This Memorial Day remember to:
1. Thank a soldier. Whether he be relative, friend, or guy passing you with a Vietnam vet ballcap, please just remember to thank him for his service. Those men and women who have served our country deserve to be honored because they risked their lives to protect you and me. Believe me, they will appreciate your gratitude.
2. Hang an American flag. If you don't have a place to hang a flag i.e. if you live in an apartment or you don't have a flag pole, you can always put miniature flags along your house or in your home. Show your patriotism!
3. Pray for America. God is the reason why America was created, because of His will and His blessings. God is the only way our country will be saved. Please remember to prat for our troops, their families, and that God's Will be done with the United States.
God bless, my friends, and have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day!
And to all the troops reading this right now, thank you so much for your service.
A home schooler has a unique life. We spend our hours of the day at home with our parents learning, rather than heading to a building to learn the same things, but also enjoy peer pressure, bullies, and low expectations. We wear clothes that reflect what we enjoy. We do things that make us happy. We learn things that interest us. We spend quality time with the family. We have relaxed schedules.
We are different.
Difference, in high school especially, is a scary and typically unwelcome thing. It smacks of confrontation, it oozes confidence. Being different as a teenager is a hard thing to do, but those who stick to their guns prosper.
I think back to when I went to go sign up for driver's ed. Naturally, I had to make a visit to high school, which also meant I had to walk the hallways to the classroom with my mom. Not only had the students never seen me, but I was also toting my mom with me. What an explosive combination! That grand total of one and a half minutes of strolling down the hall proved to be the most uncomfortable. Rude glares were thrown at me, and I felt not unlike a bug under a microscope. Pure agony.Perhaps I was a little sensitive, but who wouldn't when fifty teenagers are looking at you like they're just about to haul out the pig's blood?
The thing is, home schooling let's you be yourself, even if that isn't necessarily the "in" thing to be. I am so grateful to my parents for the endless hours and patience they have given me so I could get a good education sans all the crap that I'd get at public/private school.
Here's the other thing. Being a sheep in the herd is a habit. It may protect you now in high school, but one day you will regret your willingness to follow along with the crowd.
The habits you make at fifteen don't magically disappear on you 25th birthday. -- Tindell Baldwin
Mrs. Baldwin has a fabulous point. The habits you make now will last the rest of your life.
God made you special for a reason, whether you go to school or are home schooled. It's time for us to stop "going with the flow" and make some waves.
Sometimes it seems like God is on vacation.
How could He possibly be around when ISIS is killing Christians every day, when small children are starving in Africa, when our country has a debt on $19 trillion, when cancer inflicts so many of our loved ones, when politicians try to take away our rights, when kids are bullied not just at school, but also in the privacy of their rooms on their screens, when parents are struggling to keep their family off the street, when you can't enter a big city without the threat of a bomb going off. Where is God in all of this? Does He really care about us?
How could He let this happen?
Even the most grounded Christian has thoughts like these. We all have doubts why we trust a Savior we can't see or hear or feel. People accuse us of being crazed lunatics who are so dependent on something that we create an imaginary King to fill the void. It shakes your faith when you hear of another famous pastor messing up again, doesn't it. Where's God's place in our crazy world?
It is so easy to blame God for the bad stuff the happens in the world, when those bad things are a result of our negative actions or someone else's mistakes. God can do anything He wants because He is almighty. But I have found that so many times that God lets bad things happen to us, that will teach us a lesson we will need later on in life or that we can use that experience to help someone else. God's pretty amazing like that.
The other thing is that we need to accept a couple of things 1) we each have a purpose in life and when that purpose is finished, we die. 2) everyone dies. Both of the these truths are understandably hard to hear. God has a plan for everyone's life, and sometimes that plan leads to pain and suffering. Don't ask me to fully explain the ways of the Lord, because He has clearly said that His way are not our way and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Although it sounds like a stereotypical answer it holds so much truth: God has a plan for you and He's asking you to trust even when it is hard.
In Dee Henderson's Missing, a Wyoming sheriff is
called to Chicago when his elderly mother goes missing. Paired with a
savvy Chicago cop, the two realize her disappearance is no accident, and
a race against the clock begins.
Dani Pettrey returns to Alaska
with Shadowed, introducing readers to the parents of
her beloved McKenna clan. Adventure, romance, and danger collide when a
young fisherman nets the body of an open-water swimming competitor who
may actually be a possible Russian defector.
Lynette Eason's Blackout delivers the story of a woman once
implicated in a robbery gone wrong. The loot has never been found--but
her memory of that night has always been unreliable. Can she remember
enough to find her way to safety when the true culprit comes after her?
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Sins of the Past is a fast paced compilation of three exciting novellas by Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey and Lynette Eason. I enjoyed all the stories, especially Shadowed and Blackout. I liked the era set in Shadowed (1979), and the story line of Blackout was intriguing, and just plain addictive. This book is fantastic because three of the best Christian suspense writers ban together and create this masterpiece. Two big thumbs up!
I was sent a free copy of Sins of the Past by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
Excerpt taken from amazon.com.
Back in the Saddle caught my attention because it was set in my home state. The story looked pretty good, so I thought I'd give it a try.
I am sorry to say that I did not care for it. The first thing that drove me nuts was the "Southern" style of talking. Abbreviated drawl is something that is not original to Washington, so I don't know where the author go that impression, but it was off. Second, I did not find Colt and Angelina to be a believable couple. The topic was not my cup of tea.
I sound completely harsh here, but I just did not like this book.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in return for my honest (maybe way to honest) opinion.
Under the accusation of being slightly biased, my mom is the most incredible woman I have ever met. Strong, smart, hilarious, beautiful; these are just a few attributes of hers. My mom taught me about making goals and sticking to your guns and never giving up and loving people even when they're hard to love.
Thank you Mom for always being there.
Thank you Mom for doing what was best for me even when it was inconvenient for you.
Thank you Mom for showing me what a good wife looks like.
Thank you Mom for all the chick flicks we've watched together.
Thank you Mom for all the terrific (gluten free) meals you've made and always going out of your way to make them special.
Thank you Mom for being a shoulder I could cry on.
Thank you Mom for trusting and believing in me.
Thank you Mom for all the times you've made me laugh so hard with one of your witticisms.
Thank you Mom for taking me to the mall, even when you hate shopping.
Thank you Mom for always making me feel I could come to you with anything, even when I would never had told it to anyone else.
Thank you Mom for being in the car squealing when I got my first job.
Thank you Mom for always giving me your moral support.
Thank you Mom for all your encouragement.
Thank you Mom for telling me my blog was good even when it wasn't. :)
Thank you Mom for enabling my coffee addiction.
Thank you Mom for the good memories.
Thank you Mom for all the good memories yet to come.
Happy Mother's Day! I love you Mom!
