From 1776 - A Book About America's Independence

P. 14-5

. . .John Wilkes, Lord Mayor of London, champion of the people and the homeliest man in Parliament, stood to be heard, and to let there be no doubt that he was John Wilkes.

"I speak, Sir, as a firm friend to England and America, but still more to universal liberty and the rights of all mankind. I trust no part of the subjects of this vast empire will ever submit to be slaves." Never had England been engaged in a contest of such import to her own best interests and possessions, Wilkes said.

We are fighting for the subjection, the unconditional submission of a
country infinitely more extened than our own, of which every day increases the
wealth, the natural strength, the population. Should we not succeed . . . we
shall be considered as their most implacable enemies, and eterrnal spearation will
follow, and the grandeur of the British empire pass away.

The war with "our brethren" in America was "unjust . . . fatal and ruinous to our country," he declared.

Delivered in the House of Commons, October 26, 1775

"Daily Care" Goals

I had a goal of getting through all the closets in the house and I only have half of the craft room closet to go, and I am done with that goal!

I did all the kids' toys and books and under the stairs (with kids), their room, drawers, and closet, office closet, and my side of the master bedroom closet.

After this I am going to extend my summer goals (since it just started, and I am almost done!) to include for the month of July:

Bathroom drawers and cupboards
Office drawers
Kids' desk drawer
Craft room desk drawers
Kitchen cupboards, drawers, and pantry

Then, I will work on my scrapbooks in last July or early August. :)

I also want to purchase:

Four drawer file for downstairs so kids can put their drawings and paper projects in there
Tall book shelf to match the other one on the other side of computer table

After all of this, I want to encourage the garage and storage shed to be cleaned up by Geo and the boys!

Summer Reading List Progress

How to Read Slowly: A Christian Guide to Reading with the Mind by James W. Sire - Sent it back from which is came. Incredibly DRY and BORING! Couldn't read it.

I replaced that book with:

Eat this Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading by Eugene Peterson - It was throughly delightful and covered Lectio Divina and the power of reading Scripture for transformation. I ate it up!

Crunchy Cons by Ron Dreher (Lamp-post discussion end of June) - Absolutely loved it. I am leading the discussion right now, and I don't think I am very good at leading online discussions. I am much better in person on that score. Not to self: Don't lead any more online discussion after you lead Passage to India. LOL!

Passage to India by Forster (Book Dames discussion July 14 and Lamp-post July 27)

I really love Forster! It was very fun to read and to see the cultural differences between the English and Indian and between Indians of different religions. Fascinating!

Still left to read this summer:

1776 by McCullough - I may start that this week or wait until next week
The Cloister Walk by Norris -It looks like I will lead this workshop. So it is a go.
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnards - Want to just pick back up for QT. I am halfway through and have been for quite some time!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - My next fiction after Hinds Feet
Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle - Sent it back to the library since we aren't discussing until September. I will read it in August
Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok - No rush since it is borrowed

An ADD kind of day

I had nothing on my calendar. So, I pretty much did just a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but I think I need days like that. I am so the "goal-oriented" lady that an ADD day is very good for me!

Did a little bit of Abraham study, a little bit of reading Eat this Book by Peterson, straightened up my half a the master bedroom closet, read a little bit of Hakim's first book to see if it is suitable for high school US History, looked into buying the first book, looked up some alternative history books on Amazon and at the library, looked at a few of the attractions in Washington, D.C. to scope it out for Aug of 2009, ate a bit of this and that, talked to the boys a bit, talked to Teala a bit, talked to Dee when she picked up the bird a bit emailed Cheri about getting together (I miss her!), emailed Tammy about Apologia Science, emailed Roger about the board meeting in July, emailed back and forth with Tori, emailed Rebekah, posted a bit on Lamp-post, took some pictures of flowers in my yard, printed off all but 4 timeline figure pages for next year's history lessons, watched Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (delightful). Not much finished or done, and I am sure I could have really been more efficient with my day, but I like ADD days now and then.

George is cooking sesame chicken and some Indian chipatis, and I am happy as a clam who is going to eat chicken. :)

Amen!

"Great men of God like Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, and H.A. Ironside never had the privilege of formal Bible training. But they were devoted students of the Word, learning its deeper truths through hours of study, meditation, and prayer. The first step toward fullness of life is spiritual intelligence -- growing in the will of God by knowing the Word of God."

Warren Wiersbe Commentary on Colossians 1:9

Jumping In

Jumping In, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

I just love life right now, and these girls are jumping, and I feel like jumping too, but my bladder wouldn't be able to take it. I am not a teenager anymore!

Friday Freewrite

A slower day. It was so busy most of this week. I love hearing the laughter downstairs as P is reading a book and telling M, "You have to hear this. This is hilarious!" Then, he reads a joke from the book that he is reading.

I sold my Math U See blocks today. It is sort of sad. :( We are out of that manipulative stage. We sold many things at the book sale. I brought an overflowing box and came back with half of one. So, it was a productive thing, even though it was so much work getting all the books together, but I cleaned out many shelves. I didn't spend more than I made, and this was the goal. I found a BJU Geometry set that retails for 135 for 35! It was a good book purchase.

This sale was so much more organized than the last one. They did such a great job, and I am so impressed with the coordinator. She LOVES doing this sort of thing because she loves the networking. George went with me and had to leave because he said he was on "estrogen overload." I laughed. :)

I have been filing and culling out papers in my file cabinet. Life is really a battle with paper. You can't let them overtake you. As it is, my "catch drawer" is all empty and my filing basket is too. I just have to find some more hanging files for my new SHAPE files. I am throwing out some of the old stuff too. I won't be needing it anymore.

Had a discipleship meeting at church with Jerome, Rick, Carey, and Vicki, and can I just say that they are such a nice group of leaders. I love being around all these people. They are so committed to seeing people come to know and love Jesus more and more. It was a peaceful meeting.

P came up to tell me the joke he was just telling M. I laughed. I love it when he sits really close to me like that. I think they are such fine men; but of course, I am prejudice. :)

Reading A Passage to India. I read over thirty pages this morning on the elliptical. The large-print books help when I am exercising. I LOVE this book. It helps for me to have a visual picture because I already have seen the movie. I hope the Book Dames aren't discouraged because of all the new vocabulary. I am learning it through context and not worrying about it. I think E.M. Forster is a BRILLIANT author. I loved A Room with a View, and this is just as good! I wish I were good at writing down all the brilliant passages. I love Mrs. Moore. I loved her musings on love. Forster is profound. I hope he was a good guy. I can't remember.

I woke up at 2:30 a.m. I figured I would get up and ended up staying up. So, I got lots of study time in Genesis, then exercise time, then reading time, then filing and organizing time, and doctor (I think George will be fine), book sale, and now just mellowing out and going back to the finishing touches on the office. My goal is to also get to the downstairs craft closet before we leave for Boise tomorrow, but I don't know if that is going to happen. Oh, I also listened to John Piper preach on a summary of Romans 1-7. OH MY! I love Piper. He really is my favorite modern theologian along with my man, Kenneth Boa. (Only I go ga-ga over men of the word instead of movie stars. I am so weird.)

More flowers are blooming. There are some pretty pink ones on the front bush. I love this neighborhood every season; beautiful flowers and people. Funny how lonely I felt at first impression. It took about a year, but the bread baking helped so much.

What will be my picture of the day? Should it be the book sale or the nurse drawing blood from George to continue my "appointment" theme of the week? Then, there are those flowers. :)

Kim S. and I talked for a bit yesterday. She was so sweet to say that I have no idea the influence I am having on her life. I like not knowing what I am doing, really It keeps me from getting a big head!

Realizing I am just loving the "unofficial" capacity that I am having now. I don't miss the pressure being in the WB class. I love the input that I am getting that exceeding the output in my life. It is a nice balance because we all know that . . .

If
your input exceeds
your output then
your upkeep will be
your downfall

I better get back to the grind. Still need to pack for Boise, but George knows that I will wait until the absolute last minute for that one! It is the Carol way. I just have to procrastinate and do everything ELSE other than pack that bag. It just is the way I operate when it comes to that dreaded deed!

BTW, I am only 1.4 pounds away from my goal weight! WOOHOO! My goal was to get to it by Debbie's wedding. I want to be careful tonight to not overeat and make that goal. I had a little bit of a munch on chocolate chips at mid day, but I am caught the hand to mouth and aborted the attempt at sabotage.

Also want to pray a bit more today, but even sitting here on the couch has been so good for my soul. I am at peace, and I want to carry it through the more hectic weekend that lay ahead.

TTFN.

2008 is going to be great! Austen Lives!

Sundays with Jane: PBS' MASTERPIECE THEATRE to Present 'The Complete Jane Austen'
Posted : Mon, 21 May 2007 12:04:00 GMT

PressRelease News
DALLAS, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MASTERPIECE THEATRE has good news for Jane Austen's millions of fans: PBS' beloved British drama series will broadcast adaptations of all of Austen's six novels, plus a new drama based on her life. It's the first time in television history that her books have been broadcast as a complete collection.Beginning in January 2008 on PBS, MASTERPIECE THEATRE is inviting viewers to tune in on Sunday nights for "The Complete Jane Austen": new presentations of Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Sense and Sensibility. The lineup will also include the acclaimed Emma starring Kate Beckinsale, and Pride and Prejudice, the Emmy award-winning miniseries that made Colin Firth a heartthrob.Miss Austen Regrets, a true story based on Jane Austen's own letters and diaries, will be part of the four-month marathon."Once we sealed the deal on the four new Austen adaptations, we decided we had to complete the package with Emma and Pride and Prejudice," says MASTERPIECE THEATRE executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "The biopic Miss Austen Regrets is the frosting on the cake: an intimate portrait of the remarkable woman behind these wonderful stories."Almost 200 years after her death, Jane Austen's popularity continues to soar, with two feature films about her slated for 2007, and numerous books and articles analyzing her appeal."MASTERPIECE THEATRE is the perfect fit for this ground-breaking television event," said John Wilson, Sr. Vice President and Chief TV Programming Executive for PBS. "I know that I'm saving my Sundays in January for this incredible collection of Jane Austen stories, as I know millions of MASTERPIECE and Austen fans will do as well."Four of the titles -- Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Pride and Prejudice -- were adapted by celebrated screenwriter Andrew Davies, whose Bleak House on MASTERPIECE THEATRE was one of the most acclaimed television dramas of 2006."Presenting Austen's novels consecutively is a brilliant idea because they reinforce each other -- and they are not too long," says Davies. "Airing all of Dickens would take five years!"Mansfield Park is a coproduction of Company Productions and WGBH Boston. Persuasion is a Clerkenwell Films production for ITV in association with WGBH Boston. Northanger Abbey is a coproduction of Granada and WGBH Boston. Sense and Sensibility and Miss Austen Regrets are coproductions of the BBC and WGBH Boston. Pride and Prejudice is a coproduction of the BBC and A&E. Emma is a coproduction of Granada and A&E.MASTERPIECE THEATRE has been presented on PBS by WGBH since 1971. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers provide funding for MASTERPIECE THEATRE.

pbs.org/masterpiecePBS; WGBH

from: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,108788.shtml

Rejoicing I am out of the Vortex

Something is happening today. Instead of feeling "left out," I am reveling in life out of the vortex, sipping Chai tea, listening to the Vienna Master's Series, and reading Crunchy Cons. Life is indeed good.

Vortex:

1. A spiral motion of fluid within a limited area, especially a whirling mass of water or air that sucks everything near it toward its center.
2. A place or situation regarded as drawing into its center all that surrounds it.

Answers in Genesis

Finishing up my study of Genesis that I started several years ago (Maybe four?) has been really delightful. Genesis is one of the "recommended" books that all believers study before they go on to other books (the other recommended ones are John, Romans, Ephesians, and James) because it is truly the book of beginnings. As I studied Romans 1-5 this last year, I thought it would have been great for our little Bible study to start with Genesis first because of that fact.

I had already done Creation and the Fall a while back. So, I started in with the Flood and Genesis 6 around Memorial Day, and it has been good. Although the Precept upon Precept study goes into a little more detail about flood research than I would have cared for, it was an interesting pursuit. I am now in the life of Abram and Genesis 12 and am much more happily situation though. I love character studies, and the next three sections will be character studies on the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Esau, and Joseph. So, I should have a very fun summer. :)

Today I meditated and will continue to meditate on Chapters 12:1-3

Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country
And from you relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

I am going to chew on thise more, but my first thought was about the tower of Babel and how they said, ". . .let us make for ourselves a name. . ." Here God says, "I will make your name great." Then I thought about what I was thinking in the car on the way back from my church and a good talk and time of prayer with Kim S. It struck me about how some churches try to make a name for themselves, but God has to be the one blessing and making the name!

So, it was interesting that I should meditate on that this morning. May we humble ourselves until God exalts us at the proper time.

Freewrite

I have some minutes today to say that I just feel this vague sense of blah, and it seems to be connected to that place again. I just don't know what it is, but often, when I go, I feel it.

In the quiet of the night freewrite

In the quiet tonight, I heard God whisper. It was lovely.

The last few days have been ones of peace. All together, I will have nine days in a row of no evening obligations, and I am already reaping the benefits of these nights. We had at least that many in a row the previous nine days. So, it is nice to bring my life back in balance once again. I am sensing more of an interior calling this summer. Oh yes, "outwardly," I will be still studying the Bible with Nourieh and doing Colossians on Wednesday nights and four weeks of "July with Joseph" with my "cream of the crop" women of Rachel, Kim, and Lisa, but I want to devote the remainder to being at home and being prayerful and reflective and staying close to my precious family. The last few days makes me see that they are the most special and wonderful people that I know. I love the men that my boys have become. More like there father every day. That is a very good thing.

I am wanting to be prayerful for many reasons. I have so many people who I want to be behind in prayer: Kim and Eric and Nancy and Co in Korea, short-termers, friends in crisis, churches in the area, leaders too, my neighborhood, my community. The skies the limit. I should have been a nun! LOL! Really NOT, but I have known for many years now that I need to feed my "interior" calling. Intercession and discernment are two of my spiritual gifts that I need to continue to cultivate and "fan into flame" (2 Timothy 1:6) those gifts he had given me.

Well, the silence is broken. My extroverted dear husband is home from the missions committee meeting, and I am being "talked" to. LOL!

Bye

Healthy Church

I reflected many months now on church health. Last week, I put my thoughts down in my journal, and I am going to journal some of my thoughts and how I feel that our new church is so healthy

A Healthy Church has:

A missions vision threaded throughout its ministries

There is a sense of excitement about missions. Throughout the year, people are coming and going to new places around the world and reaching out at home. I especially like that there is an evangelism component t

Wellness in Mind and Body

This is the last little part of my "Well" report in terms of summer goals for my body!

Weight Control

I have finally gotten some of the pounds off that have crept up on me over the last few months. I am only four pounds away from my goal weight. This is the top of my range, but it is within the range. I am always creeping up 5-7 pounds above my goal weight. It used to be 7-10, but I want it to be zero!

Exercise

It has been touch and go since my shoulder injury in March (?) on the exercise front, but I am healed from that. After that, I decided to get orthodics from a new business in town that does custom orthodics. BAD IDEA. She is new at it, and I am a very complicated from the waist down. I should have stuck with a podiatrist who makes plaster castes of my feet. She used the foam method, and it just has messed my right knee up something fierce. She wants me to keep coming back for adjustments to get it right, but in the meantime, I am in pain and I have to stop exercising and take a pain killer that makes me sick. I have to get out of the cycle because if my back goes out, I will REALLY be out of commission for too long. I am already precarious at this point, and I need to restabilize. I don't know if she knows what she is doing. It is quite frustrating.

So, all that said, I exercised 2 1/2 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday by doing all the work on Wildcat Park. The good news that I am not sore from that. I am just tired and resting today. On Tuesday, it is back to the elliptical and the weights. Actually, I might go to Group Power tonight at the club too.

Food

As I said above, I am down. I am also eating fairly well. I was into too much munching, and that has subsided since Kim and I said we were going to record everything that we eat. It always does the trick for me, and I just need to do it all the time.

Summer Goals

1. I want to be in top shape for Debbie's wedding in two weeks since I have a form fitting gown and my shoulders and arms will be all exposed. ACK! So, I am continuing to hit the weights for my upper body.

2.I will try to work with the PT, but I am going back to my old orthodics until I am really strong. I can't afford to have by back go out this summer. If I can't work it out, I will be out 350 bucks because I don't think she has a money back guarantee. I know she is going to want me to come in again and adjust, but I think they are really off, and I should have just gone with what I have always done before because it works. SIGH. If my old podiatrist were in town, I would have just gone to him because he is so great!

3. Continue eating well and recording. I really want to be "within" my range, not at the top of it, but I am happy that I will be at the top of it by next week.

4. Have a complete physical and mammogram

5. Get knew glasses and maybe contacts

The Well-Educated Mind: Part II

In Part I, I blogged about what I was learning with my kids. Now I am going to put my summer reading goals out there and check up on myself to see how I did at the end.

I read something recently, and I wish I had blogged it here because it said something to the effect of how important outside reading is to our spiritual life. I believe it was in How to Read Slowly: A Christian Guide to Reading with the Mind by James W. Sire. As this is one of the things I will be reading this summer, I will post it when I find it because I am almost positive that this was the book.

First of all, let me post where my reading has brought me so far this year:

January

1. Light from Heaven by Jan Karon

I have closure on the series after reading the first in the series in 1997. I have such fond memories of reading about snow storms in North Carolina while sweating in Malaysia. The series ended well.

2. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Book Babes for February)

I really loved the story and the writing. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though! I wouldn't object to reading another one of her books though. I think she is better than most contemporary authors I have read lately.

February

3. Marley and Me by John Grogan (Book Babes for March)

It had some delightful parts in it. I am not a big Labrador Retriever fan. If I had a dog, it would be a German Shepherd or a Shetland Sheepdog because I love calm, obedient dogs. (and they were the two kinds we had growing up, and they were fabulous dogs to own). This dog would have driven me insane, but I wouldn’t have even gotten him in the first place. All that said, I can see why they fell in love with this animal, and it was fun to read about their antics with him.

March

4. Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger

Strategy books are just not my cup of tea, and this was all about strategies. I didn’t like it! God is so much more creative than strategies. ‘Nough said.

5. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (Book Babes for May)

It brought up some interesting issues, but it is always hard for me when people can’t be honest with one another. I know it made for a good story, but it still frustrates me.

April

6. The One Year Chronological Bible

I have put my other reading on hold and have been enjoying reading throughout the day. I was in the Old Testament during spring break, but I had some extra time. So, I read it like a novel and got to the Triumphal Entry by Friday before Good Friday. I read along with the events of Holy Week. Then, once I got to the Resurrection, I couldn’t stop.


7. The Ladybird Bible Storybook

This is our third time through this great little Bible book. This is also our last time through a Bible “storybook” as we are all reading a regular Bible now. I will miss this, but we have new fish to fry in this department.

8. The Awesome Book of Bible Facts by Silverthorne

I know they are too old for this book, but we loved it the first time. So, we went through it again this year. So great!

May

9. If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat by Ortberg

Not just your fluffy contemporary Christian book. I really liked this, and I enjoyed discussing it chapter-by-chapter with a group of women every week for ten weeks. I am not sure that I would have picked it up to read it had it not been for that reason.

10. The House of the Seven Gables by Hawthorne (Book Dames)

It was sort of a slow story, but I think his language is so beautiful. I liked The Scarlet Letter much more, but I still liked it. I gave it a 7 at our Book Dames Book Club

11. Christianity is Jewish by Edith Schaeffer

This is another one that I read slowly over the whole year. This is the book in which my friend, Beth, read in 1975 and created a seventeen lesson Bible study to go with it called “Bird’s-Eye View of the Bible.” It was so fun to do the study, read the chapter, discuss it in small groups, and listen to my friend (who has the gift of teaching) teach on the lesson. It is all about the “Scarlet Thread of Redemption” from Genesis to Revelation. I just finished the Revelation chapter today, and I am so hopeful and at peace. This is a very uplifting book in every way.

Next year, I will rework the Bird’s Eye View Study and adapted it for my kids to do during their homeschool Bible time. I don’t know what it will look like, but I hope I can make it fun and educational at the same time.

12. Dear Sister, Letters of Hope and Encouragement by Gisela Yohannan

I loved this book. She is a wise woman whose husband heads up Gospel for Asia, one of the largest indigenous church planting mission agencies. They plant churches all over India and in many countries in Asia. These are the letters she wrote to the women in her agency over a period of years. They are PACKED with spiritual encouragement. You can read some excerpts of some of the chapters on my non-photo blog.

13. The Externally Focused Church by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson

This is for churches who want to integrate good news and good deeds into the life of the church. It is a practical book with many examples of churches that have done just that! I have always contended that a church is for the maturing and building up of the Body of Christ but that maturity comes through reaching out as a Body to the community around us. So, the focus of this book is speaking to my heartbeat. Our Women’s Ministry Director wanted me to read this and give her feedback about it because she is considering using it for the Fall Women’s Group on Wednesday nights. I am SO there!

Summary

Only four out of eleven are even fiction! I am hoping to rectify that. I love fiction, and I don't want to lose that.

Summer Goals

The books that I am looking to read this summer are:

1776 by McCullough (I like to read a patriotic book around the 4th of July!)
How to Read Slowly: A Christian Guide to Reading with the Mind by James W. Sire
Crunchy Cons by Ron Dreher (Lamp-post discussion end of June)
Passage to India by Forster (Book Dames discussion July 14 and Lamp-post July 27)
The Cloister Walk by Norris (Prep for possible workshop at Jubilee on Private Retreat)
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnards (Just because I love this!)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Book Babes for July)
Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle (Book Dames for September)
Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok (Book Babes that I didn't read in April)

9 books in one summer is more than reasonable!

The Well-Educated Mind Autobiographies

I have read and analyzed and discussed: Confessions of St. Augustine and All Rivers Lead to the Sea by Weisel

I have read but have not analyzed:

The Road from Coorain

Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez

Born Again.

I hope to read when I am done with the others:

The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn

So there you have my MIND goals and category. Stay tuned for my notes from Crunchy Cons!