The End

Alas, all things come to an end, and with the close of 2012 (and, of course, the end of the world) this blog has also reached its termination. It's been a good experiment. I never realized how much dedication it takes to post every week, much less every month! Someday I'll start again, more likely on a different topic, but for now school is taking over. So, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! God bless!

Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Bible Midterm

Oh, yes. Homeschoolers do indeed have midterms--at least this one does. In the past few years I've had my share of them, but this year, thankfully, I have only a Bible midterm. And it's happening today. 

 

 

Bible class has been a huge blessing. My pastor used to teach it years ago, but eventually stopped. Then, my eighth grade year, he began again. The classes are always a healthy challenge. We have quizzes every week, a ten page term paper, one or two midterms, and a final. The first year we were also reading an entire book of the Old Testament a week. This year the topic is John, so we're only reading a chapter a week. 

 

In addition, my Mom is holding a ladies' tea for the mothers of our homeschool group this afternoon. What with cleaning the house, piano lessons, and studying for the midterm, today will be a pretty busy day, so I'll leave you with a verse and get back to work:

 

Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Do you have midterms this year?

A Swift Study in Stereotypes

She's a rough and tumble tomboy--twice as good at everything the boys are good at--and she knows it too. She despises cooking and cleaning and sewing and all the things that girls are "supposed" to do, although it shocks her mother. And whenever a group of men can't seem to figure out how to solve a problem, you can count on her to have the answer.

Have you ever experienced this kind of character? It seems like everywhere I turn, there she is, whether in the shape of a little girl on the American frontier or a shepherdess in Bible times. Why can't little girls just be little girls sometimes?

When I wrote my first novel, my goal was to go in the completely opposite direction of this stereotype. My main character, Gloryanna, was a fussy princess, too scared to step outside of her own door. The only problem was...she was a wimp, and who wants to read about a wimp?

There's a balance here--a careful line dividing these two stereotyped and ultimately boring characters. By going in the opposite direction of your typical tomboy, Gloryanna actually contributed to the negative idea that being a girl is somehow a bad thing. In reality, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being either a girly-girl or a tomboy--I've wanted to be both at different points in my life. Ultimately, you are who God made you to be.

I haven't talked about writing much on this blog, although it is a passion of mine. Many homeschooled writers are able to write more because of their relaxed schedule. Not this one. Oh, that time exists somewhere in space, I just haven't yet mastered the art of saying "no" to an hour of looking up The Hobbit movie or browsing Pinterest during lunch break. ;) That topic, however, is for another post.

Just remember to be who God made you to be, no matter what!

1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

What is your opinion on these two stereotypes?