Weird Al Yankovic-Like A Surgeon

My testimony

I have always found it easy to learn. Every year I would expect school to finally get hard but it never did. I ended up graduating high school with a 3.85 GPA (A-) without really even trying. When I got to Jr high, my teachers asked, “What college are you going to?” (They never asked “if” I wanted to go, just where I was going to go. I have since discovered this is a common manipulation technique called Assumption.) I was even part of the Partnership program where I spent a week at the local university one summer. I had teachers encouraging me to become everything from a veterinarian to an accountant, and I would have been good at any of them. Even since High School, I have continued to learn. I am always reading and studying something. This has resulted in the writing of several books (but I don’t want to go into a commercial here. If you are interested go to thebettysbooks.com). This is not bragging. I am just stating fact. Other people are gifted artists or organizers or nurses. I learn things. (This has resulted in me becoming a fair artist, not because I am gifted artistically but because I understand the principles involved.)



The other part of my story begins with my parent’s salvation. They both came to God before they met. In fact, their love story is a testimony to God’s provision and guidance.



My father became a pastor when I was very young. In fact, I have very few memories of attending any church but his. My parents live what they preach. What you see is what you get. They are very honest, compassionate people.



I gave my heart to the Lord at age four. I remember the incident quite clearly. Dad had preached a salvation message and made an alter call. I remember thinking “I haven’t promised Jesus that I would always serve Him. I had better do that.” I went up and gave my heart to the Lord knowing full well I was making a commitment for life.



I asked to be baptized shortly after that, but my parents felt I was too young to really understand. I am an introvert by nature and couldn’t explain to them that I really did understand, but God took care of it. I received the Holy Ghost at youth camp when I was seven. If God felt I knew what I was talking about enough to give me this gift, then I obviously knew enough to be baptized.



I have served God ever since. Oh, I’m human and have made plenty of mistakes, of course. But the whole theme of my life has been service to God. Recently during a sermon, dad asked each of us what our favorite verse was and which verse is the one that describes our lives best. I choose the same for both; “In the beginning, God.” (Genesis 1:1) Every decision in my life has begun with “What does God want?”



I took the test for the Gifted program in our district (I was about twelve, which is kind of old for the test.) I remember while walking home from the test feeling the impression to pray about the results. It was almost as if God was asking “What do you really want with your life? What do you want the results of the test to be?” I could picture the possibilities; famous speaker, horse breeder, teacher, musician, baseball player (what can I say? I was twelve.) But I knew in my heart what I wanted more than anything else. “God, I want to be normal.” I heard Him in my heart just about as clearly as if He had spoke out loud, “Normal to the world or Normal to Me?” I hadn’t realized until that point that they are not the same thing. I chose Normal to God, not knowing for sure what that would look like. I knew what “Normal” was to the world, but “Normal” to God…?



I met my husband when I was a freshman in high school (oddly, we went to the same Jr High, even had the same PE classes, and hung out at the same park [where my brother played Little League], but never met until High School) It took awhile for me to notice him (too busy getting my bearings and learning about my new steer:-) But once I did, I knew he was something special. The next fall, his parents were killed in a car accident (hit by a drunk driver) and he was in need of someone who was his. God had me in the right place at the right time for him. We dated for the remaining three years of my high school education and married the next December. That was twenty-four years ago. We have never threatened divorce, or even considered it. We have had our ups and downs, of course. Two imperfect humans living in the same house are bound to have problems occasionally. But we have had the best marriage I believe humans can have.



When the time came to fill out my college application, I had trouble making myself do it. I finally sat down and did some praying and soul searching. I decided God wanted me to be a homemaker (Now I know this is a Biblical occupation- Titus 2, et al). Was I upset? Disappointed? Frustrated? No. I felt free. It was no longer my job to pick what would make me happy or best support my family. That was up to God to provide.



In the course of any normal relationship it takes time to work out all the dynamics. While figuring out how I should relate to my hubby, God put several books in my path that taught a level of submission I had never really known before (much like a sergeant to a major or a secretary to the CEO). I realized that my obedience to God was not dependent on my hubby’s making good decisions or being in a good mood, or even on how much he obeyed God. I was responsible to obey, yes I said OBEY, my husband as God commanded no matter what hubby did. Once again I experienced an overwhelming sense of freedom. I didn’t have to depend on hubby for my obedience. I didn’t even have to worry about whether our decisions were right or not. That wasn’t my business. My job, the entirety of my job, was to do what God and hubby wanted me to.



Brainless? Not at all. God told me to be my hubby’s help meet. A brainless twit is not a help. She’s a burden. I have actively strived to educate myself even more in order to be the best helper to my hubby I can be. The result is that hubby talks everything over with me and nine times out of ten does what I think is right; not because I bully him into it but because he sees I am right and trusts my opinion. When he does disagree, I do my part to help him in his chosen course. If it fails because of my lack of help that failure is my fault. If it fails because it was a bad idea it is his fault and has nothing to do with me. I can’t tell you how free this makes me. I can focus on those things that are my delegated areas (homeschooling our children, learning nutrition to keep us all healthy, creating a restful supportive atmosphere for my family to launch from, etc) and don’t have to worry about the outcomes anymore than the sergeant has to worry if they are taking the right hill or not. He just has to do his best to support the general’s choices.



When it came to children, we used birth control for a few years. We did have a couple of children eventually. But there came a point when I was praying about how many children God wanted us to have. “In the beginning, God.” “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths.” It dawned on me that it was none of my business how many children we had. That was entirely between hubby an God. Now, hubby, being the godly man he is, took my opinions into account. But the ultimate decision was in his hands. I was free to just enjoy my pregnancies and babies and if there were more, great! If there wasn’t, great! (By the way, that was five children ago and I still feel that way.) I am free from this decision as well as all the worry and fuss of birth control.



How should we raise our children? What school should we send them to? What kind of discipline should we use? All these questions I took to my Bible first. Because the answers are plainly written in there, I was free from the burden of choosing what was right for us. All I had to do was obey to the best of my ability and God was responsible to take care of the rest.



Today, I am 42 years old, the mother of eight children, wife to the same man for 24 years. I was reading a short article the other day that was talking about how following God requires sacrifice. You know, I haven’t sacrificed anything. Oh, I’m not a vet or an accountant today. I don’t even have the big farm I always dreamed of. I had to give those things up. But I did so willingly and God has blessed me beyond measure. My life is so full and so free today that there is no way I would make any other choices even if God offered to send me back in time to change things. God knew my true desires and fulfilled every one of them. He knew much better than I did what I really wanted.



This is what serving God is all about. We are His slaves. He has the right to tell us to do whatever He wants to. We forfeited our rights the minute we chose to sin. He bought those rights with His own blood. Because He is love He has set up a system that produces the maximum happiness for all concerned. This system is found in the Bible.



If we want to gain our lives, we must loose them.

If we want to be great, we must become a slave.

If we want mature faith, we must trust like a child.

If we want to prosper, we must give.

If we want freedom, we must submit…



Submit to God. Submit to each other (Ephesians 5). Submit to our hubbies.



Only in this way will we have the true desires of our hearts. As one who has achieved that, you can take my word for it.

Weird Al Yankovic-Eat It

The classics are always the best.

Shopping

Did the grocery shopping yesterday. Hubby usually does it but he has a cold.

I wrote up the list and then divided it into three equal portions. I had my Joy take the little girls and one list, my Jim take the boys and one list, and my mom and I took the other list. The children started with picking out for their allowances, then picking a pack of seeds as a Christmas gift form my mom's cousin, then they went down their lists. Mom and I worked our way around the store (Wally World) getting those wird things that only I can pick out (bowls that match my set, new headphones for the computer, the starter flats from Cousin, etc). In all it took about two hours (half of whick the dc spent spending their own money) and three baskets, but we got it done.

I was thinking the other night that a nutrition book should really explain nutrition labels. kind of a "duhhh." So I guess I still have more to add to myhealth book. (And here I thought I was almost ready for printing!)

General Updates

I don't remember if I blogged it here or not, but something got in and killed all our chickens in January. This came just a few days after our dog got out of the yard and ate someone's rat poison. We nearly lost him.

So we have bought a whole new batch of baby chickens; eleven different breeds so we can tell them apart this time, LOL.

The dog is recovered.

Now we all have colds.

Oh well. Such is life.

My 12yo taught my 2yo to say "So, So Sad."

Today in school I asked my 5yo about Sunday's lesson. She said it was about a good king and a bad king who died. My 2yo chimed in "So, So sad."

Announcing- About the Bible

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These are my articles here about Bible facts, How to interpret the Bible, Which translation to use, and much more.

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Scriptures about Children

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psa 127:3

Happy [is] the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Psa 127:5

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen 1:28 (When was this command rescinded?)

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Gen 9:1(When was this command rescinded?)


And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. Gen 9:7(When was this command rescinded?)

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psa 113:9

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God… Blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the field. Blessed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep…And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee… But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Deu 28:

There was no King.

Everyman did what was right in his own eyes.



Good or bad? I have heard sermons saying this was a bad thing. But that would mean that God made a mistake. You see, God set up the Israelite government and He chose to not give them a king. He chose to make every man responsible directly to Him.

Scripture records that Israel would serve God for twenty to forty years at a time during this time; Then they would backslide, be conquered, repent, be rescued, serve God again, etc. What happened after there was a king? Israel and Judah only served God, did what was right, if their king did. In Israel this was one or two kings in 400-500 years! Judah ran about 60-70% Godly kings. Israel, as a whole, had a better record of service to God when each man was free to make his own decisions, free to rule his own life.



(Yes, I know that God commanded a certain percentage be given to the poor, Livites, temple, etc. But He set no system in place to for one human to force another to obey. He did not give their government power to tax, only the power to punish the cruel (rapists, murderers, etc.). If someone didn’t fulfill His commands, He took care of punishing them, not the government.)



There was no dictator.



Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.



Israel again? No, the USA in it's earliest days. We had no welfare, public schools, farm subsidies, business bailouts, Medicare, etc. Few Federal laws. Good or bad? Many have said bad. What does history say? What did those that lived at the time say? People seldom if ever went hungry or homeless (unless they chose to. Yes, some do choose to be homeless. It is a lower stress lifestyle.) Their families felt a responsibility to care for them. Oh, some had to swallow their pride to accept that help, but some how I don't think less pride in this country would be a bad thing.



If the family couldn't or wouldn't help, the church and neighbors would. This goes for education of the young also (America had a very high literacy rate at this time in history (98%). Much higher than today (85%)).



If a farmer or business man made bad decisions or their product was no longer needed, they closed their doors. Where is the moral justification in giving my hard earned money (through taxes and subsidies) to company A to keep them making Widgets when I (and a lot of other people) have no interest in their Widgets? Wouldn't it be better to let me give that money to company B or C, whose Fidgets meet my needs and receive a Fidget in exchange? Companies B and C would have to hire more people to meet the demand of more money available to buy their good product. Net employment would have been more than what was lost when company A closed its door.



Medical costs would not be nearly as high today if government had stayed out of the field. Historically EVERY industry ANY government has tried to control or help has experienced skyrocketing prices and plummeting quality. Obamacare is just going to make it worse.



We must remember that government- any government- is made up of FALLIBLE humans. Government is not divine (although sometimes divinely guided, supported and destroyed).



I believe America has asked for a king. No, not a literal man with a shiny crown on his head, but control by the human-government of every industry and service. History has warned us of the consequences of this path, much as God warned Israel about the dangers of a king in their time.



“And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. …



(He’ll make your children government employees instead of euntrepenours, whether they want to be or not).



… And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers….



(Your daughters will still do some kind of housework such as cooking and raising children. It just won’t be in her own house but a restaurant and it won’t be her own chidlren but in a daycare).



…And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants …



(ever heard of BLM land grabs? Nature Conservancy? Tax seizures? Iminant Domain?)



…And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.



(Today’s taxes excede 40% when you figure in income, sales, property, business, taxes plus registration and licence fees. This is our “seed;” the money we need to provide for ourselves in retierment, illness, expansion of our life styles, etc)



And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work (instead of your own). He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” 1Sa 8:12-18



(We will/have become slaves to the government.)



But



“Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.’” 1Sa 8:19, 20



Definitions:

Lazie Faire

No government control. This leaves too many doors open for the strong to abuse the weak.

Free market

Government has a very minimum control of business and services. Only enough to protect the weakest. Natural forces (supply and demand) cause opportunities for most to achieve advancement. Not a selfish system. You are rewarded for meeting the needs of others by making money yourself. The more needs you meet, the more money you make.

Fascism

Business and services are privately owned but government controlled (prices are mandated, whom is who's customer is controlled, wages are regulated, etc.) Profits and social advancement are subject to the opinion of whoever is in political control today.

Socialism

Government ownership and control of services and businesses.

Why do I favor free-market and distrust all the others? In Free-Market, each individual is in control of the decisions in their own life. They answer directly to God. If one human makes a bad decision or is selfish or cruel, it only diretly affects his family and maybe immediate neighbors.

When a government official makes a mistake or acts in a non-godly manner, it affects everyone under his authority. The bigger the government, the more people affected. The more powerful the government, the less able the family unit is to protect themselves, much less promote themselves.

If you assume that all humans are fallible and will make at least one bad decision in their life, than multiply each family by how many politicians, government workers and business men have direct control over that family. You can see the potential for disaster in each family is multiplied exponentially.

“But not that many have control over me.”

Wanna' bet?

How about the city/county building department that decides how your house is built and even what and how many trees you will have? The license departments that control who builds your house, is your doctor, or teaches your children? There are laws to govern how many windows in your house, how big they will be, how large your local store is, how much gas your car uses, the medicines given your child at birth, the design of your gas pump, even the breed of dog you may have.

I know, “Most of these laws were passed to protect me.” Hitler said he was protecting Germany by executing Jews. Stalin was protecting Russians by disappearing millions. Mao Tse Tung was protecting the Chinese by running over college students with tanks. What I find more sinister is the Chinese government's protection of their citizens by forcing them to have abortions, even “terminating” unlicensed newborns. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that China will have to “protect” their people by opening government brothels (most female babies are aborted), and by executing anyone too old or infirm to work. (One child born to two parents and four grandparents. That child will not be able to be taxed enough to support any retirees). There are many that want our government to “help” US keep our families small and “help” children by only letting licensed parents reproduce in this country. We have given our government the power to do atrocities by giving it the ability to control the little things. We are vulnerable.

No. Give me the freedom to guide my own life, make my own mistakes. Don't help me. Don't make me live with other's mistakes. Let me trust God for my life and future. Don't force me to trust man.

There was no King. Everyman did what was right in his own eyes.

Government (all levels) should be forced to return to the original foundations:

To the average citizen- It is allowed unless specifically forbidden.

To the government-It is forbidden unless specifically allowed in the constitution.

Government, freedom

The Book of Daniel

I have now put these posts on the book of Daniel into a book. You purchase it for $15.95 at:





For future Bible lessons, go to betty.tracyent.com. God Bless.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The book has a few cute things and is mildly humorous. That’s the good part.



The main character is in Jr high so the book should be aimed at children in 5th or 6th grade, but I found the sentence structure and vocabulary closer to second or third grade. This is either dumbing down the late elementary or trying to speed the worldliness of early elementary (I haven’t decided which).



There are a few crudities, but nothing compared to, say, shrek, which we do allow our children to watch.



My main objection to the book is in the relationships and attitudes. The parents are incomprehensible aliens who do things for no apparent reason to the child (who thinks he has a right to object). The mom “makes” the dad do things he doesn’t want to do (making her the boss in the house) and the dad doesn’t deal with a problem he sees in the high schooler but just lets him go to pot without trying to stop him. These are, unfortunately, the norm in modern children’s literature.



The three boys (the main character is the middle child) obviously hate each other. The older boy bullies the younger one and is down right mean to him at times. The youngest steals from the middle child, breaks his things, and gets away with it (because he is little and cute). Also, pleasing your peers is the be all and end all of the purpose of life. The Bible says “whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” If my boys read this book, Jim and Jon would bully Jon and Joe in an attempt to be funny (the bullying in the book is portrayed as humorous). Joe and Jon would go after Jim’s stuff for the same reason. Now, I could, with hard work, counter this influence, but I have no interest in making extra work for myself. My children will not be reading the book or watching the movie.



I do let them read intelligent stuff like Calvin and Hobbes (really profound quite often and way more funny), the Narnia books (where family loyalty and doing what is right, especially in the face of adversity and great evil, are shown to be the highest values), and Harry Potter (where life is portrayed as a series of choices between what is right and what is easy, where family (though sometimes annoying as older brothers can be) takes care of each other and truly love each other, and where the only way to defeat Satan and bring salvation to those you love is to die to self). Shrek, though way too crude, does a very good job of teaching that inner beauty is way more important than outer beauty and you should be loyal and self sacrificing to your mate.



There are so many things in this world to read and so little time, I encourage my children to read the great stuff and ignore the good. Wimpy kid isn’t even good. It’s only so-so. As I said, mildly amusing at best.

Bee Balm

Other Names:
Oswego tea

Monarda didyma (mint)

Description

Roots:

Stems: 3’ hairy, upright, bushy, square

Leaves: large, toothed (sometimes smooth), smells like thyme or oregano

Flowers: 1-3” terminal clusters, scarlet, tubular, dense head

Fruits:



Grows

Soil- wet, hardy, rich soil; shade,

Where-

What to Collect- young leaves and flowers

When to collect- June- August,

Buy- roots or seeds

Planted-





Use

• Short/ Long term use

• Activator Builder Cleanser

Preserve-

A (Above ground parts, bind at cut, dried in shade, chop, store in jars)

B (large roots, cut, dry on newspaper, chop ¼”,)

C (fruits, very wet, hang in cheesecloth drapes)

D (Barks, string on bailing wire and hang)

Form- infusion/tea, decoction, tincture, powder, Poultice, ointment. baths, Salad, stir fry, pot herb, aromatic,

Vitamins-A C

Minerals- calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron

Uses- seasoning, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-helminthic, (roots and leaves) worms, poultice- skin infection, tea- mouth and throat infection, stimulant, gas, stops menstruation, potpourri

The Cannon Bible

There are those who claim to believe God and the Bible but who want to change the Word of God.




The most extreme are probably the “Red Letter” people. They claim to only read and follow the red words of the Bible- the exact Words of Jesus.



Another group says they do not read any of the Old Testament, as it doesn’t apply to us today.



Yet another group goes the other way and says they follow the whole Bible…except the Pauline epistles as Paul was some sort of evil, ego-maniac.



Then there are those who want to add to the Bible. The argument goes, “We find truth outside of the Bible, so, though the Bible is infallible, other things can be used for doctrine also.” These especially want to use the books of Enoch, Jassur, and the gospels of Timothy and James.



My first response to the last group is “How do you know that the particular document you are holding is the one it claims to be?” For example, there are four completely different books that claim to be the book of Enoch. How are we supposed to know which one was written by Noah’s Great-grandfather? If indeed any of them really were.



God is all-powerful. God is all knowing, from the moment of creation to the end of time. He knew that the set of documents we call the Cannon Bible today were the ones that would be used to spread the knowledge of Him to the planet throughout the last 2000 years of history. I believe He had complete control of what was contained in that Book.



The Old Testament was assembled into the form we know it shortly after the time of Alexander the Great. If the “book of Enoch” held truths we could base doctrine on, why didn’t He include it in the Septuagint? Why didn’t Jesus mention it during His ministry like He did every other book in the Cannon Old Testament? Why was it left out and only available to us, now, 2500 years later? It seems much more likely to me that there are things contained in Enoch (which ever one is actually the real one) that are not true and that will even lead us into dangerous teachings. This is true, also, of books written after the time of Christ that were not included in the New Testament. The New Testament was complete in the form we know it by AD 100. That is, the churches of the first century gathered together and copied by hand those documents they felt God telling them to share with each other. We know that they left out at least one Pauline epistle (2 Corinthians; what we have is actually 1 and 3 Corinthians.) They likely left out others also. God had those letters that He didn’t want included in the Bible lost very close to the time they were written. With the church’s determination to hold onto the writings of the apostles, this was a miracle in itself.



Timothy says, “All scripture is given by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” The extra-cannon books do not meet this stringent requirement.



As for those who simply find parts of the Bible too uncomfortable to believe (whether the parts that say God commanded the death of entire peoples, or the parts where Paul tells women to obey their hubbies and be keepers at home), God went to all the trouble to preserve those exact documents and you DARE to have the gall to say they are worthless?! What right do you have to declare, above the authority of all the church leaders for 2000 years, above sincerely intended and highly educated scholars (such as Isaac Newton, Martin Luther, and John Calvin), that some parts of the Bible are wrong? What makes you smarter than them? What gives you this authority?



Here is my recommendation: take all your commentaries on the Bible, all your books, and pack them away. Delete all your websites (or at least put them into a folder and don’t open them). Then take your Bible out. Read the entire thing cover to cover at least three times. Get your concordance out and look up every unfamiliar word. Get to know the Bible for what it presents itself to be. After that, when you begin to read other resources, be sure you spend more time in the Bible than any other document. Then you won’t be susceptible to these false teachings trying to deceive you away from God.



Do you know how they train people to spot counterfeit money? They don’t expose them to the counterfeits. They don’t study the frauds. They study the real thing. They spend so much time examining real money and are so familiar with the real thing that they spot an imposter immediately.



This is the training you need in the Word of God.



“Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”



You find correct facts in many places. You only find truth in the Bible.

A proposed new law

In as much as it is in the interest of the government to have the most educated populace possible, and in light of conclusions reached by scientific study and common logic, the following resolution shall henceforth be Federal Law and shall be superior to all preceding laws and ordinances, Federal, State or Local.


I. All parents and guardians shall cause their children between the ages of nine and fourteen to be instructed in basic reading and math skills. The failure to do so will result in the fine of 10% of the parent’s or guardian’s income as of the last tax return filed.

II. The teaching of any other subject will be left to the desecration of the Parents or guardians, as will content and methodology of all courses

III. All parents and guardians shall receive a tax credit of equal amount to the individual tax deduction for each child between the ages of five and twenty for the purpose of assisting in educational expenses. All “school taxes” will henceforth be suspended.

IV. Parents may be required to forward all educational tax credits to any public school they choose to send their child to.

V. The burden of proof of educational neglect shall rest on the state.

VI. Exemptions shall be granted when a verifiable physical defect of the brain shall be diagnosed by three separate medical practitioners, at least one of which shall be an expert in the field of brain function and capabilities.

My View Of “Working Women”

 

 

There is a God.

 

 

He dictated the Bible to human beings making it the very Word of God Himself.

 

 

The Bible is infallible.

 

 

“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

 

 

“There is none righteous. No, not one.”

 

 

“The heart is desperately wicked.”

  

 

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Take thy delight in the Lord and He will direct thy path.”

 

 

For those who profess to be Christians, there is only one path; they must do what the Bible says to do.

 

 

“Older women teach the younger women ….to be…. Keepers at home…that the Word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2

 

 

“I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 1 Timothy 5:14

 

 

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Ephesians 5:22

  

 

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” Colossians 3:18

 

 

“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands…” 1 Peter 3:1

 

 

It is clear from the Bible that God wants women to be in charge of the home and child rearing. It is just as clear that He wants them to submit to their husbands. This does not mean that women are less intelligent than men nor less capable. It just means they have a different job to do (just as a shop manager has a different job than the CEO of a company. Both vitally important). Just as important of a job (in some ways, more important), just different.

 

 

Now specifics:

 

 

Single women generally need to have a job outside the home. They must have a way to earn food and housing and since our culture no longer thinks it important for families to care for their women, they need to go out and fend for themselves. If they can run a home business and thus support themselves while being a homemaker, great. The Bible praises women who are homemakers in all walks of life. Most women can’t do this though. They need to get a job. (God does call some to stay single all or part of their lives. The Bible calls this a gift. It is not something to look down upon. God will lead someone with such a call into a way to support herself.)

 

 

A woman whose hubby is ill, disabled or unemployed may find herself in need of an outside job. It would be much better if our churches would do the biblical thing and help these families out so wifey could continue to care for the family (and honestly, what better nurse could a man want?), but since our churches think it is more important to have fancy facilities and programs than to do the biblical charity thing, many (or most) women in these categories will have to get a job.

 

 

A woman whose hubby tells her to work, must do so. This is, I believe, why the Bible stops short of calling it a sin for a woman to work outside the home. That would put too many women in the position of having to choose which sin to commit; disobey hubby or work. Now, men should recognize the importance of a woman’s unique calling and not be so concerned about bigger, fancier toys, but I am writing about women here.

 

 

(Though I will note that a woman who is working for someone else is under the headship of two people; hubby and boss. The Bible says that “no one can serve two masters for either he will love the one and hate the other or else will cling to the one and despise the other.” A married woman working for someone else is in a very difficult place.)

 

 

A woman who has no children at home (or who has responsible teens), may find herself being called into a ministry that pays money. I don’t believe the Bible condones idleness. Most homemakers define their job differently; some make crafts and art that feeds the souls of their family and friends. Some feed the poor. Some nurse the sick. Some write books telling about God. No two women’s “homemaking” looks the same and these (and many others) are all areas of ministry that need to be filled (and generally go unfilled in our culture because women who could otherwise be doing them are too busy making filthy lucre). Sometimes these ministries happen to pay money to the minister. As long as hubby and home are cared for and hubby supports/approves of her ministry, I see nothing wrong with a woman with no children having a ministry that happens to pay money too.

 

 

Now for families with children.
“Teach My Words …diligently unto your children speaking of them when though liest down and when though risest up, when though walkest in the way and when though sittest in thine house (every waking minute.)” Deuteronomy 6:7

 

 

“Fathers provoke (frustrate) not your children to wrath (anger) but bring them up in the nurture (culture) and admonition (education) of the Lord.”

 

 

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

 

 

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” 2 Corinthians 6:17

 

 

“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,” Deuteronomy 4:9

 

 

“You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 11:19

 

 

“And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the LORD did for me.” Exodus 8: 8

 

 

“Thus says the LORD: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;…” Jeremiah 10:2

 

 

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates DAY AND NIGHT.” Psalm 1: 2
This includes school and work hours

 

 

“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing EVERY THOUGHT into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Even math, spelling, history and science thoughts.

 

 

“That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:” Psalms 144:12

 

 

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:33

 

 

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who… made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the for of a servant…”

 

 

“Whatsoever you do unto the least of these, my brethren, ye do it unto Me.”

 

 

“Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

 

 

Small children need their mothers.

Those in daycare are far more susceptible to illness (physical and mental), learning disabilities and just do not do as good (physically, mentally, educationally, and spiritually) as do those under the care of the woman who went through childbirth (or adoption, which is often even harder) to get them here. This is a scientific fact.

 

 

Your “need” for fulfillment in a job is not as important as your child’s need for mommy.

 

 

Your need for more toys or a fancier house does not compare with your child’s need for love every minute of the day.

 

 

Parents should make the sacrifices necessary (live in a small apartment instead of a house, take the bus instead of buy a car, buy clothes at yard sales instead of Yuppieville West, etc.) to allow mom to be home and care for her own babies. (Now, I will note that studies have shown that daddy and grandparent care is a close second to mommy care, but marriages don’t general survive daddy being home while mommy works and that is also bad for baby. The lowest divorce rates are found in the traditional mom-stay-home-dad-work families. And grandma and grandpa have already done their duty in child rearing and deserve to rest, besides the fact that because they are older it is harder for them to keep up with little ones).

 

 

I can find no biblical justification for a mom of small children to work outside the home except in the above cases (singleness, incapacity of dad, demand of hubby). If you know of any, tell me. Scripture and verse. I would love to be able to tell women “Whatever you want is ok.” But I can’t find justification in the Bible or in science for such a position.

 

 

Now for older children,

• Public school children average in the 50th percentile on standardized tests (the tests are designed to achieve this score.)
• Private school children average in the 60th and 70th percentile.
• Homeschooled children average in the high 80th and 90th percentile (The nature of the “percentile score” is such that the highest possible score is the 99th percentile.)
• Homeschool children score better on all measures of socialization than both public and private schooled children (except that private school children tie homeschoolers on leadership skills)
• Public school children run faster than either homeschoolers or private schoolers.

 

And most importantly:

• Children from Bible believing homes quit church by age 19, 85% of the time.
• Children who graduated from homeschool say they are the same religion as their parents 96% of the time

(Comparative loss rate: PS loose 85%, HS loose 4%)

 

 

Just go up and repeat the above verses about self-sacrifice. Children of al ages need one-on-one attention in order to achieve their maximum potential.

 

 

Public schools are by definition and court order atheist (a=without, theist=God. He is not allowed on school property except as a cussword). This is not an option for Christian families (married, God-fearing couples). You simply can’t fulfill the above verses by sending your children to a heathen school for the majority of their waking hours.

 

 

Private schools are better than public school (and necessary in some cases) because they allow God in. But they still suffer from the worldly idea of age segregation and still take children away from their God-given parents. They are a hybrid between the “culture of the Lord” and the culture of the world. I am glad they are there when needed, but they are generally the second-best choice.

 

 

Homeschooling simply fulfills all the requirements of scripture better than any other method.

 

 

Yes, parents should make whatever sacrifices are necessary in order to homeschool if at all possible (as I said above, there are times when it is necessary to use local Christian schools. I just think they should be the exception, not the rule.)

 

 

Disagree? Give me scripture and verse.

 

(And I don’t buy the “Send them to public school to be light and salt.” Most “Christian” children start school long before they have made a confession of faith. So most parents send little sinners to witness to other little sinners all under the authority of a heathen system. And even those who have made a confession of faith are being thrust into a situation that is far more fraught with spiritual danger than most seasoned adults will ever face. It is no wonder that we are loosing our children at a rate of between 65 and 85%! All that aside, there is a clear mandate (http://www.hsscriptures.homeschoolwwh.com) in the Bible to give our children a godly education. That cannot be accomplished in a godless school. Disobedience will not yield godly results.)

 

 

Now, if a woman can care for her hubby, and home and provide her children with the best care on planet earth AND run a business, more power to her. In fact, in many ways a family business is one of the best educational devices around for the children. If it can include daddy too, so much the better. I think there is a reason it took so long for the industrial revolution to happen. God made it so the majority of humanity for the majority of history would grow up in a home with both mommy and daddy present at all times. They gained the benefit of both parents. If this can be recreated with a family business, so much the better!

 

Can everyone just drop everything and become a homeschooling homemaker today? Of course not. Many Christian couple have followed the world’s advice and chosen their home based on two incomes. It will take time for them to work things out to move to lesser housing, or sell their new cars and buy ones with no payments, or pay off all those college debts and credit cards.

 

 

But Mommy at home providing the best care and education on planet earth to her God-given gifts is the Ideal To Aim for. Everything else should be recognized as lesser choices.

 

 

Disagree? Again, send me the scripture and verse to support your opinion. I will accept nothing less than Bible as the authority.

Changing life, changing minds changing plans.

Gee, that sounds so spiritual I almost feel guilty, LOL.

Life changes. When I wrote my book Homeschool: Why What How, I had six children under twelve and was expecting another. Today I have eight children ranging from eighteen to two. I can't express to you how very different my life is now, though it probably looks the same from the outside. Some of this is due to God's work in-my life, polishing up some rough spots. but most of it is due to having teen-ages. They are Wonderful! Because they are well trained and have never been exposed to the selfish mindset of the world (homeschooled from day one), There isn't the least rebellion in either of them. They are absolute joys to have around (no pun intended- my oldest is named Joy).

When things were so overwhelming with so many littles, when God's main call on my life was my home and then researching what the Bible and science say about traditional roles and jobs, God lead me into the Well Trained Mind method of homeschooling. This allowed us to do school together and really bond. At that time in my life, itlessoned my work load because I did so many things with all of  us together.

Things got too intense a couple of years ago and God smacked me up-side the head. He moved my focus from academic success to building a biblical worldview. He used Teaching the Trivium to do this.

Then He called me to pursue midwifing and herbology. My main ministry still is and always will be my home. and it will be many years before I am ready to enter my new ministry, but I need to prepare now. I have a lot to learn!

This year after dutifully spending my part of the tax return on school books for the children and correspondence herb school for me, I felt one of the strongest impulses to move us in a new direction I have ever felt. I recognize this as the voice of God. I have prayed and He confirms.

Now with three children older than 12 (my second boy just had a birthday) There are four of us available to correct school work and to tutor. But the old ways of doing things only allowed me to tutor because I was the only one who knew what was going on. I needed to fix a way for the others to help me. Also, though I Believe that everyone has gaps in their education, I have noticed that my children have gaps in vastly different places than others. I am feeling a need to move their gaps little closer to "normal" so they have a better time relating to others (especially other Christians. I hope they won't ever relate to the world). I do have to admit that I have been a bit lax in my teaching the younger girls. They aren't quite where I would like them to be in reading (though more than fine in math).

The sum total is that I feel an overwhelming urgency to move my children to Abeka. I used Abeka with my oldest when we started and I have discovered I have an amazing amount of books left over (why in the world do I have a brand new upper level grammar workbook when I quit Abeka when Joy was in the third grade?) I have no idea where some of these came from except that God knows the beginning from the end and always supplies our needs.

So, we are in the process of switching to Abeka in Language arts and history (We will do the last lesson in Story of the World in two weeks). We are already switched in science (I finally gave up on the WTM kind of science last winter and so was able to switch them a couple months ago.)

We will stay with Math-U-See for math. It works wonderfully.

We will probably go to ArtPacs to supplement what my-mom teaches them on Fridays, as we already supplement her piano lessons with Piano for Quitters and Piano for Life.

We will continue with Bible as is.This Is Our Time to bond and enjoy each other.

As the title says, when life changes we have to change our plans. I am still convinced that homeschooling is the-best option whenever possible,but within that homeschooling label are so many, many more options that I Fully believe there is something out there for everyone.

(part of why most my posts lately have just been links is the time this research has taken me. Part is because I discovered the right click, "post it on blogger" button:-)