4th of July

I've been havin' some camera issues so I'm a bit behind on
posting "current events" but am hopin' to do some catching up today.

Our 4th of July was spent on the water swimming, skiing, wakeboarding & tubing
-- havin' a grand 'ol time ... until my husband took a spill while skiing & gave
me one of the biggest scares of my entire life! I have never ever seen him in
such pain & in the first few minutes after his spill, I was SO afraid he'd
either broken his back or his neck - but after he managed to replenish the wind
that had been knocked out of him & was given some time to recoup, he managed
to hoist himself back into the boat on his own & hindsight seems it indicate
that he probably cracked a rib or two. - Needless to say, he opted to stay home & rest while we ventured out that evening to celebrate our nation's birthday by watching some fabulous fireworks in a nearby town. We had nice time - but somethin' (someone!) was missing :(

Fast Forward to now....Each day he improves but still when he sneezes (which he tries to avoid at all costs!) it's agonizing. The other night he sneezed & I thought he might be having a heart attack! Poor guy. I'm just so thankful it wasn't worse & that each day he's getting better.

True-U

Just tho't to share here a DVD series we're going thru' this summer w/ a group (mix of Jr. High, High-School & College students & adults) from our church.

....TrueU is an apologetics training series primarily geared to help prepare high school students for the rigorous challenges and attacks that will confront them on the university campus. My guess is that it will end up benefiting a whole lot more folks than just high school seniors.”

Dr. Del Tackett, Focus on the Family / The Truth Project

The goal of TRUE-U is to equip participants to confidently answer "scientific" arguments that are frequently leveled against biblical faith & the evidence presented is on par with what collegians can expect to encounter in a university biology or philosophy course. Lessons taught by Dr. Stephen Meyer* are academic and challenging (e.g., in-depth exploration of the structure of the DNA molecule, discussion of mathematical probabilities, etc.)

It's really good stuff presented in an interesting/attention-grabbing way that has generated some great discussion as we examine the evidence - of which there is an abundant supply - for why we believe what we believe.

Check it out HERE

"I now see the necessity of a beginning."

Albert Einstein

*Dr. Meyer serves as Director and Senior Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute, in Seattle, Washington. He holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University in the History and Philosophy of Science, having written his doctoral dissertation on the methodology of historical sciences and the history of origin of life biology. Dr. Meyer earned undergraduate degrees in physics and geology, and worked as a geophysicist prior to undertaking his Ph.D. studies. Before joining the Discovery Institute, he taught at the collegiate level for twelve years.

The Glass Castle

This is one of Playmaker's required summer reading books. Initially I did not want her to read it - or to force her to think deeply about some of the stuff I knew was in here in order to wrap words around her responses to the assigned questions. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt perhaps she should read it - & I read it too. As I read it, I shared much of the story w/ my husband & all I will say is this book has certainly prompted A LOT of conversation between the three of us - much of which has been about some stuff that's really much easier to avoid, than to discuss.

For much more info & insight (including a short "worth watching" video clip of the author), click this pic:

"...while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. " - Excerpt from Amazon.com review

My Short Summary: Heart-wrenching & incredibly thought provoking

Life is short. Eat dessert ...for dinner!

Anyone watching the news knows we've been enduring an intense heatwave here in New England ... the kind where people get rather creative in how they attempt to keep cool (or at least comfortable!). I went to extreme measures & served icecream for dinner! No lie - & no regrets :) I enjoyed surprising the family by serving this refreshing treat that I remember well from my own childhood.

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1

A wardrobe "tie dye for"

...a government big enough to give you everything you want is

... a government big enough to take from you everything you have. - Gerald Ford

I wish they'd make a miniseries of this ....

We watched it last night - & I wasn't nearly ready for it to end when it did! - & I'd like to know more about the beginning of her (& Edward's!) story as well. I can easily be captivated by a story when I can really relate to a character, as I was able to do w/ Queen Victoria to a certain degree . We seem to share a similar character flaw - that being that all too often stubbornness is mistaken for strength - tho' to her credit, she took it to heart when a good friend/mentor eventually pointed this out to her. And from already looking into her story a bit more on my own, I sense that much of the wisdom she gained over time was learned the hard way --from mistakes (apparently some terrible ones) she'd made as she struggled to become who she was destined to be.

Oh - & I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention that the costuming was STUNNING! :)

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2