Here's a great article about going back to school from Emerging Parents.

By Jim Vining

It is pretty easy to collect theology.
It is a bit more difficult to apply it.

Tuesday was one of those days when I had to remember what I say I
believe. Tuesday was my son’s first day of school. Sure, he has been in
pre-school for a dozen hours a week, but this is big time: Kindergarten
for 35 hours a week! I was looking forward to this day, until I Monday
when a few thoughts sobered my excitement.

“We will not be able to see him as often as we have in
the past.” “He will be under the nurture and teaching of other people
for much of his time. What if it is wrong?” “What if other kids are
mean to him and I can’t protect him?”

I spent a lot of time expressing my emotions and concerns to God.

I also spent time thinking about the situation through the general
Christian worldview. Here are some of my thoughts on the first day of
school in light of the biblical themes of creation, fall, and
redemption.

Creation: (Genesis 1 & 2) God created
everything. God called it good, and excellent in every way. Education
is about observing the world that God created. All truth that is
expressed there is God’s truth. There is no topic that will be covered
that God did not create. It is good to explore God’s world. Beyond the
content, God’s presence will be there.

Fall: (Genesis 3, continuing today) Human
rebellion disrupted the peace and harmony of creation. Things are not
as they were intended to be. There is still goodness, but it is not
excellent in every way. This brokenness will display itself at school.
There will be pain, conflict, and untruth. We need to be prepared for
that. However, this brokenness has had an impact on every area of life,
not just his neighborhood school.

Redemption: (The rest of history. Highlights: Resurection of Jesus, Today, Rev 21&22)
God continues to love creation. God is in the process of healing all
things in this fallen world. He invites humanity in this journey.
Education then has a goal of being equipped to join the work of healing
the broken world. My son is in preparing for that in his vocational
life. He also gets to do that in the present. He can be a force for
good in his school.

Remembering these truths helped me to relax more, and regain some
excitement and even a sense of worship about the first day of school.
Of course, seeing my son beaming with excitement also helped!

hit: A Theology of the First Day of School 

"More directly, keep our common areas clean by properly disposing of your trash. If others have been litterbugs, take a moment to pick up after the careless freeloaders. There has been a spike in candy wrapper litter since the start of the summer break. Parents, if you insist on allowing your children to become irresponsible scofflaws, please move to a different neighborhood.

Welcome new neighbors! (list of all the new neighbors)"

Dear neighborhood newsletter writer,

Do you need a hug? Or maybe a friend? What happened that made you so sad and angry? May I suggest that people might be more inclined to help out if there was a tad more kindness in your choice of words? I'm sorry, please don't be angry at me now…

The song is called "All Sad Songs" and it is written from the perspective of the disciples. It captures their sadness, disappointment and grief after the crucifixion… and their "Could it really be? He's alive!" moment after Mary comes declaring she has seen the Lord… and it shows glimpses of the present and future reality of heaven coming to earth, of God making all things right and new.

What a great song ! Here are the lyrics:

All Sad Songs

It’s been all sad songs since you’ve left
I’ve cried and I’ve kept my sorrow so deep inside
And I’ve swept up all of my pride
Sad songs since you died

It’s been all sad songs since you went away
I’ve been lost, and sleeping right through the day
This has cost me all that I had
Now the songs are all sad

Something deep inside of me
So wanted to believe
But that cost me all that I had
Now the songs are all sad

(Male voice: La la la…)

But then Mary came to our house of shame
To proclaim that you were alive again
And the grave was as empty and dark
As my broken heart

Something deep inside of me
So wanted to believe
That the grave is as empty and dark
As my broken heart

(Female voice: La la la…)

I know all sad songs have another verse
It’s the one the heavenly choirs rehearse
For that day when the broken will mend
And the sad songs will end

Not that we’ll forget, we’ll sing those songs yet
In a different key, we’ll sing differently
In the music God has arranged
All the sad songs will change

(Both voices: La la la…)

God will wipe away all our tears
Banish the fears we’ve collected for all these years
On that day when the broken will mend
The sad songs will end

Something deep inside of me
Can’t help it but believe
In that day when the broken will mend
The sad songs will end
In the music God has arranged
All the sad songs will change

And adding good to great — they've even got coloring pages to go with the CD!
Butterflyfish Coloring Pages

Amazing Story

http://www.butterflyfishband.com/

Paper Whistles

Today we had the second week of swimming lessons for our kids. This is the first year we've had all four kids in lessons.

 I was a bit nervous about how Ella would do because last year she jumped into a new section of the pool thinking it was shallower than it actually was. It only went up to just above her chin, but it was enough to strike fear into her heart. We tried for the next few days of lessons to try to get her into the pool, only to end up with a terrified Ella on the sidelines and an exhausted Mom at her side.

So, this year I was obviously nervous if Ella would still be scared. The first week went wonderfully – she not only got in the water but was swimming under the water to get to the other side of the pool rope. However, today they took them to the bigger pool to swim with life jackets. And as I had feared, Ella freaked out. She wouldn't even get into the pool after that – not even in the shallower pool.

We've got two more days of lessons. So, we'll see how tomorrow goes. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective — it's just one year of lessons. It doesn't mean that every year of lessons will be like this. It's hard to be patient with kids when they don't do as you hope they'd do. I'm sure I'll have a million more times like these with my kids in the future. For now I'm just praying for perspective…

"Art addresses us in the fullness of our being….There are some truths about life that can be expressed only as stories or songs or images. Art awakens, enlarges, refines and restores our humanity."

-Dana Gioia

The new post for today made me chuckle. Read on… )

CPSIA: Good Idea Gone Horribly Wrong

As
parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or
another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But
have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your
children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys,
taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families,
killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an
even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to
introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The
CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of
laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact
many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very
real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association
and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due
to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket.
While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to
use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them
for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies
(textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under
12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's
books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no
exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our
children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association 

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due
to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction
manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally
had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's
passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were
hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making
one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit
hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next
winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all
items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing
landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners,
but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it.
Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away.
If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due
to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair
of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for
second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all
together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due
to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your
unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small
businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing
and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state,
you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in
Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the
new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to
private collection and will no longer be available to purchase.
“Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on
the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.”
Article from The Wall Street Journal

To the American Economy:
Already
struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the
American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs
and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The
required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses
or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to
this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the
US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent Article from Forbes

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law

Sign These Petitions:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/reform-cpsia-hr4040.html
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/RepealCPSIA/ 

hit: http://smartbottomenterprises.blogspot.com/2009/01/cpsia-good-idea-gone-horribly-wrong.html