The Road is calling.....
Whatever you do whether packing or cleaning do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, we have got a good 1/3 or so of our packing done, we leave for VA for Nationals at the end of the week, return, finish packing and hit the road again.

A closing chapter by Catherine Mullaney (May 21st,2006)
Yesterday we attended a very nice high school graduation of seniors who were educated at home. There were 15 grads and we got to see a glimpse of who each one was through music, speeches, interpretations and of course DVD (the 21st century medium). Each grad received their diploma from his/her Mum and Dad.
It was an honor for us to be invited by 3 of the grads who have become our friends over the last two years.
One of the dad's (not one that we know personally) who is a pastor was slated to give the charge, an exhortation if you will, to graduates. Instead, he was an opportunist - seeing that we were in a church sanctuary he failed to get out of his box and gave a sermon. I have a pretty high tolerance for these kind of things but my son was very agitated and whispered when is this guy going to finish his sermon.
Then I started thinking about what this man was saying and how Michael felt about it. Here were a group of young people most of whom are much more mature than their contemporaries and they are handed an exhortation in the form of a sermon. These are Christian kids who probably here a sermon most Sundays and this weekend they get a double billing.
I guess being a speech and debate mum has made me a little more critical than I use to be. Most of the content was good, but the packaging (delivered as a sermon) was distasteful to me. Perhaps I am old fashion and if you are going to go through all the hard work of cap and gown, procession, wonderful decorations including personal picture collages of each graduate, use of the building, invitation and the like, but you don't hear words from the keynote speaker, that are something along the lines of "you are our future," then perhaps they might want to rethink who it is that will charge your students at the next "traditional graduation" from a non-traditional education.
On a more personal note: It was great to be there and to celebrate with these few families that we have gotten to know over the last two years. Our oldest daughter is not too far away from graduation herself, so the touching moments during the ceremony reached me.
Blessings, prayers and kudos to the Mock, Moore, Morrow families!!

Extraordinary
It has been a while since I have posted. We just returned from GA where Grace competed in Region 8 Invitational Tournament. Let's just say we were very proud parents!! To God be the glory! It was also our pleasure to stay with old friends of ours in Marietta, Todd and Judy Marek.
This week we are doing our best to just be (I could elaborate if you want me to - just ask). Next week we will start packing to move and then we will all be going to Nationals and when we return we will finish packing and hit the road again.

I finished reading The Barbarian Way by Edwin Raphael McManus
Some more quotes:
"You are the recipient of the God who cannot be tamed and of a faith that must not be tamed. You are no longer a prisoner of time and space, but a citizen of the kingdom of God - a resident of the barbarian tribe. God is not a sedative that keeps you calm and under control by dulling your senses. He does quite the opposite. He awakens your spirit to be truly alive.
....you are most fully alive when you are on an adventure with God."

"Jesus was anything but the poster child for status quo."

"To see from a kingdom perspective is to know that there is a conflict of invisible kingdoms and that people's lives are forever changed by what happens in the unseen. We are called to be warriors of light in dark places. We are mystical warriors who use weapons not of this world."

When you understand what Jesus means when He says that you must follow Him, you finally realize that this is not a cattle call. He is not calling you to the same life that everyone else will live. He's not even calling you to the same path that every follower of Christ will walk. Your life is unique before God, and your path is yours and yours alone. Where God will choose to lead you and how God chooses to use your life cannot be predicted by how God has worked in the lives of others before you."

"Is it possible that the transforming power of the church has been lost because we keep inviting people to step into the comfort, safety, and security of Jesus Christ? We've created a religious culture in which - even though we're the most blessed society in the history of the planet - our best selling literature still focuses on how we can be more blessed. May we need to step way back to the beginning of this movement."

"When barbarians travel together, . . . they walk together as free individuals joined not by standardization, but by spirit."

"When the Spirit of God comes to live within you, you strangely become aware of your inadequacy and your extraordinary potential. "

"Rhinos moving together at full speed are known as a crash. Even when they're just hanging around enjoying the watershed, they're called a crash because of their potential. You've got to love that. I think that's what we're supposed to be. That's what happens when we become barbarians and shake free of domestication and civility. The becomes a crash. We become an unstoppable force."