Taking A Trip To The Zoo

Our family loves to take gift money and use it to buy memberships to places we can visit as a family, like museums, science centers and the ever popular ZOO! Over the years we have found some ways to make our zoo trips even more enjoyable.

We start buy packing a big cooler of healthy snacks:

Whole Grain bagels
Baby carrots
Snap peas
Apples
Oranges
Cheese sticks
Whole grain crackers
Granola bars

Any easy to eat and easy to transport foods we can fit in our cooler are packed along with a few ice packs (which can double as first aid remedy if we have a twisted ankle, bee sting or other injury), cold water bottles, napkins in a zip loc baggie (so they won’t get soggy from condensation and the baggie can be used to store orange peels and other garbage if there is not a waste can nearby our picnic site) and possibly some wet wipes for sticky finger or for cleaning scrapes that might happen!

Before we go we make sure everyone has appropriate clothing, worn in layers to accommodate any weather combinations that may occur throughout our day. A jacket or a hoodie is a must, as are comfortable shoes.

A small first aid kit always comes in handy. Make sure to have band-aids at very least! I can’t tell you how many times I have been glad for this! If you have room you can add hand lotion, lip balm, bug spray, sun block, pain reliever (in case mom gets a headache) and /or any natural remedies your family likes to use!

Some family members like to bring their own small backpack with a hat, a pair of sunglasses, a camera or other personal items. This is pretty much limited to the family members who are careful enough NOT to lose anything or else mom gets stuck counting to make sure all bags are accounted for!

As we get into the car we make sure we have directions, money or zoo passes and a little extra cash for tolls and incidentals we may need later.

Upon arrival, make sure to make note of where you parked! You’ll be glad later. We usually make up a silly saying of some sort to help us remember, such as “Lot C is the place for me”! When all of the children chant a funny saying a few times you are sure to find your vehicle easily when you are tired later!

After everyone is paid for and ready to enter the park it’s fun to check the map for any special show times coming up. Plan around that. It’s always disappointing to realize later that you just missed the last bird show of the day so it’s good to know at the beginning of the planning!

We have special favorites that we always like to work into our visits:

For some reason my children are fascinated with the puffins! When Kaitlyn was about 4 she received a wooden puzzle that spells out her name and at the end of her name was a little wooden puffin. I THINK this started the interest, but I am not sure! Anyway, every time we go to the zoo the children all claim there is one puffin who always comes to the edge to greet them. They call him "PUFFY" and they all start squealing, "OH, there's Puffy! Hi PUFFY!"

You will soon figure out your own favorite exhibits and may want to revisit them over the years!

On our most recent zoo trip, the children were really interested in the penguins. They were playing a game they call "Bird Theater" while they watched the penguins that day. "Bird Theater" is when they make up voices and dialogue for birds, animals or even humans that they are observing. This game started when my husband was driving around a store parking lot one day waiting for me to run a quick errand and the baby (now 6 years old) started crying for mommy. So he began to make up voices and story lines for the birds to occupy her! Then, it became a tradition.

Anyway, they were sure these penguins were planning a "zoo break" just like the penguins in a cartoon they had seen and they had us all really laughing. It really did seem like the penguins were planning something. Then (now this was weird) the penguins started making a loud noise that sounded as if they were braying like donkeys! It was very loud and definitely not a sound I expected to hear from penguins!!!! That trip was over two years ago and odd as it may seem, we all still talk about the penguins’ strange noises!

That day we saw a Wildlife show in an amphitheater. We “met” a porcupine, whose name is CACTUS JACK”! That particular day was VERY cold (for Washington anyway) and an icy rain began (it snowed that night). Because there were not many people at the zoo that day we were able to get some behind-the-scenes kind of stuff while the staff was working with the animals. That day, Cactus Jack was practicing walking a particular path across the stage. We watched for about 15 minutes! We have found that most zoo staff enjoys answering questions and we can learn a lot by just taking the time! We also got to watch a great session with the walruses. It was fascinating and I had no idea that walruses were so intelligent and their handlers really enjoyed telling us all about them!

“Our” zoo also features an aquarium. When it’s either too hot or too cold outside it’s nice to get out of the elements and spend some time watching the sharks, fish, octopus, mantarays, and even seahorses in an exhibit of their own! My youngest, Hannah, loves the sharks and was almost in tears waiting for us to get to the shark tank!

As we walk from exhibit to exhibit usually I find the older children reminding the younger ones what is coming up next or retelling facts they have learned from the animals we have just left. I love to hear it from their point-of-view!

We usually set aside a little money for either hot cocoas on a cold day or ice cream on a hot day. That day was definitely a hot cocoa day and we decided to ride the zoo’s carousel too! All of the children had fun picking a favorite animal to ride. There was no one else there so they had many options including a muscular beluga whale, a sleek tiger, a fluffy husky, and a whimsical sea horse (half fish, half traditional carousel horse!) My son, Jordan chose a bench instead of a moving animal. With his Asperger's Syndrome he sometimes really struggles with coordination and this was just easier for him... plus it had a lot of YELLOW, Jordan's favorite color!

We didn’t spend any time on the zoo’s playground and the water features were NOT runny on that cold, cold day, but we had a great time and talked about it all the way home in the warm van! It’s been way too long. I definitely think we will need to go again when grandma comes to visit!

It is such a joy to explore and learn about God’s marvelous creations. We will often research more about something we saw on a trip and we learn how to refute the fallacies that are often stated as fact regarding evolution. When I see how uniquely designed each one of these creatures are I can only stand amazed at God’s mighty works! I am so thankful to share these times with my family!

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer. She enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

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To: My Mom, Carole Wiley

by Mrs. Brown

I daily dream of my yesterdays;
Stories, games and such....
Watching cookies baking
And your warm and gentle touch.

Time has a way of changing things,
Now the "mommy" name we share!
My days have been filled with diapers and baths,
Meals, brushing of teeth and hair.

Together as we work and play
I have so often found
Echoes of my childhood days
As joys and love abound!

I know sometimes it saddens you
To be so far away,
But the thought has just occured to me that
Through ME, you are with us everyday!

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer. She enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

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The Hidden “Language” of Passover

Passover is a time for the retelling of the world’s most significant TRUE story. This story and its truths have been retold, as commanded by God, for thousands of years.

This is not just a story for the Jews, but also a story within a story.

This is a story for all of humanity.

This is a story for all of time.

This is a story for all of life.

This story is about hopelessness transformed into victory, darkness into light and bondage into true liberty.

This is a story about the past…

a story about the present…

and a story about the future.

This story contains something like a secret code; a hidden “language”, that in times past was understood only in context of what had happened at that time… deliverance of the Israelite slaves from Egypt.

But as we celebrate Passover, we remember that glorious deliverance in light of another, greater deliverance; the deliverance of the human soul in slavery to sin. This deliverance is not through the death of a lamb, but through the death of The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World.


PREPARATION and REFLECTION:

In Luke chapter 20 we read:

“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed." Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

In preparation for Passover we clean our homes and prepare a feast. Traditionally, all the yeast is carefully removed from a home before Passover.. Because yeast symbolizes sin, this is a time for reflection as to the hidden sins in our lives.

“Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Messiah, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.” (I Cor. 5:7)

We cannot “pay” for our wrongdoing ourselves. Therefore, without payment, we would be separated eternally from God because He is perfectly HOLY. The unblemished white lamb was a blood sacrifice to take the place of the sinner, the PAYMENT for the sins. The blood was applied to the doorpost as a sign to the death angel that this family’s sins were covered; so the death angel would pass over this home.

The Hebrews were instructed to dip hyssop in the blood and strike it against the top and sides of their doorposts. The hyssop was a natural antibiotic and represents cleansing and when the blood was applied as instructed it formed a CROSS upon the door of the home. May we apply the blood of the cross to the doors of our lives as we acknowledge that only the spotless Lamb of God can cleanse us from sin! The work has been DONE. Now it is time to commemorate our freedom in Christ with rejoicing!

CANDLELIGHTING:

As we light the candles, we pray that God’s Holy Spirit will open the eyes of our hearts and teach us His truths. As the Psalmist said,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

The candles are kindled by a woman to remember that although darkness came into this world through the sin of one woman, Eve, Light returned to our world when a woman was given the honor of giving birth to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World. May our lives also shine the light of Christ to a people walking in darkness.


FOUR CUPS:

In Exodus 6: 1 we read,

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do…”

God revealed His plan for deliverance to Moses, in part. Jesus revealed more of His plan to His disciples at the Last Supper before His death. The Passover Seder teaches us about FOUR CUPS. They will each teach us an important truth about God’s plan of redemption.

“… I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians…

I will free you from being slaves…

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…

I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.”

Exodus 6:6,7

The Cup of Sanctification: being BROUGHT OUT

The Cup of Deliverance: being SET FREE

The Cup of Redemption: being BOUGHT WITH A PRICE/REDEEMED

The Cup of Praise: REJOICING for our adoption into God’s Family here on Earth and in Eternity!

Not only are we redeemed by God but invited into a relationship with God through Christ. Let these cups teach us more about the gift we have been given… friendship with the Creator of the Universe.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."
Romans 8: 1-4

WASHING:

The gospel of John tells us of another event during the Last Supper, an event that showed us how He, being God, was willing to humble Himself and serve us wholeheartedly by washing the feet of his disciples. As we wash, we remember the humility of our Savior as He cleansed the disciples’ feet and now cleanses the hearts of all who invite Him into their lives.

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
James 4:8-10

THE SEDER PLATE:


In a traditional Passover Seder, the foods on the Seder plate all have special meanings, but special attention is given to the matzah.

THE MATZAH: (Matzah cover on left)

In the gospels we read:

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

We eat matzah and remember the broken body of Christ, who takes away the sins of the world.

The matzoh are striped, pierced and bruised. Jesus was beaten, pierced, and bruised in our place when He was crucified.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

The matzoh is without leaven. The Hebrews made their bread without yeast because they needed to leave in a hurry. We should be quick to leave our life of sin behind!

There are Three Matzo representing The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle matzo (that represents the Son, Jesus Christ) is broken and hidden to represent that He was crucified and buried and hidden in the tomb for three days before He conquered sin and death and was resurrected to redeem us.

OTHER ELEMENTS of the SEDER PLATE:

The roasted egg represents new birth and the promise of eternal life.

The parsley represents new life.

The salt water represents the tears the Hebrew slaves shed and the tears we shed in our bondage to sin.

The parsley dipped in the salt water reminds us that beauty of life is often touched by sorrow.

The horseradish represents the bitterness of slavery to sin.

The charoset represents the mortar the slaves used in building with the bricks they were forced to make. It was hard and terrible work, but there was a sweetness that came when they were delivered by God just as we are delivered by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

James 1:2-4 & 12
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

A traditional Seder plate also contains the shank bone of a lamb. However, we no longer need a lamb to die in our place, because Jesus is the PERFECT Lamb of God that took our sins for all time! When we accept this sacrifice, we belong to Him and are seen by God as cleansed of sin.

Jesus was obedient to the Father, even unto death. We, too, must obey God, our Heavenly Father and obey the authorities that lead us along a Godly path!

ELIJAH:

We set one extra place at our Feast. This place was traditionally set for Elijah. We know Elijah was to announce the coming of Messiah… and John the Baptist filled this role when He prepared a way for the Lord Jesus during His ministry here on earth. Now we look for the SECOND coming of Christ.


Lessons of Passover
Passover teaches us of:

the past… deliverance from sin,

the present....liberty in Christ,

AND the future…

The return of Christ to take believers to Heaven to live eternally with Him!

When we lift our final cup in thanks to our Redeemer and think of the coming time when we will feast with Him in the Kingdom of God as we bless the name of the Lord!

Our joy is complete as we complete our Passover Seder and just as our Salvation is complete and the Law is fulfilled by Jesus Christ, our Messiah.

The traditional conclusion is a wish that we may celebrate Passover next year in Jerusalem… but instead, may we look forward to the time that we will shared this Feast together in The New Jerusalem with the Author and Finisher of our Faith!

“The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life…He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." (from Revelation 22)

Even so, Lord Jesus… Yeshua, our Messiah, Come quickly! Amen.

(Some of this information was derived from Robin Sampson’s book: A Family Guide to Biblical Holidays http://homeschool-books.com/xcart/book/a-family-guide-to-the-biblical-holidays.html)

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer. She enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

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Spring Song

by Mrs. Brown

When barren white renews the land;
When frozen ice comes from Godʼs hand
And all the world in quiet sleeps,
Until spring wakes new from the deeps...

As one, all life holds silent form;
As seasons waken from the storm,
The ceaseless nothing bursts with green
And solid glass becomes a stream.



The breathless still erupts with praise.
The sun stretches her sleepy rays.
The monotone of color breaks
As each hue of the spectrum wakes.

First a chirp, a squeak, a trill,
Then a chorus, an anthem, a thrill.
First a seed, a sprout, a bud,
Then full laughter, full life, full love!

In abundance, our slumber ends;
We bid farewell to winter friends
And rise refreshed and washed with dew
To worship God in strength renewed.

All glory to the Giver of Life,
Who uses even the silence of night
To plant His seed in fertile land
And grow in us all He has planned!

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer. She enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

Healthy Steps: Grapefruit Health Benefits

by Mrs. Brown


Grapefruit!

The grapefruit, a relatively new fruit, is a naturally occurring hybrid from the pomelo and the sweet orange. It was first called the shaddock or the shattuck because it was introduced to many people by Captain Shaddock. It was popularized in the 19th Century after being “discovered” in Barbados in the late 18th Century. It was later called “the forbidden fruit” before becoming commonly known as the grapefruit due to its growth in clusters like grapes.

The grapefruit has been successfully used in diets and cleanses for many, many years. Scientific research has found multiple advantages as well!

NUTRIENTS:

The grapefruit is rich in beneficial nutrients including fiber, minerals, enzymes, fatty acids and amino acids. Grapefruits are teeming with vitamins A, B complex, E, and K and are especially well-known for their high Vitamin C content! Less well-known are its phytonutrients called limonoids, antioxidants, lycopene and naringenin. Did you know that not only bananas are able to boast high levels of potassium? This wonder fruit, which is most commonly found in the white or pink varieties, also abounds in folate, citric acid, flavonoids, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and glucarates.

Okay, so grapefruit have all of these fantastic ingredients… so what? What does this actually DO for the consumer?

HEALTH BENEFITS:

The LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX aids in stabilizing blood sugars and even prevents diabetes.

STIMULATES LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

RELIEVES SORE THROATS AND COUGHS

IMPROVES CIRCULATION

METABOLIZES FAT

LOWERS CHOLESTEROL

STRENGTHENS ARTERIES

IMPROVES DIGESTION

The REMOVAL OF EXCESS ESTROGEN prevents breast cancer.

REDUCES AND CAN EVEN AID IN THE REMOVAL OF KIDNEY AND GALL STONES

PROMOTES COLON HEALTH

BOOSTS LIVER ENZYMES

NARINGENIN REPAIRS DNA

The detoxifying properties clear carcinogens from the body.

PRODUCTS:

Besides the fleshy fruit that we typically eat the grapefruit yields a tangy citrus juice. There are also many benefits from the peel, pulp and seeds. Essential oils such as limonene, citral and pinene can be extracted from the peels to be used in aromatherapy. The peel also contains large amounts of dietary fiber. The seed and pulp are used in cattle feed as well as in many human applications.

GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT/GSE:

Grapefruit Seed Extract is a bitter liquid with sweet rewards. It is purported to aid in the healing of wounds, candidiasis, throat infections, stomach ailments and more. It is hypo-allergenic with few (if any) side-effects. It is inexpensive and can be used daily for long periods of time. It raises the pH, which is helpful since many degenerative diseases effect the patient by lowering or causing an imbalance of the pH.

While GSE is ineffective against some feline diseases, it is a strong anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-parasitical for humans and most pets. It also is great at killing “bad” bacteria, while promoting the health and growth of “good” bacteria/flora in the intestinal tract and stomach.

GSE USES:

DISINFECTANT

HOUSEHOLD CLEANER

PREVENTS WATER and FOOD-BORNE ILLNESSES (particularly good when travelling)

USEFUL AS A NATURAL INSECTICIDE

A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE VEGGIE WASH

WOUND CARE (EVEN SCARS)

REMOVES SKIN BACTERIA (ACNE WASH)

CAUTIONS:

If you are taking medications, make sure they do not adversely interact with grapefruits. Never take meds with a glass of grapefruit juice and make sure to read up on your meds and discuss any possible concerns with a doctor or pharmacist. Some medications, such as Blood Pressure meds, have been found to have IMPROVED absorption while in taking grapefruit products, but some medications are made ineffective by the same products.

Additionally, according to juicing-for-health.com “Excessive consumption of any citrus juices can leach calcium from the body system, causing decay of the bones and teeth.”

PREPARATION IDEAS:

Even if you are not intending to use the grapefruit peel, you should still wash the fruit in cool water before cutting to prevent anything on the peel from entering the flesh of the fruit. This is true of all fruit and vegetable preparation.

Grapefruit can be peeled and eaten like an orange or cut in half and cut into wedges and eaten with a spoon. You can even purchase spoons with serrated edges made just for eating grapefruit! You might want to beware of being squirted in the eye though! This popular method of eating grapefruit has often resulted in a juicy surprise!

In asking friends how they like to eat grapefruit quite a few were in the practice of sprinkling them with one of the following toppings:

Sugar

Brown sugar

Cinnamon-sugar

Powdered sugar

I’ve been told that if you drizzle honey on the cut fruit and broil it or warm it in a toaster oven for 2-4 minutes it makes a delicious dessert and can be served warm with a fresh sprig of mint! Doesn’t that sound just divine? I’ve also been told that if you let the sweetener soak into the fruit for 5 minutes or more before eating that improves the flavor even more!

Grapefruit is delicious in a green salad with chicken and coconut for a tropical flair or gives a wonderful zip to any fruit salad or compote! Grapefruit chutney or salsa is a cool and refreshing dip and it was even suggested to me that grapefruit might be good frozen into popsicles or ice cubes to add flavor to a beverage. YUM! My mouth is watering just THINKING ABOUT it!

Toronja Rellena is a sweetened grapefruit stuffed with honey and dolce de leche is a snack usually sold along the roadside on weekends in Central America. I’d love to try that someday!

RECIPES:

Winter Fruit Bowl

"This fruit salad goes well with any meat dish. The blend of grapefruit and cranberries gives it a tangy flavor-- and a pretty holiday look."

Grapefruit Pie

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Elizabeth King!

2 cups graham crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

2 teaspoons grated grapefruit rind

5 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup grapefruit juice

1/3 cup butter, chopped

2 1/2 cups whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Mix graham crumbs, melted butter and rind. Press over the base of a spring form pan. Mix eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in the top of a double boiler. Whisk and cook until thick and creamy. Add juice and chopped butter. Whisk until slightly thickened. Cover. Cool to room temperature. Whip 1 1/4 cups cream and beat it into the mixture. Poor this filling over the crust. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until set. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate several hours. Beat 1 1/4 cups cream and 2 tablespoons sugar. Spread over top. Decorate with sprinkles or toasted almonds, etc.

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer. She enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

Celebrating Special Needs: Education on the Autism Spectrum

by Mrs. Brown

~For Anyone Who Loves Someone with Special Needs~

Each child is a miracle and every individual life is worth celebrating!
Every angle is unique. Each perspective beholds a different set of wonders, a unique way of looking at the world. Responding to what is observed is a blessing, not a sorrow, and yet may require a little thoughtful adjustment. Special needs give us an even richer, more creative way at looking at our world. Whether you are the parent or sibling of a child who learns in a special way, or whether you, the reader, have differences and challenges yourself or if you know and love others who need a little extra understanding, this article is dedicated to you!


“He’s 10 years old, and he STILL can’t write!”
I exclaimed this to the evaluator who was testing my son. She carefully went through the paces and had him perform many tasks such as balancing on one foot, but that wasn't going to happen. Writing his ABC’s on lined paper wasn't either. He turned the paper sideways and wrote down instead of from left to right almost like Chinese letters/characters. She had him attempt to do simple puzzles with only 4 pieces to create common objects like horses, houses and the like, but nope, he could not do that either. Then, she just sat down and talked to him.

He was comfortable, confident and competent in language. He could tell you the names of almost every country on any given continent. He had memorized computer catalogs and a myriad of owner’s manuals and had a mastery of technological information. He also had a huge amount of unexpected information such as the license plate number of every friend we had had in the past 5 years, the exact date of purchases we had made that were of interest to him such gaming devices, and a vocabulary above and beyond any fifth grader I had ever known.

The result of that testing was inconclusive and frustrating. The Occupational Therapist admitted that there were serious issues that needed to be addressed, but she could not help us because our son was home schooled and not a part of the district programs. We asked if we could bring him in at regular intervals, but were declined. We then enrolled him in public school after him having been exclusively home schooled since we had moved to Washington when he was 4 ½ years old, at which time he taught himself to read by listening to me teach his big sister!!!


To School and Home Again
During those four or five months that he attended the local elementary school, his confidence levels plummeted. He could not keep up with certain aspects of the classroom. He could not write in cursive and was given poor grades in subjects that come easily for him such as spelling and math because he could not form the basic shapes that would be recognizable to the teacher. His teacher was a very creative teacher, but somewhat inflexible in some areas and definitely was at a sorrowful loss as to how to teach this boy. She felt terrible about it and tried to learn all she could to better teach him. Even years later she apologized for being unable to specialize the curriculum for just him. To top it all off, the children in the class, for the most part, were hateful and unable to relate to my son who can talk to adults with ease, but did not have the patience for the nonsensical conversations of these pre-adolescents.

The more I thought and prayed about it, the more I realized that my son was flourishing at home and now was being squashed. He was unhappy. His former bouncy joy was all but gone. He was angry and unable to accomplish much. He was learning all right - he was learning to be skeptical, frustrated and disappointed. He was learning how to be sarcastic, unkind and overwhelmed. He was not sleeping well, and he was not feeling well. While at home, he had been full of life and energy, kind, loving and enthusiastically curious about everything and everyone.

After Christmas break that year he did not go back. He came home to reading and watching educational programs. He came home to cooking meals together, swinging in the back yard, taking swimming lessons without rushing there hungry and tired after school. He came back to long discussions about the Word of God on a daily basis and even later participating in an award winning Bible Quiz team and walking away with large portions of scripture flawlessly memorized and applied to his life. He blossomed again. His joy slowly returned. He was somewhat permanently damaged by the exposure to the meanness of his peer group, but is overcoming that still, four years later.


Finally, An Answer
The following spring, after we were told by a school psychologist that our son’s IQ had the biggest discrepancy he had ever seen, and that he would have to be on meds and could not be successfully home schooled because “that NEVER works for THIS kind of child”, we took him to a children’s developmental specialist. She read all of the test results. She talked extensively to him and to me. She performed some evaluations of her own and looked me in the eye and said the dreaded words: “He has a high-functioning form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome (AS).” Was I devastated? No! I was relieved. It was not all in my head. It was not something I had done wrong in my teaching-parenting style, and there were things that could be done.

My son was a bit confused by the diagnosis. We explained gently that he was not “broken” or “damaged”, but that his brain has a unique way of processing information. We took what he knew about computers and analogized the scenario about how it was as if you had stored a file on your hard drive, but did not know how to access it again later. It is there, but you have to create new pathways to get to it! We showed him that The Bible says that he is fearfully and wonderfully made and proceeded to learn about Asperger’s Syndrome, so that we could be of the biggest blessing and help to him with this extraordinary learning style.

Psalm 139:14, 15

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."

We also learned during that time that he has Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, which means that he is great at anything verbal, but the non-verbal tasks were extremely difficult for him. Typically, AS children also have sensory issues and some obsessive-compulsive traits. This was true of Jordan too.

One of the greatest blessings to us at that time and now is home schooling him. We can tailor our day to him. We can spend all the time we want on unit studies that interest him and also life experiences that grab his heart and mind and teach him about new things. This gives him a way to connect all of his experiences together meaningfully and usefully. He can take time off from book work to learn how to repair cars and other vehicles with his dad. He can do yard work for our neighbors with his brother. He can read and read and read to his heart content. He can take time to do exercises designed to connect neurological pathways in his brain, as well as to strengthen and relax his whole body. He can be trained with the consistency that we know is Biblical without mixed messages being thrown at him from every angle. He can be given only wholesome foods and avoid toxic cleaners that inhibit his ability to grow and learn. He can talk to other children and adults without being made to feel like he is a big mistake. Just this summer he completed a full year of curriculum because he wanted to and was able to jump ahead to 9th grade this fall!


From Jordan to Noah
The more we learned about our son and how best to bless him, the more we realized that our youngest son also was on the autism spectrum. Since Jordan’s challenges were so pressing at the time and Noah’s presented in a very different way, and because Jordan was at that time louder and more attention-getting we had not noticed that our quiet, introspective, intelligent little guy was struggling too. Eventually, we took him to the same doctor who had helped us with Jordan, and she confirmed what we had learned. Noah also has Asperger’s Syndrome. Yet, even within this portion of the autism spectrum there is a wide variety of ways it can manifest and we had not noticed a lot of similarities in actual behaviors. We had now come to realize there were intense commonalities in frustrating thought patterns, problem-solving issues, more sensory issues and obsessive-compulsive traits and a bunch of “triggers” that set off or worsened the problematic parts of AS behaviors for both boys.

Living With AS as A Family
We prayed and began to learn together as a family. We removed as many of the offending foods and household cleaners as we could and began supplementing. This has been helpful in our case. Not every special needs family will feel that they see a difference doing these things, but it has worked for us. Both boys recognize a difference in themselves and are great at reading labels, remembering to take their vitamins and are able to discuss strategies at times when we run into a scenario where things are not going well. For us, medication has not been necessary at this time and we have been able to see a big improvement in the boys’ health and impulse control! We are continuing to learn and adjust. It is an on-going process!

We are not looking for a cure. We actually LOVE the beautiful way our boys see life. They notice things we never would. They think of things that no one does. They create amazing ideas. They are amazing conversationalists. Other children have also begun to enjoy the boys. While this is not the goal, it is an encouraging side-effect! Both Jordan and Noah are also prolific readers and can learn just about anything. Noah, who is now 10, has even taken an interest in his dad’s college Thermodynamics textbook and understands a great deal of it!


Most of all, they both love God deeply.
They take sermon notes that bring tears to my eyes. They have learned to be sensitive and caring for others as they have deepened their personal relationships with Christ and they are mindful of striving to be the young men that God has created them to be.


Thoughtful Considerations
When Jordan was almost 11, I blogged about a conversation I had with him that sums up a lot of what I would like the readers of this article to walk away understanding:

Jul. 29, 2006 What Size Box Do YOU Prefer?

This morning I overheard my boys talking... reflecting on their experiences in public school this past year.

Jordan said, "Public school is like being put in a box, one that is even smaller than you are. Home school is like being in a box too, but it’s bigger than you are and you can have room to grow."
I know he was just being a child and trying to identify his feelings, but I really felt that there was some considerable insight to his statements.
In public school the box size is often not only smaller than the child, but misshapen. They are squeezing square pegs into round holes on a daily basis. They are stating theories as facts. They are taking away the simple joys of childhood and individuality. They are slowing down the maturity process in some areas and speeding it up (inappropriately) in others. They cannot give each child the one on one attention they need academically much less spiritually. They cannot, even in the best of circumstances, give a long-term investment to the child's character and development.
Home school is so much more flexible. A box can be useful to establish appropriate boundaries, but it needs to be big enough to embrace unique preferences, strengths and weaknesses. It needs to have room for true, dedicated love from a family structure, not just a pseudo-family group of people who have a one or at best two year investment in your child. Instead of bright fluorescent lights, this box is full of fresh air, warm hugs and home-cooked smells. This box can be adjusted and decorated accordingly as the child changes instead of being a one-size doesn't quite fit all pre-approved scope and sequence that fits some of the people some of the time.
I want to give my children the box that protects them from harsh winds and harsh words, but can have the flaps flung wide open when it is time for them to spread their wings and fly. I want to give them the box that has enough room to invite friendships in, but small enough to keep negative influences out.
What size box fits your child? What will it be made of? What will it be filled with? What color will it be painted?

Mrs. Brown is a GGM contributor and owner of a small custom crocheting business/ministry named Bundled In Prayer and enjoys Bible study, writing, scrapbooking, sewing, reading and more. She is happily married to her best friend, Russ and is in her 12th year of homeschooling her five children.

Related Articles from Mrs. Brown:
Brain Gym
A Book Review: Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good To Be Unkind: Christian Parents Contend With Autism
Asperger’s Syndrome

Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights

by Mrs. Brown

Hanukkah began nearly 2300 years ago and is rich in history and tradition. Unlike most other Jewish Festivals, Hanukkah is what is called a Post-Mosaic (After Moses) Holiday. This festival was not commanded by God nor was it instituted by God. However, it is LIKE other Jewish Festivals in several ways:

THE PAST: Hanukkah reflects upon remembrances of the past and shows us God’s provident hand upon His people!

The Greek culture that ruled much of the Middle Eastern world over 2,000 years ago had much to offer. It brought the world beauty in the form of architecture, fashion and art. It brought intellectual “wisdom” in the form of philosophy, language and mathematical discoveries. It brought entertainment in the form of sporting events and leisure that was previously mostly unknown. To much of the world there seemed to be no harm in indulging in the subtle blending of these styles with their own. This became known as Hellenism named for the Greek word for Greece, Hellas.

In Judea, however, the Jews lived by another standard. They followed a God-given law, The Torah. They were allowed to live in the way they saw fit until the Syrian King, Antiochus Epiphanes, came into power in 175 B. C. He insisted on full immersion in the Hellenistic life-style to the exclusion of all else. Under his tyrannical rule, anyone who even owned a Torah was in mortal danger. The King’s abusive acts went from the arrogant to the ultimately offensive. He minted coins with his image alongside that of Zeus proclaiming himself to be “god manifest”. He sullied the Jews temple by sacrificing pigs on the altar (an extreme insult to the kosher system under The Torah) and he even killed a priest named Elazar for NOT participating in this mockery.
Finally, an old Jewish priest named Mattathias was troubled enough to stand up for his beliefs. He would not abandon his religion and would not convert to the pagan practices that had so blended with their lives that the lines were no longer simply blurred, but were all but erased! Mattathias and his sons gathered up an army of farmers and craftsmen and they trained themselves to fight against the Syrians. Years of battles passed and when Mattathias was too old to lead any longer he appointed his son, Judah to take over for him.
Judah was a man of decisive force and had earned himself the nickname “hammer” or Maccabee. His followers soon after came to be known as The Maccabees. It took several more years, but this band of men had something going for them the Syrians did not have. The Syrian’s motivation was based on money, power and fear of the King. The Maccabees’ motivation came from determination to do what was right, regaining their freedoms and fear of the TRUE King! Through clever strategies, integrity and strength of character the Maccabees eventually were able to defeat the armies of their enemies and emerged victorious!

The people of Judah were triumphant, but were also devastated at the condition of their temple. It was littered with statues of false gods and almost every item that should have been consecrated unto The Holy God had been misused and abused. They set to work restoring the temple to its former glory. They built a new altar, removed the defiled stones, cleansed the sanctuary and finally in the year 164 B.C. on Kislev the 25th they were ready to rededicate their temple. In fact, the word Hanukkah means “dedicate”.
Legend holds that there was an additional event that increased the joy of the people during the ensuing celebrations. As they prepared to light the Ner Tamid, or the Eternal Light, they found they only had enough untainted oil to burn for one day. It would take a full week to make more, but miraculously the limited supply of oil lasted for EIGHT days the duration of the entire festival!

THE PRESENT: Hanukkah gives us a firm focus for the present and opportunities to apply the lessons learned to our situation today!

We can learn many applicable lessons from Hanukkah and its traditions! We, like the Jews of that day, can stand for what we believe in, cleanse from our lives the world’s culture and pagan practices, and rededicate our lives to living a life that shines Light to the World! In their joy, the people worshipped God with gratitude and set aside a time of full devotion to honor God and celebrate the restoration of their freedom. They were once again able to obey God openly and were no longer under the oppression of their enemies. They decorated the temple, prepared a feast and offered the sacrifices required by God upon the newly constructed altar.

We can apply this in many ways, such as dressing in a way that is modest, giving of our time and talents to worthy causes and sacrificing of ourselves to be a blessing to God and to shine HIS Eternal Light to a lost and dying world! Think of that from which we have been delivered and worship God with a heart full of thankfulness. Let that heart of gratefulness transform your entire life. Make time to whole-heartedly glorify God as you thank Him for the liberty that we have in Him!

THE FUTURE: Hanukkah points us to the future and our hope in Jesus Christ!
At the time, Jesus had not yet been born. Even so, I can see the possibility, as with other Biblical Jewish holidays that many of the elements of Hanukkah point to the truths of our Savior! We may even be able to learn some truths from the words Jesus spoke in the temple during Hanukkah in AD 29. Just prior to the festival he spoke about being the Good Shepherd. This may have been an allusion that the Jews would have understood as a Messianic claim! Then, we read in John chapter 10:

John 10:22-42
22And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
24Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30I and my Father are one.
31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
40And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.
41And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.
42And many believed on him there.

In an article by Gordon Franz, he points out that when Jesus was asked:
“point blank, "Are you the Messiah?" (10:24). Jesus had to be careful how He answered that question. During the festival, throngs of Jews caught up in the nationalistic fever, were visiting Jerusalem. The word "Messiah" might spark off riots because of its heavy nationalistic and political overtones…Jesus does, however, answer the question in the affirmative, but not directly. When He answers, He is careful not to use the contemporary term and understanding… He says "I and my Father are one'" (10:30). That statement had heavy religious overtones for the festival which they were presently celebrating. Those gathered on the Temple Mount recalled the events nearly 200 years before on the very mount where, Antiochus IV, a mere man, proclaimed himself god. Jesus, the LORD manifest in human flesh, made the same claim but His claim was true. The Jews picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy because, in their thinking, He was a man who made Himself God (10:31-33). Jesus declared that He was the fulfillment of Hanukkah by saying the Father "sanctified" the Son of God and sent Him into the world (10:34-36), The Father was in Him and He in the Father (10:38). If the Greek word "sanctified" was translated into Hebrew, it would be "dedication" or Hanukkah.”

In the same article, Gordon Franz goes on to say:
“John wrote his gospel primarily to a Jewish and Samaritan audience, One of the unique things about John's gospel is his emphasis on the Jewish and Samaritan festivals and his indication that Jesus was the fulfillment of these holidays. Hanukkah was the rededication of a defiled Temple. At the beginning of Jesus public ministry, He said, "'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body" (2:19-21) Herod' s Temple had been defiled by a wicked and corrupt priesthood. The Lord Jesus was "sanctified" by His death, burial and resurrection and is the New Temple.”

I pray that whether or not you celebrate Hanukkah that you WILL Celebrate the Light of the World without whom we would be in bondage and in a hopelessly lost condition.. I pray, also, that you will take the advice that the apostle Paul offered in Philippians chapter 2:

Philippians 2:14-18
14Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
17Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
18For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

Celebrating Hanukkah Today

by Mrs. Brown

Each night of Hanukkah includes the lighting of candles, the reading of blessings, gift giving, special foods and game called dreidel. There are also many songs and readings from ancient books in some homes. We have never actually celebrated Hanukkah, per se, but after learning about it we may incorporate many of these activities from now on!
Let’s take a look at some of the most common elements of the modern day festival!

CANDLES: the chanukiyah (Hahn-uh-key-uh) is a candle holder or menorah with nine branches. Each night of the Festival, at sunset, the candles are lit for that evening with one more candle lit each night to symbolize increasing joy!
First the shamash or servant candle is lit. The shamash is the taller center candle. I love the imagery of the central “servant” candle “bowing” in order to bring light to the other candles. It reminds me of two passages of Scripture:
In Mark 9 we read of a time when the disciples were having a dispute over which one of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. Jesus answered their question in verse 35 with these words:

Mark 9:35
35And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

Jesus was telling them to be like Him! In Philippians 2 we read:

Philippians 2: 5-11
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

A FUN ACTIVITY:
My mom told me about this fun and easy craft recipe that can be used to represent a Hanukkah candle:

CANDLE “SALAD”
1 pineapple ring
1 banana
1 orange or red gumdrop or a slice of strawberry
Cut off both ends of the banana and place it into the pineapple ring to represent a candle in a candle holder. Top with the gumdrop or strawberry to “light” your candle! Enjoy!

BLESSINGS: Each night after the shamash is lit, two blessings are spoken. On the first night, one additional blessing is read. This is traditionally done in Hebrew and is often followed by the English translations.

First Blessing
Praised are You, Adonai, our God,
Ruler of the Universe, Who has made us holy through
God’s commandments and commanded us to
Kindle the Hanukkah lights.

Second Blessing
Praised are You, Adonai, our God,
Ruler of the Universe, Who performed miracles
For our ancestors in ancient time at this season.

Third Blessing
Praised are You, Adonai, our God,
Ruler of the Universe, Who has kept us alive
And sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.

GIFTS: This is a newer addition to Hanukkah that began as rewards for children who could answer questions on the history of the holiday!
Gift-rewards were originally known as gelt. It became a tradition to give eight small gifts… one for each day of Hanukkah. Since Hanukkah is around the same time as Christmas it led to this tradition becoming more prominent and popular, especially for families with young children.

Gift ideas:
For young children: Small books, little toys, match box cars, hair ties, and maybe even a baked treat or candy
For older children: Hand lotion, craft supplies, smaller hobby items, tools, journals or handmade gifts
For young adults and adults: Items to save for their own Hanukkah traditions such as a nice menorah/chanukiyah, olive wood dreidel or other items from The Holy Land

FOOD: It is said that many of the traditional feast items are fried because of the miracle of the oil. We have not tried any of these recipes yet, but if we try them we will work on making them healthier by baking or at least frying in the better, high-heat stable oils like coconut oil.

Latkes: some recipes call for white potatoes, but I have also seen some with sweet potatoes. That sounds like it has even more potential to be a little healthier! Potato Pancakes from foodfit.com

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup egg substitute, or 2 whole eggs plus 4 whites
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil spray (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)

Serve with:
non fat or low fat sour cream
applesauce

1. Preheat a non-stick electric griddle to 450°F.
2. Peel the potatoes and onion and coarsely grate in a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, or on a box grater. Grab handfuls of the grated vegetables and squeeze tightly between your fingers to wring out as much liquid as possible.
3. Transfer the grated vegetables to a mixing bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder, egg substitute and a pinch of salt and pepper. (The potato pancakes should be highly seasoned.)
4. Spray the hot griddle with oil (or drizzle the oil on it and spread with a wooden spoon.) Spoon small mounds of potato mixture onto the baking sheet to form 3-inch pancakes, leaving 1 inch between each. Fry the pancakes on the griddle until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning once with a spatula.
5. Transfer to plates or a platter and serve immediately with sour cream and/or applesauce.
Serving Size: 3 potato pancakes

Baked Soufganiyot: Baked Soufganiyot--Low Fat Israeli Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts. Doughnuts is a lower fat recipe from foodfit.com

1 package dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately)
1 cup lukewarm skim milk
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
grated zest of one lemon
3 tablespoons reduced fat butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup apricot jam (approximately)
confectioner's or granulated sugar for rolling

1. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the water.
2. Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Add the dissolved yeast, milk, egg, egg yolk, salt, lemon zest and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Process until blended. Add the butter and process until the dough becomes sticky yet elastic.
3. Remove the dough to a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour. If you want to prepare the dough in advance, place it in the refrigerator overnight, then let it warm to room temperature before rolling and cutting.
4. Grease 2 cookie sheets. Dust a pastry board with flour. Roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using the top of a glass as a cutter, cut into rounds about 2-inches in diameter and roll these into balls. Place the balls about 1 to 1 1/2-inches apart on the greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise 30 minutes more.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the doughnuts for 12 to 15 minutes or until they're golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.
6. Soften the jam in a food processor. Using an injector (available at cooking stores), insert a teaspoon of jam into each doughnut. Roll the soufganiyot in confectioner's or granulated sugar and serve immediately.
Serving Size: 1 doughnut

DREIDEL: this game is a favorite with my children ever since they received an olive wood dreidel as a gift!
The driedel is like a little four-sided top. Each of the four sides has a Hebrew letter. The letters are the initial letters of a sentence: “A great miracle happened there!” The game is played with coins, candy or other small tokens and each letter/side rolled represents an action:

Nun=take nothing
Gimel=take all
Heh=take half
Shin=put in

At the start of the game, each child has an equal portion of items and the remainder is place in the center. We play for a certain length of time (usually 30 minutes or so) and rather than allowing the children to keep all they have at the end we play with chocolate coins and allow each child to eat one and the “winner” to eat two!

Whatever YOUR family does this year, may your lives be filled with the Light of Christ. May you do ALL to His glory. May you stand for what you believe in and rededicate your life to shining God’s light into this dark and lost world. We know that our salvation is not based on our works, but on the work of Christ on the cross, but may be show our love and thanks to Jesus by acting in a way that will bring others to a saving knowledge of The Messiah now at the end of 2008 and as so long as we may be given grace to live in this world, but NOT of it!

Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Navy Day

On Friday, October 13, 1775 the United States Navy’s foundations were formed. It all started with two sailing vessels, outfitted, manned, and sent out for 3-month deployments. From these modest beginnings eventually grew our modern day Navy. Now the Navy has over 300,000 active personnel and has a fleet that includes aircraft carriers, amphibious warfare vessels, surface vessels and submarines.

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
1775 The U.S.. Navy was originally called the Continental Navy and started during the American Revolution.

1789 Constitutional provision for Congress to “provide and maintain a Navy”.

1794 Congress first uses the power given by the 1789 constitutional provision and manned six frigates in response to an international crisis.

1798 Department of the Navy established. Prior to this the Department of War was solely responsible for the Navy.

1814 Naval Regulations Established

1911 Official Defining of Many Naval Terms

1932 Articles for the Government of the Navy

1940 Naval Expansion Act

1941 The Navy’s involvement in World War II, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor, brought it into international recognition.

TRADITIONS: From the uniforms to the terminology to the signals of whistles, bells and flags everything has a meaning.

Naval Historical Center provides a wealth of information about heritage of the Navy.

The official Navy colors are blue and gold.

The Navy Hymn: "Eternal Father, Strong to Save"

Navy March: "Anchors Aweigh"
The music was composed by Lt. Charles A. Zimmerman in 1906 as a march for the Naval Academy Class of 1907 and the lyrics were written by Midshipman Alfred H. Miles. It was first performed at the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia.

Navy Motto
There is no official motto for the U.S. Navy. "Non sibi sed patriae" (Not self but country) is often cited as the Navy's motto, however.

Just a Bit of TRIVIA
Sailing vessels are referred to in the feminine/ “she”!

Submarines are called boats… never ships!

The collar on an enlisted uniform was originally designed to protect the uniform from the tar on a sailor’s braid!

Sailors used to be (and may still be?) taught how to turn their uniform into a floatation device if need be!

Did you know that the Navy also has a Deep Submergence Research submarine? Or at least it does until next month. NR-1 is being decommissioned and the Navy does not have any current plans to replace her.. You can read more about this unique vessel: NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft. My husband served on this vessel as well as two nuclear powered submarines (The USS Omaha and The USS San Juan) and currently works refueling submarines!

TODAY’S NAVY
The Navy is rich in its past, but it is also innovative and is in constant forward movement to keep it efficient and effective!

Turbines that float on magnets instead of using oil, all electric nuclear powered air craft carriers, alternative propulsion methods and many new technologies are under

development even now! One example that you can read about is a new class of aircraft carrier: Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier



As a Navy wife, I feel a certain patriotic tug at my heart at the sight of the ships in our local shipyard, or the frequent images of families greeting returning sailors on the dock. Especially emotional are the pictures of daddies being introduced to newborns born during their absences. It’s not easy being a Navy family, but we are proud of the heritage of the Navy’s rich past and are blessed to be a part of the Navy’s present as we serve our country together, each in our own unique ways!

Sukkot: A Biblical Fall Festival

[ref: The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is "Sue- COAT," but is often pronounced as in Yiddish, which rhymes with "BOOK us."]

In the Jewish month of Tishri there are three major Biblical Feasts: The Feast of Trumpets (The Jewish New Year called Rosh Hashanah), The Day of Atonement (a day of repentance called Yom Kippur), and The Feast of Tabernacles (a joyful celebration called Sukkot). This year Tishri falls in our month of October and specifically Sukkot, a seven day festival, begins on October 13.

In the Old Testament God commanded the people to live in sukkahs, or booths, for seven days just as the people lived when they left Egypt. At this time of the year Jews and many others who chose to observe the Biblical feasts live in tents or booths for a week. Some modify it a bit and just take their evening meal in their sukkah.

In Leviticus 23:33-43 we find specific direction for the design and décor of a sukkah with an open roof and bunches of produce in addition to four specific species of plants called the lulav which are to be waved during special ceremonial times during the celebration.

Leviticus 23:33-43
33And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
34Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
35On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
39Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

According to A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson, “Everything in the Torah…has a prophetic as well as historical significance and merits our careful attention.” The Messianic significance of The Feast of Tabernacles involves our spiritual past, present and future from the birth of Jesus, the Messiah when he came to TABERNACLE among us (John 14:14) to the coming Millennial Reign of Christ on earth following the rapture of the Church in the Last Days. “Or possibly when we will tabernacle (dwell) with God in Heaven.”

There is speculation that Jesus’ birth may have actually been during The Feast of Tabernacles. Historical records (such as Flavius Josephus)and the Bible can tell us the approximate time of Zacharias' high priestly duties. We know when in this process John was born and we know how far along Elisabeth was compared to Mary... so we can make a very close guess to the time of the year Jesus' must have been born. Some historians and theologians use this timeline to present a convincing argument for the birth of the Messiah during this Festival. Though we do not know for sure, it is interesting to study and learn about. To read more about this theory go to: http://biblelight.net/sukkoth.htm

Also interesting to note are some of the other references to Sukkot throughout the Bible. In several places in the Old Testament we can read about this special feast. (See Deut. 16: 13-15 and Num. 29:12-40 for starters!) In the New Testament we read in John chapter 7 about Jesus secretly attending the Feast of Tabernacles after sending His disciples on ahead of Himself. Paul also observed the feast as is recorded in Acts 18.

I have also read several articles that have mentioned that the First Thanksgiving was very likely an observance of The Feast of Tabernacles. It included many of the elements of Sukkot and was actually first held in October, not November. With the understanding that our forefathers came to America to have a place where they could return to a Biblical lifestyle in work, worship and relationships then we can see that it is very probable that they would have known of the Old Testament feasts and would have desired to celebrate them. They were so thankful for surviving through the difficulties that those early years in America posed and certainly added new traditions of their own to the feast, but may have very well had this "lasting ordinance" of God in mind when they organized those first events!

In our family we take out our Nativity Scene in time for Sukkot. I built a little mini sukkah in which our figurines of Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus tabernacle throughout the season. It definitely opens up many discussions when people enter our home and see it there. This year consider setting up a little temporary shelter in your yard and partaking of at least one meal there to celebrate Sukkot. Reflect upon all it means to us as believers in Christ and the blessings we have in allowing Him to tabernacle within US!

John 7:37-39
37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Navy Wife

On Friday, October 13, 1775 the United States Navyʼs foundations were formed. It all started with two sailing vessels, outfitted, manned, and sent out for 3-month deployments. From these modest beginnings eventually grew our modern day Navy.


As a Navy wife, I feel a certain patriotic tug at my heart at the sight of the ships in our local shipyard, or the frequent images of families greeting returning sailors on the dock. Especially emotional are the pictures of daddies being introduced to newborns born during their absences. Itʼs not easy being a Navy family, but we are proud of the heritage of the Navyʼs rich past and are blessed to be a part of the Navyʼs present as we serve our country together, each in our own unique ways!

Please join us on October 13th as Mrs. Brown expands on the history of the Navy and why this day is so special to her and her family!

Tis the Season To Harvest Apples!

The Health Benefits of Apples

Tis the season to harvest apples! So let’s take a little time to learn why the phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is more than just a catchy idiom. Apples and apple products (with the exception of their slightly poisonous seeds) are packed with phytonutrients and amazing life-giving enzymes.

NUTRIENTS:

Apples contain boron to strengthen bones.

The skin of the apple holds quercitin which prevents free radical activity. Free radicals can damage your DNA and create unhealthy cellular activity. Antioxidants reduce and may even effectively eliminate such adverse effects. Quercitin and naringin also act as flavonoids to support lung health and reduce several types of life threatening diseases such as colon, prostate, breast and lung cancer.

Pectin lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) and aids in diabetes prevention by providing galacturonic acid. The best combo is the pectin of the peel and the phenols together… so leave the skin ON!

Apples (particularly the skins) are loaded with fiber essential to good digestive tract health. Apples contain two types of fiber… insoluble and soluble pectin fiber, both are needed to cleanse the colon and "detox" our bodies from heavy metals such as lead and mercury.

Apples are rich in Vitamin C, which among other things is an excellent immunity booster!

Apples have been found to reduce risk of heart disease.

Fructose, present in apples, is a simple sugar. When combined with fiber, fructose aids in stabilizing blood sugars. This is great news for diabetics or those who battle hypoglycemia like me.

Catechin is an anti-inflammatory flavonoid.

Apples contain beneficial polyphenols.

Wikipedia defines polyphenols as follows:

Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol unit or building block per molecule. Polyphenols are generally divided into hydrolyzable tannins (gallic acid esters of glucose and other sugars) and phenylpropanoids, such as lignins, flavonoids, and condensed tannins.

Champion apples are a variety that produces a cloudy juice, Ida red apples produce clear juice. Polyphenols are particularly present in CLOUDY apple juice! I had never heard that before. Our family does not drink much juice, but I will remember to chose cloudy juice next time we do!

I was also amazed to learn that eating apples can protect your skin from UV-B radiation damage! Researchers reported that Braeburn apples were the best for this. I was happy to read that because Braeburns are my personal favorite of the over 7,000 varieties of apples! As a fair skinned red-head, I can use all the extra protection my skin can get from sun damage.

I don’t know if it is true, but I even read that eating apples prevents hair loss and may even promote hair growth!

Apple cider vinegar has many additional benefits as an anti-fungal, a wonderful skin toner (avoid eyes), and is said to reduce symptoms of arthritis among other benefits and remedies.

I read that it is preferable to allow apples to fully ripen. I personally enjoy a very firm, crisp apple, but I read that a softer apple that is near to too soft has had the necessary time for the chlorophyll to break down. That enables the release of many of the enzymes into the apple that help us most!

Apples are most beneficial when eaten raw, but they do freeze well and browning is easily slowed by placing cut apples in a bowl of water with a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice. I like to spritz apple slices with orange juice when I make a fruit salad!

Organic apples are best since pesticides don’t easily wash off the peel. Also, carnauba wax and shellac (yep! The same things that give cars that showroom shine) are used on many of those glossy apples in the non-organic section of the grocery store. Organic can be a little more spendy, so consider planting an apple tree in your yard, if possible. My husband and I have been shopping for mature apple trees and found that they were less expensive than we expected. We also learned that an apple tree many take up to five years to begin producing a viable crop.

APPLE TRIVIA:

While the "forbidden fruit" is not named as being an apple… we do know that there is historical record of apples being eaten all the way back to nearly the dawn of time! Actually, Renaissance painters depicted the forbidden fruit as an apple as they mixed German paganism and Greek mythological references with Biblical history in their art.

Did you know that the only apple native to North America is the crabapple? It wasn’t until the 1600’s that some of the more common varieties were brought to our country. Then, in the late 1700’s Johnny Appleseed planted apple trees across several of our Midwestern states!

Many traditional dishes all over the world contain apples from the Jewish use of apples in Rosh Hashanah and Passover to apple streusel in Germany and good ol’ American pie! There are many different presentations that are common and familiar: apple butter, apple jelly, applesauce, apple dumplings and even candied apples. I like to add apples to a green salad or snack on apples with slices of sharp cheddar cheese! Even the occasional dried apples or apple "fries" (which are really baked) are fun variations that we enjoy at our house!

APPLE ART

You can make your own greeting cards or gift wrap with apples to celebrate this wonderful treasure from God!

Materials Needed:
Apples
Paper Towels
Styrofoam Plate, Meat Tray, or Other Shallow Dish
Construction Paper
Paint
Instructions:
Cut the apple in half. Experiment with your apples by cutting them different ways. Cut Through the top and out the bottom to make a 'traditional' apple print, cut through the middle to make apple 'star' prints. Cut the apple into quarters for a different print also!

Fold a paper towel into 4ths and lay it on the bottom of the styrofoam plate, etc. Pour paint into the center of the paper towel to make it into a stamp pad. I like to use red, green, and yellow paint to represent the different kinds of apples.

Dip the cut side of the apple into the paint. Dab it around on the paper towel to wipe off excess paint, and then press it onto the paper.

Make a whole collection of apple pictures this way! You can also use other fruits to make prints. Try making these prints with oranges, lemons, pears, etc.

You can also use fabric paint and make an apple print T-shirt, towels, etc!

I love learning new ways to be a better steward of my health and I am always awed by the greatness of our God as I read and research! He has given us gifts like apples… a perfect single serving size, in its own edible "wrapper"! Next time you eat an apple, as you marvel over the abundance of nutrients God placed within it, give praise to Him for His wisdom and creativity!

Art ideas from http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/applecrafts/a/blapprint.htm