This interview with sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox at the University of Virginia might be of interest to those of my readers who are exploring feminist perspectives on evangelical Christianity. According to this sociologist’s findings, evangelical men are more committed to their marriages and families and less likely to engage in domestic abuse than any other demographic group.
Interviewer Doug LeBlanc asks Wilcox about the future of families in the evangelical world. And Wilcox sees three challenges to the continued strength of family life among evangelicals: high divorce rates, falling birthrates and insularity. Key quote:

Since the 1960s, birthrates have been falling among Christians. Too many Christians now think marriage is primarily about the emotional union between the spouses. This is wrong. Marriage is supposed to be a fruitful spiritual, emotional, and physical union between spouses that enlarges the kingdom of God in large part through the bearing and rearing of children. Married Christians should recall the first commandment God gave to his people: “Be fruitful and multiply.” Christians ought to recognize that children are a gift from God and act accordingly.
Thanks to Jeremy Frank of Letters from Babylon for the link and Doug LeBlanc of getreligion for the interview.

I am so excited because I finally remembered where I put three of my children’s birth certificates. I had them in a very safe and logical place, but I totally forgot where that place was. We’ve been looking for the birth certificates off and on for several months. Now, we can go to the Social Security Office and replace the S.S. cards that I have also misplaced. If only I could remember where I put those . . .

Eldest Daughter is looking for her book–an anthology of Oscar Wilde. She and I agree that Wilde was one strange character, but very funny. The Importance of Being Earnest is still our favorite.
Computer Guru Son is looking for ways to transfer email from one computer to another instead of working on our homeschool co-op website. He’s supposed to be doing the latter.
Dancer Daughter is practicing Jingle Bells on the piano. She wants to take piano lessons this year, learn to play the guitar, and go horseback riding in addition to dance classes three times a week. Maybe we can spring for two out of four.
Manager Daughter (AKA Vice President in Charge of Everything) is cleaning the kitchen. She’s a little late since it’s supposed to be done after breakfast, but she does a good job.
Brown Bear Daughter is teaching Curly Head a card game called Count Off. I don’t think it’s challenging enough to improve their math skills, but at least it keeps them out of trouble. Z-Baby is watching.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any idea where Karate Kid is. He may have gone across the street to play with a friend. I must admit that this sort of thing happens frequently in our home. I can’t seem to keep the whereabouts of eight separate people in my mind all at the same time. The good thing is they usually all show up for meals.
I’m about to go make a meal–lunch, to be exact. Then, I’ll either work on planning the worldview class I’m helping to teach in co-op next year or I may read my book about John and Abigail Adams or I may indulge in a household organization project.

Eldest Daughter and I took Brown Bear Daughter (age 9) and some of her friends to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston this afternoon. Eldest Daughter drove since I have a freeway-phobia.

We started out in the Caroline Weiss Law Building which “serves as the permanent home of the modern and contemporary collections” and “is also a multicultural showcase, housing dazzling installations of Oceanic art, Asian art, Indonesian gold artifacts, and Pre-Columbian and sub-Saharan African artworks.” I did not know this, and although I had one child asking me where the “real paintings” were, it turned out fairly well. There was an exhibit upstairs of South American or maybe just Brazilian artworks designed to “bring art to the masses.” My children, especially Karate Kid (age 7), and their friends, and I certainly qualify as members of the masses, and the children especially enjoyed all the interactive art pieces–glasses you put on to distort your vision in various ways, a room of colored beams of light where Brown Bear Daughter did a pirouette, a large net enclosing about fifty balls with a scale in the middle. This last one you could walk into, but the only thing to do was weigh the balls, I guess. I felt a little awkward; it seemed to me that the whole exhibit would fit in well in a building at Epcot or even Astroworld, but I’m almost sure the artist intended me to “get” something more than a theme park adventure.

We exclaimed over the African gold, and the girls saw a beuatiful sari. Then it was on to the Audrey Jones Beck Building where they keep the “real paintings.” Here I had to talk to Karate Kid somewhat sternly about making rude comments concerning nude Greek statues. However, we all enjoyed the impressionists and the many, many Biblical scenes. We played “guess which Bible story is depicted in this painting.” Karate Kid’s and my favorite Biblical scene was this one called The Judgement of Solomon. I liked this one of Susan Comforting the Baby by Mary Cassatt because the baby reminded me of Z-Baby.
All in all, a pretty good trip to the art museum–except for the part when Karate Kid and some of the girls were reprimanded by one of the museum guards for running up and down the escalator. Oh, well, both our group and the museum survived.

Last night Z-baby, the two year old, spilled half a bag of pretzels on the living room floor. She and I picked them all up, and then she wanted to eat them. However, I told her they were dirty, and I put them in the trash. This morning while I was gone to the store, Z’s sister found her in the bathrooom. She had the bathroom sink full of water, and she was washing the pretzels that she had retrieved from the trash. Unfortunately, after being washed, they were a little too soft to be palatable. So Z learned that you can’t wash a pretzel–her homeschool lesson for the day.

Our Sunday School lesson for tomorrow is about Israel leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. I think about the Isrealites seeing this miraculous deliverance from God and then immediately going out into the desert to complain about God’s lack of provision. I think I complain a lot–in my mind if not out loud. God has done so much for and for my familly, and I need to use this thanksgiving time to–what a concept–BE THANKFUL. I am thankful for my children, Rachel’s college, this blog, REACH, Isaac’s improved health, a family heritage, my parents who loved and encouraged me, health, books, homeschooling, Heidi’s, Emily’s and Miriam’s dancing, Christopher’s guitar . . .TBC