The Homeschool Kids Who Don't Do Anything

Why Ron Paul?

Please take time to read this awesome blog post by Pastor Voddie Baucham.

Here's how he begins:

"Let me say ahead of time that I do not believe that politics will save America. Nor do I believe there are any perfect candidates. There never have been, and there never will be. Moreover, it is not my goal to answer every objection to the Paul candidacy as I know that there are those who, for various reasons, will not be persuaded, and more importantly, that’s not my job. My goal here is to offer insight in to my own reasoning as I wade through another political season and make a personal choice."

Read entire post here: Blog: Why Ron Paul? | Grace Family Baptist Church

The Modernist Preacher Entering Hell

The Modernist Preacher Entering Hell

http://www.vcyamerica.org/modernistpreacher

He was an ordained minister, but modern in his views.
He preached his twisted doctrines to people in the pews.
He would not hurt their feelings, whate'er the cost would be,
But for their smiles and friendship and compliments sought he.
His church was filled with wicked souls that should be saved from sin,
But never once he showed the way or tried a soul to win.
He preached about the lovely birds that twitter in the trees,
The babl'ing of the running brooks, the murm'ring of the seas.

He quoted fancy poetry that tickled list'ning ears
When sorrow came to some, he tried to laugh away their tears.
His smooth and slipp'ry sermons made the people slide to hell.
The harm he did by preaching goes beyond what we can tell.
He took our Holy Bible, and preached it full of holes,
The Virgin Birth, said he can't be believed by honest souls,
The miracles of Jesus and the resurrection tale
For educated ones like us, today, cannot avail.
We're living in an age, said he, when wisdom rules and reigns,
When man's intelligence is great and superstition wanes.

He said, we're all God's children who live upon this earth,
No message of salvation, no need of second birth.
His coat was bought with money that he had wrongly gained,
For through his twisted sermons his wealth he had obtained.
He was just like the Roman soldiers that watched at Jesus' grave,
For money in abundance, to them, the people gave;
It all was theirs by telling what was a sinful lie -
A resurrected Savior, they, too, were to deny.

The day at last had come for the minister to die,
When to his congregation, he had to say good-bye.
His form lay cold and lifeless, his ministry was past,
His tongue with all its poison was hushed and stilled at last.
His funeral was grand; he was lauded to the skies-
They preached him into heaven where there are no good-byes.
Upon the lonely hill, underneath the shady trees,
His form was laid to rest in the whisp'ring of the breeze.

A tombstone was erected with words: "He is at rest,
He's gone to heaven's glories to live among the blest."
His body now is lifeless, but Ah! His soul lives on,
He failed to enter in where they thought that he had gone.
The letters on the tombstone or that sermon some had heard,
Could not decide his destiny, 'twas not the final word.
He still had God to deal with, the one who knows the heart;
While others entered heaven, he heard the word, "Depart."

He pauses for a moment upon the brink of hell;
He stares into a depth where he evermore will dwell.
He hears the cries and groanings of souls he had misled,
He recognizes faces among the screaming dead.
He sees departed deacons which he had highly praised.
Their fingers pointing at him as they their voices raised:
"You stood behind the pulpit, and lived in awful sin,
We took you for a saint, but a liar you have been."
Accusing cries! He hears them, "Ah! You have been to blame,
You led us into darkness when you were seeking fame."

"You preached your deadly doctrine, we thought you knew the way.
We fed you and we clothed you, we even raised your pay.
You've robbed us of a home where no tear-drops ever flow,
Where days are always fair and the heav'nly breezes blow.
Where living streams are flowing, and saints and Angels sing,
Where every one is happy, and Hallelujahs ring.
We're in this place of torment, from which no soul returns;
We hear the cry of lost ones, we feel the sizzling burns;
Give us a drop of water, we're tortured in this flame;
You failed to preach salvation to us through Jesus' Name."

The preacher turns in horror, he tries to leave the scene,
He knows the awful future for every soul unclean,
But there he meets the devil, whom he has served so well,
He feels the demon powers as they drag him into hell.
Throughout eternal ages, his groans, too, must be heard-
He, too, must suffer torment-he failed to heed God's Word.
He feels God's wrath upon him, he hears the hot flames roar,
His doctrine now is different, he ridicules no more.

-Oscar C. Eliason

No Comment. This speaks for itself.

This is so amazing!

This is one of the best "flash mobs" I have seen. You must wait until the end and see the nativity! I avoid shopping (at least during peak hours) during this time of year, but I've heard how awful and rude the crowds have been during this season. Perhaps if more shoppers could be reminded in this wonderful way of the humility of our Lord, they would be inclined to show a little more Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Santa Pause:A Biblical Perspective by Rev. Justin Peters

read the entire article here:

Santa Pause: A Biblical Perspective by Rev. Justin Peters

here is an excerpt:

The truth of Santa's history is hard to know for certain, but there certainly seems to be enough evidence to make plausible the theory that his origins are not quite as genteel as popularly imagined. Though Santa's origins may be of interest to some, for the vast majority of people, Santa is about as far from ominous as one could get. He is a gentle, roly-poly, grandfatherly figure who gives good gifts to children once a year. What could possibly be the harm? Right?

Characteristics and Attributes

We now get to the meat of the matter. This is where I must ask you as much as possible to put aside personal preferences, majority opinion, tradition and preconceived notions in general dealing with Santa Claus. Here is where I ask that you consider the following information from a purely biblical point of view. In this section we will examine who Santa is and Who God is. We will look at his characteristics and attributes and compare them to God's characteristics and attributes. Until this past year I had never given this much thought at all. In fact, just a little over a year ago I was in much more need of reading an article such as this, not writing it. I invite you now, though, to join me as we "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5) and consider if there is biblical warrant for us to give Santa, pause.

Eternal – Santa is often portrayed as having a wife, but never a mother or father. He seems to have no real beginning and certainly no end. He's just always been around and always will be. Eternality is one of God's attributes. As with all of His attributes, eternality is uniquely His. He is the great I AM. He has always been and always will be (Ex. 3:15; Is. 41:4; 43:13; Ps. 90:1-2; Col. 1:16-17; Rev. 1:8).

Immutable – Closely related to his eternality, Santa is also, apparently, immutable. In other words, he does not change. Year after year after year on December 24^th he boards his sleigh and makes his appointed rounds with just as much energy, enthusiasm and strength as he has in years past. Time seems to stand still for Santa. Unlike all of the other created plants, animals and we humans who grow old and undergo decay, Santa appears immune from the passage of time and the curse of the Fall. He never gets sick, never tires, and never seems to age. God is also immutable (Mal. 3:6; Hebrews 6:17; 13:8; James 1:17).

Omnipresent – Santa is, in effect, everywhere at the same time. True, he does go from one house to another to another but he visits every child's house in the world all in one night. In my research I came across a rather humorous engineering analysis of Santa's feat of flying. Assuming that Santa does not visit Buddhist, Hindu, or Islamic children, etc. he still manages to visit some 91.8 million homes in one night. Just to be generous, this author[5] allowed Santa a full 24 hours with an additional 6 provided by different time zones with the assumption of east to west travel. According to this author, Santa must visit 822.6 homes per second so, for all intents and purposes, we can say that he is omnipresent. Humor aside, omnipresence is one of God's attributes. He is limited neither by space nor time and is everywhere present in His fullness (Deut. 4:39; 1 Kgs. 8:27; Ps. 139:8; Jer. 23:23-24; Eph. 1:23).

Omniscient – This is one of Santa's creepier attributes. He seemingly knows everything. Consider the words of John Coots and Haven Gillespie's 1934 song "Santa Clause is Coming to Town:" He knows if you've been sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake. From his home at the North Pole Santa possesses the ability to know when each and every child (and presumably adult) on earth is sleeping and awake. Compare Santa's power with that of God: Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." Eerily similar, is it not? Santa knows our behavior and is apparently qualified to make judgments as to its meritorious value. He sees all and knows all. Omniscience is also one of God's unique attributes (Job 21:22; Ps. 33:13-15; 139:1-4; Mat. 6:4).

Goodness – Santa is portrayed as kind, gentle, jovial and good via his authority to determine which children have been "bad or good." "Good" is a word that we often use to describe everything from people to some desired outcome or to fried chicken. Some will undoubtedly think I am stretching here, but describing Santa as "good" is problematic when coupled with all of the other divine attributes ascribed to him. God's standard of goodness is moral perfection and complete obedience as measured by the Ten Commandments. None of us measure up to that standard. We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23) and all of us have hearts that are "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). The Apostle Paul knew that "nothing good dwells" in us (Rom. 7:18) and that there are "none good, no not one" (Rom 3:10-11). Except Santa. Santa is good by his nature. This, too, is in direct opposition to Scripture. In a statement affirming His own deity, Jesus told the rich young ruler plainly, "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18). God's goodness (His omnibenevolence) is original to Him and is not possessed by any of the fallen created order (Ps. 52:1; 107:8; 119:68; 1 Jn. 1:5). Santa's "goodness" separates him from every other created thing and puts him in the class of God.

Gift Giver – That Santa gives gifts to good children and leaves lumps of coal for the bad is inextricably tied to his goodness. Only One who is intrinsically good by character and nature is truly qualified to make judgments about good and bad behavior and render the appropriate rewards and punishments. Aside from this, though, Santa's activity all year is for him and his elves (ponder that Santa has elves and God has angels) to create toys for worldwide distribution. He is a gift giver and gives with no expectation of anything in return (save for the milk and cookies dutifully left by children). In this aspect, too, Santa looks just like God. God is the only true gift giver because only He gives with truly pure motives. He gives light (Gen 1:3), He gives man the fruit of his labor (Ecc. 3:13), He gives individual personal abilities (1 Cor. 7:7), He gives love (2 Tim. 1:6-7), He gives spiritual gifts (Rom. 11:29), He gives faith and repentance (Heb. 12:2 and Acts 5:30,31; 11:17; 2 Tim. 2:24-26 respectively) for the gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) in the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16). God is not only the ultimate gift giver, but it also the only true gift giver for "every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).

continue reading.....

WHO AM I?

Got this in an email a few days ago and thought it was pretty eye-opening.

"I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another
country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with
numerous women. I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no
interest in me.

My mother died at an early age from cancer. Although my father deserted me
and my mother raised me, I later wrote a book idolizing my father, not my
mother.

Later in life, questions arose over my real name. My birth records were
sketchy. No one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth
certificate.

I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was
widely accepted in my new country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs
and didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.

I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising
myself as someone who really cared about them.


That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and
embarked on a new career. I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It
was clear to those who read my memoirs, that I had difficulties accepting
that my father abandoned me as a child.

I became active in local politics in my 30's then, with help behind the
scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office
in my 40's. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone into
anything.

I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, and no
experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker
and citizens were drawn to me, as though I were a magnet and they were small
roofing tacks. I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances.
This bolstered my ego.

At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign policy...I
was very critical of my country in the last war, and seized every
opportunity to bash my country. But what launched my rise to national
prominence was my views on the country's economy. I pretended to have a
really good plan on how we could do better, and every poor person would be
fed and housed for free.

I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess. It was the
free market, banks and corporations. I decided to start making citizens hate
them and, if they became envious of others who did well, the plan was
clinched tight. I called mine "A People's Campaign". That sounded good to
all people. I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the
traditional path of politics and was able to gain widespread popular
support.

I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope', together we could change
our country and the world. So, I started to make my speeches sound like they
were on behalf of the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted
minorities".

My true views were not widely known and I kept them unknown, until after I
became my nation's leader. I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody
could have easily found out what I really believed, if they had simply read
my writings and examined those people I associated with. I'm glad they
didn't.

Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And then the world learned
the truth."

"Who am I?"



ADOLPH HITLER : If you were thinking of SOMEONE ELSE, you should be scared,
very scared!

The Colossal, Monstrous, Gluttonous, Ineffective, Worthless Machine Called Government Bureaucracy

When government steps beyond its bounds of protecting the life, liberty, and property of its citizens, it is always, I repeat....ALWAYS....an expensive boondoggle of a disaster.

Take, for example, education. It's no secret that I homeschool, and I believe that homeschooling is the safest and most effective way to educate children, especially Christian children. That does NOT mean that I am critical or skeptical of other Christian parents who make different choices. Not only that, I truly believe that there was a time when "public education" was a good thing for the children and the community. That was back when it was truly "public" education and not "government" education. Back in the old days, the town chose the teacher, the textbooks, the schedule, and the graduation requirements for their own children. They had a vested interest in the decisions they made because they loved the children whom these decisions affected.

Enter "Clown in Chief" President Jimmy Carter. [The reason Carter loves Obama so much is because now Carter is no longer labeled the absolute worst President in history] In 1979, he created an illegal, unconstitutional Cabinet department called the Department of Education (along with the illegal Department of Energy). This federal bureaucracy has about 5,000 employees. Parents have no say-so in who is hired. The President is free to pack this department with pedophiles, abortionists, homosexuals, and educated idiots who could probably tell you more about Lady Gaga than George Washington. (I so wish I was making this stuff up, but if you don't believe me, read it for yourself.) Half of them probably don't even have children, much less have any interest whatsoever in YOUR children. Their goal is the "common good". So when they tell you that your child is reading "below level", that may or may not mean that your child has difficulty reading. It may mean that he is perfectly capable of reading classic literature, worthwhile publications, and quite able to function in society and interpret information for himself. Oh, horror of horrors.....A CHILD WHO CAN THINK FOR HIMSELF! This could not benefit the greater good of society!

We need tests. Standardized tests. So that everyone is on the same level. Equal. United. For the common good. Instead of reading books written by individual, passionate authors, we'll give them pre-digested, abridged excerpts determined by a hired committee, and then see if we can train the kids to answer "comprehension" questions. Then we'll rate the kids, and we'll also rate the teachers on how well the kids do on the tests. So, Mrs. Smith has to lay aside her passion for imparting knowledge and teach kids how to pass government tests, and Johnny has to put down his awesome book and stop learning in order to be trained. What a disaster!

Someone shared this article on FB the other day, and I thought it was just awesome.

When an Adult Took Standardized Tests Forced on Kids

It's about a highly educated and successful businessman, member of a School Board, who decided to take the same tests required by local 10th graders. His brave and honest assessment of the process has changed the way he views this whole standardized test racket. Be sure and also read the linked update that is at the top of the article. I think this incident proves everything that homeschoolers and conservatives have been saying for years: Government makes poor parents! The idea that a massive bureaucracy, located hundreds of miles away from the target, spending other people's money, with no vested interest in the little souls they direct, could ever be effective is just ludicrous thinking!

ELECT RON PAUL 2012!

1 iPod, 2 Silly Boys

I love it when my boys get creative. They'll close themselves up for hours and all you hear is giggling, banging, bouncing, slamming, screaming, etc. You never know what they'll emerge with: a show, something they've built or drawn, a story they've written, or now..... a video.

I thought this one was pretty hilarious from a couple of homeschoolers who don't have a clue what "homework" is. (That's the "Arthur" soundtrack playing)

THINK before you speak!

Here's something the kids and I have been working on lately. I saw this acronym (T.H.I.N.K.) a while back and thought it was a great way to remember to choose our words carefully. One day, we were discussing it, and I started to bring in a few Bible verses. I was amazed at the conviction that began to show on everyone's faces (including my own). So, we got out our Bibles and began looking up verses to go with each letter/idea. So often, I fail miserably as a parent and fall into the "wrath of mom to bring the righteousness of God" routine. How simple and productive it is to just open up the Word of God and let It speak directly to our hearts!

I typed up and printed this little poster. I can't believe how many times I've heard the phrase, "Think before you speak!" in the past few days. I know it has certainly made me be much more mindful of what passes the door of my lips!

A Day Which Will Live In Infamy

I'm posting this video today in honor and in memory of all the Pearl Harbor veterans. 2,390 Americans (including many civilians) died on that Sunday morning attack 70 years ago.

This video has an interesting perspective from one of the survivors (who also served later in the Korean War), about the U.S. "minding our own business". I'm not a pacifist, but I am a non-interventionist, just like our first President George Washington. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, America rightfully retaliated and joined World War II to directly defend its territorial borders, ending 4 years later with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

10 years after 9/11, our soldiers are being sent here and yonder, with no clear strategy and not even a clearly defined enemy. It's past time to bring them home. There will never be a successful democratic government set up in Iraq. They've fought for 4,000 years and like it that way. Our troops should be here, defending our borders against illegal immigrants!

God bless our troops, and I pray that 2012 will bring a President who understands the dangers of trying to police the world.

So Much Fun!

My mother-in-law and I took the big kids to 2 assisted living centers yesterday to play piano. One of the centers was an Alzheimer's center. They were scheduled to play for 30 minute sessions, which is the first time they had played for such a long period of time without stopping. We had so much fun, and it was a really good experience in so many ways for the kids. Here are a few clips:

Caleb, Musette in D Major by Bach


Madelyn, Morning Has Broken (they really loved this piano!)


Caleb, Good Morning Blues. The residents really liked this one. They were dancing at the Alzheimer's place, but the piano was so out of tune that the video sounds bad, so I'll post this one instead.


Madelyn, Habanera from Carmen


At the Alzheimer's center, one of them asked if Madelyn could play "God Bless America", and she said she couldn't, but he started singing it anyway while she played something else. They all sang to all of the hymns. I was really proud of how they stayed focused on their playing and still enjoyed the residents as well.

Seth & KK, Heart and Soul

Seth has his first recital this Sunday. He's only been taking lessons for 2 months and is obviously not ready for performing yet, but I love his zeal. He would have been crushed if I'd told him he couldn't go, now that he has joined the ranks of "piano players" in our family. He has raced through his first book already and practices all the time, so KK worked with him to play this little duet. I'm so glad we took him! It was good for him, but also the residents fell in love with his dimples and big brown eyes. One lady walked him around and introduced him to everyone there! He loved every second of it.

Also, there were 2 piano teachers there, 1 retired and 1 still giving lessons at 90 years old! They were very encouraging to the kids.

For Sunday's recital, KK and Sis are playing (separately), 2 of my favorite pieces of music. It's been a joy to hear them practice for the past few months. For my FB friends, I've already posted these on Facebook, but I thought I'd put them here again for those who aren't. I'm so thankful for the hard work and dedication my children have put into piano. It's really paying off now.

Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven


Canon in D, Pachelbel

I love my kids!

(even if they can't spell)

Their latest rivalry has been a rubber band war. I love watching them have fun together! I found this laying on the couch.


- Posted using my iPhone