Sad News

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Born and bread in Minnesota, Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he was still a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

If this made you smile, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and, share that smile with someone else that may be having a crumby day and kneads a lift.

 

(borrowed from Taste of Pinecraft)

Jane Roe's prolife commercial

Eleven Reasons to Keep Homeschooling

We are at that half-way point of the school year, deep in the trenches, and tired.  The winter months are keeping inside and we are getting stir crazy.  You don't have to you know, there is much to be learned outdoors in the winter, you can break out of this cocoon and explore all the Glories of God's creation through its dormant state.  So much learning is just beyond that door, calling for you to come out and play. 

Below is an article that encouraged me a lot and I want to share it with you.  Take a moment and remember why you are homeschooling, why it is important, and then put on that coat and mittens, get outside, and see what animal tracks you can discover amidst the ice and snow.

Eleven Reasons to Keep Homeschooling
by Karen Koch

Let’s face it. Homeschooling is often hard work and sometimes discouraging because we’re stuck in the ruts and can’t envision the end results. As we near the halfway mark in the traditional school year (although we all know schooling actually goes on year-round), we at CHEA thought we would encourage our readers with some Focus: Eleven Reasons to Keep Homeschooling in 2011.


Reasons to homeschool vary almost as much as homeschoolers themselves. This is not an all-inclusive list, but we hope it is a reminder to you of why you began this task in the first place and the catalyst to keep at it.

1.     You and your children can start every school day with God.This includes prayer, Bible reading, songs and discussion. Our family is praying through a Voice of the Martyrs prayer calendar every day this year (arranged by country). We spent a few months last year praying specifically for all the homes on our street. We read missionary biographies regularly.

2.     You are not in this alone.God will sustain you in this homeschool journey. If you don’t have a supportive homeschool group, check CHEA’s Homeschool Directory for a group near you. Pray for God to provide you with godly encouragement from like-minded homeschoolers.

3.     You don’t have to know everything to love and teach your children.When you’re overwhelmed with a foreign language or geometry, resources exist to help. Co-ops, community college classes, online courses or curriculum, or a friend who is gifted in that area can help. Check CHEA’s Directory for service providers.

4.     Your family will be stronger, and learn conflict resolution and grace.My children are 2, 8, 12, and 14. If I wasn’t homeschooling, the kids would likely be scattered across town in different schools with separate lives. God set us in families for a reason. Let’s learn together how to face the world together and be prepared for the tasks God will give us.


5.     You won’t miss anything.If the kids are off in different schools, there are a vast number of their daily moments you will miss. A homeschooling veteran friend of mine once said: “They grow up so fast, but I have no regrets. I didn’t miss a single thing.”

6.     You can reinforce what your children are learning.When you see a Latin root, you can point it out (my kids’ favorite). When you see an image of a historical figure on TV, you can say, “Look kids – it’s Benjamin Franklin,” because you know what they are studying.

7.     You can “do life” with your kids every day.The kids can learn beside you in so many ways: grocery shopping, buying a used car, learning how to turn off the water when they accidentally break a pipe (the day after Christmas, no less), mowing the lawn, painting the kitchen, helping change the baby’s diaper, balancing a checkbook. I graduated first in my public high school class, but I barely knew how to do laundry and knew next to nothing about car maintenance.


8.     You can teach your children Christian worldview in all that you do.The state doesn’t choose the curriculum, you do. You are free to discuss God’s providence in history, His hand in science and nature, His beauty in music and art. You can ask yourself daily, “Are my children learning to be disciples of Christ?”

9.     You can protect your children from negative influences and equip them for the future.Of course the big, bad world is out there, but why not prepare the kids before sending them out to the wolves? How about teaching them discernment and truth first? Homeschool kids have been shown to be less peer dependent than their contemporaries.

10.   Because when your kids need an answer, you are the someone who is there.Not the feminist scholar. Not the atheist. Not the humanist. Not the media.

11.   You can meet your child’s unique needs.There is no “magic cookie cutter” that produces “educated” children. You know them better than anyone else, so help them find their God-given gifts and guide them through their weak spots.

Thank you to Kristin Murdock, Rebecca Kocsis, and Laura Messina for their contributions to this list.

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee Beans

A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things
have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make
it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the oven and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her he asked. "Darling what do you see?"
Smartly, she replied. "Carrots, eggs, and coffee."

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee.  Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.

Humbly, she asked. "What does it mean Father?"

He explained. "Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of boiling water. However each reacted differently." "The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going
through boiling water, it softened and became weak."

"The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened." "The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer."

"Which are you," he asked his daughter. When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, heat you wilt and become soft with no strength? Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart?
A fluid spirit. But after a death, a breakup, a divorce, a layoff you became hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart, internally.

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better. When things are there worst, you get better. When people talk the most, your praises increase. When the hour
is the darkest, trials are their greatest, your worship elevates to another level. How do you handle adversity? 

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
II Corinthians 4:8-9

"Prayer Changes Things!"

Rep. James Lankford: "The Right to Life is Self-Evident"

Off Ramp Ahead!



I have been travelling along at a leisurely pace and see a sign up ahead notifying me of an upcoming off ramp to a new road.  Hmmmm, I need to make a decision, which road do I take?  Do I continue in the direction I have been heading, or do I wish to reroute my journey and set off another direction?  Their is no GPS for life decisions to just tell me what I should do.

The road I am on now is paved with Convenience and Complacency.  It goes through the towns in Indifference and Obesity.  It contains thousands of potholes along the way, not noticeable at first glance, but there all the same.  These potholes have names, you know the ones, Depression, Self-pity, Restlessness, Discontentment, and Spiritual Decay.  This road has the appearance of easy travel and looks so great from the onset, if only that blasted sun wasn't blaring in our eyes we might be able to see what is ahead.



I notice as I draw closer to the off-ramp that their is a Construction sign for the new road.  Growth is promised.  This new road is rocky and difficult to travel.  It requires Endurance, Determination, Alertness, and Patience.  It will travel through the towns of Compassion, Diligence, and Good Health.  Their are no convenient Drive-Thrus along this road for it requires Direction and Preparedness from the onset.  This road has its potholes as well, remember that Construction sign?.  The potholes of Failure can be found scattered occasionally along this road, but don't fret, they are constantly being paved over with Perseverance and Initiative.  There are many hills and mountains to climb, but the view of Wisdom, Contentment, and Gratefulness is like no other you have ever seen.  Remember the harder the climb, the greater view from the other side.  This road promises to be plagued with challenges that will required Decisiveness and Boldness to make this journey.  There are many off ramps along the way to take you back to the first road if you choose to take them, but be warned that the longer you travel this road, the less likely you are to use one of them.

Two Roads, Two Different Journeys
It is time to decide.

Thankfully I recall bringing my MAP with me and if I am reading this correctly it says I have been on the wrong road for way to long.  I will never arrive at my desired destination on this current course, I need to take the off ramp, circle around on the donut (WHEEEE!), and merge onto this new THOROUGHway.  Immediately I will feel the gravel grinding away at me as I begin this journey, but it is all part of stripping away the old, and bringing out the polished shine of the NEW.  So I take a deep breathe, open the glove box, pull out my SONglasses and head off on a new trajectory with Joyfulness.

My new journey will take me through many Challenges, but if you never step out of Comfort you can never Acheive anything.  We are all traveling on an INNERstate, but you must choose which one you will take and what towns you will visit along the way.

Are You a Good Person?