Magazine Subscriptions..lengthy post on mine :)

The mail came today and most was for dear hubby. He gets all the good stuff ;) and the bad (you know, the bills!). However, there was one thing with my name on it: Creation Illustrated Magazine. I love this magazine. It is put together beautifully and it glorifies God by studying His creation.

As I was looking through it I was wondering just how many magazine subscriptions I actually have. So I decided to make a post about it. I will list the ones I have, why I subscribe to them and why I like them.

Since I just got the Creation Illustrated today, I will start there. I mentioned a couple things already. On the front cover it says "In Nature, In Scripture, In Living". On the inside, first page, they put their purpose up-front, for all to see:

Our Purpose is to share the wonders of God's creation. By revealing fresh insights of His infinite wisdom, gentle touch, undeniable justice, redeeming love, and flawless design, pure truth shall bring renewed peach. Each part of this publication is offered as a reprieve from the daily rigors of life so that all can look to the future with unbridled gratitude and hope.

Isn't that a great purpose? The magazine is broken into the three themes that are stated on the front cover (Nature, Scripture, Living). For instance in this issue, Summer 2010, Volume 17, No. 2, under In Nature, they offer "The Perfect Mix" by Patty Mondore. In this article Patty talks about the ecological wonders of some of the most beautiful places I have seen in photo in a while. Specifically she talks about the meromictic lakes Green Lake, in New York, and Mono Lake, in California. I didn't know what a meromictic lake was until I read on. They are lakes that do not 'mix', as in the minerals and nutrients, because the water is fairly still. The lakes remain stratified, or in layers. She talks about the applicability of this naturally occurring phenomenon to the Body of Christ.

In Scripture has the article "Creation Day 2" by Edmond W. Holroyd, III, PhD. This series on Creation started in the last issue and will continue through all the days of Creation. Here is what it says in the margin about this series:

This article is the second part in our seventh series of features that focus on the Creation week. Some days are divided into segments, and in the next issue, we will explore the third day of the Creation week when God created the dry land and the plants. Each series of stories varies with new writers and fresh photographs. We hope you enjoy this closer look at God's handiwork aimed at inspiring you to study His Word in depth.

Focusing on the second day, this article talks about how God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters that which were above the firmament (Genesis 1:7). The flood is a controversial topic in many spheres of scientific professionals. I like how Dr. Holroyd points to what Peter has to say: "For this they will willfully forget; that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water (2Peter 3:5,6)." And of course, there are beautiful photographs in these articles.

In Living has many great resources, such as "Genesis Cuisine" (one recipe is for Watermelon Gaspacho) and "Children's Story" (God's Night-Light; can you guess what that is??), as well as an "Instructional Guide" for the entire magazine.

You can go to Creation Illustrated and request a complimentary copy of this magazine to see for yourself some of the wonderful articles and beautiful photography.

Next, I have beside me on my 'box' end table (yea, it's just a stack of three small boxes placed by my chair- works well for me!) is the Answers Magazine. If you've heard of Answers in Genesis then you probably have seen or heard of this magazine. This issue is Vol. 5, No. 3 July-Sept 2010.

I tend to see the editors and contributors of this magazine as aggressive conservatives (to me that is almost an oxymoron...). They present their case with such force that it makes it almost seem pushy. Of course, this is coming from someone that doesn't like to be told what to believe or how to believe it; regardless of who says it. (Yep, another fault of mine). But I love this magazine as well!

This issue's 'main' article, I guess you could call it, is titled "Life in the Extreme" and it is presented in three different perspectives. By perspectives, I don't mean that they talk about evolution being acceptable. No, definitely not. They may include some talk of how others say that evolution has been shown because of the extremes but they quickly and effectively dispute the evolution theory. The perspectives are of "Animals in Madagascar", "Life in Toxic Deep Sea Vents", and "Dinosaurs in Antarctica". Three very different places! All extreme.

There is also a Kids Section in every issue, which I just love. This one goes along with the 'main' article of "Life in the Extreme" by helping kids discover "Amazing Madagascar". Lemurs! Lots of lemurs ;) If you go to the Kids Answers website, there are activities and articles that go right along with what's in the magazine.

I came across this magazine at my local library's used book sale. They had been given a gift subscription the year before and were selling their old magazines for 10 cents apiece. I took all the magazines they had for less than a buck :) After reading them over and over I decided I wanted to have more. There are various shorter articles in the magazine that deal with current topics (and some that date back to long ago that are still being talked about!) or interests such as "Do You Believe in Ghosts?" in this issue.

Home School Enrichment magazine I came across accidentally. I went to a get together for local homeschoolers in April or May of this year and as we were leaving, a mother came in with her two kids to work on some school. She was nice, friendly, asked some questions about how things were going with us as new homeschoolers (and fairly new to the area as well). She had in her hand the HSE magazine and I asked to look at it. I don't recall which issue it was but I liked what I saw.

The subtitle of this magazine says "Enriching your life, your family, your homeschool." And since I have received my subscription, I say that it really does those things. I haven't had a chance to read the current issue but one of the previous issues had an article "Whose Standards Do We Follow?" (or something like that) that really got me thinking. I wrote a post with the same name because of it; read it here if you would like. It is a Christian based magazine, like most of the magazines I subscribe to but it has useful information for homeschooling in general.

The current issue, #46, Jul/Aug 2010, has in big letters "Raising Entrepreneurs: Should a Business Be in Your Child's Future?" that I am looking forward to reading.

My favorite magazine subscription is The Old Schoolhouse magazine. Years ago before I started officially homeschooling I saw this magazine somewhere and just loved it from the start. The front cover alone is great. Who says you can't judge by a cover?? ;) Here is a sample issue online. Why do I like this magazine so much? Well, don't tell anyone but I don't know! It is a great resource, many great articles and great writers. But I really don't know what draws me to this magazine more than any other I have. I have back issues that I got from the same library book sale as other magazines. Perhaps this is the one that helped me to see that, yes, I could homeschool. On page 6 of the most current issue, Spring 2010, there is a very helpful resource that as far as I know, has always been there. It is titled: How to Begin Homeschooling. On the sidebar of the same page there is a brief list of different philosophies, methods and styles.

This particular issue has features articles and resources on World War I. For instance Jennifer Steward shares a lesson plan, adaptable to all ages, in her article "World War I: The War to End All Wars". Or there is "Ten Fun Ways to Study World War I" by Cindy Downes.

Here's something that I totally did not notice: For the Field Trip section the article is "Travel Kits: A simple way to bless others" by Donna Rees. If you've been following along with my blog you'll know that I was accepted to be a Crew Member this year for TOS Homeschool Crew (which I am totally completely stoked about!). My 'final' review is going to be out, on my blog for all to see July 22. The item I reviewed? "Travel Kits: A simple way to bless others" ebook. You'll have to wait- patiently- for the review I did. I totally did not make the connection that the article was in the magazine...sheesh. Observant am I ;)

Okay, but other features of the magazine that are great: study of nature, drawing, writing, across-the-curriculum advice, and practical life advice. How about the article "Teaching the Fidgety Child"? Bet there are some that could use some help in that area. (Hey, it's me too!) And in pointing out all these great things, I'm only half way through the magazine! And another thing, I usually dislike advertisements in magazines but the ones in this magazine are some of the best that I can think of. I have come across some great businesses through these ads.

Side note: I missed at least two more magazines so I will write another post another time...

*Disclosure: I have not been paid or compensated in any way for these 'reviews'. I personally subscribe to the above magazines and the opinions I have stated are mine alone. See more about my Disclosure/Policies.