The "Excitement-pedia"

The students have begun SAT testing this week,and will continue for a few days next week as well. They have stayed relatively quiet, asked a few off-the-wall questions, but have basically slowed down, listened to directions, and TRIED to stay as non-antsy as possible. After testing however, it's no holds barred on the release of energy!!! Kinda like a wind-up toy....


Anyhow, today while they were running around the gym, Mr. Jamie came in to watch them for a bit. One of the girls came over to him, and was talking about what I'm not sure, but she began to list off a bunch of books. The College Dictionary was one, but then she mentioned the "Excitement-pedia". ("The what?!?" Mr. Jamie and I said.) The Excitement-pedia. (Yup, that was what she said.) "You need to use the "Excitement-pedia!"

So, just remember, when you have to look up some obscure fact, you should use the "Excitement-pedia." Maybe it will make it easier and more fun.

Speaking from the Heart

Job 8:10 - Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?

Out of the heart, the mouth speaketh…


What things children say! They are so clear in their speech. The things they say come out simple and straight, and to them, they do not mean to hurt or offend the person to whom they speak.
Several times, mine have started a statement with, “Miss ______, I don’t mean to be disrespectful… but…” and of course they are not at all being disrespectful! They are gently probing an area that they wish to learn more about. They are simply stating a fact that they see with their clear, open, child’s eyes.

Children see things in a light that is dim to an adult. As a child grows, things become clouded, skewed, warped, twisted, and darkened to a point that they can no longer understand as a child.

The Lord wanted the little children to come to Him, because He knew how easy it was for them to trust and believe! Their minds are open! They suck in anything they are told! Their minds are sponges, waiting to be expanded to the hilt, dripping with knowledge, ‘til they are wrung out on some other little one to be sucked up again.

Sometimes, a child can suck up things that he or she should not know as a child, and this causes them to lose the innocence early. War, killing, hate, hurtful words, cruelty. They don’t come up with these things on their own. They see them in others, or in things.

Each child is born with a sin nature. Naturally, they want to head toward the wrong. A baby cries for attention. (I want!) A young child plays rough, snatches, and then it hollers when the toy is snatched from them! (Again, I want!) Selfish little things, we all are.

When a child is given those things that they want, they soak up those things not needed. They are given greed, lust, selfishness, pride, anger, and much more. Instead they should be given love, kindness, a good work ethic, family values, truth, and manners. They cannot tell what they should have, or should not have. That is why the adults need to carefully give them information, and help them discern between right and wrong, all the while, teaching them to make good choices, so they can do so when the time comes.

We are so responsible for the little ones. Don’t hinder, or stop their little mouths. Even if what they say astounds you, cuts you, hurts you, amazes you… think about that they said, and don’t stop their thoughts. Let them come out. And direct them, in the way they should go.

Proverbs 22:6 ~ Train up a Child in the Way he should go, and when he is Old, he shall not Depart from it.

Good Charlotte ~ A Nature Walk

Wordless Wednesday

You Have Arrived....

Your eyes are closed tightly, and you hear the jangling of harness and gear on horses. They knicker and whiney to each other as they plod along. In the distance, the hollow thumping of the wagon wheels, as it lumbers heavily over the Georgia clay roads. The twitter of the birds awake before daylight. You open your eyes, and feel the chill of the early morning on your face, combined with the hot steam from your tin coffee mug wrapped snuggly in a scrap of wool as not to burn your hands. The sunlight filters through the thick overhang of tree branches woven together like an amazing tapestry worked by unseen hands. The blacksmith has just begun to heat his metal, and in a moment his hammer will ring with a clear resonance, like the bells of the town church. A young lad from the carpenter’s shop is sweeping out the last nights shavings, and carefully eyeing wooden blocks to be used for the day’s projects. The gunsmith’s shop is open and ready for business, the Mercantile already bustling with ladies looking for goods, and gentlemen sending letters, and discussing politics in hushed tones. The time would come….

Walk down the sandy lane towards the Farmhouse, and sneak around back to the porch. There are yellow grits, plain and unseasoned, in a large bowl. Mounds of white-shelled hard boiled eggs heaped nearby. Salt-cured ham sliced thickly, jams, jellies, fresh bread, creamy butter, and more hot coffee. Help yourself… we don’t mind!

After you’ve eaten, and jaw-jacked a bit with the locals, head up towards the impressive courthouse square. Although the local sheriff may or may not be around, chances are, he and his Deputy will take care of whatever comes up. Across the way, the schoolmaster, looking stern and knowledgeable, waits for the children to come slowly to their lessons. The young lads and lasses, some being bribed by a sweetmeat, reach the Door of Learning, and enter therein. All around, the town comes to life, bustling swiftly by, hither and yon, as quickly as a Southern town can care to mosey.

And the tavern? Over yonder, just on the edge of town, life stirs inside. One might not be so sure of that fact. Considering the doors closed at eleven last evening, it is a wonder that someone is up by mid-morning!

I come back around to my porch, in the clean swept yard, under the sparse trees. Just a few short steps from the porch, 2 heavy iron pots, filled with lye soap, and bees-candle wax are warming from the cedar wood fires underneath. The washtubs are brimming with cold fresh water, and a chunk of soft lye soap waits on the board nearby. That’s when the Sheriff arrives, and serves me with a summons to appear in Court in just a few short moments. Apparently, he’s been hunting me, while I’ve been hunting him to collect the prisoner’s laundry.

Welcome to Westville ----