I have. I've been a faster for 17 years now. God bless you for your heart towards your parents. I fasted when I was praying for my mom's salvation too and she got saved. She didn't do it immediately after the fast or anything like that, but I do believe that fasting helps with praying. Jesus himself even told his disciples that certains demons can only be cast out by prayer and fasting. I love Jentezen Franklin. I haven't read his book yet, but I've seen him preach on fasting many times on the t.v. and it is so refreshing to see someone taking the subject up in this generation. IMO, fasting does nothing but good. It definitly causes you to lean more on God so it strengthens your walk, you are sacrificing yourself to intercede on behalf of someone else and God definitely honors that. As you flex your spiritual muscles and deny your body your spirit grows stronger and I know for me, I have so much more compassion for the poor in the world after a fast. Inevitably, every time I fast, I think to myself how unpleasant it feels and yet I know that I am choosing this fast and that it will end after a certain point, but I think about the people in the world who are hungry not by choice and that they have no idea when it will end and my heart is just broken for them and filled with compassion which leads me to pray for those people as well. It is always a good thing to humble yourself. The Bible teaches clearly that when we humble ourself that God will lift us up. I think it is a beautiful thing that you are doing and I want to encourage you. There are many types of fasts in the Bible and Jentezen Franklin covers them all very thoroughly. I think if you follow the guidelines in his book you can expect to see God move in a mighty way. God bless you in your fasting. :grouphug: Blessings, Jennifer

Thank you for your comments. You have a gift for putting words together. :) Do you know of a good course in Citizenship and Activism? I'd love to hear some suggestions. :) I think that is an excellent idea. :)

Me too. Thank you for the opportunity. That's very nice of you. :)

Oh so many wonderful and interesting responses. I'm really enjoying reading your answers. I hope to hear more. Thank you ladies for being so candid and honest. I really appreciate your participation in this thread. And again to all you military families, thank you for your sacrifice and service. :patriot: Blessings, Jennifer

Interesting point. Thanks for that.

That is so messed up on so many levels! :mad:

That's awesome! I lean more towards what you are saying as well. On the one hand I think it is good for them to know that the pledge and the anthem actually exist and to know the history behind it and the reason for it and even the words to it, but ultimately it has to come from them out of a feeling of true patriotism. What still makes me wonder is if the introduction of the pledge/anthem helps them along that path or hinders them??

Woah! That's a little harsh. Sorry to hear that. :(

Beautiful words. Thank you Laura. :) God bless you and your family for your service. :grouphug:

Awesome!! I really like that. I think it is so important to show respect for other people's anthems as well. I'm so glad to hear you're doing that and teaching your children that. Way to go mom! YAY! :)

LOOOOL I feel your pain. When I was pregnant the first time I always had these daydreams of wearing some flowing white nightgown with my long hair loose and flowing (think Cher in the 70's) and nursing my baby in the rocker while singing softly to her and her looking up into my face with love and security in her eyes..... REALITY>>>> My hair is a rat's nest piled up on my head because baby's love to pull your hair (didn't know that) I have bags and circles under my eyes from staying up all night long every night from my daughter's 6 months of colic... the floor is covered in baby toys and tubs of baby wipes. I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I sit down in the rocking chair to nurse my baby. I sing to her and she starts to cry! :eek: :confused: hehehe In fact, whenever I sing at all, people kindly (or not so kindly) ask me to shut it! hehehe ;)

Amen, MamaT. I cannot agree more. You words gave me goosebumps all over when I read them. My family is a military family too and I always have the impression that those that serve are the shoulders on which the rest of us stand. I have a profound respect for all those who serve and whenever I see anyone in uniform I go up to them and thank them. I too have become more patriotic as I've gotten older. But it has been more the result of my own journey of understanding and not so much becuase of things like saying the pledge. I am ashamed to admit this, but it would be dishonest of me not to, but I remember very vividly when I was a saucy little brat back in Middle and High School how I would purposely put my left hand on my chest instead of my right and mockingly say the pledge. I didn't understand the point of it all and I didn't care either way. It was extremely disrespectful on my part and I can see that now, but therein lies my quandry and my purpose for creating this thread. Even though I didn't say it with respect at the time, BUT I still learned it by heart. I know the pledge backwards and forwards and if I say it today I do say it with respect for my country and for all those who have sacrificed so greatly for it. So was it ultimately a bad thing that I was forced to say it each day in school?? That is the question that got me starting this thread in the first place. I really wanted to hear other people's takes on this thing and I wonder if having a child say this everyday or even to sing the national anthem is a good means of instilling patriotism?? I also know all the words to the national anthem and I it moves me to tears when I sing it now. So again, is it a good thing or a bad thing to have the kids do this?? Oh and this isn't all on your shoulders btw, MamaT. hehe :) I don't expect you to have the burden of answering all my questions, but rather I wanted to address your post especially to say how much I appreciate your family's sacrifice, but the rest of my musings were for people in general to comment on. ;) :D May God richly bless you and your family. :patriot: Interestingly, the "title" of that smilie with the flag is "patriot" . :) Jen

I teach our entire core. I sit with her and teach all of the subjects and she does spelling, piano and handwriting independently.

Thank you for this. I myself am a severely handicapped person mathematically speaking and this is the one area of homeschooling where I doubt my abilities to teach the subject effectively. Is there a point where it becomes too late for a person to develop mathematical thinking?? Am I a lost cause? Or is there some way that I can learn and become a better math teacher for my daughter's sake? My daughter also, not surprisingly, is not a very mathy kid. I use Singapore with her hoping that it will help her in this respect, but is there something that you know of that an older child (11) can use to develop mathematical thinking?? Is there some sort of manipulative or something like that that will help to drive more abstract mathematical concepts home?? I will wait eagerly for your reply. :) Thank you. Oh and PS, totally ot, but your avatar. The little man in it, would that be from the comic Spy vs. Spy from Mad Magazine?? Thx. :) Jen

I just bought mine! :) My daughter's all excited. I ordered the CD in addition to the download just to have a back up. It said on the check out page that if you order more than one you get an additional $15.00 off! I thought I would just add that piece of info to this thread as it may help someone. :) Blessings, Jen

I have one at home and one in school (special ed) for the very same reason. He too has severe autism and he just gets so much more help at this point than I could ever give him. He too lines up his Veggie tales and talks to them all the time. The cool thing is that he walks around his school quoting the Bible verses that appear at the end of the Veggie Tales episodes and he even sings the praise songs that he learns in church. I can't think of any other place but an Autism Cluster where a kid can get away with something like that in a public school. God puts people in all kinds of places. Because of my son, I invited his teacher to church and she came with us. :)

Namaste.... and Good luck. ;) :D

Awesome! I was hoping to hear from someone who says the pledge. May I ask what your motivations are in saying the pledge everyday? For example, do you do it is as a sign of respect or to exhibit your own patriotism or to teach your children patriotism?? TIA for your reply. :)

:) You crack me up Rosie. hehe sorry I made you have a "leery look". ;) :D I'm glad that you're not all ostriches. That would be really bizarre. ;)hehe Peace.

We don't say it in our homeschool either, not for any particular reason, I just honestly don't even think about it. We start our day with breakfast and devotions and then seway (sp?) from devotions right into school. I know some ladies in my support group though that actually have an American flag in the corner and have their children put their hands over their hearts and say it everyday before starting school, the way we did growing up in PS. I think it is a wonderful thing to teach a child to be patriotic and to love their country and I wonder if I am being unpatriotic by not doing it?? I always disliked saying the pledge when I was in PS, mostly because I had to and the idea of saying a pledge to a flag seemed strange to me. I understand that it is about patriotism and that the flag is a symbol of our country, but the flag doesn't care if I say it or don't say it. I cannot say that saying the pledge everyday made me more of a patriot. To me, the national anthem is much more moving and I cannot sing it without getting misty eyed. I think learning about American history and the great sacrifices that ordinary citizens have made for this country goes much farther in instilling patriotism than saying the pledge. I hope some of the people who do say it everyday will chime in here. I really want to hear your take on the issue. I feel like I am missing something in my understanding. Thanks. :)

LOL "lazy patriotism genes" That just struck me funny. hehe Do Australians have a similar type of pledge or do you just sing the national anthem? Just curious. :)

I'm just curious as to how many people do this. My homeschool support group always start the montly meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance and I know some of the moms do this everyday in their homeschool. I'm just curious to know how many people actually do this and if you do why? I'd also be interested to know if non-American homeschoolers have a similar type tradition. Thank you to all who participate. :) Jennifer

LOL Haven't seen that one, but the Cialis commercials drive me nuts. They always seem to show them during dinnertime too. The only commercials with men in them that I think are balanced and actually kinda funny are the Verizon Wireless ones. :)

Can anyone tell me about "pre-fab" houses? My husband specifically asked me to put up this question here because he has been very happy about all of the advice that you all are giving us. He wanted to know more about pre-fab houses. What are they exactly? What makes them different from a typical house? Are they as strong as a typical house? Is it a good idea to buy land and have a pre-fab put on it, or to go the regular route and buy land with an already existing house? A lot of questions I know. I'm putting them up here for his sake. Thank you to all who reply. :) You gals rule! :) Blessings, Jen

I'm doing BJU for 7th grade Science next year. It covers a lot of biology. But if you were going to do BJU and get the science kit, I don't know how independent he'd be able to be. They use a microscope and there is also dissecting of a worm and a frog.