love to paint

This summer I participated in a book study on Facebook.  It was an interesting experience.  I kept forgetting to check the group because it was rarely listed on my "Home" page.  In general, I have opted not to join many groups on Facebook because every time I have my browser locks up.  I also read about how Facebook tracks everywhere you go and accumulates that information.  That makes me very cautious and skittish about how much I associate myself with on Facebook.  And the fact that Facebook keeps changing things on users without warning makes me even more skittish.  Yet, I keep using it!  My decision sounds crazy--to continue being a user of Facebook.  But, I've seen a lot of good things come out of facebook--connections to friends and family as well as spreading information amongst folks that matters. One of those good things was this book study.  It seemed like several women were very encouraged by the discussion.  It was dif...

A lot of people I know, me included, often feel skeptical about the 700 club and Pat Robertson.  I think this is mostly due to how outspoken he has been about many world events and people and his opinions.  This morning, my mom mentioned that she had been watching it and that there was a singer on the show named Regie something talking about his new book and album.  I was curious who it was.  So, I looked it up.  After a little searching, I came upon his website:  www.regiehamm.com.  His new book is the story about him and his wife and their little girl that they adopted from China.  She has a rare genetic disorder called Angelman's Syndrome.  He wrote a very touching and powerful entry in his blog at this link:   http://www.regiehamm.com/blog/blog.asp?ID=40   .  It reminded me of what love really is.  Please share this link with friends and family if it touches your heart.  One of the greatest blessings of Faceb...

My husband said from the couch where he was trying to sleep, "What on earth is going on down there?" All three kids were in their rooms and there was a loud "Grrrr..." emanating from one of them. My reply was, "Oh, that's just Eli, he does that every day." Yep, he does.  Boys and girls are just plain different.  I don't think anyone will ever convince me otherwise! =)

It's such a good feeling when I find I've ordered something for homeschooling that is just what I was looking for! I've pretty much done my planning for the year, but there are a few minor things I keep pondering.  One has been writing.  Last year, I had thought about getting EPS set of books Write about Me and Write about My World.  Then last week when I was ordering the last of our Explode The Code books from CBD, I looked at the set again and at their Just Write series.  I used Well Trained Mind's Writing With Ease series last year.  I liked it, but I always felt that Autumn would love the chance to do some constructive creative writing.  We did a little, but not as much as I would like. So, I read the reviews for Write about Me and it sounded just right for Autumn to give her a chance to be creative in her writing this year.  Writing With Ease is a 4 day a week curriculum, so we'll use this on the fifth day.  The first book lets her begin ...

I know that a lot of kids think that making movies would be fun.  My brother in law, Mark just finished his film degree at RIT.  He has had a natural gift and inclination to pursue film for as long as I can remember.  He has posted  his compositing reel on his website.  He has a good head on his shoulders and is looking for a job.  He explained to me when we saw him two weeks ago that a resume in film is not just a piece of paper.  It also includes a reel like this one. Here's the reel:   Mark Sniffen Compositing Reel 2010 from Mark Sniffen on Vimeo . I thought it was a lot of fun to watch.  It shows how individual shots are made with computer graphics.  It was pretty amazing really.  If you have any teenagers that enjoy film, I thought they might enjoy this.  It may also make you look at wonder at the next movie you watch in the theater or the next commercial or show you watch on television.  And if you happen to k...

h ttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/business/media/14indecent.html?_r=1 I opened up the Baltimore Sun this morning and read about how a court struck down the Bush era regulations about obscenity on television.  I wanted to post a link about this article from the New York Times just to spread the word.  The hardest part that I see with this is that I will feel even less comfortable letting my children watch anything on live television--if there aren't any limits.  It saddens me that in our society, we are so me focused that we have pursued this freedom to spew obscenities on public television. I am reminded about God and his authority in our lives.  I think a lot of people don't want to believe in God because they don't want to have to submit to his authority.  They don't want anyone to tell them what to do.  The thing is--God knows what's best for that.  Perhaps it's pride that makes us as humans think we can figure everything out.  The reality...

Yesterday, I received a new Bible written for families.  It is called the Hands-On Bible (NLT) .  My feelings about this Bible are a little complicated.  I love the Bible extras, activities, and comments that are added in.  But, the NLT is not the translation of the Bible I usually choose to read. I think that often we can choose a Bible by one of two ways: #1 First, choose the translation, and then #2 choose which publication of that Bible (ie. study bible, large print, children's, etc.) or #1 Choose the Bible you like the most based on the comments and features of that edition, without putting primary importance on which translation it is. If I were simply choosing a Bible to read as a family, without concern about which translation it is, then I would definitely choose this one.  I really liked the activities and ideas of how to convey different ideas to your kids.  I would say that this Bible is good for families with children ages 5-12.  ...

Revisiting An Old Subject... This morning I made a blunder at church.  I made an off the cuff remark about the NLT translation.  It wasn't the way I meant it.  Sometimes my mouth opens too wide at times!  It has been very interesting all the things I've had to dig into about how I feel and think about books over the last 2 years.  I realized this week that I've been in Amazon's Vine program for 2 years and that program is what started me on this adventure of reviewing books for the other publishers I review books for as well.  Often I find that my negative review is the only negative one. Other times my positive review runs in contradiction to others' positive reviews!  Oh, please forgive me--back to my comment... One of the things I've thought about over the past 2 years is Bible Translation.  I do think it is wise to read more literal translations than paraphrases as a primary Bible simply because it leaves more interpretation to the reader ...

A few weeks ago, I was discouraged about the books I'd been reading, so I decided to read and review Billy Graham: His Life and Influence by David Aikman .  I knew David Aikman was a very good writer so it seemed to be a solid choice for reading material.  Reading this book has really challenged me again to think about the books we read and whether they are edifying or whether certain information should be in a book.  I want to explain, but it's a little complicated. The introduction of the book made it clear to me that this book is indeed well written.  It was very interesting.  It was informative, but not dry.  The first five chapters explain the history of Graham's life up to the crusades in England in the 50s.  In this section, it is as if Aikman is putting Graham up on a pedestal.  But, from that point on he begins to throw stones at him as he begins to examine Graham's interaction with communist leaders, racism, and with the presidents of...

Yesterday, I blogged about Church History ABCs and I wished for more--more context so that I could put the stories in that book into the big picture of history.  I was reading the blog from Hearts and Minds Books in Dallastown, PA, and Byron Borger mentioned this book: Pages From Church History: A Guided Tour of Christian Classics, also by the same author.  I read a few pages of it on Amazon and it seemed to be just what I was talking about.  I can't fully recommend it since I haven't read it (and I've definitely learned my lesson on that one), but I'm glad to know that there is a book like what I was thinking of out there!

Lately, I've felt myself to be out of whack.  My schedule has been off and I've slid into a bad habit of watching too many videos on Netflix during the kids naptime.  It's one of those times when I know what the best thing is to do, but I'm just not making myself do it.  What I need to do is turn off the computer, go outside, sit on the porch, and read a book or work in my garden.  I need to seek peace and calm instead of avoiding the silence by losing myself in the television shows I watch. Recently, my husband suggested a book for me to read.  It was Distracted by Maggie Jackson.  I began reading it.  This book is very different than the books I usually review.  It is a sociological and at times psychological analysis of our attention span and some of our cultural habits as a people.   The premise of this book is (in my words) that the rise of technology in our world is contributiong to a decline in our ability to focus and pay atten...

I was excited to learn that a book about some heroes of the Faith of Church History has been published.  When I was growing up, I learned a lot about Quaker History--all about George Fox and William Penn as well as many others.  But, I didn't learn a lot about church history beyond Quaker History.  I want my children to have a more well rounded understanding of church history and more knowledge about it than I have. Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard have published a new book called The Church History ABCs:  Augustine and twenty-five other heroes of the Faith.   Here is their website for the book:   http://www.churchhistoryabcs.com/index.html   The book begins with a short introduction and then a brief page on each of twenty-five people who lived as early as 110 A.D. and died as late as 1940.  (There is a gap between St. Patrick, who died in 461 and Martin Luther who was born in 1483.)  Each letter identifies a person important to chur...

Once in a while I come across a book that really, really doesn't sit with me.  That's the best way I can put it.  A few months ago, I likened it to eating a meal that tasted good while you were eating it, but then afterwards, the pit in your stomach feels heavier and heavier.  Sometimes even as you're eating the meal, you feel a pit topsy turvy about it. That's how I felt as I read Shades of Morning , a new book published by Marlo Schalesky. I struggle when I need to be honest and give a negative review as is the case with this book.  The reasons I agreed to read this book are very odd.  The main character's name is the same my hometown.  The author's husband's name is the same as my brother's.  She lives in CA and the book was being published on my birthday.  Honestly, when I got the notice to review this book, I thought it was a joke!  Too many funny coincidences!  Due to the number of coincidences, I decided to read this book. I th...