Shane & Shane "O Come Emmanuel"

http://youtu.be/QIApy9rd7jw

Why Colorado's Prop 103 Failed

Why this year? Colorado had a state-wide ballot issue on an off-year election this year with the hopes of stacking the polls. Most schools hold their school board elections on odd years because, quite frankly, they're not willing to risk asking the bulk of the population to pick their board members. They'd rather have it on years when voter turn-out is low because the teachers unions can more effectively work to keep their union-friendly--or union-intimidated--board members in power. Likewise, if the teacher's union stands to gain a windfall into their feeding trough via a tax increase, like Proposition 103, putting it through on an off-year election is when it's most likely to succeed.

What happened? The upset was apparent in the polls this week. Colorado voters roundly rejected the tax hike by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, even though commercials like this one (note the lack of inspiring Colorado mountains, Colorado homes, or Colorado anything) pulled at the emotions. HuffPo n' Co. stated unequivocally that school budgets have been "decimated." Heavens. It's enough to make a school administrator reconsider that Lexus purchase.

Why did Prop 103 fail? In short, it failed because of mail-in ballots that allowed the public to still voice enough of a general opinion. The Denver Post article addressed a tax hike's chances next year, saying,

"Maybe when this economy turns around, and people feel a little more confident with their personal situations, people will be a little more willing to talk about it," said state Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, who led the 103 coalition.

Some advocates had even wanted to mount such an effort in 2012, something [Boulder Democrat State Senator, Rollie] Heath said was now unthinkable.

"I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell," he said. "In a presidential year? To do what we need to do to educate folks? I don't recommend doing anything in 2012."

Glad to see that even liberals believe in hell, by the way.

Seriously however, Heath was saying that it would be too costly, that too many people would turn out to vote next year for them to stack the polls in their favor. My belief is that unless the economy makes a turnaround in 12 months, the polls could turn even more hostile towards government solutions toward any issue, not just the majority that it's failing at.

I'd like to think that the public's perception is that it really doesn't take a lot of money to educate children. After all, if homeschooling families can both support a government funded school system with their tax dollars and still produce students who on average out-score 9 out of 10 public school students. and entrepreneurs, along with the occasional star athlete, there must be more at work than money. Maybe successful students start at home. On the other hand, others may not see it that way. Maybe they're just ignorant and greedy, like Rollie Heath seemed to say. But I hope not.

Todd: Jobs; Around the House, the Heart Is Where Dads Do the Real Work

I have long followed Todd Wilson, a homeschooling father like me, who goes across the country speaking to other homeschooling dads and moms, unlike me. If I had boundless energy and established donors and speaking contacts, I still wouldn't have the God-given anointing to do what he does to bring homeschooling families the encouragement he does.

Todd's transparency, his willingness to admit his failures to live up to his own ideals, places him in a unique class of legitimacy and sincerity. His tag line, "You da dad!" means simply that each father occupies an irreplaceable role in the lives of his children and that each of us are called to step up and fill the role. It doesn't shift with the changing nature of relationships and the sense of impermanence that pervades today's society. We are the ones who shape the next generation into what they will be, by our presence or, regrettably, by our absence. Our children need things--irreplaceable things--from us as dads that they will never get from their moms or from anyone else in their lives; our approval and our blessing, to name two.

Did I get all this by listening to Todd? Maybe. Or it could be that he simply confirmed what I've known in my heart all along. Regardless, I've grown under his leadership and direction as he teaches by his own life and experiences, which enables his sometimes brutal honesty to cut through all the malarchy and flotsam of being a parent and a person in ministry, two roles I can appreciate more than most.

His latest dispatch from the trenches was about the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the most visionary leaders of technology the world has seen in the past 200 years, perhaps since creation. No, I'm not putting you on, and yes, I'm a PC person. I haven't supported Apple since the Apple IIc in 1985. Yet, even the most hardened PC proponent must recognize Jobs' role in making the technological world what it is today. Nonetheless, Jobs' accomplishments didn't really matter in the big scheme of things. Nor did Newton's or Edison's or anyone else's. They were all human, they died, and what really mattered was who they loved and who loved them. That's true greatness. Todd gives hints of this in his latest update.

Hey Dad,

I hope you’re doing great, but I’m feeling a little somber. It started last night as we were gathered in the familyroom to watch one of the original Anne of Green Gables movies. My oldest son Ben (18) walked into the room and announced, “Steve Jobs just died.”

I imagine it was a little like that evening in the 60’s when they announced that Walt Disney died, especially for a technology kid. Ben is also a techno-kid, so for the last 2-3 years he’s kept us abreast on all the latest Apple inventions and upgrades, Apple stock, and the news that just a few weeks ago Apple passed Exxon as the most valuable company in the world.

Today, the tech-world is eulogizing him…recounting his story, his unique personality, and the gizmos he invented that have helped shape the modern world.

To tell you the truth, I can’t stop thinking that all he worked for, sacrificed for, and cared about…didn’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong. I think all the iGadgets are cool, but I would just about bet that he wasn’t thinking about iGadgets during his last few moments.

In fact, his name will soon fade (my little kids didn’t know Walt Disney was a real person), and someone else will control the iUniverse.

The truth is that some things matter and some things don’t…iThings don’t matter but iDads and iHusbands DO.

So, Dad, go love your wife and children…and change the world!

You ‘da iDad!

There's little to say after all that, except that, the further I go in living with my disabilities, I'm realizing that my role as a husband and a father has so much less to do with my abilities than it does with my heart and my will. I could never lift a finger again and yet be a successful father. Though I can't walk out my love for them by providing for them and working with them on things, I can love them with my heart, my eyes, my words, and my care of their hearts. I will not always have them in my home as I do now, but being a father, as my own father is showing me, never goes away. I will live forever, and I will love forever as well.

Much peace,

Adoption Is A Love Most Wonderful

Something very close to my heart is adoption. No, I have not adopted a child, but I'm very open to it, if finances allow. Stories that feature adoption continue to move my heart. I believe it's because I've grown in my faith to view myself as a child of God, which very closely parallels adoption. Paul repeatedly used adoption to help his readers understand the faith, telling the Romans, Galatians and Ephesians that as Christians, we are adopted as sons (and daughters) into God's family.

Like everyone else born on this planet, I was born into the wrong "family." I did not know God in my heart. I was lost, and, if God Himself had not intervened, I would have died never knowing Him, nor ever finding my true home. He did intervene, thousands of times before I was born and likely many more after. He chose me, not because I was better or worse, happy or sad, or even because I was born to good (or bad) parents. He chose me because He loved me. He made me His son when I had no concept of what that meant.

Adoption is a most wonderful love. It says, "You belong to me. I give you my family and those I dearly love. I give you my name that identifies me, so that you and I are linked together for all time." Perhaps this story that my daughter found on a friend's Facebook page best reflects this. I guarantee you will appreciate reading it.

Walden's Wits Returns

Annnnd, I'm back!

If you have been trying to check this blog recently, you most likely got a 404 error or something similar. It's because a service I was using to bring you WW decided to take its servers down permanently. Oh well. It was free and I got what I paid for. Now I'm using a paid service and I'm happy.

I know I haven't been super prolific lately and I'm grateful for my readers (both of them). I'm okay with it, because I can only do what I can. I'm no longer interested in personal success, if I ever was. I just want to be faithful to God and who He's made me to be by loving Him and loving those around me as sincerely as I can.

What A Pain!

www.painfoundation.org

Pain is something I live with every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, week in, week out, year after year. I have a pain doctor who works with me fairly well. Others whom I've met haven't been so lucky.

What would my life be like if pain relief was as important as some of the other causes out there? I know the answer would be "Better," but what would we have to say no to as a result? I'm not sure, but in my own case, I'm pretty sure it would be worth it. Pray for me, and the millions like me, who live with chronic pain.

Of Summer, Steaks and Suffering By Comparison

It's been a tough few weeks. Physically, I have more energy, but pain, insomnia, and "fibro fog" have also been high.

Here we are at the end of June already! It seems like only a few days ago, we were sitting down with our long-time friends, Andy and Sarah and their family, to a dinner of the best steaks I can remember eating. They were that good! A slow cook over charcoal made it even better. Great googly-moogly, if you want to make me salivate this 4th of July, offer the following menu!

God Can Do the Impossible

God can do the impossible.

A woman cries over the only son she ever had, lost at the hands of a ruthless murderer. 17 Years later, she has ... well, watch this.



God can help you forgive. God can do the impossible. What you seem to think is irredeemable, unlovable, immoral, and irreconcilable, is not. Instead, it is redeemable, lovable, justifiable, and certainly reconcilable. The body and blood of Jesus is the answer. His death makes all things possible. His resurrection makes us a promise.

Instead of focusing on what I have lost from my disability, I choose to focus on what I am able to do with what He's given me today. It may not be running all over the mountains, jeeping with people and telling them about the love of God. Would I rather be doing that? Sure, but that's not His purpose for me, at least not today. Today, it's sitting in this chair and sharing a story I happened across by "chance."

"It is no secret what God can do," goes the old song. Indeed, God can do the impossible.

God and Debt, Practice and Provision

One thing my wife and I have been trying to do the last eight months is pay down our credit cards and get out of consumer debt. It's one thing to use a credit card to maintain a standard of living that you can't truly afford anymore. It's quite another to be at an absolute minimum and still need things like food and heat after all the money is gone.

We were living on credit a long while before we neared our maximum and could not keep the vultures from circling. We went into foreclosure, nearly losing our house, until friends stepped forward and helped us cure our mortgage under Colorado law.

Since then, we have never been late on a mortgage payment, and hopefully we never will be again, although July looks a bit sketchy because of a downturn in our business. God knows, and he's already there at July with what we will need. I know it. I believe it. He's told us we "will not lose our house for financial reasons." He gave me a "fleece" that came true to the letter, and that's what we hung on to during the foreclosure. If I hadn't received the fleece, I would likely have listened to the folks around me and sold our home to a vulture.

God has stepped in like that from time to time, giving me what I needed to make a crucial decision. It's not my talent or abilities that saved us. It was His word to us and his children around us hearing his voice and obediently giving. Trusting His power and grace to meet us where we were was all we could do. We had no other option.


So where was I? Credit cards. God has allowed us to go into credit card debt. We've prayed and felt His leading was to do what was necessary to provide for us. That may fiddle with people's theology or their fiscal theosophy, but that's where we were. He has always told us in those times that He will deliver us from the debt. But that doesn't mean He will the next time we may run short. It's His provision, so it's His call.

Yet He's also given us enough the last eight months to not just stay out of adding to the debt, but to pay down the debt. But which cards to pay off first? Do we knock off the little ones regardless of the interest rate? Or should we pay down one of the larger ones first? If so, do we pick one with a low rate or a high rate? We don't get any particular direction, spiritually, so we set out to find the smartest way. The answer was a little surprising.

I want to do what brings God the most glory with every aspect of my life, despite--and often through--my frailties. It's not about me, or my finances, or my family's future, really. It's about Him being willing to meet us in our need  and acting to put us in a position that only his Son really deserves. He's powerful and wonderful and glorious in His work. We get what we don't deserve, and His providence is more than enough for what we need. Praise His name!


 

Fox, Elway and Bowlen, Listen Up: Keep Tim Tebow

AP Photo

I am thrilled to see home-educated Tim Tebow continues to be a light. He is one example of a properly sheltered child now thriving as an adult in a hostile environment. I pray for him, because the NFL is not without it's temptations, and all of mankind is very frail when it comes to resisting them.

There are rumors--and that's usually the case--that the Broncos could trade Tebow. I'm not sure I could continue to be a Bronco fan--even after 35 years!--if they traded him. I would be that disenfranchised with the organization. Lockout or no lockout, Tebow is a leader. Tebow is the future and he will change the nature of the game if he's given enough flexibility. Denver needs this guy. They really do.

Is football eternal? I know that if we have nothing better to do in heaven, there's been enough saints in the game football will be an awesome game. I'll be a great lineman or linebacker for a team. It is battle and strategy. It is conquest and struggle. Those are things that God has placed in this man's heart, as he has in others. If there is not a battle to be fought against the dragon, football would be an excellent way to express God's gifts inside us. I love Him and what He has made inside me.

Salvation from God through the blood of the Lamb is the message that Tim's life is devoted to spreading. From his position, if he makes God his refuge, he can't lose. The Broncos and the NFL are not eternal, but the people hearing Tebow's message will live forever if they put their faith in the Gospel.



PS: Here's a great part of that long CBS article I linked above:

"When you go to the Pro Bowl, those guys are typically not only the greatest players but the ones that work the hardest. But Tim is a little different, from what I've heard," said John Lynch, a future Hall of Fame safety who invited Tebow and Miller to address the crowd at his annual foundation luncheon, which honors Denver-area youth who excel academically, in sports and the community.

"He's my neighbor so I see him," Lynch continued. "He's out on a mountain bike going by and it looks like he never has a down moment. We were having dinner one night at some folks' house and the lady was a great tennis player. Next thing you know they break into a ping-pong match. Tim's sweating. And she beat him the first game. He was going to stay until he won. I mean, he would not leave."

That's not to say Lynch, an analyst for FOX Sports these days, doesn't recognize the "serious legitimate questions" about Tebow's ability to smooth over his mechanical flaws on the field and break free of the spread-offense tendencies the former Heisman Trophy winner learned in college.

"There are a lot of things he has to prove," Lynch admitted. "But there's an aura. He's got that aura, for whatever that's worth. And that means something to me."

It means something to me too. Go Broncos! Go Tebow!
 

Grace

What I posted yesterday was missing something. Sin is sin. It never stops being what it is. Yet what I just told a friend is something I need to say here. I told her,

Remember too that your Daddy's view of things is the only view that matters. What some would count gain, He calls loss and what is by all other accounts a loss is great gain.

Living Pro-life, Living Proof

I am pro-life. I have been since age 6. I will be pro-life whenever I die, if I do. I am among the first children born in the era of the federalized SCOTUS pseudo-law, "Roe v. Wade."

That is ideology. I have very scientific and moral reasons for this belief. I also have a very scriptural foundation to believe that abortion and euthanasia are wrong and those who practice it, practice evil. It is what I believe to the core of my being. That is my ideology.

When it comes to walking that ideology out, it means my family and I raise funds for our local pregnancy ministry every Spring. We even show up to some meetings for donors. I write our representatives in congress. I even write our newspaper editor. We are pro-life.

But we've never been forced to make a decision like Craig and Jessica Council. Their story is intense, gut-wrenching and all-too-real.

They are pro-life, and like a doctor said, they lived every bit of it.

Living Pro-Life Living Proof graphic (c) Walden's Wits 2011

Video of the Northern Lights

I've always wanted to go see the northern lights (Aurora Borealis). White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad might have a special someday. Or maybe I could form an expedition to go find the Rio Grande's lost Mikado locomotives not seen since WWII. Maybe I should set the intermediate goal of recovering my mobility and energy from Arthritis and Fibromyalgia. Baby steps, right?

Until then, this video will serve as inspiration.



Isn't that just the coolest? I think I know how they did most of the shots too. Such amazing camera work!

Air Chamber Versus Foam Mattress

I have sleep issues, this we know. An article at HopeKeepers asked which alternative bed (air chamber-sleep number versus foam) would be best for people who are chronically ill. Here are the comments I posted ...

I have had both an air chamber bed and a foam bed. Both of mine failed for the reasons specified (leaks and shape, respectively). It can be a real bummer when you've invested so much into both. The foam mattress reeked of chemicals for a few weeks, which was horrible for my Fibromyalgia sensitized-nose!

I have arthritis in my upper and lower back. The air chamber bed had interlaced chambers so that it didn't create the "hammock" effect on my back. This was the best support for my lower back and I did not "toss and turn" all night with Fibro pressure points like I do with my foam bed. I miss my air chamber, especially because it also used a memory foam pad on top. Nonetheless, the problem remains that there's no way to patch them well enough to keep them inflated, and the warranty from a company that no longer exists isn't worth much anymore, anyway.

I am waiting for technology to catch up with my needs on this. Springs and water are too hard. Air is to leaky. Foam is too "even" and un-adjustable. Maybe a floatation tank? (in my dreams!)

I'll let you know if I have any other thoughts, but I need to work on my other posts. I have many posts for WW that I've begun, but few have made it to the publish-able point. Ah, the life of a writer with chronic fatigue!

Logic Applied To Glowing Monkeys

I am not a scientist. I do not earn money for working in research. Yet even I can spot that there's something logically wrong with this article, given to me by a friend.

The issue is within only four sentences, which, oddly enough, are all together. Here they are:

Three monkeys were successfully altered in this way, but only ANDi survived.
The jellyfish gene was used, Schatten said, because it is known to be harmless and because it is easily detectable.
ANDi appears normal so far - he does not glow the way a jellyfish does. But the two other monkeys who got the gene did exhibit florescence.

Okay. The first sentence says three monkeys were genetically altered before conception, with two dying and one named ANDi surviving. The logic starts fine there, but the next sentence throws a curve. It says that a gene from a jellyfish was used because it is harmless and detectable. Harmless? Two of three died, although we don't know if it was the gene. Yet, the third and fourth sentences point in that direction pretty conclusively. It says ANDi doesn't glow like the other two did.

If the gene was detectable by making the monkeys glow, and ANDi doesn't glow, under the conditions set by the scientists, it should mean that the gene didn't take with ANDi and he's normal. Further, if the gene did take with the other two, and they died, wouldn't that point in the direction of the cause of their death? Regardless, if a drug killed two-thirds of its patients, I don't think the FDA would classify that as harmless.

Taking a step back from the internal logic of the article, I have a problem with the research described--but especially if it's pursued and embraced by the same illogical thinking that's in the article. History shows that eugenics were all the rage in the first half of the twentieth century, but Nazi Germany's attempts at producing the master race raised the moral and ethical questions needed. Was it right to sterilize, imprison, or kill a human being because they were somehow undesirable? Was it acceptable to breed humans the same way as animals to reduce some characteristics while enhancing other characteristics? What of the societal implications? Wouldn't genetic modification create two classes of humanity, regular, dull, dim-witted, scrawny, four-eyed freaks and new, improved, genius-level, brawny, clear-sighted humans? Many such questions still apply to the genetic research happening today.

Will we, as a society, someday be forced to live a Gattaca-like existence instead of the life we choose? Would there even be room in such a world for the disabled, the wounded, or the born imperfect? Man will always have a choice, but mankind will also be forced live with the consequences of the choices made. I know that eliminating genetic weaknesses toward disease feels right, but all the years we could buy--even the world itself--will seem hollow if the price is our conscience.

From Training A Child To Training A Young Man

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging for a very important letter from a father to his son. 

 Dear Son,

This letter is reaching you in April on your birthday, but I started it in January. Something this big is going to take planning and I need to get all the head start I can. I'll get to that in a moment.

You're 12 today. Yea! A solid dozen years of life is now under your belt, and that's terrific! Things haven't been easy for you all the time. You've stuck to your chores, and as you've gotten bigger and more capable, we've given you new ones. However, it's not just that you've grown more capable. You've grown more responsible as well. You don't shirk from doing the job you've been assigned.

You've learned the physical and demanding game of football, so much so that I respect your abilities and your talents. If you continue to practice, work hard, and stay true to your desire, you could certainly play high school in a few years, and from there, there's only One Who knows how far you can go.

Because of these changes and because you are my son, we're going to be training you in things that men are expected to be able to handle. I will teach you all I know about plumbing, household maintenance, car care, and more. I'll train you in driving. I will help you begin to think defensively and how to guard yourself and your loved ones to protect them as best you can.

I will be giving you scriptures to memorize so that you have His Word hidden in your heart. I know from experience that there will be times in your life where you are glad you committed the Scriptures to memory, times where having a Bible is too impractical but where you can bring up out of the storehouse of your heart the solid, insightful truth as you are led by the Holy Spirit. That is the true use of the Sword of the Spirit.

I will be praying with you, teaching you how to meditate, and how to cultivate an active prayer life. I've already worked with you on hearing the Spirit. My hope is that we can improve on this with time and patience.

We will consider all of this part of your homeschooling, but more importantly, I pray that in the end, you will consider this the most valuable part of your early education. I say early education because, really, you never stop learning. But if you start good, if you have a clean, stable foundation, whatever you place on top of it will be in good shape.

Son, I love you. I know you are getting older and I am racing to fill your mind and heart with what you need when you leave. I pray I give you everything God wants me to give you. If I do, I know I will have done as good a job as I can. In the end, I want to hear "Well done! You are good and faithful. Enter into your Father's happiness." As you grow, you will hunger for that more also.

As we move forward, my goal is not to create another "Steve," but to help you become the best you possible in God's sight. Remember that this may not be the same as the best you in the sight of the world. We need to keep talking about this as we go.

I love you, son. We are different in some ways and the same in others. In all, I find you a wonderful boy and future man. You bring me happiness and thankfulness. You are a blessing of God in my life, and I am thankful for you.

Love,

Dad

Tapping The Wallet For A New Set Of Keys

I haven't posted a great deal in a great while. It has been difficult, to say the least--ha!--to not write so much. Part--no, most of it has been due to the wonderful disabilities I live with. I've also been on a bit of an introspective where God has been speaking and I've been taking notes. I'm not sure where this latest leg of the journey is going, but it's been a healthy trip so far I think. My identity and its impact on others has been a lot of it.

What have I been doing lately? Most of the time, I've been coping with aforesaid disabilities, specifically Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Other than that, I've been blogging on my railroad blog as a hobby. I've been coping as my family transitions to a new family business, helping my children manage the transition and offering as much moral support as one dad in a chair can.

More recently, I've been adjusting to life with a new keyboard. I don't normally buy things so expensive, but this was an absolute necessity. For years, it has hurt to type. Really, I've needed this keyboard since 2003 or so. For a long time, I knew what I needed, but I didn't know who made it, or where to get it. Now that I have it, the knots and spasms in my upper back have had much less to complain about. They still make a fuss, but it's just not made nearly as bad as when I was using the old keyboard.


Winters are hard to endure when you have certain arthritic conditions. It's painful, and most folks don't discuss it because it's something non-arthritics can't relate to. Pain, it seems, makes more people than just the sufferer uncomfortable. What can I do, though? Ignore it? That's hard to do when you don't want to get out of bed or, worse, can't make it to bed from the chair. Still, I've opted not to blog exclusively about pain this winter because it's not all that beneficial for everyone. On the other hand, having a keyboard that helps that pain is a positive worth noticing.

Thanks for hanging in there with me, friends. I hope this keyboard lets me post more often with less pain. That, or I'll want my money back.

I Know Jesus More Today Than Yesterday

The older I get, the more central to my life Jesus becomes. Mercifully. Thankfully. It is not my good looks, my "wits" or my charm that make me or break me. It's Jesus, his message, and his mission. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 2,

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ... My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Despite my efforts, however, I often fail. My pilgrimage, my walk "in the light" can become a dark nightmare of a journey. I have so many pits that I can fall into. Legalism can set me on a course away from the Holy Spirit. Pride can make me shine until I'm blind to everything else, even the most basic, open pit. Whenever I trip in my walk, self-pity and depression can snag my feet and pull me in. Yet God has given me tools and blessings that can defeat each one of these pits, allowing me to walk around or even above them without falling into them. His grace is undeservedly mine, but mine nonetheless. And it can be anyone's too. All we need to do is move from being a fan of Jesus towards being a follower. It's a choice we all have, each day, every day.



I need Jesus every day. I need his power to carry my cross that I bear. Others have their cross, I have mine. I don't need to nail myself to it. I just need to follow Jesus wherever he leads. As I follow, I find myself drawn closer to him, knowing both his pain and his comfort. It is not an easy, wide, smooth road. It's a narrow, jagged, rough trail. But I believe that the end is truly the beginning and it is worth all I might suffer.



Jesus of Nazareth is the very Word of God and the life we can have through him, both here and hereafter is worth the price to pay. I choose him, daily, hourly, sometimes by the minute, but I choose him because I know enough about him to trust him. He will be with me forever. How can I say no to such a wonderful offer?

Homeschool Students Continue To Pass the Test

If you're worried about whether your child will be able to go to college without a transcript from the local high school, you shouldn't be. From ACT scores to GPAs to social habits, on the whole, it seems that homeschoolers have the mastership life requires.

You have the right to educate your children at home. Although it is not for everyone, but if your child is struggling in an area, bored, or just plain unhappy with the school they're in, you owe it to your child to examine homeschooling, whether they're 4, 7, 14, or 17. Even one year can have profound results!

Remember, public schooling advocates that there is one way to teach children, and that's in the classroom. That would work if kids were standard issue pieces of inventory. Any parent can tell you that their child is as unique as they are and that they don't all learn the same way.

What magical transformation happens at 5 years old when we send them off to Kindergarten? What does a parent not have to guide their child through their education? The answers to both these questions are "Nothing." Home education was far more daunting in the 1980s when few if any curricula existed that were designed for study at home. Today, homeschooling magazines are filled with ads for curricula as diverse as the students themselves and as detailed (or not) as the parent needs.

The Old Schoolhouse is a great place to start looking into homeschool. Try "How to Homeschool," or consider attending a homeschool conference or even their online conference. It will be time well spent, because your children are worth it!



PS: But, wait! There's more! Consider,

• National Home Education Research Institute - Dr. Brian Ray shows how much better students educated at home perform when compared with their public education peers
• Take a look via MSNBC at what life is like for a homeschooling family

Trout: Are They Ticklish?

As a trout fisherman in Colorado, I've caught everything from itty-bitty brookies barely big enough to swallow the hook to mean-looking brown trout that have scarcely seen a lure in a decade to lake trout too long for most of our cooking gear. I have fished from Steamboat Springs to the Rio Grande headwaters. I have heard fish stories and I've heard true fish stories. Until recently, I considered myself a decent docent of the salmoninae family. Then I hit Wikipedia and I heard of this activity which, to my amazement, has been done since antiquity. You might say it had me reeling.

The One Thing That Changes Everything Else

I have a friend who is struggling with the doctrine and work of the Jehovah's Witnesses. I have another dear sister who is struggling--quite literally--for her life, against alcoholism. They have one common characteristic that is at the core of their respective problems.

Both have a malformed image of their Creator.