Presenting Truth vs. Brainwashing

Because of numerous conversations I have had with different people, my mind was swimming with ideas how truth is presented to our children. What is the difference between "Truth and Brainwashing"?

Some would say all religious education is "brain washing". Some would say teaching the evolutionary theory in schools is "brain washing". Some would say that teaching right from wrong is "brain washing".

This got me to thinking that the term "Brainwashing" is used as a negative term by those who oppose what the other side is teaching.

So, if you are not a Christian, then All Christian teaching is considered "brainwashing." You may ask how else could anybody think Christianity is true? Or, maybe you were raised being taught something you didn't accept, so now you say, it was brainwashing.
I was taught evolutionary science in Public School. Some would have argued I was being "brain washed".

But both of these examples are ample proof that no brain washing took effect.
As, the person who is not a believer after being raised in a believing home, has his own beliefs, and I, as a public school graduate am not a staunch Darwinian.

I looked up brainwashing, and the definition was interesting. It wasn't absolute.
Some definitions said that brainwashing took effect by isolation, coercion, torture,
intimidation, etc. but here was the definition that stuck out to me:

""""Social scientists who study new religious movements, such as Jeffrey K. Hadden (see References), understand the general proposition that religious groups can have considerable influence over their members, and that that influence may have come about through deception and indoctrination. Indeed, many sociologists[who?] observe that "influence" occurs ubiquitously in human cultures, and some[who?] argue that the influence exerted in cults or new religious movements does not differ greatly from the influence present in practically every{[fact}} domain of human action and of human endeavor.""""


Isn't that interesting? Brainwashing has been watered down to mainstream societal influence. And that is a shame, because it takes away from the true meaning of brainwashing.

In teaching our children the truth, the catechisms, true doctrines of the church, history, science, mathematics etc, we are not brainwashing them but educating them.
There is a big difference between brain washing and educating.

The same goes for the other side of this coin. If somebody teaches or holds the belief that is foreign to me, it is not brain washing for them to express their opinion.

I think however, when it comes to children, their minds are open to whatever is told them, and they are ready and willing to receive what is taught. They do not have discernment for what is true and what is false and therein lies one of our chief duties as parents.

We MUST teach our children to be DISCERNING. We must teach them to THINK, and we cannot do that without teaching them the absolutes of truth, which we can only find in scripture. Part of that teaching includes healthy discussion and debate.

I do not want my children to repeat a catechism with perfect rote memory and never have it touch their heart. But that doesn't mean I won't teach them the truths of God's word. I know many who are afraid of the word "doctrine" because that denotes indoctrination and thus is a form of brainwashing. HOGWASH!

Our children's education, both spiritual and academic must come from a moral compass.
We don't teach them to brain wash them and therefore cause them to believe as we do.
We teach them the truths of scripture to lead them on the path of Life. We certainly have hope that they will follow that path, but there is no magic guarantee, as each man is accountable to God for what he believes and NO MAN comes to God unless the Spirit draws him.

You may be wondering where I am headed with this.....

Here is where I am headed.....

There are movements within the United States that are asking for Change. I am not talking Obama here. I am talking about "within" the church. There are wolves among us who are preaching a new doctrine and not a doctrine based upon truth but upon lies. There is a new youth movement going on and some larger churches are allowing false doctrine to come in. (check out the emergent church and the website www.deepshift.org) I can think of a more appropriate name for this site, but this blog is G rated. :)

HOW OH HOW will our Children be able to discern the truth from the Lie if they are not taught the basic tenants of the faith, based upon the absolutes found in scripture?
If we do not teach them and make sure they understand the gospel, the TRUE gospel, then we are to blame when the wolf comes in and leads them astray with a "new gospel";
a gospel that is devoid of the Cross, without a need for salvation, without a need for repentance.

We had better wake up, as it will not be "brain washing" that steals the hearts of the next generation, but lack of teaching from the Church and from our own homes that entices them away.
It is time to TRULY teach them to think and discern and stop filling their brains with mind candy. If we do our jobs as directed in scripture, we have hope that they will not be led astray by false teachers.

The Challenger

Erika challenged me to a game of Backgammon.

Here she is about to begin....

Here is the game ready to go....

Here is the winner.....
She clobbered me!

Thinking, Playing and Learning

Tonight I was scrubbing cabinets in the kitchen. The girls had pretended to be servants and scrubbed the kitchen floor and then when they were finished, they carried their play over to paper dolls.

It was quite curious how they took their history lesson, recent bible lesson, conversations we have had in the car, and the life knowledge they have acquired and turned their play into an educational experience for all. Especially me.

I was watching, (listening more than watching) to them separate their paper dolls into servants. Then they decided to "sell" some. Then felt it was morally wrong to sell a servant alone. (separate a family)

Erika began a "story" about a man who married his servant's wife and had his servant killed. (King David) And then she gave a little theology lesson on how he asked for forgiveness and that God forgave him.

She went on to tell about forgiveness and that having servants is wrong.
Then Sarah spoke up saying, "But, there are servants in the bible! The bible doesn't say slavery is wrong!" LOL (our little philosopher)

She was perplexed by that, as she looks around her and sees that it would be wrong to treat another person as somebody to be owned or sold.

They were also able to see how helping in the kitchen or around the house is not being a slave or servant, but working as a team and having a "servant's heart" for the common good of the family.

These girls are such deep thinkers. Each of them was able to transfer the lessons learned recently in school and in discussion into their play.

It really shows how much influence we have on our children, how much influence there is in what they are exposed to and the responsibility we have as parents to teach them the truth. It shows how trusting they are in what they are taught, and even more weight is placed on the responsibility we have, before the Lord, to teach and guide them in the way they should go.

Just when you think they aren't listening..... they are. :)

They are fascinating to watch.

Hypervigilant Heart Protection Mode

This is the term I have come up with to best describe one of our darling daughters who shall remain unnamed, when she gets into a mood that causes all of us grief.(she gets a case of the snautys; which might include folding of arms or rolling of eyes and sometimes an escaped blank stare off into space because she doesn't want to do something that was unplanned) And to make sure that she protects herself even more, she'll say, she knows she won't regret anything. Of course she always does, which is a comfort, but she'll make sure to let us know that she doesn't. :)

I know what works to get her out of HHPM, or to head her down the right path, but what I haven't figured out is how to prevent it all together.

Parenting a child who has past trauma can be very counter-intuitive in nature. What causes a child to become HHPM may make no sense or have any connection to what is going on at all. Accepting that, is one of the keys to dealing with it head on.
Things don't have to make sense. They just are.

Sometimes just taking them in the other room and rocking them and soothing them does the trick to get them back onto the right path, and then you can talk later when things are calm and hearts are open to receive. Other times, that is just not possible, like this A.M. when I had to take Sarah to the Therapy appointment and she didn't know I was leaving, and she couldn't come.

I have found that being able to plan ahead and prepare her is what works best for her, but that is not always possible either. AND, in the real world of everyday life, that isn't going to be probable. Right now she is a little girl, but soon, she will be a teenager and then an adult and the world is just unpredictable.

I can see that our job as parents for her will be to transition her into adulthood and try to help her achieve the personal tools needed to weather the unpredictability of the world. Easier said than done.

One thing though, that ALL of us CAN truly count on, is the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father. His constant and true care for us, even if it seems He isn't listening. He is. We can count on His word to guide us. We can count on his loving hand to hold us, and we can count on His eternal forgiveness.

We were talking to the girlies about this very fact last night during our Family Worship time. But we also were talking about the need for us to be willing to receive love, to open our hearts and be vulnerable.

And that is exactly the root issue I have seen in my one darling daughter's little life.
She opens up, and then closes up, then opens up and closes up. It is as if she remembers, "Oh yea, I can't do this, it will hurt too much and I must be in control," and then she shuts down.
The good thing is that we have seen 3 steps forward 2 steps back, then 3 steps forward, then more forward, then 2 steps back, etc. and we are always moving forward.

Over this next year, we are going to throw a few more surprises her way and try to help her learn to accept the unplanned. In this family, that isn't so hard. LOL
I have to work really hard to PLAN!
So, I guess what I'm saying is I am PLANNING to be a little more carefree on certain things and then work on helping her to develop coping tools.


Anybody got any new tool ideas? LOL

Mine is always STOP, DROP, AND PRAY!

One interesting thing: When I returned from our therapy appt., she had done exactly what she was supposed to with a cheerful heart. :)

Life Books

I have life books for each of the girls, just like we had baby books for the boys.
But at some point, with the boys, we started to combine pictures into more of a "Family Life Book", not individual books.

I think this is where I am at with the girls life books. They are not just individuals, but they are each an important part of a family unit. My brain goes fuzzy trying to separate pictures, join them, decide what book to put them in etc.

I think I may be able to solve this problem by making a simple "Family book". That way I can start to put together all sorts of pictures and I don't have to "sort" anymore!

Yea~! I feel FREE! FREEEEEE!!!!

Gramma Doris 1915-2008

Isn't this a beautiful picture of Gramma Doris? She was Mike's Gramma and Mike's Dad's Mom. She was also one of the sweetest grammas I have ever met. The first time I met her she flew to Dallas with Aunt Judy and stayed on our roll away couch back in 1989. It was fun to visit with her over night and meet both her and Judy. Our air conditioner was not working at the time and it was summer. She didn't complain! The next time we met, our boys were a little older and we went to Michigan for Thanksgiving. She was quite a card player, her favorite being bridge.
She was still living alone in her home during that visit.

Five years later, just Mike and I went up for a visit, and that was one of my favorite visits. We went to a birthday dinner with Noelle and Bob and I think Judy was on her way.... Noelle had to leave to answer a phone call and Gramma Doris leaned in and said, "Let me give you some advice now... when you get old like me, confess NOTHING, they will hold it against you!"
That was the week she lost her right to drive for good. She was becoming a bit of a danger on the road, and seemed to have a knack for running into police cars.
I will never forget that dinner. She was so funny, but so serious.

The next time we went to Thanksgiving, Gramma was much more frail. That was 3 years ago. She was starting to use a walker all the time and had moved to an assisted living home, near Aunt Judy. I'm glad we were able to see her again, and that Anna and Sarah could meet her. Unfortunately, Erika was not able to meet her.

One sad part of family life is that relatives get spread around in the U.S. and we don't get to be as involved with each other as we would like. Living in Texas makes it very hard to keep up with those in other states. We have relatives from one coast to the other.

Gramma died, and we are sad that she is gone. Death is such a final thing this side of heaven's gate. There are always so many things left we could have done, but the time is gone and the day is over. This chapter of her life is closed, but we know that there will be a new chapter opened as she goes into the arms of her Heavenly Father and He says, "Welcome, good and faithful servant!" "Welcome to your new home."

Here is a link to Gramma's Obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000120370874X

Christmas Picture Bloopers!

Anna's First Phone Call

Is this a sign of things to come??? :)


Anna's good friend MaryGrace called today. MaryGrace and Anna have been friends since Vacation Bible School last July. They have been writing letters back and forth to each other, and sometimes see each other on Sunday's at the Dickey's BBQ here in Wylie. It seems that most of the church going population converges on Dickey's on Sunday afternoons to take advantage of the special deals where kids eat FREE! :)

She is being very polite on the phone and I'm glad she has a good friend. :)

God's Figerprint in Nature

Mike's mom and I were on the phone the other day talking about the Fingerprint of God in nature. I am always amazed at how the Heavens Declare His Glory. Everywhere we look, we can see His handiwork. I am always amazed at the detail and the depth of God's creation. How does a simple spider do this?



Isn't it beautiful? I saw it this a.m. when the dew was wet on the ground. The sun hit the web just right and it sparkled all its glory into my window. :)

Thank you Lord for your marvelous creation. For the simple joys you bring to us each and every day and for the lessons you allow us to see and teach to our children.

Mike and I took all the girls to the window to see our special web. We were able to take that little moment to tell them how awesome of a God we serve and how creative He is even with a simple, lowly spider, and they could see His handiwork this morning, through that spider's hard work. :)
ALL of creation Praises the Lord and tells of His greatness and goodness.
Let everything that has breath, PRAISE THE LORD!

The Continuing Saga Of "The Beverly Hillbillies Comes To Wylie".....

This a.m. Sarah woke up with that "Ellie Mae" accent again. She was asking for me to "whip up some greens" for breakfast. Then she kept on calling out "grannie" this, and grannie that....pretending to answer the phone and talk to Jethro, Jed, Pearl, Mrs. Drysdale etc. I told her, "Sarah, please don't call mommy grannie". She said,
I'm just playing; Your the one who keeps answering! LOL

Hmmmm.

The Miracle of Coffee Update

I have been giving Anna coffee in the a.m. before school and a little in the afternoon for a few weeks now. It seems to have be our magic potion of the month! She is concentrating so much better than before and seems to be able to organize her thoughts better.

There are 2 things I definitely noticed. Her comprehension is much better and her ability to go into her chapter and find the answer to a question is much better.

YEA!

Yesterday in History there were some questions regarding 2 chapters for overview. They had to go back into their book to look up the answer. I was sure I was going to have to work with her one on one, but guess what? She did it all by herself! I'm amazed.

So, my experiment worked, just like it did with Joseph. I will stick with the 1/3 cup in the a.m. and 1/3 cup in the afternoon and none on weekends.

The Beverly Hillbillies Come To Wylie

I'm beginning to question if that 5.00 DVD for the first 40 episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies was a good idea after all! Especially after the girls free play this afternoon!:)
I overheard them pretending to cook "rabbit stew" amongst some other strange sayings with extreme southern accents. I didn't notice the rabbit until later when I came upon this:

I called them out to ask about Poor Velveteen, as he appeared to be dinner.
They said they had gone "Rabbit Huntin'!" LOL

Interesting Article About Bus Ad Campaign Regarding Christmas

I just read a CNN article about the D.C. Area Rapid Transit buses having an advertising campaign with the words, "Be good not godly".
Here is the address to the article. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/12/godless.holiday.ap/index.html

(someday I will learn how to make those pretty links like my blogger savvy friends do)

Anyhoo.... it is a campaign put out by a group who represent agnostics and atheists
saying that these people feel "alone" during the holidays.

I do not understand this thinking. Isn't the agnostic and atheist in the minority ALL the time, since over 90 percent of Americans believe in God?

Christmas has already been so secularized, I don't think any atheist would have a problem celebrating the "secular festivities" of this holiday, as the "Christian" element has all but been forgotten for the majority of people anyway.

Santa Claus has long taken over the manger scene in most communities. Even in the Bible Belt of Texas Santa far outweighs the Manger scene in the decoration wars of the community.

The Christmas Tree, which ironically came from the Druids is a part of the celebration in most homes. Gifts, fruit, yule logs etc. are all secular and even pagan expressions of the holiday of Winter Solstice. Pagan festivities were brought in and combined with Christian themes after the spread of Christianity.

One interesting thing about the Puritans, was that the celebration of Christmas was forbidden! Forbidden by Christians? yes. They very much recognized the Pagan themes that people were accepting and combining with Christian Celebration.
I know Christians today who do not celebrate the "secular" parts of Christmas which include trees and gifts. They find it to be wrong to combine these things and I respect them for it.

There was a time when I was questioning if we should have a tree. We decided that it was fine, as we understand that we are not worshiping a tree, and we are a part of the Culture. However, we try very hard to make sure the "commercialism" of Christmas does not take over the True Meaning of the Holiday.

That said, Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love the season of Reformation, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the cold weather, the focus on thankfulness, origins, The Birth of Christ, Redemption and love and I adore the Christmas Music. :)

For the person who does not believe in God, there is plenty to do, just like at Easter time when the resurrection is celebrated. It is a religious holiday but the non religious have the Easter Bunny.

I guess I don't understand the need to have banners at the time of a religious holiday to say as the article stated, "There's probably no God now stop worrying and enjoy your life!" This was a campaign on buses in London.

It seems that a new "battle" has begun. And it will be for the minds and hearts of generations to come wierdly enough, fought on the battleground of public transportation.

Erika Has Learned To Type

I was doing dishes in the kitchen when Erika came in and said, "Look Mommy! I know how to spell with my fingers in the air!" She began to pretend to type and went through the entire alphabet CORRECTLY with proper fingering! I asked her, "When did you learn that? She said, "I've been watching you!" :) Smart little cookie she is!

Christie's Gluten Free Test Kitchen

I am coming up with Gluten Free Recipes and decided to add them to my blog if I like them. These are my original creations. I hope you enjoy them.

Coconut Macaroons
makes 1 1/2 dozen-2 dozen cookies

2 1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c sugar
2 egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325º

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.


Beat egg whites until frothy white.
Add soda, salt and 1/4 of sugar

continue to beat adding sugar a little at a time.
Add vanilla

Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Add coconut. Fold into mixture.

Drop by spoonfull and bake for about 10 minutes.




Mushroom Onion Smothered Steak
(my friend Kim gave me the basic mushroom recipe)

Either use real steak or hamburger patties

1 8 oz. carton of sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion sliced
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of marsala cooking wine
a little salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pepper to taste (optional)

Melt butter with mushooms and onions. Saute' in pan for a while. When they are well coated and wilty looking add cooking wine, garlic, salt and pepper.
Let cook stirring occasionally.
Sauce will start to boil down and thicken. If it is too thin, you can add 1/2 tsp corn starch, but I prefer to let it boil down.

Smother steak or hamburger patties with mushroom sauce.
(delicious and I don't even like mushrooms that much)


Princess Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenders, cut into 1" pieces
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic
1 large sweet onion sliced into thin strips
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 cup gluten free hot wing sauce (any brand if you aren't gluten free)
OR... 1 tablespoon of chinese hot chili
(I used the hot wing sauce)
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup braggs liquid aminos
1/2 cup cashews
salt and pepper to taste


Cooked rice

Mix chicken tenders, orange juice, wing sauce, braggs, a little salt and pepper together and let marinate for an hour.

Cook olive oil,garlic and onion until carmelized. Add chicken mixture and cook until chicken is done. (about 15 minutes)
Add 1/2 cup of cashews and stir well.

Spoon chicken mixture over cooked rice.


I used Jasmine rice for this recipe.

4 cups water
2 cups jasmine rice
1 TLB dehydrated carrots
1/4 cup dehydrated vegetabele blend
salt, pepper (dash each)
1 tsp olive oil added to water
1/4 c dehydrated onion

boil water, add all ingredients, turn heat to low and cook until
rice is done. Around 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let sit with lid covered
for 5 minutes. Season with butter if you want to.


Olive Cashew Salad

2 cups of Manzinalla green olives with pimentos sliced.
1/2 cup of cashews
1/2 white onion diced.

Combine ingredients and cool for about an hour.
That is it. It really tastes great!


Oven Roasted Nuts

Buy any nut you like, (I like cashews)

Buy them RAW by the lb.


I usually cook about 1 1/2 lbs. of nuts at a time.

Spread them on a cookie sheet and add about 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
and sprinkle salt over them. (lightly)

Bake at 300º for about 30 minutes, (or until golden brown) stirring every 5 minutes.

It is hard to tell with Almonds as they are already dark, but this time seems to be the magic time that works.

Enjoy them warm. When they first come out of the oven, they seem a little chewy, but quickly firm up and get crunchy. The longer you cook them the crunchier they become.



Cole Slaw and Chicken

1 16 oz. package of washed and rinsed coleslaw
or chop up your own cabbage with shredded carrots
1/2 cup gluten free mayonaise- Hellmans
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper coarsely ground
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup craisens or rasins

Mix all wet ingredients and spices into a bowl and stir until
smoothe. Pour over coleslaw and stir, coating coleslaw well.

1 lb.chicken tenders or breasts cut into 1" cubes
1/4 tsp garlic poweder or 1 clove minced
1/4 cup of dried onions
2 TLB of dehydrated vegetables or bell peppers
(if you can't find these, just use 1 TLB parsley)
2 TLB olive oil.

Heat pan with oil and add all ingredients. Stir chicken several times
until thoroughly cooked. (about 20 minutes)

Let chicken cool.
After chicken has cooled down about 1/2 hour. Add to coleslaw.
Refrigerate over night.

serves 6


Baked Potato Salad

4 small or medium sized baked potatoes cooled in refrigerator over night
and cut into pieces
1/2 jar of Vlaski dill relish
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 cup green salad olives w/ pimentos
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp of liquid smoke
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup mayonaise (Hellmans is gluten free)
3/4 cup of sour cream

Mix all spices and vinegar into mayonaise and sour cream
pour over all other ingredients and stir together.
Let chill for about an hour before serving.

ALTERNATIVE:
Instead of Mayonaise and Sourcream
Substitute 1/2 cup of light olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp basil
and all other spices mentioned above
mix dressing well and pour over potatoes.
Chill.

Potato salad is very tasty with gluten free sausage, such as
Mozarella/Artichoke, or Poblano pepper.... there are gluten free sausages
available at Sams Club at a very reasonable price.

Gluten Free Crepes

Oh my, I just figured out how to make these.
they are dangerously good. :) Beware!

For 2 crepes

1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 TLB potato starch
2 TLB sweet white rice flour
1/2 tsp powdered vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Mix all ingredients making sure batter is quite thin.
On a VERY HOT oiled skillet, pour 1/2 batter.
When it looks cooked on one side turn, and wait just a minute
transfer to plate.
In middle of cooked crepe, add 1 TLB of Lingonberry Preserves
1-2 tsp butter,
sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Roll up
Sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

I ate 2! dang. :)

Gluten Free Spinach Crab Dip

1 cube gluten free vegan vegetable and spice bullion
1 TLB diced dehydrated carrots
2 cups of chopped spinach, steamed and WELL DRAINED
6 green onions sliced very thin
6 water chestnuts diced into small pieces (more if you like)
1 15 oz container of Natural Lump Crab Meat (no additives)
(available at Sam's Club)
4 oz. cream cheese
2 cups of Sour Cream
1 cup of Hellman's Mayonaise
1 TSP garlic powder
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper (freshly ground is best)
1 TLB hot pepper sauce or to taste

Bring Cream cheese to room temperature
blend cream cheese, sour cream and mayonaise together by hand
dissolve boullion cube with dehydrated carrots in 1/4 cup of water
stir and add to mixture
add all ingredients except spinach and crab and stir well.
When spinach is done, make sure it is drained VERY WELL
add spinach to mixture and stir in well.
Add crab meat making sure it is shredded well.

Mix and taste.... add salt or pepper if you think it needs more.
Refrigerate and serve with gluten free crackers
OR
Separate into different dipping bowl for those gluten cracker lovers .:)

Caramel Apple Salad
3 apples diced
1 pear diced
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup of Marzetti's Caramel Apple Dip
3/4 cup of Sour Cream

Mix sour cream and caramel sauce
Pour over fruit and nuts and stir well.



Dill Dip

2 cups of sour cream
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp minced onions
1/3 cup dill pickle relish
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
(to spice up add a TLB jalapeno juice or 1/2 c diced jalapenos)
1/2 tsp Knorr tomato/chicken boullion

mix well and serve with chips or vegetables.
best after refrigerating for at least 3 hours to allow flavors to blend.

Took The Lectric Leopard to the Store

All electric and no gas makes Christie a Happy Girl!

Well, I drove the electric car to the store. I was a bit nervous as it is doggy starting off. But I had no problem getting up to 45-50 mph once I got going.
Nobody honked at me. :)

I'd say it does 0-35 in 40 seconds. LOL

It was an experience getting it registered. They didn't know what to do about make and model and for a few minutes wanted me to go to a weigh station and have it weighed.

???

I couldn't figure that one out, and finally the lady said, "I'm going to ignore that and just put unknown. She said since it isn't a hauler, it shouldn't matter.
The only thing this can haul is groceries and a kid or two. :)

So Here I am in the little Leopard:

Mike's New Car

The reason that Mike and Anna went to Minnesota last week was for business. Mike purchased an electric car. He has been wanting for a long time to get into electric cars and for those who talk to him, they know he is MORE than interested; he is excited! He is excited about the possibilities and the future of the electric car industry. He has been studying and searching and tinkering, and now it is HERE!
I got to drive it down the street and back and it was really fun. After it is registered etc. I will be able to drive it anywhere!

So here he is in front of his "Lectric Leopard"

The Denny's in Africa SOON!

Our friends the Dennys are going to be leaving for Senegal via France (for 18 months of language school) on January 1.
The Lord has called them to work in Senegal teaching the scripture. We are very excited for them. They are still in need of a little more support in order to leave.
If they aren't at the right support level before their departure date, they will have to wait again until language school starts in September! So we are praying with them that the Lord will bring in the rest of that support.

They have a really fun blog called, The Denny's in Africa.
Check it out.....

It is located on my sidebar under "Other Bloggers".

TCU Study

Our family voluntarily entered a study on Adoptive children and attachment about 6 months ago. The results came back and we were very pleased to see them.

We have now volunteered to be in a 4 month study on "touch". I am really excited to participate in these kinds of studies as they will help other families in the future to implement positive paths towards attachment with their children.

I was pleased to see that much of what we already do is what is suggested, so now we just need to map it out on a calendar for 4 months and document responses.

It should be interesting to see if I can keep up with a calendar!
(there is the real study) "Is Christie Self Disciplined enough to complete a study!"
LOL

ARE WE SPEAKING KINDLY?

Those 4 little magic words have been used for years in this household. First with the guys and now with the girls. It is amazing how powerful they are when you cheerfully say, "Are we speaking kindly?"

I usually say this if I hear an unhappy or complaining voice in the other room. 99% of the time, that is enough to set the children back on track. "Oh yea, I'm supposed to be NICE to my brothers and sisters". LOL

Many times it brings up personal confession without needing a pry bar to get it out of them....

"Are we speaking kindly?" can get responses like, "No Mam, I'm sorry", to "I forgot" to "No, I'm frustrated because ......" and then the other one apologizes.

What powerful little words.

Proverbs says "A soft answer turns away wrath". I see how that works out every day and it is so very true.

I just wish I could remember it ALL the time. :)