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Families Again
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
The Boy and His Father - A Mother's Day Story
Mood:  happy
Topic: Homeschool Product Review

The father and his son sat together in the shade, leaning against the trunk of the old oak tree. It had been a hard day. They were both tired from working in their large garden and doing yard work. The air was sweet with the smell of springtime honeysuckle and roses - especially the smell of roses.

The yard was full of rose bushes. they were tucked between the azaleas and the hostas. Planted beside the clematis and the iris. There were seventeen to be exact. Nine that his dear mother had planted. Father would buy her one every Mother's Day. The other eight were the ones that father silently picked out and planted on each Mother's Day since she died.

The boy glanced over at the newest rose bush planted just days before. It was a pink variety that he knew that his mother would have loved. He didn't remember much of his mother. She passed away when he was only four years old. His father talked of her very little so the things that he did recall he clung to like a rare treasure. Still they were becoming foggy in his mind.

In the dimness of his memory was the picture of a kind but strong woman. She was full of life and vitality. Always doing for others, but never too busy to love and cherish her own family.

The boy also remembered the day of the accident. He recalled the last time that she hugged him and kissed him. His thoughts turned to the knock on the door and his father's rushing out while the kindly neighbor woman enveloped him in her arms and took him to her house to spend the night. The days that followed were a blur. His father's grieving - the confusion of a young boy who realizes that his mother is never coming back. Those were dark days.

The days had changed however. His father was always a cheerful man who loved living and loved his family. Although things were different, the father soon threw off the appearance of sadness and acted his cheerful self again. The father loved his son and wanted the best for him. He knew a sad home was no place to raise a young boy. So, with the Lord's help, he determined to make their home a happy home. And he did. The boy and his father were extremely happy and loved each other immensely. Still, occasionally, the boy could see a small wisp of sadness in his father's eyes. He knew that at those times Father was thinking about Mother. Those looks became more frequent in the spring when the roses were blooming and especially around Mother's Day when it was time to plant another bush.

The boy glanced at his father. Fathers eyes were pointed toward a beautiful orange rose bush but his mind was far away.

"Should I?" the boy thought. "Is now the time?"

The boy had always longed to know more about his mother, but lately he was yearning to know more about mothers in general. For most of his life he'd had no mother. What were they like? He watched his friend's mothers and how they reacted to their sons. It always seemed to him that a mother's and son's relationship was a special one. He loved his father deeply and never wanted to hurt him, but their relationship was not the same. His face reddened slightly as he thought about the kindly neighbor lady who tried so hard to give him some motherly affection. His lips curved up slightly as he thought about the embarrassing pecks that she would plant on his cheeks and the sudden hugs that she would give him. He knew what she was doing and loved her for it. Still, she was not his mother. She had her own brood to care for and to give her motherly love to. What was a mother truly like?

"Father," he suddenly blurted, "What is a mother like?"

Father's eyes came back to life and he glanced at his son.

"Mmmm? Your mother?" he said. "Oh she had soft brown hair and your beautiful green eyes..."

"No, Father." interrupted the boy. "Not my mother, but...you know...mothers. What are mothers like? What is it like to have a mother?"

"I mean," stammered the boy as he stumbled for words after his sudden outburst, "We just celebrated Mother's Day and I don't even really know what a mother is. Oh father, I don't want to hurt you, but..."

The father didn't have a harsh bone in his body, but somehow his face softened even more than usual.

"Oh my son," he exclaimed as he wrapped his boy in his arms. "It is I that have hurt you. I have tried to be everything to you but in doing so I have failed to teach you about a mother's love."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes and then his father unwrapped his arms, smiled and said in a matter-fact-tone, "But, it is not too late!"

He leaned back against the tree. "How do you teach a boy about mothers?" he mused as he plucked a long blade of grass and stuck the end into his mouth.

He thought for a moment and then suddenly jumped up and exclaimed, "I've got just the thing! Come with me."

He scurried into the house as if on a mission with his boy hurrying behind him. "Now where did I put that?" he mumbled. "Aha! Here it is it. I got this just the other day."


 

He showed the boy a postcard advertising a special Download-N-Go unit study by Amanda Bennett about Mother's Day.

"I almost threw this away but something told me to put it aside. Now I know it was the Lord convincing me to hang on to it. This will be just the thing to begin our study of what mother's are all about."

"Look at this!" He said as he began typing in the web address on the computer, "Look at all of the things this Unit Study includes. It not only talks about Mother's Day and how it is celebrated here and all around the world, but it also talks about mother's in the Bible. What a perfect way to find what a mother is like."

"Look at the things you'll be learning about each day!" Father said as he showed his son this table of contents:

  • Day 1: What Is Mother's Day?
  • Day 2: The History of Mother's Day
  • Day 3: Celebrating Mother's Day
  • Day 4: Preparing for Mother's Day
  • Day 5: Goodies for Mother's Day

"And there is even a lapbook for you to work on each day," exclaimed the father. "This will be perfect for this week's homeschool. We'll do it together."


 

And so they did. They had a wonderful time watching the special videos and listening to the songs. They worked on the worksheets together and enjoyed completing the lapbook. Each day they found how Mother's Day is celebrated in a different country and each day they read about a different Biblical mother and what the Bible has to say about mothers. As the week went on, the boy began to understand what a Godly mother was but, as each day passed, the boy became sadder.

The father noticed the change in his boy's demeanor but didn't know quite what was wrong. Finally, on Friday, while they were watching one of the final videos, the boy could stand it no longer. Before the movie was even finished he jumped up and ran from the house. Father found him beneath the same oak tree where they were sitting a few days earlier. The boy was sobbing uncontrollably.

The father put his arm around his son and held him close. He waited patiently for the lad to calm down enough to talk.

"What is it my boy?" he asked softly. "What is troubling you?"

"Oh Father," exclaimed the boy as he fought back another round of tears. "I have enjoyed learning about mothers so much...but...each day the unit study talked about different things that we could do for our mother." "But, " he hesitated and hung his head, "I have no mother." And with that a fresh stream of tears began to trickle down his cheeks.

"My son," said the kind father. "Did we not learn about Ruth and Naomi in our studies this week? Ruth loved Naomi and left her own country to travel with Naomi back to the land that she had come from. Do you remember why she did it? She did it because Naomi was kind to her. She treated her as if she was her own daughter. She was the Godly mother that Ruth had never had."

As the boy listened he stopped crying and looked into his father's face with an inquisitive look.

"Son," continued the father, "You may not have a biological mother here on earth, but you do have mothers. Mothers that are kind to you and that love you. Think of your Sunday School teacher who always has a kind word for you and congratulates you when she hears of your accomplishments. What about old Mrs. Jenkins who always bakes two pies or two batches of cookies ~ one for herself, and the other to be sent home to us? And then, don't forget the kind lady who lives next door. She has five children of her own, but never seems to run out of hugs and kisses for you whenever you are around. They have already shown you what being a true, Godly mother is all about. They are your mothers."

The boy sat and thought and then, suddenly, his face brightened.

"I can't be sitting around here any more, I have work to do." he exclaimed as he jumped up.

"Where are you going son?"

"I'm getting ready for Mother's Day. I know that the holiday is over, but shouldn't mother's be celebrated more than just one day a year? I'm going to honor my mothers today!"

And so he did. He used the ideas from the unit study. He made a special Mother's Day card for his Sunday School teacher. He baked some heart shaped cookies for old Mrs. Jenkins. He lovingly made a Mother's Day craft for the kind lady next door.

That evening his father helped him deliver his gifts. The boy sat with each recipient and thanked them for "adopting" him and being the mother that he didn't have. It never failed that as the boy and his father left, there were tears in the recipients eyes.

As they arrived home and the father was passing the kitchen table he noticed one more wrapped package sitting upon it.

"Son," he called, "Did we forget to deliver one."

Unbeknownst to him, the boy had silently entered the room behind him.

"No," said the boy softly as he picked up the gift, "This one is for you. You see Father, all of those dear ladies have been Godly examples of what a mother should be, but since Mother died, you have been both my mother and father. You are the one most deserving of my love on this special day."

The father carefully unwrapped the gift. Within the paper was the lapbook and the workbook pages he had completed in the past week's study on mothers.  Many of the pages had asked the student to describe different aspects of their mother. For some reason those pages caught the father's eye more than the others. Suddenly he realized why. On each one of those pages his son had not written about his mother at all, but about him. As the father closed the book, he noticed that on the front was a beautifully drawn picture. It was of a rose bush.

Now it was his turn to cry while his son placed his arms around him.

That night, as the boy lay in his bed, it dawned on him that he finally knew what a mother was. And, somehow, the memories of his real mother became all the more clear to him again.

This story/review is lovingly dedicated to my mother, Dorothy Rose Tinkel ~ who left this earth on February 14, 2011 to spend eternity with her Heavenly Father and to spend Valentine's Day with my father, the love of her life for over 50 years.

And, this story/review is also lovingly dedicated to my wife, Sarah Tinkel ~ who loves rose bushes and, yes, receives one every Mother's Day. Princess, may we have over 50 years of loving memories just as my parents did.

As a member of the Download ~ N ~ Go review team, I received a free download of the Download ~ N ~ Go unit study "Mother's Day" in order to use and review on my blog.

This unit study normally sells for $7.95. Although it is written for students in grades k-4, it and all of the Download-N-Go unit studies are easily adaptable for all ages. To find out more about this unit study or any of Amanda Bennett's other unit studies please visit one of the following links below.

http://unitstudy.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

http://unitstudy.com/Products.html

 www.unitstudy.com

 

 


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Posted by tink38570 at 3:27 PM CDT
Updated: Thursday, 12 May 2011 1:24 AM CDT
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Friday, 6 May 2011
Andi's Fair Surprise - Joshua's First Chapter Book!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Homeschool Product Review

Circle,C,Kregel,Susan,Marlow 

Last year I (actually John Allen Laughing) had the great privilege of reviewing a book from Susan Marlow's Andrea Carter Series. The Trouble With Treasure was a joy to read and I (actually John Allen Laughing) heartily recommended it to "young readers and old readers alike". 

The Andrea Carter Series is geared toward children ages 9-14. I was quite pleased to find out that Susan Marlow has begun a series for kids aged 6-8 called the "Circle C Beginnings" Series. It also features Andrea Carter but in this series "Andi" is just 6 years old and her horse "Taffy" is just a baby.

This time around I had my middle child, Joshua, read the book that we received - "Andi's Fair Surprise". I have wanted for a long time for Joshua to do more independent reading. This beginning chapter book seemed like the excellent place to start. Joshua had never read a chapter book before, so it was a challenge to get him started. After I assured him that I would only have him read a chapter a day, and that the chapters were actually shorter than most of the stories that he was reading, he reluctantly picked the book up to start reading.

He wasn't reluctant for long, however! The very first day he was asking me if he could read a little of the next chapter because he wanted to see what happened next. I was thrilled. Within only a few days he had read through the entire book! He loved it and I loved seeing him love it.

Circle,C,Kregel,Susan,Marlow 

In Andi's Fair Surprise, Andi and her family are going to take a train trip to the California State Fair. Everyone seems to be planning on winning a prize. Andi desperately wants to win a prize too, but how can a little six year old girl win something at a large state fair? You'll have to buy the book to find out!

Now, after John Allen read the book from the older series, I had him write a short review and I included it in my big review. Joshua isn't quite at the stage where he can write a review, but I asked him what he thought about the book and here are some of the things that he said:

"It was really exciting."

"I liked the part where Andi won ..." (I'm not going to spoil the story Laughing).

"Dad, can we buy the rest of the series?"

As you can see, he was really impressed with this book. I was impressed as well. Just like the older series, this book is filled with adventure, surprises and twists. It's also filled with heart warming life lessons that Andi learns and in turn the reader learns.

Okay, I'm going to admit one of my faults. As full time missionaries with an active family, we are often on the road. Many times I will just throw a couple of homeschool books for the kids to read or work on while we travel. After all, that's one of the many beauties of homeschooling. Well, it seems that in our hustle and bustle I lost the letter that came with this book. I remember getting the letter. I even remember reading the letter. I just don't remember what was in the letter! It seems that it had links to some "extras" that we could use while reading this book. I didn't find out about the extras until just within the past couple of weeks - thankfully, not long after Joshua finished the book.

When I began looking at the extras I was thrilled and so was Joshua. Susan Marlow has created some great activities, coloring pages, puzzles, even lap-books for each one of the Circle C Beginnings Series. Many of them are free! I printed out the activity pages and the coloring pages and gave them to Joshua. He has had a blast coloring the pictures, and the author has done a great job at making the activity sheets exciting and fun, but educational as well. She has tucked in vocabulary, spelling, geography and even math in the activity packet. The online puzzles are a lot of fun as well. We haven't tried the inexpensive lap-books yet, but they could very well be included with my purchase of the books that they go along with.

Photobucket 

This book is published by Kregel. I've now had the pleasure of reviewing three books from this company and have not been disappointed at all. Kregel is dedicated to publishing good, wholesome, family books. I have never found anything objectionable in anything that I have read from them.

The books in the Circle C Beginnings Series are only $4.99 each, however Kregel is offering a 30% discount from now until August 31. To find our more about these books and the discount just click here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. There are presently four in the series with two more coming out at the beginning of August. The special activity pages and puzzles are on a special Andi and Taffy website and you can find them by clicking here. Finally, different TOS Crew members reviewed different books from the Circle C Beginnings Series and you can find what they had to say by clicking here.

These books would be great for summer reading or for any free time reading. You won't be disappointed. Happy Home Educating!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was sent a free copy of Andi's Fair Surprise in order to read and review on this blog.

 


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Posted by tink38570 at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Friday, 6 May 2011 8:59 PM CDT
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Wednesday, 4 May 2011
The Secret of the Talking Leaves - A First Wild Card Blog Tour Book
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Book Reviews

I read everything - including children's books. In fact, right now I am on a splurge of reading children's classics. Really, I just like reading! So, when the opportunity came to review this book, I thought nothing of it, even though it is a book for young teens.

It looked interesting, and I was not dissapointed. I loved this book! If your teen likes adventure and mystery, then "The Secret of the Talking Leaves (Book One of the Fisheye Files)" is a book your teen will love. This is one that I'm going to hand over to John Allen to read and review soon.

And, don't let the fact that this book is actually a downloadable ebook get in the way. I was an ebook skeptic myself until we recently bought a hand held tablet and I downloaded a couple of free books on it. I am now a fan. I still like books that you can hold in your hand, but you can't beat free! And, you can't beat the cheaper prices of ebooks as well. Check it all out below!

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:


Secret of the Talking Leaves (Book 1 of The Fisheye Files)

StoneHouse Ink; 1 edition (March 24, 2010)

***Special thanks to Chris Conrad for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Chris Conrad has spent most of his life in Oklahoma where he still lives in rural Sequoyah County. He was influenced at an early age by great children’s authors and aspired to someday write the kind of stories he loved as a child. Now he offers his own unique style, mixing his love of God with his love of writing.



SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Thirteen year old Brian is what other students call a brain. Physical challenges keep him in a wheelchair while his mind isn't challenged enough. But when a strange dream the night before a field trip becomes reality, he isn't so sure of himself. A local park he’s only visited in his sleep becomes a crime scene. A teen is found unconscious. He’s in a coma and giving no answers as to how he got there or why. Is he victim or thief? Brian’s father, an FBI agent, doesn't think the case is important but the dream and mysterious emails seem to say otherwise. Are the scriptural messages actually from God? One of his friends thinks so but the other isn't so easily convinced. Is one of the teachers at his new school a criminal? His mother is principal but how well does she know the people she works with? Can he solve the case before another crime is committed? Brian follows the clues by the facts and by faith to get to the truth.


Product Details:

List Price: $2.99
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 232 KB
Publisher: StoneHouse Ink; 1 edition (March 24, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B003E35Z5U

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


Brian Banes was flying. There was no plane or futuristic jet-pack or even wings for that matter. He was simply flying among the treetops over the city. He looked down and saw one of those huge old convertibles on the street below.

Now he was in the driver’s seat of that car with the steering wheel in his hands. Trees and buildings passed by. Was he actually driving? How was that possible? His feet dangled high above the pedals. Who was talking to him? Was it Mom or Dad? No, it was that guy--that guy from...from the old television show about...

What was he saying? He couldn’t understand. It was all garbled. Something about his dog? Yes, that was it. Brian’s dog was sitting on the front end of the car like a hairy hood ornament, barking out directions.

Did ‘woof’ mean left or right?

Before he could decide, the car careened around a corner without even slowing down. He tried to control the wheel but it spun wildly and he was thrown against the door. Somehow the dog stayed glued in place but the TV guy was crushing him! His cologne was nauseating.

Wait a minute. Why would the TV guy smell like...?

Mrs. Felcher, his second grade teacher, was now the one sitting beside him. They straightened out again and she was telling him...what? He was going to be late? Late for what?

It was so hard to understand and the dog wouldn’t stop barking.

She pointed a bony finger forward. The sun’s glare from her horn-rimmed glasses was almost blinding. He looked ahead and saw the school building in the distance. But even as the car seemed to speed up the building moved farther and farther away.

He was going to be late for school! He tried to run but his legs wouldn’t move.

Suddenly he was perched on the hood of the car and the dog was driving. Mrs. Felcher said it was okay though because...

...dogs have...

...four legs.

Whirrrr, thump!

“Ow!” Did they hit a pothole? Had he fallen off the car? Why was it so dark?

The familiar red numbers on his clock/radio brought him back to reality.

3:37 a.m.

“Stupid dream,” he mumbled groggily. “I don’t even have a dog.”

Brian felt around and found the foot rests on his wheelchair and folded them up out of the way. With a little help from his legs he pulled himself up into the seat. His fingers fumbled around on the night stand for the touch lamp until the room flooded with light.

There was a quiet knocking on his open bedroom door. Chandra Cole, his physical therapist, stood there squinting, her straw colored hair looking like a lopsided haystack. She clutched her pink flannel housecoat tightly around her and tied the belt.

“I thought that sounded like a thirteen year old hitting the floor,” she rasped, helping him straighten blankets back onto the bed. “Another bad dream?”

“The usual,” he replied groggily. “Just weirdness.”

“Why didn’t the chair stop you? Wasn’t it against the bed?”

“I guess I rolled over onto the switch. I hope the noise didn’t wake up Mom and Dad.”

“I doubt it. Besides, they know if something’s wrong I’ll handle it.” She smiled weakly. “You want help getting back in or is nature calling?”

“Calling, emailing, texting, faxing...”

She gave a dismissive wave and turned to go.

“Sorry you had to get up for nothing.”

“It’s okay, kid,” she yawned. “All part of the job. Just glad you’re okay. Goodnight then.”

“G’night.”

Her slippers shuffled along the hardwood floor to her own room across the hall.

Brian belched. He could taste the pizza from dinner. No wonder he’d been having such weird dreams. They were eating so much takeout because of the craziness of moving into the new house in rural Sequoyah County. He knew no one had time to cook though. His parents had already been there a week, trying to get his mom settled into her new job as principal at his new school. He and Chandra had stayed in Tulsa until the new house was wheelchair friendly and all that. The twenty-two year old had only been with them for a few months since finishing her college courses to become a licensed nurse. She was nice, if a little odd sometimes, and he was glad she’d decided to make the move with them. Maybe when she was through getting the house squared away she could start making real meals again.

His stomach was gurgling like crazy. He’d drank too much before bedtime also. Pushing the toggle switch on the armrest, he sent the wheelchair into motion and headed for the bathroom. The familiar clicking and whirring of the electric motors helped to distance his mind from the silly dreams. But why did thinking he could run seem so natural in the dream when he’d never even walked right in real life? The muscular problems in his legs sent him from crawling, as an infant, straight into a wheelchair.

A picture of Jesus stared at him from the end of the dimly lit hallway. God only knew the answer to those kinds of questions, and so far He wasn’t talking.

As he wheeled into the bathroom a motion sensor turned on the lights.

His dad was making a huge transition as well, he considered, transferring to a new FBI office in Fort Smith, Arkansas, just across the state line. For several weeks he’d driven back and forth from Tulsa to make the switch. Maybe he could get a little more rest now.

As long as they had to move though, Brian was glad they’d decided to stay in Oklahoma. He’d be going to a school where his mom worked too, so at least he’d know one person there. After all, his old friends were a hundred miles away now.

Back in bed he tried to relax. Maybe he could get a little more sleep before it was time to get up. And maybe he wouldn’t have any more crazy pizza dreams. Maybe...if he could just…relax. Maybe he would...

...maybe...


Brian was in a parking lot. There were no cars but he could see the stripes on the pavement. Woods to the left. A small cemetery to the right behind a chain link fence. Black cows grazed beyond the tombstones.

Nothing looked familiar but somehow he knew he was facing south. Straight ahead twin wrought-iron gates blocked the only opening in a brown rock wall. A light breeze made them stir a little, creaking and moaning their resistance. Suddenly a gust forced them open with a horrible rusty groan. A large sign on the left blurred as if his eyes simply refused to read it. The view ahead was clear though; a stone walkway stretching beyond, half buried in dead leaves.

The breeze tossed his hair about and he could smell autumn. Falling leaves danced on the wind around his chair, many suspended in a sort of swirling motion. More and more joined in and gathered momentum. Soon he was in the eye of a small storm of them, weaving a colorful curtain around him.

A whisper.

What did it say? He listened more intently.

Another whisper and then another. Others blended in, stronger and louder. The whirlwind of leaves tightened, moving even faster, the voices more insistent. He could feel the pressure growing from all directions.

What were they saying? It sounded so foreign. What did they want? He couldn’t understand. The pressure was terrible!

As quickly as it had begun, it stopped. Only a faint whisper of leaves brushed across his body and a weak spiral of them played out on the asphalt between his chair and the gates. The only sounds left were from a few errant ones skittering aimlessly here and there across the pavement.

Suddenly, without knowing how, he was sitting just inside the entrance. The trees still had some leaves but there were so many more on the ground like a carpet of orange and yellow, brown and red. He knew there were various buildings to either side but they were just a blur like the sign. For some reason he could only see clearly forward. A small structure spanned the walkway in the distance. It wasn’t a building, but more like a little wooden carport covering the largest kettle he’d ever seen.

He thought he heard the whispers again. Or was it just the wind? Small gusts skipped across the tops of the leaves, twisting them up in little tufts.

Another whisper in his ear.

Instantly he was right next to the huge black iron kettle. It looked like a Halloween witch’s cauldron or something out of an old movie about cannibals.

There was the sound of running water nearby but he couldn’t see it.

A large stone building sat to the right of the walk a short distance beyond the kettle. The structure was sandstone like the wall and the walk and its windows were far too high to see inside. What could be in it? It seemed important somehow, the whole place, like maybe it was some sort of park. Yes, that was it. Manicured lawn stretched out past the building to another part of the rock wall further south.

He heard the water sounds again and started to wheel around the kettle but found he was suddenly there already. A sandstone fountain sat to his right, between the giant kettle and the building. Water bubbled over a plaque into a basin pool, the words on it swimming in the flowing water. He tried harder to read it but it only made his vision worse.

Then he noticed one of the corner blocks on the building about three feet up. There was another whisper and leaves brushed across the back of his head. At once, he was sitting directly in front of the block. It was a square stone, bright gray and smooth, so different from the rough ones around it. There were inscriptions but he couldn’t make them out. Only a symbol on the right face was visible. It looked like a diamond. In its center was the letter “G.”

What did it mean?

The walkway branched off to the right and disappeared around the building. To the left, near the main walk, sat a statue facing away from the building among some small trees. It was very dark, maybe cast iron like the kettle. No, a statue would be bronze, darkened from weathering. It looked like a man sitting on a tree stump, looking upward.

No sooner had he wished for a closer look than the breeze stirred and his chair was sitting right next to it. The turban clad head was turned away toward the eastern sky but his body faced Brian. A big thick book sat at the man’s feet and a powder horn and long stemmed clay pipe lay on top of it. He was dressed in buckskin and held another book or tablet on his lap, a quill pen poised above it. Perhaps then the horn was for ink instead of powder.

Suddenly a tight twist of leaves shot up high into the air behind the statue’s head. In that instant Brian found himself looking down into the bronze figure’s face. He was flying again, like in the pizza dream. But this was different, wasn’t it? It was so clear to all his senses! How could it not be real?

He was circling high above like one of the leaves. And he could hear the whispering voices again.

The statue’s features softened and suddenly it looked more like a real man. It seemed aware of what the voices were saying and began to write.

He couldn’t believe it. The statue was moving!

The man looked up time and again as the leaves, Brian with them, swirled around him.

The whispering grew more intense and the man’s scribbling more fervent. Brian and the leaves moved lower and began to circle faster. There were more whispers in the strange tongue, growing louder and more insistent.

Lower and closer and faster. More whispering. Around again. Lower, closer, faster. Tree limbs flying past--the building beyond--the kettle--the man writing.

He was very close now, just above the man’s head, coming around the back again. Lower, closer, faster. The voices were still like whispers but together they were so loud!

Then silence. The statue’s head snapped up into its original position, quill freezing in midair above the tablet.

Like a shot, Brian came around, only inches from the face. The center of the statue’s nearest eye became a gaping void that pulled him in against his will. Just before darkness swallowed him whole, he finally heard something he understood.

“God is watching.”

 

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Posted by tink38570 at 11:47 PM CDT
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Monday, 2 May 2011
We Did It Again!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: The Kids

We took First Place at the 4-H state championships!

John Allen didn't quite fair as well this week as he did last week. He still had great scores, but not good enough to win first place individually. The 4-H BB gun state championship is run a lot differently than the Jaycee BB gun state championship. There were more teams at the 4-H state match, but the Awesome Possums with John Allen anchoring the team still won first place. Joshua had an excellent match. His gun malfunctioned during the prone position and he didn't post a good score, but we switched guns and he really did well (for him) on the other three positions. And, he had a great test score! John Allen also had a great test score and did well in the prone, standing and sitting positions, but had problems with the kneeling position. Kneeling has always been his worst position. Something to work on for the national match. As usual, we had great parents who took lots of pictures. Here's the slide show!

http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-016b-269c-e232: Mostly’s trip from Cookeville, Tennessee, United States to 2 cities Murfreesboro and Bend of the River PSC,Tennessee (near Rickman) was created by TripAdvisor. See another United States slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.
 

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Posted by tink38570 at 9:59 PM CDT
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Sunday, 1 May 2011
Dance Your Shoes Off
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: Ministry

Now this is true worship!

 

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Posted by tink38570 at 10:44 PM CDT
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