Today begins the 40 Days For Life. Pray, fast, or participate in a community activity to bring an end to abortion. We pray for women that are suffering, and for the 45,000,000 + children and still counting...
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I once heard William Bennett tell about the hiring of a conservative theology professor. One of the comments by a liberal on the review committee was something like, "We can't hire this guy, he actually believes this stuff!"
The University of San Diego decided to rescind the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology being held by radical feminist Rosemary Radford Ruether. She promotes the Big Three: women's ordination, gay marriage, and abortion--all against the teachings of Jesus Christ and thus also the Catholic Church.
Liberal activists immediately initiated a petition to have her reinstated and collected 4,000 signatures.
Ora et Labora is trying to top that number by September 3rd with a petition in support of USD's decision. You can join me in signing it here.
"Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is." --Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.
She is abusing St. Augustine's late 4th century writings about when a fetus receives a soul.
First, St. Augustine urged that we follow the science regarding this issue. We've learned a few things about embryology in the last 1600 years.
Second, SINCE THE FIRST CENTURY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS CONDEMNED ABORTION including St. Augustine. This is long-standing Catholic Sacred Tradition.
Hours after Speaker Pelosi's comments, Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput posed a question in his homily:
"If you're Catholic and you disagree with your Church, what do you do?"
His response?
"You change your mind."
Amen!
Also according to Pelosi catholicism, she wants to reduce the number of abortions. The Roman Catholic Church wants to eliminate all abortions.
I find it hard to believe that an ardent practicing Catholic misunderstood those positions. I pray for Speaker Pelosi that she may better understand her faith.
While looking for used Vision books at abebooks, I noticed one bookseller that had a lot of them, Cox & Cox. As it turns out, they are located here in MA. This being our tax-free weekend, I made an appointment and took a ride out to see the collection to save myself shipping charges since I wanted to buy a good many of them.
Roger Cox has a wonderful collection of Catholic and secular books that he has bought from closing Catholic schools. Most of the time these books would have ended up in the trash if not for him offering to buy them.
Not only does he have a lot of books for sale, he of course has read many of them. He is better than most Children's Librarians I have spoken to in what he knows.
He explained something interesting to me: Publishing companies generally kept books in print even when the demand was low; that was until the tax laws changed in 1970. Today publishers must pay taxes on their inventory, so if a book does not sell well, publishers take them out of print rather than pay taxes on the stock. This is why all these really great books from the 1950s and 1960s are no longer available.
Day two of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
We went to the Amherst book sale yesterday, and it was even worse than last year. The books were individually priced, most $1 or more even for kids' mass market paperbacks. The free room didn't have much, and the vast majority of it was text books. I did find a few gems, like some vintage Millicent Selsam science books and the Orange Fairy Book. It just isn't worth the ride out there any more.
On a much brighter note, we went to a First Communion celebration for another homeschooler friend. Ds#1 was as excited as his friend was.
Ds#2 had a 1st grade CCD graduation ceremony at our church, too. He wanted to wear his vest and tie that he wore for Easter--he looked so handsome!
May 30th on the feast of the Sacred heart of Jesus is the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. What a wonderful and powerful way to strengthen our Good Shepherds beyond what we do in our daily prayers!
A friend of mine showed me how artists set up blogs, websites, Paypal and eBay to sell their artwork. My mom has been painting long before I was born, but she does not have the techno-savvy to do any of these things. My aunt and I decided to help her out, and I have the blog end of things (are you surprised?)
Her blog is pieraansel.blogspot.com and I even made a widget to put on this blog! I think her artwork is stunning, of course. She's giving art lessons to ds#1 since I inherited none of her talent, LOL. Take a look, even leave a note if you like what you see. Thanks!
So true, and I try to remember this as often as possible. It goes along with, "Let go, let God." My cards got to people in time; even the package sent across the country made it there on Christmas Eve. My brother's visit, which started out stressful weeks ago, turned out to be wonderful all around (I hope it was for them, too!) I had my shopping done by Friday, wrapping by Sunday, cooking by Monday afternoon. We left for my MIL's at 5:30 without any worries and had a wonderful time. Thank you, God (and the US postal service, LOL!)
The most illustrative example was when I went shopping Thursday night. I hurried out without doing our Advent activities (Jesse Tree and O Antiphons House.) The weather turned sour, I found very little shopping, and I ran out of steam by 10 pm. On Friday, despite my husband urging me to get out the door because time was ticking away, I took the time to do our Advent activities. That night I finished all the rest of my shopping, and was thrilled with my finds.
BTW, here is the picture of our O Antiphons house. This was my second creation, since the first, made out of construction paper instead of card stock, was a glue nightmare. I used spray adhesive for this one. The glue still soaked through, the edges did not seal tightly, and it curled a little, but overall, it was nice. I used photo corners to hold each door closed until its day to be opened:
I have been working per diem since ds#2 was born over 6 years ago. It was a hard decision made in part because I was being driven out by my co-workers. Since then I have come to a better understanding and true love of my faith, I have started homeschooling, and I have ds#3. Every time I work I am struck in some way, sometime subtle, sometimes glaring, as to how my perspective has drastically changed.
The first change to make itself known was my outlook regarding my job. Gone were the resentments of patients taking up space in an already overloaded ED. The work was still demanding and difficult, but I no longer resented coworkers, consults, and even patients as I did before. Medicine today, because of the demands to see as many patients one can in as little time as possible, turns otherwise congenial people into grumpy, complaining, resentful, work-shirking monsters. I could so easily see who I was before, and praise God I am no longer. The people I work with are fabulous and talented and I would trust my life in any of their hands, so it sad to see them turned into this by our medical system.
Once a co-worker was explaining that we shouldn't feed the drunks that come in. "They're like raccoons--if you feed them they'll just keep coming back!" This is not an uncommon sentiment. Part of what drives this is working where it is commonplace to have patients stacked in the hallways and waiting rooms because of hospital-wide issues, not emergency department issues, along with admitting residents, consulting physicians, and primary care doctors try hard NOT to take patients. This has become an acceptable standard across the country. Addicted patients usually "are not sick" (or, more accurately, they have chronic problems that cannot be treated by the emergency department.) Sometimes they are belligerent and impatient, though not usually--they're just "frequent fliers." I like to think that in other circumstances, the people I work with would give a homeless, marginalized, addicted person a meal--if it were not for a health care system that empties its workers of compassion. And I think our emergency department, despite its shortcomings, actually treats this population better than others. "He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 45, 46.
Last night, the doctor I worked with looked from the desk towards his patient in one of the nearby rooms. "Can I just tell you, that if you see me like that...like 80 or something, with tubes coming from everywhere...please, put a pillow over my face. Disconnect the vent tube. I DO NOT want to live like that." I've heard similar sentiments again and again--this is the standard of our society that at its extreme has led to physician-assisted suicide. This is one view even I had before Pope John Paul II. Are our lives only worth living when they are lived in a manner that we base humans have determined? Must we live without suffering or infirmary if we are to live at all? Could we live knowing we are going to die a prolonged, suffering, humiliating death--as Jesus did? Can we not endure but a shadow of His suffering?
When I was pregnant with ds#3, I cannot even count how many people asked me, "Did you plan that one?" It's an intrusive question on its face, and the presumption behind it is self-evident. I would reply, "Well, I had to convince my husband, but we're thrilled!" Two women physicians that no longer work with us, after ds#3 stated, "So, you're done now." I replied, "I had to work on my husband a bit to have number three, so maybe I'll start working on number 4 now." I thought they were going to fall off their chairs. Is this not the popular way of our society?
I still have many, many shortcomings; may you not think I have the patience and compassion of a saint, only that God has shown me a better way. "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 Atheists would see that as close-minded, yet it has transformed my mind to see things radically different than I ever could before.
I just decided to make Romans 12:2 the mission statement of our homeschooling, since it has become such a powerful theme in my life. Words to live and learn by.
Here's the link to the Blogger Reflection Award on CM Living Science so you can see the five blogs I awarded it to. It has been fascinating to see the blogs to which they in turn paid it forward.
Are you the kind of person that never feels as if you've done enough, or are you content knowing you've done something? I am the former, and God has blessed me with friends that are the latter to keep me in perspective.
Here we've finished week 3 and we still have not started our first poem, nor have we done any picture studies or nature walks. Two of these activities I've scheduled for the afternoon, yet is seems by the time lunch is over I've gotten into some personal project that keeps me from going back to scheduled homeschool activities. I have to say, the weather has been spectacular for many, many weeks now such that the kids are outside after lunch and not interested in going back to a structured activity, either. Not that I'm complaining, or asking for a week of rain, or anything like that!
And what about all that other wonderful stuff I want to do? I just got Family Math from the college library where I teach. One perk of being faculty is I get to take out books owned by the college for a really long time; Family Math is due in May 2008. I've only just started looking at the book and there's so many wonderful ideas I'd like to do. I think I'll be lucky if I get a couple done by the time I have to return the book. At least I started reading it!
And that only reminds me that I need to schedule time in for ds#3, my 4 yo, who is always asking if it's his turn for me to do school with him. Some of the Family Math activities would be great! Not to mention preliminary reading and writing skills...
So much to do, so little time. I guess that's a drawback of CM Homeschooling, if you can call it that. So much better than textbooks...
I know this was in my last post, but I want it to have a post all its own. Right now, as I am so frustrated with work, with being in school, even with my homeschooling group, I am humbled to be reminded of the quiet, ordinary work of homeschooling my children Charlotte Mason style.
I began my doctoral studies in Educational Leadership in Higher Education 2 months before ds#3 was born, so a little over 4 years ago. I have not done a single thing for the program for almost 2 years--the amount of time ds#1 has been "officially" homeschooling, which of course is not a coincidence.
I received a letter 2 weeks ago telling me to call or be dropped. Shortly after a good friend sent me a link to this beautiful UTUBE video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_F2_ucYKw
After a good cry, I felt as if I should give up graduate school. I am not going to go out and work in the field when I graduate. Our family needs to spend a lot of money for me to continue. My children come first. Besides, my proposed dissertation went down the tubes when NREMT didn't send me my last round of study data, and I spent more time chasing people than doing research.
I did, at the 11th hour, call my advisor. She was glad to hear from me and encouraged me to stay in because of the good work I've done, and suggested some other dissertation topics. All I have to do is write 2 papers and take my qualifying exam and then I am done with my course work. It seems like waste to end it now.
So I am still official a distance education doctoral student at the University of Nebraska in Educational Leadership and Higher Education. I dread the strain it will put on our family again. I doubt I will be able to teach co-op classes this fall. And the money, lots of it...
The great news is that I have a lot of support from my husband and, where I teach, from the dean and my program director (a well-seasoned homeschooler!) We'll see what the posts look like a month from now when I'm really stressed.
It seems the book dealers are ruining a good thing for us around here. We went to the Amherst book sale yesterday with great anticipation since last year it had so many children's books for $.50 paperback and $1 hardcover. This year, they had half as many children's books all hand priced; $.50 books were few and far between. They also set up entire empty tables just for dealers to place their items. I fear a continued trend of libraries catering to book dealers causing prices to rise significantly. I guess I'll just have to be choosier about what I buy, though many books I picked up because it was "only $.50" have turned out to be real gems.
Having said that, the day was not completely a wash out. We found Tree in the Trail and Pagoo for $1 each, and a worn copy of David McAuley's Cathedral for $.50 that I patched up at home. I also got a Janice Van Cleave and a beautiful illustrated Heidi for $1 each. And the Amherst sale does have another location with many free books--ones they did not want to sell at the tent, for whatever reason. Many of them were simply old, which was a bonus for us HSers. I got 12 book set of C. S. Forester all in wonderful condition! Others were falling apart, yet I still took home the leather bound, already-patched, loose-paged early copy of Henty's The Lion of St. Mark to repair. So overall I have to say it was worth it; I'll go again next year with lesser expectations.
Birthdays for me are pretty low key, in general. With my kids being young and my husband being the kind of guy he is, nothing "big" really gets planned for me. My dh gets me a gift, a cake, and take-out, which is really great and I am quite happy.
My friends, however, actually planned a surprise party for me. One calls me on the day we usually go to her house for art class and, sounding a bit desperate, asks me to come to her house an hour early so we can talk. At first I declined because of some difficulties I've had with my oldest ds focusing on his work. But knowing she's had some rough spots as of late I decided it was best we go.
My kids and I walk in the door to streamers and balloons, and my middle ds asks, "Who's birthday is it?"
I weakly reply, "I think it's mine," as we enter the house. My friend and her kids all shout, "Surprise!" and sing Happy Birthday. It was wonderful! The other 4 ladies showed up after I did, since I am not usually the promptest of people (what an understatement that is...) And they all pitched in to get me the new release of William Bennett's America: The Last Great Hope, Volume II that was released just yesterday! While the book is great, I am much more touched by the fuss everyone made over me. Usually my mom is the only one that does that--as she wonderfully did again this year.
I was at work last week when the physicians' group number cruncher, a former paramedic, offered me my perfect job, one I had envisioned before having children. My job would be as a liaison to area ambulance services to coordinate continuing education classes taught by the physicians of our group. I would arrange the classes, get instructors, coordinate the schedules, and step in should someone not be able to make it. He initially was looking for a paramedic to do the job; unfortunately politics is making it hard to do that--big city departments don't want someone from the privates, and vice versa, and fire departments want fire fighters, etc. I have no affiliation, and with my "credentials" of teaching EMS that would please the EMS side, and working as a PA that would please the physician side, I would love to have such a job!!! It is, of course, full time with travel. I didn't even consider it.
When something like that happens, a Christian cannot help but turn her mind to God and wonder what He is telling me. You see, when I turned it down, I had no sense of, "What should I do? This opportunity will never come again. How can I make this work?" Instead, I had a great inner peace. What should I think? See how far I've come from just 5 years ago? See how nothing, not even your perfect job, compares to the job of homeschooling your children? See how I've matured spiritually, if only a little, to trust in Him instinctively? Strange but good is about all I can say.
Still trying to get up to speed with blogging! I'm getting there...
It is the day after the midterm election, and I'm not happy. Deval Patrick is Governor. Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House. The Senate is split, and may go to the Democrats depending on what happens in Virginia. Bad news--I fear for my civil liberties as a homeschooler and a Catholic. Good news--the most conservative of democrats are the ones that won. As they say, Democrats can only get elected when they act like Republicans (unless you're from San Francisco or Massachusetts.) I would feel much less threatened if the Democratic Party was run by the moderates!
I was disgusted at hearing Pelosi and liberal C-SPAN callers being so "congenial" and listening to a liberal NBC news reporter asking Pelosi something like, "The nation knows you as someone with "San Francisco" values. [Poor Saint Francis!!!] Can you tell the nation what you're really like?" UGH!!! Too bad too many people did not know her last 6 years of vitriol--and now they'll all going to be nice. So was the past a lie, or their future?
I've taken to the habit of writing what needs to be finished up on the white board in the playroom. I'll put words Sam's having trouble spelling, assignments that did not get fully completed, projects pending. It has really helped, but I noticed it was getting a bit long today. One issue was finishing Romeo & Juliet. The Lamb book has got to go--much better for a middle-school child to read as a transition into Shakespeare himself. I'll look at Nesbit; if that doesn't work I'll check the library for alternatives.
I have not spent as much time with Zack and Aaron as I would like to, mostly because of slow starts in the morning. I am trying to get my children in the good habit of spending quality (and quantity!) time with God each morning. We kneel to say our prayers, we read the Bible, we read about a saint, we sing a hymn. Zack and Aaron spend so much time goofing off, and I have to spend so much time disciplining and waiting for them, that it's well after 9 by the time I get upstairs (I eat and clean up after them, and maybe start some laundry.) By then I am correcting Sam's work and helping him such that I cannot concentrate on getting the other two started on something.
We are actually spending the entire day at home, and given the rain, it's a good day to stay home. It has been awhile, so I am glad for it. I wish we had more.
I was thinking about my kids friends, and how they would list all the siblings of several families as their friends. Then I thought about how we run into people from the town we grew up in, and say things like, "Oh, you would have known my brother/sister in your class." You would not have a clue in most cases about the siblings of your classmates. Even if you had friends you visited at their homes, you rarely would have played with their siblings! That seems very odd to me now, an artifact of institutional schooling. And people worry about a homeschooler's socialization?
When I tell people I homeschool, and they ask me if I'm worried about their socialization, I look at them with a very serious expression and say in earnest, "Oh, yes, very much so. That's one of the reasons I decided to homeschool--you know what it's like at school these days!" They usually nod slowly in agreement as they think about that...
O.K. so I have not posted a blog entry since, well, just about a season ago. Another false start on the blogging, but here I go again.
I write this at a very distressing time for Catholics. First, I hear about Rosie O'Donnell's anti-Christian hate speech on The View. She's another moral-relativist, humanist trying to eliminate religion from the world--the type that Pope Benedict XVI was making his point about in his speech that caused radical Muslims to go on yet another violent rampage. How can that be? For those of you frustrated at how the news only reports the juicy, anti-Christian snippets out of context, here is a link to the Pope's full speech:
I continue to follow the news, wondering how this violence is going to end. Will the Pope go to Turkey as planned? Catholics in many parts of the world are living in fear of radical as I write; I pray for them, and for those putting them in fear. I pray for peace to come quickly.
Muse...1: to become absorbed in thought; especially: to turn something over in the mind meditatively and often inconclusively
2. archaic: WONDER, MARVEL. Transitive senses: to think or say reflectively.
Our Patron SaintSt. Isidore of Seville
Doctor of the Church
Patron Saint of
Computers and the Internet
Schoolchildren and Students
Feastday: April 4th
"Heresy is from the Greek word meaning 'choice'.... But we are not permitted to believe whatever we choose, nor to choose whatever someone else has believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities, who did not...choose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the teachings of Christ. So, even if an angel from heaven should preach otherwise, he shall be called anathema."
St. Isidore pray for us!
While looking for used Vision books at abebooks, I noticed one bookseller that had a lot of them, Cox & Cox. As it turns out, they are located here in MA. This being our tax-free weekend, I made an appointment and took a ride out to see the collection to save myself shipping charges since I wanted to buy a good many of them.
Day two of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts 
The other 4 ladies showed up after I did, since I am not usually the promptest of people (what an understatement that is...) And they all pitched in to get me the new release of William Bennett's America: The Last Great Hope, Volume II that was released just yesterday! While the book is great, I am much more touched by the fuss everyone made over me. Usually my mom is the only one that does that--as she wonderfully did again this year.
