Sunday, May 28, 2006

What is going On??

This is not new, but it is the first that I have heard of it. The homosexual agenda and the way we help it along, astounds me.

Schools Blasted for Holding Separate Graduations for Homosexual Students
by Jim Brown May 25, 2006 (AgapePress) - -
USA Today reports that a growing number of colleges and universities are holding so-called "lavender graduations" to honor their "gay," lesbian, and transgendered graduates; but one campus watchdog group spokesman says schools should not be making ideological statements by sponsoring these separate ceremonies.
At the lavender graduations, students are often given awards and typically receive rainbow-colored tassels to put on their mortarboards during their commencement activities. But while these ceremonies are often touted as celebrations of cultural diversity and equality, Jason Mattera with the Virginia-based Young America's Foundation (YAF) feels these exercises actually turn true equality on its head.
"I thought the homosexual agenda was just 'Leave us alone,' right?," Mattera observes. "That's what they're saying: 'Oh, we don't want the government involved in our lives. We just want to be treated normally.' Well, here is an obvious example where they're looking for special treatment."
But rarely, the YAF spokesman points out, does any group of students get its own graduation ceremonies as a separate class. "Imagine," he says, "if the Christian club at any of the schools mentioned -- let's take the University of North Carolina -- if the Christian club gathered together and said, 'We want a separate ceremony in which we were going to read passages from Leviticus and passages from Rick Santorum's It Takes a Family.'
"Not only would they have been probably flogged by the diversity deans and multicultural deans on the college campus," Mattera asserts, "but they would be [charged with] hate speech incidents. They would be reported to the human resource department."
In any case, the conservative campus watchdog adds, the idea of lavender graduations is not a very inclusive one, since the schools that hold these separate ceremonies are in effect promoting segregation. Nor, he asserts, do such ceremonies truly respect homosexual students by honoring their achievements.
"I would even think the homosexual students on these campuses should be offended," Mattera says. Homosexual students should consider these separate ceremonies to be a slap in the face, he contends, because the "honorees" are not being rewarded for their academic merits but for their sexual behavior.
Ultimately, the YAF spokesman believes the lavender graduations that are being held by schools like Duke University, UCLA, the University of Georgia, and the University of Washington are rooted in anti-Christian hostility. But even if they are, as some homosexuals claim, simply celebrations of equality, he feels these ceremonies fail on that level as well.
If these and other colleges and universities are truly interested in equality, Mattera suggests, they could show it by doing away with race-based preferences and special rights for certain classes of students. And instead of trying to ring in a new, so-called "civil rights era" for homosexuals, he says, schools need to stop segregating people on the basis of sexual behavior.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Olfactory Memories



Remember Play Doh? Remember that smell that only Play Doh has? I used to love it as a kid and I must confess, you may catch me giving my kid's Play Doh a sniff even these days!

I couldn't believe it when I saw this online. Play Doh is celebrating their 50th Anniversary so Hasbro released this perfume to help transport people back to their childhood. Hasbro says that Play Doh's smell is one of its most enduring memories. I have to agree with that statement too! Just love it. Not sure I would run out and buy a bottle....but I think I will have to slip into one of the kids rooms and take sniff so I can walk down the ol' olfactory Play Doh lane again! By the way, it goes for $19 a bottle if you are interested in getting some for yourself.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Egypt to Excavate


An interesting discovery has been made in Egypt that will give further insight into Biblical times. Egypt's Roman era lasted from 30 BC to 337 AD. The Egyptian authorities have given permission for the underwater exploration of the ruins of a Roman city submerged in the Mediterranean, 35 km east of the Suez Canal. The ruins include buildings, bathrooms, ruins of a Roman fortress, ancient coins, bronze vases and pieces of pottery. This should prove to be very interesting and I look forward to hearing more details about what they find.

Friday, May 19, 2006

World Trade Center


Movie goers are being warned that the trailer for World Trade Center may be too intense. It will be previewed this weekend at the opening of The DaVinci Code. Nicholas Cage stars in it as a New York cop who tells his men to *be prepared for everything* that morning, just like he always does. Little did he know what lay in store for him and his men, the people of New York, America and the world. The movie opens August 9th.


The trailer is intense...because it is true.
Click here to view the trailer for World Trade Center-A Film by Oliver Stone.


Thursday, May 18, 2006

Canada Stays in Afghanistan








Praise God for the Conservatives!!

The members of Parliament voted and the vote was close, but the government prevailed 149-145. It means Canadian soldiers will remain in Afghanistan two years longer than previously planned.

A defiant Prime Minister Stephen Harper led off the debate by declaring he would extend the mission by a year, with or without the support of the House, and would be willing to call an election on the issue, putting the ultimate decision directly into the hands of Canadians.

"We cannot walk away quickly," Harper told the House. "If we need further efforts or further mandate to go ahead into the future, we will go so alone and go to the Canadian people to get that mandate."

Harper said the mission is in Canada's interests and important in the fight against terrorism.

"The events of Sept. 11, 2001 was a wake-up call, not just to Americans but to people in all free and democratic nations. Two dozen Canadians were killed as result of the attacks on the twin towers … Canada is not safe from such attack, and we will never be safe from such attacks as long as we're a society that defends freedom and democracy."

The Conservatives announced the vote for a two-year extension earlier this week, and MPs spent about six hours debating whether Canada's troops should come home next February or stay in Afghanistan until early 2009.

The Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Party voted against the motion. NDP Leader Jack Layton said the mission would see Canada straying further from its traditional role as peacekeeper.

Liberal Leader Bill Graham had said he would wait to see if the Conservatives answered all his questions regarding the two-year extension before deciding which way to vote.

The Liberals allowed their members a free vote and in the end, Graham and 29 other Liberals supported the motion.

But Graham did criticize the government for holding a vote without providing sufficient time to debate the issue. Graham said his party supports the troops and the mission in Afghanistan, but that MPs would be voting "with a gun put to our heads."

Canada has about 2,200 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, part of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom.

Previously, Canada was a participant in the NATO-led International Stabilization Assistance Force (ISAF), and it has been reported that Canada could take over leadership of the larger NATO mission in Afghanistan in 2008.

Click here to read the full article on site.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

FORD...Built Tough?


FORD...once an American icon but now a disgrace to the nation and to North American industry.

Click here to read about the Boycott of Ford and why we should boycott that company. There are some disturbing images, ads and video clips on that site to alert you of what Ford is truly promoting.


Click here to read a news report about Ford's affiliation with the raunchy homosexual magazine, OUT Magazine which claims to offer "a gay and lesbian perspective on style, entertainment, fashion, the arts, politics, culture, and the world at large." Articles in the May 2006 issue include titles such as "Nightlife: Party All the Time" and "Porn 2 Go." It also includes a full-page ad from Ford featuring all eight of its automobile brands. Is this the kind of company that we want to support as Christians?


FORD....not for FAMILY!!

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

And We Said.....

This is one of those things that people send around in emails and we generally just delete them. There are a lot of good theological responses to the initial question, but it is the spirit of the entire thing that struck me. It is a true but sad commentary on our society in the West.
Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at ?. .

Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96
Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98

Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee, California 3/ 5/01 and
El Cajon, California 3/22/01?

Sincerely,

Concerned Student

-----------------------------------------------------

Reply:

Dear Concerned Student:

I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,

God

----------------------------------------------------------

How did this get started?...

-----------------

Let's see,
I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained
she didn't want any prayer in our schools.

And we said, OK..

------------------

Then,
someone said you better not read the Bible in school,
the Bible that says
"thou shalt not kill,
thou shalt not steal,
and love your neighbors as yourself,"

And we said, OK...

-----------------

Dr. Benjamin Spock said
we shouldn't spank our children
when they misbehaved
because their little personalities
would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem.

And we said,
an expert should know what he's talking about
so we won't spank them anymore..

------------------

Then someone said
teachers and principals better not
discipline our children when they misbehave.
And the school administrators said
no faculty member in this school
better touch a student when they misbehave
because we don't want any bad publicity,
and we surely don't want to be sued.

And we accepted their reasoning...

------------------

Then someone said,
let's let our daughters have abortions if they want,
and they won't even have to tell their parents.

And we said, that's a grand idea...

------------------

Then some wise school board member said,
since boys will be boys
and they're going to do it anyway,
let's give our sons all the condoms they want,
so they can have all the fun they desire,
and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school.

And we said, that's another great idea...


------------------

Then some of our top elected officials said
it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs.

And we said,
it doesn't matter what anybody,
including the President,
does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good....

------------------

And someone else took that appreciation a step further
and published pictures of nude children
and then stepped further still by
making them available on the Internet.

And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech....

------------------

And the entertainment industry said,
let's make TV shows and movies that promote
profanity, violence and illicit sex...
And let's record music that encourages
rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes...

And we said,
it's just entertainment
and it has no adverse effect
and nobody takes it seriously anyway,
so go right ahead.

------------------

Now we're asking ourselves
why our children have no conscience,
why they don't know right from wrong,
and why it doesn't bother them to
kill strangers, classmates or even themselves.

------------------

Undoubtedly,
if we thought about it long and hard enough,
we could figure it out.
I'm sure it has a great deal to do with...

"WE REAP WHAT WE SOW,"

------------------

Monday, May 15, 2006

Count Me In!!



Okay...May 16 was upon my doorstep so I thought I better get that census thing done. I counted the family in! We are 5 numbers in the big scheme of things. The population estimate as of January 2006 for Canada is 32,422,919. It is growing but definitely not exponentially. I remember back when I was in school that the population was about 30,000,000.

For those of you with that yellow envelope sitting on your kitchen table....just visit http://www.census2006.ca to get Counted In!!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A Masterpiece Created by God



As happy homeschoolers we left the boys at home today with The Bishop to do their school work and the females had a lovely *Girl's Day* out! I am taking our daughter through Secret Keeper Girl -The Power of True Beauty and Modesty by Dannah Gresh. It includes 8 Great Dates for you and your Daughter and we did Date #1 today - Your Beauty in God's Eyes. We went to a fancy hotel restaurant and shared Earl Grey Tea, Victorian Tea finger sandwiches and rich desserts. I presented her with her first china tea cup (Royal Albert-Cameo Rose) and spoke to her about being a Masterpiece made by God. We dialogued about how God made her precious and how we should live that out in our female, Christian lives.

The Key Verse was Isaiah 64:8 which says, "We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand."

I praise God for creating the Masterpiece that is our daughter. For giving her such a sweet disposition and way about her. I praise Him that He has drawn her to Himself and that she has confessed Jesus Christ as her Saviour and Lord. I pray that He will keep her close and help her to have her eyes focused on Christ as she grows up. I pray that she will grow up to become a godly Christian woman who magnifies the Name of Jesus Christ in her life.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

The Pilgrim's Progress


The Pilgrim's Progress has been called the greatest allegory every written. Reading it is a must for every Christian. It is even more appealing now because it is available in plain, modern English. The Bishop brought it home from church and I saw it sitting in the living room. I picked it up and was hooked right away. I have read abridged versions and children's versions but this one is different. It is the full work in modern English but it also includes a colour timeline, detailed indexes, author biographies and illustrations.

Once I am finished reading it I believe it will become part of our homeschooling reading time together. The kids had enjoyed the childrens version that we have but they are now old enough to glean more truths from this modern version of the classic John Bunyan work.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Seat Belts Save Lives & Marriages!


The National Highway
Safety Council has done
extensive testing on a newly
designed seat belt. Results
show that accidents can be
reduced by as much as 45%
when the belt is properly
installed. Correct installation
is illustrated below.......

Click on image to see it in action!


Not that our family would need such a contraption.
I was just informing the rest of you as a ministry to your marriages. ;)

Saturday, May 06, 2006

O Canada!!!


Canada Most Honoured Nation at Virginia International Tattoo


Over 800 musicians and artists from around the world performed at the Virginia International Tattoo April 28-30, in Norfolk, Virginia, where Canada was celebrated for the fourth time as the Most Honoured Nation. This is the largest Tattoo in the United States. Canada had 200 participants from the bands from 3ASG Gaegetown, 2RCR, 2 CMBG, 222eR, and a flag party and escorts from Royal Military College. Other Canadian participation included the RCMP dismounted calvary drill troop, the Delta Polics Pipe Band from Vancouver and the Schiehallion dancers from Hamilton.


The term "tattoo" derives from the cries of the 17th and 18th century European Low Country innkeepers, who, as the pipes and drums of the local regiment signalled a return to the barracks, would yell, "Doe den tap toe!"- "Turn of the taps!" The sound of the "taps" caused the innkeeper's customers (ie: soldiers) to depart and return to their quarters. The word "tattoo" evolved over time and now signifies a ceremonial performance of military music by massed bands.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

What's in a Name?


Navy Chaplain May Face Court-Martial For Praying
Clergyman Prayed In Uniform Outside White House
POSTED: 4:39 am PDT May 4, 2006
NORFOLK, Va. -- A chaplain stationed at Naval Station Norfolk said he could face court-martial for praying in uniform outside the White House.
Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt said he prayed at a March 30 protest opposing Department of Defense rules forbidding military chaplains from invoking the name of Jesus Christ.
He's accused of violating an order not to appear in uniform at news conferences in support of personal or religious issues.
The issue seems to hinge on whether his praying at the event was permissible participation at a bona fide religious service. Klingenschmitt is rejecting non-judicial punishment in favor of trial by court-martial.
In addition, he's filing a complaint against the Navy claiming the threat of punishment against him amounts to religious harassment and he's appealing to the White House to end what he claims are the military's attempts to take reprisals against a whistle-blower.

Jimmy!



I thought this was hilarious. Do you?

One of my sons loves to eat sunny side up eggs. He really got a kick out of this. Expecially since we have raised chickens and they have been around baby chicks.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Free Speech...Ya, Right.



Pro-Abortion Vandals Desecrate Princeton Group's Pro-Life Display

by Jim Brown
May 2, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Pro-abortion vandals have destroyed yet another campus pro-life display, this time at an Ivy League university.

The student group Princeton Pro-Life had erected a display featuring 347 flags designed to symbolize the estimated number of students who might have been a part of Princeton's class of 2010 if abortion had not been legalized. After being up just three days, the display was destroyed and signs bearing sarcastic pro-abortion messages were put up in its place.

Thomas Haine, president of Princeton Pro-life, says he finds it very ironic that pro-abortion liberals who claim to be proponents of tolerance and free speech so often display little or no tolerance for pro-life expressions. He feels the messages left by the vandals are truly indicative of liberal abortion advocates' brand of tolerance.

"Someone had added 30 cut-up coat hangers strewn around on the ground," Haine says, recalling the damage to the pro-life exhibit. "Our sign was trampled, and there were two other signs attached to ours: one that said, 'Support smaller class sizes -- support abortion'; and the other one that said, '347 coat hangers saved from mangling and mutilation.'"

The pro-abortion vandals' tableau was "a pretty horrific and obscene display," the Princeton Pro-Life spokesman says. "I can't imagine anyone laughing about a coat hanger abortion or proposing that these are good things, or anything. To poke fun at such a practice, even if you are pro-choice, seems a bit heartless."

The purpose of the Princeton Pro-Life's display with its 347 flags, was to give members of the university community some immediate sense of the number of people they were deprived of knowing because of the "barbaric act" of abortion, Haine explains. He feels the flag display was instigating a lot of positive debate on campus until the vandals struck.

Campus police brought the damaged pro-life display in to dust for fingerprints. However, Haine believes the investigation of this act of vandalism is very low on the police's priority list.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Creation/Evolution & Who is in Charge



I have a Bachelor of Science degree . I was saved in my first year of university so I was able to look at things as a new creation of Christ as I passed through those four years of education. One of my favourite classes was Evolutionary Biology. What a hoot! I did extremely well, even with the challenge of writing papers and doing exams without saying that I believed any of it. I recall giving a presentation infront of my classmates and a number of the biology professors regarding the age old mystery of the dinosaurs. After giving my presentation and showing all the data that I collected I gave two possible scenarios widely accepted by the scientific community at that time. Then that moment came...

Professor: So, which conclusion have you come to after your studies?
Me: I do not accept either one.
Professor: What do you mean?
Me: I believe there was a world wide flood and that is what caused the demise of the dinosaurs.
Professor: Ohhhhh. You are one of *those*, are you? How can a smart girl like you be one of *those*?! (Read distain and mockery into the word *those*)
Me: Yes, I am one of those. **sweet smile**

I ended up getting 95% on my paper and presentation....even if I am one of *those*.

I praise God that He created ex nihilo, out of nothing. I also praise Him because He is sovereign over all things, even the dinosaurs and what happened to them!!

Here is a fantastic Creation site....http://www.answersingenesis.org/

The Creation Museum is an outreach of Answers in Genesis, a non-profit ministry located near the Cincinnati International Airport, in northern Kentucky, USA. This 50,000 square foot facility will proclaim to the world that the Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice and in every area it touches on. Scheduled to open in 2007, this “walk through history” museum will be a wonderful alternative to the evolutionary natural history museums that are turning countless minds against the gospel of Christ and the authority of the Scripture. Our family can't wait to go and visit this museum!! Read more about it here...http://www.answersingenesis.org/museum/

Monday, May 01, 2006

Can't Resist DaVinci



What?! You haven't read it yet? I was told about it over two years ago at a banquet where I brushed it off as pagan dribble. However, I was intriqued and challenged to find out more about it's contents. So, like a good bookclub member, I ordered The DaVinci Code plus I received Angels and Demons at a reduced price! For those who are not aware, Angels and Demons precedes The DaVinci Code chronologically in Dan Browns writings.

I am an avid reader and must confess that I actually enjoyed the book as a piece of fiction. It did anger me with the way it presented lies as fact, the way it could be used to mislead people into doubting the Scriptures and mistrusting the church. The distortion of church history and the lies that Dan Brown wove throughout the work. Those who lack discernment and those who do not know Christ as Saviour could experience a hardening of their hearts after reading this book. Now that I say that it really is curious how we are attracted to things like this. The early church fathers would be appalled that we can find entertainment in such heresies.

That was over a year ago and I find it fascinating that there is such a buzz now that the movie is coming out. Let's face it, Ron Howard directing and Tom Hanks starring = a blockbuster hit, right? I want to see the movie and so does The Bishop. We will not necessarily be heading out on opening weekend, but we will be there within the month of May.

Here is an interesting website for you to check out. DaVinci