68th Carnival of Homesteading – the putting up wood edition

Posted October 19th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life, the ranch
8 Comments »

Welcome to the 68th Carnival of Homesteading. It’s that time of year…fall is here with a chill in the air, and winter stands at the door. We’ve been putting up wood. There is a comforting warmth of a wood fire that can’t be matched, and I’m so pleased we have this opportunity in our home. Dad and the kids have been busy.

First, there are the logs:

The axe…

And the beautiful pile, a nice beginning, stacked by my nine-year-old son…

Here are the wonderful entries for this week:
From the Sojourner, My Kids thought I was crazy…a dog food bag made into a tote bag. How fun and cool…but will all the neighborhood dogs be following her around?

Fowl Visions brings us Backyard Plans for Wild Bird Feeding and Bird Watching…welcome to some great bird watching in Clay County, Florida!

Hobby Lawn Care tells us Why Is Proper Lawn Clipping Height So Important? Hint – it’s not “as short as possible.”

Make it From Scratch prepares Pumpkin Pie – my absolute favorite! It’s the homemade crust that makes it extra special.

Stop the Ride has some Soil Surprises…thankfully, this post has nothing to do with diapers or laundry.

Little House in the Suburbs teaches us about Clipping Chicken Wings…for chicks who escape.

From the lighter side, we have German Fresh Apple Bread – mmmm, apple bread from any country is delicious.

A Pondering Heart says I Nominate…it’s time for the homeschool blog awards.

It’s a Learning Experience asks What’s On the Menu? This is for a family of eleven, for a whole week…wow.

From Vermont’s Northland Journal, I found this lovely little story about the warmth of a woodstove. Here is an excerpt I enjoyed:

Townsfolk and neighbors not only judged a man by the color of his chimney smoke, the shape and size of his woodpile were also scrutinized. A woodpile, besides being straight and sturdy, needed to be piled so the wood would cure and keep, while at the same time look like a picture. There was an art to putting up a good woodpile.

Next week’s Carnival of Homesteading will be hosted by Oak Hill Homestead. You can submit your homesteading blog posts here by next Sunday, 9 p.m. EST.

Cat up a Tree

Posted October 18th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life, humor, the ranch
5 Comments »

A few weeks ago, I found Tawny high up in a tree, meowing rather pleadingly. After spending an hour finding a ladder tall enough to reach the cat, coaxing him with soothing kitty calls and finally food, I rescued the feline. The cat could starve or freeze to death, trapped up here indefinitely, I had thought.

Later that evening, when my husband returned from errands with the kids and I related to them the cat story, my 9-year-old son laughed, “Mom, Tawny always climbs up there and gets back down by himself!” Oh.

*****

Recent blog carnivals:
Carnival of Education
Carnival of Family Life
Christian Carnival
Carnival of Homesteading

Up next: Carnival of Homesteading, here at Diary of 1, on Monday, Oct. 20. Submit HERE by Sunday, 9 p.m. EST.

The Homesteading Carnival: The Tiny Edition (#59)

Posted July 28th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals
4 Comments »

Welcome to The Homesteading Carnival: The Tiny Edition (#59). Somehow I forgot I was going to be out of town all weekend and I’m still not home. But, I have access to a computer, and just enough time for something “tiny!” The power of tiny things is an interesting thing to explore, so in addition to this tiny carnival, you may want to browse these fascinating looks at tiny chromosomes, energy, and nanotechnology. And don’t forget the Teeny Tiny Woman.

Dora Renee’ Wilkerson presents Funny Clips posted at Y-2K Hippie.. That tiny piece of peanut butter fudge looks inviting.

Patricia Twitchell presents The Adventures of Penny Pincher: Penny Pincher Goes To The Rodeo… Finally posted at Just Bears and Stuff. Tiny Penny Pincher at the rodeo…too cute.

Chris presents 3 Steps to the Perfect Vegetable Garden (Part Two) posted at Smith Family Garden. The teeny tiny garden can produce giant vegetables.

AdmirableIndia.com presents Trip to Ooty: Day 2: Part 1: Ooty Lake – Boat House and Thread garden, Ooty posted at AdmirableIndia.com. Check out the teeny tiny garden made of embroidery thread!

HowToMe presents How To Make a Custom Area Rug From Carpet Remnants posted at HowToMe. What a fabulous idea – turning tiny carpet pieces into a beautiful rug!

Alison presents Help! Tomato 911! posted at Green Me. This gal is going to have a teeny tiny tomato crop if she doesn’t get help fast!

Miss Amanda presents My Learning Experience – Black Forest Cake from Scratch posted at My Learning Experience -. That tiny boy was clearly thrilled with his birthday cake.

Miss Jocelyn presents Cowtown Boots posted at A Pondering Heart. There’s not much tiny about this huge store full of cowboy boots! Wait, there is tiny stitching on Jocelyn’s favorite boots!

Jacque presents Healthy Snacks for the (Large) Homeschooling Family posted at Walking Therein. Also great for tiny families.

Have a wonderful, teeny tiny day.

*****
Next week’s Homesteading Carnival will be hosted by The Sojourner. You may submit your post with this Blog Carnival Submission Form.

Tags: blog carnival, homestead, Homesteading Carnival

Christian Carnival CCXXXIII: The Hilarious Edition

Posted July 16th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, humor, religion
13 Comments »

We don’t have to look far for bad news these days. I thought we could all use a dose of humor and fun, so welcome to the 233rd Christian Carnival: the Hilarious Edition! This is not to downplay the seriousness of world issues or the personal crises we find ourselves in, but a “joy break” to perhaps recharge your soul.

Today’s blog posts will be salted with Christian humor, and I do pray you come away with a smile on your face. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

A little boy was sitting in church next to his mother one evening. In the middle of a song, the mother thought her son was singing the song a little differently. She leaned over and heard him sing, “We bring the sacks of rice and beans.” The song was “We bring the Sacrifice of Praise.”

Keith Williams presents My NLT Odyssey: A Bible translation story posted at NLT Blog.

FMF presents Robert Kiyosaki on Tithing posted at Free Money Finance.

My daughter (now 19) was about 2 years old when we sat down at the dinner table to eat. When asked if she would like to say the blessing, she was excited to pray. With hands folded and heads bowed she began…God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food….. if he hollers, let him go…eeeenie……

Robert Minto presents Living In Heaven Today: A Meeting of Newman and Kline on the Subject of Holiness posted at The Veil Away.

Ali presents A sin with a lasting stain. posted at Kiwi and an Emu..

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to “honor thy father and thy mother,” she asked “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat one little boy answered, “Thou shall not kill.”

Tiffany Partin presents I Want It My Way posted at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God.

Raffi Shahinian presents Incoherent Ramblings That Might or Might Not Have Something to Say About Jesus and Affirmative Action…You Decide posted at parables of a prodigal world.

A kindergarten teacher gave her class a “show and tell” assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented their religion. The first student got up in front of the class and said, “My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David.” The second student got up in front of the class and said, “My name is Mary. I’m a Catholic and this is a Rosary.” The third student got in up front of the class and said, “My name is Tommy. I am Methodist, and this is a casserole.”

simplyeddie presents Shadows of Christ~ The Death of Abel posted at Simple Life In Christ.

Erich Bridges presents The stars in their courses posted at CounterCulture.

The young couple invited their elderly preacher for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having. “Goat,” the little boy replied. “Goat?” replied the startled man of the cloth, “Are you sure about that?” “Yep,” said the youngster. “I heard Dad say to Mom, ‘Today is just as good as any to have the old goat for dinner.’”

Steve Mounts presents A Vision of God’s Power posted at Steve Mounts.

Allen Scott presents Passports posted at A View from the Nest.

Arris Charles presents Anyone Can Balance On Their Head posted at Spirited Ink.

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then she asked the class, “If you saw a person lying on the roadside all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?” A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence with……”I think I’d throw up!”

Richard H. Anderson presents Priestly Blessing posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Michael presents Encouragement posted at Chasing the Wind.

My son James is four. Whenever he hurts himself we lay hands on the injury and pray for healing. The other day he cut his left finger, took hold of it and prayed: “Jesus come out of my heart, go down my arm and fix my finger. Please Jesus, Amen.” Another time he said grace before our meal. “Dear God, bless our food and don’t let my sister’s head fall off”. His sister was 6 months old at the time; I couldn’t help wondering what James had planned to do with his sister.

Diane R presents Postmodern Philosophy for the Rest of Us–Part 1 posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.

Fr. Joshua Wagner presents Miracle Grow! (Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) posted at Total Possibility.

A Sunday School teacher asked her class, “what was Jesus’ mother’s name?“ A Child answered, “Mary.” The teacher then asked, “and what was her husband’s name?“ Another child answered, “The Verge.” Confused, the teacher asked, “where did you get that?“ The child replied: “You know, they are always talking about “the Verge ‘n Mary.“

Mark Olson presents A Bone To Pick (with my brethren in Christ) posted at Pseudo-Polymath.

e-Mom presents Bible Study: Jesus’ Use of Q & A posted at C h r y s a l i s.

A little child was looking through his grandmother’s Bible and found a crushed flower that was quite wilted. As it fell from the Bible He called to his Mother, “Come quick Mom, I think I found Adam’s suit.”

Drew Tatusko presents Making Pro-Life Plausible posted at Notes From Off Center.

Angela Williams Duea presents Cleaning my spirit house posted at angelawd.

My children began reciting the Lord’s Prayer at 2 1/2 years old and I remember my daughter very seriously praying, “Our father, whose art’s in Heaven, Howard is His name…”

David Porter presents A Boomer in the Pew: “Children of the Living God” – Sinclair Ferguson (Chapter 1c) posted at A Boomer in the Pew.

Ken Brown presents Islam, Christianity and the Freedom to Insult posted at C. Orthodoxy.

Stephen Hawkins presents Did Christ establish two kinds of churches? posted at Waters to Swim In.

A little boy got a new tie for his birthday. Sunday morning, he wore the new tie to church. He was so proud of his tie. He made sure everyone noticed it. Once the congregation settled down, the preacher approached the pulpit in preparation for the offering. The preacher said, “Now is the time we give back to the Lord. Please give your tithes(ties) and offerings to Christ.” The little boy looked at his father and said, “Daddy, he wants my tie!”

William Meisheid presents Knowing God Study Guide Now Complete posted at Beyond The Rim….

Weekend Fisher presents “Miracles violate the law of nature”–or do they? posted at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength.

A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, “The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned to salt.” His son asked, “What happened to the flea?”

Jeremy Pierce presents Novel Interpretations and Confidence posted at Parableman.

Elementaryhistoryteacher presents Reverend: False Elevation or Grammatical Error? posted at Got Bible?.

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services when she was startled by an intruder. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled, “Stop! Acts 2:38!”

(Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.)

The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, “Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture to you.” “Scripture?” replied the burglar. “She said she had an ax and two 38′s!”

John presents How to Be a God-Focused Encourager posted at Light Along the Journey.

Jot and Tittle presents Confessions of a techno geek… posted at Jot and Tittle.

Billy Graham tells of a time, during the early years of his preaching ministry, when he was due to lead a crusade meeting in a town in South Carolina, and he needed to mail a letter. He asked a little boy in the main street how he could get to the post office. After the boy had given him directions, Billy said, “If you come to the central Baptist church tonight, I’ll tell you how to get to heaven.” The boy replied, “No thanks, you don’t even know how to get to the post office!”

ChrisB presents The Bible and Capital Punishment posted at Homeward Bound.

Heath Countryman presents How Big Is Your Satan? posted at Esprit d’escalier.

Our little girl had just attended a baptismal service (by immersion). When she came home she ask her mother to fill the tub so she could baptize her dolls. Her mother listened carefully as she put them in the water…”I baptize you in the mane of the father, the son and in the hole you go!”

Rodney Olsen presents Pushing against the wind posted at RodneyOlsen.net.

Henry Michael Imler presents The Jobian Take on Righteousness posted at Theology for the Masses.

After the Christmas pageant, I asked my 6-year-old son if he remembered the gifts that the Magi brought to Jesus. He thought for a minute then said “gold, frankincense, and humor.” We could all use that!

Thank you for visiting this hilarious edition of the Christian Carnival! Next week it will be hosted by A True Believer’s Weblog. You may submit your blog post here by Tuesday, July 22, Midnight ET.

Technorati Tags: Christian Carnival, humor

The Unknown Insect (that’s giving me nightmares).

Posted June 22nd, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, the ranch
25 Comments »

WHAT is this???

I’m so sorry to post such a disgusting picture. My apologies in advance if you have nightmares about this enormous arthropod crawling in your bed tonight. The kids found this on our property, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it could be. I’ve looked in local field guides and can’t find it. Anyone know?

This was found in Central Oregon on our desert property; the kids accidentally dug it up or overturned it while shoveling dirt. Other habitation/features nearby include juniper trees, dry, volcanic soil, lava rocks, Western Fence Lizards, rattlesnakes, gopher snakes, jackrabbits, deer, field mice, owls, quail, lots of other birds of prey. And….this. ugly. thing.

I’m sure if I know the name of the creature my nightmares will stop. Thank you.

UPDATE: You all bloggers are so smart! Thank you for your input!! Drum roll, nightmares away, it’s a Jerusalem Cricket, commonly called a potato bug!

It’s neither from Jerusalem, nor a true cricket, nor does it prefer to eat potatoes. Most importantly, it is NOT venomous. But it is known to have a powerful bite, so do beware.

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The blog stuff:
Christian Carnival
Carnival of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
The Carnival of Homesteading

Technorati Tags: insects, Central Oregon, country, desert creatures

Blog Roundups

Posted June 12th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals
2 Comments »

I interrupt my irregularly scheduled blogging for a station blog identification. Have to let you know of a few blog carnivals, giveaways, sponsors…

The Carnival of Country Living has been posted. The Christian Carnival is up, The Carnival of Homeschooling is going strong, and The Carnival of Family Life continues as well.

Julie is hosting a fun giveaway, don’t forget about Heather’s art lessons, Laura was kind to mention my Father’s Day giveaway, and today is the last day to enter Debi’s hammer giveaway.

A local blogger is getting her own newspaper column, and also for you locals, check out the upcoming events at Camalli Book Store in Bend, like the “What to plant and when” talk this coming Tuesday evening by local gardeners/authors.

Thank you, and have a sunny day.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, blog contest, blogging

Homesteading Carnival: Oregon Trail Edition

Posted June 9th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, the ranch
13 Comments »

Welcome to the Homesteading Carnival Oregon Trail Edition! The articles will be arranged around details of the Oregon Trail, so let’s pack our wagons and head west.

The Oregon Trail was a route to not only Oregon, but the only feasible pathway to the entire western United States. Travel to places like Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and California was only possible because of this passage over the mountains. The 1843 wagon train, with about 1,000 pioneers making the journey, kicked off the big westward expansion, with over half a million travelers over the next 25 years braving the journey.

Carole DeJarnatt presents Build A Chicken Feeder Series posted at Fowl Visions.

Also commonly found slung on the sides of emigrant wagons were water barrels, a butter churn, a shovel and axe, a tar bucket, a feed trough for the livestock, and a chicken coop. A fully outfitted wagon on the Oregon Trail must have been quite a sight, particularly with a coop full of clucking chickens raising a ruckus every time the wagon hit a rock. From End of the Oregon Trail.

GP presents The Innside Scoop on Hosting House Guests posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn.

Bush established a successful farm near present day Olympia on land that became known as Bush Prairie. He and his family were noted for their generosity to new arrivals and for their friendship with the Nisqually Indians who lived nearby. From HistoryLink.

Jennifer Bogart presents Planting Rhubarb posted at Measure Twice, Cut Once.

A typical day started before dawn with breakfast of coffee, bacon, and dry bread. The bedding was secured and wagon repacked in time to get underway by seven o’clock. At noon, they stopped for a cold meal of coffee, beans, and bacon or buffalo prepared that morning. Then back on the road again. Around five in the afternoon, after traveling an average of fifteen miles, they circled the wagons for the evening. The men secured the animals and made repairs while women cooked a hot meal of tea and boiled rice with dried beef or codfish. Evening activities included schooling the children, singing and dancing, and telling stories around the campfire. From End of the Oregon Trail.

Belle presents Did You Know……All Soaps Have Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)? posted at Born 100 Years to Soon.

One pound of Castile soap was recommended for the journey (for one man on a three month expedition).

Dora Renee’ Wilkerson presents Soap Creations review posted at Y-2K Hippie.

Minimal cooking utensils included a cast iron skillet or spider, Dutch oven, reflector oven, coffee pot or tea kettle, and tin plates, cups, and knives, forks, spoons, matches, and crocks, canteens, buckets or water bags for liquids. A rifle, pistols, powder, lead, and shot were recommended for hunting game along the way, and for self-defense. Candles were used for lighting, as they were far less expensive and lighter than transporting oil, and several pounds of soap was included. Only two or three sets of practical, sturdy, and warm clothing of wool and linen had to last the wear and tear of the journey, and a small sewing kit for repairs was important. Basic tools such as a shovel, ax or hatchet, and tools to repair wagon equipment were essential. Bedding and tents completed the list of necessities. From BLM Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

Jacque presents Summer Plans posted at Walking Therein.

June 3 Passed through St. Joseph on the Missouri River. Laid in our flour, cheese, crackers and medicine, for no one should travel this road without medicine, for they are almost sure to have the summer complaint. Each family should have a box of physicing pills, a quart of castor oil, a quart of the best rum and a large vial of peppermint essence. Elizabeth Dixon Smith. From End of the Oregon Trail.

Miss Jocelyn presents Making The Home: Washin’ The Laundry posted at Growing In Grace Magazine.

Resting on Sundays, in addition to giving the oxen and other animals a needed break, also gave the women of the wagon train a chance to tend to their domestic chores — particularly doing the laundry, as the dust on the Trail pervaded every article of clothing exposed to it. Occasionally, a wagon train’s arrival at a source of clean water was enough to prompt a special stopover for laundry day. From End of the Oregon Trail.

Lady Olivia presents Cherry Pie in a Cup posted at Growing In Grace Magazine.

In procuring supplies for this journey, the emigrant should provide himself with, at least, 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of bacon; ten pounds of coffee; twenty pounds of sugar; and ten pounds of salt. From Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California, 1845.

Thanks for visiting, this is the end of the trail! The next Homesteading Carnival will be hosted by The Daily Planet. You may submit your post HERE.

photo credits:
www.historyglobe.com
www.isu.edu
Diary of 1

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Homesteading Carnival, country, family life, gardening, Oregon Trail

Calling All Homesteaders!

Posted June 5th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals
1 Comment »

The Homesteading Carnival will be hosted here at Diary of 1 this coming Monday, June 9. You can submit your blog post/article HERE by Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.

The Homesteading blog carnival description reads:

A carnival full of homesteading articles… from your kitchen with yummy recipes, your sewing room with homemaking ideas to planting your garden, raising farm animals, and raising a family on the homestead. Please join us on the homestead and submit something from yours!

Now, if you don’t have a big ranch or farm with 12 children milking goats and collecting eggs every day, do not exclude yourself from this carnival! The Homestead Act (1863) provided the original homesteader with 160 acres if he could build a home on the property and inhabit the place for five years. But how many folks have 160 acres these days? And certainly not for free.

Homesteading has a broader interpretation these days. There are urban homesteaders who may not have a lot of real estate but sure have a lot of self-sufficiency. Maybe you have a balcony vegetable garden, maybe you have some good advice for living simply, being frugal yet generous, becoming debt free, or have figured out creative ways for how to make do with less. Please share your wisdom!!

My theme will be The Oregon Trail, so pack your wagons, and prepare for a long, bumpy ride, with paradise at the other end. [p.s. Your post isn't supposed to be about the Oregon Trail, that's just my fun way of organizing the articles.]

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, gardening, homesteading, Homesteading Carnival, recipes

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

Posted May 13th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life, the ranch
11 Comments »

Would you like to see what we’ve been up to at the ranch? The outside is nearly done, save for some dormers, the porch, and landscaping. Here’s the view from the east side.

Inside, we’ve been busy, busy. Drywall and texture is now complete, and tomorrow we begin painting. We spent the morning finalizing our interior colors (mostly earthy tones, some yellows, browns). We’re doing it ourselves, and the rest of today will find me and the kids pulling up paper from the floor and sweeping/vacuuming all the dust, in preparation for tomorrow. Here is my husband’s grand office last week (since been textured and primed):

It’s not all work and no play. The kids run around and find so many interesting things to do for a break. Like climbing trees:

….catching lizards….

….digging tunnels….

We hope to be moved in to our new place in a few months. It’s been about three years since we first embarked on this project, so you can imagine how ready we are to be done, how excited we are to be “home,” how exhausted we are. :-)
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Blog Carnival links:

Learning in the Great Outdoors
Carnival of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
Make It From Scratch
Carnival of the Insanities

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Central Oregon, country, family life, building a house, outdoor play, outdoors

Even My Dog Has a Blankie!

Posted May 2nd, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life, humor
20 Comments »

My Aloha Friday Question is this:

Did you have a childhood attachment, like a “security” blanket, a pacifier, a bottle, or a special bear you couldn’t part with?

From the loveable Linus eternally dragging his blanket to that maddening Maggie Simpson sucking on her pacifier with every breath, a child’s need for a comfort item seems to be universal. What sort of character were you? If you can’t remember or think you had no special comfort thing, what about your own children?

Me, I had a bottle. I actually have no memory of being attached to my bottle; I only know from old photographs showing in stark black and white my chubby little hands clutching what must have been my soothing object. Plus, my big sister says so.

Technorati Tags: aloha friday, baby bottle, blankie, childhood attachment, family life, Linus, pacifier, dog

Blog Rounds

Posted April 29th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals
2 Comments »

1. The Carnival of Homeschooling is up with a futuristic theme; lots of good posts including:

Classical Education, Logical Fallacies, and Mushrooms
Ben Stein’ Expelled
Non-metric Measurements, and Poetry

2. I always find some interesting perspectives on the absurdities of our culture and world at the Carnival of the Insanities, including these:

Throwing Bashar a Lifeline
No use worrying about global warming…
Don’t Drink the Water!

3. Make it From Scratch – a carnival full of inspiring ideas, including:

Five-Minute Homemade Pancake Syrup
A little lovin’ relief from hay fever and colds
Anzac Biscuits

4. The Christian Carnival will be up tomorrow at Brain Cramps for God.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, blogging

Carnival of Family Life: Tea Edition

Posted April 28th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life
9 Comments »

Welcome to the Carnival of Family Life: Tea Edition! I’m so glad you’re here, please sit a spell and I’ll put the kettle on. I’ll be weaving a bit of the fascinating story of tea into my presentation of blog posts, and I hope you’ll be thinking of warm conversations with good friends. I found a lovely old book, Talking of Tea (1956) from which I’ll pull some tea tidbits and treasures for you, and also The Charms of Tea by the Editors of Victoria Magazine (1991).

By the eighteenth century tea had taken hold of Britain and one remarkable consequence was the rapid development of pottery and porcelain for tea wares. The original Chinese tea cups were tiny fragile things without handles or saucers. The Europeans modified accordingly to suit their grand tastes for tea, making a bigger cup, and giving the teacup a handle to make holding a hot cup an easier matter.

One ingenious tea cup variation of the late nineteenth century was the mustache cup. This cup was fitted with a bar across the inside for the drooping mustache to rest upon so the tea could be swallowed without first passing through a hairy filter. Which brings me to the first post about family pets (just thinking about hair):

Matt M presents Polluted Pets

EDUCATION

Josh Lien presents Free Rosetta Stone – Learn a Foreign Language

Elaine presents 2 – Two Little Dicky Birds

Rose presents Trendy, green, frugal, and homeschooling

Mark Montgomery presents Visiting College Campuses: Observations by a Professional Tour-Taker

Renae presents Muss-Makers
Before the end of the eighteenth century the firm of Twining was using tea wrappers, printed in the style of tradesmens’ cards of the period. Grocers also began to wrap their customers’ tea purchases in tin and lead foil, which was included in the gross weight of the tea. But the practice led to abuse, and unscrupulous grocers gave false weights. At the same time, some Chinese merchants began to colour their cheap teas with artificial powder so as to make them look like the best. G. Huxley, Talking of Tea

FAMILY FINANCE

iMagxz presents 22 uses for Toothpaste

tipsandtricks presents Getting More From The Tube

Neelakantha presents 101 Tips & Resources for the Upside-Down Homeowner

Matthew Paulson presents Lunchtime Lessons: Cheap Fixin’s and Good Ideas

Debbie presents Paying Attention to the “Fill Line” Will Save You Money

Debt Freedom Fighter presents 5 Ways To Save Money On Everyday Purchases

Ken Clark presents Mother’s Day: Shop for Mom and Save for College

Linda W. presents How To Talk About Money With Your Partner

Mark Butler presents Living With Less

Fathersez presents How I intend to help my daughters secure jobs they would like

Leaving The Folks presents Creating a Budget

Amy @ The Q Family presents Be a Hero. “Save the Cash, Save the World”

Stephanie presents Coupons and Deals

Matthew Paulson presents Cheap Vacation Idea: Don’t Leave Home

Debt Freedom Fighter presents Why God Doesn’t Always Answer Prayers About Money

K presents Meal Planning On Vacation

What should mightily recommend the use of Tea to Gentlemen of a sprightly Genius, who would preserve the Continuance of their lively and distinct Ideas, is its eminent and unequalled Power to take off, or prevent Drowsiness and Dulness, Damps and Clouds on the Brain, and intellectual Faculties. It begets a watchful Briskness, dispels Heaviness; it keeps the Eyes wakeful the Head clear, animates the intellectual Powers, maintains or raises lively Ideas, excites and sharpeneth the Thoughts, gives fresh Vigour and Force to Invention, awakens the Senses, and clears the Mind.
Dr. Short, 1750 Discourse on Tea, from Talking of Tea

FAMILY HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Theresa L. Twogood presents Big Picture Progressive Exposure

Amy Vernon presents Are plastic baby bottles really dangerous?

Aparna presents Correcting a gummy smile

Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.
Sydney Smith (1771-1845)

FAMILY HUMOR

Robert Bach presents Daddy Daughter Day

Harrison presents Top 20 Wedding Dresses You Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead In

Jenny Rapson presents My Daughter, the Cover Girl

Tipper presents Lightning Strikes & Granny

Terri Mauro presents Our First Special Olympics

The maid led him through the darkness of the drawing room to the terrace in the patio, where he saw Fermina Daza sitting beside a small table set for two. She offered him tea, chocolate, or coffee. Florentino Ariza asked for coffee, very hot and very strong, and she told the maid: “The usual for me.” The usual was a strong infusion of different kinds of Oriental teas, which raised her spirits after her siesta.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Evan Pangburn presents Park Chapel Christian Church Baby Dedication

Erica presents Kids or Career? American Women Are Still Forced to Choose

BeThisWay presents Love Uncluttered

Jen presents Seasons Come and Seasons Go

Amy Dyck presents Raw Passion

Steven Chang presents Reconnecting With Your Spouse

Leslie Williams presents The Nature of the Beast, A Problem to be Addressed, or Failure as a Mother

“You can ask Diana to come over and spend the afternoon with you and have tea here.”
“Oh, Marilla!” Anne clasped her hands. “How perfectly lovely! You are able to imagine things after all or else you’d never have understood how I’ve longed for that very thing. It will seem so nice and grown-uppish. No fear of my forgetting to put the tea to draw when I have company. Oh, Marilla, can I use the rosebud spray tea set?”
–L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

FAMILY ACTIVITIES AND TRAVEL

Christine presents The Earth Laughs in Flowers

FitBuff presents Nintendo Wii Fit Release Date

GP presents Mending Fences.. Not for the Sheepish

Riley presents A Plumm Summer

Kelsey presents Kids’ Face Painting

PARENTING TIPS AND ADVICE

Fred Black presents Have we Forgotten

Amanda presents Keeping up, the story of three journals

Abel Cheng presents What I Did When My Daughter said, “I Don’t Want to Go to School!”

Lori Jewett presents Baby Talk

Jessica Jones presents Winning at Parenting through Trust

Neena presents Parenting Tips: Naptime

Chief Family Officer presents Potty Training Tips

Melitsa presents Tip: Sound communication

This concludes the Carnival of Family Life: Tea Edition. Said Rev. Sydney Smith on tea and posts: “It is a place with only one post a day…In the country I always fear that creation will expire before tea-time. (from The Smith of Smiths).

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Family Life using the handy BlogCarnival Submission Form. Up next at All Rileyed Up.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Carnival of Family Life, tea party, tea time

Carnival of Family Life – up next here!

Posted April 24th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life
2 Comments »

Calling for submissions from all you bloggers who write about family! Graciously maintained by Colloquium, the Carnival of Family Life is a weekly posting of family fare, including humor, parenting advice, family health and finance, education and more. You may submit your family-related post, by this Sunday at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time – so that’s really Saturday night, folks. Submit via the Blog Carnival form HERE. Only one post per blog, please.

I look forward to presenting your excellent family posts! Be sure to come back here to Diary of 1 to see the great variety of articles on Monday, April 28.

Oh, and the Christian Carnival is hosted this week at Everyday Liturgy.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Carnival of Family Life

Some Blog Business

Posted April 22nd, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, giveaways
2 Comments »

The blog carnivals are great places to browse for topical subjects. Here’s the latest:

Carnival of the Insanities
Carnival of Family Life
Festival of Frugality
Carnival of Homeschooling

Do you know of another fabulous blog carnival? Let me know!

The winner of my ziplock-bag-books (The Child’s Spring Book) is commenter #9, Shannon at Song of my heart!! These will be on the way shortly. Email me with an address, Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, blogging, giveaway

Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots Winner!

Posted April 15th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, blog stuff, carnivals, giveaways, product review
0 Comments

I’m pleased to announce the winner of my Gardening with Children book: commenter #17, AreWeThereYetMom, your book will be on the way shortly! Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together With Children is sure to delight your whole family! Thank you so much, everyone who left me a comment on that post. Thanks to Laura for mentioning this book giveaway!

My current book giveaway is two homemade books from the Diary of 1 family, for those interested in native plant life. You may leave me a comment on The Child’s Spring Book by this Sunday to learn about these books and enter the drawing.This giveaway actually has a project attached to it – my kids are putting together an Oregon plant/nature book – a cute ziplock-bag-book – to pass on to a child who lives anywhere other than where we live. And I hope that child will then create a book highlighting his/her region to pass on to another child, and so on. It’s a very simple book, so don’t be intimidated to try it! -P.S., our Oregon book will have some child-intriguing extra odds and ends from our property, like these:

One more note about contests: I actually won something!! SmallWorld had a spring poetry contest, and my mom’s poem, Morning, was chosen, and I hear that I have a basket of spring goodies on the way to me, which of course I’ll share with my mom – can’t wait to show you!

And those blog carnivals: The Carnival of Homeschooling, the Carnival of Homesteading, the Carnival of Family Life, the Christian Carnival, the Make it From Scratch Carnival.

Technorati Tags: children, contest, garden, gardening with children, giveaway, Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots

Carnival of Homesteading #45

Posted April 14th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, blog stuff, carnivals, family life, health/cooking/food, the ranch
10 Comments »

Welcome to the 45th Carnival of Homesteading! If you’ve been around here when I host a Blog Carnival, you know how much I love themes! But, alas, I had issues. Computers, kids, work, and some other meanies all conspired against me. Or maybe I was just lazy.

So here is a very SIMPLE carnival, which I suppose is in keeping with the theme of homesteading! There were just 12 submissions, which I’ve listed first, followed by some of my own Top 10 Editor’s Picks that I grabbed from around the blogosphere, which fit the homesteading motif. You’ll find my own small commentary following each post.

(Let me know if you find any errors, omissions, bad links, etc.)

Rose Denson presents Spearmint Hot Pepper Horseradish Spray posted at Grandma Rosie’s Texas Home.

This is for the bugs, not for you!

Dora Renee’ Wilkerson presents Making Cottage Cheese posted at Y-2K Hippie.

This looks yummy. There is also a recipe for hand milled soap here.

Belle presents My Diary of No Shampoo—-Day 4 and 5 posted at Born 100 Years to Soon.

Belle shares her egg shampoo experiment. Yes, the kind you crack open and out comes gooey stuff. Find out why in the world she’s putting this in her hair on purpose.

Valereee presents Foraging: hot new foodie trend, or the hottest new foodie trend? posted at Cincinnati Locavore.

Finding wild edible treasures – is this trend here to stay? Is it fueled by fears of a depression? Read more!

Dave Trenholm presents How to Make a Square Foot Garden posted at Alberta Home Gardening.

Learn how to plant in blocks and eliminate the 80% of your traditional garden that you just walk on.

Moobeema presents MooBee Farm: The Burn Barrel Incident posted at MooBee Farm.

What happens when WIFE wants a burn barrel to match the color of her house…MooBeeFarm delivers up some amusement for you.

Sister Brenda presents Da Yooper Pasties Recipe and Tutorial posted at haflinger.

Mmmm, meat pie!! Having lived in Michigan for many years, I knew right away what this was all about! “Da Yoopers” are those great folks who live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Flossie presents Aunt Lizzie’s Pound Cake posted at The Funny Farm.

Oh, my, this isn’t just the aunt’s recipe…it’s the great, great aunt’s recipe! And Flossie knew her! This family must have started having babies young. I didn’t even know one single great aunt, let alone a great-great.

Stephanie presents So Much to Say! posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

We know about the guard dog, but a guard donkey? Oh, yes, read on!

GP presents How Green is Your Garden posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn.

Just get a load of her greenhouse! I’m positively green with envy!

Miss Amanda presents Cake Baking Photo Essay posted at My Learning Experience.

What a sweet sister to make such a lovely cake for her brother!

Jacque Dixon presents From the Archives- Gardening 101 – You *Can* Teach Your Children!! posted at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths.

There is something for every age in the garden, and Jacque gives some great tips on teaching children that incorporate science, math, art, biblical lessons and more.

And now for the 10 other goodies that I discovered in cyberspace:

At Tales from Creekistan, I found The Daffodil House. Just don’t look inside the house.

At Blind Pig & the Acorn, I enjoyed The Fields of Home. I love that field, and read her garden wisdom.

At Hidden Haven Homestead, this author is Counting Blessings. I’m just trying to count the goats.

Down On The Farm shares some “Tails” From the Farm. In search of the perfect Jersey cow – bringing Buttercup home to the Back Forty.

At Kentucky Hollers, Running Into the Neighbors can be a literal experience, and Catherine discovers that sometimes movie stars retire to the Appalachian foothills.

Adventures in Farming coins a new saying, Snug as pigs in straw. The cutest little things I’ve ever seen.

In My Kitchen Garden has an intriguing offer: Attention Homeless Organic Vegetable Lovers: Would You Like To Move To A Farm? Seriously. Pack your bags and go live with the enormous pot-bellied pig.

Old Red Barn Co. clarifies work: It’s the reason you have kids, afterall. It was planting time, and lucky for Dana, she has a few sprightly young’uns.

Yarnstorm muses about tulips and tempests.Wow, those colors.

CraftApple instructs us on Gathering. For the seamstress in you – simple, foolproof techniques for a perfect gather.

Happy homesteading, now get on with your baking, planting, stitching, haying, milking, crafting, canning, quilting life!

Stay tuned next week, when the Homesteading Carnival will be hosted by Jacque at Seeking Rest in Ancient Paths. Submit your Homesteading posts HERE.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, carnivals, farm, garden, gardening with children, homesteading

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Twist(ed)

Posted April 11th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, the ranch
27 Comments »

This week’s theme: Twist(ed)

About 1/4 mile down the road from me, this twisted barbed wire fence marks the boundary between one old farm and another. At times it held back cattle, at times perhaps a feud.

Technorati Tags: barbed wire fence, country, photo hunt, ranch, farm

Homesteading Blog Carnival: Call for Submissions

Posted April 10th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life, the ranch
0 Comments

My, another blog carnival is on the way! The Homesteading Carnival will be hosted here at Diary of 1 this coming Monday, April 14. You can submit your blog post/article HERE by Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.

This blog carnival description reads:

A carnival full of homesteading articles… from your kitchen with yummy recipes, your sewing room with homemaking ideas to planting your garden, raising farm animals, and raising a family on the homestead. Please join us on the homestead and submit something from yours!

Now, if you don’t have a big ranch or farm with 12 children milking goats and collecting eggs every day, do not exclude yourself from this carnival! The Homestead Act (1863) provided the original homesteader with 160 acres if he could build a home on the property and inhabit the place for five years. But how many folks have 160 acres these days? And certainly not for free.

Homesteading has a broader interpretation these days. There are urban homesteaders who may not have a lot of real estate but sure have a lot of self-sufficiency. Maybe you have a balcony vegetable garden, maybe you have some good advice for living simply, being frugal yet generous, becoming debt free, or have figured out creative ways for how to make do with less. Please share your wisdom!!

Here is an unfortunate thing for a Christian like myself: Christian perspectives about homesteading are lost among the ideas of earth/nature worshippers, pantheists, pagans, socialists, New Age thinkers, and other extremes of the “green” movement. I believe that the Bible has answers for a rightly balanced life, with God at the center, and that Christian homesteading can be a piece of this balance.

Once again, submit your homesteading blog post HERE, and I look forward to presenting an educational and inspiring collection of articles on Monday!

OH, and don’t forget to leave a comment on my Gardening With Children post if you’d like to win a copy of Roots, Shoots, Bucket & Boots: Gardening Together With Children. Closes on Sunday evening. (The author, Sharon Lovejoy, left me a sweet comment on that post! Not a paid post, just a kind author.)

Tags: blog carnival, Christian homesteading, homestead, homesteading, urban homesteading

Death by Blogging and Other News

Posted April 7th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals
7 Comments »

Blogger, beware: your writing may be dangerous to your health, even fatal! So says the New York Times in yesterday’s article about paid bloggers, especially tech bloggers, sucked into the round-the-clock Internet economy:

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

I don’t blog anywhere near the level of the individuals discussed in the article, and I’m not paid for posts, but it’s still a warning to heed about technology in general and maybe I should be paying attention to how global media may be affecting my life in smaller ways.

So there’s your warning, before I list all the great blog carnivals to visit. Proceed with caution.

Carnival of Family Life, and also more here.
Marriage Monday
Christian Carnival, and next up on Wednesday at Chasing the Wind.
Make it from Scratch Blog Carnival, and up tomorrow at The So Called Me.
Carnival of Homeschooling, and up tomorrow at A Pondering Heart
Carnival of Homesteading – up later today
Carnival of Travel
Carnival of European Travel

While I was at the Europe Travel Blog, I came across What I See Out My Window – “bringing the world together, one window at a time…” Anthony is simply posting pictures from folks around the world, of what they see out their window. What a neat project! If you have a photo to submit, and a little story about what you see out your window, send it over there.

And I must tell you about a truly fun, different, and kickin’ Appalachian site I found!! If you remember, I wrote a post about my dad called The Appalachian Accent. There are many warmhearted comments on that post, as people shared their own bits of family history, and this is how I met Tipper, a brand new blogger from down in the hollar:

Blind Pig & the Acorn

I go there to reconnect with the mountain folk and just to listen to her family’s pickin’ and grinnin’ – you must go see what I mean. :-)

Well, dear readers, be safe today and NO heart attacks, okay?

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, blogging, carnivals

Christian Carnival CCXVII: Attributes of God Edition

Posted March 26th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, religion
11 Comments »

Welcome to the Christian Carnival CCXVII: Attributes of God Edition! I am honored to present such an expansive and quality array of posts this week. I’ve arranged the posts around several attributes of God, using the wonderful little book Praying the Attributes of God by Rosemary Jensen (former director Bible Study Fellowship International) as my guide. I hope you’ll find some encouragement and insight here as we examine the character of God and read various spiritual thoughts from each of the authors below.

1. God is Accessible

Deuteronomy 4:7: What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?

Ephesians 3:12: In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Thom presents Postmodern Apologetics: Evidence that Demands a Kingdom posted at Everyday Liturgy. Thom discusses an apologetics that leads toward life in the kingdom instead of an intellectual decision.

Shamelle presents It Doesn’t Cost Much To Consult With God posted at Enhance Life.

2. God is Creator

Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Hebrews 3:4: Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

ChrisB presents What’s Wrong with This Maxim? posted at Homeward Bound. A little game of spot-the-theological-error.

3. God is Eternal

Isaiah 40:28: The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Revelation 4:8: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

John presents Restoring Eden posted at Light Along the Journey. John compares a children’s movie to our quest for the Kingdom.

4. God is Faithful

Genesis 28:15: I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

1 Peter 4:19: Those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

The Bloke presents “…today you will be with me in paradise!” posted at …in the outer…. Reflecting on one of the last sayings of Jesus on the cross reveals a not so common emphasis in the Scriptures that is often missed in the midst of theological debates about what happens after we die or where Jesus went after He died. The reflection, however points to a simpler truth that reaches down to us to comfort us as we deal with the tougher issues of life. It reminds us that even though we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” He is there to protect and comfort us.

Jeremy Pierce presents Trust Without Action posted at Parableman. This post looks at a translation of “faith without works is dead” (from Kenny Pearce) that’s much clearer and yet doesn’t sacrifice some of the things the more dynamic translations sometimes sacrifice.

Dana presents Fighting the sunset posted at Principled Discovery.

5. God is Good

Psalm 34:8: Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Matthew 7:11: If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Jody Neufeld presents First Monday in Easter posted at Jody’s Devotionals.

Doug presents Can an Atheist be a good person? posted at Bounded Irrationality. Atheists ask me “Do you believe an atheist be a good person?” I look at what it means to be good. If I’m good for self-centered reasons, am I really good? Can I ever be good without self-centered reasons?

6. God is our Guide

Psalm 23:2-3: He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

John 16:13: When he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Renae presents What if…Homeschooling was Illegal posted at Life Nurturing Education, saying “which hill will you die on?”

Steve presents To be young, to serve truth… posted at faithdoubt. Explores a passage from “The Brothers Karamazov” that highlights the struggle between the desire to serve truth and the patience that serving truth may take.

Henry Neufeld presents On Being a True Believer posted at Threads from Henry’s Web. On trying to disbelieve and failing miserably.

7. God is Holy

Leviticus 19:2: Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

1 John 1:5: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all.

Diane R presents Christian Hindus?? posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. The new missiology is allowing people from various religions to keep it and simply “add” Christianity. Is this right?

8. God is Impartial

Deuteronomy 10:17: The Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

Acts 10:34-35: I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

Mark Olson presents He’s Wrong posted at Pseudo-Polymath. In which I disagree with someone of some authority. I’m not Catholic, and have been Protestant … and I think the anti-Catholic knee jerk reactions of some Protestants are misguided. Here’s one.

Richard H. Anderson presents The Importance of the Centurion posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Jan presents a generous understanding posted at the view from her, saying “I read and reviewed Brian McLaren’s book “A Generous Orthodoxy.” I’m not trying to be contentious, but not finding any literal “heresy” in it, I genuinely am confused by other’s strong opposition to it.”

9. God is Immutable

Psalm 33:11: The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Romans 11:29: God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

Barbara presents The Day After Easter posted at Tidbits and Treasures.

Martin presents Jesus lives; is Christianity a corpse? posted at Enigmania.

10. God is Jealous

Exodus 34:14: Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Ezekiel 39:25: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.

Ray presents Easter Sunday Musings About the Rich Man, the Camel, and the Needle posted at Money Blue Book.

Ronnica presents Go, Go, Go and Do, Do, Do posted at Tale of a Kansas Girl. As a Christian, it’s so easy to buy into the ideal busyness of our culture. Taking the time to consider what is on God’s agenda for our day rather than our own is a struggle.

11. God is Just

Proverbs 17:3: The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Rodney Olsen presents Jesus on Trial posted at RodneyOlsen.net. Jesus was subjected to six trials and each one of them was a travesty of justice.

David A. Porter presents Growing as a Disciple of Jesus Christ posted at A Boomer in the Pew.

12. God is Love

Isaiah 38:17: Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.

Romans 5:8: God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Chad Dalton presents Do you love Jesus? posted at Living Stone Bible Church Blog.

13. God is Merciful

2 Samuel 14:14: Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

1 Peter 5:10: The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Annette presents Would you do this? posted at Fish and Cans.

Ken Brown presents Holy Saturday – A Day For Death and Doubt posted at C.Orthodoxy.

14. God is Provider

Psalm 23:5-6: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Luke 22:35: Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.

FMF presents Wealth is More than Money posted at Free Money Finance. True wealth is more than just money.

15. God is Savior

Deuteronomy 32:39: I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.

1 Corinthians 1:18: The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Ken (Wickle) presents Easter: One Rock Cries Out posted at A True Believer’s Weblog. Putting together Jesus’ statement that rocks would cry out, and thinking about the rock in front of the tomb.

:: Suzanne :: presents Friday Poetry: Goodly Fere on Good Friday posted at :: Adventures in Daily Living ::.

John presents “He is Risen . . .” posted at Brain Cramps for God. Just a simple Easter post.

16. God is Wise

Daniel 2:20-22: Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

Ephesians 3:10: His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.

Andrew Tatusko presents Where the Paschal Baptism Tradition Went posted at Notes From Off-Center. This is a reflection on the disappearance of the Paschal baptismal rite in response to the baptisms of both my sons on this past Easter morning.

e-Mom presents Secrets of the Parables posted at C h r y s a l i s. Were the Parables Meant to be Understood? Four Views.

Thank you for visiting this Christian Carnival! For a list of future hosts, please visit Parableman.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Christian Carnival, Christianity, faith

Oregon Beauty

Posted March 25th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, education, family life, france/french
8 Comments »

This is a view of Mount Bachelor from Sparks Lake, from a hike we took last summer. Talk about The Perfect Day – we hiked and picnicked with dear family friends, and also our French exchange student. Of course, our French guest had to mention the Alps. Mount Bachelor is part of the Cascade Range, and is the youngest prominent volcano in the Three Sisters (three volcanic peaks) area. Apparently, none of the three sisters could win over the bachelor.

Anyway, I had to give you something pretty to look at while I make some public service announcements. Get your submissions in for the Christian Carnival by tonight, Midnight ET. Submit here, and also, Parableman has further information on the carnival. Publishing right here at Diary of 1 tomorrow.

Other blog carnivals of interest:

Make It From Scratch
Mothers and Daughters Blog Carnival
Carnival of Travel
Carnival of Homeschooling – up later today
Learning in the Great Outdoors – coming April 1
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival

This concludes the public service announcement. You may continue to gaze at Oregon beauty.

Two homeschooling families on a log; same hike (my four kids on the right end):

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Central Oregon, Christian Carnival, France, Mount Bachelor, Three Sisters

Good Friday and Call for Submissions

Posted March 21st, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life, holidays, religion
1 Comment »

I trust your Good Friday was good. This year, my little JoJo had her birthday on Good Friday. She enjoyed a happy celebration with many friends. As for me, I just loved all the moms who came and I basked in the rare opportunity to fellowship with all these ladies at once.

Here’s a verse that caught my eye as I thought about Good Friday, the day we commemorate the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23

I thought this was an appropriate response for believers; as Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, we can respond with a sacrifice of thanks. What struck me about this scripture was that our thank offerings help pave the way for our salvation! Having a thankful heart, a constant spirit of gratitude, is honoring to God and critical to our eternity.

I’m hosting the upcoming Christian Carnival, and I hope you’ll consider submitting an article. You can click here to submit your post. This carnival publishes on March 26, and I need your submissions by Midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 25. Here are two past Christian Carnivals I have hosted, if you’d like to see the format:

Christian Carnival 189: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Edition
Christian Carnival: Renaissance Edition

Have a blessed Easter.

Technorati Tags: birthday party, blog carnival, Good Friday, Christian Carnival

Blog touring

Posted March 19th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, product review, sports, the office
1 Comment »

Oh, the places you’ll go. Dr. Seuss.

I’ve been wandering all around. The Christian carnivals, Carnival of Family Life, food blogs, homeschooling blogs, homesteading blogs, BendBlogs. And principled government.

Whew, I’ve been to a lot of places, and more to go!

Puss ReBoots thinks I rock. Wow, what a compliment! I’m passing this blog award on to:

Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent
Funki Planet
The Parenting Diaries
MooBee Farm
Peregrinations

Check out these blogs that rock – I think you might agree.

Announcing the winners of my sports products Giveaway:
(please email with a shipping address)

Living For God: New York Giants Rug
An Untraditional Home: Pittsburgh Steelers Stainless Steel Thermos
Thou and Thou Only: Georgia Tech Trailer Hitch Cover
Funki Planet: Ohio State Watch
Brett’s Blog: Dallas Cowboys Tire Cover

Congratulations to these blogging winners!

BlogCatalog

Tags: blog award, blog carnivals, giveaway, sports products

Sneaking permission to get on the blanket

Posted March 10th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life
5 Comments »

We have a stone cold floor. Slippers or at least socks are a must in the winter and even spring to keep your toes from a bluish frost. In fact, it’s a rule for the children to put socks on in the morning so they aren’t tempted to huddle by the heater for hours. JoJo dragged a few blankets down this morning, and like the cute, imaginative four-year-old girl she is, began to cocoon herself into a warm ball. With just her head now poking out from her fuzzy yellow swathe, she informed her little brother that NO, he could not come in – “You have socks on, you’re warm.” She, however, had broken the rule and was sockless.

Moments later, I heard, “JoJo, I’m cold, now I can come in.” Having stealthily shoved his socks aside, his bare feet were now the proof that he deserved to snuggle in the blanket with her.

*******

Catching up on reading: Christian thoughts, more Christian thoughts, family life, homeschool life, homesteading, travel, more homesteading, making things from scratch.

Tags: blankets, children, deception, playtime

My Ultimate Blog Party 2008 & A Giveaway

Posted March 8th, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, sports, the office
22 Comments »

Welcome, I’m so glad you stopped by! The 5 Minutes for Mom blog is hosting another Ultimate Blog Party, which is basically a “carnival” to meet other mom bloggers and surely win some prizes! The idea is to go to their sites and browse through the hundreds of mom-bloggers who’ve linked up there – get your own blog noticed and get acquainted with some you’ve never encountered.

So, if you’ve come here through 5 Minutes for Mom and have never noticed me before, here is my introduction:

I’m Jennifer and I live in Central Oregon. You’ll figure that one out pretty quickly, since I write about my region quite a bit – I love where I live and can’t help but tell you about it! We are country folks, me and my husband and four children and dog. We’re desert dwellers trying to live a simple life with a high-tech twist. We have a few internet businesses, including one that I mention here fairly often, TeamMASCOT.com. I manage that store and am about to give away some cool prizes, so keep reading!

My husband got me into blogging one year ago, as an experiment in marketing. He designed my lovely site and enjoys tinkering with it – myself, I have NO clue how to program and have trouble placing simple icons in my sidebar. Well, I discovered to my amazement that I loved to write and now I can’t stop! My husband and I have always made a nice business partnership – he creates businesses, I manage them; he programs, I write. Except for that one day early on when he fired me and I quit all in the same breath. Oh, we’ve come a long way, baby.

We changed my blog format last month, and I’m really excited to see where this goes. You’ll notice on my main page that I have a monthly topic, and each week I publish a “feature” article. Last month was famous artists, this month is vineyards, next month will be highlighting some of my industrious girlfriends who have their own businesses. This new endeavor has been a blast – sometimes, I just need a little direction and my features keep me focused as I explore topics that I want to learn more about. I still blog in between my features about the other issues that are very important to me, like education, faith, family life, and world news.

Thank you, those of you who check in here regularly – I can’t tell you how enjoyable it’s been to meet people from all over the world, some of you even in real life! And are you ready for my prizes?? Of course, these all come from my business, which happens to be a sports-themed store, so if that’s up your alley, here’s the list of truly excellent products:

1. New York Giants Rug
2. Dallas Cowboys Tire Cover
3. Pittsburgh Steelers Stainless Steel Thermos
4. Ohio State Stainless Steel Mens Watch
5. Georgia Tech Trailer Hitch Cover

TO WIN, just go follow each link, browse around TeamMASCOT to see what other items you like, and come back here and leave me a comment, telling me which product you’d like to win. You will get special consideration if you mention this contest on your blog and link to TeamMASCOT! And that would just be really nice of you. Let me know if you link. But, you do not have to be a blogger to win. I’ll choose 5 winners (in honor of 5 Minutes for Mom) on March 14, the end of the Ultimate Blog Party. Be sure to fill in your email in the comment form so I can notify you if you’re a winner! Oh, and you don’t even have to be a mom to win!

Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope you come back soon!

Technorati Tags: blogging, children, giveaway, contest, prizes, sports business, ultimate blog party

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Party (tea for two)

Posted March 1st, 2008 by Jen in blog stuff, carnivals, family life
13 Comments »

This week’s theme: Party

Oh, the happy days of a tea party childhood. Would you like some more, my dear?

Technorati Tags: photo hunt, tea party, children

Blog Spotting to France and Back

Posted February 26th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, france/french
4 Comments »

Why are there so many good blogs? Dang, it just eats up my time and I have to exercise great restraint. At any rate, Here are a few cyberstops that may be worth your time.

There’s the round of carnivals, including last week’s Carnival of Homeschooling and this week’s; a collection of insane blog posts, family-themed blogs, and Christian blogs, just to name a few.

As I was putting together my list of French books last week, I couldn’t help but spend a bit of time in France, bien sur, and came across a few très bon resources that you may enjoy. I was intrigued by an organic old-vine winery in Provence; I’d like a Postcard from Provence (a daily painting blog); some help with your French (the wife of the wine blog I mentioned); a family living the “aixtreme life” in Aix-en-Provence.

On the way back to this side, I stopped in the U.K. at a bend in the road. I discovered a new blog, just one month old, the fascinating faith journey of a boomer in the pew; some blogs which are new to me, but give great inspiration and charming art mixed with thoughtful words.

Have a terrific Tuesday!!

Technorati Tags: blogging, blog carnival

WW: I Had to Pull Over

Posted February 20th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, the ranch
15 Comments »

Sunset over the Three Sisters, part of the Cascade Mountain Range that I’m blessed to look at every single day. This photo is from last week, and I wasn’t the only one to pull over. Even us locals who see this stunning horizon all the time are still in awe on days like this.

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, please visit the official WW Hub or 5 Minutes for Mom.

Technorati Tags: Cascade Mountains, Three Sisters, sunset, wordless Wednesday

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt – Free

Posted February 16th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals
20 Comments »

This week’s theme: Free

Running free along the beach; I took this photo of my niece, foreground, and our French exchange student, background, this past summer at the beach below Heceta Head Lighthouse near Florence, Oregon. It’s such a carefree feeling, one of my favorite things in the world – the wet sand beneath my feet, the salt air in my face with its delightful aroma, that constant roar of the mighty Pacific.

Technorati Tags: beach, Pacific Ocean, PhotoHunt, Heceta Head, Florence, Oregon

Blog Love for Valentine’s Day

Posted February 14th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals
11 Comments »

Happy Valentine’s Day! For bloggers, the best Valentine gift would be some link love, so here’s some long overdue mentions.

I was given the E for Excellent Blog Award by e-Mom, and need to pass this on. Here are some excellent blogs for you to peruse, which have inspired me, encouraged me, made me laugh, made me think. Excellent bloggers, please bless the quality bloggers in your sphere with this award.

1. Heather at Untraditional Home
2. Pat Santy at Dr. Sanity
3. Grace at Sandier Pastures
4. Wickle at A True Believer’s Weblog
5. Michael at Chasing the Wind
6. Crimson Wife at Bending the Twigs
7. Judy at Consent of the Governed
8. Rob and Janette at Kintropy

The I’ve Got a Friend Award was handed to me by Grace, and here are some very friendly bloggers you will enjoy. Bloggers, please pass this award along to those kindred spirits in your world.

1. Jane at Shore Stories
2. e-Mom at Chrysalis
3. Mrs. Darling at Dishpan Dribble
4. Renae at Life Nurturing Education
5. Heidi at Pebble Chaser
6. Kathleen at Coffee Mom
7. Mandi at Under His Construction
8. Dana at Simple Pleasures

And now a few of the current carnivals spinning around in the blogosphere:

The Carnival of Family Life
The Carnival of Homeschooling
The Christian Carnival
Carnivalesque, coming Saturday to Mercurius Politicus
Carnival of the Insanities, coming again Sunday to Dr. Sanity

Technorati Tags: awards, blogging, carnivals, Valentine’s Day

WFMW: Just Eat the Ice Cream

Posted February 12th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life, health/cooking/food
13 Comments »

As you can see, ladies (and gentlemen), there was no room in the freezer for this quart of ice cream, so I simply had to eat it.

I believe it fit before I took it out, but somehow, various frozen food stuffs were shuffled in such a way that it no longer had a space, not an inch to spare in there. And truly, there was only about a quarter of the quart left, so my goodness, why make such a fuss over rearranging the entire freezer to wedge this luscious, chocolatey, creamy dessert back in there? Can’t you see that the carton is already slightly crushed?

Ahem, for more Works For Me Wednesday posts, visit Don’t Try This At Home (who is hosting while Shannon is in Uganda), and I’m sure you’ll find something other than Breyers All Natural Organic Chocolate Ice Cream that works for you.

Technorati Tags: ice cream, Breyers, chocolate

WW: Wear Your Helmet On The Ice!

Posted February 6th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life, sports
8 Comments »

Now, that’s a good mom…after being reprimanded by the Canadian, I helmeted the kids the next time on the ice. Kind of a no-brainer for three and four year olds ice-skating, why didn’t I think of this sooner?

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, check out 5 Minutes for Mom, and also the Wordless Wednesday Hub.

Technorati Tags: wordless Wednesday, ice skating, helmets

New York Giants Win Super Bowl; but my contest winner is a Patriots fan!

Posted February 4th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, giveaways, sports, the office
3 Comments »

Great big giant congratulations to the New York Giants on their stunning Super Bowl XLII win!! And huge congratulations to the WINNER of my Super Bowl Giveaway: Shannon Jordan at A Reforming Mom, who is a true blue New England Patriots fan (despite her husband not being). I hope this soothes the pain of the loss. Way to go Shannon, and if you can sneak this auto accessories package onto the family van, go for it! Shannon will be receiving a Patriots license plate frame, a Patriots auto emblem, and a Patriots sheet of removable decals. In the case of a house divided, it may be a good thing they are removable. Thanks to everyone who participated in  my Super Bowl Giveaway! The items in my giveaway were all from my online store, TeamMASCOT.com, and if you are a sports fan, you might want to take a look. Keep an eye out, I’ll always have more contests! The winners of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival (890 giveaways!) are being posted HERE-Rocks in My Dryer-, so if you’re not sure if you won something, take a peek!  

Tags: contest, football, giveaway, New England Patriots, New York Giants, sports, winners

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Narrow

Posted February 2nd, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life
11 Comments »

The theme this week is narrow.

The narrow Crooked River runs through Smith Rock, one of our favorite hiking spots. There are many narrow paths to hike, and tall, narrow spires of rock to fill you with awe.

That Contest and Some Links

Posted January 31st, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, giveaways, sports
1 Comment »

Thanks to everyone who has entered my Super Bowl Giveaway of NFL auto accessories! Go HERE to enter, you have until this Saturday. Just leave a comment to enter, and read the post for details. Be sure to visit the Rocks in My Dryer Bloggy Carnival where hundreds are giveaways have been going on all week. It’s nuts over there. Count them. 890 GIVEAWAYS!! FREE STUFF!! And if you’re like me and don’t really want more stuff, many of the giveaways are CASH. Can Shannon make it into the Guinness Book of World Records? There would surely have been even more giveaways but for the nemesis of all bloggers–spammers, which forced Shannon to shut down Mr. Linky early.

Thanks are in order as well to some great bloggers who also hosted my giveaway – and I would recommend posting your giveaways here. The point is exposure, especially if you own a small business you are promoting, and many blogggers also simply want traffic. Whatever the reason, here are a few good places to submit your contests:

Laura Williams’ Musings: A Christian homeschooling mom of seven, Laura regularly posts giveaways, writes fabulous book reviews, and has quite the recipe roundup!

The Contest Beat (which is for sale, by the way – anyone want to add to their internet holdings?): This is contest central, where you can find everything from cold cash to a Nintendo Wii.

MyBlogContest: Sweepstakes, contests, giveaways, free stuff.

An Island Review: Kailani always has great lists of contests and giveaways. I forgot to submit my giveaway here, but I have in the past. I love this site -it’s clean, pretty, and easy to navigate.

Prize-A-Tron: Angela and baby Connor have tons of good stuff to give away, and don’t miss more of Angela’s contests at Seven Dogs And a Baby – it seems she really does have seven chihuahuas. Can they be trained to change diapers?

I know there’s more – let me know where you post your giveaways.

Recent carnival activity of interest:
The Carnival of Family Life
The Christian Carnival
The Carnival of Homeschooling
The Carnival of Christian Women (coming tomorrow)

And I have a few blog awards!! I’ve missed some and forgotten others in the craziness of the past season, and it’s taken me a full month to get “sort of” back on track. I’ll pass these awards on later, I’m just going to mention them now and give myself time to think! And seriously, if I’ve missed something you intended for me, feel free to remind me. :-)

First, Grace at Sandier Pastures has blessed me with many awards, and one of them is the “I’ve Got a Friend Award,” which I was very honored to receive. If you’d like to get a taste of Dubai through the eyes of an expat from Japan via the Philippines, then go visit Sandier Pastures!

e-Mom at Chrysalis has also given me some awards, the most recent one being the “E for Excellent Award.”. e-Mom has a wonderful, inviting blog, full of encouragement, reviews, humor, marriage and family tips, and so much more. Drop in for a cup of coffee (this IS where I won my Starbucks gift card).

Coming soon: my review of Suite Francaise (oh, how do I get those little French accents to work on my keyboard??!). I KNOW that little mark goes under the “c.” Anyway, if there’s one book you read this year on war, this should be it. It’s historical fiction set in France during the German Occupation (early/pre WWII), and the story behind the story is even more fascinating. I will leave you hanging with this: the author, Irene Nemirovsky (a Russian Jew whose family had emigrated to France to escape the Bolsheviks), was murdered in Auschwitz and the manuscript of Suite Francaise survived the war and wasn’t discovered for over 60 years, and was just published in 2004 in France, where it was an immediate bestseller, and in 2006 in the U.S. I was almost shaking when I first laid hands on this book just over a week ago. I have a few chapters left and will report soon.

Works For Me: Faith

Posted January 30th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, religion
3 Comments »

Welcome to another edition of Works For Me Wednesday – see the complete list of entries HERE.

What works for me is Faith. Have you tried it? It moves mountains, heals sickness, and changes lives. Sounds too good to be true. Where can you find this faith thing, you say? The good news: you don’t have to climb to the top of a mountain in Tibet, chant, do yoga, or drink a detoxifier. The other news: you must believe that God can do what He says He can do. Well, even the demons believe, so you must actually go beyond belief. What is beyond belief? FAITH!

What works for me is a faith that makes me act like I believe God. One thing that means is not circumventing the details of the situation to get to the faith goal. God tells you, “Have faith that I will accomplish X.” If, like Abraham and Sara, you decide that “I must do A, B, and C to make sure that X happens,” that is not faith, and will bring a lifetime of painful consequences. Surely you remember Ishmael. But, if you have faith like the Roman Centurion who believed that Jesus would heal his servant, even from a distance, just with His words, you have the kind of faith that brings this response: “I have not found such great faith, no, not in all Israel!” (Luke ch. 7, Matthew ch. 8).

Super Bowl XLII Giveaway: Auto Accessories

Posted January 28th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, giveaways, product review, sports, the office
58 Comments »

Super Bowl XLII is set for February 3, 2008 in Arizona, a showdown between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots!! Diary of 1 and TeamMASCOT are hosting another giveaway right here, right now, in honor of this great football tradition!

This Super Bowl Giveaway is an auto accessories package for the team of your choice: The Patriots or the Giants of course — and I will even let you choose a different NFL team, because I know those team loyalties run very deep! The package will contain the following three items:

1. An auto emblem: an officially licensed auto emblem made of hard plastic with a metallic finish and adhesive on the back to stick to your car or truck, or any hard surface – refrigerator, RV, door, etc. Measures approximately 3×3 inches and 1/4 inch thick.

2. A sheet of static cling decals: Better than a sticker, remove and reuse these team logo window decorations whenever you like. Each sheet contains five decals with team logos and graphics, of various size and design. Removable and fade-resistent. The sizes of the static clings are: One is 2.5″x4.75″, one is 4.75″x6.5″, two are 5″x9″, and one is 3.75″x19″.

3. A plastic license plate frame: These team logo license plate frames attach easily to any vehicle and feature bright graphics and team colors. The license plate holders are 6.25″x12.25″ and meet the vehicle standards for display of registration tags. These auto tags are made of hard, sturdy plastic.

How to win: Simply leave a comment below, and include the name of the NFL team you want for the auto accessories package, and I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008! I will notify the winner via email on Sunday, Feb. 3. If you are a blogger and would like to have an extra entry included in the drawing, just mention this contest on your blog with a link back to this post. You must have a U.S. mailing address to win this contest.

For hundreds of NFL and other team-logo products (NCAA, MLB, NASCAR, NHL, and NBA), please visit my family business, TeamMASCOT.com – support America’s small businesses!

This contest is part of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival at Rocks in My Dryer. Head over there for literally hundreds of amazing giveaways all week!!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Old-fashioned

Posted January 26th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life
13 Comments »

The theme this week is old-fashioned.

When guests visit, the first comment is usually about these desks. I have a set of three that are situated to one side of the dining room. “Where did you get these?” is the usual question. These desks are likely circa 1930s or 40s, and I picked them up last year from a local rancher’s barn. The lady rancher had advertised “old desks” in the Nickel Ads, and I have a penchant for old desks, so I drove right over.

She had them under some tarp in her barn, and had no idea where they came from or how long they’d been there. She was cleaning house and wanted them gone. For only $12 apiece, I felt like I was rustling cattle! Oh, the solid wood, the old-fashioned ink wells, the subtle curves, …the gum stuck under the seats!

Since we homeschool, these actually do get used as student desks. However, they also find themselves constantly occupied as a station for projects, crafts, and even eating dinner. We have a dining room table that seats six, and not even counting my mom we have six. So, if there is ever company for dinner, some kids sit in the desks, and they actually prefer that spot.

You can find more Photo Hunters here.

Carnival of Family Life: Well-Read Life Edition

Posted January 21st, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life
14 Comments »

Welcome to the Carnival of Family Life: Well-Read Life Edition.

Read in order to Live. –Gustave Flaubert

Don’t we all wish we had more time to read? While no one can escape the bounds of time, there are some tools and techniques available to increase our book time. Now, bloggers are writers, and writers must be readers. So, my Carnival of Family Life will display this week’s wonderful blog posts (in the order received) among bits of book-love wisdom. My source is The Little Guide To Your Well-Read Life by Steve Leveen – How to get more books in your life and more life from your books.

Mr. Leveen is a big fan of making lists. He insists that it must be your list, not someone else’s list. It can be overwhelming with the number of books available, with thousands more titles added each week.

I like to call this list that you make for yourself a List of Candidates rather than a reading list. Most of us had assigned reading lists in school, and hence the term carries a tweed-jacketed pall of obligation. It is more helpful to consider the books you place on your list as candidates for your attention rather than obligations. p. 13

Donetta presents Carnival of Family Life. Life Celebrated posted at A Life Uncommon. Just look at her celebration pictures!

Dana presents Planet’s meanest mom now the coolest posted at Principled Discovery. Would you have the guts?

What Works For Us presents I Shoulda Been A Hairdresser posted at What Works For Us. Do you know what a chullet is?

Christine presents Home is where my Heart is! posted at Are We There Yet Mom. You will just go kiss your grandmother after reading this.

Cory Aldrich presents Tax Season Is Upon Us! posted at Marriage Actually. Death and taxes, yes we know. Some sound advice.

Mom & Dad present Pneumonia, Bronchitis, and Birthdays, Oh My! posted at Raising 4 Boys. Oh, go drop this dear family a word of encouragement!

Jesse Moran presents 6 Tips to Cutting Down Your Spending on Groceries posted at CompGifts [The Frugal Way of Living]. If all you did was follow tip #1, you’d be in darn good shape.

Miscellaneous Mum presents THE scariest book for a preschooler EVER posted at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum. I guarantee it’s NOT what you think!

Steve Leveen mentions a reading guide first created in the mid-1930s by a group of scholars and led by Atwood H. Townsend, a professor at New York University:

From his introductory essay, “On Reading,” Professor Townsend comes across as a kind and wise fellow who’s not shy about lecturing us. “No matter how busy you may think you are,” he tells us, “you must find time for reading now, or surrender yourself to self-ignorance.” Most comforting was this advice: “Never force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy. There are so many good books in the world that it is foolish to waste time on one that does not give you pleasure and profit.” p. 25

Marjorie presents Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike the Headless Chicken posted at Life Without School. After killing 141 chickens, you’d sound crazy, too.

Mrs. Darling presents Chicken Little posted at Dishpan Dribble. Okay, so I presented this for her, since she is too busy to submit it herself (seriously), but while we’re talking about chickens, it’s just so fitting.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Plasticity, Health and Fitness Books posted at Sharp Brains. Yep, lots of brain books. I could use a few of these in the midst of raising four children – you know what that does to your brain.

Tim Gary presents How to Make Time Out of Thin Air posted at Tim Gary. Okay, I was wrong above when I stated that no one can escape the bounds of time.

Meredith presents Ways to Save Money: Beauty and Fashion posted at The Simple Nickle. I’m all over this idea – remember, I use vegetable shortening on my skin. “If beauty is only skin deep, why does it reach so deeply into our wallets?”

Frugal Trader presents Shopping for a Newborn I – The List posted at Million Dollar Journey. Oh, to be an old Indian woman and just strap the little thing in a papoose.

Coupon Fetcher presents How To Find The Real Price Of Things posted at Coupon Fetcher. Beware of the fine print!

Left Wing Christian presents Kids & Money: Putting Baby on a Budget? posted at Suburban Wife’s Daily Dollar Diary. A very interesting perspective on children and finance. I like this.

Mitch McDonald presents Sell Your House and Rent it Back: Avoid Foreclosure posted at FYI About.com. Did you know there is such a thing as a repossession rental specialist?

Some people will cringe at the thought, but Leveen maintains that you should write in your books. This marginalia can express your inspirations, questions, and thoughts, and help you connect with your books.

On a trip to Amherst, Massachusetts, Lori and I toured Emily Dickinson’s home. I bought a nice hardcover volume of her poetry in the gift shop and inside it wrote the date that we bought it, then taped in the ticket stub from the tour. Walking in the Dickinson’s yard with Lori that lovely summer afternoon, I picked up a perfect oak leaf from the grass and put that inside, too. Now our book is not simply any copy of Emily Dickinson’s poetry, but a special one with particulars, and even a leaf from the very yard that inspired her. p. 55

Paid Twice presents Teaching Preschoolers About Money posted at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already. A different school of thought from Suburban Wife above – “Even though it may seem early to start helping a three year old understand money concepts, they’re more aware of everything already than you might think.”

Samuel Bryson presents The Philosophy of Happiness – The Media & Unrealistic Expectations posted at Total Wellbeing. His first sentence sums it up: “Mainstream Media is full of crap.”

FitBuff presents 4 Tips on How to Live Longer posted at FitBuff. Sorry, the Fountain of Youth is not one of the four – every good thing requires some work.

Michael Ruch presents Post Surgery Recovery Going Well posted at Mikes World. The whole family pitches in to make for a speedy recovery.

Warren Wong presents The Value of Our Parents posted at Personal Development For INTJs. Wong says, “Parents can give us a sense of meaning and purpose in life.”

Terry M presents Marathon Day posted at Mom on Wheels. Go congratulate this mom on running her first half-marathon!

Carole Fogarty presents Easily Delete Obstacles and Welcome a Rush of New Opportunities posted at The Healthy Living Lounge. She says to detox and simplify.

Diane Kidman presents How to Lose Weight After Pregnancy and Beyond posted at The Mommy Spot. It’s the month of resolutions!

HowToMe presents How to Add Zest to Your Day posted at HowToMe. As in, the zest of an orange!

Guera presents Treating Clubfeet posted at Roaming Aussie Mum. Wow. “The story of my daughter’s journey to beautiful feet!”

Alex Blackwell presents Five Good Reasons to Exercise posted at The Next 45 Years. “Exercise can help to relieve stress, build confidence and to provide self-care and nurturing.”

Expat Chef presents The Unnecessary Nugget posted at The Expatriate’s Kitchen. “Can the fast food nugget be nudged out by a healthier alternative? You betcha, and it tastes better, too.”

Chris presents Don’t Snooze In Your Cubicle: Here Are Four Ways To Snack For Higher Energy posted at The Healthy Snacks Blog.

Aparna presents 12 beauty uses of baking soda posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming. “You can concoct your own beauty products in the convenience of your home by mixing a few ingredients from your kitchen shelves.”

Reading with your ears can open up a whole new world, and Leveen is a big fan of audiobooks. He quotes George Guidall, who says “I think it’s an essential need of the human being to hear another human being tell them a story…it makes us feel there’s somebody else here with us.” Are you a commuter? Stuck in traffic? A long-haul trucker? A taxi-cab mom? Mr. Leveen shares the example of Sarah Thomas, director of the Cornell University Libraries:

One of the first audiobooks Sarah listened to in the car was Peter Mayle’s Year in Provence. She delighted in all the well-executed French accents. “I was surprised. I don’t think that I had fully grasped the possibilities of the media. If you take something like Three Junes by Julia Glass, the story of a Scottish family, how much more alive the story comes with the Scottish accent than when you’re reading the book and trying to imagine it.” p. 66

David B. Bohl presents Small Business Trends Column – Who Else (Besides a Majority of Business Professionals) Wants Work Life Balance in 2008? posted at Slow Down Fast Today! “A nationwide survey sheds some light as to what people think will help them achieve their business goals in 2008. What made the top of the list? Achieving a work-life balance!”

Erika Wilson presents Weight Loss God’s Way posted at Royally Redeemed. “Why waste time losing weight with dieting only to gain it back once you return to your former eating habits, when you can learn the process to a healthy lifestyle and lose weight with out ever worrying about gaining it back?”

Deb presents Impulsive, ego-centric, exuberant…posted at Mom Of 3 Girls. “Trying to help figure out what makes our daughter different from other kids in some ways…”

Jeremy Neal presents Discovering Dad – 10 Most Common Parenting Strategies of Dads posted at Discovering Dad. “Here’s a list of the Top 10 Most Common Parenting Strategies of Dads.”

Spillay presents The Party Fairy was watching over me posted at A Pot of Gold. No more fear of having a social event in my home.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Miss Dating? Not Me! (Limerick) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog. Married gals, aren’t you glad the game is over?

Zamejias presents Young Engineer posted at Verb. Yes, I see the young engineer.

Meghna presents MUSINGS…: Mail it??? How??? posted at MUSINGS… Oh, yeah, the postal system.

Matt M presents My Dog’s “Flix” at Greetingflix.com posted at The Pet Haven. Cutest little pooches in sweaters I’ve ever seen.

Host Bee presents Valentine’s Day Party Ideas posted at Busy Bee Lifestyle. A Valentine’s Day Coffee And Conversation!

Hilltown Families presents Zoe’s Big Adventure Across Eastern Europe posted at Hilltown Families. “Join Zoe (age 4) and her mom as they travel across Europe. You can read their posts, which will include photos, activities, maps and links to suggested readings.”

Dolfin presents Snow Day!! posted at Lionden Landing. “Share with us as we celebrate our first real snowfall.”

Sharing the fellowship of books – think about joining a book club if you don’t already belong to one. This tradition, actually dating back in some form to at least the 1800s in America, is on the rise. Some benefits of belonging to a book club include getting back into reading, reading books you would not have otherwise read, and gaining more insight from those books.

Whether to participate in a book group raises the age-old pros and cons of group involvement. You give up a bit of your personal freedom in exchange for the insights that can be gained from discussion. To the extent that you read to expand your knowledge of the world and people, group participation may be well worth the trade-off. The legendary reader Samuel Johnson said, “Books without the knowledge of life are useless, for what should books teach but the art of living?” p. 94

Laura Scarborough presents Ready or Not posted at Adventures in Juggling. “What’s a slacker mom to do when her child is driven and passionate about something? Well, ready or not, I join in because she is my child.”

Terri Mauro presents Emotional Rescue posted at About Parenting Special Needs. “Do you ever have days when you feel solely responsible for your family’s emotional equilibrium, and fear that you’ll overturn that apple cart any minute? I had one of those days today.”

The Baglady presents Fifteen Years in America — An Introduction — The Baglady posted at The Baglady. “Here is the first chapter in this real story written by my dad where a family came from Communist China with absolutely nothing, and chased the American Dream with hard work and determination.”

Samuel Bryson presents Cycling and your Wellbeing posted at Total Wellbeing. Lots of good reasons here to hop on your bike!

Living By Learning presents How To Be Popular: Tween Style posted at On Living By Learning. “Sometimes the pursuit of popularity can be a useful parenting device.”

Tea Party Girl presents Teach Your Children Well–The Top Five Mealtime Etiquette Lessons for Children posted at Tea Party Girl. “What role do manners and etiquette play in the twenty-first century? Tea Party Girl wants to go on record as saying they play the same role they always did: to help us show preference and honor to others over ourselves.”

Tipsandtricks presents Dishwashing With Clothes posted at Tipsandtricks. Oh, and I thought she was putting the clothes in the dishwasher! It’s getting late!

Shabana presents Five 2 Minute Tips to Raise a Confident Child posted at PreSchoolMama. “A few simple and easy to do tips to help raise a confident child.”

MyBestInvest presents MBI’s Guide to Playing With Your Kids posted at My Best Investments. Sometimes, we need a list.

Stephanie presents The Birthday Tea Party – Activities posted at Stop the Ride! “Fun activities for a birthday tea party with links for other DIY tea party ideas.”

PlanningQueen presents Fighting the materialism battle with self esteem posted at Planning with Kids. Comments on curbing the “gimme syndrome,” with some nice links.

Thank you for visiting the Carnival of Family Life: Well-Read Life Edition! Next week’s carnival is hosted by Confessions of a Novice, and you may submit your family-related post HERE.

There is creative reading as well as creative writing. –Emerson

photo credits: www.markaelrod.net, www.about.com.dollcollecting, AudioBook Builder

Christian Carnival: Renaissance Edition

Posted January 16th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, religion
17 Comments »

Welcome to the 207th Christian Carnival, the Renaissance Edition! Renaissance comes from the French, meaning “rebirth.” What a fitting word for a Christian! This period of European history spanned roughly from the 14th-17th centuries, but the 15th and 16th centuries best represent the Renaissance.

Life in the Renaissance by Marzieh Gail is a fascinating look at this cultural movement, and left me with several impressions of Renaissance Life. I’ll do my best to arrange our posts this week according to these central themes. There is no way to cover the vast details of the Renaissance in this small space, but I hope your interest is piqued and you study further.

The first impression of Renaissance life is that it was a rediscovery of the ancient civilizations of the past – the great works of Greece and Rome. Emerging from the Middle Ages and its emphasis on the spirit, the Renaissance man was very interested in learning and in life. Scholars hunted out ancient texts long forgotten, and scoured about for the works of classical authors such as Plato and Cicero. Sculptors dug up old statues and once again were fascinated with the human body. Explorers eagerly poured over maps from antiquity, and all the intellectuals sought to improve the secular and the worldly.

Beyond the Rim presents Thinking Christians? Are you a thinking Christian? If so, consider yourself a rare person in the modern world in which we live. This post touches on that problem, which just about guarantees almost no one will read it. ;-)

Crossroads presents A Review of Everything Must Change-Part 5: This is the last in a series reviewing and comparing the books, “Street Saints” and Brian McLaren’s new book, “Everything Must Change.”

The Veil Away presents What It’s All About: I will tell you right now what “it’s all about”–the thing that human life is about, and without which you may be human but you are certainly not alive. I will tell you simply and I will tell you shortly.

JR Madill at Theology for the Masses presents Creating a Universe of Certainty, or, If You Remove Reason, You Remove Doubt (Part 2 of 2)

Notes From Off-Center presents What if Belief in God is Just a Delusion After All…What Then? Let’s say that “God” is a poisonous and vile belief in itself – a problem to the degree that it is the very source of most, or at least an awful lot, of human harm in the world. And let’s also humbly admit that it is a mass delusion reinforced by socio-political groups called religions. What is the suggested solution to treating people with this delusional belief?

A Frank Review presents BoC’s Watershed Moment: After 9-11, the term “fundamentalist” has taken on new connotations. Need Christians and other religions be concerned about the public perception of what it means to be a fundamentalist?

The second impression is that the Renaissance focused on Italy. Florence is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of the Renaissance, and scholars have considered several factors unique to Florentine culture. This was the heartland of the ancient Roman Empire. Florence brought in wealth as a capital of silk and jewelry. The ruling Medici family were great patrons of the arts, and apportioned enormous sums of money to commission works from the leading artists of Florence, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo. Some historians adhere to the Great Men theory – it was pure luck that great men were born there. Da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo were all born in Tuscany. It’s more likely that the cultural conditions present in the region are what allowed these men to rise to their potential.

Henry Michael Imler at Theology for the Masses presents Question of the Day: The Naked Truth: What is one “truth” that is not a) contextual, or b) discovered/conditioned through experience inside a particular culture?

Observation and Principles presents In the Beginnning, Jesus: I wonder if John 1:1-4 is describing who Jesus was in the beginning, at creation?

Thinking Christian presents What Christ Does For Us, Part 5: Who Christ Is: We will indeed all bow to Him. We will all, someday, recognize His divine majesty, and part of our worship will be based on recognizing how He sacrificed Himself on our behalf.

Dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos presents Last Harvest: For the last harvest, the churches will need to re-tool their marketing.

A third impression is that the Renaissance was a dazzling spectacle. The splendid dresses with great balloon sleeves and rich fabrics, the magnificent chapels and palaces and ships, books streaming from the newly-invented printing press. This was an age of display and extravagance.

Had it not been for its explosion of great art, the Renaissance would surely not seem as splendid as it does. The very name of the age – Renaissance or rebirth – was coined by Vasari, an artist of the sixteenth century. Suddenly, large sums of money were being paid out to buy objects of beauty: furniture, clothes, jewelry, buildings, public and private, gardens, city squares. Wherever the eye gazed, it must behold a work of art. Art to enrich life became the order of the day. Men seemed to comprehend that even if they themselves were forgotten, their works of beauty would remain. p. 114

Homeward Bound presents Prosperity Preachers Consistent: As we hear the stories of opulent homes and antique-adorned offices, we should remember that this is exactly what they teach.

Tom Fuerst at Theology for the Masses presents Contra-Dispensationalism: The White Horse in Revelation 6: Contrary to this popular interpretation, though, this figure in chapter 6 is hardly some eschatological anti-messiah. This figure really is the actual Messiah, Jesus Christ. He comes forth to conquer, but does not do so with violence – again, the lack of arrows in his bow.

Enigmania presents Genesis 3: The post is about the story of the Fall, which seems literally fabulous nowadays (whence, via Aesop’s Fables, the connection with the Renaissance), but I feel that the earliest Monotheistic account of Creation ought to have some deeper meaning, and so I wonder what that could be.

Royally Redeemed presents Way 2: Life Savers: Discipline and self control are crucial in the life of a Christian. These are the very things that force us to crucify our flesh, because if we are going to talk the talk of a Christian, we must walk the walk of a Christian.

C.Orthodoxy presents Of Sin and Judgment: I had a dream last night: A man finds himself in a dark place. There are skeletons lining the walls around him, each bearing a name and a list of sins.

And finally, a few quotes from Life in the Renaissance that seemed to fit with particular posts.

To the Renaissance man-in-the-street heaven was static. Those who ascended there were supposedly blissful, standing throughout eternity, arranged in rows according to rank….The average person, seeing the grandeur of the heavenly hosts as shown in church paintings, could have little doubt as to where he was likely to end up. His future was made even clearer by the Mystery plays put on by his guild, where hell was shown as a monstrous yawning mouth with sharpened fangs, crowded with people much like himself. p. 112

Bounded Irrationality presents Heaven is better than a story: Does Heaven seem boring to you? Do you make comments like “I don’t want to be sitting on a cloud playing a harp for eternity”? Perhaps as a Christian, Heaven just seems good in comparison to Hell. If that’s your perspective I’d suggest you think about why Heaven is better than a story.

As we have seen, the Renaissance was an explosion of interest in human learning, in the knowledge of this world rather than the next. Although men still remained devout believers, they turned from religious studies to “human” ones. They became “humanists.” p. 92

An Accidental Blog presents A Fox in sheep’s clothing? Matthew Fox’s creation-centred spirituality.

In Italy anyone could attend the University of Florence regardless of age, class or finances if he was a registered Florentine citizen of legitimate birth. He received one gold florin, about four dollars, a month. Medical students also had an allowance of red wine and spices “to keep up their spirits.” In Venice, too, there were no class distinctions at the university and private charity housed the deserving. p. 97

Principled Discovery presents Student, Interrupted: How universities are treating the mentally ill. Well, they’re certainly not giving them red wine and spice; read this post to find out more.

The music of the Renaissance, once lost, has in recent years been uncovered in monasteries and ancient castles, and reconstructed from old, stained manuscripts without staff lines or indications of pitch. We now know how music sounded at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella; how widespread was the influence there of Arab poetry and song and instruments, and how many European styles grew out of them. p. 69

The Evangelical Ecologist presents 10 Tough Psalms for Worship Songs: Even Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, or Darlene Zschech would have a tough time with these.

Besides pages who could recite poetry, and choir singers, and jesters, most courts also employed troupes of actors to put on plays. The plays would be staged in a palace hall or courtyard; a temporary platform might also be set up in a church or on a cart drawn by oxen and supplied with screens of boughs. Some plays were Latin comedies (tragedies were not popular), rather immoral, and some, in Italian, referred to current events. p. 68

Nerd Family presents the Everything Skit. A musical drama.

The less holy could save themselves and their dead loved ones by applying to the church for an “indulgence,” or purchase of these merits. Wherever these indulgences were for sale, the money poured into the church. At a time when funds were thus being raised to build a new basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome, Martin Luther objected, among other things, to this outflow of German money to the corrupt church in Italy. In 1517 he invited a debate by posting a list of ninety-five points for discussion on the church door in Wittenberg. The list included an attack on indulgences. p. 113

Healing Through Words presents Am I the Only One? This is a quick article about how everything is sold to us.

Logical Consistency presents Nicaragua’s Bravery: Recently, the Associated Press wrote a twisted report on Nicaragua’s new abortion ban.

Cramer Comments presents American Idolatry: So, I missed last night’s premiere of American Idol. I hope to miss the rest of the season as well…

In the Middle Ages, ordinary people were not supposed to read the Bible, and indeed it had not been translated out of Hebrew, Greek and Latin into such local languages as English and French. The main goal of the reformers, however, was to “arm the simple layman with scripture.” A literary monument of the later Renaissance, England’s King James Bible, completed in 1611, was the work of great scholars who humbly wrote: “We are poor instruments to make God’s holy Truth to be yet more and more known unto the people. . . .” Unlike the Middle Ages, the Renaissance placed an increasing emphasis on the importance of the common man. p. 110

Weekend Fisher presents Old Testament, Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh? Weekend Fisher considers the current controversy over the name of the earlier books of the Bible and how the conversation provides chances to explain Christ to the world. 

Tidbits and Treasures presents Changing Our Thought Pattern: We should be going to the Word to see what our thoughts should be.

Psuedo-Polymath presents For The Christian Blogger: A prayer for blogging.

There was also much quarreling and fighting in private life. Women carried on feuds, soldiers kidnapped young girls, thieves went about in bands, men beat their wives, housewives struck their maids, and neighbors hurled oaths as well as insults at one another on the street. Practically every man and woman went armed with a knife, or was escorted by others so armed. Duelling was frequent because it was a recognized way of proving one’s manliness. p. 138

Alexander Marlin presents Do You Know if You’re a Loving Parent?

It was a time of sudden turns of fortune, of riches to rags in an hour. The mother of a disgraced official in Rome was driven out of her mansion and, left with only the clothes she had on, hurried from friend to friend seeking help. Afraid of being punished, they turned her away and closed their doors. Worse than hardness of heart was brutality. The history of Europe in the Renaissance is stained with torture scenes that are unbearable to read; torture was legally used by the authorities and all kinds of violence were common. p. 138

Parableman presents Moderate Deontology and the Problem of Evil: One kind of defense against the problem of evil seems to require an undesirable ethical theory. This post responds to that difficulty.

Thank you for visiting the Christian Carnival: Renaissance Edition. Next week’s edition will be hosted by Chasing the Wind, and you may submit your post HERE.

Will You Submit?

Posted January 15th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals
2 Comments »

Oh, that sounds like a loaded question in the world of Christian doctrine. But it’s really quite simple: do you have a post to submit to the Christian Carnival? If so, submit it HERE by midnight tonight (Pacific Time will do for me), and tomorrow, the Christian Carnival Renaissance Edition will be hosted right here at Diary of 1!

As if I can’t get enough of carnivals lately, I will also be hosting the upcoming Carnival of Family Life, so get your family thoughts down on paper screen and submit them HERE by this Saturday, January 19, midnight Pacific Time. It will be live on Monday, January 21.

Also of interest, the current Carnival of Family Life is up at Write From Karen, and the Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted this week by Consent of the Governed.

Are you confounded by carnivals? Check out the Blog Carnival FAQ sheet.

Thursday Thirteen: In My Purse

Posted January 10th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, family life, parenting
13 Comments »

Can you tell a lot about a girl by what’s in her purse? I don’t know, but here are thirteen things currently in my purse. I’ll pull them out in random order, and let’s see what will be revealed about Diary of 1!

1. Two Girl Scout patches: From JJ’s Girl Scout meeting two days ago, which Mom needs to iron on the little scout’s vest.

2. One Clifford diaper: Oh my, the three year old still in a diaper? The horror!

3. One Starbucks gift card: Courtesy of e-Mom – Thanks, I’ll be using this soon, neverminding the leftist policies of the leftist company in the leftist city. Lifting the boycott for a good cuppa joe.

4. One black leather wallet: Bulging with receipts, I’m terrible about keeping up on wallet organization.

5. Three Deschutes Public Library Cards: One is mine, and two are the older children’s. Child number three (age 4) can finally write her name, the only requirement for getting a library card around here, so this week, I’ll add another card to the pile. Yes, this was the first thing she mentioned upon successfully writing her name.

6. One enormous black hair clip: One of those Jaws type clips, much too large for my amount of hair, and it’s forever falling out, so why do I keep it? Emergencies only. Like the wind ruined my hairdo and so up it goes.

7. One black sharpie pen: In my purse because it was confiscated from the four-year-old, who was caught with it in the van, attempting to write her name on a napkin.

8. One check from Dr. Schulze: Can you say “preying upon the elderly?” This is a check for my mom that I have to deposit in her bank for her. A $2.00 refund from one negligent snake-oil salesman who promises old people they will never get cancer, never have bowel problems, and never die.

9. One pair of fingernail clippers: With four children always in tow, chances are high that one of those 40 little fingernails will develop a crack or grow too long.

10. One spray bottle of mace: With a keyring attached, this is usually connected to my keys. However, when I was last at the airport, I wisely removed it to avoid jail time. I haven’t put it back on yet, but hey, thanks for the reminder, Thursday Thirteen. You never know when a thug or vicious animal will wander by.

11. One business card for a dog trainer: I have two sessions left, not that it’s going to make a difference. At one of her visits, she knowingly commented, “Do you love your dog? Because if you don’t, training won’t be very helpful.”

12. One penny: Talk about a cashless society. I literally have only one penny in my entire purse.

13. One Coupon for Nature’s Cure Yeast Infection: Umm, I have children who think it’s fun to grab coupons from those little electronic coupon dispensers at the grocery store. Last visit, one particular child, who reads very well, produced this coupon he had snatched, and at the checkout stand, said loud enough for everyone in line to hear, “Mom, what is Nature’s Cure Yeast Infection?” Giggles ensued around me, as I grabbed the coupon and stuffed it in my purse.

******

So, what’s in your purse?

Carnival update:

The Carnival of Insanities: don’t be put off or confused by the title – this is a very funny, witty, satirical site that will have you laughing…if you’re of the conservative, liberty-minded persuasion.

The Christian Carnival: now showing at Parableman. Up next right here at Diary of 1! My theme will be The Renaissance – but don’t worry, any post will fit in, after all, I have a few centuries to work with, and there’s nothing new under the sun. Here are submission instructions, but it’s easiest to submit your post HERE – by next Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 11:50 p.m. ET.

Works for Me Wednesday: Shortening’s not just for Cooking

Posted January 9th, 2008 by Jen in carnivals, health/cooking/food, product review
9 Comments »

Spectrum Naturals makes a vegetable shortening from organic palm oil. It’s a healthy alternative to traditional shortening and makes the flakiest, yummiest pie crusts. Its resume is impressive: no hydrogenated oils, trans-fat free, 100 percent certified organic expeller-pressed palm fruit oil, which is in a naturally solid state at room temperature.

I have a 24 ounce tub of this shortening that I use daily, and no, I haven’t been making any pies lately. The label forgot to mention how great this is for the SKIN! Since I’m a freak about parabens, PABAs, laureths and other synthetics in my lotions, I have a hugely difficult time finding a lotion or cream I can use with good conscience. (See this list of chemicals to avoid in your cosmetics and soaps). I’m cursed with dry skin, and my kids all suffer from eczema, especially right now, in the high desert in winter, so a product like this is a necessity.

I’d already tried rubbing olive oil on my skin with good results, so I naturally tried the Spectrum Shortening, which I had in my cupboard. If it’s good enough to eat, surely it’s just fine for your skin. And only one ingredient, which name I can easily pronounce and understand: palm oil. And, truly, it works just as well as any lotion or cream I’ve tried for dry skin. I like that it’s naturally in a solid state – it has a creamy texture that’s not too messy like an oil. You don’t need to refrigerate it, just keep it at room temperature in the pantry.

If you will be using the Spectrum Shortening for cooking, I’d recommend having a separate tub just for the skin. My kids help themselves to the shortening tub and just love getting their sticky little fingers in there and rubbing it on their own skin. So you can imagine I’m not very willing to cook with it after that!

The Works for Me Wednesday Master List is Here. Oops, I just realized today is Backwards day, in which you ask a question, not give a solution – oh, well, please just go rub some shortening on yourself, and ask, is this working?

Winter Carnivals

Posted January 3rd, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, carnivals, holidays
3 Comments »

I have a few blog carnivals to update here, but I also discovered several Winter Carnivals around the world that look fabulously winterish and I wish I could attend them all!

There’s the oldest running winter carnival in the Eastern United States, in its 111th year, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. Head on over to the Adirondacks and enjoy a festival of winter sports, drama, music, dance, and fireworks. I had to mention the Adironondacks, because while attending a New Year’s party, I met a wonderful New Yorker from that area.

And there’s definitely a feeling of winter in the air at the Carnival of Family Life. You can enjoy a virtual visit to this carnival of wintery blog entries.

St. Paul, Minnesota, is famous for its Winter Carnival, the oldest and largest winter festival in the United States. Unbelievable ice sculptures, fun parades, cultural celebrations, and even an elaborate treasure hunt. Back in 1885, a New York reporter wrote that winter in St. Paul was “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” St. Paul set out to prove him wrong, and the result was the first St. Paul Winter Carnival, full of life and activity.

After a visit to St. Paul, you can head to the next carnival, The Carnival of Homeschooling, with many New Year and winter themes as well! It’s the second anniversary of this carnival, and the hosts are wanting a new look. If you can come up with a new graphic to represent the Homeschool Carnival, be sure to enter it in the contest at Why Homeschool.

Any list of Winter Festivals would be incomplete without the Sapporo Snow Festival. This world famous festival in Hokkaido, Japan, attracts about two million people annually, in the first week of February.

I have a cousin who lives in Sapporo, and he used to tell me about having snow up to his rooftop. All that snow gets turned into hundreds of gorgeous snow sculptures, lit up at night in brilliant light. It’s a wintery fantasy land.

Are you feeling cold yet? Keep those gloves on, there’s a long winter ahead! It’s not so chilly over at the Christian Carnival, so stop in there and warm your soul.

I’d also like to tell you that Diary of 1 will be hosting two different carnivals in January, 2008. The Christian Carnival will be right here on January 16, and the Carnival of Family Life will be presented here on January 21. Prepare those entries, I’m ready for some more fabulous winter carnivals! The week preceding each carnival, you are invited to submit your entry here for the Christian Carnival, and here for the Carnival of Family Life.

Works for Me Wednesday: Superfood on the Go

Posted December 12th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, health/cooking/food, the office
9 Comments »

Be sure to visit the Rocks in my Dryer Works for Me Wednesday master list. Here’s what works for me: Odwalla Superfood Micronutrient Fruit Juice Drink. It’s been my meal in a bottle many times over the past several weeks, as my business is at the height of the Christmas frenzy, and I’m working long hours to meet the demands of those half-crazed sports fanatics. And who has time to eat a decent meal in these conditions? Life will be back to normal in another week, but for now, Superfood is keeping me alive! Here’s the scoop on this energy giving, vitamin packed drink:

Smooth and sweet, this gushing garden gulp is a blend of sweet apple juice and luscious purees of peach, mango, strawberry and banana, expertly blended with green foods including wheat grass, barley grass and wheat sprouts, plus other great stuff.

The best part is that it tastes GREAT! So, what works for you?

Giveaway Update

Posted December 5th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, giveaways, sports
3 Comments »

Thanks to all of you who have left a comment on my Holiday Sports Giveaway – you have until midnight tonight, then tomorrow I’ll announce the winners!

I really appreciate the blogs who have mentioned my Holiday Sports-Themed Giveaway. Thank you to to following wonderful bloggers:

Laura William’s Musings – Daily Contest Roundups, Book & Product Reviews, Recipes, and More. Check out her blog and you’ll be a winner!

Contests Anonymous – This contest addict spends hours each night surfing the net looking for contests that other moms will enjoy! Wow, all her findings will leave you reeling.

My Blog Contest – Get tons of free stuff over here, always a new contest, always great prizes.

5 Minutes for Mom – Bringing moms the best in blogging, shopping, parenting, and entertainment. Thanks to Kailani for including me in her list of contests and giveaways. Be sure to check out the Mom Owned Stores while you’re at the 5 Minutes for Mom site…you especially don’t want to miss A Rocking Horse to Love, where you’ll find every imaginable sit-on creature and adorable decor for your child’s room, and also Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles, a fun blast to the past with unique gifts like the pedal cars and Crosley Radios, 1930s Coke Machines, and everything for the vintage lover! One more place to stop is the 5 Minutes for Mom Readers’ Blogs – featuring blogs submitted by readers, and a great place to meet a new blogging friend, and of course, get your own blog listed!

Daily Thoughts Contest Roundup – More amazing giveaways! This blogger is an eBayer, scrapbooker, avid reader and stay-at-home mom to two wonderful daughters. Check out her offerings.

The Contest Beat – A great place to submit your contests and see other giveaways as well. Take a look over here, you could win an iPod Nano or a 42 inch HDTV!

If I missed anyone, let me know!

ALSO, a few carnivals have passed me by…I’ve been so busy, as all of you have, I’m sure!

The Carnival of Family Life – G’day from Down Under!
The Carnival of Homeschooling – The Snowed-in Edition
The Christian Carnival – this should be up by tonight.

Wordless Wednesday: The Homestead

Posted November 14th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, the ranch
15 Comments »

About the photo: This is the original homestead from our property – and yes, it’s still standing, won’t you come in for a cup of burnt coffee boiled in a pan over the cookstove? The land has since been divided, and the 20 acres we own isn’t graced by this dwelling. Our neighbor who does own the property this sits upon has plans to reinforce the structure and keep it up as an historic landmark – she just needs to keep her cows from knocking the place over. You wouldn’t believe how many tourists and locals alike pull over to take pictures of this old homestead!

More Blog Carnivals:

The Carnival of Family Life

The Carnival of Homeschooling

The Christian Carnival

Enjoy a wonderful Wednesday! I guess this post really wasn’t “wordless.”

Wordless Wednesday: On Top of the World

Posted November 7th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, family life
8 Comments »

About the photo: Do you remember the feeling, as a child, of being on top of the world? Just eight feet up on the monkey bars can make you a king.

Blog carnivals to visit:

Carnival of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
Christian Carnival

Weekend Reading, Traveling

Posted November 2nd, 2007 by Jen in book reviews, carnivals
7 Comments »

My husband just finished reading The Heavenly Man, the remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun. I’ll be starting it next, because I need to have conversations with him; this book has changed him. Marital communication tip: if your spouse ever says a particular book or movie was very impacting, do yourself a favor and read it or watch it.

I’ll be reviewing The Heavenly Man right here when I’m finished, so be on the lookout. This is for the November Christian Book Fair hosted by Chrysalis, and you can click here if you’d like to submit your own Christian book review.

Several blog carnivals to visit if you have time this weekend:

The Carnival of Family Life
The Carnival of Homeschooling
The Christian Carnival
Festival of Frugality

I just might get away all by myself this weekend to catch up with old friends, including my dear friend K. who just had a baby! As long as there’s no snow on the mountain I would have to drive over. I don’t drive by myself in the dark or in the rain or in the snow. Kind of limiting, isn’t it? I just have terrible night vision, and especially with moisture in the air – the glare just freaks me out.

Awards, Carnivals & Contests

Posted October 28th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals
18 Comments »

I’ve received a few Blog Awards over the last several months, and I’ve been remiss in blogger etiquette, which is to pass on the awards. Thank you, again, to you wonderful bloggers who gave me these awards! The idea is to present these awards to up to 5 other bloggers, but I just nominated two per category in the interest of my time. So, here’s the ceremony:

The Blogger Reflection Award was presented to me by Mandi at Under His Construction. Thank you to a blogger who herself is amazingly reflective. I will pass this award along to:

Robert at Kintropy in Action: For his wonderful and sweet reflections on life with a disabled child, among other things.

Lydia at Little Blue School: Always an interesting subject being reflected upon over here, from NASA to three year olds playing the violin.

The Nice Matters Award was handed to me by Renae at Life Nurturing Education. I don’t know if I deserve this award…but these people do:

Michael at Chasing the Wind: He is such a nice blogger that he always responds to your comments, an important quality for interactive blogging; and he even responds with kindness when the commenter doesn’t deserve it.

Heather at Sprittibee: She’s also nice for the same reason – her blog is a forum, not a monologue. Always thoughtful and generous with her words.

The You Make Me Smile Award was granted me by e-Mom at Chrysalis, and if you visit her blog, you’ll inevitably leave with a grin. The folllowing bloggers would cause me to dimple if I had one:

Karen at The Thomas Institute: I love her cheerful photographs and the engaging stories of her little Thomas.

Jane at Shore Stories: I’m positive she’s already received this award, because she makes everybody smile! It’s her honesty, openness, and ability to laugh at herself that makes us all smile.

The I’m Fabulous Award was kindly bestowed upon me by Grace at Sandier Pastures, my friend in Dubai who thinks I have a fabulous country life. I think you’ll agree that these bloggers are fabulous:

Dana at Simple Pleasures: This is her “new” blog, and Principled Discovery is now here. You’ll love the uncomplicated and classic focus of this blog.

Mrs. Darling at Dishpan Dribble: Always a fabulous household tip or education idea to be found over here! This blogger has helped me more than any other on my journey to an organized home.

MOVING ON, I also wanted to note that the Carnival of Insanities is up. And the Contest Beat as well as Laura Williams’ Musings have been kind enough to include my Colorado Rockies contest, which does appear to border on insanity, as the Rockies are now 0 for 3 in the World Series. But just remember the 1960s Pittsburgh Pirates – they pulled it off, so can the Rockies!

Wordless Wednesday: Strange Things Around Town

Posted October 24th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, family life
6 Comments »

About my photo: No Photoshop tricks, this really is a giant fireplace in the middle of the desert in Redmond, Oregon. I didn’t see any remains of a house, just a concrete strip leading to the fireplace. There’s another fireplace just like it a few yards away. I need to ask around, but I have no idea what to think.

Blog Carnivals to visit:
Carnival of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
Christian Carnival

Wordless Wednesday: Ride Off Into the Sunset

Posted October 16th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, the ranch
8 Comments »

I captured these sunset-kissed railroad tracks on my way home one evening, and couldn’t help but think of Lady’s magic gold dust (for you Thomas the Tank Engine fans).

Blog Carnivals to catch:

The Carnival of Homeschooling
The Christian Carnival
The Carnival of Family Life
The Festival of Frugality

Wordless Wednesday: Airing My Dirty Laundry

Posted October 10th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, family life
2 Comments »

Just so you know what I’ll be doing every spare second of my day.

Current Blog Carnival update:

Carnival of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
Christian Carnival
Carnival of Principled Government
Festival of Frugality

You Might Want to Read

Posted September 19th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, family life
4 Comments »

That time again to highlight some “Carnivals,” which are just collections of blog posts in particular categories of interest.

The Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted by About.Com:Homeschooling

The Christian Carnival is up over at The Minor Prophet

The Carnival of Family Life is currently hosted by Mother Approves

The Carnival of Principled Government is up at Principled Discovery

I will not actually be reading today. I need to teach all morning, then work with the dog trainer who’s coming out to my house, then head to my office and possibly train a new employee (just heard that I train her tomorrow, and only get things ready for her today), then come back home to do chores and prepare the kids for dinner and bed, then go to a wine club that I was just invited to (I’ll give you a nice report later). :-) Have a great Wednesday, and enjoy this beautiful view from my front porch:

Christian Carnival 189: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Edition

Posted September 12th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, religion
20 Comments »

I am so pleased to present the 189th Christian Carnival, which I have labeled The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Edition. I wrote about Bonhoeffer back in April, on the anniversary of his death. I couldn’t resist returning to this compelling character, most well known for his martyrdom at the hands of Hitler. When I ran into a Christian friend of mine at the library about six months ago, lamenting to her that our little library had no Bonhoeffer books, and she replied, “who is Bonhoeffer?” – well, I would like to introduce you to him, if you also have not been acquainted with this German pastor, theologian, Christan, and man for his times.

The posts for this Christian Carnival will be organized around various Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes and other passages from the book that sits in my lap as I type, the 1000+ page biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eberhard Bethge. This is a monumental book, and should be in every Christian’s library. No, I don’t agree with every bit of theology that Bonhoeffer espoused, but do not miss this complex and fascinating man.

The misunderstood relationship between Law and Gospel, that is, a forgiveness of sin that does not affect the earthly, civil life of people. People are still told they are sinners, but are not called out from their sinful structures. How are we, who go on sinning in the expectation of grace, to go on taking seriously the forgiveness of sins and prayer to God? We make grace cheap and with the justification of the sinner through the cross, forget the cry of the Lord that never justifies sin. p.209, Bonhoeffer speech to Berlin Christian Student Movement

Michael presents Resisting Temptation posted at Chasing the Wind. Temptation comes from outside; sin comes from within. How do we deal with temptation? Did Jesus give us an example? A study of Matthew 4.

One characteristic of Bonhoeffer’s concept of religion expressed in the letters from prison, namely, that religion is passing away, has already been mentioned. It should be considered once more, although Bonhoeffer never clarified the relation of Barth’s systematic concept of religion to this historical one. Can faith ever escape becoming a religion, whether western, eastern, or African? But precisely in order to make faith possible, Bonhoeffer explains “religion” in its “Western form” as something we can do without and as a relic of past ages. His judgment here is so certain because he regards the age of Jesus as something different from the age of religion. p. 877, Eberhard Bethge

Dana presents Religion vs. Spirituality posted at Principled Discovery. Dana reflects on the meaning of religion as “go through again, read again.”

One can’t preach the Gospel tangibly enough. A truly evangelical sermon must be like offering a child a fine red apple or offering a thirsty man a cool glass of water and then saying: Do you want it? p. 234, Bonhoeffer preaching in Berlin

Richard H. Anderson presents I will gather the lame, the outcasts and the afflicted posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Steve Bishop at an accidental blog looks at a Christian view of work (despite not having Labor day in the UK!)

Let us learn to do what is just without words for a while….He who knows himself close to death is decisive, but he is also silent. Without words, yes, not understood and alone if need be, but he does what is necessary and just, he makes his sacrifice… p. 830, Bonhoeffer from his jail cell in Tegel

Luke Houghton presents Does it pay to do the right thing? posted at Luke Houghton. Luke says, “I am a Christian and I do what’s right all the time… does it help? NO. So what can I do about it? Read on to learn more.”

Jan presents Serving Leaders posted at The View From Her. Are the leaders serving, or are we serving the leaders?

Paula [Dietrich Bonhoeffer's mother] gave the children their first schooling. In her youth, with a spirit of independence that was shocking at the time, she had fought for and obtained permission to take the qualifying examination for women teachers. She gave lessons at home to the older and younger children together, along with the children of some of her husband’s professor friends, and at the year’s end she was always able to register her pupils successfully for the state examination, where they did very well. Thanks to the excellent start she gave them, they were able to skip entire grades and eventually take the school graduation examinations at a remarkable early age, as Dietrich did. p. 17, notes by Bethge on Childhood and Youth

Renae presents Fulfilling the Purpose of Education, Reason 4 of Why I Home School posted at Life Nurturing Education. Renae is certainly in good company with Paula Bonhoeffer!

This is the end – for me the beginning of life.” p. 927, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s last recorded words

Chris Brooks presents Homeward Bound: 5 questions to help your devotions posted at Homeward Bound. Questions to help you get to the juicy goodness when your devotions take you to more difficult passages.

It is not difficult at present to talk of freedom, and to do so in such a way that a German’s passions are roused and so completely agitated that he forgets everything else. In present-day Germany there may be many like the ancient Israelites in captivity who, deeply absorbed in themselves, were able to dream of nothing but liberty, and saw great visions of it and grasped for it, until they awakened and the vision faded….p. 237, Bonhoeffer sermon in July 1932, one week before 38 percent of the German electorate voted for Hitler’s party.

Ian Spencer presents Dispensationalism and the Interpretation of Scripture Part 3: Modern Israel and Biblical Prophecy posted at Philosophical Orthodoxy. Does Modern Israel fulfill Biblical prophecy?

Bruce Alderman presents why i will not be raptured, part ii posted at it seems to me….

And there is a word that among Protestants has the sound of something infinitely commonplace, more or less indifferent and superfluous, that does not make their hearts beat faster; which they associate with a sense of boredom, or, at any rate, which does not lend wings to our religious feelings – and yet our fate is sealed if we cannot acquire a new or perhaps a very old meaning for it. Woe to us if that word does not soon become important to us again, if it does not become a matter of concern in our lives. Yes, “church” is the word whose sense we have forgotten, and whose glory and greatness we want to examine somewhat today. pp. 63-64, Bonhoeffer sermon in Barcelona

Diane R presents My Church Visiting Odyssey posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet. “I visited four churches this summer, mostly alone. What transpired wasn’t the greatest.”

Doug presents Has Sin changed Humans Biologically? posted at Bounded Irrationality. Doug considers if sin has changed our bodies and our genes over the generations since the Fall.

Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic….Do not defend God’s Word, but testify to it….Trust to the Word. It is a ship loaded to the very limits of its capacity! p. 442, Bonhoeffer sermon at Finkenwalde

Annette presents Head coverings, our position in the body posted at Fish and Cans. A three part pondering on 1 Corinthians 11 and what that might mean in the church today.

One should not spend a longer time in Africa without preparation, the shock is too great and increases from day to day, so that one is glad to return to Europe. p. 59, Bonhoeffer’s diary recounting a trip to Africa

Nick Cross presents Crossinator: Money Won’t Solve Africa’s Problem posted at Crossinator. Comments on a recent article about development aid from the West.

Wanda Grindstaff presents Prosperity and Abundance is Your Birthright posted at Creating Abundant Lifestyles.

Rodney Olsen presents Show me the money posted at The Journey. Does God want you to be rich? Is the kind of prosperity that Jesus promises in the Bible all about financial wealth?

FMF presents God’s Blessing on 90 Percent of Your Income is Better than 100 Percent without the Blessing posted at Free Money Finance.

It is impossible to become a new person as a solitary individual….The new person is not the individual believer who has been justified and sanctified, but the church, the Body of Christ, Christ himself. p. 455, Bonhoeffer from The Cost of Discipleship

Brent Turner presents Value of Christian Camping posted at Everyday Liturgy.

Tupelo Kenyon presents Goal Setting or Let Go and Let God posted at Tupelo Kenyon.

He did a great deal to keep some of the weaker brethren from depression and anxiety. He spent a good deal of time with Wasily Wasiliew Kokorin, Molotov’s nephew, who was a delightful young man although an atheist. I think your brother divided his time with him between instilling the foundations of Christianity and learning Russian. p. 924, letter from fellow prisoner at Flossenberg, 1945

Jeremy Pierce presents Dawkins and Atheistic Overconfidence posted at Parableman. A response of sorts to Richard Dawkins’ review of Christopher Hitchens’ new book defending atheism.

Tom Gilson presents Evolution is Easy: It Just Takes An Infinite Number of You posted at Thinking Christian. There’s an easy solution to the improbabilities of evolution, some say–just have enough worlds and it’s bound to happen. Here’s a response to one such theory.

The church must be able to say the Word of God, the word of authority, here and now, in the most concrete way possible, from knowledge of the situation, or it will say something else, something different and human, the word of impotence. Thus the church must announce no eternally valid principles, but only commandments that are true today. For what is “always” true is not true “today.” To us God is “always” God “today.” p. 255, Bonhoeffer speech at Ciernohorske Kupele

Henry Neufeld presents Learning a Little Greek posted at Participatory Bible Study Blog. On the dangers of interlinears and other learning crutches.

Michael McGinnis presents The Greeting Card Theory of Biblical Authorship posted at Tantalizing if True. The Bible as Hallmark would have written it, and as many Americans read it.

I shall soon be handing in my postdoctoral thesis…and soon I shall be going to Barcelona for a fortnight’s visit to my congregation, of which I am very fond, and I feel in general that academic work will not hold me for long. On the other hand, I think it very important to have as thorough an academic grounding as possible. p. 128, Bonhoeffer comments on his purpose in life

Steve Krager presents How to thrive at a Christian college posted at faithdoubt. Eight practical tips to help you thrive in college.

SWBTS Bloggers presents The OT, Christ and Textual Hermeneutics posted at Straight out of the SWBTS Blogosphere.

Bonhoeffer was all humility and sweetness; he always seemed to diffuse an atmosphere of happiness, of joy in every smallest event in life, and of deep gratitude for the mere fact that he was alive. There was something dog-like in the look of fidelity in his eyes and his gladness if you showed that you liked him. He was one of the very few men I have ever met to whom his God was real and ever close to him….In fact my feeling was far stronger than these words imply. He was, without exception, the finest and most lovable man I have ever met. p. 920, Writings of fellow prisoner in Buchenwald, Payne Best

My Editor’s Pick is from Mrs. Darling, with Friendship, posted at Dishpan Dribble. Enjoy some practical tips on cultivating friendships.

I hear you know that we have suffered greatly and lost two sons and two sons-in-law through the Gestapo. As you can imagine, this has taken its toll on us old folk. For years, we endured the tension, the anxiety about those arrested and those who were not yet arrested but in danger. But since we all agreed about the necessity of action, and my sons were also fully aware of what they could expect if the plot miscarried, and had resolved if necessary to lay down their lives, we are sad, but also proud of ther straight and narrow attitude. We have fine memories of both sons from prison…that move both of us and their friends greatly. p. 933, Letter of Dietrich’s father, Karl Bonhoeffer

Jody Neufeld presents Frozen in Time posted at Jody Along the Path. There is a healthy way to deal with grief.

William Meisheid presents Do This in Remembrance of Me posted at Beyond The Rim…. A few thoughts on remembrance as it applies to Eucharist and our 9-11 memorials.

My Christian Carnival is Coming

Posted September 7th, 2007 by Jen in carnivals, education, family life, religion
3 Comments »

Hey, I get to host the Christian Carnival next week, and I really want a post from you! Do you have something to say from a Christian perspective? The current carnival is being hosted at Bounded Irrationality, so check it out if you’re wondering what kinds of posts might be appropriate for this carnival.

Submission deadline for this Christian Carnival is: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 23:59, and will be up RIGHT HERE on September 12! Use the handy Carnival Submission Form to get your post in right away! If you have any trouble with that submission form, go ahead and email me your post: blessedinthewest at yahoo dot com. Share your best post from the previous week, and as the carnival description states, your topic does not necessarily have to be about Christianity, but the writer must be Christian to qualify, and whatever your subject matter, the post must reflect your Christian worldview. Please get those posts rolling in, I’m very excited to see what you all have to say!

I will just mention that I’ve been both reading and participating in the Christian Carnival for several months, and have absolutely loved getting to know some of the regular contributors through their writings and I guarantee you will be blessed by something you come across there. And you will be a blessing to another, I’m sure. Do share.

Elsewhere in Carnival land, check out the Carnival of Homeschooling, the Carnival of Education, and the Carnival of Family Life.

How’s your end of summer/fall routine? We just completed Week 2 of our homeschooling year, and pretty much stayed on track. And what a refreshing thing to get back in a routine after the helter-skelter summer we had! We all thrive on order in some form, so blessings to you as you make good plans (and stick to them) for the coming months!

Carnival, early August

Posted August 1st, 2007 by Jen in carnivals
1 Comment »

It’s the height of county fair time, and we’re heading over to ours tomorrow. For now, here’s some carnivals to visit:

The Carnival of Homeschooling (physical edition) is flying high over at Mom is Teaching.

I enjoyed the post on Bored, from Little Homeschool-on-the-Prairie.

Saving on Schooling is also a great post, with a list of stores that offer discounts to the homeschool teacher, from Percival Blakeney Academy.

Also helpful for the homeschooling parent in choosing teaching materials is What is a Living Book, posted by The Thinking Mother.

The Carnival of Family Life is hosted by the very creative Island Life.

The earth shook is a close-up look at Grace’s family in Japan.

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do – yes, I think many moms have been where this one’s been, at Do You Weary in Well Doing?

The Christian Carnival is up at Crossroads.

Be sure to take a look at Dana’s post entitled Is our goal really to “bankrupt the American educational establishment?”

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. A New Type of Faith Teacher is posted by Diane.

Enjoy the rides!