I have a small business that is closing down. I don't recall ever making a profit on it and I've been trying to make it work since 2005. It's time to call it a day, but my big problem is that I still have over 1,000 sets to sell. I'll be shutting the "doors" on December 31st.

What I need (from anyone who's willing) is to let your readers know that I have an exceptional inventory sale starting today. Customers can get an additional 10% off their order with each extra set—valid up to 60%--e.g. 10 sets at regular cost $89.50, sale cost $35.70. Feel free to take whatever you want from the website to copy it as info. www.eagermind.com

An even bigger request is that you pray. God is good all the time, and I know he can restore all the money we've put into this. If he would get someone to buy my domain name for a few thousand we'd get out of the remaining debt, or via any other creative way he comes up with. Because DH is getting laid off at the end of January, it would make things much easier on us to not have those monthly payments.

Having been so encouraged by a lady's knee getting healed at Walmart, I was ready for more signals to pray. About 3 weeks ago our family was checking out a new glassworks studio near our church (because a co-worker of DH owns it), and his wife was limping and had a knee brace on. I felt that "go ahead" thing so I started chatting with her and asked her about her leg.

She said that the cartilage was all messed up and that the doctor wanted to do surgery on it the next day. I asked her if my DD and I could pray for her as we had had some success when praying for knees, and she said, "Sure, why not." As we prayed something non-religious and quick, her DH was looking over at us as if we were completely off our rocker... 

I asked her to try it. She felt heat going through it (alway a great sign something is happening) and she bent her knee a few times, but said that she had no idea if it was healed as it only hurt badly at night after rest. We chatted some more about the glassworks, and then left.

Today, DH said, "You know that guy's wife you prayed for? I talked to him today. Her knee pain went away the day after you two prayed and she's been fine ever since!"

This just makes me more and more convinced that this is a type of "Kingdom living" that Christians are supposed to be ready for at any time. We have the Holy Spirit in us, so all we have to do is be willing to open the gates from time to time and let him out! The scary part is that it's not organized, it's just a part of daily life and you never know what God is going to ask you to pray for next, but on the plus side, that's what makes life with God such an adventure . :D

P.S. Seeing as DD and I seem to be in the "knee zone" right now, please feel free to ask for some over the phone prayer.  This is FUN!!!!

At church on Sunday, my DD and I were at the back, worshiping, and suddenly I 'knew' that it was time for her to get baptized. (She's 14, and we wanted her to wait until she would remember it.) I turned to her and said,

I will be homeschooling two of my neighbor's kids this year. Their dad is terribly disappointed with the level of eductaion his kids were getting in public school, and so I offered to teach them with my two. I think this will benefit my son, as he loves competition, and the other boy is in the same grade as he is.

I have chosen to do Tapestry of Grace with all of them, and in order to get into school a little quicker, I handed out some books to read in advance. I gave Oliver Twist to the 8th grader, and the lexicon value was too high for her to understand even one page. I found this site http://www.lexile.com and checked out the lexicon value - it is at a 10.6 grade level. I'm sad for her that she has been told that she is wonderful at English when this is so hard for her to read, but hopefully over the next few years she will find it easier to read big words.

Because of this problem, I have looked up the other books on the lit. list for the year, and have decided to leave the higher level books until the last few weeks. In the meantime, I will add in a vocab. workbook to try and help them get up to par with my two.

To do your own lexicon search, click on the link, and you will see a link to the database. While it is not inexhaustible, it did list most of the books on my list.

"They" say that messy people aren't disorganized at all ... they say that if you ask one of them, they will know exactly where that paper is, or that coupon*. The problem is, no one else does.

Messies are known to be frequently frazzled, especially when someone tries to be helpful and "clears up a little". If you ever want to remain friends DO NOT DO THAT!!!! You see, then she won't know where everything is any more.

Messy people are, believe it or not, control freaks. Everything has to be done their way, and they are always getting around to it. Suggestions on how to clear up are simply not welcome, as we have the heavenly (oops, did I say we?? ) vision of perfection in our heads, and the reason why we have not gotten around to making our desk that clean is that the time it will take to get to that state of perfection is never available.

Until then, we will remain blissfully happy in our pigpen.

*BTW, if you have any need for an expired coupon for Firestone, let me know; it's on the mid-left near the back under that book on freelance writing...

Like most of you, I have spent the last month or so reviewing curricula ad nauseam, poring over brochures that manage to litter every shelf in my house, and racing through myriads of internet pages comparing prices. I even went so far this year as to list all the items I wanted in Excel - to tally the cost as I ordered ( I love spending money).

Just when I thought I had found a suitable book for either kid, I found something else that looked better. I was playing on the never-ending merry-go-round that did not even start out in a happy state, and was not getting any merrier.

Once I spied the Tapestry of Grace threads on the A Home for Homeschoolers forums, I checked out the site. www.tapestryofgrace.com (BTW, the TOG site is a horrible thing to navigate your way through, sort of like walking through the Hampton Court maze without a map, but a redesign is in the works)

I borrowed a core 3 and unit 1 folder from a friend who owns a homeschool library to see if I could make any sense out of the program, and after spending at least 200,000,000 unbillable hours on the darn thing, I THINK I understand it all now….

I’ve printed off so many pages for the first few weeks of school that my printer will no longer print anything that requires black ink. The online manual says that the printer head is worn out – forget the printer, what about ME?????

To those of you sane mothers who love all things homeschool, I salute you. You would have given up on this long ago. The only reason I am still going with this is because I already know I am insane. My children have told me this many times, so I know it’s true. I think my husband tried to tell me once but I gave him “the look” before he got the words out. He did say the other day,

“And the reason you are going with this curriculum is because…” so I gave him “the look again”, and he went back to his computer.

If any of you were reading this in the hopes that you would learn something helpful about Tapestry of Grace, THINK AGAIN!!!, but maybe next week, when my hormones settle down, I will write something coherent and sweet.

Hasta le vista!

I got some great prices on art supplies at www.misterart.com -to go
with Artistic Pursuits - and they had everything I was looking for
there, whereas with the other 6 or so sites I went to they didn't
have certain items.

I found Apologia books and CDs at www.finders-keepers.net, the Chemistry was $55 and the CD was $12 and the
shipping was free.

I found Quarter Mile Math levels 2&3 bundle for $45 at
www.swexpress.com when it is normally $65 on all the other sites I
saw. Their shipping was super fast too.

I ordered the basic books I'd need for Tapestry Of Grace from
www.Amazon.com, and they have a deal right now where, if you sign up
to be a prime member (free) you get free 2 day shipping. You just
need to remember to cancel your membership within 3 months. It shows
up asking you if you want it when you review your shopping cart.

www.rocksolidinc.com have all of their Saxon stuff on sale right
now - huge price cut I believe - I wouldn't know.

I'm taking my citizenship test in August, and have been playing on this site for a while today. Only problem is ... in the actual test I don't get multiple choice, only oral questions to which I have to give oral answers ... bummer!

See how you do; you can make it as long or as short as you like. http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/exec/natz/natztest.asp

Dog Therapy
Copyright 2004 W. Bruce Cameron www.wbrucecameron.com

If you want to teach your children about accountability and hard
work, allow them to adopt a puppy. The feeding and care and training
of a dog takes enormous effort, and your children will gain a special
understanding of what is meant by the word "responsibility" as they
watch you do it.

When my older daughter told me she wanted a puppy, I explained to her
no she didn't. I told her how difficult it is to take care of dogs,
and she listened very carefully so she could be sure to ignore
everything I was saying. She responded that since she was an
independent adult, living in her own apartment, attending college and
working full time, she had a right to make her own decisions and she
had already adopted a dog and the only thing she needed from me was to
watch it when she was at work. Or class. Or on a date. Or had plans
for the weekend. And she needed me to pay to have the dog spayed.

The dog's name is Duchess, though sometimes my daughter calls her
"your majesty," as if the animal is the descendent of a long line of
British nobility known for peeing on carpets.

When my daughter suggested that the two of us take Duchess to a
specialist to try to figure out why the dog insisted on seeing my
house as a giant canine urinal, I assumed we'd be seeing a trainer,
but Doctor Stillsutter turned out to be something entirely
different--a dog psychologist.

"A what?" I sputtered. "That's crazy!"

"And who better to talk to when someone is crazy than a
psychologist?" she responded. Her answer had so many things wrong
with it I felt physical pain.

Stillsutter was a doughy man who sat in a dimly lit office. I
decided he kept it gloomy so we wouldn't notice that all the diplomas
framed on his wall had been printed on his home computer.

Stillsutter charged sixty dollars an hour, which mean it cost us
nearly twenty bucks for my daughter to explain why we were there, and
another dollar and a quarter for Stillsutter to consider his reply.
"When dogs resist housebreaking, it is often because they sense
hostility in the home," he intoned.

"What, now it's my fault that the dog wets the rug?" I protested.

"You're the only one home, Dad," my daughter answered. "Who's fault
could it be?"

"Oh, I don't know...the dog's?"

"Mr. Cameron, if I might interrupt, can you see how making this about
the dog just makes Duchess defensive?" We all glanced at Duchess, who
did her best to look unjustly accused. "Do you yell at her?"

"No!" I yelled.

Both my daughter and Duchess gave me an "oh-come-on" look. "Well,
yeah," I amended. "When she chews up my shoes, then I yell."

"Chewing shoes is a sign of hostility," Stillsutter informed me.

"Hostility? To what, footwear?"

"No, your hostility. Duchess senses you are hostile."

"I'm hostile to coming home and finding she's been snacking on my
loafers," I agreed.

"Your father and Duchess just need better communication," Stillsutter
confided to my daughter, who nodded as if this made any sense at all.
"Mr. Cameron, when you talk to Duchess, tell her why you are so
angry--what's really behind your reaction."

"I'm angry at her because..."

Stillsutter held up a hand to stop me. "Don't tell me, tell her."

I took a deep breath. "Duchess, when you eat my shoes it makes me
mad because they cost more than you did."

Stillsutter groaned in disappointment, and Duchess looked away in
shame. My daughter put her hands on her hips. "Nice going, Dad."

"We never mention dog adoption as involving a purchase," Stillsutter
lectured. "It makes them feel owned."

"Oh for heaven's sake."

"Let's do some verbal exercises," Stillsutter suggested. "I'll teach
you to use language that opens up the conversation, rather than
building barriers."

"Conversation? Has anyone here noticed that Duchess is a dog?" I
demanded.

"Try using more supportive language. Let Duchess know you appreciate
the things she does well."

Duchess stared at me expectantly while I pondered this. "Duchess,
you do a good job chasing the tennis ball when I throw it."

Everyone beamed. Duchess shrugged modestly.

"You don't bring it back, but you do chase it."

There was a long silence. Duchess gave Dr. Stillsutter a
"see-what-I-have-to-put-up-with?" expression.

"And that makes you feel..." the doctor prompted.

"Pardon?"

"When Duchess doesn't bring the ball back, that makes you feel..."

"It doesn't make me feel anything, it's a stupid tennis ball!"

"Perhaps Duchess senses that you think it's stupid, and that's why
she doesn't bring it back," my daughter said, using the same soft,
"I'm-a-psychologist-and-you're-a-mental-patient" tone of voice.
Duchess nodded.

At the end of the session, my daughter asked me to pay for it.
Apparently I am her dog's health insurance carrier.

On the way home, I tested my new language skills. "Duchess, when you
pull your head in from out the car window and sneeze all over me, it
makes me unhappy because I don't like dog slobber on my face."

"See?" my daughter praised. "Was that so hard?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For reprint permission, including web sites, please write me at
Bruce@wbrucecameron.com

This newsletter may be distributed freely via e-mail but you MUST
include the following subscription and copyright information:

The Cameron Column, A Free Internet Newsletter
Copyright W. Bruce Cameron 2006 http://www.wbrucecameron.com/

faithwriters.com now have a site just for 7-14 yr olds. It is a great place for your children to practice their writing skills and get kudos from others their age. There is also a weekly theme that the kids can write on - which develops their skills of writing to a topic. http://kids.faithwriters.com/

Many of these young writers are homeschooled.

Faithwriters brought out their new book, Journeys of Faith, in January this year. It has a large selection of short short pieces of writing (every piece is under 750 words) and each one is written in a different genre by a different author. A handful of the writers are homeschool moms, and two of the stories are by yours truly :) The book is a compilation of the top eight pieces of writing of any given week, and are chosen from approx. 200 entries, so you will be reading the weekly cream of the crop.

Here's where you can buy yours. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159781900X/qid=1139410842/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/102-4867773-4864902?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

and here's a sample of what you can expect - from one of the more recent week's of competition: http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-archives-editors-list.php?id=65

I have no idea who wrote this.

In the year 2006, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said, "Once again, the earth has become wicked and overpopulated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans."

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, "You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark.

"Noah!" He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed.

I needed a building permit.

I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system.

My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.

Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!

When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew.

Immigration and Naturalization is checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work.

The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience.

To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord. "The government beat me to it."

We've updated and added to our free writing pages. We now have letter tracing, word match, number match, coloring, writing and word tracing.

Click here http://www.eagermind.com/ourproducts.htm and scroll to the end. Then click on the last link.

I found this summary of St. Patrick's life a few years back, and it is such a testimony to the work of God in a life of obedience. I was particularly impressed by the section, Confronting the Powers of Darkness. http://www.joyfulheart.com/stpatrick/pat.htm

I also found this interesting article on how many people were raised from the dead through his prayers. http://olrl.org/lives/patrick.shtml

Found this today. I wouldn't be surprised to find my son trying out this one on me.

I've been busy updating our website. One of our updates was to put the lowercase alphabet pictures onto writing practice pages - which are free to print out. Check them out here http://www.eagermind.com/ourproducts.htm Just scroll down to the end of the page to click on the link.

Here's an example: