Country Ham Festival

Pig Racing (with Loretta Loin, Shania Swine and Squeely Nelson)--Hamwalk--Hog Calling--Food--Family Fun--Fireworks!
Last Saturday we went to our first southern ham festival---and I didn't even get my biscuit! Will have to get over to the Loveless Cafe I suppose. The Ham Festival is held on the grounds of the Tennessee Children's Home and helps support the young people who have been neglected, abused, abandoned or orphaned. It was a beautiful day and Charley played electric with Kelsey Muse's band. There were at least 100 people watching the performance, however, they could be heard throughout the park. They were "Hamtastic" (sorry!) and of course this momma is proud.

Be The Change

I just finished reading a book written by a 15 year old boy entitled Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World by Zach Hunter. This young man has a passion for seeing the oppressed find freedom. At this young age, he started a program called “Loose Change to Loosen Chains” which encourages youth in particular to get involved in helping to free modern-day slaves. He wants us to be advocates for the voiceless: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9
Here are a few facts he mentions in the book:
27 million: Number of people in modern-day slavery around the world. (U.N., Amnesty International)
17,500: Number of foreign nationals who are trafficked into the U.S. every year. (U.S. House of Representatives)
91: Number of U.S. cities with reported cases of human trafficking. (Freetheslaves.net)
50: Percentage of all victims of human trafficking that are children. (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations and U.S. Department of State)
800,000: Number of persons trafficked across international borders each year. (U.S. State Department)
$50 Million: U.S. government budget for efforts against human trafficking. (U.S. State Department)
$19 Billion: U.S. government budget for efforts against drug trafficking. (White House Drug Policy website)
218 Million: Estimated number of children working between the ages of 5 and 17 (International Labor Organization)
126 Million: Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor (one in every twelve children ages 5-17) (UNICEF)
“God has a plan to help bring justice to the world--and His plan is us.” Gary Haugen, President of International Justice Mission
Luke 4:18-19 The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Because He annointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. To set free the oppressed. To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

Zach speaks of his passion all over the U.S.A.: at music festivals, concerts, churches, youth groups, and TV. He wants to be part of the change. Do you?

What is “Loose Change to Loosen Chains” all about?
“‘Loose Change to Loosen Chains’ is a student-led campaign to rescue victims of modern-day slavery.” It emphasizes three steps to get students involved in raising funds:
a. Educate family, friends, and community on modern-day slavery
b. Collect change through various activities and drives
c. Submit funds and success stories

How do these people find themselves in slavery? Sometimes they’ve borrowed money to pay a debt, such as a medical bill. They end up being in debt to the lender, ending up in a rock quarry breaking rocks by hand, making bricks, rolling cigarettes, cutting gemstones, or trapped in brothels. They are often beaten or threatened with violence if they try to leave or aren’t producing what they should.

Several organizations work to put an end to slavery, rescue victims, provide legal advocacy, support aftercare and restoration services for people coming out of slavery, and educate people about the global problem of slavery.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Henry Horton State Park

Wilhoite Mill and Village were developed in the mid-1800's and were home to a three-story inn, post office and a mill and dam. The mill operated for more than a century. The wooden structures were destroyed in the early 1980's leaving only the metal gears and wheels that remain today.
Oak-hickory is the most prevalent type of forest in Tennessee which comprises nearly 3/4 of all forested land.
The Duck River runs for almost 270 miles and runs through Henry Horton State Park.

Can't Get Enough of the Amish Countryside

Amish Country

Stop in for Breakfast or Lunch & The best Darn Fried Bologna Sandwich in Middle Tennessee! Or maybe you’d prefer the World Famous Amish Slaw Burger! Hey, you get free Sweet Tea with your food order.
Those are just a few items served at the Amish Country Mall. Last week the "girls" had a day out and drove down to Amish Country about 45 minutes south of us. It was a beautiful day even though warm and a bit humid. I’ve only been a little bit curious about the Amish but actually visiting their farms and seeing them driving down the road in their horse drawn buggies peaked a greater interest. It is said that the majority of the Amish here are from the Old Order Amish. They do not own or drive cars and they live without electricity or indoor plumbing. They speak a dialect of German, known as Pennsylvania Dutch. There are about 200 Amish farms in Lawrence County who began migrating here in 1944.
The Amish run their own schools and they begin at age 6 and continue until the age of 14. Then they work for their family business until the age of 21 when they are to leave home and begin to support themselves.
While driving around the Amish community, their farms were open to the public to purchase a variety of items they produce--from fruits and vegetables, to candy, furniture or porch swings. (By the way I found a beautiful one but we have no place to hang it at the time.) If they have anything to sell, they put signs up at the end of their driveway.
One interesting site was to see the clothes on the line. The reason this was interesting was because it was a line that went from the house, across the yard to the top of a telephone post (at least that’s what it looked like) with the use of a pulley. So thhttp://bl129w.blu129.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=1&messageId=93385b82-a20c-4784-a38a-532410e558c4&Aux=44|0|8CBF6537B87C320|ere was ALL kinds of laundry--meaning quite a bit. The little boys were dressed in their dark blue longsleeve shirts and long pants with a dutch-boy cut under a straw hat. The ones we saw at one farm were rather shy and hid from us.
In one of the pictures, you’ll see what looks like a wooden cage. I’m not sure of the name but it hooks to the back of the horse or mule and holds the corn as it is picked from the stalks. (And the sweet corn was delicious.)
We saw several mules and donkeys which must make for sturdy work animals. One type of mule was beautiful. I was told by a friend that it might be a Belgian cross. There is a picture of it on this page.
All of the farms are closed on Sunday which is the day they have church. The churches are usually held in their homes and Sunday evenings the young people gather for the Singings where they can visit with other young folks their age.
In town there was a Dutch Bakery with some delicious baked treats including Amish Friendship Bread, as well as canned jams, jellies, pickles, etc. We hope to go back real soon for some more of that sweet corn.

Homeschooling

I want to give a "shout out" to all the homeschool moms and dads out there. You all do a great job caring for your children and teaching and training them to be the young people God wants them to be.
I began homeschooling our three (at the time) back in the early eighties before teaching your children at home was "the thing to do". At the time, we lived in Washington state. No one that we knew was homeschooling at that time. We had no support system except for one another and my family. Jim comes from a long line of public school educators so they weren't real keen on the idea, however they weren't too negative over the years and finally seemed to be okay with the idea.
We soon found a support group that helped us through the first couple of years. We met with a credentialed teacher once a week and had opportunities for classes and field trips.
The first books I ever read on homeschooling were:
No More Public School by Harold Bennett
Teach Your Own by John Holt
Though these authors weren't necessarily Christians, they made some important statements that I tended to agree with. Even Christians in our "sphere" thought we were a little eccentric for trying something so "new" to them. At the time I really felt this would be a good match for our family.
Though I had read the books beforehand, we didn't take the children out of school until 1st and 3rd grades. The two oldest were going to a Christian school at the time and we were happy with it for the most part. When our fourth came along, we decided to homeschool him as well.
Over the years, we belonged to support groups through both public and private institutions. I taught classes for other children as well as my own, concentrating on literature, science and world geography/missions.
The main question was always "What about socialization?" and I imagine that is still asked today. Well, our children were always involved in a variety of outside activities, whether that should make a difference or not. They were in sports, church activities and family activities--they kept busy.
As the children have grown, they've decided on their own when it was time to take a class they had an interest in. Our eldest is a freelance photographer having had a couple of basic courses on the subject from a community college but most of his training has been on the job as a photographer's assistant. He's worked with Yamaha, Nike, City News in Seattle magazine, as well as various catalogs. Our next has taken a few courses through Youth With A Mission University of the Nations and was a missionary in Madagascar for 9 years. Our third child has had a passion for music since a very young age and has used that experience as a music buyer and working for a Christian music distribution company. Last but not least, our youngest is deciding on his future and is very involved in music as well and currently apprenticing with a music producer and working on the side. Though only one received his education at home all the way from K-12th grade, the others homeschooled most of their school years. I'm quite proud of all four of my children and what they've accomplished, and have yet to.
HOORAY! for homeschoolers all over the world. Let's pray for those who struggle with unfair laws.

Worship in Pink

There's always that thought in the back of my mind--"It could return at any time." What could return? The cancer. However, today's mammogram looked good, for which I'm thankful, but I'll wait for the final word from the oncologist.
"Worship in Pink" is coming up August 28-30. If you'd like to support breast cancer and bring awareness to others I encourage you to wear pink to church on one of those days.
In October I hope to be involved with the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure"
5K Run/Walk. Check online for a race near you: 5K or 3 day walks at ww5.komen.org/findarace.aspx
I do what I can to prevent the return of the "cancer monster"--regular check-ups, popping meds and routine mammograms. Trying to eat healthy.
I tend to get razzed that my pills make me crazy--actually moody, and I often zone out while listening to Emmylou Harris, but, hey, I figure I can blame it all on meds and senility. LOL!

BE AWARE--TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF--DON'T FORGET YOUR SELF EXAMS!
EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES!