Maybe you're like me, Ava, picturing what that thing will look like when you're 90 and all wrinkles?? I picture nothing but like wavy lines or something! Lol.
For those of you that don't go to church, can't find one that fits, etc, have you tried one of the ones on tv? John Hagee's good. Joyce Meyer, too. My mom looks at John Hagee every Sunday, and she gets more out of that than she did actually going to church.
I am learning so much about everyone here. I think most here know that I have mixed feeling about God and faith. I was raised Catholic and probably would best be described now as Agnostic. Living in an RV and traveling around the country makes me very different. I embrace my differences and love my life. I am with others, though, who would love to have a close female relationship, but can do without it. I have felt welcome here from the very beginning and never be made to feel different. I appreciate everyone here and what they have to add to our community. You should feel free to jump right in wherever you wish and share your thoughts, opinions, and experiences. We are happy to have you here :love:!
I haven't read the whole thread yet, but I chose homeschooling for more secular reasons... basically we got REALLY pissed at our public school system... I'll do it myself thanks! We attend church... mainly to get our kids educated in a relgious way. Hubby and kids are Catholic. I promised to raise my kiddos Catholic when we got married... but I'm still a Methodist at heart. So church is part of our lives, but not the main reason for homeschooling. I found a nice couple of local friends who also homeschool which helped me A LOT! We get together every Friday afternoon for mom talk, and one of the hubby's take the all the kids and do fun stuff with them (mini field trips, P.E., library program etc.) Maybe you need to find your group of friends! Any local homeschoolers around you? Good Luck! Edie (yes, I have a small tatoo of kitty eyes and wiskers on my left shoulder. You can only see it when I'm in my bathing suit. )
LOL! Becky, you crack me up. This happened to my grandpa. He was in the Navy and came home with many tattoos. He had a few Doberman Pinscher tattoos. I remember one of them very well. In my grandpa's older years, the dogs mouth looked like it hung open because of sagging skin. So my grandpa would take the skin from the inside of his arm and move the dogs mouth up and down while he made barking sounds. LOL!
I'm new but... I definitely share your thoughts on church and the like. In researching it was a challenge because there is so much Christian-based curriculum, and while I do believe in intelligent-design, I don't fit into the typical Christian philosophy and have no intention of incorporating it in my son's schooling (except for lessons in ALL religions of the world of course). I have come to realize that that's okay, though! It seems like we all share one common goal--to educate our children in the best way possible. That's enough for me! (By the way, I have a tattoo and want another!)
I TOTALLY feel you!! LOL Being a homeschooling Buddhist living in rural Texas is just the tip of the iceberg on my oddness LOL Let's just say that most things that are "mainstream" --- I don't do. I've been in the front row for both Metallica AND New Kids on the Block. And yeah, I've got 5 tattoos --- and you know what I'm getting for Christmas??? A cover-up on the one of my leg 'cause it was one of those 'homemade' jobbies & I have to go stalk NKOTB again this summer -- and it'll be hot -- so I'll be in shorts -- and I don't want them to see a crappy tattoo. Yeah.... I'm different LOL BUT... keep faith! I've been homeschooling for 6 yrs now and just within the last few months have I found a group of girls I FIT IN with. Really -- not makin' it up!! LOL It CAN happen. HI GIRLS!!!!
NAH you don't fit in, we;re just playing with ya because it is funny... I AM SOOO KIDDING! (((HUGS))) Laja656 is so cool, she always thinks of cool things to do as a group and stuff!
First off - thanks for all your replies guys. sorry I haven't answered sooner but I was out of town taking exams to finish my Masters degree - got a B+ So here is why this struggle has reared up recently - I am in the process of writing some homeschool history and science curriculum to sell - so starting a business. And at first I was like - we have so many excellent Christian based curriculums to choose from - why not make mine secular? Sounds good so far - except I'm not 100% secular and to be honest the God stuff in Apologia doesn't irritate me - I just think it takes things off on a tangent. I love Apologia and I completely, as a scientist myself, resepct his science. It is good stuff and his opinions are well thought out and lead in a logical dirction which is all one should expect from scientific opinions. Anyway - so I started along that theme - that I'd try to stay secular - did some research into the markets and all, but honestly it started to bother me. I do believe in both intelligent design and evolution because if you look at evolution as proposed by Darwin, it had nothing to to with creation. It is a process that happens after creation. The two theories cannot be grouped in the same area - they are different. I am completely at peace with my thoughts on BOTH theories. So, I have been having this inner struggle of which group do I belong to? The Christians or the Seculars...and I don't know, I just don't know. And now I have already written four books for the curriculum and I feel like if I don't get this straightened out then I will never know who my target audience is and maybe that is not sound business. And - I have always had a hard time pretending to be something I am not - so I worry - if I sign the statement of faith to present my curriculum at certain homeschool conventions - will they call me a fake? I mean I believe MOST of it - but is that good enough? So I don't know - this is tearing me up...I don't want to be in business for a few years and then have someone call me out and say I'm not Christian enough and that I misrepresented myself. So I guess my question is - will they accept me as I am or do I have something to prove? The same can be said for the Secular homeschoolers - if I mention that God loves everyone on the final page of a Whales and Dolphins text written for K-3 - or I use the story of Jonah and the Whale to spice up the book, will I be condemned for invoking the name of God? Back to SeekingmyLord's post - I feel like this is my calling right now - definately 100% this is what I am suppossed to do with this curriculum stuff - but who is doing the calling I don't know. I have LOTS of faults, I mean LOTS, but lying isn't and never has been one of them - so if somewhere along the way I get tagged as someone who just wants to make money off the Christian homeschoolers I will take it very badly. And then I started thinking that perhaps this business venture was to allow me the freedom to explore my own inner thoughts on God and religion. I have a good relationship with God - I don't know whose God he is or what he is or anything other than he's been there for me on several occassions. But I have thought more about my "faith" in the past month due to this business venture than I have in the past 10 years. My final thought on the issue is this - I want to include some mention of God in the texts, basic feel-good stuff and that is that. I guess if people don't like it then, oh well. Ok - any thoughts on all that rambling?
Hi. Man....I can hear your struggle. I'm glad that this venture has caused you to start to come to grips with your faith. That may have been the only purpose in the process... I feel like you can only write a book etc based on who you are. Maybe there are others out there who feel as you do and need the texts you're going to offer. I'm thinking of that free science curriculum offered by EMC2'd. I read a lot of it. And it seems to be neither christian nor secular (at least the parts I've read). And I don't think the guys a christian - or not a christian. he presents what he presents based on what he knows and who he is. Does that make sense? I don't think because you fit in neither category that you need to scrap the work you've done. I think if you're writing a curriculum YOU would buy - then there are others out there who would too. Not all secular people don't believe in God or in an intelligent design. On a completely other tangent based on this - have you seen Expelled? It's an interesting documentary by Ben Stein. I just think it's interesting that in your own personal study you've been able to determine that Darwinism doesn't answer the "beginning of the beginning" etc. You might find it interesting to watch. Now - back on track. (((((BIG HUGS)))))
Okay, I think you should go with the secular idea but put a notation in it that there are some things that refer to Creation/intel design, as a discussion type of thing. An dfor flavor. Put that in your opening statement and it should be fine! I know I have found both types of literature for teaching work for me, and yes I am a christian. The world however is not all Christian thus there is tons of stuff to study that include non christian stuff. If all I taught my kids was the bible, I am sure they would be fine but my world states I have to follow certain guidelines in order for them to get a good job some day. Which is the untimate goal after all, through school to college etc and a good job! Now I would not go teaching my kids to do some things the world does, but they know about the world with out being of the world? If that makes sence? I think certain extent , you can combine the two, alow your opinion to be stated as such.. kind of like how Eagle Wings does the Evolution stumpers, they add that in and a few scriptures that you have the choice to look up or not that refer to the subject at hand, animals for us now Lol. Uh... SO Ya, go for it! Do it as a Secular with a few christianese remarks, and make a note of it. Then no one can complain, and who cares if they do btw? No one can write the perfect book! NO human that is hahah! Personally, If I buy a curric and its not what I thought, I will change how I use it, or skip areas, Like the SOTW teaches about different beingings of religions, well at first I thought, OH yuck, but then the way they presented it I found it was actually interesting and unbiased. I was afraid it would be pushing one or the other , but it has not so far. So present your facts in an unbiased way? Hope that helped!
Colorado, this "wrestling" with issues is so good, and such an essential part of being human! I'm just going to go extemp here and give you my immediate thoughts: The largest group of people who will see, read, or study your materials will have no problem whatsoever, I'm guessing. Another group, the ones who do not acknowledge God or any gods, may or may not appreciate your "basic feel-good stuff;" but they also probably won't have major questions. "I don't know whose God he is or what he is or anything other than he's been there for me on several occasions" This statement leads me to believe that the primary philosophy you are contending with is the one which is quite certain about who God is--The Holy One the Bible speaks of---the One who cannot be approached except through His Son who was born to die that we may live. I may be very wrong, dear one, but it seems to me that you may be wrestling with some of the issues inherent in the claims of Scripture. I want to commend you for looking at that issue (as you say) honestly. Wow! Because of your openness, I don't believe that you'll come across much negativity from the people who subscribe to the latter philosophy either. Being one of them, let me be the first to commend you on your integrity and objectivity. We're all pilgrims in our journeys of faith--all continuing to learn who we are in the light of eternal reality and Truth. I wish you well, both in your personal faith journey and in your publications!
PH, I agree We're all pilgrims in our journeys of faith--all continuing to learn who we are in the light of eternal reality and Truth. We to wish you well, both in your personal faith journey and in your publications!
Ha! Just now seeing (after I posted this) that others beat me to commending you, Colorado, while I was in the process of posting! I must be a s-l-o-w type-er or a s-l-o-w thinker, or both! Anyway, the well wishes remain.
(((((((Thank you!))))))) I don't know why I just can't pick one side and stick with it. It is a journey I guess, and no one can make it but me. I feel like I am in the infant stages of something big and that is very exciting, even if I can't see the entire path ahead of me and that makes the unknown a little scary. Funny how this has all happened at the very moment when I complete my other journey. 8 Years ago I decided to go back to school and get my BS and since then I have done some remarkable things, but with the Masters degree being completed, now I can finally say - that is the end of that part of my life, and now I look forward to the future. I am afraid you all have caught me in a transition phase..... :|
OMGosh! I'd totally buy that type of book!!!!! That what type of thing I like in curriculum. Maybe there are enough of "us" out there who would like that. I mean, I'm sure you'd have to explain so people knew what they were getting but there's definitely a market! You know, I closed this out and walked away and then had a thought. Perhaps God has put it on you to write something like this (secular with Bible story reference, etc) so that those who feel as we do won't have to go totally Secular if we dont' want. Just a thought.
As a non-religious person who prefers secular material, here's my opinion. I'm generally ok with a slight Christian overtone. I've used multiple things that mention god in some way. As long as it's just overtones & the material isn't really forcing religion, I'm ok with it. So, I'm sure having a few references to God wouldn't put off the secular market enough for them to shun your curriculum. Just a thought.... Have you considered writing a comparison book? A book explaining, comparing, & comtrasting the theory of evolution & creation, in an unbiased way, using facts? As someone who understands & believes both, you'd probably do a great job. I've yet to find one that isn't biased (one direction or the other), and doesn't try to promote one while discrediting the other. If you wrote something that was completely unbiased, not trying to promote or discredit either, I'm sure tons of people would buy it. I know I would.
Why now? Because now is the time. You have not completed your work--not really--and you know this to be true in your heart. Well, if you are Christian, then you would be asking the Lord if He is honored by your work as it is. If you are not Christian, then this would not even be a concern, would it? My thoughts on this are simply if you are writing this curriculum to please a certain group of people, then you should worry about pleasing them for the marketing aspect. If you are writing to please the Lord, He will provide what you need to market your curriculum. Who is "Christian enough"? Didn't the Lord often use those who thought themselves unworthy? I am thinking of Peter, who even told the Lord to go away from him because he was a sinful man, one that lied to deny he even knew the Lord at a critical time, and yet he was the one on whom Jesus said would be the "rock." Welcome to my world. It was not a homeschool curriculum for me, but I went through the same thing about 15 years ago. I fasted and prayed off and on about the issue for two years even though the Lord continually made His position clear, I just was not so sure I was hearing Him. However, there was a point when there finally was absolutely no doubt left. All I can say is that I always find peace when I seek the Lord.
