Love….

Jazmin–our beloved family dog

Jazmin – September 1998 to January 2013

Poor Jazzy lived the last of her days on Friday, January 25.  Wes did the math, she would have been 102 in dog years. 

We are going to miss our faithful friend. 

Prayer

"Prayer. What about prayer? A friend wrote to me saying that she didn't understand much about intercessory prayer. I don't, either. Most of us don't, and that is all right. We don't have to understand to know that prayer is love, and love is never wasted." - Madeleine L'engle

Community Without Conformity, Collaboration Without Control

http://lifestream.org/blog/2013/01/20/community-without-conformity-collaboration-without-control/

the restoration of community

“The Trinity is unity in diversity; the Trinity is our model for community.

When I think of the phrase The Coming of the Kingdom it means to me a restoration of community, the healing of brokenness which will enable us to rejoice once more in being one – not solitary, isolated one, but whole, body, intellect, spirit at peace; mind, heart, intuition in collaboration.

There are those who do not want this wholeness, who want to continue the process of fragmentation, and this has to be fought, with Michael and his angels by our side. If we care about wholeness, about unity in diversity, we are in battle.”

- Madeleine L’engle, The Irrational Season, 1977.

open tabs

 

1.  http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2013/01/syncing-your-devices-with-the-new-itunes.html

2.  math mammoth -- http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete-curriculum.php

3.  children’s software -- http://www.childrenssoftwareonline.com/3rd_grade_software.html

4.  http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/10/ipad-educational-apps.html

5.  http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/11/10-days-of-character-studies-day-1.html

6.  http://simplehomeschool.net/raising-an-independent-learner/

7.  http://www.scoop.it/t/technology-in-education

8.  http://ithemes.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/01/Kids-Creating-Stuff-Online.pdf

9.  http://www.design-your-homeschool.com/free-homeschooling-resources-language-arts.html

10.  http://www.ignitethefire.com/ourday.html

11.  http://www.mathplayground.com/logicgames.html

12.  http://www.ted.com/talks/colin_stokes_how_movies_teach_manhood.html

mercy and grace

To Save a Life (on Facebook)

Mercy= not getting what you deserve.
Grace= getting what you don't deserve.
There's at least one person you can extend grace or mercy to right now.

great reminder for me…

Above Rubies (facebook)

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
I love the quote that says,"The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem." This is especially humbling for believers that know their Father is sovereign over all, (say it again) ALL things. We then need to view "problems" as opportunities that are full of endless and unforeseen possibilities. They are adventures in the journey of life as our loving Father unfolds His perfect plan. We do not need to see or understand it all right now, we just need to walk in faith, watch and wait. Recall Matt 10:29-31 and Luke 12:25-28. Perhaps you need to adjust your attitude regarding a 'problem' you are facing? I know that I often do. Love Michelle+1

The purpose and meaning of education is widely misunderstood and wrongly presented.

Read this --- http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/an-a-student-regrets-his-grades/article7359620/?service=mobile#

Liked this paragraph -- "Finland’s nonconformist education system – the best in the world – should serve as an example of how students ought to see their educational experience. Finnish students don’t start school until they’re 7; they aren’t measured for the first six years of their education; and they rarely take exams or do homework until they are well into their teens. These students aren’t raised to see school as a measurement cycle where everything comes down to standardized testing, graded assignments and exams worth large portions of their final grade. Their educational culture is substantially different from the evaluation-driven Western world."

LOVED this video.... please watch!

seen on FB today

Makes Me Think - MMT - Today's Thought-Provoking Life Stories

http://makesmethink.com/ --> Today, when I interviewed my grandpa for a school project, I asked him, “What’s one physical human characteristic that you think is beautiful?” He replied, “I think scars are beautiful. Regardless of whether they’re old, new, large, small, deep or shallow. Many people think scars are an imperfection of the body, but I think they are a sign of strength; they show a person’s ability to endure pain, and live through it.” MMT

Prodigal Magazine

‎"We do not all have to agree this side of heaven. And we can take the pressure off ourselves to try to control others into believing the way that we believe. Lets honor those who see God from a different vantage point, rather than, with our anger, try to move them to see what we see."
~ Darrell Vesterfelt, President

how to help your kids learn more effectively

http://www.thechangeblog.com/how-to-help-your-kids-learn-more-effectively/

Pain Tracing

Good stuff here…

“Situations and the way they affect you are based on previous situations and the way they affected you in the past. This is how you learn to avoid pain and failure, and it’s how you learn to predict outcomes for the purpose of planning. Two different people can be in the same situation and pull two different interpretations out of it. Experience is personal. Perspective is a unique combination of genetics and experience.

It’s important to understand how perspective works because it aids in compassion and acceptance of differences. It can also help you understand yourself.”

Read more: http://www.graceisforsinners.com/pain-tracing/#ixzz2HOqKXQKJ
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

How to Create a Solo Retreat for Clarity and Well-Being

I need to do something like this soon.

http://www.purposefairy.com/8743/how-to-create-a-solo-retreat-for-clarity-and-well-being/#

Parent-child learning conferences: helping children set their own learning goals

http://project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/learning-conferences

Teaching Writing without (BUYING) a Writing Curriculum

http://www.squidoo.com/DIY-writing-curriculum

Personal Health Directives

http://humanservices.alberta.ca/guardianship-trusteeship/opg-personal-directives.html

http://humanservices.alberta.ca/documents/opg-personal-directives-form-opg5521.pdf

cabbage roll soup

Cabbage Roll Soup (http://www.homehardware.ca/en/index/home-experts/anna-olson/all-recipes/winter-recipes/cabbage-roll-soup.htm#)

This recipe has all the key ingredients of cabbage rolls without the work of rolling and filling the cabbage leaves.  Like most stews, this recipe tastes best reheated the next day. The rice and cabbage keep absorbing liquid as the stew sits, so you may have to add a little water.

Serves 8

• 3 strips  bacon, diced
• 1  medium onion, diced
• 1 stalk  celery, diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 lb ground beef or pork  450 g
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6 cups green or savoy cabbage, diced   1.5 L
• 2 28 oz tins, diced tomatoes (2) 796 mL
• 1 cup  chicken stock or water 250 mL
• 1⁄4 cup  cider vinegar 60 mL
• 2 tbsp prepared horseradish 30 mL
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika 15 mL
• 2 tsp celery salt 10 mL
• 2 bay leaves
• 1⁄2 cup long grain brown rice (such as basmati) 125 mL
• salt & pepper
• sour cream, for garnish

1. Cook the bacon in a large, heavy-bottom soup pot until it is crisp. Remove the bacon and reserve, and drain off all but 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the remaining fat.
2. Add the onion, celery and carrot and sauté over medium heat until the onion is almost translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef or pork and cook through, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook one minute more. Spoon off any excess fat.
3. Stir in the cabbage and add the tomatoes, stock, vinegar, horseradish, paprika, celery salt, bay leaves and rice and stir. Cover the pot and bring it up to a full simmer. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the stew until the rice is fully cooked, about 40 minutes. Season to taste. Remove the bay leaves, add back the cooked bacon and serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream.

Quotation of the Day

Have patience with everything in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the question now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Unschooling and Entrepreneurship as Education

http://bit-thinking.com/2012/12/28/unschooling-and-entrepreneurship-as-education/

any resolutions for the New Year?

may your coming year….