Molly's Birthday Party!

Three weeks ago I had my 8th birthday party. It was lots of fun. I invited Margaret (she is my sister so she was there anyway) , Maggie, Allie, Blythe, Merida, Courtney F. and Courtney G.

We ate lots of pizza, drank lots of pop, and ate LOTS of candy. We were all stuffed.

We put on a dance show, watched a movie, and slid down the stairs in sleeping bags. The sleeping bag part was TONS of fun.

Then we opened presents. I got lots of cool things. I got poly-pockets, necklaces, a stain glass paint set, a treasure box that you can paint, and a bracelet making kit.

Thanks to all who came!! I've played with everything and love them all. I had lots of fun and I hope that everyone else did to.

"The Apple and the Arrow" (reviewed by Madison)

If you have ever wondered who William Tell is, then this is the book for you. It is called "The Apple and The Arrow", and was written by Mary and Conrad Buff. The story takes place in 1291. It is about William and Walter Tell and the becoming of Switzerland. There are a lot of characters in this book but the ones that were real are, William Tell, Walter Tell, Hedwig Tell, Rudi Tell, Marie, and Gessler.

The people of Uri who had a good king and the King was good to them. He left them alone except when it was time for them to pay taxes. But then the good King died and his son became the new king. The son was very different then his father. He was mean and wanted all of his people to realize that they were his people and that he ruled over them. So he made certain people become his governors. The new governor of Uri was named Gessler. He was a very cruel man and very evil. He treated the people of Uri very badly. The people wanted to become free again and get rid of Gessler. The men of Uri held meetings that plotted against the governor. These meetings were very dangerous, for if the were caught they would all be hanged. They plotted and soon all of the people of Uri, except Gessler and his men, knew that there was going to be a revolt against Gessler on the first day of the new year. But people started to find out about the revolt in other towns and so William and Walter Tell went to find out what all they knew. When they got there they were told to bow down to the governor's hat but William wouldn't do it. He said he would only bow down to the Lord God and the King. This made Gessler made so he arrested him and his son. But he then remembered that William was said to be the best bowman in the land, so he tied Walter to a tree and put an apple on his head. He told William that if he could hit the apple in half of the top of Walter's head he and Walter could go free. William didn't want to do it for he was afraid he would miss, but Walter had faith in his father. Walter said that he knew that William could hit it. All of the towns people who had gathered around to watch all knew William could do it too. So William shot the apple and it went right thought the apple and hit the tree. Gessler had said that they could go free but he was a cruel man and didn't keep his promise. So he arrested William but let Walter go free. Walter went back to Uri and told his Mother what had happened. Later on the night a neighbor boy came and said that his father had seen a small ship with Gessler and four of his men in it. But steering the ship was William Tell! Everyone was excited. The Tell's waited all night until finally William came home. He was cut and bleeding and was very tired. After he had some rest he told his story. " They were taking me to another island, but a storm came and everyone knew that I was the only one who could save them. So they cut my chains and let me steer the boat. I knew where I was going and brought the boat right up along the shore, jumped out and then pushed the boat out to the sea. I wasn't for sure if they had drowned but I couldn't take my chances. I ran through the woods and scraped myself up along the way. After about three hours I heard the sounds of horses and men. I didn't know who they were until I saw Gessler. I knew that this was my chance to get rid of him. I waited until he was right in front of me and then I shot my bow and arrow. It hit him in the heart and he fell to the ground. I ran before anyone ever knew what had happened. And then I ran all the way back here." After everyone had heard the story and asked questions, they went to bed.
There were still other governors that needed to be stopped. On the night of the revolt, the men went to the mountain top with some of the children. They prayed and then they lit their fires, but before they had a chance to do anything, someone started shouting, " Look! The Governor's castle is on Fire! We are free!!" So in the end, Uri turns into a free country of Switzerland and William ad Walter Tell turn out to be heroes.
To me, Walter was not a hero. He didn't do anything. His father, William, was a hero because he killed Gessler and was also one of the main leaders of the revolt. William did a lot to save his people and his town. Maybe Walter was a hero because he had faith in his father. Or maybe he was a hero because his father was a hero too. I guess that's for you to decide.
This story was more about William Tell than his son but the authors made the book look like Walter is the main character by placing him on the front page and focusing on him the entire first chapter. That is one thing that I would have done differently if I were the author.
I like the title of the book. I think the title, "The Apple and the Arrow", fits this story because Walter had to trust his dad and believe that he could really shoot the apple off his head. One of the things that I thought of when I read this was that we should all trust our fathers and believe in them.

I really liked the part in the story where Gessler captured William and so William had to shoot the arrow off of Walter's head. If I had written this book I would have made it longer. I think it needed more of the story with more details.
I would not have liked to live in the time that this story happened. It would have been very hard to get food. Not many people could read or write, either. I would not like it if we couldn't read or write, because life would be very boring. They also didn't have any electronics. They didn't have computers, cell phones or any kind of music players. This would have been very hard! Although, people who lived then would have never dreamed of these kinds of things, so they would never miss them.

This story was very interesting to read. I would recommend this book to people who like history and books set in the early middle ages.

Kellenberger & Luthi Fall Birthday Party!!!

Chad & I recently had the Kellenberger and Luthi families over to celebrate fall birthdays. We had a great time just being together and being ourselves. Here are Jared, Calvin, Chad, Nathan, Austin,Molly, and Madison...the special birthday people.





First, we ate chicken & noodles... (We total 14 children & 9 adults.)

Here's Austin, Bubba, Danielle & Margaret waiting so patiently to be excused from the table...

We enjoyed just hanging out together...

Here's Mary and Audrey telling secrets...


Molly and cousin Clint...

Margaret & cousin Danielle...

and Clint has decided that he's big enough to try to walk around...

Jessica enjoyed my chicken & noodles sooooo much that she was all smiles! HA,HA

THEN CAME THE PRESENTS...

Molly is old enough to read her own cards now...

We even gave Cal a special gift... Chad gave him back a saw that he had borrowed from him 3 years ago!

The main event for the night was, THE BOXING, of course. Ryan & Caleb showed us all how it is done.

Winston, our bird, even got a little attention from Aunt Jodi & Jessica.

Uncle Kyle gets a little goofey towards the end of the night.Amber gets in on the act.

Margaret has to show us her tongue too!

And all the excitement was just too much for grandpa to handle. " Night - Night, G-pa!"

Daniel

Look what the angels delivered......

straight from heaven.

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is Sydney and Sara. This was one of the highlights of the party....sliding down the stairs, which was REALLY fun. :D

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is Rachel, Me and Becca. ( I think Becca was saying something exciting)

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is all of us. ( Sydney, Sara, Rachel, Becca, Aspyn, Me, and my sisters)

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is Aspyn.

Maddy's Birthday Party

This is me opening my presents. ( Rachel, Maddy, Margaret)

Maddy's Brithday Party

This is at Pizza Hut. This is Becca ( in the red) and Rachel.

Maddy's Birthday Party

I had my 12th birthday party on Friday night. It was so much fun!!!! I had Rachel, Sara, Becca, Sydney, and Aspyn over. We went to eat pizza then we all came home and talked a little bit. We finally decided that we should slide down the stairs in our sleeping bags, and boy, was that fun!!!
At first we went one at a time on our backs but we found the if you lay on your stomach you go much faster. Pretty soon we had two people in a sleeping bag flying down the stairs!!! It was really fun. After that we went downstairs and played ping-pong. ( I think we are pros. NOT!!!) At like 11:00 p.m we finally went to watch the movie Anne of Avonlea ( the sequel to Anne of Green Gables). By the time that got done it was like 2:00 a.m and of course we couldn't just go to sleep. We had to sit there and talk for another two hours. It was 4:30 before any of us went to sleep. I had a ton of fun and although I didn't get much sleep, I didn't want it to be over. I have to say thanks to my mom for letting me have that party, and thanks to all of my friends who came!!! ( I can't wait to do it again!!)

Sarkozy...what does he really want???

On Wednesday, November 7, French President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed a joint session of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. His speech was incredibly patriotic...but there is something fishy... Who is this guy? Where did he come from? Sounds like he grew up in America, oh wait, he wouldn't know US history quite so well if he went to our government schools. Last I heard the French hated us. I'm totaly confused....must go research. Read excerpts of the speech here http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art_pf.html?ID=4652 then tell me what you think.

Bub's first chance for flag football glory...

and everyone held their breathe to see what he was made of....

Bub catches the ball for a 2-point conversion. Notice the guy in the brown jacket.....(that would be Chad, the proud dad!!!)

Bubba Kellenberger
Chiefs 2007

The Chiefs are Undefeated!!!!
Here's Bub's first flag football team after an undefeated season! Coaches Chad Moore and Lance Hardman were awesome coaches and it was a great experience for all the boys.

14 Days of Homeschooling

I did not write this, but have always loved it!
(To the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas.")

On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think we can do this, if you will help us, we'll join a sports team, and we'll homeschool legally."

Korn meets The King

This is a great example of why we should never judge people with tattoos, piercings, long hair, etc. This guy used to be a member of the heavy metal group KORN. He was addicted to many drugs and became a millionaire singing songs about evil. God has delivered him and he is on fire for Jesus Christ. I love what He says about "religion" and "taking a break from church." Sometimes religion can really get in the way of your real relationship with Jesus. Let us never look down on others because of what they look like, or because of their past. Jesus Christ can change anyone He wants to, and it is not up to us to decide who is good enough and who is not!
(Click on the link below for this incredible story.)
http://www.canadianchristianity.com/bc/bccn/1107/01korn

My body's achin' but my heart is full...

I'm home alone tonight and feeling "sicker than a d-a-w-g," but I felt it important to drag myself out of bed a write a short post. How blessed I am to be able to rest in this comfortable house and know that my good friends are taking care of some of my children, my other children are helping run my dance studio tonight, my husband is completely taking care of a fundraising project for me, and another great friend is also helping run the studio by taking tuition $$$. I have a stuffed up nose, terrible sore throat, and a fever, and really need to stay here and rest. I feel so grateful to God that He has put me in a position that I can rest. Great God, Great Husband, Great Kids, Great Friends....and I don't deserve any of them. That is the beauty of Jesus Christ. He takes the lowest of the sinners and saves them from hell, then pours out His blessings upon them. That is what He has done for me and He wants to do for you as well. All you have to do is ask. He has given me everything I could possibly need to be perfectly happy and I did not do anything to deserve it. It is a gift freely given. Peace, comfort, contentment, love, real joy...if these are the things you are looking for, His name is JESUS!!! He loves you. Now I'll go rest, knowing that I am in the arms of a loving father.

Madison is 12 years old !

I can not believe it! Madison is 12 years old today!
I tried to stay in denial all day and just act like it wasn't true, but that didn't work. I've been telling her all along to "STOP GROWING UP," but she doesn't listen. I guess I just have to let it happen. Just yesterday she was the little girl in this picture. Now she is turning into a beautiful young lady (who can still catch fish, by the way..). I thank God for her and all her special gifts. She is musical, athletic, smart, beautiful, and boy, can she debate! I'm pretty sure God has big plans for her!

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Several years ago, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit that my family should not be participating in Halloween. My husband & I prayed about it and we sat our children down to tell them. We told them that Halloween was a holiday that was practiced by pagans to worship their false gods, and then the Catholic Church leaders had tried to appease the pagans by allowing them to continue to celebrate this holiday, but giving it a more Christian slant. We also told them that many witches who belong to the Wiccan religion practice pagan rituals on Halloween, as well as Satan worshipers. We showed them verses in the Bible that said that witchcraft, sorcery, and evil spirits are a abomination to God. We also discussed the verses about being a light to the world and not trying to imitate the darkness. I told them to think about how God probably feels about having His children participate in Halloween. They were totally convinced that this was NOT something that God would want them to do. Since then, they have never expressed disappointment over not getting to participate in this event. But they are very confused as to why other Christians would choose to. Consider these things...

Christians who celebrate Halloween use the reasoning that their children are part of this world and they want them to be accepted. This usually goes along with the belief that Halloween is not real anyway so what difference does it make if we celebrate it or not. I can sympathize with wanting to be accepted. However, as a follower of Messiah Jesus, we must die to the flesh.The flesh is the part of us that is demanding to be accepted. We do not let our teenage children engage in many behaviors just because they are acceptable in the world today, so why would we worry about their not being accepted because they do not celebrate a demonic holiday? We must provide the light, not enter into the darkness.

What is it about Halloween that is so enticing to many Christians? Why, after being delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, are they so eager to run back to the kingdom of darkness? Why do so many churches/denominations sponsor Halloween parties and festivals? The situation is very puzzling. Jesus brought light into the world. He came that we might have eternal life. Most Christians whole-heartily embrace these Scriptural facts. Yet, once a year, many of them turn their focus to Satan and his kingdom, all the while denying that it really actually means anything.


Let us examine and see if the celebration of Halloween is really 'innocent'. We will also look at whether Christians should be involved in it. Whether we like it or not, we must accept the fact that Halloween is not just some made-up holiday. Halloween is part of the ancient religion of the Celtics. This is a pagan religion, originating in Ireland and Britain, which is heavily involved with the spiritual realm and many pagan gods. This ancient ("new-age") religion has four Major High Holy Days, or festivals, each year. One of them, Samhain (pronounced "sow-en", with "sow" rhyming with cow), is celebrated on November 1. It is considered to be one of the most important celebrations as it is thought to mark the beginning of the Celtic New Year. According to the Celtic religion, the day before Samhain (October 31) is the last day of summer (and last day of the year) and the day after Samhain is the first day of the winter (and the first day of the new year). Since Samhain is considered to be "between" the seasons or years, it is considered to be a very special time. The Celtics believe Samhain is a time when the division between the spiritual and physical realm becomes very thin, when hostile supernatural forces are active and spirits are free to wander as they choose. Several traditions have arisen with the celebration of Samhain. One of these is "trick or treat". While the origins are not clear, there are two legends that have came down over the years. One is that beggars would go from village to village begging for "soul cakes" made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. Another legend has it that, since the fairies were abroad on this night, an offering of food or milk was frequently left for them on the steps of the house, so the homeowner could gain the blessings of the "good folk" for the coming year. (This almost sounds like the current false teachings regarding giving "seed" money to get a "harvest" of blessings for ourselves.) Many of the households would also leave out a "supper" for the spirits of the departed. Another Halloween tradition is the "jack-o-lantern". It also has two legends that surround its beginnings. One such legend states that originally the Irish would carve out turnips or beets as lanterns as representations of the souls of the dead or goblins freed from the dead. When the Irish emigrated to America they could not find many turnips to carve into jack o'lanterns but they did find an abundance of pumpkins. The other legend has it that a man named Jack tricked Satan into a tree and trapped him there. After making a deal with the devil to let him go, Jack went on his way. He eventually died and, the story goes, he was not allowed in heaven or hell and so was doomed to wander between the two realms. The story concludes with the devil giving Jack an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out turnip. The tradition of "bobbing for apples" is derived from a Celtic pagan marriage custom. A lot of marriage divinations had to do with apples. In Celtic tradition, the fruit was associated with female deities who controlled the ways of love. One of the most popular divinations was for young unmarried people to try to bite into an apple floating in water or hanging from a string. This is something like the bouquet toss that still plays a part in wedding receptions — the first person to bite into the apple would be the next one to marry. Witches, warlocks, and witchcraft are dominant themes of the holiday. Witches and warlocks generally believe themselves to be followers of the ancient religion called 'Wicca'. This is a religion which worships nature and is an attempt to return to worshipping ancient Norse, Greek, or Celtic gods and goddesses. The Wicca religion is growing in the United States today. According to some sources Wicca is currently the fastest growing spiritual path in the US. Wicca witches are now allowed to practice their pagan rituals on United States military bases. Fort Hood gave official sanction to the first Wiccan group by giving them a place to conduct their rituals, endorsing their selection of a priestess, and providing them with an Army chaplain. (This is the fruit of "freedom of religion".)
Our natural tendency would be to just brush this all off as harmless fun, believing that it has no real meaning. However, Halloween ("Samhain") is not an innocent holiday. It is taken very seriously by those of the Celtic (including Wicca) religion and is considered one of their most holy days. The problem is that Satan has worked very hard to get the rest of us — especially Christians — to think that Halloween is really harmless. In fact, part of the work of Satan has been to convince the world that he does not exist. By doing so, satanic rituals, such as the celebration of Samhain, are seen as not being real. When Christianity and the world celebrates the Festival of Samhain and the powers of darkness by masquerading as evil creatures or decorating their homes, schools, businesses, and churches with occult symbols, Satanic power is glorified.

As to the introduction of Halloween into the church ...When Christianity spread to parts of Europe, instead of trying to abolish these pagan customs, people tried to introduce ideas which reflected a more Christian world-view. Halloween has since become a confusing mixture of traditions and practices from pagan cultures and Christian tradition. The Romans observed the holiday of Feralia, intended to give rest and peace to the departed. Participants made sacrifices in honor of the dead, offered up prayers for them, and made oblations to them. The festival was celebrated on February 21, the end of the Roman year. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV introduced All Saints' Day to replace the pagan festival of the dead. It was observed on May 13. In 834, Gregory III moved All Saint's Day from May 13 to November 1 and for Christians, this became an opportunity for remembering before God all the saints who had died and all the dead in the Christian community. October 31 thus became All Hallows' Eve ('hallow' means 'saint')."Somewhere (probably from Satan), the Church came up with the idea that it had the power to adopt pagan holidays and declare them holy to the Lord, i.e. Easter and Christmas. There is no Scriptural basis for this act by the Church. In fact, only the Lord is able to declare anything holy. There is no evidence in Scripture — neither in the Tenach ("old testament") or in the Brit Chadashah ("new testament") — of Moses, Joshua, the prophets, King David or Solomon, Jesus, or the apostles ever "remembering before God all the saints who had died". Their focus was always on God, not man. In an effort to separate itself from Israel, the Church disregarded the holy days set forth by God in Leviticus 23.

Many churches today try to turn the holiday into what looks like a a more Christian event. A particularly strange phenomenon within many churches is the introduction of the "Hell House" program. Quoting from one Web site that promotes the program, "Hell House is an outreach event that is structured very much like a typical haunted house that people visit and walk through. "Hell House" capitalizes on the 'Halloween' time of year, when people are thinking about ghoulish and frightening images and attractions. Hell House is much more than a haunted house. It is a spiritually-based adventure that takes people on a 7-scene journey, each scene depicting the hell and destruction that Satan and this world can bestow on those who choose to not serve Jesus Christ. Literally, choices that can also have an end result of ushering people into hell." There is even a "Hell House Outreach Kit" available.
One of the greatest difficulties with this "program", and there are others like it, is that it boldly states that the Word of God is not powerful enough to change someones life so we need to put real satanic fear into them. Another problem is that it does not cause someone to humble themselves before God and submit to Him for who He is; rather it focuses on the person so that they won't have to spend eternity in Hell. In other words, the basic message is "save yourself from eternal damnation" instead of "worship the Creator, the God of the Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because He is worthy to be praised". The truth is we all deserve to spend eternity burning in Hell. It is only because of God's mercy and His love that He has provided a way that we may spend eternity with Him.
The Web site goes on: "Hell House is cutting edge, it is shocking, it is offensive. But it is Truth". Terrorism is also cutting edge, shocking, offensive, and true (in the sense of reality) but I would not want my child to be in the midst of a terrorist attack in order to 'understand' it. We do not have to see or experience these things to know that they are wrong, or to come to know the Lord. It is when we realize, in our daily lives, that we cannot make it on our own. We must come to the end of ourselves and see God for who He really is — the Creator of all things, the only truly perfect and good thing in all of eternity. We must come to know that He is the only One we can trust and that only by His mercy can we be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Is fear the method that God uses to draw someone to Him? Not according to Scripture: "The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted" (Proverbs 29:25); "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). God draws men to Him through love; it is Satan who draws men through fear. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8); "Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you" (2 Corinthians 13:11). What God laid down in His Word should be sufficient. It is wrong to think that we must add the things of the world in order to make the Word of God more powerful or more palatable. These things of the world will all be destroyed, they are merely paper and straw. It is the Word of God that will stand in the end. *****We are not the ones who do the calling anyway, it is the Holy Spirit. He works in the hearts of men to humble them and bring them before the Lord. It is not the work of man to humble another; rather the work of God. So how will ushering teenagers through a "haunted hell house" do anything but add to the thrill of the holiday?

What does Scripture have to say regarding the things of Halloween? The city of Ephesus was considered one of the centers of occult in the world during the first century. Paul told the church there, "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them" (Ephesians 5:11). According to this word from the Holy Spirit, not only are we to reject the deeds of darkness (i.e. celebration of pagan festivals), we are to expose them for what they are -- satanic, evil, and of the devil. The next verse says that we are not to even speak of these things: "for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret" (Ephesians 5:12). God commanded in His Torah: "... do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations [goy, i.e. pagans] serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?'" (Deuteronomy 12.30) Paul told the church at Rome to reject these things of the world: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12.2). Contrary to the teachings of the mainstream church, we are not to be conformed (or to conform the Word of God) to this world. We are supposed to renew our minds with the Word of God so that we may preach His message, not the message of Satan. We cannot seek after God and the things of darkness at the same time: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?" (1 Corinthians 10.21-22a). We must separate ourselves from the world. It does not matter if we look strange or are not "accepted". Jesus Himself had much to say to His disciples (and us) regarding this very topic: "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:19); "He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal" (John 12:25).

The deception of the celebration of Halloween is so subtle it is hard to see it as demonic and evil. After all, it is just some children dressing up as monsters, witches, etc. and going door-to-door "trick or treating", right? Is there any real harm in it? This is the same thing as the reading of horoscopes. Most people think it is just foolishness anyway, so why not do it? Is it just foolishness? Does God really care if we celebrate Halloween (or read horoscopes)? God states in Torah: "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens [fortunetelling, horoscopes], or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist ["one who has a familiar spirit", 'wizard' - KJV], or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord ... For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so." (Deuteronomy 18.10-12a, 14) and again, "You shall not allow a sorceress ['witch' - KJV] to live" (Exodus 22.18). John heard a voice from the Throne saying "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21.8). God declared to Israel, "I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you will have fortunetellers no more" (Micah 5.12). There are Christians around the world who are being persecuted for being "different". They will not conform to the ways of the world. We must take a lesson from them. Let us not enter into the ways of the world. Can we see Peter and his wife taking their children "trick or treating" (if it had been in existence at the time)? Or maybe Jesus passing out treats at the door to the little children that He loved so much? I don't think so. Why, then, would the followers of Jesus do it?

A Typical Week At Bubba's House

I have had many people ask me how I manage hschooling 4 children and all of their activities. I usually always laugh and say, "I don't, very well." As hschooling mothers, we never really feel like we "get it all done," but over the past 6 years of teaching, I have discovered that my family is much more productive when I have a well-planned schedule. I spend hours upon hours working on a schedule for the 4 children and I. Then I try it for 2 weeks and usually have to rework it. This is time well spent. I also have to consider what locations we do certain subjects in because we have music practices going on all morning. Also, some places just "feel" better for certain subjects. According to the schedule, everyone should know exactly where to be, what to be doing, and who to be doing it with. Very little time is wasted this way.

On Mondays we go out of town for 3 Suzuki Violin lessons and 1 Suzuki Piano lesson. We come home, eat lunch, take naps, read, then do science/history/bible.

This is our schedule for Tuesday through Friday.

8-9
M11 violin exercises
M10 piano practice
M8 math w/mom
B 6 math w/mom

9-10
M11 math
M10 math
M8 Abeka Language Arts w/mom
B6 Abeka Language Arts w/mom

10-11
M11 violin polishing piece / bible & pray
M10 ballet /bible & bray
M8 break & violin w/mom
B6 violin w/mom & break

11-12
M11 grammar/spell/writing/vocab/latin
M10 grammar/spell/writing/vocab/latin
M8 read w/mom
B6 read w/mom

I'm available to answer M11 & M10's questions as needed, but don't do any direct teaching until afternoon.

12-lunch & watch "Andy Griffith" (Did you know that every episode of this show can be made into a bible lesson?)
1 - family read aloud
2 - M8 & B6 room for books on tape and naps
M11 & M10 Check all work w/mom & work on writing or Internet for science (Apologia Zoology links)
3 - read or sleep
4- Everyone up for activities such as dance, violin, football, Upward basketball, (Tuesdays & Thursdays) or Science/History/Bible Class w/mom (Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays.)

Classical music (mostly Suzuki cds) are always playing where we can here them.

We also attend church bible studies & fellowships on Wednesday and Sunday nights.

I highly recommend the "Managers of Their Homes" system for scheduling.

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My views on gun control... (click here)

What's up with the name???

Okay, so now I'm finally getting around to explaining the name of this blog. About six years ago I was at a homeschooling conference. Like all new homeschooling mothers, I was buying everything in sight that I thought I would have to have to make my HSchool successful. The kind man at the "Edutracker" booth convinced me that I should buy this amazing software that would help me create lesson plans, keep grades, produce grade cards and other records, and I think he even said it would scrub my toilets and make homemade cookies for me everyday if I programmed it correctly. Wait, maybe that was just me dreaming, but anyway... As the conference was ending and everyone was packing up to leave, the man shoved a paper at me and told me to fill it out so I could buy the software. I hurriedly filled out the usual info; name, phone, number of children, etc., and when it came to name of school, it hit me that I had not yet thought of a name for our HSchool. When he saw the distraught look on my face, HE SAID, "Don't worry about that, you'll be able to name your school when you download the program!" So I very quickly thought of something silly to write thinking it didn't matter anyway. Well, I'm not calling the nice "Edutracker" man a liar or anything, but when I got my "Edutracker" and started printing out some of those neat little homeschooling forms, they all had "Bubba's House O' Fine Learnin'" on the top (in a very nice, formal font, I might add.) After much thought, I decided to leave it with that title because it does represent our HSchool in a lot of ways. On one hand, we listen to and play classical music, love ballet, study Latin and appreciate art. These are all elements of a classical education. On the other hand, we live in a very small town and try to keep our lives calm and "down to earth." Sometimes a classical education can make you a little "stuffy" so you need to appreciate the simpler things in life, like the annual town fair, the bison auctions, picking corn out at the farm, OKAY ENOUGH!!!! I'm a city girl and my husband is a country boy. Hopefully our kids will turn out somewhere in between!

Hi, my name is Margaret and my favorite things to do are piano, dance, and swim. I have a lot of fun dancing because I have many friends who dance with me. I have danced since I was 2 or 3 years old and I have loved it since forever. I play the piano for my instrument. I have played for 5 years. I think it is fun until the practicing comes along. I do not like practicing, but I do like to play it just for fun. My mom always says, "practice makes perfect." I have to say that in my head sometimes when I am practicing. Swim team is another thing I do. I love it because it is so much fun. My mom is my dance teacher and also my school teacher because we are home schooled. My dad is the best dad ever because he does so many things for me. He is always there to cheer me on during my dances or other things that I do. I also have a lot of friends. I hope this tells you alot about me and my personality! Bye!!