So, What Are We Supposed To Do Now?

By Jason, E.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory."(Colossians 3:1-4, NLT)

So, now what? Have you ever thought that? Here I am, now what do I do? I thought that the first time I learned how to swim. I got my bathing suit on and I stood in the shallow end of the pool, and I thought, Now what? I was dressed for swimming and I was in the right place for swimming. I felt like I wanted to swim, but I really didn’t know what the next thing to do was.

Click to read more ...

Alex's Lemondade Stand - Charm City Lemonade Fest

Posted by MAD21

As part of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we [ALSF] invite you to be part of Charm City Lemonade Fest on Friday, September 11 - Sunday, September 13, 2009. This event is designed to rally people in the Baltimore area to hold lemonade stands and other events to contribute to the battle against childhood cancer. Hosting a stand during this weekend is a simple way to make difference in the lives of children and their families touched by the disease. To register to host a stand, receive materials and support from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation today, click here. Make sure to choose Baltimore Charm City Lemonade Fest as your stand type. 

Click to read more ...

Vocabulary Shmabulary

By Sandra

I recently finished teaching an SAT Prep Class at our local community college. I drilled and lectured 20 high school students who signed up for the course, in effort to help them raise their test scores, to know more about what to expect on the test, and to reduce their test anxiety.

What I discovered was that much of the mastery of the test is linked to learning essential root words, stems, prefixes, and suffixes, which aid in reading comprehension and vocabulary in context. The lists of these word parts, which often have their origins in Latin, were not well known by the students in my class.

In light of this, I plan to continue to use a resource called Vocabulary from Classical Roots (Educators Publishing Service), with my own children this year. I’ve used this vocabulary book with my middle school child for a few years. This year I’ve introduced the book to my fourth grade student as well.

Click to read more ...

YOB: #12. Painting Daisies On A Big Red Rubber Ball

By Lara

Some of you may or may not be familiar with the Veggie Tales. Silly Songs with Larry are some of the most clever children's songs ever written. There are few if any that I don't enjoy. When I first heard, "We Are the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," I thought it was brilliant.

That was the inspiration for "Go to Boston in the Fall." We decided that we should pay homage to the song by adding something else. Neither Beth nor I particularly wanted to lick a spark plug, sniff a stink bug, or throw our mashed potatoes up against a wall. Instead, we settled on "Paint Daisies on a Big Red Rubber Ball" for the second veggie-themed item on the list.

Click to read more ...

Worker Bees

By Pat

I recently read that a worker bee manufactures 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in it's lifetime. That sure doesn't seem like much. Hardly worth mentioning, as a matter of fact. But if you've ever seen a hive, you know how active it is. The work the bees are doing seems endless, and yet a good hive will produce 50 to 60 pounds of honey to survive the winter. Individually, one bee can only make 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey, but collectively the bees make many, many pounds.

Sometimes I feel like that bee...working and working day after day, and yet making very little difference in God's kingdom, but no matter how miniscule my part, I know that I am, indeed, making a difference with the combined efforts of my bothers and sisters in Christ. We have to work together to use the talents we have been given in the way in which God intended. So never let yourself feel insignificant to God. We matter, each of us, to God and to the betterment of His world. What a comfort that is to me!

Thank you, God, for reminding me that I do matter and that many small acts combined have BIG results!