grade teacher at Raster Elementary in Chicago, Ill.  I remember Miss Frye most of all as being an encourager and a complimenter.  When she praised my work, I felt 10 feet off the ground.  She is really the one who first inspired me to write.  I remember we had an assignment to write a make believe story, and I wrote a story about a pair of socks that talked to each other while they were spinning around in the dryer.  Miss Frye told me I had a great imagination.  The assignment I remember most of all was writing my autobiography.  I still recall the excitement as I wrote and cut and pasted pictures to go along with my writings.  Miss Frye liked what I did and asked me if I would share it with the class.  I was very shy and shook my head “no”.  Miss Frye then tried a different approach.  She asked me if I would just stand up front with her and hold the autobiography while she turned the pages and talked about it.  That, I could do.  As long as I didn’t have to speak in front of my class, I was fine.  I stood there as she turned the pages and informed the class of various things that I had written.  Suddenly, she came to a page that I had forgotten I wrote.  It was entitled, “Boys That I Like”.  I had cut out pictures of different boys at school that I liked, and some of them were in my class.  Without thinking, I slapped my hand across that page.  I think I startled Miss Frye for a moment.  She looked down at the page and said, “Oh, I’m sorry.”  In my mind, she was a great teacher, because she encouraged me and helped me to think creatively.

In 8th grade, I had Mr. Toth for American History.  He was a teacher that I really respected and feared.  Mr. Toth was a no nonsense teacher, and you wouldn’t even dare try to misbehave or get away with anything in his class.  I studied hard for his tests and made good grades.  I remember one particular time, I didn’t study as much as I usually did for his test.  When I got my test back the next day, on the top of it, Mr. Toth had written, “84  B  Careful!”  It was the first time I had gotten less than an A on one of his tests.  The time rolled around again for another test.  I’m not sure why, but I hardly studied at all for this next test.  I think subconsciously, I wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t do well on a test.  When I got my test back the next day, I saw in bold, black letters, ” 76 C  See Me!”  “Oh no!” I thought.  Later that day, I reluctantly approached Mr. Toth’s desk.  He didn’t look as angry as I thought he would, but I saw something in his eyes that almost looked like compassion.  “What happened?” he asked, “Didn’t you study for the test?”  I confessed that I didn’t study much although I couldn’t offer any explanation as to why.  He told me he knew that I was capable of doing better and asked me if I would study for the next test.  I assured him that I would, and I did.  That little incident showed me that Mr. Toth cared about how I did in school, and if he cared, well then, I wanted to do well.  I’m thankful that I did have some very good teachers in grade school and high school, but these two stand out the most and probably made the biggest impression on me.  Do any of you have a favorite teacher or opinions on what makes a good teacher?  I’m all ears.

Simple But Disgusting Science Experiment

I was reading tonight in this book I got from the library about different science experiments kids can do that involve food.  Paul and I decided to try one that is somewhat disgusting.  We took a small container and put a tiny piece of meat in it.  Next comes the gross part.  Paul couldn’t quite bring himself to do this, so I did it.  I spit all over that piece of meat, and then I put the lid on the container.  You’re supposed to leave it sit for a day and see what happens.  What do you think will happen?  I wonder if I’ll gag when we took off the lid.  Honestly, the things we homeschoolers do for the sake of education!   

Mission Possible

Today was the last day to finish up our California history unit study.  It was dragged out a little longer than expected, due to our trip to Ohio and a couple of sick days.  This is the model of Mission San Francisco de Solano that we completed.  We were going to add some trees and scenery to make it more attractive, but we ran out of time and interest.  I enjoyed studying California history, since I didn’t grow up in Ca. and didn’t really know its history.  Next week, we will start a study on nutrition.  I hope it proves to be a tasteful topic. 

Education

I’m not sure who wrote this or who even sent this to me, but I came across it while looking at some older files on our computer.  This pretty much sums up how I feel about education.

Educated. . . .

. . . by whose standards?

 

If I learn my ABC’s, can read 600 words per minute, and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with my stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God’s wisdom,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight but have not read the greatest of all books – the Bible – and have no knowledge of its personal importance,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I have memorized mathematical facts, multiplication tables, and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God’s Word in my heart,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I can explain the law of gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One who orders the universe,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the Maker’s purpose for all creation,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country.

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I can identify a Picasso, describe the style of Leonardo da Vinci, and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I graduate with a perfect 4.0 and am accepted at the best university with a full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God’s choosing for me,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

If I become a good citizen, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ,

                                                                I have not been educated.

 

However, if one day I see the world as God sees it, and come to know Him, who to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me, then

                                                                I have been educated!