September 24, 2008

  • SuperStock_1557R-05188

     

    Ode to Autumn

    by John Keats

    Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
            To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
        With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
    And still more, later flowers for the bees,
    Until they think warm days will never cease,
            For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

    Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
        Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
        Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
    Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
        Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
            Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
        Steady thy laden head across a brook;
        Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
            Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

    Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
        Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
    While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
        And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
    Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
        Among the river sallows, borne aloft
            Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
    And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
        Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
        The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
            And gathering swallows twitter in the skies

September 23, 2008

  • Not trying to alienate anyone, but please...

    I am shocked and disappointed that some Christian women choose to judge other Christian women who work outside the home.  They equate them with living outside the will of God; they equate them as sinners.  And, they attempt to use Titus 2:3-5 to support their judgement that women who are not *solely* homemakers are blasphemers!

    There is a problem here--a HUGE flaw.  These women are ignoring the beginning of Titus 2--here is the entire passage:

     

    Christian Behavior*1 As for yourself, you must say what is consistent with sound doctrine, namely, 2 that older men should be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance.  3 Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. [i.e. blasphemed]

     

    Okay, first note that Paul is speaking to Titus about the character of the assistants he is to choose in view of the pastoral difficulties peculiar to Crete (1, 5-16).  It suggests the special individual and social virtues that the various age groups and classes in the Christian community should be encouraged to acquire (2, 1-10). (source NAB)

    The last part of verse 5, "...so that the word of God may not be discredited" (or blasphemed) is supporting the first verse:  "...you must say what is consistent with sound doctrine..."

    In other words:  Older men and women, while teaching the Christian life:  you must say* what is consistent with sound doctrine so that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

    *Remember that blaspheme means speaking--

    1.to speak impiously or irreverently of (God or sacred things).
    2.to speak evil of; slander; abuse.
    –verb (used without object)
    3.to speak irreverently of God or sacred things; utter impieties.

    In between the first and fifth verse, Paul lists character traits the older men and women should possess and lists examples of what older women should teach the younger women.  He is not saying that women who are not "good homemakers" (which is twisted into women who work outside the home) are blasphemous.

    ************************************************************************************

    One more point I would like to make:

    Jesus said, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." Luke 11:28

    Most of you know that I was a single mom for seven years and that I worked outside the home.  If I had kept a tally, I could tell you of all of the blessings and miracles God bestowed upon me during that time!  God blessed my son and me over and over again.  One of our most notable blessings was when God brought my husband, David, into our lives. 

    And, I worked with other Christian women, and had friends who were working Christian women, of whom I observed innumerous blessings in their lives from God.  Even now, I have friends and family who work outside of the home, who tell me of the ways that God blesses them.

    If working women are living outside the will of God, would they be blessed?

September 22, 2008

  • Hitting the books--again!

    Oh, wow.  Trying to get into the groove of our homeschool this year has been challenging!  Our five-year old, Sailor, "formally" started school this year.  He is in art and tennis--and will possibly join his big brother in golf.  We have had a couple of interruptions (the biggie being the hurricane), but I am hoping that today we will be able to stay on-task and start adapting to our new schedule and routines.

    I love that this year is an election year, because Sailor is going to be exposed to so many historical facts and trivia!  Even if he does not remember any of it, he will hear the vocabulary, see the pictures, and store it all in his little brain-cache for later!

    I am curious to see if he can memorize the Presidents in order--we are going to try, ten-at-a-time, and see if he can do it.

    Today, we will also start our new Science curriculum from the Teaching Company--I am probably looking forward to it more than my children, LOL!

     

September 21, 2008

September 20, 2008

  • Pro-Life: A 25-year record

    Actions speak louder than words--McCain is Pro-Life (highlights and enlarged font mine):

     

    NARAL Gives John McCain 96% Pro-Life Voting Record on Abortion Issues

    by Steven Ertelt
    LifeNews.com Editor
    February 7,     2008

    Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- NARAL president Nancy Keenan emailed her supporters early on Wednesday asking for money for a campaign to begin bashing John McCain for his pro-life voting record on abortion. She didn't waste any time in launching the attack as, later in the day, NARAL issued a press release blasting the possible Republican nominee.

    Keenan said she's worried that some people on the conservative side who disagree with McCain on other political issues will make it appear to some voters that he's not "extreme in his opposition" to abortion.

    "John McCain has a 25-year record of voting against women's freedom and privacy, and he has even gone so far as to call for the overturn of Roe v. Wade," Keenan said.

    McCain served in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1986 and in the U.S. Senate since 1987. During that time, Keenan said her organization has given him only a 4 percent pro-abortion voting record -- including a rating of 0 from 2002 through 2007.

    According to NARAL, McCain has voted pro-life 123 times out of 128 votes, for a 96 percent pro-life voting record.

    Keenan said McCain has a "documented record of hostility toward" abortion and that, on pro-life issues, "McCain is neither a moderate nor a maverick."

    "As we move toward the general election, NARAL Pro-Choice America will make sure that voters, especially pro-choice Independent and Republican women, know the truth about Sen. McCain," Keenan promised.

    Despite her criticism, McCain has said he's proud of his pro-life voting record when it comes to abortion issues.

    "I have many, many votes and it's been consistent. And I've got a consistent zero from NARAL throughout all those years," he told National Review in March 2007.

    "And I think the important thing is you look at people's voting record because sometimes rhetoric can be a little... misleading," he added.

     

     

September 16, 2008

  • Whew...that was close!

    We evacuated for the hurricane and returned late yesterday afternoon.  My husband works in Houston and does not return until Wednesday (if they have power).  Most of my family lives in the Brazosport area.  My oldest brother returned today--I think that he is just going to tough it out with the heat and mosquitoes!  They might be waiting for power for up to three weeks...

    My mom is leaving my brother's house tomorrow (we all stayed with him in San Antonio) and is coming to stay with me, in Victoria, until her house has electricity.  My dad is heading back to the B'port area tomorrow to check their houses and do any necessary repairs. 

    My parents' house that my husband is commuting to work from is along the bayou--just "down the road" from Surfside beach (have y'all seen the footage?!  At least 40 houses lost in Surfside).  We have heard that the house has wind damage--the siding and parts of the deck--we are praying that it is not significant. 

    Really, the area fared much better than we all expected.  I was a little stressed out by my dad's stress--he and my mother left in a hurry and there were many things left behind...heirlooms and items from his mother (she passed away when my dad was in the fifth grade) that cannot be replaced...  And, as hard as you try to tell yourself that these are just "things" and that they do not matter in the big picture, it is stressful to think of losing tangible memories...

September 2, 2008

  • Don't forget to read the small print!

    A teacher I used to work with (I'll call her J), when feeling frustrated with a misbehaving student, used to tell him/her (in her southern Texas accent), "I am going to snatch you bald" (she was my mother's age--and a great friend and teacher!).

    One day after school, an irate parent called the principal about her son and asked J why she threatened to "snatch his balls"!!!  We laughed about that for the rest of the year.  Consequently, I've never forgotten that little idiom (the bald one, that is...and is idiom the right term for it?).  It crossed my mind tonight, after trying to deal patiently with an ungrateful five year old...

    (true story, please don't be offended!)

     

September 1, 2008

  • Just who *is* Obama?

    The question that won't go away: Just who is Obama?

    By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

    Aug. 30, 2008, 10:46AM

    WASHINGTON — Barack Obama is an immensely talented man whose talents have been largely devoted to crafting, and chronicling, his own life. Not things. Not ideas. Not institutions. But himself.

    Nothing wrong or even terribly odd about that, except that he is laying claim to the job of crafting the coming history of the United States. A leap of such audacity is odd. The air of unease at the Democratic convention last week was not just a result of the Clinton psychodrama. The deeper anxiety was that the party was nominating a man of many gifts but precious few accomplishments — bearing even fewer witnesses.

    When John Kerry was introduced at his convention four years ago, an honor guard of a dozen mates from his Vietnam days surrounded him on the podium attesting to his character and readiness to lead. Such personal testimonials are the norm. The roster of fellow soldiers or fellow senators who could from personal experience vouch for John McCain is rather long. At a less partisan date in the calendar, that roster might even include Democrats Russ Feingold and Edward Kennedy, with whom John McCain has worked to fashion important legislation.

    Eerily missing at the Democratic convention this year were people of stature who were seriously involved at some point in Obama's life standing up to say: I know Barack Obama. I've been with Barack Obama. We've toiled/endured together. You can trust him. I do.

    Hillary Clinton could have said something like that. She and Obama had, after all, engaged in a historic, utterly compelling contest for the nomination. During her convention speech, you kept waiting for her to offer just one line of testimony: I have come to know this man, to admire this man, to see his character, his courage, his wisdom, his judgment. Whatever. Anything.

    Instead, nothing. She of course endorsed him. But the endorsement was entirely programmatic: We're all Democrats. He's a Democrat. He believes what you believe. So we must elect him — I am currently unavailable — to get Democratic things done. God bless America.

    Clinton's withholding the "I've come to know this man" was vindictive and supremely self-serving — but jarring, too, because you realize that if she didn't do it, no one else would. Not because of any inherent deficiency in Obama's character. But simply as a reflection of a young life with a biography remarkably thin by the standard of presidential candidates.

    Who was there to speak about the real Barack Obama? His wife. She could tell you about Barack the father, the husband, the family man in a winning and perfectly sincere way. But that only takes you so far. It doesn't take you to the public man, the national leader.

    Who is to testify to that? Hillary's husband did aver that Obama is "ready to lead." However, he offered not a shred of evidence, let alone personal experience with Obama. And although he pulled it off charmingly, everyone knew that, having been suggesting precisely the opposite for months, he meant not a word of it.

    Obama's vice presidential selection, Joe Biden, naturally advertised his patron's virtues, such as the fact that he had "reached across party lines to ... keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists." But securing loose nukes is as bipartisan as motherhood and as uncontroversial as apple pie. The measure was so minimal that it passed by voice vote and received near zero media coverage.

    Thought experiment. Assume John McCain had retired from politics. Would he have testified to Obama's political courage in reaching across the aisle to work with him on ethics reform, a collaboration Obama boasted about in the Saddleback debate? "In fact," reports the Annenberg Political Fact Check, "the two worked together for barely a week, after which McCain accused Obama of 'partisan posturing' " — and launched a volcanic missive charging him with double cross.

    So where are the colleagues? The buddies? The political or spiritual soul mates? His most important spiritual adviser and mentor was Jeremiah Wright. But he's out. Then there's William Ayers, with whom he served on a board. He's out. Where are the others?

    The oddity of this convention is that its central figure is the ultimate self-made man, a dazzling mysterious Gatsby. The palpable apprehension is that the anointed is a stranger — a deeply engaging, elegant, brilliant stranger with whom the Democrats had a torrid affair. Having slowly woken up, they see the ring and wonder who exactly they married last week.

    Krauthammer is a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. (letters@charleskrauthammer.com)  

August 25, 2008

August 22, 2008