Must write. Uh-oh, my pen is running out of ink. Naturally, instead of writing on the computer I begin searching Google for cheap refills for my favorite pen: Pilot G2 (retractable gel ink rolling ball) and find, sadly, that I might as well buy the pen which in bulk is not any more expensive than the refill. BUT, to get to this point I spend . . . ahem . . a LONG time totally engrossed in this site: http://www.moleskinerie.com/ where I learn, among other things, that “Moleskine is officially pronounced mol-a-skeen-a, although it can vary.”

From there I can’t but help look at their project in which five notebooks are sent out around the world to participants who each are allowed a one page spread in which to draw or write before mailing it on to the next person. (Reminds me of Flat Stanley for grown-ups.) This leads me to a search for the favorite pen of one author - the Expensive Waterman Expert 2 - which I find on sale for a mere $29.95 plus shipping. (No, I didn’t buy it. Yes, I thought about it for a nano-second. It takes refills from the G2, my favorite pen . . . see I knew I would get back to my pen somehow.) But alas that lead me to www.43Folders.com which led me to http://del.icio.us/  which led me to http://tinyurl.com/ov2p7.

The data visual posted there just blew me away! I did not like the way the content READ: “Death and Taxes, a Visual Look at Where Your Tax Dollars Go” but I was amazed at the impact such dry information had when presented in a visual format. Check it out!

How can we help our students, ourselves, to communicate more effectively? Visual Data is certainly one key. I would encourage you to learn more about this technique and allow for opportunities to use it. From a powerful Power Point presentation to a web site to a graph in a report, visuals have an irresistible pull that the written word sometimes lacks.

• Rats, haven’t ordered any pens yet.
• ADD or over 50 or just waaaay too interested in everything???
• Has it really been this long since I have blogged?

Love, Maggie

• Comments (11) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Notes from Florida

I'm sitting in our dear friends' home in Jax whilst recuperating from FPEA and preparing for leaving in the morning for a conference in Houston (SETHSA). Bob and I had a most marvelous time in Orlando, meeting lots of HSB friends. I got to know Kate, Kris, Kolbi and JenIg in REAL LIFE and realize they are:

A. Waaay smarter than I am and

B. Waaay cuter in person than in Avatar form!

 

They did, however, leave me with many burning questions:

1. How does that JenIg manage to MEET EVERYONE?
2. How does Kolbi speak coherently late at night after a very long, hard day filled with speaking to about 2.5 gazillion people?
3. Do their names all really start with "K" or is that a stage persona for them? The 3K's from HSB - very catchy!
4. How do JenIg and Kate manage to carry on in-depth conversations about Reformed Theology while simultaneously being as silly as two women sharing a hotel room could possibly be?
5. And lastly, how CUTE are Kris and her DH???!!!!!

Here's what I learned:

• God is amazinginly creative and His people in a small way reflect that creativity and I am ever-so-blessed to meet each and every one of His people, not matter how different, no matter how similar, they each have something to TEACH ME about HIM! Praise God!
• Do I remain open to being used by the Lord to each and every person I meet?

EVERYONE should try if at all feasible to go to a homeschool conference. And drag along their spouses if possible. You Will Be Blessed. So plan now for 2007!

 

• Comments (7) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

God has blessed me beyond all reason. My mother, almost 80, is alive, well, spry and probably headed to the Bahamas on her boat to go fishing! She is a dear lady and a good friend of mine. I am blessed to have had a close relationship with her all my life. . . even (especially) when I was an obnoxious teen and a lost and confused young adult.

My oldest son, JB, is finally home from Iraq. There is little likelihood of his return as he signed on with the Army National Guard when they committed to both shorten his guard duty by almost two years and guaranteed he would not deploy. He knows the Lord. I am blessed.

Tyler, 18, is in India right now presenting the gospel message through mime and music and drama and words (using interpreters). He was able to manage a two minute phone call today to wish my happy Mother's Day. He is running hard after the Lord and planning a life of full-time ministry. I am blessed.

My husband is a Godly man who has a great sense of humor and almost unlimited patience. (Trust me, he needs it around me!) Without him I would not be who I am today. He has allowed and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I am blessed.

My God and Saviour Jesus Christ died for me. He rose again from the dead and defeated death for all time. He took my sins to the cross and I am forgiven and saved. I am eternally blessed.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow . . . .

If you do not know the Lord this day and you know something is missing from your life, I hope that you can find someone to talk to who does know Him. Pick up a Bible and begin reading in the New Testament, perhaps in the book of John. Pick up the book "More than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. He that created you and the Universe, loves you! Be blessed.

• Comments (9) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Whooooot! I feel special!!

Friday, April 28th, Bright Ideas Press is the Featured Friday Spotlight at the uber-cool marketing hang-out: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/PRMama/

When you get there, just look to your right and click on "Featured Friday." If you have a home business and would like to take it to the next level, PRMama's blog (along with its great e-zine) will be worth your while to read.

So join me there - and let me know what you think of it.
Maggie

• Comments (5) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

JB's Home!

JB returned home this past Tuesday morning. He is now not only out of Iraq but out of the Army. (He does have a commitment with the National Guard, though.) We are so grateful to the Lord for JB and for his safe return home. We continue to pray for other sons and daughters still over there. Today I am going to shamelessly steal his xanga post - I thought it was an interesting perspective on his return home.

From JB:

"Today is my first day back inside my home in Delaware as a free man. I am no longer bound to the Army and there is no likelihood of my ever deploying again. It's a strange sensation, I feel like I am existing on multiple planes. I am hyper-aware. Everything seems familiar and yet brand new simultaneously. Images, colors and sounds flash across my field of perception. It's as if I have additional senses beyond those five with which I was born. I have another organ capable of detecting rays of possibilities, hopes, and future struggles- but my mind is only passingly familiar with how to interpret these impulses from this yet unnamed organ and can only process snippets of information. I feel like I could pass through the walls of my house unhindered. If I tried just a little harder I could cover a mile with a single step, jump up to such a height that I could take in the whole city before me in my field of view. If I were to breathe in just a little deeper I'd absorb the thoughts and psychic emanations from my sleeping neighbors and experience their dreams. The world unfolds before me like drop of red colored water released into the clear blue ocean, and its secrets are mine. Tomorrow this will all have passed, but the possibilities remain."

(Shameless Promotion Alert!) If you enjoyed this post - check out JB's book, From Basic to Baghdad - A Soldier Writes Home. Available from Bright Ideas Press.com and other fine home education supply companies.

• Comments (8) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Page 2 of 11
Last Page | Next Page