No Greater Joy...

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

3 John vs. 4

Is anything more beautiful than this? Olivia is 5th generation Apostolic and her Grandpa baptized her in Jesus Name last night! Thank you, Jesus!!!!

A page of my life...

'Nuff said!

Communication...

Go figure...

Due to the local grass fires our air has been hazy to say the least. Each morning I wake up hoping for clear skies and fresh air. I have been disappointed every morning this week.

So...the craziest thing happened today. I was headed into the store and this woman was standing outside smoking a cigarette. She glanced at me and blew a plume of smoke my way. Then she proceeded to say "They ought to do something about the bleep-bleeping smoke in the air. It CAN'T be good for our lungs to breathe in all this smoke!"

At first I just stared at her. Then I burst out laughing...and agreed with her. SMOKE IS NOT GOOD FOR OUR LUNGS!!!!

One of ten things to do before your child is ten...

I recently ran across this article and was struck by this last portion. I would recommend any homeschooling parent who is attempting a classical academic education for their child read it in it's entirety...there are many helpful insights.

This portion struck home and I wanted to share...

"Play and Exploration

Give the child plenty of time to explore and play. Do not buy "toystore" toys — they are expensive and are usually forgotten after the newness wears off. Invest in real things. Garage sales and auctions are an unending source for things like sewing machines, small tools for working in the garden, hammers, nails, and things for building, some wooden blocks, and dress-up clothes. Buy tools for exploring (a good microscope, telescope, binoculars, dissecting equipment, basic chemistry equipment, etc.), not toys for adoring. Teach your children how to use them responsibly (safe, neat, and orderly — clean up when you are done), and make them readily available for when they want to use them.

It is not only important that you do some things, it is important that you not do some things. It always seems like there are more do not’s than there are do’s. Do not set your child in front of a television screen. Television is bad. We mean the screen itself. It is unhealthy for the body, and especially for the eyes. Visual strain is the number-one problem of frequent computer users. Studies estimate that anywhere from fifty to ninety percent of regular computer users experience visual deterioration.

The material on the screen is also bad. The entertainment method of learning creates a sort of entertainment addiction — the child wants to be entertained all of the time — he wants his visual and auditory senses stimulated (overstimulated.) Every child needs to learn to spell through touch and taste and smell, and through interaction with real human beings who smile and answer back. He needs to learn in submission to the authority of real parents, not the authority of glamorized, always-happy, limitlessly-resourceful, never-tired substitutes who have absolutely no accountability. Need we say more?

Do not let your child waste away. You will have to discover the happy medium between giving your child enough time of his own and giving your child too much time of his own. If he has too little time, he will not develop his own thoughts. If he has too much time, he will pursue mischief, or at least no profitable ends. Give him something to think on when he has nothing to do. Memorization fills the mind with things to teethe his mind on and ponder.

Do not let your child play in a cyber world. He can play in a miniature world. He can play in a pretend world. But it must be made up of objects which exist in the real three-dimensional world, not electrons hitting an opaque, two dimensional phosphorescent screen. Why? Because — though he may learn something from the screen image, there are nevertheless many things which he is not learning precisely because it is only a screen image. Besides the missing sensory experiences (touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, seeing — three dimensionally), there are logical things missing (such as consequences in the real world.)

When the Computer substitutes for the functions and processes which the brain normally supplies, the brain is left to atrophy. It does not develop its brain muscles, as it were. No pain no gain. Do not use it, you lose it.

Excessive use of computers, especially at early ages, will restructure the way the brain processes information, often for the worse. It also causes the underdevelopment of the emotional and social dimensions of the child. Young children are developing many parts of their understanding, and "holes" can occur in their development if they are deprived of certain experiences during critical periods of time. These may not be discovered until much later. For example, a child may test perfect for hearing, yet because of a period of head colds earlier in his life, he was not hearing properly while his discernment of speech sounds was developing, so though he hears speech perfectly, he does not properly discern in his mind what his ears are perfectly hearing. Because you know he can hear well, you think he does not pay careful attention, so you punish him. You do not realize that he cannot pay careful attention, and that you need to train him in a missing skill.

Televisions and computers can be useful tools under the proper circumstances and controls. But they are like fire — a useful servant, but a terrible master. There are many legitimate reasons to doubt their value for children below the age of ten, especially in preparation for classical academic education."

So...real-life skills can be fun for kids. Cooking, sewing, gardening, woodworking, even cleaning can be enjoyable and foster closeness and communication between parents and children. I am chastened by this article...Olivia plays way too many computer games, and has asked me repeatedly to teach her to really sew (using the machine.) To my credit I have purchased the fabric and the pattern...tomorrow we begin!

Don't have your symphony first and tune your instrument afterward...begin your day with God.

-Anonymous

A Tribute or Two...

Grandpa reads to Olivia

Blessed are they that keep judgement and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

Pslam 106:3

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

Psalm 16:6

Father's Day...is one day enough to recognize the man who raised me? Who taught me by precept and example how to live godly and with integrity? Who taught me to recognize the difference between truth and false doctrine? Who has lived a life above reproach EVERY DAY in EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE? The man who always had the right words to say and knew just how to say them? The answer is NO! A lifetime isn't enough!

I am 41 years old and my daddy has been my hero all my life. I am unspeakably thankful to be called a daughter of Rush and Mary Locke.

I love you, daddy!

Uncle Mike

Another man I want to recognize on this day is my Uncle Mike Bennett. Uncle Mike is actually my dad's best friend from Bible school and I was raised calling him uncle. Uncle Mike has been a loving, stabilizing, secure prescence in my life from my earliest memory. He taught me to ride a trike, prays for me daily and has always been a comfort to me. I thank God for my Uncle Mike.

Good friends for over 40 years. Whistler, B.C., Canada

Me and my sweetie

I am also thankful for David and the great dad he has been to all our children. No one works harder to take care of his family than my husband. I am blessed beyond measure to be married to this great guy! (22 years!)

Just a reminder...

Lemonade and Cookies

Aunt Carol’s Lemonade
2 ½ cups water
1 ¼ cups sugar
½ tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 ¼ cups lemon juice (fresh is best)

In a sauce pan heat and stir water and sugar over medium heat till sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Cool for 20 minutes. Add peel and juice to sugar mixture. Let stand in refrigerator till well chilled. Add 4 cups cold water and serve over ice.



Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour (sifted)1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c.(2 sticks) butter
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c.(12oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in larger bowl and mix until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to stand for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The Daffodil Principle

THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.

"I will come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there.

When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! There is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said," We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car."

"How far will we have to drive?"

"Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!"

"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden".

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.

Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns - great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn.

"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory.

We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

The second answer was, "one at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

There it was.

The Daffodil Principle.

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.

Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time - often just one baby-step at a time - and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.

We can change the world.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of
celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.

The truth is there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

Happiness is the journey...not the destination. So, treasure every moment that you have. Treasure it more because you shared it with someone special. Remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until your car or home is paid off.

Until you get a new car or home.

Until your kids leave the house.

Until you go back to school.

Until you finish school.

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you gain 10 lbs.

Until you get married.

Until you have kids.

Until you retire.

Until summer.

Until spring.

Until winter.

Until fall.

Until you die.

There is no better time than right now to be happy...and to accomplish great things.

So work like you don't need money...

Love like you've never been hurt...

And dance like no one's watching.

~ author Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards ~

Modesty...

Beautiful modesty

(thanks, Carly)

I was waiting in Taco Bell for my food today and picked up a copy of the Sac Bee to pass the time. This article caught my eye and I determined to come home and blog about it.

There were several statements that impacted me. Here is the first:

“Though this is the first time the Pure Fashion Show has been offered in Sacramento, teens in cities throughout the country have participated in the six-month program. They learn public speaking, manners, social graces, hairstyling and makeup application, personal presentation, and "living a life in accordance with God's will and fostering a life of grace through purity of heart, mind and body," according to the organization's Web site. One of its statements of beliefs is that "our private parts should stay private".”

I realized that while these girls are paying 350.00 for this training it is something my girls and their peers have been taught from the cradle. Being a part of a church like TRC is such an honor. Nothing is left to chance here…we are taught what to believe and why we believe it. We are taught public speaking, manners, social graces, hairstyling, (no make-up), personal presentation, and "living a life in accordance with God's will and fostering a life of grace through purity of heart, mind and body."

Within the last couple of years our leadership has taken this training to a new level with World Class Leaders sessions. I am so thankful that the fingerprints of great men and women of God are being left on my children’s lives.

The other statement that brought tears to my eyes was this:

"We want girls to know they can be beautiful and stylish and modest," Sugarman says. "We tell them first impressions are important … and what does it say if the first impression is showing everything?"

and...

"This counterbalances all the negative images out there. They're learning that beauty is who you are, not what you're showing."

Finally...

"Modesty is a way for me to show my faith every day," Jones says.

Wow. And in a day when I am embarrassed to have my teenage son walk through the mall.

While the world’s definition of modesty may not match ours, this message comes through to our Apostolic girls…the world WANTS what you have. Grace, beauty, style, confidence…in a word “modesty.”

Here is the article in it’s entirety:

Designer Michelle Dick fits model Mary Nye, 14, during a dress rehearsal for the recent Pure Fashion Show. Carl Costas / ccostas@sacbee.com

"I would wear these," says Nye, scanning a rack of blouses and dresses. The recent graduate of St. Mel's Catholic School in Fair Oaks usually has a hard time finding something to wear.

"When you go to the stores, all they have are clothes that show a lot of skin," says Nye, who is dressed in her usual after-school uniform of jeans and T-shirt over a tank top. "I don't feel comfortable with that."

"Modesty is a way for me to show my faith every day," Jones says.

Living that faith can be a challenge for teens who want to attend proms. Pressure to dress and behave provocatively at the high school dances has prompted so-called modest proms sponsored by church groups.

In April, more than 200 youths from Citrus Heights to Placerville and from all faith backgrounds attended a prom hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a decorated hall at the temple in Folsom. The theme was "An Evening in Paris."

"I like being around people with the same kinds of values," says Devin Stoker, who just finished his junior year at El Dorado Hills' Oak Ridge High School and attended the prom.

One of the best parts of the evening?

"It was free," Stoker says. The cost for the prom – the hors d'oeuvres, the photographer and even a chocolate dipping fountain – was funded by the church and donors.

"The proms are another way we can emphasize modesty in both appearance and behavior," says Lisa West, spokeswoman for the LDS church in the Sacramento region. The church stresses modesty for women and men.

Proms and fashion shows aren't the only places religious groups are pushing modesty. Many refer brides-to-be to bridal shops that sell modest clothing.

"The typical bridal gown is not modest anymore. They're backless or sleeveless, and cut down to there," says Lisa Durston, who opened A Bride's Dream Come True in Roseville.

She and partner Randi Peart started the business after Durston's daughter had a hard time finding a dress she considered appropriate. "We knew there were girls who wanted to be both modest and fashionable," Durston says.

To Durston, that means gowns with sleeves and a neckline that doesn't plunge. Brides-to-be from all faiths have bought her gowns, which range in price from $500 to $1,000.

"I think a lot of women are uncomfortable with the clothes out there right now," Durston says. "For some, it's because of religious beliefs and for others, it's because they want to leave something to the imagination."

A lot of people don't.

Low-cut camis and short dresses may be the rage in fashion and celebrity magazines, but many young women say the styles expose too much, especially during summer.

They've turned to faith-based organizations for help. The modesty movement, as it's called, is gaining support from religious leaders who say it's time to cover up. In the past few months, Sacramento-area religious groups have promoted modest-themed fashion shows and proms, and referred brides-to-be to shops that sell modest gowns.

Last week, hundreds attended the sold-out Pure Fashion Show at Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa in Sacramento. The Friday night show featured local teens from various churches modeling modest fashion from casual wear to evening formals.

The fashion show – which had a waiting list of more than 100 people who wanted to attend but couldn't get in – had the support of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, the first time church leaders have given their stamp of approval to such an event.

"In this day and age, girls are growing up in an environment where it seems OK to dress provocatively. ... We're concerned," says Kathy Conner, who works for the Sacramento diocese.
Church leaders advertised the fashion show at Catholic schools and parishes. "This gives them a different model to follow," Conner says.

The modesty model has specific guidelines. For example, a skirt or dress should not be any shorter than four fingers above the knee, according to Inchi Sugarman, chair of the Sacramento Pure Fashion Show. Necklines should not go any lower than four fingers below the collarbone, and straps on tops should be at least two fingers wide.

"We want girls to know they can be beautiful and stylish and modest," Sugarman says. "We tell them first impressions are important … and what does it say if the first impression is showing everything?"

Though this is the first time the Pure Fashion Show has been offered in Sacramento, teens in cities throughout the country have participated in the six-month program. They learn public speaking, manners, social graces, hairstyling and makeup application, personal presentation, and "living a life in accordance with God's will and fostering a life of grace through purity of heart, mind and body," according to the organization's Web site. One of its statements of beliefs is that "our private parts should stay private."

Teenagers of different faith backgrounds from throughout the Sacramento region paid $350 to go through the program, which also included a weekend spiritual retreat and a father-daughter luncheon, and culminated with the fashion show.

"It's definitely been worth it," says Jean Mark, one of many parent volunteers. Her 14-year-old daughter, Jamie, modeled in the show. "This counterbalances all the negative images out there. They're learning that beauty is who you are, not what you're showing."

PURE FASHION MODESTY GUIDELINES
• Shorts: Put your arms down straight at your sides. If the bottom of the shorts is higher than the tip of your longest finger, the shorts are too short.

• Tops: The neckline should be no lower than four fingers below the collarbone. No spaghetti straps or tops made out of thin material.

• Dresses and skirts: No shorter than four fingers above the kneecap. Should not be tight-fitting.

• Undergarments: Should never be outergarments. No exposed bra staps.– Jennifer GarzaSource: Pure Fashion

Bubbles!

Want a practically free way to have a blast with your children? Making and blowing bubbles with your kids is one of the most carefree pastimes imaginable - giggles guaranteed! And yet, blowing bubbles without knowing these simple bubble recipe secrets can turn your bubble fun into a "bust"! With these simple bubble recipe secrets, making super-sized long-lasting bubbles is a cinch.

What are bubbles? David Winsemius, MadSci Admin from The Mad Scientist Network gives us the answer:

"Bubbles are films of a solution stretched around some kind of fluid, usually air. The film that is easiest to make is a soap (or detergent) in water solution. The the film has thickness and an inside and an outside. Soap and detergent molecules are long thin molecules with many hydrogen atoms that attract each other. They have an electrically charged end that is attracted to water. The soap bubble surfaces have the soap or detergent molecules arranged so that they line up side by side. In the middle of the film is a water and soap solution."

You can purchase bubble mixture just about anywhere, from department stores to toy stores - but part of the fun of bubbles is you can make your own!!


Follow this simple recipe:

Materials Needed:
2/3 cup dish detergent (Dawn and Joy work best)
1 tablespoon glycerin (available at food or drug stores)
1 gallon of water

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in bowl, pail or container. Allowing the solution to sit or age for 24 hours will increase the life of the bubbles.

You are now ready to make some awesome bubbles. All you need are a few tools to help shape and size the bubbles.Standard bubble blowing wands can usually be purchased with commercial bubble mixture but again you can create your own tools. Some examples are:

*Shape metal coat hangers make larger circular bubbles

*Floral wire can be shaped into circles of any size

*The end of a funnel can be dipped into solution and blown out

Here are some additional tips:

1. Adding glycerin to your bubble mix makes bubbles stronger. Glycerin can be found in your local pharmacy.

2. Use distilled water instead of tap water. Tap water tends to be "hard" and is not good for making bubbles. If yours is "soft", you have the perfect water for good "bubbleology".

3. Prepare your bubble solution in advance and store it overnight in the refrigerator before using it.

4. Dry surfaces pop bubbles, so make sure your bubble wand, your hands, and anything your bubble may touch is wet.

5. Let the bubble maker soak in the bubble solution a few minutes prior to using.

6. Clear any suds or foam from surface of mixture before making bubbles. Don't slosh the wand around in the solution. Suds and foam are "bubble-busters".

7. Overcast, cool and humid days are the best weather conditions for blowing bubbles. Avoid hot, dry or windy days, or at least find a shady spot out of the wind.

8. "Throw" bubbles, don't blow bubbles. Move your wand in a slow fluid motion.

9. Many small bubbles instead of one big one means you are probably blowing too hard.

10. Finish your bubble with a quick twist of the wrist to seal it before if flies away.

Adults and kids alike can learn these simple techniques to become expert "bubbleologists".

Note: Exercise care when children are using bubble mix. It can be very slippery on the ground, and will sting if it gets in the eyes.

Info from buzzles.com and kidsturncentral.com

Honor

I have been pondering this subject for quite some time. Consider these excerpts from Building Christian Character by Blair Adams (Copyright 1992 by Truth Forum)

Ephesians 6:2-3
2Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

"Honor, the foundation from which all other elements of Christian character arise, refers primarily to a condition of the heart and mind, an inner attitude that inevitably manifests itself in outer words, actions and demeanor. A child who holds honor in his heart towards God, his parents and others to whom it is due will not simply try to appear to have Christian character traits, but he will genuinely strive to attain them in his heart and manifest them in his life. If we begin by truly honoring those to whom honor is due, then all the other elements of Christian character will come forth in our lives."

A little further on in this chapter...

"When children truly see that their obedience to parents equals obedience to God, and that their fear of their parents' displeasure becomes the fear of God, then they are well on the way to becoming God's disciples."

and...

"The foundation of disciplining our children is not in trying to teach the child masses of isolated rules and regulations, although they certainly need a clear pattern for their behavior, but to teach them to respect godly authority and to respond with immediate obedience to the demands of their parents and all those who express God's authority, that is , to come into proper relationship to God-ordained authority."

Finally...

"So we can see exactly how a child's honoring of his father and mother will bring him long life: honor lies at the base of God's efficacious exercise of authority in our lives. Authority stands at the basis of discipline. And discipline in turn becomes the basis of the life that love brings. When authority is motivated by love, it brings a discipline to bear upon the child to mold him into God's image. This discipline brings fear, fear respect, respect silence, silence listening, listening hearing, hearing obedience, obedience wisdom and wisdom life. So we see that the foundation of life springs forth from godly fear and wisdom (Prov. 14:27). These characteristics constitute the qualities of honor.

"We can also see why Solomon could conclude:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Eccles. 12:13-14)

"If we truly teach our children -in the love of God- to fear Him, then they will fulfill their whole duty to God. Truly, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10) When we honor our parents, their discipline will bring us those characteristics that will impart God's life to us and make us vessels through whom that life can be imparted to others."