Do Not Be Ashamed

I find it interesting that a high school principal can see the problem, but not our society.

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tennessee, by school Principal, Jody McLeod"It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country."

"Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it "an alternate lifestyle," and if someone is offended, that's OK."

"I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, "safe sex." If someone is offended, that's OK."

"I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem."

"I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology."

"I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple minded" and "ignorant" and call it "enlightenment."

"However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated. This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical."

"Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments. Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical. I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression."

"For this reason, I shall "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," and refrain from praying at this time." However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM, in the name of JESUS, to Bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that's not against the law----yet."

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray. They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer's Box! The only place they didn't pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America- the Seat of "Justice" in the "one nation, under GOD."Somehow, Kingston , Tennessee remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!

JESUS said, "If you are ashamed of ME before men, then I will be ashamed of you before MY FATHER."

Ikea, The Lunch Spot?

You know as a mom who is on the go a lot, I am always looking for a place where I can have a good lunch that is somewhat affordable and that is better for the kids then a hamburger and french fries. One of my favorite places is Ikea.

OK so now you say...What? Ikea? That's a European Target. Your right, but they have a wonderful Cafeteria. Yes, cafeteria. But this is not your office building cafeteria. This is a wonderful yummy one. Our favorite meal is the meatballs. My mouth is drooling just thinking about it right now. For the kids they have a $.99 plate of meatballs. Each side dish is $.99. You can have french fries, veggies, potatoes etc. We usually do the 3 plate meal of meatballs, veggies and a drink for $2.49. Not too bad of a deal. Then my husband and I get the 20 meatballs and split it between us. It is more then plenty of food for us. And if meatballs are not your thing, there is plenty of other food to choose from.

Now a few of the draw backs of this is the fact you can not just pull up to a drive through window and get your food. You have to park and go up the elevator and move around the store. (By the way when you get off the elevator you go to your left immediately and you can bypass all the shopping.) You do actually have to sit down at a table and not have food dripping on your lap as you drive. And you do have to have a conversation face to face with the kids instead of them talking to the back of your head in the car. LOL! And, yes, there is always the temptation of the shopping. But if you maintain control of your shopping you can go directly to the cafeteria and then back down the elevator to the front door. One other stop you might want to make on the way out is at the small cafeteria downstairs. They have cinnamon rolls, six for $4.00, ice cream cones for a $1.00 and hot dogs for a buck too. All yummy!

All in all I would give Ikea a 8 out of 10. It is a yummy and healthier way to eat then fast food hamburgers. But it lacks the convenience. The Ikea we visited was off the 405 fwy and Harbor. Trust me you can not miss this shop. If you do, then you need your prescription in your glasses changed. Give it a try this week. See what you think and then write me back and let me know how it worked for you. And remember......Straight to the cafeteria and back down to the front door. No shopping!

The Push to make Our Children Read

I just loved this short little article I read this morning and had to share it with all my friends....

A Late Bloomer Blossoms Into Something BigFamilies today feel a lot of pressure to have their children reading by age 6 or 7, or even age 5. Yet President Woodrow Wilson stands out as a great example of a "better late than early" learner.

Did you know that Wilson -- a scholar and 28th President of the United States, who also served as governor of New Jersey, president of Princeton University, and earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University -- was 12 years old before he learned to read? A sickly child, Wilson was tutored at home by his father, a Presbyterian minister. His early education included spending much time in "speech learning lab" listening to his father practice his sermons. In turn, Wilson's father helped his own practice and improved his own speeches and oratory skills.

Written by: www.Home-School-Inc.com

Homeschool Fair in the Newspaper

I thought this was a great way to finish off our day at the homeschool fair. I found this article written about the fair. Hey if you don;t mind if I can brag for a moment, My kids did great at the science and art fair. Six 1st place ribbons as well as two best in show. Take a look at the pictures...http://vincentshomeschooldays.blogspot.com/ . Anyway, read the article in the Inland Daily Bulletin.

Home School Fair is a hit in Ontario
Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 05/25/2009 06:02:00 PM PDT

ONTARIO - There seemed to be as many reasons to home-school a child as there were attendees at Monday's Home School Fair at Ontario Christian High School.
About 1,000 people from San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties as well as Northern California attended the fair in its 20th year.


The fair served children of the home-school community by providing them with a place to share their talents and abilities with friends, family members and other home-schooled students.
Home schooling consists of a parent or guardian taking on the responsibility of educating their child either directly or indirectly at home, instead of sending them to a public or charter school. Home schooling many times is religious based.


"The biggest benefit to home-schooling is that we can teach our kids our family values all while instilling our core beliefs," said Kerry Byers, High Desert regional advisory board member to the Christian Home Educators Association of California.
Christian Home Educators Association is a nonprofit ministry that provides information, support and training to the home-education community throughout the state. The nonprofit ministry was established in 1982.


The Home School Fair was similar to a county fair as it included art workshops, carnival games, historical re-enactments, arts and crafts as well as bake sales.
But the fair for home-schoolers also had spelling bees, bible-sword drills, vendor booths, history and science projects, used-curriculum sale and Olympic-type events.
Home schooling is a private educational practice that is very individualized, said Mike Gabriel, chairman of the Home School Fair.


"Your neighbor could be home-schooled and you not even know it," Gabriel said. "That's the reason why we host fairs like these to showcase what kids have done and to have fun at the same time."


Home schooling grew from nearly nonexistent in the 1970s to roughly 2 million students nation-wide in grades K-12 this year, according to a study done by National Home Education Research Institute. Home education receives no government money. Parents who home school their children pay taxes even though their kids are not enrolled in public schools.
"We don't live a lavish life, we live a simple life," said John Reilly of Moreno Valley. "I'd love to take a trip to Hawaii or have a vacation, but we would rather put our money into our kids education."



Reilly has four children who are home schooled. It costs him about $1,000 a year to teach each child. "Some of the financial challenges comes with buying your own curriculum, so finding used curriculum for sale cuts the costs," he said. "I do what ever it takes to make ends meet. God hasn't failed us yet and I don't believe he is going to."


Studies done by the National Home Education Research Institute also say that home-educated students generally score above average, regardless of whether either parent has ever held a state-issued teaching certificate.


The Home School Fair had a full schedule of events, beginning at 9 a.m. with a talent showcase and concluding after 3 p.m. with an ice cream and pie-eating contest. For Heather Reilly, 14, the thought of attending public school is not an option. "Sometimes I want to experience it, but then other times I say `Well, this is where God wants me to be and I'm pe in the rfectly fine with that,"' Heather said. The freshman is taught by her mother. "A lot of people think I don't have a social life because I'm home-schooled, but I'm involved in basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field and I meet with a support group of friends twice a month."

Sheltering our Children

You know, now a days when we hear people say that they shelter their children it is not intended to be a compliment. Why is that? Why is sheltering such a bad thing to do? So I was asking myself what exactly does it mean to shelter my kids? Do I shelter my kids? Is this a good thing? Is it Biblical? So I decided to do a bit a research on this matter. And no this is not some huge year long research, this is my very own ask a few questions and read some articles and some chapters in some parenting books.

So the first question was what is sheltering? I decided to go to the dictionary for a description of sheltering. The dictionary says.....

1. a dwelling place or home considered as a refuge from the elements:
Everyone's basic needs are food, clothing, and shelter.
2. to protect, as by shelter; take under one's protection, to protect from harm
3. protection from blame, incrimination, etc
Synonyms: retreat, asylum, sanctuary, shield, haven, harbor,
house, guard, safeguard, defend.

So now to my second question. Do I shelter my kids? I had to look at my everyday action towards my children and ask myself if I provide for their basic need of housing, clothing, food etc. Yes. I provide a dwelling place for my children that protects them from the elements. Their basic needs are met. Do I protect them from the things that I would think most parent would try to protect them from. Evil doers, excessive colds, making bad choices, how to hold a knife etc. You know the basic things in life to protect them. I do protect them from harm by teaching them and directing their path towards things I feel that may be better choices.

We ALL do it. We defend our children if needed, we protect them from other people, knives, too much TV etc, we watch over them to make sure they are making good choices and not eating candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we shield them from harms way when we are walking through the parking lot and a car come barreling down we will shove their little bodies behind ours and take the hit if needed. So why all this fuss about "SHELTERING" your kids is not the right thing to do?

Well somewhere, some sort of modern psychology came up with the idea that Parents should not try to shelter their children from normal childhood disappointments. But that sounds crazy to me. If I think about it if I am not sheltering my kids then I must be exposing them to the bitter cold. We are no longer defending them from dangers of life but allowing their little minds to make the choices that they know nothing about because we have endangered them physically and mentally to the disappointments of life!

So my next question was is sheltering a good thing. Well, if we look at the words described above and the meanings then yes! We need to shelter our children. Do we wrap them in a bubble and roll them around? NO! But there is nothing wrong with sheltering my 4 year old from profanity on TV. Or my 7 year old from sexual content. Or sheltering both my kids from the ignorance and life long hurt that can be caused by some child who decides today is the day they will pick a new child to be their punching bag.

My last question was is it Biblical to shelter? YES! Come on. Read your Bible people. Who is always there to protect us? He Protects us! He watches over our every move! He shields us from harms way. HE shelters us! Yes, God shelters us and we are told to protect and keep our children. I am proud to say I shelter my kids. I want my kids to grow up in a home that protected and loved them.

Oh I know what some of you may say. Oh, you kids will hate you for this and will go so far the opposite way when they grow up. Well, can't be any worst then allowing a 5 year old to play in the front yard by themselves and they get abducted or it can not be worst then the kid at age 13 comes home with the news that they are pregnant, or the kids who ends up in the hospital with Bulimia because the kids at school were so cruel that she end up throwing up 8 times a day just so the teasing will stop. All because we did not want to shelter the kid from the upsets of life????? These parents would probably ask themselves Was it really worth it to stop sheltering? There is no reason for me not to shelter them the best I can from the enemies out there that will take their innocent young minds from them. I want to keep them young. There is no reason for a 7 year old to act like a 12 year old and to have the same privileges just because I do not want to shelter. If my goal in life is to be more like God then…Shelter them like He shelters me! You bet I will!

Mothers Day

It comes around one time a year. The day I can do absolutely nothing and have my family do it all for me. The day I do not have to be active in the taking care of the family and the house and have the family be actively taking care of the house and me. But somehow, I always end up doing something.

There are days that go by over the year that I wish the kids were all grown up. I get frustrated and angry and all bent out of shape over the silliest things. "Why", I ask my son all the time when he does things with out thinking them through. I repeat myself over and over again to my daughter either because she does not understand or she does not listen or maybe she forgot (yea right). These are the times I get the most frustrated and wish these days were over.

Then the evening comes. And we are all relaxing after dinner watching a little TV. 10 minutes into the movie my son comes over and caresses my hand and says "I Love You Mommy. Can I sit in your lap?” Of course I say yes, even though he is getting so big I cannot see past his head to watch the movie. But that’s ok, because he is growing up way too fast. He is 7 now.

Then 20 minutes into the movie, my daughter comes over and tries to share my lap with my son. Now I am sweating like there is no tomorrow and I can hardly breath but I cherish this discomfort because my daughter is growing up way too fast too. She is almost 4 now.

As I sit there trying to listen to the movie through the soft bickering of "You move". No you move", and I can't really see what is going on in the silent parts of the movie; my butt is so sweaty it feels as if I have peed my pants. I am now taken back by my harshness, anger, frustration and the thoughts I had all day of wanting them to grow up so I can get past this "tough part". I kiss both their tiny heads and apologize. "I'm sorry my babies! Mommy loves you so much!" My daughter says "OK! Love you too." My son replies, "Love you too. What ya sorry for?" "For any hurt I have caused you today." "That’s Ok mommy. You didn't hurt me. You loved me." At that very moment I realize I do not want them to grow up.

I have to constantly remind myself that each day and each situation is only a moment in this vast time we call life. Each frustration will pass so fast if I just let it fall off my back. Each moment of anger will pass if I just breathe a few extra breaths. And each year will pass before I even know they have passed. Seven years ago I never thought I would be here today. I thought it would be forever before my son could read and write. And here I am today. Just a moment in time.

I guess my whole point is that we need to savor each of those Mommy moments no matter how bad they may be or how good. Our children need a Mother everyday, even on Mothers Day. Because it will not be long before that Moment in Time comes and the kids are gone out of our house. Cherish these days and have a happy active Mother's day.

For some reason it would not let me download the actual video, so here is the link to a great Mothers Day Video produced by Anthony Nitz.
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a4b7e64ff4f58919f602&page=13&viewtype=&category=mvd

The sound in the beginning of a woman giving birth...that is me and my son being born 7 years ago. Sniff, sniff!