Billboards

Do you ever feel like you are heading down life’s highway, and suddenly a billboard pops up that seems to be speaking directly to you? And then another one. And then another one. And at some point, you realize God has a big message he is trying to get through to you?

It all began with a trip to Virginia. I can pinpoint a specific moment: dinner with six incredible women. Susan finished her meal and then asked: ‘What is your next big thing?’  The conversation circled the table as each woman in turn told about her plans for the near or not-so-near future. I listened to plans of travel, and writing projects, and business ventures. And I thought to myself: This is the big thing. I’m going home to make PB&J sandwiches for the rest of my life.

I’m not talking about comparing myself with other women or feeling like I wasn’t worth something because I didn’t have big plans. I’m not even talking about whether someone should have plans or what they should be. Or what sacrifices one should (or should not) be willing to make for those plans. I’m talking about the fact that I use fear and excuses (lots and lots of excuses) to keep me from living a full life. A life full of possibility instead of restriction. I used to be a big dreamer-planner, but I allowed the daily grind of reality steal my dreams.

A billboard was staring me in the face. Big things are scary and hard, but they are still in the realm of possibility if you are willing to work toward them.

It had been a long time since I had read the blog Resolved 2 Worship. For some reason, I found myself reading pages and pages of archives recently.

The billboard read: What is your excuse, Heidi? You use four children as an excuse to not do anything or go anywhere. Because it is too much trouble, not enough fun. Well, it is time to step up and go on adventures. DO SOMETHING, even if it is complicated, and messy, and not every second of it is fun.

(Now, there are all sorts of other things to be learned at Resolved 2 Worship, but I felt as if God had that particular message for me at this particular time.)

So we went to the beach.

We went walking in Eugene.

Those were just warm-ups.

Then I felt called to an impromptu road trip to see my grandparents. In California. With the kids. Without Russ.

After we returned home, a friend posted a TED talk video on Facebook. I took the time to listen. To read that billboard.

The billboard read: You have to do something. Little things. But SOMETHING. Often.

And I made a list of little things (physical, mental, emotional, and social) that I could do during any hour of any day. But that kind of list doesn’t do anything, unless you do the things.

There was another kind of list I needed to create that was a form of action. It was the gratitude list I’d been thinking I should make ever since reading the remarkable book One Thousand Gifts. I needed to go through the action of writing down all the gifts God has given me, all day, every day.

I pulled out the journal Russ and the boys had given me for my birthday and thought it was just waiting for this purpose. I started my gratitude list.

Then a friend on Facebook (another point for social media) posted a picture with a quote. Yes, an inspirational quote. A dime a dozen. It got under my skin. Another billboard.

I had excuses. I’m not brave. I’m lazy and undisciplined. I can’t do it. But what is that thing? It has to have a point. I don’t want to do a thing just to say I’ve done a thing.

We went to a local Mexican restaurant. I placed our take-out order. Enchilada. Picadillo. Now, those words might not seem like much to you, but I’ve had proper Spanish pronunciation drilled into me from my infancy. It seems all wrong to say them with an English accent. So I tried to say them correctly, but nonchalantly. Because I’m insecure about doing or saying anything in front of someone else who does or says it well.

Then I get to fajitas. (It is much easier to say that with an English accent, because it is practically an English word, isn’t it? Like pizza.) Chicken. (That’s an easy one.) The (good-looking) guy smirked and said pollo. And then he asked if I wanted flour or corn tortillas. In Spanish. I turned to Russ and asked him if he wanted flour or corn tortillas. He said flour. I told the guy flour. He repeated flour in Spanish (with another smirk). I nodded. (I promise this story is going somewhere…)

See, here’s the deal. I can pronounce Spanish fairly well when I’m not feeling all self-conscious about it (which is never), but I don’t have a large Spanish vocabulary. I picked ‘corn’ out of his question and inferred based on context. But I couldn’t hear exactly what he said for ‘flour.’ Certainly not enough to repeat it. And I’m self-conscious as heck in situations like this. I should have just laughed, asked him to tell me the word for ‘flour’ again, and tried to repeat it. But instead I wanted to find a hole somewhere to hide in.

So Russ didn’t understand what was going on and thought the guy was questioning why he would want flour tortillas with his fajitas. And the guy said (with the smirk that was now permanent), ‘No, it is just that she was speaking so beautifully until she got to fajitas.’

It might come as a surprise to you all, with my life hanging out here in public like this, but I hate any sort of attention like this. I get embarrassed so. very. easily. It shouldn’t have been a big deal.

Billboard: Learn to speak Spanish fluently because I’ve always wanted to. And then be brave enough to do it.

I picked up the next book on my stack. Twelve other books on the stack have bookmarks a few pages in. The other 34 haven’t been cracked open. But book club was the following week. I should have at least a chapter under my belt before book club, no?

In two days I had finished A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.

p. 31

I wanted it to be an easy story. But nobody really remembers easy stories. Characters have to face their greatest fears with courage. That’s what makes a good story.

p. 58

We get robbed of the glory of life because we aren’t capable of remembering how we got here. When you are born, you wake slowly to everything… The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn’t that big of a deal, that life isn’t staggering. What I’m saying is I think life is staggering and we’re just used to it. We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we’re given—it’s just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral.

p. 59

I’ve wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don’t want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgment. We don’t want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn’t remarkable, then we don’t have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants.

p. 68

If the point of life is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation… If the character doesn’t change, the story hasn’t happened yet.

p. 70

But I also wondered if… we were designed to live through something rather than to attain something, and the thing we were meant to live through was designed to change us.

p. 74

‘Beneath the surface of characterization,… regardless of appearances, who is this person? At the heart of his humanity, what will we find? Is he loving or cruel? Generous or selfish? Strong or weak? Truthful or a liar? Courageous or cowardly? The only way to know the truth is to witness him make choices under pressure, to take one action or another in the pursuit of his desire.”

p. 75

In the room where I’m writing today, nothing is happening. And later there will be laundry happening, which is nothing to daydream about. I can’t deal with reality.

p. 77

My entire life had been designed to make myself more comfortable, to insulate myself from the interruption of my daydreams.

p. 86

I believe there is a writer outside ourselves, plotting a better story for us, interacting with us, even, and whispering a better story into our consciousness.

p. 87

The real Voice is stiller and smaller and seems to know, without confusion, the difference between right and wrong and the subtle delineation between the beautiful and profane.

p. 100

A general rule in creating stories is that characters don’t want to change. They must be forced to change…

The rule exists in story because it’s a true thing about people. Humans are designed to seek comfort and order, and so if they have comfort and order, they tend to plant themselves, even if their comfort isn’t all that comfortable. And even if they secretly want for something better.

p. 186

I realized how much of our lives are spent trying to avoid conflict. Half the commercials on television are selling us something that will make life easier. Part of me wonders if our stories aren’t being stolen by the easy life.

p. 246

It’s interesting that in the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, the only practical advice given about living a meaningful life is to find a job you like, enjoy your marriage, and obey God. It’s as though God is saying, Write a good story, take somebody with you, and let me help.

One gigantic billboard: Face your fears. Be grateful for this staggering life. Be willing to change. Don’t daydream as a way to escape your life. Listen to the Master Writer. Step outside your comfort zone. Work hard.

I thought again about the inspirational quote. Do the crazy thing… I wondered who wrote it. I googled Ciona Rouse. It turns out she wrote Like Breath and Water: Praying with Africa. It is about hope-filled prayer that keeps track of miracles instead of pains. About living a story filled with prayer as vital as breath and water and being intertwined in one another’s stories.

The billboard read: Add prayer to that list. To the top of the list. Because God writes a better story.

I went to Ciona’s page on Facebook. (Uh-huh.) She lists her favorite quotes.

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches on the soul" -Emily Dickinson

It is the first one on her list. And the quote in my email signature. And one of my inspirations for Mt. Hope. (Well, that and doing hard things. I must have forgotten somewhere along the way.)

Her cover photo? It says: You are living your story.

I think I’m getting the message.

Live a good story and DO that thing.

• Pray (as if my life depended on it).
• Keep a written record of miracles and God-given gifts.
• Eat well and exercise hard.
• Seek adventure (even when it is messy and difficult. especially when it is messy and difficult).
• Learn Spanish fluently and be brave enough to speak it.
• Be open to finding a BIG thing and working toward it.

I’m still thinking about several ideas. I still have lots of questions. (Such as: How to decide if a thing is worth doing, and why. Whether everyone is meant to do epic things. How to do these things in the context of family. And how to create ‘inciting incidents.’) They might come up for discussion in future blog posts. I even created a category (Living a Good Story) for the occasion.

Will you join me in this journey?

“A good storyteller doesn’t just tell a better story, though. He invites other people into the story with him, giving them a better story too… Nobody gets to watch the parade.” ~Donald Miller

 

Listen to the story God is writing for you. And do it.

The Anniversary Party

(The road trip, continued…)

When my grandpa (and grandma, aunt, and uncle) had arrived home from his doctor’s appointment, we left the park and headed over to my uncle’s house (they live next door to each other). My aunt told my grandma that she needed to come over to see something they were preparing for the anniversary party the next day. We were all waiting in the living room to surprise her. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen my grandma so speechless.

After hugs all around, she went to tell grandpa that he needed to come see something. He made his way over and entered the living room. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen my grandpa so shocked. He was thrilled to see us and there were more hugs all around.

We spent the rest of the evening eating and chatting. My cousin Aimee allowed the boys to all help her in the kitchen baking treats for the party because she’s awesome like that.

The next day we spent more time together chatting and getting ready for the party. My aunt and uncle had originally planned a larger 65th anniversary party, but due to my grandpa’s recent health issues and hospital stays (we didn’t even know if he would be well enough to spend time with us!) they decided to postpone a big party and just have family. My cousin Michael and his girlfriend joined us for dinner.

We made sure to get lots of pictures of everyone together. My grandpa was so perky!

Lola writing in the anniversary card for Grandma and Grandpa:

My aunt Melody and cousin Aimee:

The Great-Grandkids:

Grandkids:

Grandkids and Great-Grandkids:

My Mom and her brother John:

With Spouses:

And the Whole Crew:

Grandma and Grandpa really wanted pictures of them with Lola, but Lola was being her typical 'pay lots of attention to me, but don't touch me or put me near people I don't know' self. She started crying and didn't want to be set on Grandma's lap. Grandpa suddenly started wailing hilariously. We all joined in. Lola went from confused to bemused. Every time she started crying, we'd join her. I think she thought we had all lost it.

The whole time we were there, Ivy kept changing her outfits to match Lola. It was cracking me up!

Grandpa had written his life story and had it printed and bound into books for each of us.
He wrote a little personalized note in each of the books before giving them to us.

 

Aimee is so very talented with children, and she was such a blessing to me the whole time we were there. My kids adored her, and she is so fun to hang out with!

One thing we always do when visiting my aunt and uncle's house is play cards. I LOVED getting to play cards.

There was a whole lot of ipad/iphone time for the boys while we were there. It kept them out of trouble. Sort of.

Grandma took pity on Lola in her playpen (the only way I was able to play cards, since Holly and Aimee were playing too!).

(To be continued…)

On the Road

We hit the road last Thursday. I had a car-full of kids. It is a good thing Ivy is so quiet and easy. And I was SO thankful to have my sister, Holly, to help out. It was weird being behind the wheel the whole time and unable to deal with the kids. Usually Russ is driving and I’m the one handing out snacks and breaking up fights! (Ilex rode with my parents so that she could help out with the driving and keep my dad company.)

I was a little a lot worried about how Lola would do on the trip. We had about 7 hours of driving (plus stops) for two days in a row, and she hadn’t done so well on some recent days of very short drives. The boys were easy (well, as easy as my boys gets, which isn’t saying much). They can read. Or play on the iPad. Or draw. But what does a high-energy, non-toy-loving 21 month old do for hours on end in a car seat? I asked for a lot of advice ahead of time. These are the great suggestions that worked well for us:

• A ‘snack trap’ cup for snacks
• The Toddler Lock App for the phone. It locks all other applications, and brightly colored shapes and lines appear with a chime sound when the screen is touched.
• Twizzlers. Lots and lots of twizzlers. They were particularly helpful for getting her back in her car seat after we stopped for a break.
• Pipe cleaners. Originally, I had planned on having her thread cheerios or fruit loops on them (she loves small motor challenges like that), but it turned out that it was waaaay more entertaining for Levi to create little dragons out of them and then let Lola play with them. (Levi had so much fun with those!)
• Razor scooters. No, not for Lola, but we put in four because they don’t take up much space and the big kids enjoyed them at the rest area, hotel, and after we arrived at our destination. They were a great way for the kids to expend some energy.
• Cocktail straws. Lola enjoyed sticking them in and out of straw holes after she had destroyed the soft straw that came with the beverage. I knew she would like them, because it is one of the things that keeps her busy during church services.
• Wrapping up toys. Someone suggested making the toys I doled out just a little more difficult to get to by wrapping them up in paper. Buys a little more time, and makes the toy a little more interesting. I also picked random items such as a tape measure for wrapping since she isn’t much of a toy kid.

All in all, she did amazing both days. I was so surprised. We stopped a couple times at rest areas (the afternoon stop was longer with time to run around), and once for lunch. She slept over an hour the first day, but less the second. The boys spent half of the trip sharing the iPad. (I had checked out a bunch of books for them from the library on Tuesday, and they sat around for two days reading all the books before we left.) I found a few educational apps that were a hit. Rocket Math. Dragon Box (a FABULOUS algebra game). Presidents vs. Aliens. Stack the States. Bone Scan.

We made sure we made reservations at a hotel with a pool. We got there and the pool was empty! Luckily, the hotel had an arrangement with the hotel next door, and we were able to use that pool. Lola was a maniac. She does. not. want to be held in the water. She wants to run and jump in the water. Preferably without someone catching her. Seriously. I had to cut the pool time short because I was so exhausted. It took both my sister and me to keep her safe. She’d get a wicked grin on her face and act like she was going to jump into my arms, and then she would jump diagonally away from me. I’d grab her, she’d come up sputtering, and then she’d fight to get out of my arms and do it again. And again. And again.

Leif was thrilled to have his best friend-cousin along for the ride.

We made it to Atascadero on Friday afternoon. My grandpa was at a doctor’s appointment, so we killed some time at a fabulous park just down the road from their house.

(More to come….)

Fresh-Picked Cherries

Grandparents

We arrived home late Wednesday night after a very. long. day. of driving. I have a bunch of pictures to share, but while we were away my awesome husband updated my computer. And now everything on my computer is totally different. I have a slight problem with change. I don’t like it. I’m having trouble with the photo editing programs that I use. I thought I should share something, though, while I’m getting the bugs figured out (or until I can bribe my husband to get them figured out…).

I’d like you to meet my grandparents. The main purpose of our trip to California was to surprise them for their 65th wedding anniversary. (They were VERY surprised!) My grandpa has had numerous health struggles in the past year and a half. They used to drive up to Oregon to visit a couple times a year but have been unable to do so recently. I think this past year and a half is the longest I’ve ever gone without spending time with them. I’m thankful for blogging and for Facebook to keep us connected!

Our visit was so precious to me! I was able to spend some quiet time in conversation with Grandpa. It made me remember a letter he wrote last year, and I asked him if it would be okay to share it with you all on my blog.

 

The “Double Whammy” for which my Heavenly Father had Made Plans

By Paul (Jim) Pietsch, Oct., 2011

Toward the end of a full life with a lot of wonderful, exciting and fulfilling activities, now at the age of 86 the Lord has programmed for me a “Double Whammy” health situation which has been somewhat overwhelming. Increasingly, however, He has graciously given indication in small as well as large ways how involved His gracious hand has been in it all.

The “Double Whammy” came in the form of two very serious health problems which I would never have expected: Late in 2010 and into the early part of 2011 severe fatigue and “just not feeling well” sent me to our family doctor and a series of examinations and blood tests. More tests resulted in a referral to a highly regarded oncologist practicing here locally. Within two visits he diagnosed me with having “Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma”, a form of cancer. With this, a mutation occurs in the marginal zone or outer compartment of the affected B-cells of the white blood cells. It is slow growing and very rare. So in February, 2011 I began having a series of infusions of Rituxan each week, one per week for 4 weeks. This was whammy number one. After two months I noted my spleen was enlarging again. It resulted after the fifth infusion in my completely passing out in the doctors office and ending up with a couple days in the hospital (May11).

Later in June while in the hospital again my cardiologist said ,”now that we have you in the hospital we’re going to check out the heart murmur we’ve been hearing“. This led to Whammy Number Two. On June 16 I was undergoing open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve with a bovine (calf’s heart valve) as well as one bypass. So now I’m recovering from open heart, the ultimate operation, where they take you apart and put you back together, leaving an eight inch long “railroad” incision on the chest and another one on the inside of the right thigh from where they took the artery.

There was the two month recovery period during which, as predicted by the medical people, I hit one of the lowest periods in my life. It drove me to God’s Word! As can be expected the Word was a constant encouragement. You require 60 % of your energy just to recover from open heart surgery. I’d often fall asleep with my Bible in my lap. What a comfort it was to cast myself on the Lord as he would lead me to special passages of great encouragement and blessing. One of those verses was Ps. 27: 14, “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! (NKJV) I printed it out, memorized it, recited it and always found comfort as I rededicated my life in faith believing. I can tell you, I got a lot of praying done as I’d go around the world praying through my prayer list.

As this healing process was going on, however, whammy number one, the lymphoma, was reasserting itself in the form of my extremely enlarged spleen. That was where my system was storing the damaged white blood cells. So, it was back to my oncologist and another series of chemo infusions. That reduced the size of my spleen decidedly but also hindered the process of my bone marrow to produce the various blood’s normal components (white, red, platelets, etc.). This necessitated a two week serious of daily shots to help the bone marrow do its work. At the next doctor’s appointment he said: “your spleen is greatly reduced, we have accomplished what we set out to do. Spend the next two weeks working at building up your strength and then we’ll do a blood test and see where we go from there”.

One of the marked things during this entire “Double Whammy” process has been how the Lord has, even during the deepest valleys, constantly reminded me of His Faithfulness. Always through the wonderful Scripture verses that remind us of our assurance as believers of eternal life through the death and resurrection of our Lord. As well as the security of the believer and the loving sovereignty of God. As I grew up, all the profound Biblical concepts were regular topics of discussion around the dinner table. They were the “givens” of growing up in a pastors home during the depression and then entering WW II and fighting across Europe in Patton’s 3^rd Army. (Scriptures like: John 3:16; John 1: 1 - 5; Rom. 8:28 -39; Eph. 1: 3 - 14; Ps.1; Ps. 23, etc.)

These truths were not just what we talked about, they were put into practice on a daily basis and then I saw them work out in little events and on the world scale as I went along in life. We won’t know the full picture until we’re with our Lord in eternity but He graciously gives us glimpses of how He is working and arranging things even in advance. The Lord brought a few of these events to mind even at the lowest points in my recovery:

I’ll never forget the disappointment our family felt when at the height of the depression (I was 9 years old) a key supporter had to back out after a financial setback and we were not able to go to the Congo in Africa as missionaries. But over the succeeding years medical people confirmed that our mother’s health would not have stood up to the rigors of that land. The Lord used the depression even before we knew it to lead in our lives.

The memory during WW II of how my being color-blind caused me to be rejected by the air force which I wanted so much to be in. And then realizing afterward how the Lord used that physical limitation to place me in just the place He had for me.

Even events which affected many other people, like when the troopship, Queen Mary, had an accident which delayed by two months our entire 80^th Infantry Division from reaching England and thus our unit was delayed from entering combat by two months. There was still a lot of combat ahead but not with the intensity that took so many lives just after D-Day when our Division was originally scheduled to have landed on the Beaches of Normandy.

In the little town of Ettelbruck, Luxemburg, during the Battle of the Bulge, I was assigned to guard bridges that we were to blow up with the TNT which was in place if the Germans were to counter attack. So, when the order came to bring in the large anti-tank mine field which we had put out earlier, I was not available to take part in that work. As I was following orders, guarding the bridge, we heard a terrible explosion. A German artillery shell hit one of the mines as it was being worked on and caused a chain reaction detonating dozens of the mines and killing nine of our men and wounding several others. It was not just “chance”, but the Lord’s hand that had me carrying out my duty guarding a bridge instead of clearing the mine field where I could have been killed or severely wounded. The Lord took me through nine months of combat without a scratch.

And so, it was a “Double Whammy” with many deep valleys but I can testify that the Lord is bringing me through as I daily lean on His Word and allow Him to bring to mind all the times He has proven Himself faithful over the years of my life.

A recent kind of last minute example of how He goes ahead and prepares the way, knowing the end from the beginning, was the end of last year TEAM, our mission, had to stop all our health insurance coverage. This was a huge concern as we made new arrangements with the help of TEAM having no idea the Double Whammy was on the way. But, our Lord knew and planned our way, Double Whammy and all. Because unbeknown to us He had led us to an even better Medi-gap Insurance program than we had before which has covered all our massive medical expenses. So, even with the Double Whammy the Lord has shown us in this little way that He was in it with us before it even began.

Talking about being with me all the way, I can’t adequately express my gratitude to the Lord for teaming me up 64 years ago with my wonderful wife, Helen, who has been with me through thick and thin. He has used her to be such an encouragement every step of the way through this Double Whammy experience. Thank you Helen!

The two week period referred to above, ended yesterday. After a full blood test and doctor’s examination he said continue working at building up your strength with walking and eating well, I’ll see you in five weeks. So, the Lord is showing His gracious hand as we wait on Him and look to Him for courage on a daily basis.

It is with a thankful heart that I am reminded of God’s faithfulness even through this Double Whammy. His WORD as well as so many experiences from life have sustained me all the way.

I just wanted to express my gratitude to the Lord which led to writing an account of these experiences which is my testimony of how the Lord is bringing me through this Double Whammy orchestrated by HIM.

With gratitude to the Lord, Paul J. (Jim) Pietsch

Surprise!

We surprised my grandpa and grandma for their 65th wedding anniversary.

(My parents, sister, nieces, my kids, and I drove down. Russ stayed home to work.)

I’ll be back with pictures at the end of next week!

Independence (and Diagramming, Of Course!)

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

 

I might be the only person to be celebrating Independence Day by diagramming sentences, but (in addition to the other multitude of sentence diagramming benefits) what better way to really think about the words and ideas that helped make us free?!

Here is my guess for this week’s sentence diagramming challenge: (ETA: I diagrammed the compound infinitives incorrectly. They do not modify ‘necessary’ but are actually an appositive for ‘it.’ You can see a correct diagram at this link.)

Did you give that one a try? Or this next one?

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

(I’m always forgetting words when I re-write the diagrams. (My first, second, third…drafts are always horrendously messy.) I had to add the ‘and’ in there at the last minute when I was editing the photo. Ha!)

If you are just beginning your exciting sentence diagramming adventure (wahooo! for you!), did you try the simple sentence?

“He has plundered our seas.”

Who or what is the sentence about? ‘He.’ That is the subject. What is being said about the subject? He ‘has plundered.’ That is the predicate. It is called a verb phrase because there are two words that work together, the helping or auxiliary verb ‘has’ and the action verb ‘plundered.’ Did something receive the action? What was plundered?  ‘Seas.’ That is the direct object. What word tells us more about ‘seas?’ ‘Our.’ That is an adjective modifying the noun ‘seas.’

See how easy that is?! {grin}

(Oh, I’m *not* the only one diagramming for Independence Day! Leigh Bortins is, as well! {grin})

Speaking of grammar and The Declaration of Independence, I have been enjoying Michael Clay Thompson’s book on the subject, Jefferson’s Truths. In fact, I would put it on my must-read list, both for students and their parents.

The description from the MCT website:

“In this volume Thompson shows just how revolutionary were the concepts of the Declaration by relating them to the ideas of the Enlightenment and then focuses on the language and grammar that Jefferson used to announce that revolution. He contrasts the extraordinary dignified tone of the Declaration with other more inflammatory language used in the revolutionary war, and he shows precisely how Jefferson used grammar and vocabulary to achieve the ends he sought.”

 

 

Just for fun:

 

Mt. Hope Academy @ The Live & Learn Studio ~ June 2012

June was an odd month for us school-wise. We didn’t do many formal lessons. The boys read a lot, but many of the books were fun, easy reads. We were sick. The boys had a week of VBS. I had three full days of Classical Conversations Practicum while my niece and a friend watched the kids.

I’ve been thinking a bunch about the integration of subjects, thanks to the CC practicum. I’ll be posting a little more about that later in the month if time permits. But I wanted to share one experience I had recently with my almost 8 year old son, Luke.

We were reading from the MCT vocabulary book, and the author was giving the history of the word tedious, including the Latin roots of the word. MCT said that William Shakespeare used it over and over again in his plays, which were written in the late 1500s and the early 1600s. Luke immediately piped up, ‘So that was before the Revolutionary War, but after Columbus, and before the Pilgrims.’ (Thank you, thank you, Classical Conversations!!) We had a short conversation about the Pilgrims landing in Plymouth in 1620, and we wondered if Shakespeare would still have been writing plays at that time. Luke again piped up and said that if Shakespeare wrote plays from 1580-1620, then he would have been writing for 40 years!

Vocabulary, Latin, literature, world history, and math. In just a short moment. That sort of synthesis feels amazing when one experiences it! Even more so when one experiences it with their child!

Food For Thought

:: Did you celebrate the life of Ray Bradbury this past month? I enjoyed The World of Ray Bradbury by Russell Kirk @ The Imaginative Conservative:

The trappings of science-fiction may have attracted young people to Bradbury, but he has led them on to something much older and better: mythopoeic literature, normative truth acquired through wonder. Bradbury's stories are not an escape from reality; they are windows looking upon enduring reality.

::  Taming Sentences by Kitty Burns Florey @ The New York Times (about, what else? sentence diagramming):

Diagramming is basically a puzzle, and — as we all know in this age of Alzheimer’s awareness — puzzles keep our brains working. An attempt to tame a really complex sentence can oil your brain, twist it into a pretzel and make it do back flips.

::  Why Read Stories @ The Trinity Forum:

Engaging a narrative is an inherently imaginative act, as the reader must do the hard work of envisioning the characters, setting, and dynamics, creating a world seen only through their own mind’s eye. As such, reading fiction is an integrating act - requiring both the left and right brain, both imagination and reason, creativity and analysis.

:: The Argument Against Raising Well-Rounded Kids @ Penelope Trunk brings up some interesting things to think about and discuss. Do you agree or disagree with her opinion? I loved the fact that she brought up personality styles (I’m a huge fan of Myers-Briggs personality types), but I wonder if some personality types are naturally suited towards being generalists rather than specialists. I think one of the benefits of homeschooling is that it can easier to do both!

::  In Praise of Folly: Writing the SAT Essay @ Applerouth Tutoring Services:

Some people, primarily parents and administrators, have been upset when they heard my counsel to bend the truth to craft a superior essay. But I argue that as there is no expectation or reward for veracity, why fixate upon it? When I read a work of fiction, I am not upset that the content is not factual as there is no expectation of that. For the SAT essay, what is being assessed is how well you write, not how accurate is your factual base.

::  Wellesley Grads Told: “You’re not special” @ The Swellesley Report:

Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct.  It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things.  Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view.  Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.

Fitting for the Climbing Parnassus theme of the CC practicum, which brings me to the next few articles…

::  A Father Takes Up Latin by Tucker Teague @ Satellite Saint:

True education is about formation not information. In other words, to be classically educated is to be molded into the kind of person, with the kind of mind and mental habits, that can appreciate truth, goodness, and beauty. The rigor inherent in studying Latin produces minds that can think well. It also inculcates minds with capacities to express good thoughts well.

::  Latin, Math, and Glory @ Expanding Wisdom:

What if the benefits of studying the school subjects did not end with recognizing that God made that thing or this process but actually made it possible to discover tools and patterns that show us more about how to seek Him? Is it not worth it to at least ask the question, especially if the answer is possible and probable?

::  Imago Dei @ Maverick Philosopher:

The paradox is that when atheistic man tries to stand on his own two feet, declaring himself independent of God, at that moment he is next to nothing, a transient flash in the cosmic pan. But when man accepts his creaturely status as imago Dei, thereby accepting his radical dependence, at that moment he becomes more than a speck of cosmic dust slated for destruction. Thus Jean-Paul Sartre had it precisely backwards in thinking that if God exists then man is nothing; it is rather that man is something only if God exists. For if man exists in a godless universe he is but a cosmic fluke and all the existentialist posturing in the world won't change the fact.

:: Gutenberg College (a Great Books college in Eugene, Oregon) has a summer institute that looks very interesting: ‘What the *BLEEP* can we know?’

• What is the Problem?
• Is Philosophy a Way of Knowing?
• Is Literature a Way of Knowing?
• Is Science a Way of Knowing?
• Is Faith a Way of Knowing?
• What Can We Know?

::  Speaking of the CC practicum (do I sound like a broken record?), our fabulous speaker, Pam Lee, memorized this version of The Three Little Pigs and performed it for us. So. Much. Fun. I think it is my new challenge…

 

And a bonus article..

::  Why Are American Kids So Spoiled?  @ The New Yorker (I think my kids need to be doing a whole lot more work around here…)

Our sparse monthly lessons and books list:

Faith:
The Children’s Illustrated Bible (reading together)
Telling God's Story

Math:
Teaching Textbooks
Life of Fred (elementary series, free reading)

Science:
You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Scientist

P.E.:
Swim Team practices (Levi and Luke!)
Bike Riding

Fine Arts:
Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou
Andy Warhol (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists by Mike Venezia
Andy Warhol: Paintings for Children by Prestel
Lives of the Artists by Kathryn Hewitt (Andy Warhol)
Tales from the Ballet selected and adapted by Louis Untermeyer, illustrated by A. and M. Provensen (favorites!)

Language Arts:
MCT Practice Town (4 level grammar analysis) + sentence diagramming
MCT Building Poems (poetry)
MCT Caesar’s English (vocabulary)
Writing With Ease (Levi and Luke)
All About Spelling Level 3 (?)

Latin:
Latina Christiana I (lessons 6)

Spanish:
La Clase Divertida (lessons 5-6)

History/Historical Fiction/History-Based Literature:
The Story of the World: Modern Times (chapters 17-21)
The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History by Jennifer Armstrong
The Journal of Otto Peltonen, A Finnish Immigrant—Minnesota, 1905 (historical fiction, 168 pp, Levi-IR)
Earthquake at Dawn by Kristiana Gregory (based on a true story, San Francisco earthquake-1906, 188 pp, Levi-IR)
Julia Morgan: Architect of Dreams by Ginger Wadsworth (architect in SF during earthquake, worked with W.R. Hearst)
Henry Ford: Young Man With Ideas (Childhood of Famous Americans) (biography, 192 pp, Levi & Luke-IR)
Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan (historical fiction, Russia—1914, 288 pp, Levi-IR)
Amelia Earhart: A photographic story of a life by Tanya Lee Stone (DK biography, 123 pp, Levi-IR)
When Christmas Comes Again: The WWI Diary of Simone Spencer, NYC to the Western Front-1917 (historical fict., Levi-IR)
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy (historical fiction, Hungary-WWI, 247 pp, Levi-IR)
The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
War Game by Michael Foreman (WWI)
Truce by Jim Murphy (WWI)
The 1910s Decade in Photos: A Decade That Shook the World by Jim Corrigan
The 1920s Decade in Photos: The Roaring Twenties by Jim Corrigan
You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Hoover Dam! by Ian Graham
R My Name is Rachel by Patricia Reilly Giff (historical fiction, Great Depression—1936, 166 pp, Levi-IR)

Literature Study:
Book Detectives: The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward

Levi’s Free Reading:
The Family Hitchcock by Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett
The Rescuers by Margery Sharp
The Sword and the Circle: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Light Beyond the Forest: The Quest for the Holy Grail by Rosemary Sutcliff
Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan
Tons of re-reads and easy books

Luke’s Free Reading:
The Great Piratical Rumbustification & The Librarian and the Robbers by Margaret Mahy
Henry Reed’s Journey by Keith Robertson
The Family Hitchcock by Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett
Lots of Geronimo Stilton and Time Warp Trio
Dogbird and Other Mixed-up Tales by Paul Stewart
Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan

Leif’s Free Reading:
Lots of Life of Fred and Geronimo Stilton

Miscellaneous Picture Books:
Nonfiction/Literature:
The Honey Jar by Rigoberta Menchu, Dante Liano, and Domi (ancient stories of the Maya)
Storm Boy by Paul Owen Lewis (a story from the mythic traditions of the Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast)
Frog Girl by Paul Owen Lewis (“)
Brave Margaret: An Irish Adventure by Robert D. San Souci
Bambino and Mr. Twain by P.I. Maltbie (Mark Twain and his cat)
DK Superguides: Swimming
Fiction:
The Happy Orpheline by Natalie Savage Carlson (set in an orphanage outside Paris)
The Cloud Spinner by Michael Catchpool, illustrated by Alison Jay (I love her artwork!)
The Twin Giants by Dick  King-Smith

Family Movies:
Dolphin Tale

Extras:
Fishing with friends
Two swim meets
A friend’s birthday party
A trip to the beach
VBS