The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd

I really enjoyed the book. Although I am still horrified about the famine. It's hard to imagine so many people dying of starvation, and you can only imagine the agony the parents felt watching their children starve. If you enjoy historical novels I highly recommend this one, along with the Princes of Ireland.

We have Baby Geese

Just in time for Easter to boot. We had a pair of Canada Geese take up residence in our pond. The goose made a nest on the island. Today they hatched, and there are 6 or 7 goslings, swimming around in the pond with Momma and Poppa. As you can tell I am excited. If I can get close enough tomorrow, I'll try to take a picture. They are so cute!!!!!! http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds/canada-goose.htm

Didn't get close enough to get a really good picture. I don't want to scare them off. But if you look closely you can see the goslings in this picture. I got a really good look at them with the pair of binoculars we have.

Whose Version of Luke?

It's apparent that Abraham Smith isn't a theologian, if he was he would not put so much faith in the Gospel of Luke, which by the way the apostle Luke did not write (I am sure Smith wasn't trying to mislead anyone so I wanted to clarify that). The first four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written anonymously by well-educated, Greek speaking, Christians during the second half of the first century. The Gospel of Luke is believed to have been written by one of Paul's companions. We do not have the original of any of the New Testament books (including Luke); we don't even have copies of the original copies. It wasn't until the fourth century, nearly three hundred years after the New Testament was written, that we began to get complete manuscripts of all its books.


Bible scholars know that the words of the New Testament were changed in the process of copying them because they can compare the 5,400 copies that we have with one another. What is striking is that when they compare the copies no two copies agree in their entire wording. There can be only one reason for this the scribes that copied the texts changed them (Some thru human error, others did so intentionally). To put it simply there are more differences among the manuscripts then there are words in the New Testament.


The early Christian Church was full of sects with doctrines differing from one another. There is abundant evidence that scriptures were changed to promote the proto-orthodox viewpoint. (Lost Christianities The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths we Never Knew By Bart D. Ehrman)


Since Smith puts so much trust in Luke; perhaps he would be interested to know that in the oldest surviving witnesses to Luke's Gospel the scripture referring to Jesus' baptism reads "You are my Son, today I have begotten you" Luke 3:22; lending support to the Ebionites and the Roman Theodotians who believed Jesus was the biological son of Joseph and Mary, adopted by God at the time of his baptism because of the pure life he had lead.


Before Smith criticizes people for wanting to know more about the Bible and what the original texts actually said he should keep in mind that both Martin Luther and John Calvin were considered heretics whose views were considered sacrilegious by the Catholic Church. Today both Luther and Calvin's views are accepted as orthodox.

Also if Smith goes back and reads my original letter, he will see that I said “Jesus MIGHT have had a wife” not that he did. There is not enough evidence to be dogmatic either way; and I am sure Smith wouldn’t walk out of heaven if he got there and found Jesus was married to Mary (although if that’s the case I hope Mary sets him straight about being so close minded). As for me I’ll continue to study the Bible and read theological works to learn as much as I can and wait until I get to heaven to find out who was right.

PEAK Movie Day

Peak Gulf Coast was invited to view The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at the CB base theater. We had a great time and look forward to future movie days.

New Book in Amelia Peabody Series

Sean and I have had a marvelous time reading Elizabeth Peters latest book, Tomb of the Golden Bird. While Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter are busy finding King Tut's Tomb, the Emerson's are busy protecting "him" (aka Sethos) from his enemies, reconciling him with his wife and generally getting into trouble.

In Defense of the Da Vinci Code

It’s easy to see from Mildred Smith’s letter to the editor that she hasn’t even bothered to read the Da Vinci Code before disparaging it. Apparently Ms Smith doesn’t understand the meaning of the word fiction. Fiction a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact. Fiction is meant to be entertaining and Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code certainly is.

She brings up another work of fiction that she approves of The Passion of the Christ.
Apparently anything that portrays Jesus in a manner she approves of is good, and anything that deviants from her beliefs is bad, even if it might be true.

She also states categorically that Jesus did not have a wife or father a child. I wonder how she knows, many theologians admit it is possible that Jesus was married, and a careful review of the scriptures show that they do not state if Jesus was married or not.

Evidence that Jesus was married:
Irenaeus' Doctrine of Recapitulation supports the notion of a married Savior. Irenaeus taught that Jesus Christ symbolically entered every critical stage of human existence and sanctified it. Since family life, including sexuality, is central to our lives, it seems logically consistent with the mission of a Savior to redeem and sanctify this aspect of our experience, as well.

In keeping with the Creeds of the Church, which teach that Christ had two natures: one human and one divine, the offspring of Christ would not have represented a "divine race".

Given the cultural milieu in which Jesus lived and the supporting Biblical evidence, the burden of proof lies with those who do not believe Jesus was married. They must show why Jesus and His parents would have been derelict in their civic responsibilities and not contracted a marriage. Unmarried men were considered a curse to Jewish society. The Bible says that Mary & Joseph were careful to perfectly obey the laws of their people. It also says that Jesus was "subject unto them". Since Jewish culture practiced arranged marriages (a Jewish boy was marriageable at age 16), it is reasonable to assume that Jesus' parents would have performed their parental duties faithfully and arranged a bride for the young Jesus. There are 18 silent years in His life (12 - 30). The Gospel of John tells us that there were many other things, which Jesus did which have not been recorded.

There are hints scattered in the Gospels of a special relationship between Jesus and Mary.

• 
  If she is the same Mary of Bethany in John 11, then we can explain why Martha arose to greet Jesus and not Mary. Some scholars say she was sitting shiva according to Jewish custom (married women were not allowed to break-off from their mourning unless called by their husbands). In this story, Mary does not come to Jesus, until he calls her.
• 
  At the Resurrection, when Mary meets Jesus in the Garden, there is a degree of intimacy (see the Aramaic here) which one would expect between lovers, not friends.
• 
  The Greek word for "woman" and "wife" are the same. Translators must rely upon the context in deciding how to translate it. Sometimes, the translation is arbitrary. When Mary is referred to as a "woman" who followed Jesus, it can just as easily be translated as "wife".
• 
  Some scholars cite the story of Mary with the alabaster jar anointing the feet of Jesus as the most direct witness to their marriage. It is in all four Gospels and was a story in which Jesus gave express command that it be preserved. This ceremony was an ancient one among many royal houses in the ancient world, which sealed the marital union between the king and his priestess spouse.

Belief in a married Jesus does not require any more faith than a resurrected Jesus. There is biblical support for both beliefs. Searching for answers does not make one sacrilegious, neither does writing a fictional book based on historical data. And before you disparage a book and label it’s author a heretic could you at least read the book first?

Mummy - The Inside Story

Monday, March 20th, we visited the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center to view the exhibit Mummy- The Inside Storey on loan from the British Museum in London, with our PEAK homeschool group.

While there we saw the Imax Film Mystery of the Nile, took a 3 D tour Inside the Mummy of Nesperennub. We were able to view Nesperennub's actual sarcophagus and coffin, and took a virtual tour of Nefertari's Tomb. And of course we stopped in the gift shop to pick up some souvenirs.

It was crowded and very noisy with all the school kids milling around. But all in all I had a wonderful time.

My Flowerbed

Spring is in the air

Which means I have been waiting for the weather to be nice enough for me to do some gardening. The kids took all my potted plants out to the patio for me Saturday, and after weeding around the hydrangeas, Bo treated me to some new flowers for my flower bed.

I also decided to redo the border and used some river rocks Bo had down by the pond to make the new border. I used perennials in the flowerbed I planted Butterfly Blue Pincushion Flower , Snow Hill Meadow Sage, and Blue Hill Salvia. All of these attract hummingbirds and butterflies, so I hope to see some soon. They also bloom all the way into fall so I should get to enjoy them for a long time. I also got an annual for my picnic table. I have no idea what it is so if anyone does please let me know so I will know how to take care of it. It looks like some sort of violet.

Rocks

 

 

Sean got a rock tumbler for Christmas. Of course we had to wait for Bo to build the shop before we could use it, and then we had to wait for him to get electricity to the shop, so it was February before we got a chance to start a batch of rocks. Our first batch of rocks will be done today, Wednesday, March 8th. It looks like we are going to have some real keepers in this batch. Our next step will be to identify the rocks we don't know.

 

Hopefully we will be able to get started on our second batch of rocks sometime this coming week.

Pompeii Party

The PEAK Pompeii Party Friday, March 3rd, was a huge success. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and educational opportunities abounded from viewing the kids projects to tasting authentic Roman foods.
Our next stop is Egypt...............................

Did You Know Evolution Is A Pagan Religion?

Most creationist don't seem to be playing with a full deck, but Dr. Kent Hovind of Pensacola, Florida, takes the cake. For all you REAL scientist out there the good news is Dr. Hovind has a long standing offer of $250,000 for anyone with empirical evidence (scientific proof) for evolution.

If you are interested in hearing Dr. Hovind speak he will be at Southeastern Baptist College (located at 4229 Highway 15 North in Laurel, Mississippi) where he will take part in a free seminar from 6:00-9:00 pm on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. For more info Call 601-426-6346 or email joharris@comcast.net. The public is invited.

Maybe someone should explain to Dr. Hovind the difference between religion and science. There are many Christians who believe the scientific theory of evolution. Our GOD is powerful enough to create the world anyway he saw fit, including using evolution.

Delaine Eastin: A Bad Choice For Homeschoolers

Mark Twain said, "First God made idiots for practice. Then he created school boards."

Delaine Eastin takes the cake. She served as Superintendent of Public Instruction for California from 1994 to 2002. During which time she seemed to support racism, by nominating Lomitas Elementary School as a "National Blue Ribbon School", even though she was fully aware of the discrimination that was occurring at Lomitas Elementary School

http://www.edethics.org/cdeeastinltr.htm

A scandal involving funds for adult education and citizenship classes took place on her watch. Many of the "'community-based organizations"' that were receiving this money, more than $20 million all told, failed to meet the qualifications. In some cases the funds were going to buy jewelry and luxury automobiles. One of the schools turned out to be an empty field. When this was brought to Ms. Eastin's attention she punished the whistle blowers not the wrong doers.

http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/con/2003/con_03-01.html

During her dictatorship, acrimony between the homeschooling community and Ms. Eastin was at an all time high.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200411/200411171.asp

At this time Delaine Eastin is the executive director of the nonprofit National Institute for School Leadership. Where she is again attempting to cause trouble for homeschoolers. In a recent article in the Akron Beacon Journal Ms. Eastin is quoted as saying, "We're making such a fuss about accountability for some and no accountability for others, shouldn't we pay some attention to the homeschoolers?"

Ms Eastin, first you need to work on cleaning up the mess in the public schools; Discrimination, Racism, Corruption etc.
Homeschools have gotten along just fine without your "help" and I assure you we will continue to get along fine without any interference from you.

Another Must Read

The latest Eoin Colfer book Artemis Fowl - The Opal Deception.

http://www.artemisfowl.com/

Great Backyard Bird Count

Every year we try to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is our journal for the 2006 Birdcount

Friday, Feb17th

Overcast all day with a light mist. It was in the 70's earlier in the day, but a cool front moved thru and now it's in the 60's. Walked down to the pond. Saw 4 Cackling Geese 3 males and 1 female http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Cackling_Goose_dtl.html

Put some feed in the birdfeeder, we should see some birds at the feeder tomorrow. They were out there earlier in the week before the feeder ran out of food.

Feb 18th-19th

The weather wasn't really great for birdwatching, Saturday, Feb 18th it misted rain most of the day.
Sunday, Feb. 19th I saw a few birds. Sparrows, Cardinals, and Mourning Doves.

Evolution Wins Again

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/13896398.htm

New research is unraveling the very riddles that proponents of ID said couldn't be solved, while ID advocates lack any way of using hard evidence to test their theories.

How Annoying

A recent article http://nbc15.madison.com/news/headlines/2298846.html headlined WI School District Offers Virtual High School Online claims it makes homeschooling easier. I can either blame it on shoddy reporting, or wonder if public schools are so envious of homeschoolers they are now trying to co-op our name, which ever one it is I am annoyed. Attending a virtual public school doesn't make you a homeschooler. You are still a public school student, you just happen to be taking your classes at home. So to all you virtual schoolers or e-schoolers STOP using our name. You aren't homeschooling, and you are doing us a disservice by confusing the general public, who wonders why their tax money is going to homeschoolers.

Give Me Back My Book

Have you ever sat down with a good book, really started getting into it and had to get up to answer the phone, cook supper, or one of the million other things Mom's have to do, only to discover your teenage son has made off with your book??????

It happens all the time around my house. I really have to find a way to put a stop to it. But in Sean's defense Elizabeth Peter's latest book in the Amelia Peabody series is well worth fighting over.

http://www.ameliapeabody.com/

For those unfamiliar with the series, here is a cast of characters (by no means complete)

Amelia Peabody Emerson - her journals are the basis for the books. As she is a very proper Victorian lady you don't have to worry about the kiddies reading something they shouldn't.

Radcliff Emerson - prefers to be called Emerson, aka as the Father of Curses. The pre-eminent archaeologist of his time according to his wife. Stays pretty busy rescuing "Peabody" as he affectionately calls Amelia, but does get some archaeological work done.

Ramses - their son, aka The Brother of Demons, he is a handful as a kid, makes a terrific spy during WWI, seems to have inherited Amelia's talent for getting into trouble and his Uncle's (and I don't mean Walter whom he is named after) talent for getting out of it.

Sethos- aka The Master Criminal.................seems to plague the Emersons every season. Has a crush on Amelia much to Emerson's cringe.

Since space is limited other characters include

Peabody's family

Walter Emerson's family (Walter is Radcliff's brother)

and last, but by no means least the family of their Egyptian reis Abdullah

If you enjoy a good mystery, have any interest in Egypt or archaeology do give this series a try. Besides being entertaining they are educational. What more could you ask for.

What's the Problem with VPS????

Susan Ohanian ask "Should the Public Pay for William Bennett's Version of a Home School?"

http://www.susanohanian.org/atrocity_fetch.php?id=1931

My answer would be NO. Although I do respect the rights of those who have chosen to avail themselves of VPS. And if it works for your family then by all means use it.

My problem is with VPS being equated with Independent Homeschoolers. It's not that I think my family is superior to a family that uses a school at home approach, but their insistence on calling themselves homeschoolers while taking advantage of public funds leads to confusion among the general public, many of whom have never embraced the concept of homeschooling in the first place. They start demanding to know why homeschoolers are receiving public funds at the expense of traditional schools. They want to know why testing is required of some homeschoolers and not all. And with these questions comes legislation that HURTS independent homeschoolers.

So if you want to take advantage of VPS, by all means do so. But do homeschoolers a favor and call yourselves something else, that reflects your schooling choice; Virtual Schoolers or E-schoolers might be a good selection. You'll be more then welcome to participate in our homeschooling groups and we can be more supportive of your choice knowing that the general public will not confuse Virtual Public Schoolers with Homeschoolers.

For futher reading http://home.kc.rr.com/milhmschlhq/general_public_schooling_at_home.htm

Why I Stand For Homeschooling

Terri Willingham http://www.nhen.org/issues/default.asp?id=502 says in her post "I have no fear of the government -- I AM the government, and so is everyone else, if only everyone would remember that and act accordingly". Apparently she hasn't has much experience with the government. I do fear the government and with good reason. My life was going great. My kids attended a decent public school, they had wonderful teachers. Then some snobby parent who had friends on the school board decided that just dressing her kids in preppy clothes wasn't good enough, she had to be able to force her families preferred style of dress on her children's classmates and thus Mandatory School Uniforms with NO opt-out in the Jackson County Public Schools were born. The School Board didn't even bother to research the issue until after the fact when they were involved in a law suit with parents who opposed the uniforms. So forgive me if I don't have much faith in a government that will take away my parental right to dress my children as I see fit on a whim. Not to mention the inherent unfairness of telling me what color clothing I have to spend my money on in order for my kids to attend a public school my tax money goes to support. So when the government tries to co-opt homeschooling, my response is No way, I'll fight tooth and nail.

I sympathize with public school parents who are unhappy with their schools and can't afford a private school and aren't ready or able to homeschool. But I don't want my homeschooling freedoms curtailed by charter/virtual schools. It needs to be clearly understood that charter/virtual schools are PUBLIC SCHOOLS, their students are public school students and the government is still in charge of the students education. They are not homeschoolers even if they are located at home. The rules and regulations that apply to charter/virtual schools should not apply to true homeschoolers. What is homeschooling?

My definition of homeschooling. Homeschooling - parental control of the education of their children. The parents choose the method to use in teaching their children, pick out the curriculum, and judge the child's progress in learning the material without government help or interference.

So I will sign the We Stand For Homeschooling Resolution. If you want to sign click on the link http://westandforhomeschooling.org/res/index.php