"Professional" Humor

I think most know that Rich and I homeschool our four little darlings. Our state requires end of the year evaluations, so we chose to administer Iowa Achievement Tests. The results came back pretty much as I expected. Unfortunately, they are true to "industry standards":

The doctor's kids are always sick.
The cobbler's kids have no shoes.
The dentist's kids have bad teeth.
The preacher's kids are the wildest.
And, of course...The editor's kids are terrible at grammar, spelling and punctuation!

{ahhh} Humility at its finest.

Because Rich and I feel the best education comes from real life, we homeschool all year round. Since the test results came back, we've been practicing our writing skills. My oldest son's assignment this morning was to write 10 - ten word sentences. I laughed out loud as I read them. Do you remember writing sentences like this for your teacher when you were in middle school??(Edited for spelling errors so as not to embarrass him too much!)

Ten word sentences are what Mom wants me to write.
Doing my workbook is very very boring and very hard.
I have lots of things in my room such as a bed. (Hey! That one has 12 words!)
The library is my favorite place along with the park.

And last but not least:

My grandparents live in Pencilvany and Virginy, we visit them.

Yes indeed. Pencilvany. I guess we'll work on our proofreading skills today, as well as run on sentences, spelling and using the word very properly.

Oh yes! And the next time you're in Pencilvany, don't forget to visit the Irish Potato Famine Monument in Philadelphia at Penn's Landing. It's Liz's favorite.

Photo Copyright © 2006 Janel Messenger - Do not copy without permission.

Wow - Home Again

I am always amazed at how God shows up at the The Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference. Each year it's new and unique, but such a breath of fresh air. Liz and I met some wonderful authors and editors. Hopefully you'll get to see their work soon.

I got to pop into several great classes. Tim Ewing and Rick Marschall had an incredible continuing session on impacting our culture. They talked about Biblical worldview, what it means for us today and how important worldview is for us as writers.

Just one of the highlights from my trip... Laughing as Liz and I wrote our book proposal on the way to Cape May. We had dozens of memories and silly ideas that didn't turn out bad at all. More to come on the book proposal.

We looked for Cape May "diamonds" in the waves of Sunset Beach. The "diamonds" are pure quartz crystals that break off mineral veins in the upper reaches of the Delaware River. They take a 200 mile journey downstream. When they hit the tidal flow against the hull of a sunken ship, they wash up on the shore. Apparently they didn't appear until the ship sunk. It's the neatest thing.

By chance (Providence!), we ended up on the beach at the perfect time. The setting sun glistened on the rocks making the "diamonds" sparkle. It was as close to Eden as I've been in a long time. I wish the picture on the left, below, captured the sparkle of the stones. No matter how many photos I took, I just couldn't get the right flavor. The photo on the right is the sunken ship that changes the current.

Photos Copyright © 2006 Janel Messenger - Do not copy without permission.

This & That

Hello, we're really around. Has it been almost a month since I posted last? Wow. It's been quite a summer for my family.

Liz and I received word that our author Marjorie Bennett passed on to her eternal reward on July 26, 2006. Please pray for her husband Dick and family as they mourn the lost, yet rejoice at her homegoing.

I'm popping on a plane tomorrow morning and heading to Philly for The Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference. There's still time to join us. I expect to see God show up in wonderful ways and come back encouraged.

I published the new issue this evening, but unfortunately, I ran out of time to add all the articles we have waiting. I'll be publishing those sometime after I arrive home. So if I contacted you about being included in this issue and you don't see your article, don't panic for another week or so. : )

In the meantime, have a wonderful week serving the God of All!