Scribblings from a twenty-year homeschool veteran about homeschooling, life after homeschooling, occasional peeks into the world of writing for children, and the ups and downs of life in general.
I've kept up with my Bible reading, although I had to make up some time AGAIN! Things are just hopping around here. I'm trying to get ready for the WHO convention June 19-20. I have a swell booth location. I'll do a Show and Tell on it when I get back.
I'm reading Chronicles, and let me tell you, those first 10 chapters or so are really, really boring. Names, names, and names . . . a roll call of every Israelite who ever lived, seems to me!
How are you all doing? I've kept up, amazingly enough! I and 2 Samuel are easy to read, if a little gruesome. I can't get over how many things are "R" rated in the Old Testament. How about when Joab is chasing some enemy of the king's, and the guy hides out in a city. Joab's going to kill everybody and burn the city until a woman pleads with him and asks what they can do to turn him aside. "Give up the guy who fled to your city," he replied. No problem. They chop off his head and the woman tosses it over the city wall! Talk about an "R" rating for "disturbing scenes." It's fresh on my mind because I decided to watch Slum Dog Millionaire. It was disturbing, but no more disturbing than watching the Taliban whip teenage girls on the Nightly News! The world is a disturbing place. The movie spurred me to pray for the millions of human beings living in places we wouldn't ever want to see.
The weekend just sort of sneaks up on me. I missed last week because I was in Redmond at the NW ministry conference---2 full days (Friday and Saturday), so I had all I could do to keep up with my reading! Forgive me! I just finished the last of Judges today (Friday). I confess I was appalled at how it ended--that debacle with the Levite and his concubine/wife, and the "worthless" men of the city of Gibeah going after the visitors. But what struck me the worst was the lack of "protection" the Levite displayed toward this woman he had gone after to bring home earlier in the story. When I think that this is not just a story, but that a real person--a young woman--was treated like that all night, while her "husband" (I use the term lightly) sat safe behind his walls. Well . . . it's a disgrace, that's what it is. And sure, he and all of Israel meted out judgment on the tribe of Benjamin for not turning over the guilty parties, but really! But as Judges so rightly ends, " . . . and everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Hmmm....are there any modern-day comparisons going on in the U.S.?
And I heard it from PM Gordan Brown's own lips on ABC last night, " . . . the New World Order . . " is basically coming to us all. Watch and wait, folks. I think it goes down hill from here.
Well, I fell behind in posting today, but not in reading. I actually enjoyed Deuteronomy, and now I'm well into Joshua. I love the action, intensity, and the faithfulness of Joshua. He's GOT to be old by now, yet he's leading all the charges and seems as vigorous as before. Bible reading has now become a firmly established habit (at least for now!). I hope you are all established as well. My poor blogs everywhere are neglected, so I'm glad I have this commitment to post at least on Saturdays! I'm up to my eyebrows in writing "work."
I'm posting early this week, as tomorrow is my granddaughter's birthday and my mind won't be on putting this up, I'm afraid. My folks are coming down, and it's my mother's birthday, also. What a week! I'm actually enjoying Deuteronomy, but my, that Moses is one long-winded preacher. He's still talking and reviewing all the laws and history of their trip out of Egypt up to where they are now . . . getting ready to enter the Promised Land. The review of the laws is light (so far, no review of the tabernacle set-up, but I still have a ways to go, so I suppose it could be rehashed), and the narration moves quickly. I think it's all "downhill" from here . . . until say . . some of the Prophets? LOL
Hope your reading went well this week.
Join in, and I"ll try to come by when I can!
I turned off my computer so I can't get the graphic tonight. I'm watching 2 grandkids all weekend while our son and DinL are at a couples retreat at the ocean (brrrr). At any rate. No graphic. No Mr. Linky unless I can go in and copy the one from last week. I"ll try it!
I"m all caught up, believe it or not. It's been a wild week. And the temptation to skip the "12 Days of Offerings" in Numbers is great. As in "On the second day of offerings, to the Lord I brought: 1 gold pan, 1 blemish-free heifer, etc., etc." I think it was in Numbers 11. And it's for 12 days. REALLY. I wonder if that's where they got the 12 Days of Christmas song.
I do enjoy reading Mark. I just got a sense of HOW MANY people were following Jesus around. So many people. So many needs. He must have been SO tired many days. After all He was 100% human as well as 100% God. I wonder if anybody else here has trouble with that paradox.
Just leave a note in my cbox and I"ll come around and visit you IF and WHEN I get a chance. This babysitting 24/7 is a bit tough when you're not used to it. My free time is out the window. I just thank God there was no blogging when I was homeschooling my little ones! LOL
I'm so happy that I remembered to post this BEFORE Saturday (for all you East Coast bloggers).
I finished Leviticus! I did find something eerie and interesting. The final chapter or two told what would happen if Israel disregarded God's laws. It went on to describe pretty much what DID happen when Israel was hauled off and dispersed. Sad. But then it always told what would happen when they repented.
I didn't know that little piece was tucked away in Leviticus.
I also started Mark. I think I like Mark. To a writer, it seems like the "Reader's Digest Condensed Version" of the story of Jesus. "Just the facts, ma'am." I like the way Mark tells it like it is with no frills. It's amazing to me how each Gospel account, even though each is about Jesus, is a bit different in style and voice. I thought that once I finished Matthew I'd think, "OK, here we go again." but it's not. It's a new look.
I tell you what! This Bible Challenge is a challenge! I can't believe I am just posting this now. I have been faithful to read each day, but the leper stuff in Leviticus was getting old really fast. However, I think we can take the principle of quarantine more serious then a lot of folks do now days. It's amazing to me how many people do not think of others (and I'm even talking other believers) and drag their kids to the church nursery with the "Oh, he was sick during the night, threw up and had a little fever, but he's fine this morning."
Good grief! No wonder my daughter avoids the church nursery like the plague. Sometimes I give her a hard time because of her over-cautiousness. A little balance on that side would be good too. But a lot of moms should seek some balance the other way and not keep running around with their little ones miserable, coughing and with runny noses.
OK, that's what I pondered while reading Leviticus this week!
Join us....better late than never. It's interesting to hop over and see everyone's insights.
Oh, wow! I'm posting on time today! But the real question is, did I beat Tina to the entry? LOL
I feel like I'm "caught up" with some things this week and can write a few words about my reading. I waded through the last dozen chapters or so of Exodus. I was struck by the precise detail God set up for the tabernacle, the furniture, the Ark, and for the priests robes . . . even down to the little bells and things around the hem. It did get a bit repetitious to read what the people were supposed to do and then a few chapters later read what they DID do. But I think it's important to see that the people did exactly as God instructed . . . uh . . . this time. Which is amazing to me, since only a few chapter before they blew Moses off and talked Aaron into making them a golden calf.
Lest we come down too hard on the Hebrews, let's remember how often we forget the miraculous things God has accomplished in our lives . . . our "Red Seas" so to speak. But so quickly it fades and we find ourselves in the desert without water, wondering if God really cares. I speak for myself here, and probably for a lot of you, too.
Well, it's on to Leviticus next week. Can't say I'm real excited about that book. It's my "...and a partridge in a pear tree..." book, because the run-down on the the sacrifices starts sounding like a "Twelve Days of Christmas" chant after awhile.
It has been a difficult week to keep up with my readings. I usually read the Word in the mornings, but that was impossible all week long . . . until this morning. With Kristel and Sean in Europe, the overnight duty with the 5 children fell to me. I was able to read my daily readings after the kids went to bed, but they were in their own beds and I was staying at Kristel's nights, so everything was sort of "off" for me. Monday night, Ellianna (age 3) was sleeping with me because she had a stomach ache. Yep. That is never good news. Around about 11pm she threw up--all over me, Kristel's bed, etc. But praise God no one else caught the bug. During the day Sean's mom watched the girls so I could cross the street to my house to school the boys. Needless to say, I don't have any shining insights into my Scripture readings this week. I'm ashamed to say I can't really remember what I read. Oh, yes. The Ten Commandments were in there somewhere.
But I have to tell you that only this committment with you kept me in the Word at all, so I thank God for that. I am caught up and ready to move on to this new, fresh week. K and S are back safely and eveyrbody's happy.
I'm looking forward to reading some of your insights today!
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