Recent Activity

I am very much alive and still a functioning human being.
I have not been blogging, preferring to use commenting on other people's blogs as a method of expressing myself.

However, I did recently submit and article for Homeschoolers Anonymous for one of their series.

I have joined their cause whole-heartedly, having been homechooled through high school in many states and a different country.  They are the voice of awareness and reason.  For FAR too many years only the positives (which have not all been true) have been allowed to be expressed about homeschooling.  The fear of being taken away by CPS and the idea that homeschooling was not a viable educational alternative made people circle the wagons and aim all guns outward.

However, this isolation and "us vs. them" ideology that was drilled into many homeschooled children (now adults) sometimes did more harm than good.  Even if it was only a small amount of harm and a large amount of good, there was harm done.  In pursuit of "do no evil," homeschooled adults are now speaking up about their experiences in hopes that people will listen and think before making any of the mistakes that happened to them.  If pain, suffering, educational neglect, and abuse can be prevented: we wish with all our heart to prevent it. 
H.A. is not all negativity and readers are welcome to share positives in their upcoming series "A Week of Joy."
I will attempt to contribute, although writing out my thoughts has been more of a toll than I expected.  I am spending more time playing free Cell than writing.  It is like a mind trip to find positives and then not immediately jump into the "but anyway" that is dismissive and excuses all the pain and hurt. (learned that from therapy!  Sharing a hurt and changing topics with "...but ANYWAY...." you are dismissing what you said previously and negating it.  Fun fact)

AKA, even though there was bad, mentioning positives does not dismiss the good and does not outweigh the good making the bad inadmissible.
But there was a lot good.  And I know that this good is what made me the good person that I am and cause my former co-workers to tell my mother repeatedly "You raised a wonderful girl" when I brought her around to work last year.

Long Time No See!

Hey there, readers!

I have been busy living this month. I have been working a lot and making a routine for myself.
I am happy.

The place I am working at is allowing us to dress up for halloween. I was thinking I would go in a baggy skirt and oversize t-shirt, but there are some hippies and people who shop there who dress that way by religion, so I figured it would be insensitive.

I then decided to dress in my square-dancing outfit (not really a costume, but still) but they said I looked more like a gypsy. I loved the idea, so I am painting my fingernails a bright red, I went out and bought some big gold bangles and gold necklaces, and I already have this long black skirt with bells on the waist ties!
It will be the first time I ever dress up, so I am excited and am having heaps of fun.

One of the most interesting posts about halloween and what its significance as a holiday means.

I am doing what many people do with Halloween: Put on a monster mask, confront what you fear, celebrate it for a day and then, move on.

New Favorite Song

So today we went out to a Christian Bookstore to find out if they stocked a book dear to my heart (they didn't. They only stock "Christian Publishers") and I found some reduced price CD's!!!!

Barlow Girl is not my normal taste, but this song is really interesting:

What I have been listening to lately:

Always... in My Eyes

A bittersweet and tender song...

*Note: The title of the song is "Always a Child". The spanish person who named it named it wrong, but it was the best original rendition I could find on youtube..

Anguish

This definitely moved me. Pleas pass it on if it moves you. May the match of concern turn into the smoldering coal of anguish...

God Bless 1984

by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Now, those of you who know me are probably wondering why I am putting up a song like this. And dear readers (brownie points for you!!!) who remember my remake a while back are REALLY skeptical as to what is coming next.

First off, I have never felt the patriotic frenzy whipped up in me when they strike up the last verse. It reminds me of the proles in 1984...how they could be roused to patriotism whenever the moment was needed.

Second, it is not only blatantly false, but extremely manipulative of facts as well.

????

Let me explain.

1: Rights are given by GOD!!!

Yeah, you know that already. But how many of you have ever winced at this line?

"..... the men who died, who gave that right to me...."

2: Being naive about the character of politicians won't help you at all.

Ex: "the flag...stands for freedom...they can't take...away"

3:"at least I know I'm free"

If that is all you really care about (and if you call what we have currently [current = since the Great Rooseveltpression] freedom) then go live in the USSR. They were free too...to obey.

4: Being politically correct doesn't hurt either. All the politicians really need is a whole lot of bodies to make their point. If necessary, the singers of this song bind themselves to also take the bullets for the laws and treaties the politicians find expedient to their pockets. "...gladly stand up...today..."

(Note: I am sure if they looked up the meaning of "defend" {anyone hearing 1984 here again?} and stuck to it they would also protest all wars and "wars" since the American conquest of Mexico --ie. Where Andy Jackson got his Generalship)

(Note: the War of 1812 is an exception)

So....when I hear people singing or speaking of this song....I sit and muse with a bitter and amused smile on my face....it's tripleplusgood duckspeak and that is a fact

Free-card

It is here, folks!!!!

FREEDOM!!!! Freedom from having to pay that is!!!
Get this card and your life will be over! (at least, your life as a debtor!)

Trust His Perfectness

Interesting way of wording the sentiment. I had never heard this before, yet it keeps playing over in my head.....

Defend the Schools!!!

Interesting thoughts from Dr. Voddie Baucham

As many as eighty-five to ninety percent of professing Christians send their children to the government for their education. That is simply an astonishing figure considering the fact that the Christian community fought mandatory government education tooth-and-nail for it’s first fifty years of existence. Since then we have gone from fighting against government schools to fighting for them and implying that those who fight against them are fundamentalists, anti-intellectuals, and racists.

He then links to this post from ethicsdaily.com which ends by saying:

We believe public schools advance the common good and deserve the intense support of people of faith. We think the demonizing of public school employees is morally wrong. We contend that hate speech against public education bears false witness.....

Rather than retreat from public education, goodwill Baptists must be known as the ones who speak up for public schools and refuse to give up on one of our nation's most important institutions.

Leading us all along the way...

Here We Are--Don Moen
***The first ten seconds of the video are messed up... it then repeats.

Here we are lifting our hands to You.
Here we are giving You thanks for all You do;
As we praise and worship Your holy name
You are here dwelling within our praise.

For every answered prayer,
For always being there,
For love that hears us when we call,
For arms that lift us when we fall,
You have always been right beside us
Leading us all along the way;
We made it through
Because of You...

Here we are lifting our hands to You.
Here we are giving You thanks for all You do;
As we praise and worship Your holy name
You are here dwelling within our praise.

For days we cannot see,
For all that's yet to be,
The trials we may have to face
When we'll be leaning on Your grace;
It will be Your strength that saves us
Your love that makes us strong;
And through it all
We'll sing this song...

Here we are lifting our hands to You.
Here we are giving You thanks for all You do;
As we praise and worship Your holy name
You are here dwelling within our praise.

Switch Gears:

Having received word that my blog is "depressing" I shall endeavor to post something that often helps me out of my "depression".

I had heard this song before from the VCD it was originally on. Then, to my utmost heartbeak, the VCD malfunctioned, and now is merely a relic. I had wanted to hear it again....and then I found it on youtube!!!

Blessed Are You-- Paul Wilbur

Blessed are You O Lord our God,
Eternity's holy King;
Blessed are You O Lord our God,
Whose Word brings on the evening.

Bar'chu et Adonai ham'vorach l'olam vaed
Bar'chu et Adonai ham'vorach l'olam vaed

By wisdom O Lord
Heaven's gates open up
With understanding You order the seasons;
Creating day and night
Turning darkness into light
Arranging the stars to Your pleasing.

O blessed be the King
To the Holy One we sing
Lord of Hosts is Your name;
O everliving God rule over us
Now and forever the same.

Press On

When the mountain is steep
When the valley is deep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall

When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resource
When we've given our all

In Jesus name we press on
In Jesus name we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

Rather simple.....
One of those "when all else has failed" songs...at least, that is how it strikes me.

Considering:

I am considering beginning a photography blog. I could showcase my work, and use it as backup for recommendations and references. It would also be the easiest thing to hand someone a link in order to detail my experience.

Any ideas on a name?

Remember this post?

Well, even if you don't, I'm re-posting. Something I thought I would never do....

http://abirdhouse.blogspot.com/2008/04/teenpact.html

Better than Life

Better than Life

In a dry and weary land where is no water
My soul is thirsting for you
I have seen you in the sanctuary
Beheld your power and glory
My lips will glorify you
I will praise you as long as I live
In your name I will lift up my hands


Your love is better than life
Your love is better than life
Earnestly I seek you
My soul is thirsting for you
Cause your love is better than life


Because you are my help
I will be singing
In the shadow of your wing
I'm staying close beside you
Your right hand upholds me
I think of you through the night
With singing lips I will praise
And my soul will be satisfied


Your love is better than life
Your love is better than life
Earnestly I seek you
My soul is thirsting for you
Cause your love is better than life


Oh, God, you are my God
Earnestly I seek you
I'm longing for you
Oh, God, you are my God
Earnestly I seek you
I'm longing for you

Pro patria mori

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html

This is a very strange and scary poem. Not for the very impressionable, or those prone to nightmares. Yet, since I read it....I have been captivated by the utter desperation and hopelessness of it. And the undertone of seething anger and sarcasm in the last couplet.

It tells of life in the "meat grinder" of the 1st World War. It tells of the futility of governments sending their citizenry out to die for the fatherland, because of handshakes, paper treaties, and "national interests" of alliances and nations across continents.

At least America had an excuse...but no... our men died as well.
And the Europeans who had been lapping up our products and begging us for help (oh! the war would end in a stalemate without us!) after giving 10 million men a "Finally!" for a welcome, left our men to die of disease and be peacekeepers afterwards while they ferried their men home to safety as fast as their dinghys could carry them.

But did we learn? Americans are fools. Oh no...in 30 years we made the same dumb mistake again....and again in less than 10 years after that, and then in another 10 years, and since then it has been war, after skirmish, after attack, after another.
Fool me one, shame on you, fool me twice, three times, and again and again....I deserved it!


War is the Health of the State.

It don't mattter

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

May you have a merry season of "the birth of the unconquered Sun".

That was an ancient Persian/pagan/Roman feast held on December 25th.

Wikipedia is almost shockingly frank in it's coordination of "Christmas" with it's pagan roots.

An interesting note for those who still believe in the "christian Constantine" myth:

Constantine decreed (March 7, 321) dies Solis—day of the sun, "Sunday"—as the Roman day of rest [CJ3.12.2]: "On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed..."

The first mention of celebrating the birthday of Christ was 345 AD--

Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.^[5]

The Twelve Days of Christmas end on January 5. December 26 is St. Stephen's Day and January 6 is Feast of Epiphany This period encompasses the major feasts surrounding the birth of Christ. In the Latin Rite, one week after Christmas Day, January 1, has traditionally been the celebration the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Christ, but since Vatican II, this feast has been celebrated as the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681.

So, in case you felt like celebrating.....think twice about what it means.


Some links for Saturnalia:
An almost satanic description of how to celebrate Saturnalia.
Specifications on ancient decorations, gift giving, etc, (very similar to Solis Invicti)
Wikipedia