Monday, April 30, 2012

Gimme a Redneck Girl




- Posted using my iPhone

40 Days of Prayer to Molech


Planned Parenthood just recently (April 27) completed a "40 Days of Prayer Supporting Women Everywhere".  The audacity, irreverence, and rebellion of these abortion providers is just overwhelming to me.  My only commentary would be to read Romans 1:18-32 from the Authorized King James Bible.

Here's a brochure where you can view the 40 prayers, one for each day:

Planned Parenthood 40 Days of Prayer for Abortion


Here are just a few of their disturbing prayers:
  • “we give thanks for the doctors who provide quality abortion care.”
  • “we pray for elected officials, that they may always support a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions [i.e. abortion].”
  • “we pray for women who have been made afraid of their own power [of choice, i.e. abortion] by their religion. May they learn to reject fear and live bravely.”
  • “we give thanks for abortion escorts who guide women safely through the hostile gauntlets of protesters.”
  • “we pray for a cloud of gentleness to surround every abortion facility.”
  • “we give thanks and celebrate that abortion is still safe and legal.”
The ACLJ had an informative article about the campaign that you might like to read:

You Want a Knuckle Sandwich?

Sunday, April 29, 2012

I love these girls!

Sis and some friends



- Posted using my iPhone

Thursday, April 26, 2012

The only thing better than a Ron Paul speech....

is a Rand Paul speech.


Black and White Fun with My Sweet Girl





SAT Math

I wanted to share this status update from Teaching Textbooks about advice on taking the Math portion of the SAT test.  I thought it was very insightful whether or not you use Teaching Textbooks (which we do).



As a TT user, how do I make sure that my students get a good score on the math portion of the SAT or ACT?

The first thing to be aware of is the SAT and ACT are pretty basic tests. There’s actually a lot of arithmetic of them—things like percents, decimals, unit conversions. But then they also have a lot of Algebra 1, basic Geometry, and a little Algebra 2. That’s about it. There is no Trigonometry on the SAT or ACT (other than a few simple ratios that are included in Geometry). And there’s no other advanced Pre-Calculus or Calculus. The geometry sections are basic because they don’t even include proofs. Proofs are the toughest part of a high school geometry course, but they aren’t on the SAT or ACT. That means the key to doing well on the SAT or ACT test is not to rush through a lot of courses. Sometimes people will say “I want my son to make sure he gets through Calculus as a senior so he can ace the SAT.” The problem is there isn’t any Calculus on the SAT. The key to doing well is to know basic arithmetic, of course. But in addition to that, you need to have a solid conceptual understanding of Algebra and Geometry. Conceptual understanding really matters because you can’t fake your way an SAT exam. There aren’t any example problems for you to look at and mimic. All the problems are different and mixed together, and you have to really know what you’re doing.

The TT courses will provide your students with the instruction they need to do well on these tests. The courses were written with the SAT and ACT tests in mind. In fact, there are a lot of problems in our courses that were modeled after actual SAT and ACT test problems. The Geometry course has 4 of 5 problems like that in every lesson. 

Now, does that mean your students don’t need to do any other preparation for the SAT or ACT besides their TT courses? No. If you want to get a top score on any standardized exam, it’s smart to do some test prep work. Almost all serious high school students spend time prepping for these tests, so your students should too. We recommend getting one or two test prep booklets. You can buy them at any bookstore or check out copies at a public library. (Some well-known test prep publishers include Kaplan, Princeton Review, and Barron’s.) Get a book that was published recently, since the tests are sometimes revised in minor ways. You want the most current test information. If your student is taking the SAT, get an SAT book. If they’re taking the ACT, get an ACT book. The basic SAT test that everybody takes is actually called the SAT I. There are also SAT II tests. There are a bunch of SAT IIs. They cover all sorts of different subjects like Science, History, Literature. There’s also an SAT II math test. (The SAT II math test is a more advanced test. It’s basically a Pre-Calc. test. ) And most highschoolers don’t take it. So don’t get an SAT II book. Make sure it’s the SAT I. 

Whether they’re preparing for the SAT or the ACT, have your student go through the entire test prep book. Have them do every exercise and all the practice tests. Make sure that they simulate realistic test conditions when doing the practice tests. Time them and everything. Make sure they use a calculator. You’re allowed to have a calculator on the SAT and ACT. The test prep book will familiarize your student with the format of the test. That’s very important for performance. They’ll learn what kinds of problems are usually on the test. And they’ll learn strategies for answering multiple choice problems quickly. We don’t teach those in the TT courses, because we don’t want students to take shortcuts. We want them to work out the problem completely and get the answer on their own—even if there are choices given. But on a standardized exam, speed is important. So your student needs to learn some of those strategies. If there are things in the book that they are confused about, have them go back to their TT book and look the concept up. They may need to rewatch some TT lessons to refresh their memory. It may even be necessary to go back to Pre-Algebra because a lot of highschoolers get rusty on basic arithmetic. Remember, there’s a lot of that on the SAT and ACT. So have them do a thorough job going through the test prep book and that, combined with all the work they have done in their TT courses, should ensure that they do well.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Google Fun

Google the word "askew".  It will drive you crazy if you're a neat freak like me, but it's fun!

More fun:  Enter "google gravity" and then hit "I'm Feeling Lucky" and watch your world fall!


2 Sets of Dog Ears

I don't know how many Yankee readers my blog has, but where I come from, we call this hair style "dog ears".

2012

1978



See any resemblance?

- Posted using my iPhone

Sunday, April 22, 2012

What's green on the outside, but red on the inside?

Well, yes, a watermelon, but the answer is:

Earth Day!  or Vladmir Lenin's birthday honorarium day.

To read more about the agenda behind the environmental movement, I encourage you to visit Cal  Beisner's website, The Cornwall Alliance.  Dr. Beisner is a Christian who strongly believes in caring for God's creation, but he has spent years exposing the ultimate goal of leftist environmentalists.  This agenda, at its root, has nothing to do with caring for the earth; instead, it is about the transfer of wealth through taxes, restrictions, carbon credits, etc.  The ultimate goal of communism is the complete elimination of private property, and the environmentalists/communists are after your property!  Instead of seizing it at the end of a gun, which was Lenin's messy way, they will tax it, regulate it, and control what you can do on it.

I thought this was a great article on American Thinker about 5 ways to celebrate Earth Day:

Five Ways to Save the Earth (and Expose Leftist Hypocrisy)

The ways are:
1. Homeschool
2. Preserve families
3. Support small businesses
4. Encourage sportmen (hunting)
5. Shrink government

(You must read this article!)  If the leftists really cared about preserving the earth, they would be supportive of all the above ideas!  Hypocrites!

I am NOT a tree hugger, but I do marvel at this wonderful earth our Lord has given us.  Creation is one of two ways God gives general revelation of Himself to every man, no matter where he may be born (the other being conscience).

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 
Psalm 19:1


Having a Burden

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."
-Charles Spurgeon

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Many Talents of Sis

Here are a few of the shots Madelyn got at Jacob's birthday party a couple of weeks ago:












Portraying Christ in film?

Here's a wonderful, principled, Scripture-based response by Dave Hunt as to whether or not Christians should see films, such as The Passion of the Christ, that portray our Lord.

Question: I heard you recently express concern that an actor played the part of Jesus in the Mel Gibson movie....What about the Jesus film that has been the means of millions coming to Christ around the world? Why are you just now becoming concerned? | thebereancall.org



Answer:  I have consistently opposed attempts to portray Christ in film and other visual media. My reasons are rather simple. If you carried in your wallet a picture that you took out several times a day to look at in order to remember and honor your wife or husband—but it wasn’t a picture of that person at all, but of someone else—wouldn’t your spouse be justifiably be upset?
Literally hundreds of pictures of “Jesus” exist by different artists, famous and otherwise: “Christ Crowned with Thorns,” by Dutch painter Jan Mostaert, c. 1510, in the London National Gallery; “Crown of Thorns,” done about the same time by Italian painter Correggio; “Christ Carrying His Cross,” by Italian and Spanish painter El Greco, 1580, in New York’s Metropoli-tan Museum of Art; “Head of Christ,” by Rembrandt, 1655, held in the Picture Gallery, Berlin; “White Crucifixion,” by Russian painter Marc Chagall, 1938, Art Institute of Chicago; “Head of Christ,” by Warner Sallman, 1940, copyrighted by Warner Press, Inc.; the pitiful, any-person androgynous “Jesus of the People” that won the National Catholic Reporter contest against about 1,700 other entrants in 1999, etc., etc.
These alleged “portraits” are all different. Which one is the true Christ? Not one! Then what is the point for an artist to paint or for you to honor an image of “Christ” that is not what He really looked like—and certainly is not as He appears now in glory?! To whatever extent any depiction (portrait or by actor on stage or film) isn’t accurate but influences your thinking, you have been led astray.
What must Jesus think of these misrepresentations! If your wife or husband would not be pleased with your carrying the picture of another to remind you of him or her, is Christ pleased by those who claim to love Him honoring so many phony representations?!
Moreover, is not Jesus God himself? Tell me why pictures pretending to represent Jesus are not a violation of the commandment not to make an image of God, even in our minds. Is this any better than the Israelites embracing idols as representations of Yahweh? You say you don’t bow before pictures of Jesus. But you do look upon them as representing Jesus, do you not? If not, why have them?
The error is even worse when someone dares to portray Christ on the screen. Of himself, Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (Jn:14:9)! What actor playing “Jesus” would dare to say that? Yet they are attempting to portray in their flesh what Paul described as “without controversy, great is the mystery...God was manifest in the flesh...” (1 Tm 3:16). What audacity! And what of those who watch with approval and are influenced by such portrayals?
Jim Caviezel felt that in order to accurately portray Christ in The Passion he had to ingest the wafer turned into “Christ” in the Mass each day. Would that help?
After viewing movies, many sincere people see in their minds the actor who played “Christ” every time they think of Jesus. Does that please our Lord? I will leave that to your conscience.



And, may I add just one comment?  The Bible says, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (I Cor. 11:14).  It's ironic that so many who attempt to paint or portray our Lord, or have a vision of Him, always reveal Him as having long hair.  Our Lord was perfect, and though He bore our shame on the cross, He never committed sin Himself.  "Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4), OUR LORD WAS NOT A LONG HAIRED HIPPIE!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

On which list is YOUR name?

I've read many interesting articles today about the RMS Carpathia, and its arrival in New York 100 years ago today, carrying just over 700 Titanic survivors. The Carpathia became known as the Ship of Widows because of the disproportionate number of men who gave their lives so that women and children could live. Here's one article:


and another:


It was so sad to me to see how the women still held out hope that their husbands had been picked up and rescued. Hope was held out in spite of the frigid waters and the fact that they knew the Carpathia was the first rescue ship, meaning that their husbands would had to have survived in the sea for several hours (which was impossible).

Still, when they arrived, they wanted to see the list of survivors. It's interesting that, at the beginning of the voyage, all that mattered was whether or not you were a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd class passenger. And afterward, all that mattered was whether you were on the "saved" list or the "lost" list.

In life, we dwell so much on things that don't matter; yet in the end, it only matters if you're saved or lost.

Is your name in the Lamb's Book of Life?

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Mud Mischief

Well, all I can say, is that we thought they were coloring in the living room like nice little girls....






(last 2 photos courtesy of my friend Melanie!)
- Posted using my iPhone

Monday, April 16, 2012

9 iPhone Apps for Surviving the Breakdown of Society

Of course things could change at any moment at any point in history. Pompei wasn't expecting the volcano. The South Pacific wasn't expecting the tsunami. Hiroshima wasn't expecting the bomb. Pearl Harbor wasn't expecting the air raid. But now, with the political and social unrest everywhere, a Marxist in office, and Biblical prophecy quickly unfolding, it only makes sense to prepare our families

9 iPhone Apps for Surviving the Breakdown of Society

This is assuming, of course, that we have electricity, but these apps do not run off internet connectivity, so they might be useful in the event of something that brings down the phone towers.

A Tale of Two Voyages

In memory of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic yesterday, I want to share this message by Dr. John Whitcomb. In it, he brings in interesting thoughts on both the Titanic and also Noah and the Ark. There is commentary by Doug Phillips, Dr. John Morris, and Ray Comfort. It's being offered as a free download on Sermon Audio. I'm going to embed my free download so you can listen here, but if you download it, I encourage you to do so directly from Dr. Whitcomb's sermon audio page so they can count the downloads.



Saturday, April 14, 2012

Stringer Farm

Here's the latest news from the Stringer Farm

My smart and creative, obsessed husband is still on a quest to design and build the perfect chicken incubator. He's pretty sure this is it:



That's an 8 x 10 picture frame in the door of the refrigerator.



The only thing he purchased new was a thermostat wafer, everything else was used or discarded "junk". To a redneck, everything is usable! One man's junk is another man's incubator.





I'm forever impressed with Jason's ingenuity. He can build or fix anything to which he sets his mind!

Our garden is planted. I would post a picture, but I don't know how to use the panorama setting on my Canon, and I don't have a helicopter to get an aerial view. It's B I G.

And our newest addition, RABBITS!


Our first babies have been born (from Sis's rabbit). We have been fascinated to learn all about rabbits! I had them as a child, but only as pets, not to breed. Before they have their little babies, "kits", they pull their hair and make a nice warm nest for the litter. It's so amazing! When they're born, all you see is the "fur" bed moving around with little kits tucked warmly underneath. The mama doe only nurses them once each day for about 5 minutes. They are born blind and deaf and without fur. They wean at around 4-6 weeks, and mama doe is ready to breed again in a few weeks. Here's a video of the fur nest:



Is that not just cool?

- Posted using my iPhone

Friday, April 13, 2012

At the End of the Day

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
~Margaret Atwood

This is AFTER his bath!




His brother cleaned up a little better!



Love my smelly boys!

- Posted using my iPhone

Biker Bug

The kids and I got such a kick out of this awesome photo! Read more about it here.