There's a little cleaning up to do (I can't get the blog name to change and I have to figure out blogrolls, etc. here)

and a few other things to play with. But first...grocery shopping.

I'm Ellen, mom to two teenagers; I live, worship and work in Grand Rapids, MI.

I spent most of my life in Arminian churches and about 2003 "Reformed". I am currently in a Christian Reformed Church.

Below is my "beginning-ish of March, 2007" photo

I work full time with post-high-school students with cognitive disabilities for the public school system and I'm about half way through some sort of degree that could go CIS/special ed/regular high school - maybe. Anyway, I've got most the gen-ed stuff out of the way. This semester, Access and Dreamweaver.
Blogging since June 16, 2005; blogging at MzEllen.com since July 1, 2006.

I’m going through Titus 2:4-5

(ESV) “…and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”

(NIV)”…Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

(NASB)”…so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

(KJV)”…That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

1) who is the “they”? “They” are the older women. God has given these wise, dear women a job - a vital job! We don’t grow old in a vacuum and if we (I’m sort of a “tweener”) don’t listen to those who are older - and given this job by God - we shouldn’t expect to be listened to by those God has instructed us to teach.

2) What are these wonderful teachers supposed to be modeling? I’m going to go with the Greek:

...continue reading →

The Blog of Beauty Awards are here!

Here are the categories:

Best Artistic Content
Has the best use of artistic content (photos, graphics, etc.) in daily entries. (This award is for daily content, not overall blog design. Overall design is given in two other awards.)

Best Biblical Exhortation
Does the best job of bringing biblical truth and exhorting others to walk closely with the Lord Jesus. (Blog does not have to be exclusively a theological blog.)

Best Crafts and Projects
Has the best craft and project ideas.

Best Design - Contemporary
The most beautiful blog of a contemporary design.

Best Design - Traditional
The most beautiful blog of a non-contemporary design.

Best Discussion
Has the best discussions in the comments sections.

Best Encourager - General
Has the most encouraging blog content.

Best Encourager for Singles
Has the most encouraging content for being a godly single. (Blog does not have to be exclusively about singleness.)

Best Encourager for Wives
Has the most encouraging content for being a godly wife.(Blog does not have to be exclusively about marriage.)

Best Frugality
Has the best content regarding frugality. (Blog does not have to be exclusively about frugality.)

Best Group Blog
Has the best content of a blog written by a group of three or more regular bloggers.

Best Homemaking
Has the best content regarding homemaking. (Blog does not have to be exclusively about homemaking.)

Best Homeschooling
Has the best content regarding homeschooling. (Blog does not have to be exclusively about homeschooling.)

Best Humor
Has the best humor.

Best Meet for a Mocha
The blogger you have never met and would most like to meet in person for a mocha.

Best Motherhood
Has the best content about being a mommy. (Blog does not have to be exclusively about motherhood.)

Best Quiet Spirit
Demonstrates a beautiful, quiet spirit through her blog entries.

Best Recipes
Has the best recipes. (Blog does not have to be exclusively about cooking.)

Best Variety
Has the most enjoyable variety of content.

I'm off work for two weeks; we have a truly crazy summer schedule. Anybody who has been around people with autism knows that "change is bad" and we have an "on again, off again" schedule. For now, I'm off. And there are a few things on my mind.

1- the role of women in home and church
3- possibly communicating with my old church board
2- getting a website
3- putting my blog on that
4- getting all of my appointments in order (dental, optical, medical, academic counseling, telecourse tests, church)

5- getting my family (the big family/my siblings) to agree on a week/weekend to go camping.

Uh...yeah.

I don't like them. I got a C on my last test and not even a high C. I could get a C in the class - a first for me - lower than Spanish.

I am convinced, though that this professor included things on the test in an order that they did not appear in the book, or in the films. Meaning the test happened before the matieral was presented.

I start another telecourse next week.

After posting photos of my kids feeding the stingrays, I found a photo (love CUTE animal photos) of a stingray...

basically, the clerk for the board of elders says that my letter will be read at the board meeting next Tuesday. He'll get back with me after that.

It is said that the church lags behind the world in trends by about 10 years. Unless the church actively rejects the world's view, how will the church "see" things in 10 years?

Some of these I found amusing, some are outright troubling.

I do want to be able to explain to a 9-year-old boy in terms he will understand why I think it's OK for girls to wear shirts that revel in their superiority over boys

The Urban Institute finds that the children of divorced parents - when removed from the mother's home for neglect or abuse - are often put into foster care, rather than into the home of the father.

The New Gender Gap: From kindergarten to grad school, boys are becoming the second sex

there are more, but these are starter...