Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE our library? I merely mention a book in passing to the librarian, and two weeks later they call me, tell me it has arrived, and I get to read it first!
I am reading "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I think it's a must-read for this season of thankfulness, which just happens to come right before the season of ungratefulness, discontent, gimme's, and Iwant's.
It is a bit tough to get into at first. Her writing style is different from others I have read. She writes with imagery; pictures painted with words. Once I moved beyond the first chapter it became easier to read. I still found myself rereading sections and paragraphs, but mainly because there was an idea or thought that I really needed to grasp (mull over, tear into, analyze fully...).
Ann Voskamp chronicles her journey of investigating the attitude of thankfulness/gratefulness in her life. She briefly touches on her history; why she thought the way she did prior to her searching. Then she dives right in. Her story involves using the best source ever for an exploration of gratitude: the Bible. Along with other resources, she develops a definition of thankfulness based on biblical terms, Jesus' examples, and God's commandments.
I have found this little book difficult to put down, and even when I've had to (people in this house were requesting meals and clean laundry. The nerve!), I've found myself mulling over ideas and thoughts that the author expressed. My mind keeps returning to biblical passages she quotes and meditating on them.
I haven't finished the book yet, but it has already changed my outlook. "Thanksgiving" has a new meaning for me.
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Crazy Love
I finished reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Definitely a book which causes you to stop and think about our relationship with God. The world should call us "crazy" because of how we behave, relate to others, and the sacrifices we make, all in the name of our love for God. But to God, this is considered "normal".
Much of the book challenged me to look at other things that I claim to love, and what I am willing (even eager) to do because of that love. It caused me to evaluate if my love for God has any of those attributes. Am I eager to get up early and spend time in prayer? Am I willing to forgive? Am I willing to sacrifice my own comfort so that others will have comfort?
Is it simply obedience? What is my motivation? Obedience is not a bad thing in itself, but my motivation should be love. God looks on my heart, not my outward actions and appearance. What good are all the things I do if I have not love? If I am lukewarm, and my works are done merely to make me look good, God will spit me out. Can you imagine? Getting to stand before the Creator and having Him look you in the eye and say, "I never knew you: depart from me..." (Matthew 7:23)
Psalm 51: 10- 12 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." This prayer of David's speaks to my heart as I desire to have the right spirit of love. That I would return to my first love, and remember from what God has saved me from. (Revelation 3: 2-5)
It is so easy to do and say the right things and have the praise of others be our motivation. We have such a hard time with delayed gratification. I pray that I can have the vision to look beyond this moment. As my favorite hymn, Be Thou My Vision, says:
Much of the book challenged me to look at other things that I claim to love, and what I am willing (even eager) to do because of that love. It caused me to evaluate if my love for God has any of those attributes. Am I eager to get up early and spend time in prayer? Am I willing to forgive? Am I willing to sacrifice my own comfort so that others will have comfort?
Is it simply obedience? What is my motivation? Obedience is not a bad thing in itself, but my motivation should be love. God looks on my heart, not my outward actions and appearance. What good are all the things I do if I have not love? If I am lukewarm, and my works are done merely to make me look good, God will spit me out. Can you imagine? Getting to stand before the Creator and having Him look you in the eye and say, "I never knew you: depart from me..." (Matthew 7:23)
Psalm 51: 10- 12 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." This prayer of David's speaks to my heart as I desire to have the right spirit of love. That I would return to my first love, and remember from what God has saved me from. (Revelation 3: 2-5)
It is so easy to do and say the right things and have the praise of others be our motivation. We have such a hard time with delayed gratification. I pray that I can have the vision to look beyond this moment. As my favorite hymn, Be Thou My Vision, says:
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
100 Things
I finished reading The 100 Thing Challenge recently. (I am blazing through my "want to read" list!) This book was touted as the story of a man who lived for a year with only 100 things and how he reconnected with himself and his faith in the process. Uhmmm. Not exactly.
First, it was 100 personal things. And that was just the first "qualifier" for his list. He had lots of exceptions for his 100 things and reasons for why this thing or that thing didn't count. He counted his books as 1 thing: a library. All of his socks and undergarments together counted as 1 thing. His bed didn't count because he shared that with his wife. Etc. etc. etc.
Second, he claimed he was a christian and that one of his reasons for doing this was to reconnect with his spirituality. He used occasional foul language and gave some rather inappropriate anecdotes in the book. I disliked having to wade through muck to try and find the nugget of truth. He never really discussed whether or not he found his spirituality through this exercise. He did find that he could live without purchasing things and taught himself to carefully consider all the costs to spending money on something. Not really spiritual.
He basically writes about why he developed the idea, the rules he created for it, all the exceptions to the rules he created, how he decided what was important to keep, and all the publicity he received. He states over and over that this was "his personal challenge", and he uses this to justify his actions whenever someone challenges one of his rules or exceptions. He does explain some about "consumerism", the pitfalls of buying what we don't really need, and how people use shopping as a type of therapy, which is only a temporary fix.
This book was okay. It didn't really inspire me. It did cause me to realize that we already live pretty simply in our home. We just don't have the finances to go "mall-crawling" and use shopping as therapy. We are already pretty good at "making do with what we have". If you are looking to be inspired to reduce what you have, to clear out the clutter, and to free up space and time in your life, then I suggest reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. Definitely a more inspiring and helpful book.
I'll be donating "The 100 Thing Challenge" to the local library book sale.
First, it was 100 personal things. And that was just the first "qualifier" for his list. He had lots of exceptions for his 100 things and reasons for why this thing or that thing didn't count. He counted his books as 1 thing: a library. All of his socks and undergarments together counted as 1 thing. His bed didn't count because he shared that with his wife. Etc. etc. etc.
Second, he claimed he was a christian and that one of his reasons for doing this was to reconnect with his spirituality. He used occasional foul language and gave some rather inappropriate anecdotes in the book. I disliked having to wade through muck to try and find the nugget of truth. He never really discussed whether or not he found his spirituality through this exercise. He did find that he could live without purchasing things and taught himself to carefully consider all the costs to spending money on something. Not really spiritual.
He basically writes about why he developed the idea, the rules he created for it, all the exceptions to the rules he created, how he decided what was important to keep, and all the publicity he received. He states over and over that this was "his personal challenge", and he uses this to justify his actions whenever someone challenges one of his rules or exceptions. He does explain some about "consumerism", the pitfalls of buying what we don't really need, and how people use shopping as a type of therapy, which is only a temporary fix.
This book was okay. It didn't really inspire me. It did cause me to realize that we already live pretty simply in our home. We just don't have the finances to go "mall-crawling" and use shopping as therapy. We are already pretty good at "making do with what we have". If you are looking to be inspired to reduce what you have, to clear out the clutter, and to free up space and time in your life, then I suggest reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. Definitely a more inspiring and helpful book.
I'll be donating "The 100 Thing Challenge" to the local library book sale.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Under the Overpass
I recently finished reading Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski. Very rarely do I stay up late to read a book. I just can't do my life if I am sleep deprived! Not only did I stay up late, but I also got up early to finish this one!
This is the story of two guys who wanted to determine the effectiveness of the "church" in reaching the homeless of America. They felt the best way to do that would be to become homeless themselves. They spent about six months living on the streets, in six different cities. What they discovered is both eye-opening and sobering.
This book will cause you to take hard look at what it really means to "love your neighbor". It has caused me to once again evaluate how comfortable I really am even when I think times are difficult.
I am still mulling over what this book has to say about the state of christianity in America. American christians are pretty comfortable in their faith and this book shows that most of us need to step out and get uncomfortable, even a little radical or fanatical! I highly recommend borrowing this book from the library.
This is the story of two guys who wanted to determine the effectiveness of the "church" in reaching the homeless of America. They felt the best way to do that would be to become homeless themselves. They spent about six months living on the streets, in six different cities. What they discovered is both eye-opening and sobering.
This book will cause you to take hard look at what it really means to "love your neighbor". It has caused me to once again evaluate how comfortable I really am even when I think times are difficult.
I am still mulling over what this book has to say about the state of christianity in America. American christians are pretty comfortable in their faith and this book shows that most of us need to step out and get uncomfortable, even a little radical or fanatical! I highly recommend borrowing this book from the library.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Power of Less
I recently finished reading "The Power of Less" by Leo Babauta. I had picked it up because I thought it was about reducing the things in your life and that is something I have been "studying" lately. Turns out it's a book about putting limits on yourself and what you do with your time, energy, and focus.
The author argues that we (you know, that collective ubiquitous "we") are too busy. Technology has given us so many things to do and so many ways to do them, that we think we can do it all, and do it all very well. He states that we actually are doing a lot of things not so very well, at all. We are easily distracted and the time and effort it takes us to switch gears to a new activity causes us to be weak and inefficient in those tasks. Essentially, multi-tasking is a myth.
So his solution is to limit what we take on and teach ourselves to focus on completing only one task at a time. The idea is to pare down our goals to only those things that are essential and focus on one project at a time. While his premise focuses on the "business/work world", I was able to think of ways to apply his ideas to the "home world". The author suggests we can actually get more accomplished and do it better, more effectively and completely, than if we try to focus on several things at once.
Interestingly, the sermon on Sunday morning had some insights into limitations in reference to the narrow gate verses the broad gate, mentioned in Matthew 7. My pathway, as a christian on the narrow way, is not wide enough for me take on all the extra "stuff" I think I need. Several things came to mind as a result of connecting "The Power of Less" ideas with the sermon. If I eliminate many of the non-essential distractions, I can focus more on what is essential.
Reading and studying God's word gives me insight into what really is essential verses what only feels essential. So I have made that my first singular task. It seems like the right place to start. I have begun setting my alarm clock for fifteen minutes earlier than normal so that I have at least that much potentially uninterrupted time for prayer and Bible reading. (I say potentially because the second day I did this, I was interrupted by a goat giving birth!) My plan is to eventually increase that to a full thirty minutes by next month.
I have also set myself other small task-oriented goals for my day. While I still like my routine that we implemented from Large Family Logistics, I am thinking that little goals within some of those routines could be motivating. Things like: completing a certain number of sewing projects, decluttering a pre-defined space, folding/ironing a specific number of items, reading a set number of pages or chapters, etc. The idea is that I will eliminate all (or as many as possible) distractions and focus on that activity until the goal is reached.
One of the demands on my time is already in the works of being eliminated, as it has been deemed "non-essential". A few weeks ago I stepped down as an adult fair advisor for our local 4-H fair association. The girls have some obligations on the fair association board that they need to fulfill, but once they are completed, we will be eliminating that commitment from our schedules. We'll still be involved with 4-H, but mainly only on the local club level. This will free up about five hours per month and a large amount of stress! Other activities that we take part in are in the process of being evaluated for their "essential-ness" within our lives.
I am currently reading a book called "The Power of Half", which is about how one family reduced their lives to half of what they had and increased their charitable donations. It's a pretty inspiring story so far.
The author argues that we (you know, that collective ubiquitous "we") are too busy. Technology has given us so many things to do and so many ways to do them, that we think we can do it all, and do it all very well. He states that we actually are doing a lot of things not so very well, at all. We are easily distracted and the time and effort it takes us to switch gears to a new activity causes us to be weak and inefficient in those tasks. Essentially, multi-tasking is a myth.
So his solution is to limit what we take on and teach ourselves to focus on completing only one task at a time. The idea is to pare down our goals to only those things that are essential and focus on one project at a time. While his premise focuses on the "business/work world", I was able to think of ways to apply his ideas to the "home world". The author suggests we can actually get more accomplished and do it better, more effectively and completely, than if we try to focus on several things at once.
Interestingly, the sermon on Sunday morning had some insights into limitations in reference to the narrow gate verses the broad gate, mentioned in Matthew 7. My pathway, as a christian on the narrow way, is not wide enough for me take on all the extra "stuff" I think I need. Several things came to mind as a result of connecting "The Power of Less" ideas with the sermon. If I eliminate many of the non-essential distractions, I can focus more on what is essential.
Reading and studying God's word gives me insight into what really is essential verses what only feels essential. So I have made that my first singular task. It seems like the right place to start. I have begun setting my alarm clock for fifteen minutes earlier than normal so that I have at least that much potentially uninterrupted time for prayer and Bible reading. (I say potentially because the second day I did this, I was interrupted by a goat giving birth!) My plan is to eventually increase that to a full thirty minutes by next month.
I have also set myself other small task-oriented goals for my day. While I still like my routine that we implemented from Large Family Logistics, I am thinking that little goals within some of those routines could be motivating. Things like: completing a certain number of sewing projects, decluttering a pre-defined space, folding/ironing a specific number of items, reading a set number of pages or chapters, etc. The idea is that I will eliminate all (or as many as possible) distractions and focus on that activity until the goal is reached.
One of the demands on my time is already in the works of being eliminated, as it has been deemed "non-essential". A few weeks ago I stepped down as an adult fair advisor for our local 4-H fair association. The girls have some obligations on the fair association board that they need to fulfill, but once they are completed, we will be eliminating that commitment from our schedules. We'll still be involved with 4-H, but mainly only on the local club level. This will free up about five hours per month and a large amount of stress! Other activities that we take part in are in the process of being evaluated for their "essential-ness" within our lives.
I am currently reading a book called "The Power of Half", which is about how one family reduced their lives to half of what they had and increased their charitable donations. It's a pretty inspiring story so far.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Book Reviews
A follow up to my Books! post:
I read "Steady Days" while sitting in the waiting room of the ER. (Nathalie had "caught" a knife, and needed her hand looked at. Thankfully, no stitches, but she did need a tetanus shot). I must admit I was rather disappointed in the book. The title declares it to be a book to help journey to "professional motherhood", and much of the book focused on families with very young children. The book looks at making schedules, focused planning, and creating lists for everything. I am an avid listmaker, and even I found some of the suggestions to border on tedious.
The book is well laid out and many of the suggestions and ideas are ones I had already figured out on my own. For a mom with young children, who is just figuring out how to juggle a household, this book would be a great help. But for me, as a mother who has been doing this for quite some time, I found very little of it to be "new" or eye-opening. So for me, I give it two out of five stars, but for someone with a houseful of young children, it would at least be worth a borrow from the library.
I have a new book to add to my "Want to Read List". It is The 100 Things Challenge. I have been cleaning out and clearing out for several months now, in an effort to simplify my life and make room and time for the more important things. I can't wait to get my hands on this book!
Also, while on the subject of books, I have found this wonderful blog of book reviews for children's books: Christian Children's Book Review . Their reviews are complete and insightful. I love that they give both the good and the bad about the books, which gives me a chance to make decisions about them without having to read every book from cover to cover.
I read "Steady Days" while sitting in the waiting room of the ER. (Nathalie had "caught" a knife, and needed her hand looked at. Thankfully, no stitches, but she did need a tetanus shot). I must admit I was rather disappointed in the book. The title declares it to be a book to help journey to "professional motherhood", and much of the book focused on families with very young children. The book looks at making schedules, focused planning, and creating lists for everything. I am an avid listmaker, and even I found some of the suggestions to border on tedious.
The book is well laid out and many of the suggestions and ideas are ones I had already figured out on my own. For a mom with young children, who is just figuring out how to juggle a household, this book would be a great help. But for me, as a mother who has been doing this for quite some time, I found very little of it to be "new" or eye-opening. So for me, I give it two out of five stars, but for someone with a houseful of young children, it would at least be worth a borrow from the library.
I have a new book to add to my "Want to Read List". It is The 100 Things Challenge. I have been cleaning out and clearing out for several months now, in an effort to simplify my life and make room and time for the more important things. I can't wait to get my hands on this book!
Also, while on the subject of books, I have found this wonderful blog of book reviews for children's books: Christian Children's Book Review . Their reviews are complete and insightful. I love that they give both the good and the bad about the books, which gives me a chance to make decisions about them without having to read every book from cover to cover.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Books!
One of my new organizational things for this year is "Office Day". This is the day I spend time sorting through the stack of papers on my desk, clean out one drawer of my desk, and make lists.
I like lists. They are visual and I am so very much a visual person! My girls know they can not rattle off a math problem from across the room and expect me to be able to help them. They have to bring me the book and even then I usually must re-write the problem, so I can "see" it.
With lists, I can cross off what's been done. Once the list is completely crossed off, there is a real sense of accomplishment; something that is rare in my current occupation of "Mom". When my husband calls and asks me about my day, I can look at my list and tell him exactly what I have done. I can know I did something, even if it feels like I did nothing but go in circles all day!
The list I recently created was of books. I think I have read every book that interested me at our library and I have recently been introduced to the Online Inter-Library Loan system for our library. From home I can find out if our library has a certain title. If it does not, I can request it from another library, and have it delivered to my library. When it arrives the librarians call me and let me know it is in. All for free!
So here is my list of books I "Want To Read". Some are fiction (F), some non-fiction (NF), and even a few children's books (C) I thought looked good. There are a couple of Young Adult (YA) books on the list that I will be reading before they are approved for the girls to read.
The Whispering Brook Farm Series by Carrie Bender (YA)
Steady Days by Jamie Martin (NF)
Where the Jewels Are by Diana Symons (C)
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (?)
Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider (NF)
Crazy Love by Francis Chan (NF)
That Camden Summer by LaVyrle Spencer (F)
A Golden Sunbeam by Carrie Bender (YA)
Believing God by R.C. Sproul Jr. (NF)
The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman (F)
A Dream Unfolding by Karen Baney (F)
Think by John Piper (NF)
The Egg by M.P. Roberston (C)
365 Thank Yous by John Kralik (NF)
Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer (F)
The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund (F)
Trion Rising-Shadowside Trilogy by Robert Elmer (C)
Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski (NF)
Family to Family by Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee (NF)
Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione by Chuck Black (C)
I would love to hear from you if you have read any of these, or if you have any recommendations for me to add to my list.
I like lists. They are visual and I am so very much a visual person! My girls know they can not rattle off a math problem from across the room and expect me to be able to help them. They have to bring me the book and even then I usually must re-write the problem, so I can "see" it.
With lists, I can cross off what's been done. Once the list is completely crossed off, there is a real sense of accomplishment; something that is rare in my current occupation of "Mom". When my husband calls and asks me about my day, I can look at my list and tell him exactly what I have done. I can know I did something, even if it feels like I did nothing but go in circles all day!
The list I recently created was of books. I think I have read every book that interested me at our library and I have recently been introduced to the Online Inter-Library Loan system for our library. From home I can find out if our library has a certain title. If it does not, I can request it from another library, and have it delivered to my library. When it arrives the librarians call me and let me know it is in. All for free!
So here is my list of books I "Want To Read". Some are fiction (F), some non-fiction (NF), and even a few children's books (C) I thought looked good. There are a couple of Young Adult (YA) books on the list that I will be reading before they are approved for the girls to read.
The Whispering Brook Farm Series by Carrie Bender (YA)
Steady Days by Jamie Martin (NF)
Where the Jewels Are by Diana Symons (C)
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (?)
Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider (NF)
Crazy Love by Francis Chan (NF)
That Camden Summer by LaVyrle Spencer (F)
A Golden Sunbeam by Carrie Bender (YA)
Believing God by R.C. Sproul Jr. (NF)
The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman (F)
A Dream Unfolding by Karen Baney (F)
Think by John Piper (NF)
The Egg by M.P. Roberston (C)
365 Thank Yous by John Kralik (NF)
Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer (F)
The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund (F)
Trion Rising-Shadowside Trilogy by Robert Elmer (C)
Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski (NF)
Family to Family by Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee (NF)
Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione by Chuck Black (C)
I would love to hear from you if you have read any of these, or if you have any recommendations for me to add to my list.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Not in Our Library!?!
We went to the town library last night after animals were done and before dinner. Abby needs to read "The Scarlet Letter" for her literature course. Can you believe our town library doesn't own a copy!?! I was quite surprised since they own a lot of books for the high school age, and this one is a classic. I had really expected it to be an easy book to find. Abby is happy; literature is now on hold while we wait for Interlibrary Loan to find it and send it.
I am going to look ahead a few weeks into her course and makes sure the library has the other books she'll need. Maybe I'll give the list to the librarian; there must be other homeschoolers who use the classics and not the high school drivel that is currently on the shelves.
I am going to look ahead a few weeks into her course and makes sure the library has the other books she'll need. Maybe I'll give the list to the librarian; there must be other homeschoolers who use the classics and not the high school drivel that is currently on the shelves.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Why We Homeschool
When people ask why we homeschool our girls, even through high school, I now have the perfect response:
I had looked over the 9th grade Summer Reading list for our local high school. I quickly and easily eliminated the books that even in their "school published" summaries included things like, "Interweaves stories of students at a high school with a"zero-tolerance" policy as they get caught doing things they are pretty sure are wrong, from drinking and having sex during a senior ski trip, to organizing a gambling ring, to bullying freshmen, to honor students behaving dishonorably." I just don't understand how reading something like this as a 14-17 year old could be beneficial??
So when I read this little summary: "Esmeralda Santiago discusses what it was like to grow up as a Puerto Rican teenager in New York and to go against the wishes of her over-protective mother and discover her true identity," I thought it would be a good book for Abby to read. She likes books about other cultures, particularly books about girls growing up in other cultures. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!
This book has sexually explicit passages about Esmeralda's experiences on subways, with uncles, boyfriends, and even her eventual "first time going all the way" with a guy she hardly knew! And the story begins when she is 13 years old! How can this be on the shelves for 14 and 15 year olds to read? This is what is considered GOOD reading for our teens? No wonder kids are having sex, oral sex, casual sex. The school tells them to read these books, where sex is considered a "coming of age" act!? Rebellion against parents who advocate and enforce abstainance and purity is the "norm"!?
There was ONE christian author on the list. ONE! There are books about teen murderers, abusive boyfriends, witchcraft, demons, time travel, cannibalism, and apparently, casual sex. There are so many GOOD books out there, why are these the ones they ask our children to read?! I am not saying that they should only choose christian authors, but a few more on the list wouldn't hurt! I have read so many wonderful books that would be appropriate for teens, aren't necessarily written by christian authors, tell wonderful stories, and would be giving positive goals and role models for our teens.
Now I will be reading all of Abby's books BEFORE she reads them, unless they are by an author I know. At least my daughter had the sense to bring me the book and say, "I don't think you knew this was in here."
Why do I homeschool? Because at the last fair a group of parents were sitting around talking. Some of us homeschool and some had public schooled kids. A mom of a high school student was talking about how the kids make out in the hall ways during breaks between classes. Her attitude was that it was no big deal. I was shocked!
Even when I was in high school, which I realize was nearly 20 years ago. If you were caught kissing in the hallway, you were in serious trouble. The kids knew the dark corners and alleys to hide in but they definitely did try to hide in order to kiss. Now, it appears it is perfectly fine to "swap spit" out in the open for all to witness! And apparently we're not talking the peck on the lips, "see you after class," kind of kissing either. Abby still cringes and gags if Sam and I do more than a peck on the lips, and sometimes that even bugs her. Which is the way it should be!
Why do I homeschool? Because obviously the school system can't be trusted to enforce even societal rules of decorum: French kissing with heavy petting is not done in the halls for all to see and certainly shouldn't be done by 14 year olds!
I homeschool because my girls are being raised that sex is something between two people who are so committed to each other, they have gotten married. It is not something that one does to prove they are a woman. How would I teach that to them if for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 37 weeks a year, they were seeing and hearing otherwise.
I had looked over the 9th grade Summer Reading list for our local high school. I quickly and easily eliminated the books that even in their "school published" summaries included things like, "Interweaves stories of students at a high school with a"zero-tolerance" policy as they get caught doing things they are pretty sure are wrong, from drinking and having sex during a senior ski trip, to organizing a gambling ring, to bullying freshmen, to honor students behaving dishonorably." I just don't understand how reading something like this as a 14-17 year old could be beneficial??
So when I read this little summary: "Esmeralda Santiago discusses what it was like to grow up as a Puerto Rican teenager in New York and to go against the wishes of her over-protective mother and discover her true identity," I thought it would be a good book for Abby to read. She likes books about other cultures, particularly books about girls growing up in other cultures. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!
This book has sexually explicit passages about Esmeralda's experiences on subways, with uncles, boyfriends, and even her eventual "first time going all the way" with a guy she hardly knew! And the story begins when she is 13 years old! How can this be on the shelves for 14 and 15 year olds to read? This is what is considered GOOD reading for our teens? No wonder kids are having sex, oral sex, casual sex. The school tells them to read these books, where sex is considered a "coming of age" act!? Rebellion against parents who advocate and enforce abstainance and purity is the "norm"!?
There was ONE christian author on the list. ONE! There are books about teen murderers, abusive boyfriends, witchcraft, demons, time travel, cannibalism, and apparently, casual sex. There are so many GOOD books out there, why are these the ones they ask our children to read?! I am not saying that they should only choose christian authors, but a few more on the list wouldn't hurt! I have read so many wonderful books that would be appropriate for teens, aren't necessarily written by christian authors, tell wonderful stories, and would be giving positive goals and role models for our teens.
Now I will be reading all of Abby's books BEFORE she reads them, unless they are by an author I know. At least my daughter had the sense to bring me the book and say, "I don't think you knew this was in here."
Why do I homeschool? Because at the last fair a group of parents were sitting around talking. Some of us homeschool and some had public schooled kids. A mom of a high school student was talking about how the kids make out in the hall ways during breaks between classes. Her attitude was that it was no big deal. I was shocked!
Even when I was in high school, which I realize was nearly 20 years ago. If you were caught kissing in the hallway, you were in serious trouble. The kids knew the dark corners and alleys to hide in but they definitely did try to hide in order to kiss. Now, it appears it is perfectly fine to "swap spit" out in the open for all to witness! And apparently we're not talking the peck on the lips, "see you after class," kind of kissing either. Abby still cringes and gags if Sam and I do more than a peck on the lips, and sometimes that even bugs her. Which is the way it should be!
Why do I homeschool? Because obviously the school system can't be trusted to enforce even societal rules of decorum: French kissing with heavy petting is not done in the halls for all to see and certainly shouldn't be done by 14 year olds!
I homeschool because my girls are being raised that sex is something between two people who are so committed to each other, they have gotten married. It is not something that one does to prove they are a woman. How would I teach that to them if for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 37 weeks a year, they were seeing and hearing otherwise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
