 |
| |
|
|
|
I hope you all have been enjoying your holiday festivities and were able to do something fun for this 6th day of the Festival of Lights.
We had a good celebration of the midwinter holiday of Christmas. Among other things, I was given Manuals for my antique tractor, two really cool splitting mauls, enough materials to build 3 more bee hives, and a really cool book on organic apple husbandry that I didn't even know existed.
Another really cool thing is that I was finally able to use my birthday present. on the 25th, Stacey, Kelly, and I played 2 games of Settlers of Catan. On the 26th, Leigh joined by coming with Kelly to spend the night and we played 3 games (technically the third started about midnight on the 27th and went 'til about 0140). Then, we played one more game late this morning before they took off. GREAT FUN!
I'm back in the office Tuesday and Wednesday, then off unitl the 5th - hopefully I'll get a little rest before then (^_^) |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
- The family has been sick for a while and we're all in various states of repair.
- Consequently, we had to cancel a visit from Wayne and Beth :o(
- We're all decked out for the impending holidays. But I still have a couple of things I need to pick up for my splendid wife
- We're finally heating with fire! (pictures forthcoming) Good timing since our heat pump is refusing to work!
- Definitely check out Stacey's latest post - serious implications for mandating "the village" raising our children.
Question: Hanukkah - ever done anything with this festival? I've been listening to Hanukkah Blessings by Barenaked Ladies and have been thinking about the festival of lights. Jesus celebrated it and I think it might be interesting to consider for next year. Experience or comments are appreciated. |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
With the reading we've done for home education and looking at other areas of interest, I've wondered about the role of the good ol' interwebs in tearing us down rather than building up.
I'd like you to consider these thoughts from a blog I subscribe to:
Over the last five years, have you noticed a change in the way you read? Is it possible that we’re all getting dumber?
I was recently reading a well-known and somewhat disturbing article entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid“. In the article, author Nicholas Carr argues that Internet has changed the way we read, and in turn, the way we think. I think he’s on to something. He says:
…what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.
How true this is. Much of my reading is now done in bite-sized, easily digestible chunks. If a blog post is longer than a few paragraphs I skim it. Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters. If an email gets too long I skim to the end.
Later in the article, Carr quotes author and pyschologist Maryanne Wolf, who says:
When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.
This bothers me. Why? Because as a Christian, my spiritual life is directly linked to a book. God has given His words to me in a long, detailed book - a book that requires deep reading and even deeper thinking. In scripture, the man who is blessed is the man who meditates on God’s law day and night. What a foreign concept in our text-message world.
My concern is that my net reading habits, combined with my easily distracted sinful nature, could detract from my ability to go deep into God’s word.
I don’t plan on cutting out blog reading or email, but I may reevaluate my habits. I want to ensure that nothing is hindering my pursuit of God through his word. More on this later.
What about you? Do you think the Internet is changing the way you read?
I think the answer is yes for me. That's why I try to read a real book of something during my lunch time to fight the brain rot of the web. |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
In good news, Dad is doing pretty well now that the medication has been sorted out.
Monday, I took all of my girls to see Madagascar 2. We enjoyed the first one and thought this would be more of the same. Well, it was pretty funny, but it had a message not unlike what Frederic talked about in his most recent post.
On one hand, they're simply trying to portray a different life choice as acceptable. I mean, come on, a lion that thinks a fight means to do the dances to the fight scene in West Side Story - that's funny! But it isn't just that. They show the problems that come from these choices, they show the acceptance of everyone in New York City, they show the rejection of everyone in the small, remote village, and finally that everyone in the small village is willing to come around and accept this alternative.
If one wants to blow that off as not promoting the homosexual agenda, then - at a minimum - it is rejecting "traditional roles" which our society disdains. Society tells us that our grandparents had it wrong. The real message is that God has it wrong. Society wants us to believe that there is no difference between men and women and that any role/responsibility is completely interchangable. Too, when you don't agree with your parents, it's ok to run off - it'll turn out better for you.
The sad part is that the primary audience for these themes are small children. Granted, this one had a PG instead of G rating, but it's targeted at young, highly impressionable minds. |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
|
Dad's surgery went really well. The Doctors & Rehab folks were happy with his status and they let him go yesterday afternoon.
The bad news is that there were some conflicting directions on medication and he's having some swelling which is causing a bit of pain.
Structurally, the joint is where it's supposed to be. But, there was a lot of trauma to the tissue getting in there and replacing the part of the joint that needed work.
So, please, keep Dad in your prayers for his recovery and healing and Mom, too, as she's trying to take care of him. |
|
| | hide comments | | | |
|
|
