Well said

Don't know that I agree with the whole of the article, but the quote aligns really well with our particular scenario...

"You know what? Our reasons for home educating our children have changed. Even if given the most perfect public school there is, I'm extremely doubtful that we would enroll our children back into that system. Just by the very fact of removing ourselves from that system, our horizons have broadened. We are much different people than we were three years ago. We have learned to question more and accept “expert opinion” less. We have learned that our own “instinct” is quite often the best answer we can find. We have learned to seek our own knowledge and to view things very differently from mainstream society. Not only are we adults learning to “think outside the box”, but our children are learning that there is no box."
Valid Reasons for Homeschooling

This is from an unschooler, something that at this point we're not. Strange bedfellows I tell you, maybe the answer to bringing together the left and the right is homeschooling. Seriously, we've been very pleased with supplementing our world with secular HS group.

Free range kids?

OK. I'm trying to combine two things in my head here...here goes...

One is an article I recently read about a New York Post columnist who let her 4th grade child ride the subway alone. Her point? "My son got home, ecstatic with independence." Modern parenting is "debilitating—for us and for them." The article met national "outrage" by some and she ended up on the morning news circuit.

The other is a radio interview where a story was relayed about a young girl, obviously still in the "boys have cooties" phase, who told her mom, "My teacher says that when I get older I can marry a girl if I want." When the mom explained her position on this subject (in terms I'm assuming appropriate for the age), the little girl said, "My teacher said there would be people like you."

So one story is lauding the freedom of letting your kids go. The other, to me a least, shows a danger in giving your child's freedom to someone else. One story is about physical boundaries and the other more mental than physical.

In the search for right's and wrong's, as usual the answers aren't always easy. Do I agree with the columnist? You know, when it comes to physical limitations, everybody's got their comfort zone. To some extent I agree with her, you got to let your kids live and learn. I'll let my kids jump crazy on the trampoline, even though I know there's kids who have seriously injured themselves doing so. I pretty much won't let my kids snow ski; one because it's so darn expensive, but two, because I screwed myself up so badly doing it. But sure, you got to use your head; I'm far more loose where we live now in comparison to our old neighborhood. I guess if you can't live with yourself thinking that something might happen, then you got to take the precautions that keep you sane.

On the other one. It would certainly be a point I'd use to support homeschooling. California SB777 shows how schools are definitely overstepping their bounds, at least at the macro level. How fast that gets to the micro, where teachers who are not zealous for the agenda are actually actively being forced to support it, remains to be seen. That's assuming your kid has a teacher who is not actually already zealous. I could go on here, but that's not really the point of this discussion. Nor is this type of issue the only reason we homeschool.

But aside from these specific issues, the real question to me, in both cases is how am I preparing my child for both circumstances? How am I preparing my child for complete freedom (and responsibility) in adulthood? At what speed am I letting out the rope? In homeschooling, we've got much more control of that rope cuz we hold it almost all day long, but it's still got to come out. We've all seen the rope come out too fast, and we've all seen it come out too slow. In my opinion, both cases can lead to an accidental hanging.

One lady once said to me, "Our job isn't to protect our kids, it's to make them strong." Point taken, though of course it's obviously not an either/or situation...and you got to keep the end in sight.

Parenting...not for the faint of heart...now where's that rope? Ah, yes, last I remember, Cosmic Boy had tied up some of Dash's action figures with it...better go get it.

Intentional Living

Hmmm. A discussion tonite with Wonder Woman about living life intentionally. You know, I do "X" because I want "Y". Keeping the eye on "Y" and thinking about the "X"s. You know we're not big goal setters, at least not in the cultural financial and life position standpoint. To a certain extent we hold to the put God first and let him do the rest approach; see what God is doing and try to join in, however, we certainly are intentional in many parts of our lives.

Now I didn't know "intentional living" was a loaded term, it just kind of rolled off the tongue...but apparently it is, per the Wikipedia article, "Some examples of intentional living include Cohousing, Ethical Living, Frugal Living, Intentional Community, Moral community, Simple Living, Sustainable Living, Vegetarianism as well as many religious lifestyles."

So w/o a big writeup on what we're intentional on and why, or if we should be intentional and why, or how intentions match to expectations, or how many scramble words I can get out of "intentions"...I'll just say, if you're going to use some words, I guess you better know what others think they mean. Cuz, I like my steak, I don't want other smelly people living with me (I'm enough), and I'm not even sure what "Intentional community" is.

I hope my intention is clear...signed Mr. Incredible

Individuality

I read a recent "real life" funny about a group of teens full of piercings, tattoos, and chains, who walked into a store in a mall; one of the girls put some 'mainline' sunglasses on and modeled them to the rest of the group. At that point, one of the other girls said, "Please take those off, you look ridiculous!". Funny!

Danville is a pretty vanilla culture; there's, in my opinion, less room for the misfit. As a kid growing up here, for those who let's say weren't in to sports, or didn't have the looks of a cheerleader (or the desire), it was a tough place to be. Looking back I remember kids, especially starting in junior high, searching for a place to be an individual, to rebel against the mainstream. They became "Mods", they became "Stoners", they became "Geeks", and a number of other labels, or they chased the in crowd, searching for ways to fit in. As I look back, in some ways, many of the rebels were the most real, they saw through the charades and searched out their own place of belonging; or things were screwed up around them and they reacted by not being "normal". You could say the same thing to some extent in Anytown USA; and as an adult, I don't know that this pattern is all together different.

One thing that struck me as I was thinking about these subgroups; in the quest to be different, most of these people ended up being much like those around them. The girls who wouldn't be caught dead in any sort of colorful makeup were super particular about their black eyeliner; the boys who thought the jocks were dufus's for their rah rah fall-in-line attitude, all pinned their jeans and played hackey sack in the stoner section.

The point is most people are looking for a place to belong and that need doesn't stop once puberty is over; there seems to be an inner need to satisfy even for those who think they are "individuals". There will always be Sneech's looking for stars or taking them off. What does this say about the heart of man? Sure, "Birds of a feather flock together". How about "Are you off your rocker Mr Incredible"? Fine. But in a round-about way, I think it points to the yearning for something to belong to, for something to fill a void that exists deep in the soul.

So, how is this void filled? I think it truly can only be filled with a saving faith of Jesus who enables a right relationship with God by his dying on the cross for sins. And I'm not talking just going to church and learning the lingo. I'm talking about putting what that really means deep in your brain and dwelling on that peace constantly; making an individual decision that ironically puts you in a group where God intended you to be when he created you, one that worships Him and not self; one that seeks His leading and then takes the steps to follow it.

It certainly doesn't happen overnight, I'm continual evidence of that. There's precious few folks that I know and have known that seem to have embraced that peace to the extent possible. So, do you have a place to belong, one that lasts? I hope so.

Camera phone to the rescue...

Yes, somehow we managed to forget the memory card from the camera on the last camping trip, but the trust low res camera phone managed to snap a few pics...

Spotlight on Cosmic Boy

Who, you say? Cosmic Boy? Ah, superheros are more powerful when their fame is kept under wraps. Cosmic Boy first appeared in Adventure Comics, the founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the original leader in all incarnations of the Legion. His character has been fairly consistent, with a serious attitude and a strong sense of duty.

Check out this description of him published on Wikipedia..."Cosmic Boy is like the all-around leader who puts it all on his shoulders, but he's magnetic. His powers are all about magnetics, and so it carries over to his personality. An he struggles to bring all the Legion back together. He's like, 'We can do this. We can bring it together' It comes naturally to him."

Ten years ago today, our Cosmic Boy blazed a trail into the Greenhouse5, transforming the Greenhouse2 into the Greenhouse3. In a style that has proved uncharacteristic, he seemed to be in a hurry to get out, causing Mr. Incredible to put the transport vehicle into hyperspeed to complete the mission without altering the flight plan.

Cosmic Boy is a joy to all who know him, like his alter-ego, he's magnetic. His leadership is beginning to shine too, leading the budding superheroes in our legion, with a style that at times shows a flair much like my own. He's responsible, capable, and an all around good young superhero. Happy Birthday Cosmic Boy, AKA Sheepdog, we're proud of you!

Never say never

You've been there. You've said it. You've also begrudgingly eaten your crow. Let's see, a few famous Biblical dudes...how about Jonah...I'll never go to Nineveh. How about Peter "...Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." One of the "nevers", a statement of disobedience; the other a statement of valor and allegiance. In both cases the opposite was true.

Let's see...one of the few times I remember saying "never" was in the context of a question "Would you move back to Danville?" Not a bad place to be per se, but in the context of my experience, not even on my top 1000 cities I'd move to. Huh, you say? Let's see...safe neighborhoods, friendly merchants, good schools, nice people? Let me be clear, Danville to me represented a detestably selfish culture. One that was in constant pursuit of elevation of self with little or no thought to the will of God. A culture with pride, and I daresay snobbery, that made me sick to my stomach. A culture that I once blended into, and even at times excelled. I punished myself for the parts of the culture that I once embraced and I looked back to my moving out as "the best thing that ever happened to me". But you know what? God uniquely prepared me for the mission he had for me, for my family. To swallow the pride that I had, ironically against those who I perceived of being prideful themselves, and once again live in Danville.

Just a week or so ago, a Danville dad sent me an email and said "Hey, I've found a Bible Study that meets on Thursday nites, would you go with me?" This is the same guy who I have recently had conversations with about getting back to a "walk" with God; a guy who once attended a Bible believing church but hasn't for well over 10 years; a guy who at this point is realizing his family needs God. Yesterday, I was able to invite a neighbor girl to AWANA, her mom has a fringe Greek Orthodox background but has had very little religious upbringing of her child. Within the past few months, Kim has developed a friendship with a Russian immigrant, someone we hope to share Christ with. And Cosmic Boy, Dash, and Dynagirl have all made friends in which we've been able to at least show witness to the work of God in our lives. Do you think God had a plan for my family?

So, whether your statement be honorable or detestable, be prepared to think about it carefully. And the next time I hear you say it, I just may ask you if like fries with that.

Are your annual dues late?

The entrance fee into the kingdom of heaven is nothing; however the annual subscription is everything.

Henry Drummond

Jonathan Edwards quote, part 1

"I claim no right to myself, no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me. Neither do I have any right to this body or its members, no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own. I have been to God this morning and told Him I have given myself wholly to Him, I have given every power so that for the future I claim no right to myself in any respect. I have expressly promised Him, for by His grace I will not fail. I take Him as my whole portion and felicity, looking upon nothing else as any part of my happiness..."

It's still a wonderful life

Well, despite making it to the top 3 for the part of "Tommy Bailey" in a local production of "It's a Wonderful Life", Cosmic Boy didn't land the role. Well, we of course thought he was well suited for the part, but since we originally had him audition for role "just for the experience", we have to look at the positive and be thankful he made as far as he did! He's got the auditioning experience under his belt and there are some lessons learned. Good job Cosmic Boy, mom and dad are very proud of you!

Yeah, dogs are definitely smarter than cats...

This is why some of you don't have cats...

...but com'on...really...haven't you had one of those days?

Walllllll-eeeeeee....

Take it down, put it up. Hard to tell from the picture, but had to build a new wall about 12 inches closer to the exterior wall to make room for the new bathtub. I'm tired...if it were only done I'd take a lilac bubble bath...well, maybe not. But I'm sure Wonder Woman would.

Lucky us

It just so happened that "Camping World" was doing a cover story on RV'ing, so, even though we didn't have a camera, they snapped a pic and emailed it to us. You all can check your next issue when it arrives to see if we make the editor's cut. Our RV was just behind the photographer, you can see the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus river behind us, where we caught the huge fish.

Forgot the camera...

Well, not really...we had the camera for our recent camping/fishing trip...just not a memory card (oops). So, I had to go the archives and pull out some fish pictures from some past camping trips. I shouldn't have to even say it, but the fish I caught this time were HUGE...you can see the picture here of some of my past fishing experience..I am used to catching BIG fish.

Well, the whole hall of justice got some on this trip, but Wonder Woman got the biggest. You'll just have to take my word on it. They were big. Wonder Woman says she doesn't want any more rainbow trout for quite some time.