A Letter to Young Christian Women

I’m finally at an age when younger Christian women might look up to me for “wisdom” and advice. That is a daunting thought and I don’t feel at all qualified to be that person. Somehow, though, in spite of what I know are major flaws and weaknesses, I have been through enough trials and struggles to be able, perhaps, to provide some insight and perspective. After having been around for so long, I have made some observations and come to certain conclusions that no one would have been able to explain to me years ago. Some things you have to see, experience, and understand for yourself. For instance, the following is a great truth that is becoming more powerful to me as time goes on: One of the most important things a newly-married Christian couple will ever hear is that their marriage is triangular. God is the top “point,” and the husband and wife are the others. The spouses will stay connected and their marriage will be a healthy one if they acknowledge God in His proper place; He is not only an integral part, but most importantly, He is at the top. The more the couple draws near to Him, the closer to each other they will also be.

Fiction Book Review: The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club By Gil McNeil

My kids rolled their eyes, but completely got it, when I couldn’t resist buying The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil. I first spotted a book by this author at the Brighton Library, but it was the second or third in the trilogy. After reading a sample and loving it, I jotted down the author’s name and went home. Since I so badly wanted a book that would hit me just the right way after having had an especially trying spring and summer, I didn’t want to wait for the library to borrow a copy from another location, so I bought the above-mentioned title from Amazon. In case anyone noticed the author’s name, I should mention that I did check Gil’s gender before buying and was relieved to discover that she is a she. I’m sorry if this offends anyone, but I am not interested in reading a book about knitting and women’s friendships written by a man.

A Visit to See Amy

I visited my sister, Amy, today for the first time in months. I was a bit over-generous with my belated birthday presents for her since the occasion was almost three months ago and I had missed it. Buying a couple extra things helped assuage my guilt, which was forgotten the minute she joyfully ripped the packages open before I even had a chance to get them out of my car.

My sister turned 50 on May 25 of this year. She’s not quite sure, but she thinks she’s about 16, which is the age her mental illness first became apparent. Perhaps I should say that that’s how old she was when we had to drop everything and try to get her some help.

She lives in a group home in Ortonville, Michigan with about 20 adults who all have some kind of mental problem. They seem pretty peaceful, but maybe that’s because they’re heavily medicated. When I was there today, there were several residents sitting around the t.v. watching something insipid featuring a hairy puppet I didn’t recognize. The show had the look of a cheap Sesame Street knock-off.

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man By Guest Writer Noah J. Doran

Simply put, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is a film that should not have been made for another 15 years. By then you could slap on the ‘remake’ tag and take liberties with its storyline without incurring the wrath of its ever-irritable following. The whole film suffers from a distinct case of rebootitis. Director Marc Webb clearly struggled tiptoeing on the eggshells laid by Maguire and Raimi. He cuts out the secondary characters that helped make the first installment great (see Harry Osborn and Jonah Jameson), placing the film squarely on the barely-capable shoulders of our new Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield.

We meet him as a 6-year-old boy who is mysteriously abandoned by his parents. In an all too familiar plotline, he goes to live with his aunt and uncle, played by Martin Sheen and Sally Field. They turn out to be quite well cast and give the film some much-needed comic relief. As Peter gets increasingly curious about his father’s past, he is led to the lab of one-armed Dr. Curt Connors, played by a horrible miscast, Rhys Ifans, a former friend and business associate of his father. You guessed it: Peter gets a little too snoopy with the doctor’s interspecies gene splicing experiments and finds himself with a nasty spider bite. The film toys with a ‘discovering powers’ montage, but unlike the original, it is neither particularly fun nor interesting. Again, Webb seemed to be wary of copying the original and in the process missed out on what should be the most fun part of the movie.

As Peter deals with his newfound powers, a potential girlfriend (played well by Emma Stone), and the death of his uncle, Dr. Connors takes a sinister turn. His limb-replacing serum is rushed to human trials, and the doctor volunteers to test it on himself. Next thing you know, he is a giant lizard with a British accent and a nasty disposition. The lizard is a second-tier villain in the comics and the movie really doesn’t do much to help his case. He can’t touch Willem Dafoe’s menacing Green Goblin performance or Alfred Molina’s utterly tragic Doctor Octopus. He’s just a ho-hum, watered down version of his predecessors. His ultimate evil plot is rushed and predicable, and there’s never any real doubt that Spidey will save the day.

While “The Amazing Spider-Man” has its moments (Stan Lee’s cameo is itself worth the price of admission), it is a film that leaves you unsatisfied. It lacks the spectacle of “The Avengers” and the depth and brilliant performances of “The Dark Knight.” But where it fails most miserably is when it’s stacked up against the original Spider-Man. While the series may have run its course with the mediocre Spider-Man 3, it was in no need of an update. Andrew Garfield does his job, but isn’t particularly funny or as loveable as Maguire. Emma Stone is solid as Gwen Stacey and the chemistry between the young stars is one of the best parts of the film. The best compliment that I can pay “The Amazing Spider-Man” is that it’s efficient. It delivers enough romance and eye candy to please the summer movie-goer and will surely haul in hundreds of millions of dollars. But in the end, any fan of the original will find this new interpretation quite lacking. Perhaps the sequel will be able to find its footing, but until then this Spidey is stuck swinging around in boots that are far too big.

Grade: C

Bread-Making and Pickup Trucks

I still remember the poorly-concealed shock on my friend’s face when she found out that I didn’t know how to make bread.

“It’s only water, yeast, oil, some kind of sweetener, salt, and flour….” she said, trailing off at the end.

I was thinking (but didn’t say), “Yes, but I’m a half-J.A.P.* from Southfield who broke up with a perfectly nice boy just because he arrived at my house to pick me up for a date driving a pickup truck.” Neither half-J.A.P.s nor the full-blown variety would have been caught dead in a truck in the seventies -- at least not any that I knew of.  In fact, pickups were a very rare sight in Oakland County at this time. Try telling this to a practical Nebraska farm girl who had been transplanted to a rambling farmhouse on acreage in Livingston County. Needless to say, I didn’t bother trying to explain. Instead, I quickly accepted her offer to come over to her house one afternoon and learn how, hands-on style.

Twenty years later, I am still making whole wheat bread, six loaves at a time in my Bosch multi-tasking kneader, mixer, and blender. First, I grind organic wheat berries, purchased from a nearby co-op, in my Grain Master Whisper Mill. If you are like most people who hear this about me, you are probably wondering which commune I used to live on. Am I a hippie? A health-food nut? Some kind of fruitcake who should really be living somewhere in California or on a kibbutz in Israel? The truth is much less intriguing. I like to challenge myself by learning new things that I find interesting, and making bread was on that list. I also like the health benefits and the fact that I am feeding something really nutritious to my family for about 50 cents per loaf. You can’t beat that.

The Art versus Science of Bread-Making Have you ever heard someone say that break-making is part science, part art? That’s actually quite accurate because it’s one thing to be able to follow a recipe and another to be able to “read between the lines.” Nothing can replace experience when it comes to knowing just how much flour is the right amount. The recipe will give you a close idea, but after that, it’s a matter of looking and sometimes touching. When the dough cleans the sides of the kneading bowl, it’s time to stop adding flour and just keep kneading. If you are still not sure after looking carefully, stop the machine and poke the dough lightly. It should be slightly sticky, but dough shouldn’t stick to your finger. This is what I mean by “art.” It gets easier and easier with experience to know when there is enough flour. Too little flour leads to dough that is so sticky that it is almost impossible to work with; too much leads to heavy, crumbly bread.

The other artistic aspect to bread-making is having enough experience and knowledge about the process to be able to tinker with the recipe. It took me years to get to this point. For the first several years, I added a little all-purpose flour so that the dough would rise more and have a lighter consistency. I have since figured out how to make light, moist bread using only freshly-ground whole wheat. I also discovered that we prefer a little more honey and oil than the amounts my friend first gave me, and I also now add one cup of flaxseed meal for the nutrition benefits.

The Road Less Traveled  I am glad that I decided to learn this ancient art of bread-making and not take the more populated Wonder Bread route. It’s been beneficial and positive in every way. Oh, and after making that mistake with the nice young man in the pickup truck, I threw out the vehicle standard and ended up marrying a man who, as a college student, drove a VW beetle with “manual” windshield wipers (they operated by having the passenger – or driver if he was by himself – pull on a rope attached to the wipers). There was also a convenient hole in the floor on the passenger side for quick exits of bad dates…

*Jewish American Princess

Whole Wheat Bread (makes 6 loaves):

6 cups water (about 110 degrees)

2 T. Saf-Instant yeast (only one rising is necessary with this yeast—available at food co-ops and Gordon Food Service)

¾ c. canola oil

¾ c. honey

1 T. kosher salt

Whole wheat flour

1 c. flaxseed meal

Knead in Bosch for 6 min., then divide into 6 loaves and place in prepared pans (I use Pam). Let rise in slightly-warm oven for 40 min. and then bake for 35 min. at 350.

Homeschooling: When Should You Begin?

If you are a young parent who is seriously considering homeschooling, then I would advise you to think about starting right from the beginning of your child’s education, rather than waiting.  It is easier for a couple important reasons: your child won’t have to adjust to a “new” school; and it is also less difficult for the parent, who has probably been out of the school system for years, to learn how to teach material when it is basic and the subjects are few.

If your child has been attending school outside of the home, then he will have an adjustment to one extent or another once you start homeschooling. Our oldest child went to a Christian preschool and then public school kindergarten. We learned about homeschooling and decided to do it because his experience in kindergarten was so negative. He was happy and relieved to be taken out. If, however, it is the parent only who is unhappy with the public or private school, then you may have a battle on your hands, which just adds to the challenge of figuring it all out. Therefore, if you are considering homeschooling and your child is just beginning his academic career, you might want to think about starting now. If you are uncertain, you can always do what we did: take it one year at a time and see how it goes.

In addition, it is much easier to learn how to homeschool when your child’s subjects are few and relatively simple. Even though teaching a child to read is one of the most important things a homeschooling parent will do, there is so much help in almost any curriculum you may buy, that you don’t have to worry at all. In Sing, Spell, Read, and Write, which we used, there are step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. The program is pricey, but thorough, and includes everything you will need to teach early language arts. It is especially worth the price if you are new to homeschooling, thus perhaps lacking confidence, and would like the work laid out for you. This way, there are no worries about forgetting an important point or doing something incorrectly or in the wrong order. Also, the initial expense is one time, since you will only need to purchase the consumable workbooks for subsequent children. You may be able to recover some of your expense by trying to keep the non-consumable parts in good shape and selling when you are done on www.amazon.com .

Teaching mathematics is also much easier when you are starting from ground zero. Early math should be very hands-on with the daily use of manipulatives so that young children, who are unable to think abstractly, can plainly see –and touch -- what is being taught. The focus should be on understanding concepts and memorizing basic facts, such as addition and subtraction (and a little later, multiplication and division) for numbers one through ten. It is much easier for a new homeschooling parent to teach these things, especially when it is all laid out, as it is in the programs we have used, Making Math Meaningful by Cornerstone Curriculum, and Saxon Math, then it is to jump in later when the child will be introduced to algebraic concepts and so on.

Thus, if you have a choice, consider beginning your homeschool journey when your child is starting kindergarten or first grade. It will be an easier adjustment for all concerned. Don’t despair, though, if you are starting later. There is a lot of help available. Just google “homeschool support groups” to get in touch with homeschoolers in your area, or to get help from online experts, visit http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/ and http://www.homeeducator.com/familytimes/newsletter/index.htm. For additional encouragement, visit Karen Andreola’s beautiful blog at http://www.momentswithmotherculture.blogspot.com/. Mrs. Andreola is well-known in the homeschool community as an expert on education pioneer Charlotte Mason, as well as being the author of numerous books, articles, and product reviews. 

Booker T. Washington: The Character and Contributions of a Christian Man During a Race Revolution By Emily Rose Doran, Assistant Editor

   Though history is filled with underdog stories, perhaps the greatest is that of Booker T. Washington. Born as a slave, he was immediately placed into the most unfortunate of life positions. Yet, despite his circumstances, he managed to become an important figure in the battle of racial

equality, actively working toward the betterment of his race by providing education and work

opportunities, as well as teaching basic skills necessary to thrive in the world. Nevertheless, his

achievements and contributions to society would not have been possible had he not possessed certain character qualities.

     First, Washington affected the world through his work ethic, which stemmed, naturally, from a proper understanding of labor. As a Christian man, he was aware of the distinction between work and toil, as written in Genesis 2:15 and Genesis 3:17, which say, respectively, “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it,” and, “Then to Adam He said, 'Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it”:

            'Cursed is the ground for your sake;

            In toil you shall eat of it

            All the days of your life.'”

Work, then, existed before the Fall and was pleasant, while toil, which occurred as a result of the Fall, was burdensome. The problem which Washington faced, as he strove tirelessly toward equipping former slaves with a healthy perspective of work, was the ignorance regarding the distinction between these two. Newly-freed blacks, who had spent their lives toiling under the tyrannical rules of abusive masters, assumed that work did not exist; there was only toil. As a result, a common goal was to obtain an education, in order that such toil might be escaped. Nevertheless, through his work at the Tuskegee Institute and through his public speeches, Washington managed to implant within the minds of many a new understanding of work. He summed up these experiences by saying, “I learned what education was expected to do for an individual. Before going there I had a good deal of the then rather prevalent idea among our people that to secure an education meant to have a good, easy time, free from all necessity for manual labor. At Hampton I not only learned that it was not a disgrace to labor, but learned to love labor, not alone for its financial value, but for labor’s own sake and for the independence and self-reliance which the ability to do something which the world wants done brings. At that institution I got my first taste of what it meant to live a life of unselfishness, my first knowledge of the fact that the happiest individuals are those who do the most to make others useful and happy.”

  

     Uniquely tied to Washington's work ethic was his selflessness, through which he also served his fellow man. He attested to this himself by saying, “The happiest people are those who do the most for others. The most miserable are those who do the least,” and, “The longer I live and the more experience I have of the world, the more I am convinced that, after all, the one thing that is most worth living for- and dying for, if need be- is the opportunity of making someone else more happy.”   As a Christian man, his selflessness was well in-keeping with his faith. After all, the core of Christianity, the Gospel, is the story of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection, which were executed because of a universal need for a Savior. Christ selflessly took upon Himself the penalty for sin, freeing His elect. On a lesser scale, Washington exhibited acts of true selflessness as he dedicated his life to the raising of an entire race from the bonds of slavery. 

    Finally, Washington affected the world through his wisdom. During a time of heated opinions

regarding racial equality, Washington was one of the few people who understood that race was

irrelevant with concern to merit. He said, “Character, not circumstance, makes the person,” and, “No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts,” and, “The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of his race.”  Such wisdom, discussed at length in Proverbs, was no doubt connected to his Christian faith.  Proverbs 4:5-7 says,

            “Get wisdom!  Get understanding!

            Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

            Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;

            Love her, and she will keep you.

            Wisdom is the principal thing;

            Therefore get wisdom.

            And in all your getting, get understanding.”

     Booker T. Washington, though born a slave, managed to rise above his circumstances and

become an active member of society. Through his work ethic, selflessness, and wisdom, he contributed to the education of his race, as well as to the knowledge of the general public regarding race equality. Most importantly, however, his Christian faith was made evident throughout all of his life, as it is written in Matthew 5:14-16, “'You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill

cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.'