Tiny Treasure in Heaven

This devotional by Elisabeth Elliot might encourage some of you. I always appreciate what Elisabeth Elliot has to say as she is so focused on eternal and spiritual matters. What a challenge for me!

Her devotional http://www.elisabethelliot.org/devotional.html

Kerry

Character

Noah Riner, freshman class pres of Dartmouth, issued the convocation address. You won't believe it.

You've been told that you are a special class. A quick look at the statistics confirms that claim: quite simply, you are the smartest and most diverse group of freshmen to set foot on the Dartmouth campus. You have more potential than all of the other classes. You really are special.

But it isn't enough to be special. It isn't enough to be talented, to be beautiful, to be smart. Generations of amazing students have come before you, and have sat in your seats. Some have been good, some have been bad. All have been special.

Not bad, yet! He brings his speech to a close with the following:

Character has a lot to do with sacrifice, laying our personal interests down for something bigger. The best example of this is Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just hours before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." He knew the right thing to do. He knew the cost would be agonizing torture and death. He did it anyway. That's character.

WOW! Faculty and students were shifting in their seats. I'm sure they wouldn't care if he had used Mohammed or Buddha instead of Jesus.

You can read the entire speech here
Riner is definitely a leader, willing to stand for character and his beliefs.

Kerry

Character

Noah Riner, freshman class pres of Dartmouth, issued the convocation address. You won't believe it.

You've been told that you are a special class. A quick look at the statistics confirms that claim: quite simply, you are the smartest and most diverse group of freshmen to set foot on the Dartmouth campus. You have more potential than all of the other classes. You really are special.

But it isn't enough to be special. It isn't enough to be talented, to be beautiful, to be smart. Generations of amazing students have come before you, and have sat in your seats. Some have been good, some have been bad. All have been special.

Not bad, yet! He brings his speech to a close with the following:

Character has a lot to do with sacrifice, laying our personal interests down for something bigger. The best example of this is Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, just hours before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." He knew the right thing to do. He knew the cost would be agonizing torture and death. He did it anyway. That's character.

WOW! Faculty and students were shifting in their seats. I'm sure they wouldn't care if he had used Mohammed or Buddha instead of Jesus.

You can read the entire speech here
Riner is definitely a leader, willing to stand for character and his beliefs.

Kerry

Christian Homeschool Curriculum

Mentoring

Just read this from the living math loop. Someone posted about a James Dobson show they watched about mentoring. It was suggested to ask your kids the following questions:

Where do you want to go?
How can I help you get there?

This is fantastic and I plan to ask my older ones these questions at dinner tonight or tomorrow when we have some one-on-one time.

Kerry
Mentoring Education

Wonderful Weekend with the Whales

Yes, I know it's been a few weeks, but this is my first time to share what a great weekend we had. We left Friday morning for Anacortes, Washington ( north of Seattle). It is absolutely beautiful in the northwest. Saturday was full of exploring Fidalgo Island. The views were amazing as we looked over the rocks to the bay. On our first stop we saw an otter swimming below us and a bald eagle fly over us. We could see the bald eagle eating from his perch. We climbed the rocky slope down toward the water. I was amazed to have another bald eagle swoop over us, wings completely spread. It was awesome!!! Another bald eagle joined him. Steve says their wing span is about six feet. The beaches were fun to comb and we saw a sea lion amongst the fishermen.

Sunday was spectacular because we went on a whale watching trip. We saw humpback whales, minke whales, sea lions, dolls porpoises, as well as many birds. The humpbacks were fascinating. We probably spent 30 minutes watching them swim in circular fashion. My kids did not have to read about humpbacks to learn about their diving patterns; they just watched them as they surfaced for air and came up a few times before making a deep dive - raising their fluke behind them. When I get my pics back, I will post them! Those whales are enormous, about sixty feet long! Of course, my son & I will be studying marine animals, especially humpbacks, this next week :-)

The rest of the weekend was relaxing - reading or watching the baseball playoffs. Our family thoroughly enjoys baseball and can't believe the Astros are in the World Series.
Kerry
Christian Home Schooling

Taking a Blog Break

I've been a bit busy with home, school, and work the past week and have not had time to blog. Besides taking a mini-vacation to Anacortes (north of Seattle) for a whale watching trip (next post), we also had a ministerial conference where we had a book table. It was a great conference because our table is in the same room as the talks. So, Steve & I could both listen to the speakers as they talked about the Biblical definition of justification and practical applications.

We are working on our own conference and I can't wait to share the details with you. Hopefully, we will lauch the details next week. I'll let you know.

Well, it is time for the FIRST GAME of the WORLD SERIES and the Houston Astros are there for the first time. I can't wait to watch and cheer for the 'Stros.

Kerry
Go 'Stros
Christian Homeschool Curriculum