Archives

Top Ten Excuses Not to Vote (with Responses)

Oct26

10. It’s inconvenient, and I have to work. (The polls are open until 7 PM, and it was more than “inconvenient” for women to demonstrate and work until they won the vote and for black people and other minorities who were often prevented from voting until this century. You can live with a little inconvenience.)
9. I don’t know where to go to vote. (Find out.)
8. I’m not registered to vote. (I can’t say much about this one–except shame on you. Get registered for the next election.)
7. I won’t be in my hometown on Election Day. (Vote early or get an absentee ballot. It’s easier than it’s ever been to do either here in Texas, and from what I hear other states are making it easy, too.)
6. All politicians are crooked; I refuse to vote for any of them. (Choose the least crooked one in each race. I know it’s hard; if it were easy, we wouldn’t have to vote. We’d just choose the perfect person by acclamation.)
5. I can’t decide who to vote for. I don’t like either party. (Make a decision. Again, choose the best of the worst, the lesser of two evils if necessary.)
4. I don’t understand the issues. (Read, ask people you trust, and then vote anyway. Make a decision based on what you do understand.)
3. I’m not old enough. (Legitimate excuse, so get out and help in the campaign of someone you believe in. Or make sure the adults you know and love go out and vote.)
2. My vote won’t make any difference. (If you believe this, you haven’t been paying attention. Everybody says this election is close, really close, maybe not in the electoral college, but definitely in terms of who gets the most popular votes. And your vote is important whether you live in a swing state or not. You still have to vote for candidates for offices other than president, and in this litigious age your candidate for president needs a landslide victory just to ward off the lawsuits.)
1. I don’t care who wins or loses; God is in control. (Of course, God is in control. He often works through people. Voting is one way to stand for righteousness whether your candidate wins or loses.)

From Focus on the Family:

We urge all Christians that they have a moral obligation to learn about the candidates’ positions, to be informed, and to vote. We urge all Christians to pray that truthful speech and right conduct on both sides would prevail in this election. We also encourage Christians to consider doing even more for the good of our nation, such as giving time or money, or talking to friends and neighbors, or even serving in office themselves. Such influence for good on the direction of our country is one important way of fulfilling Jesus’ command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:19).

Join Me in Glad Adoration #7

Oct23

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by thy help I’m come;
And I hope, if by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above

This 18th century hymn was written by Robert Robinson. I get conflicting information about him from the web. Some say his heart was “prone to wander,” that he was first converted under the preaching George Whitfield, then became a Methodist preacher, then a Baptist pastor, and finally a Unitarian influenced by British scientist and Unitarian minister Joseph Priestly. Another website says that Robinson did not become a Unitarian, but remained a Baptist and a Christian to the end of his life. In Baptist Heritage by Leon McBeth, Robinson is said to have “preached and wrote against slavery and in 1788 helped to frame an early resolution to Parliament against the practice.” (p. 198) I prefer to believe that God did seal Robinson’s heart and give him the grace to endure to the end–as I pray He will all of us.

Another Homeschool Success Story

Oct23

We went tonight to see a one man play, Nevermore, based on the life and writings of Edgar Allan Poe. The actor and playwright, Tim Evers, is a homeschooled senior in high school (or recent graduate), and he is quite talented. Unfortunately, the publicity for this play was somewhat lacking, and there weren’t very many people there tonight. I hope he will try again and get a bigger audience. The play included renditions of The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Raven in addition to a portrayal of Poe’s mysterious death on October 7, 1849. Young Mr. Evers has written and performed three other one man plays: Mark Twain’s Anthology, The Gospel According to Mark Twain, and The Demons of Sherlock Holmes. Again, I was quite impressed. The play kept me shivering and quaking, and my nine year old, Brown Bear Daughter, who accompanied me was downright scared. She says she’ll have nightmares tonight–my mistake for bringing her, I suppose.

Thoreau and Sherry on Clothing

Oct22

As noted in the previous post, I have been reading Walden by Thoreau for our American Literature discussion group. I can’t agree with Mr. Thoreau on some things, and we don’t share the same passions. (I’m not much of a nature lover; I think it’s a character deficiency.) Nevertheless, Henry David Thoreau and I are in nearly complete agreement on the subject of clothing. First Thoreau:

As for Clothing, to come at once to the practical part of the question, perhaps we are led oftener by the love of novelty and a regard for the opinions of men, in procuring it, than by a true utility. Let him who has work to do recollect that the object of clothing is, first, to retain the vital heat, and secondly, in this state of society, to cover nakedness, and he may judge how much of any necessary or important work may be accomplished without adding to his wardrobe.

It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.

Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit? If you have any enterprise before you, try it in your old clothes.

Next, the Bible:

Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, or else the patch shrinks and the new tears away from the old, and a worse hole is made. No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine pours out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins.

Last and probably least, Sherry herself waxes philosophic:

Clothing should be modest (free from showiness or ostentation; unpretentious), suited to the purpose or the occasion, and if at all possible, beautiful. There’s nothing wrong with wearing clothes that look pretty or distinguished or handsome; in fact, as Christians we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ himself, and our earthly clothes can be only a pale reflection of His glory. When God sees me, He doesn’t see my plaid dress or my blue jeans; he sees me dressed in the righteousness of Christ. I can choose to dress in rags that barely cover my body, or I can buy the most elegant and expensive outfit that money and good taste can procure. However, I won’t impress God. Just as all my good deeds and “trying hard to be good” are compared to filthy rags in the Scripture, so my actual clothing is ragged and threadbare compared to the riches of heaven. So I should wear clothing that pleases me and pleases other people (without leading anyone into sin). I want my clothing to be comfortable and beautiful, to reflect Christ and to express a little of who I am, the colors I enjoy and the styles I like. Finally, though, who cares about fashion, and why invest too much time or money into something that tomorrow will be thrown into the oven?

Join Me in Glad Adoration #6

Oct16

There Shall Be Showers of Blessing

There shall be showers of blessing;
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing
Percious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys
Sound of abundance of rain.

There shall be showers of blessing
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing
Come and now honor thy Word.

There Shall be showers of blessing;
Oh that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call.

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

I grew up in West Texas where the rains truly were a blessing, where we sometimes had to ration water, where the image of “showers of blessing” is and was a meaningful word picture of the spiritual refreshing that I need from the Holy Spirit. My father-in-law used to sing this hymn whenever it rained, and it always reminded me of the wonderful abundant grace of God that rains down on me everyday and of those special times of refreshing that come every now and then. Thank you, Lord, for the mercy drops and for the showers.

Frodo Lives

Oct14

In his 30 years of teaching and writing about Tolkien, Wood has never grown tired of the trilogy. “After you’ve read a text several times, you begin to grow weary of it,” Wood said. “But “Lord of the Rings” is richer with every reading. You discover it has hidden depths.”

From a newspaper article about a lecture series on Tolkien by Baylor professor Ralph Wood.

I absolutely agree. A few people I know have said that they are tired of Tolkien after all the hype about the movies, but I think those who are “bored of the Rings” may be mostly those who have never read the books. Eldest Daughter will be taking a Tolkien course with this professor next semester. I’m jealous, but I expect to learn something vicariously.

Does Kerry Know Someone We Don’t Know?

Oct12

P.J. O’Rourke has a column posted entitled Putting Words in the President’s Mouth:
Sixteen obvious points that George W. Bush should make during the Wednesday night debate. Point #13 is this one:

(13) You say you’re going to get our friends and allies to take a bigger role in Iraq. Senator Kerry, what friends and allies? You’re a sophisticated fellow. You’re well-traveled and speak French. Are there some countries out there that you know about and the rest of us have never heard of?

I would add: France and Germany both have already said that they won’t send any troops to Iraq under any circumstances–whether Kerry is elected or not. So what “role” does Kerry have in mind for them? Chief consumers of Iraqi oil as soon as we get the pipelines pumping again? Or does he plan to bribe them as Saddam did? Is bribe money a line item in his budget plan?

Grammar: It Ain’t What It Used to Be

Oct12

Camille at BookMoot has a post with a list of children’s books about grammar and words. I have some of these; I want them all. Words can be so much fun. I would add Usborne’s book The Word Detective to her list. (I couldn’t find this book at Amazon or at the Usborne Books website. I guess it’s out of print?)
I really think playing with words should be at least half of teaching good grammar and English usage. Unfortunately, we don’t always get around to the playing part of our homeschooling; we’re so busy trying to keep up with the disciplined learning part. I think playing with numbers should be a big part of math education, too. So someone tell me how to cut loose and play sometimes without losing what little structure and discipline we have in this place. Good books are a start.

Women Voting

Oct12

Women are voting in large numbers in Afghanistan in a country where three years ago they couldn’t even leave their homes unescorted, couldn’t go to school, and couldn’t live in any semblance of freedom.

But what has been most remarkable is the large scale participation of women. In the northern Balkh province, women came out in their bridal finery – with beads around their necks and henna on their hands – to vote.
In Kabul, at the end of the day, emotional women told the BBC that it had been the most memorable day in their lives. Some of them were in tears. One old woman said she’d woken up early in the morning and then woke up her sisters saying: “We have to get out to vote. The future of Afghanistan is at stake.”

I got this via worldmagblog from the BBC blog about the elections in Afghanistan.

Years with Frog and Toad

Oct11

Thanks to Camille at BookMoot for the tip about the 25th anniversary of Arnold Lobel’s classic beginning reader, Days With Frog and Toad. I blogged about Lobel and the Frog and Toad books here. An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calls Lobel’s books “a rite of passage.”

In fact, it’s become a rite of passage for beginning readers to marvel at Frog’s ingenuity in waking up sleepy Toad in time to enjoy the spring, to laugh as Frog attempts to teach him about will power and cookies, and to cheer as Toad finally manages to get his kite aloft, thanks to a large dose of optimism supplied by Frog.

I just know they’re fun–and full of life lessons for all ages.