If you'd like to put the "Christ" back in Christmas this year, try my advent-like calendar.  There are daily activities to help your family focus on the real meaning of Christmas.  Go to http://www.christian-parenting-source.com/freehomeschoolaides.html and print out the FREE calendar.  But, don't delay.  Activities begin December 1st!

One of the hardest lessons I have learned is to train my children to be organized.  Probably that is because it doesn't come easily for me either.  But, I developed this weekly planner page for the children to use.  It helps them stay on top off their work and even plan for the busy days better.  This may seem silly and a waste of time.  The use of this tool has actually helped my children to develop the habit of organization which has helped in other areas of their life as well.  It's available at

http://www.christian-parenting-source.com/freehomeschoolaides.html   Enjoy!

Blessings,

Linda

Got girls at your house?  You're going to want to check out this book review on my web site at http://www.christian-parenting-source.com/high-school-musical.html 

Enjoy!

Does anybody know anything about the 3Moms.com affiliate?  I have been promoting them on my website.  I have made some money over the last year?  However, I've never received a check from them.  And, I've used every conceivable e-mail address on their site to inquire about the status of payment and they have never responded.  Needless-to-say, I'm getting frustrated.  Anybody else have experience with this homeschool affiliate?

Thanks for any help you can give,

Linda

If you haven't already done so. . .Check out my review of James Scott Bell's Presumed Guilty.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

I've added a great Easter activity to my website. Check out the Resurrection Egg Easter Scavenger Hunt available in my Article Library.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Just wanted to let you all know I've got a new book review posted. Check out Connecting With Your Child by Timothy Smith when you get a minute.

Until we meet in the teacher's lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

Sorry it has taken me so long to post.  My life has just been amazingly busy lately.  However, I did want to let you know that my son, Scott, did make it to the State high school diving finals.  It was an incredible answer to prayer because he is a freshman and there were a lot of great divers there. 

Only the top 6 of 24 divers advance to the State Meet.  Scott edged out the 7th place diver by 2/10ths of a point.  Talk about close.  I absolutely believe, and so does Scott, that it was the power of God's people praying that made the difference in his diving that day.  In fact, in an area news report they quoted Scott saying, "My entire family, church, and school were praying for me today.  That gave me the confidence I needed to dive my best."

This experience was a test of faith and trust for me as well.  As I was watching and praying in the stands, I knew the outcome was close.  I had prayed that God knew what was best for my son and that I totally gave the situation over to Him to handle.  I pledged that no matter what happened I'd trust that God knew what was best for Scott and accept that. 

When it looked like Scott wasn't going to make the top 6, I started to question and doubt.  And, then I'd repent and keep praying, "I really do trust you, Lord."  It showed me just how weak my faith can be sometimes.  This made me reexamine my connection to God.  I asked myself, "Would my faith be strong enough if a bigger trial came along?"  I know it would, but this experience showed me I must work at being a stronger Christian every single day (through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship) to grow stronger in Him.

Thank you to all of you who read this post and said a prayer for Scott!

Dear Lord,

I come before you today with a repentant and thankful heart.  You are the giver of life, the maker of all, and our caretaker and sustainer.  Thank you for keeping your eye on the sparrow and on each of us every day.  Scott could really use your confidence and courage today, Lord.  He is diving in the high school district diving meet and the top 6 will go to the state meet.  Scott needs to dive his very best today, Lord.  I believe the only way he will be able to advance to the state level is with your help.  He's nervous about this Lord.  Give him a sense of peace that you are standing with him.  Give him the confidence that he can perform these dives as perfectly as he has at times in the past.  Sustain him throughout the meet, Lord. 

Scott loves you so much Lord.  He believes in You and his faith is so strong.  He wants to let your light shine through any accomplishment he might achieve.  He doesn't seek diving goals for his sake but for Yours, Lord.  He and I both humbly ask for your help. 

Only you know the future, Lord.  You have a perfect plan for my son's life.  Direct him on that path now, Lord.  He will serve you well.  Even if Scott does not do well today, he and I both know, you are beside us guiding toward that perfect plan.  Even in defeat there can be glory -- for You Lord.

We praise you for the life you've given us, for the country you've given us, for the home you've given us, for the family you've given us, for the beautiful day you've given us. . .for everything.  Holy is your name, O Lord.

In His Precious Name I Pray,  Amen.

I would so appreciate all who read this prayer if you would pray with me for Scott today (especially during the hours of 4 pm est -10 pm est).  Thanks so much!

I just have to share some wonderful news. My web site has been chosen to be included in Site Build It's (SBI) results page. SBI is the company that I use to host, build, and market my web site. This is an incredible honor. The results page includes a group of SBI sites that have demonstrated tremendous success on a number of levels. They must have good traffic (be in the top 1% of all web sites on the net). They must provide great content -- These aren't fluff sites or link farms. And, they must have a professional look and feel.

If you're interested in learning more about SBI and how I use it in my work-at-home business, check out these pages on my web site:

Financing Your Home School

Bizy U Home School

And, don't forget to look for me on the results page (I'm in the self-help category)!

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Randy Alcorn is a popular Christian writer who has written fourteen nonfiction books and six novels. He is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). He posted these articles (see links below) on his web site recently about the End of the Spear controversy. He answers the question of who knew what when for those who have heard the many rumors flying around the internet and e-mail groups about the movie "The End of the Spear." Gossip in any form (whether spoken between friends) or circulated via the blogosphere is incredibly painful. Be sure to read these articles in their entirety to find out the truth.

Randy Alcorn's comments on the controversy

The producers of "The End of the Spear" answer questions about the controversy

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.christian-parenting-source.com

Monday Meme 36 : 2006-01-23 : List Three 2

1. List 3 things you see when you look to your left:

Filing Cabinets
Piles of Books waiting to be reviewed
pictures waiting to be scrapbooked

2. List 3 things you see when you look to your right:

Calendar
Pictures my children have drawn for me over the years
Mark Twain paper weight from Hannibal, Missouri which quotes Twain, "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."

3. List the last 3 places you ate out at:

Subway
Taco Bell
Frisch's

4. List the last 3 things you bought:

Printer cartridges for computer printer
Computer paper
Milk

5. List the last 3 songs you listened to:

"Cornerstone" by Day of Fire
"Forsaken" by Skillet
"Lifesong" by Casting Crowns

I was the 78th person to take this week's Monday Meme!

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

I'm enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. Relaxing and reading. Kids are all doing homework. Roaring fire is ablaze, cup of tea by my side. It made me think of this old meme. Anybody feel like playing. Here are the rules:

1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open the book to page 23.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

Here's the sentence from the book at the top of the nearest stack:

She arranged glass, bowl, and book on the window sill and climbed out on the fire-escape. (fifth sentence if you count the first partial sentence on the page) Once out there, she was living in a tree. (fifth if you don't count the partial sentence)

-------A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

The theme for the this week is HIGH--(Skyscraper, Stilts, Bridge, Tower, Chimney, Aircraft, Tall Person, Mountains, Loud, High-Pitched, High-Priced, Exuberant, Euphoric,...)

Our cat loves to climb trees -- the higher, the better.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

 www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Bride and Prejudice is modeled on Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice but set in modern-day India. It is a musical, something my mother enjoyed more than I did, and full of lighthearted humor. The movie begins at a wedding in India where William Darcy, an wealthy American businessman, meets Lalita, the daughter of semi-wealthy Indian parents, and becomes infatuated with her. At their first encounter, Darcy shares some of his prejudices about India and Lalita in turn develops several prejudices about Darcy and Americans as elitist Imperialists. Throughout the film, Lalita and Darcy realize their prejudices are misguided and fall in love.

Bride and Prejudice had several worthwhile parts such as the extensive view of Indian culture and the comic character Kholi Sahib. The film also explored the prejudices of all the characters against people of different nationality and class. Altogether Bride and Prejudice is a pretty good movie and made me interested in reading Pride and Prejudice.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

I was contacted recently by a young lady who is doing her Masters Thesis on home schooling. She needs help with a short survey she's conducting. Here's what she needs:

"I am looking for students who have graduated after spending all or some of their time in high school in a home based learning program. Do you know any that have graduated that would be willing to fill out a short survey (anonymously) about their experiences?"

If you qualify and are interested in helping out with this survey, please contact Janis Soule at JANID731 at aol dot com.

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

P.S. FYI--I really miss doing the . My scanner quit on me. Got a new one for Christmas. I'm getting it set up today and will definitely have a picture posted next Thursday.

I've been so busy enjoying the holidays with my family and catching up on a few things I hadn't even noticed I'd been tagged by Sprittibee. Thanks for the heads up Sprittibee. Here goes:

Seven things to do before I die:

1. Have a completely decorated color-coordinated house (like the ones you see on the decorationg channel).

2. Write a book (or two or more)

3. Get all our family pictures organized and into books.

4. See my children happily married to Christian spouses.

5. Hold my grandchildren.

6. Maintain an ideal weight by healthy eating and regular exercise.

7. Talk to God as much as I talk to others.

Seven more things I cannot do:

1. Swim. I made sure my children all became good swimmers because I feel I missed out on so much by not being able to swim. Ofcourse, they tell me it’s not to late to learn. They’re wrong. It is too late.

2. Sew, knit,or crochet. Wish I could do all three.

3. Change the oil in my car, although my husband says it’s real easy.

4. Give up junk food. I’m totally addicted which also might be why I can’t lose weight.

5. Speak a foreign language.

6. Keep my house clean for more than a day.

7. Play a musical instrument

Seven things that attract me to home education:

1. Being able to say the pledge of allegiance with the word “God” in it. In fact, being able to say the word “God” whenever we feel like it.

2. Being able to teach Intelligent Design in Science class.

3. Not having obscene amounts of home work every night and still having the kiddos do extremely well on the SAT/Iowa Basic Tests.

4. Reading great literature with my kids.

5. Having an excuse to go on vacation a lot (they’re really just field trips).

6. Learning your child’s areas of giftedness so you can help them choose a future career that suits their talents best.

7. Having a blast with your kids, spending quality time together, and staying close.

Seven things I say most often:

1. May I have some curly fries with that shake?

2. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. . I love ya.

3. Who did that?

4. It’s a hard-knock life (Should have put Annie on my movie list huh?!)

5. Life’s not fair.

6. I’ll be there in just a minute.

7. It’ll either get done or it won’t (my husband taught me this one which comes in quite handy).

Seven books (or series) that I love:

1. The Bible—that’s a no-brainer.

2. Any decorating book – I love them all.

3. Any cook book – I don’t get a chance to cook much, but I enjoy pretending.

4. Sue Grafton’s A is for Alibi thru R is for Richochet. I’ve read every single one.

5. Ted Dekker books—especially A Man Called Blessed and Blessed Child.

6. Francine Rivers—especially the Mark of the Lion Series.

7. James Scott Bell’s Final Witness.

Ten movies I watch over and over again (or would if I had time):

1. 24 (Okay, it’s a TV series, not a movie. But, our family is totally addicted to it. We have all the seasons on DVD, have watched all episodes numerous times, and are eagerly awaiting season 5).

2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

3. Rear Window

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

5. Mrs. Doubtfire

6. Casablanca/The Maltease Falcon (or just about any Bogey movie)

7. Napolean Dynamite

8. A Christmas Story

9. Gone With the Wind

10. The Sound of Music

Five People I want to join in too:

My Smoky Mountain Home School

Dandelion Seeds

Angel Star

Bioluminescence

Pollywog Creek Porch

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com

Grace for the Race: Meditations for Busy Moms

Don't want the google bots to penalize me for having duplicate material so this review has a permanent home on my site now. Read all the juicy details of my tantalizing book review by clicking here!

My mom was born on this day in 1918. I want to wish her the very happiest of birthdays. We are in the middle of a big snowstorm here so I wasn't able to get to her house to deliver her gifts. We talked by phone though. Here is a picture of mom and her sister when mom was 5 and sis was 3. They look very somber don't they? Somber is the exact opposite of my mom's personality. Mom has an extremely upbeat personality. She can find the good in any situation or person. We used to tease Mom by telling her, "You could find something good in the devil."

Have a wonderful birthday, Mom! If I can be half the parent you were, I will be a success. Thanks for being a Godly role model and wonderful woman I'm proud to call my friend as well as my mother. Happy 87th Birthday!

Until we meet in the teachers' lounge again,

Linda W. Kelley

www.Christian-Parenting-Source.com