Appleseed Project

This past weekend, my husband signed me up for the Appleseed Project. This is a rifle marksmanship program that is taught by volunteers with the Revolutionary War Veterans Association. My husband is a very good shot even at 500 yards. I on the other hand could not hit the broad side of a barn. My husband has tried to teach me, but my arms get tired before I really learn much. And I grew impatient because I wasn't able to hit the targets. I didn't really know what to expect during this weekend, but I was willing to go because I knew it would mean a lot to my husband.

I was very frustrated the first half of the first day. We were doing everything in the prone position so my arms weren't getting tired, but I couldn't align myself properly with the rifle. They gave me a loaner and that made all the difference. I started making progress right away. In the final set of targets that I did, I shot the 100 yard size silhouette 4/10 times from standing in 2 minutes. Now that might not seem great (and it isn't), but you have to take into account that I didn't hit the paper AT ALL the first time we did it. I also hit all 4 of the 400 yard size silhouettes the proper number of times in less than 5 minutes during the final round.

So if you have any interest in learning a little more about our history (during the lunch breaks) and learning to shoot a .22 rifle better, I recommend signing up for an Appleseed near you. Ladies and kids are free (though there were range fees where I was). The age of the kids allowed depends on the range rules. At our range, the kids had to be at least 12.

Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander

I just finished reading my review copy of Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander from Bethany House Publishing.

This is a well-told story about overcoming with the help of the Lord. It is something of a sad story; almost all of the characters have suffered some very traumatic experience. The point of the story is that the joy of living and loving is worth the chance that there will be sadness and suffering. And that is true of the book as well. Even though there are some sad parts it is well worth the read, especially since there is a happy ending.

This book seems to be part three of a series called Timber Ridge Reflections. Though this book stands alone, I wish I would have read the other two before reading this one. It is not that you can't follow the story without reading From a Distance and Beyond This Moment. It is just that I got the impression that many of the side characters would have been better understood if the first two books had been read.

This book shows God's presence in the characters' lives without coming across as preachy. I would have liked to have a little more written about the spiritual aspect of the story, but I enjoy books that others label as preachy so the average Christian fiction reader will probably find this book the perfect blend of non-preachy and seeking the Lord in all areas of life.

If you are interested in reading and reviewing Bethany House books, click here. It is a lot of fun and encourages me to read things that expand my horizons.

Vigilante's Bride

I just received a free review copy of The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris from Bethany House publishers a couple of days ago and could not put it down. It is a very interesting read set in the Montana territory after the Civil War. It has many elements of a Wild West story. It sheds light on the Crow Indians, how justice was served when there was no law for miles around, and cattle ranching. There are gun fights and a hanging. There is a romance in the story too, but not so much that men would find it sappy. It was more about the cowboy and his decisions and struggles. It is also Christian fiction, but I can’t say that the characters' relationship with the Lord was anywhere near center stage. (I did find that a little disappointing.) All in all, I thought it was a very good read with a good mix of action, suspense, romance, and even a bit of humor.

Teen with Integrity

Yahoo! News had and interesting article about Zach Nash, a 14-year-old who disqualified himself from a golf championship. He inadvertantly had too many clubs in his bag and turned himself in after winning the championship.

The story made me wonder, "Would I have the guts to do that?" Or would I start making excuses, "I didn't know the extra club was there; it was an accident." "It's a dumb rule; why should I have to obey it."

I like the way the author said it a the end of the article. . .
"Now, it's easy to go and tee off --pun ver much intended-- on golf's drop-the-hammer rules, on Wood for bringing the extra club to Nash's attention, or to Nash himself for failing to count the club. But all that misses the point. This is a stor about honest and doing what's right, even when what's right makes zero logival sense. Sure, Nash could have rationalized away keeping an extra club, but where's the honor in that?"

Homeschool Co-op

Yesterday was the first day of our homeschool co-op. It meets once a week for 5 hours not including lunch. I am teaching High School World Geography to 8 young adults 1st hour. I think it is going to be a lot of fun. I am a "floater" 2nd hour. That means that I am assigned each week to a class that needs extra helpers. This week I was in junior high drama which was very funny. 3rd and 4th hour I am grading junior high biology. One of the answers was pretty funny. The question was something asking about what are the people that participate in an experiment called. The kid wrote, "I believe the word is 'volunteers'." All of the graders got a chuckle out of that. 5th hour I am with my daughter in a drawing/handwriting class for K/1st. She is pretty upset about this because she wanted to do the whole day like a big girl by herself.

The kids had a great time and are excited to go back next week. My 1st grade daughter is taking gym games, exploring music, under the sea, art, and the draw write now class. My 3rd grade son is taking gym games with sister, bodies and bones, ancient civilizations, Real Science for Kids pre-level 1 chemistry, and beginning chess.

It is a nice splash of spice to our homeschool week. It gives us all a chance to pursue things that we would otherwise not get the opportunity to do.

Glimpses of Failed Hope and Change

I have noticed over the past few months that there are a lot of out-of-state license tags around here. Michigan seems especially prevelant, but I am seeing more and more Ohio, Illinois, and Florida. I started wondering if people are coming here because Texas has a better economy?

My mother-in-law, brother, and brother-in-law are all looking for work. My mother-in-law started her search when the ministry she worked for had to shut down. My brother lost his job as the low man on the totem poll during cut-backs at a job he had only started a few months previously. My brother-in-law lost his job due to cut backs about a year ago. He found a job in a different state and moved. Now they tell him his job will likely be cut in September. So the search begins again.

There was a meeting yesterday at my husbands work to explain the new Obamacare mandated health insurance that we will have. While our premiums changed by only $6/month, our deductible is going up to $9000/year/family. And here I thought that the silly law was supposed to make health care better for people and less expensive.

So how is all that hope and change working out for you?

Mosasaur Soft Tissues

You might remember the T-rex soft tissues found a few years ago and how scientists still claimed that they were millions of years old. Well yesterday ICR posted an article about mosasaur remnants that still had several kinds of soft tissue. How can eye, skin, and blood tissue be millions of years old? As it says in the article, ". . . it is highly unlikely that this mosasaur is even thousands of years old, since these tissues decay so quickly. Therefore, insisting that they are over 80 million years old defies all reason."