Reading List on the Net {up to 03.18.15}

Juts a little fun video {with an important message} first: Toby Mac's "Me Without You"

I have just a few minutes this morning before the kids are awake and we have to start our day. This week is Lee's Spring Break from the college but last week was Fox's 'break' week {uh, it was actually exam week}. Her break means more working on her senior high school work and less on the college work. It's business as usual for Fox. He unfortunately won't get any more breaks before the school year's end if he's going to finish on time. And he will finish on time.

Desiring God: Don't Follow Your Heart {Amen!}

My heart tells me that all of reality ought to serve my desires. My heart likes to think the best of me and worst of others — unless those others happen to think well of me, then they are wonderful people. But if they don’t think well of me, or even if they just disagree with me, well then, something is wrong with them. And while my heart is pondering my virtues and others’ errors, it can suddenly find some immoral or horribly angry thought very attractive...The truth is, no one lies to us more than our own hearts. No one. If our hearts are compasses, they are Jack Sparrow compasses. They don’t tell us the truth, they just tell us what we want...No, our hearts will not save us. We need to be saved from our hearts.

^That was from last week. That's all the farther I got. Since then, I've bookmarked some blog posts but really haven't been able to read much on the net. Not really sure why.

Homeschooling in America. Interestingly, the infograph I see now when I click over there is not the one I saw when I bookmarked the post. I'd originally looked at it on my phone but I don't know why that'd change anything. In the original one there was a comparison of homeschooled and public schooled students percentile scores- the public schooled kids were all at 50% (which is not realistic). I think the one that is there now is more accurate.  Anyway- homeschooling has its benefits and it is on the rise.

Keeping a Reading Notebook. I have one that is just a simply composition notebook. In it I put my narrations, thoughts, or references to another book. I haven't been doing it lately. Not reading a lot lately.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. This post caught my eye because I had recently seen a very nice old copy of this book but I had no idea what it was about. Carol's post cleared that up and I don't think I'll read the book. I had been tempted {only slightly} to purchase the book because it was beautiful...and old. I don't always make impulsive purchases *wink*.

Renewed. This post by Silvia gives some insight into her Bible reading plan. I will admit that it sounds a little complicated to me but it could be that I didn't read it well. But it sounds like it's reading 10 chapters a day, from anywhere in the Bible. Maybe I'm just not really looking for a new way to read my Bible. I've been using the YouVersion Bible app on my phone and really am liking it. For some reason it is much easier to read with the app than my physical Bible. Perhaps because it only has the specific passage you are reading, in a single column. There are no distractions, whether that is the other column or cross reference in the middle of the page, or in my case, the commentary notes at the bottom of the page.

What's Dad Got to Do With It? by Scott Cottrill. This is a guest post at CMI's blog about dad's participation in homeschooling. It would be specifically talking about a CM education but the underlying message is that dad's are important in the lives of their families. Not just to bring home the bacon {or milk and eggs}.

Then two years ago I was encouraged by another homeschool dad, Art Middlekauff, through his plenary and subsequent discussions. As I participated in those conversations a common theme began to emerge. Several women expressed their desire to have husbands attend the conference and asked whether more topics could be added to give men an opportunity for learning. Their overall concern was that their husbands become involved or at least increase their understanding of what their wives were trying to practice in the all-important task of educating their children. Several of the men met for breakfast with Art to discuss whether there was a need for specific father-oriented teaching. The conclusion was that our goal should not be separate training just for fathers. Mason herself addressed both parents as a united entity. Rather, men should be encouraged to buy into the task of educating their children, whether that means teaching them personally or becoming more supportive of the teaching their wives conduct...I believe that we, as men, are called to lead our families and we are greatly benefited by the opportunity of learning with and from other men. May I encourage you to consider organizing a men’s CM study group in your community? Not only will you learn how to support your wife, you will glean wisdom that will make you a better husband, father, and man.

I think that is all the bookmarks I have for now. Guess we'll see how much reading on the net I get in this week.