slow: merging traffic

So, you may or may not have noticed I have been maintaining two blogs recently... perhaps not doing too well at either. I've had my personal blog, this one, and my business blog, that other one. Really, it's healthyhomesforall.blogspot.com

In order to comply with Shaklee's internet protocol, rules and commands, I've finally gotten around to merging my blogs under that other url. In case you missed it, it's healthyhomesforall.blogspot.com.

So, from now on, please hop on over to that blog to read all my book reviews, see my family photos, and, as a bonus, peruse my Shaklee newsletter. (I know you're cheering about that one!)

Oh, did you miss where that other blog is? It's healthyhomesforall.blogspot.com

And be careful when merging. I know I'm taking it slowly...

So Much to Say...

The past 10 days or so have been crazy. First, packing up the family for a big trip to Ohio to visit family over Labor Day weekend. Then, recovering from said trip.

And, unfortunately, I wasn't not feeling very photographery, - if that's a word. I did give the camera to my kids a time or two to get some random shots. I'd share them, but am missing my camera-to-computer cord at the moment. When I find it, I'll post some pictures. It was a good time with Glen's extended family - we spent some time with Grandpa Jake and Grandma Marce, and Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Cotterman - both sets of Glen's grandparents. And the kids played with a plethora of second cousins.

We were on a trip, which meant I read. And read. And read. So, I have a short stack of books I want to write about. I was planning on doing that this week, but apparently I'm getting old and having a harder time recovering from trips - family or otherwise. So, by the time I felt better, my wireless card went out on my computer, which meant I had a harder time working on my computer (had to go plug it into our home network).

Yesterday, Nathaniel, Anna, Lydia and I spent the day in Gurnee at our local Bible Bee competition. The kids had a great time and decided they wanted to go again next year. Anna made a new friend and they exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch.

All of which explains why I've not written much.

But back to the trip. The big controversy in our car is that a majority of us (read: the children and me) enjoy listening to audio books while driving. One of us does not (read: Glen). Before we left, we went to the library and picked up some audio books - both on CD and on Play-Away.

Oh, you don't know what a Play-Away is? It's a portable, digital book. You can plug it into the auxiliary plug-in on your stereo (car or home) or you can listen to it on earphones. My kids love these. Glen loves these because it means he doesn't have to listen to his music over the Adventures in Odessy tapes playing in the back seat. We always get three or four before a trip and the kids share them between each other.

But this time, the kids really, really wanted to listen to the books on CD. We had checked out (via my favorite interlibrary loan) the original Nancy Drew books, #4 & #5 (I think they were The Bungalow Mystery and The Mystery at Lilac Inn - Anna could tell you for sure) and an Andrew Clements book called A Week in the Woods.

Glen was nice enough to let us listen to all of them on our trip! We all (probably not Glen so much) enjoyed the Nancy Drew books. All of us, except Isaac, really enjoyed A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements.

If you've never read an Andrew Clements' book, you need to. They're written for older elementary school or junior high school students, so they're appropriate for children too. I love the way Clements writes. I'd recommend you start with Frindle - it's a classic. We listened to it when we were in Upper Michigan in July - Glen and I laughed out loud at several points. A Week in the Woods is quite enjoyable too.

I'm off to find my camera-to-computer cord. And yes, that's the technical term.

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture

I heard the end of an interview with Shane Hipps on the radio last month. He's the author of the new book Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith. The book sounded interesting to me, so I checked it out online. Those who'd already read it recommended reading his first book first, so I did. (Have I mentioned how much I love interlibrary loan?)

I found The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel and the Church quite fascinating. Hipps' background is advertising as a strategic planner, so he's quite familiar with media and culture.

Hipps bases much of his thinking on that of Marshall McLuhan, a very smart man who lived in the 1960's. He was a forward-thinker, and saw how the media we consume as a culture would change our thinking and our culture. Hipps introduces McLuhan in the second chapter, giving us some background into his education, thinking and status as pop culture guru in the '60's.

But first, Hipps challenges his readers to "realize that our forms of media and technology are primary forces that cause changes in our philosophy, theology, culture, and ultimately the way we do church."

Yes, his book is addressed to the church. But I think anyone who is interested in media's influence on our culture would find at least the first part of the book food for thought. I especially enjoyed his discussion of a couple of ancient Greek myths as illustrations of how we tend to look at media and how we should consider media - personally and corporately.

The first myth he discusses is that of Narcissus. The classic interpretation of it has been a warning against self-love, but Hipps favorite philosopher, McLuhan, saw it differently. He said Narcissus's chief problem was that

"he failed to recognize himself in the fountain's reflection. ... If he had understood that this fountain was simply a mirror reflecting his own face, Narcissus would have been able to dispel the power of the pool and gain control over it. ... Narcissus suffered because he became numb to the technology that came to enslave him."

Contrast that to the myth of Perseus - the son of the god Zeus. He volunteers to go destroy Medusa - the monster terrifying the land. Anyone who looks at her directly was turned to stone. Perseus uses a shield as a mirror to guide him and Medusa's stare has no affect on him because it's a reflection, so he cuts off her head.

Unlike Narcissus, who was unaware of the 'technology' that ended up enslaving him (his reflection in the pool), Perseus realizes he can control that same technology (a reflection off a shield), which allowed him to survive his ordeal.

"When we become aware of the specific ways in which technology and media serve as extensions of ourselves, much of their power is dispelled. We are returned to being owners of technology rather than those who are owned by it."

I don't know about you - but sometimes I feel as if I'm owned by my technology instead of the other way around. This book is a good foundation for being able to be a Perseus instead of a Narcissus (controlling technology instead of being consumed by it).

The rest of part one is a discussion of three basic forms of media - writing, pictures and radio - and how they changed our thinking, perception and culture. Part two is the start of a discussion of where the church goes from here - how our thinking has changed as a result of the media we consume, and Hipps thoughts on ways the church can engage the culture in terms it can understand.

I highly recommend The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture - and I am looking forward to reading Flickering Pixels.

When Given Free Cubs Tickets....

you go! Mom and Dad graciously watched the children so Glen and I could spend the day at Wrigley Field. The sun was shining, the breeze, chilly and the game, disappointing. But we enjoyed it!

At the field
See - not a book. A scorecard. And, I filled it out. Just ask Glen.

Look at that beautiful sun!
Oh, and Fukudome at bat.
By the way, I now know he plays center field.
Aren't you proud?

Glen: "I have to admit, I am glad I wore jeans."
I wrote it down on my scorecard.
I even took a picture.
Glen is never chilly.

Honestly, I enjoy going to Wrigley and watching the Cubs.
I was just jealous of those who were sitting in the sun.
I was wishing I had worn my long underwear.
To a baseball game. In Chicago. In August.
Global warming anyone?

A very chilly and expensive place to play video games.
There were four of them, sitting all in a row.
Guess the other two left to find a warmer place to play.

Harry Carey. A legend.

We took the Wrigley Express.
Not fighting traffic in the city. Priceless.

We finally found the sun! On the bus!

Keep Reading

I was at the beach yesterday afternoon, taking advantage of every last good day of the summer. My kids (except Isaac) were swimming, and I was sitting in my camp chair reading. Gotta love the beach!

I pulled out of my beach bag, the Summer Catalog from Memoria Press, a classical education resource. It has articles in every catalog, which I enjoy reading.

The one that caught my eye was Stop Cleaning the Kitchen and Read a Book by Susan Wise Bauer. Well, that's a philosophy with which I can agree wholeheartedly! You can read the whole article here.

It is really an excellent article. While written for the homeschooling mother, I think the principles apply to everyone. It also made me realize that I tend to read too fast (I am a speed reader), and I tend not to reread books unless they're absolute favorites. I am also guilty of reading fairly easy books. I have not ever, for instance, read Les Mis or Crime and Punishment or much Shakespeare for that matter.

Recently, in fact, I find myself blazing through books as quickly as I can so I can write a blog post on them. Even when I want to find time to contemplate them, ponder them, discuss them with my friends or husband, I haven't because I've been too busy reading.

While I'm not ready to start on Anna Karenina tomorrow, I will start a reading journal. And I have started reading through a book off my shelf a little each morning - He Gave Us Stories: The Bible Student's Guide to Interpreting Old Testament Narratives. It's not a classic, but it is academic.

And since it's my book, I can write in it.

Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis...

At the Future Leader's Reception at City Museum

Friday Night dinner at Union Station

Lisa and Beth

Me with my good friend Harriet

Me with my Shaklee sister, Shawna

Me with Kristi
We all have fun at convention!

Earlier this month, I went to St. Louis with some colleagues (including Beth above) for the annual Shaklee convention. It's a nice break from the day-to-day mom and teacher stuff, but it was more of a working vacation. Lots of sitting and lots of learning - as with any convention. But fortunately, there's still plenty of time to hang out and have fun.

As I was going through my pictures, I realized one of my favorite things about convention is reconnecting with my Shaklee friends, and meeting new ones. The trip down was fun - carpooling with Beth and John. I can't tell you how excited I was to see my friend Harriet again. And spend time with Shawna and Kristi. And meet so many fun people like Lisa, Kristi W, Ginny, Pat, Andrea, Christy and Carolyn. Most of them I had 'met' over the phone - what fun to put faces with the voices, hang out with them, and learn from them.

I would have never met any of these people if I hadn't been in Shaklee. And my life is richer because of it. Thanks Shaklee!

The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family

I happened to be browsing the shelves of our library when this book caught my eye. I thought it looked interesting - do you know a family which isn't frantic? - and picked it up.

The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family is a great book for any family which feels overwhelmed to read. Patrick Lencioni writes in a very readable fashion - it doesn't take much time and it sticks with you.

The book is in the form of a fable, following a frantic family who decides to adapt some business principles to their family life. It goes quickly through the business principles, and follows the couple who decide they need to make it simpler and easier for families to follow.

They come up with three big questions for families to answer.

First: What makes our family unique?

Second: What is your family's top priority - rallying cry - right now?

Third: How do you talk about and use the answers to these questions?

The whole process to answer these questions shouldn't take more than an hour. To prepare for the process, you should probably read this book, or at least the last few chapters of the book to get context for the questions and come up with ways that your family can answer the questions. But reading the last few chapters and reviewing some real life examples shouldn't take more than a few hours at most if you're a slow reader.

Call it an investment in your family. In the book, Lencioni calls it context. A framework from which your family can operate and make decisions. It's easier to say no to things when you know what the top priority is for your family in the next few months. It's easier to know what to say yes to when you have that same knowledge.

The genius of this book is not only answering the first two questions, but the inclusion of the third. It's too easy to set aside something we've worked on in the bustle of day-to-day life. The answer to the third question gives accountability to actually take action on the top priority - and an easy way to measure areas which are going well, and those which need work. I love his idea of using colors to mark progress in accomplishing the top priority.

And when there's purpose to life, then life becomes more meaningful and deliberate than what's the next urgent thing which needs my attention? And that makes all the difference.