Winter Solstice

It's December 21, 2006 and the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year and it's a new moon also. That means no moonlight. Many cultures have celebrated or continue to celebrate this day in a variety of ways.

http://www.winbuzz.com/

Some examples are:

The Dōngzhì Festival or The Winter Solstice Festival(Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; "The Extreme of Winter") is an important festival celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term on or around December 21 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the dongzhi solar term.

Yule was the winter solstice celebration of the Scandinavian Norse mythology and Germanic pagans.

Yaldā also known as Shab-e Cheleh is celebrated on the eve of the first day of the winter (21th December) in the Iranian calendar, which falls on the Winter Solstice. It celebrates the birth of Sun god Mithra.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Solstice_Celebrations

The Nativity Story

We saw The Nativity Story today. The movie was very good and gave you a very real feeling for the times when Jesus was born. The emotions of all the people in the story made the story come alive in ways I didn't expect. Some liberties were taken with the timeline -- for example the Magi were named which is not Biblical and they arrived the night that Jesus was born. There were incidents with Joseph and Mary such as the river which weren't written about the Bible. The extra storylines didn't change the story, but added an element of human experience to it. I loved the symbolism that appeared through the movie. If you are very familiar with story of Jesus and the Bible, you'll recognize it. One scene in particular struck me when Joseph as sleeping by the river and his feet were bloodied from walking. Mary, pregnant with Jesus, sat at his feet and gently washed them.

The most surprising aspect for me personally was the emotion that I felt throughout the movie. When Mary felt the Baby Jesus move for the first time in her womb, it sent chills up my spine was I thought about the real things that Mary experienced. Joseph and Mary wondered about raising Jesus. Joseph wondered how he could take the Son of God anything.

Alex's favorite part of the movie was when Jesus was born!

http://www.thenativitystory.com

Winds...Hadley, Ferrell, and Polar Cells

We are using a Child's Geography for our geography curriculum. Today we read about Hadley, Ferrell and Polar Cells. These are part of the circulation system in our atmosphere.

http://www.geology.wmich.edu/kominz/C8global.circ.gif

A Little Humor during Christmas

A little humor is good in this world of ours that would like to remove CHRIST from CHRISTMAS.

http://www21.brinkster.com/Haptoon/101.htm

Chrismons

I remember when I was younger that my church had Chrismons on the Christmas Tree at church. I miss that.

Chrismons™ ornaments were first made for the church Christmas tree at Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia in 1957 by a Frances Kipps Spencer. Chrismons designs are monograms of and symbols for our Lord Jesus Christ. http://www.chrismon.org/site/chrismon.htm

The tiny white lights and gold Chrismons designs a placed on an evergreen tree. The lights speak of Him who is the light of the world, and the Chrismons ornaments (ChHRISt+MONOgram) proclaim the name, the life, and the saving acts of Jesus the Christ.

In case you have never seen a Chrismon Tree:

Remembering Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese. The attacking planes came as a complete surprise. The planes arrived in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over. By 1:00 PM the carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu were heading back to Japan. 2,403 died, 188 planes were destroyed 8 battleships were damaged or destroyed.

There is an interactive map and timeline at http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/.

Other websites:

http://pearlharborattacked.com/

http://teacher.scholastic.com/pearl/

Phases of the Moon

We are studying Astronomy this year using Exploring Creation with Astronomy. We read books about astronomy topics and biographies of famous scientists, create notebook pages, narrate what's been learned(Charlotte Mason strategy), do activities and watch DVDs. I've always loved astronomy so it's been extra fun for me.

We are currently studying the moon. Alex is keeping a calendar of the phases of the moon for the month of December. Since the moon is full right now we can still see it through the snowy and cloudy nights. We made a diagram of the phases today using black construction paper, coins for tracing circles, white chalk and white crayon.

Our word for the day is "gibbous". It comes from the Middle English, bulging, from Late Latin gibbsus, hunch-backed, from Latin gibbus, hump. It occurs between third quarter of the moon and the first quarter -- opposite from the crescent moon.

Happy St Nicholas Day

Today is St. Nicholas Day -- December 6. We celebrate St Nicholas Day by opening a couple of presents and filling a stocking with gold chocolate coins and games. We read books about St Nicholas.

The Saint Who Became Santa Claus by Evelyn Bence (I can't find it online)
The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas byMariana Mayer

This is a tradition we started when Alex was 3 years. I want Alex to know who St Nicholas is and how he turned into Santa Claus over time.

Santa Claus is fun, but I think too much emphasis is placed on gifts, Santa Claus and busyness during December. I want to teach Alex that Christmas is not all about Santa Claus, but about the celebration of the birth of Christ.

Since I grew up with Santa Claus and the magical feelings associated with him, it has been hard to talk straight with Alex. So I have talked about St Nicholas and not Santa Claus. However, everywhere you turn in December in America you see Santa Claus. At age 9, Alex knows in his head about St Nicholas, but he so much wants to believe there is a person called Santa Claus who delivers gifts to boys and girls around the world.

There is lots of information on the Internet about St Nicholas. My favorite website is http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=23. This is the Russian Winter Icon of St. Nicholas.

Being Careful with a Child's Mind

There are some many influences on a child's mind in this world. Sometimes I feel like running away to a mountaintop where I can become like a mama bear and protect my cub. But that wouldn't be realistic.

An ongoing discussion at our house is about the creation of the earth. Fortunately we know that God created it, but then the discussion begins. How to handle Genesis????

This is an opportunity and a challenge for me personally and more importantly as Alex's mom. How do I teach him the Truth and yet teach him to ask intelligent questions? I have a suspicion that our family will grow tremendously in our faith in this particular area. I believe it is an important discussion to have as it is foundational....so the learning continues!

Lunch with God

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey.

When he had gone a few blocks from home, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park near the water just staring at some birds.

The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer, when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

The old man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so incredible that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.

Once again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was, and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps; he turned around, and ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug.

The old man gave him his biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked her son: "What did you do today that made you so happy?"

The child replied: "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added: "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and asked: "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied: "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." But before his son responded, he added: "You know, He's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring. All of which have the potential to make someone's day a very special one, or even turn someone's life around.

Author Unknown

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

Thankfulness in the Word

God's Word is filled with thankfulness. There are so many beloved verses.

1 Chronicles 29:13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 69:30 I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 75:1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Reaching Out to Eulalio

The Christmas season is upon us even though Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet. For the past 6 years we have been sponsoring a little boy in Honduras named Eulalio. He's one year older than Alex which means he is 10 years old. Each month we send money to help him with expenses such as attending a Compassion school and buying things his family needs. We write letters to him on a regular basis and he writes letters back to us. Because he speaks Spanish our letters are translated into Spanish and his letters are translated into English. We pray daily for Eulalio. At Christmas we send extra money so that the local Compassion program can buy him Christmas presents.

The organization we work through is Compassion International. They are headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO. We visited Colorado Springs this fall which allowed for Alex and me to have personal tour of the complex. Our tour guide was a former Michigan resident. We learned about the histor of Compassion and about many of the child who have been helped and are now productive adults. We saw the mailroom where 1000s of thousands of letters processed. We learned that in Colorado Springs, Family on the Family has the largest mail operation, the USPO comes in second and Compassion International is a close third.

The Four Freedoms

This week is Thanksgiving Week. It's a unique American Holiday that celebrates the blessings we have in the United States. Last week I introduced my 5 and 6 year olds in our homeschool co-op to Norman Rockwell and his famous paintings called The Four Freedoms. I was initially drawn to the painting called Freedom from Want -- it reminds me of Thanksgiving. Actually there are 4 paintings:

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of Religion

Freedom from Want

Freedom from Fear

The Four Freedoms were goals that President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke in the State of the Union Address in 1942. It is often referred to as the Four Freedoms speech. Roosevelt listed four points as fundamental freedoms humans "everywhere in the world":

Freedom of speech and expression

Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way

Freedom from want

Freedom from fear

Norman Rockwell painted the series in 1943, during World War II. He completed the series in seven months. The Saturday Evening Post published them in 1943.

As Thanksgiving approaches there is so much to be thankful for. I am incredibly blessed to be an American.

Squanto -- Who was he?

Squanto's story is so often limited to saying he taught the Pilgrims about fertilizing with fish, planting corn, and getting maple syrup. While his role in helping the Pilgrims is essential, his story before he met the Pilgrims is interesting and very important.

Did you know....

Squanto was kidnapped once or maybe twice (I've read several different dates) There are different scenarios -- was he kidnapped by George Weymouth or was he kidnapped by Captain Thomas Hunt or by both -- it's hard to figure out the detail!

Squanto was taken to Spain to be sold as slave.

Squanto was 'purchased' by Spanish monks who taught him English and about God. He spent about 5 years in Spain.

Squanto went to London for another about 5 years and improved his English.

Squanto came back to the America on a ship and discovered that his people had died from illness and he was alone.

Governor William Bradford thanked God for Squanto in his prayers by saying "And thank You for bringing to us the Indian Squanto, your own special instrument to save us from hunger and help us to establish our colony in this new land." (from William Bradford's Journal)

As you read various stories of Squanto, the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving, be discerning as many of the versions are not always factual and can be politically correct.

In the Beginning God Created ...

I was raised in the public school environment in the 60's and early 70s and thus was heavily steeped in evolution. Plus I attended Michigan State University and majored in Earth Science. Although I was raised in a Christian home and attended church and Sunday School regularly I could never figure out what to do about science and Genesis. So I put each in its own niche for decades. There was never an intersection of the two. Genesis was on Sunday morning and science was all the rest of the time.

However I finally understand that Genesis doesn't occupy a niche in my life -- it's the foundation. We have ongoing discussions at our house about creation. Everyone at our house believes that God created the universe -- that's not in doubt. The discussion lies in the detail -- just how long did it take to create the universe and was evolution the means that God used. The score is one undecided, one who thinks lots of time was involved and two of us take God at his Word.

In Evolution Exposed, the author distinguishes between operational (observable) science and historical science (origins related). Historical science is not testable, while operational science is. I have always viewed things 'scientific' with no clear definition of what I mean by the word 'science'. Those who believe in evolution (birds to dinosaur kind of thinking) can't test their theories anymore than someone who believes in creation as described in the Bible. But...creationists have the eye witness testimony of the Word of God, while others must create theories. It's worth pondering. Many dismiss the discussion, but for me it begs the question of "if Genesis is in doubt, what else in the Bible is doubtful?"

From my "God is in the Small Calendar":

Science is not the enemy of God, and religion is not the enemy of science. After all, when God made the world, He made science possible.

The task before Alex and me is to present our understanding in a clear and concise way to those who wonder about our origins (and why). As God would have it, we are studying Astronomy this year and the beginnings of the universe is a discussion item . At age 9 years old, Alex doesn't doubt for a second that God created the universe and that the Bible is true. Jesus tells us we must have the faith of child. I pray that Alex holds tight to the Truth as he grows. I consider it a blessing that I get to teach my son how to defend his faith and I'm learning right along with him.

I'm Swimming

The blog is set up -- but will it change????? What fun playing with the 'look' and 'content'. This has been an eventful week at our house and I'm glad that our homeschooling style is flexible. My daughter Jill broke her leg on Monday and is in a wheelchair for about 2 weeks. We didn't get too much done this week. Alex was able to demonstrate lots of compassion though.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. In case you didn't know, every year the President of the United States issues a Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanksProcMostRecent.htm

Jump In .... the Water's Warm

"Education is a life; that life is sustained on ideas; ideas are of spiritual origin, and, God has made us so that we get them chiefly as we convey them to one another. " [Volume 2 Parents and Children (Charlotte Mason) pg 39]

After reading many blogs, it's time for me to leap in....splash!

What an adventure life is! This blog will be a way for our family to chronicle where life takes us, share discoveries we make along the way, tells others what we are doing, record life and all the while share the love of Jesus Christ with those we meet along the way.