Review: The Prayer Saturated Family

This is a good book to read.  I have not read it all the way through mind you, just bits and pieces, enough to perk my desire to read it more in-depth. 

Divided into three sections

• What Happens When Families Pray (8 sub-sections)
• Time to Take Action (3 sub-sections)
• Jump-start a life of family prayer (1 section)

Cheryl Sacks has a desire to reinforce the prayer life in families of believers.  She has therefore provided us with a book full of stories and practical ways to add prayer to your family's way of living.   She adds so many ways that prayer is answered, how it's a true work of God on behalf of his people. 

This is a very practical book written about how prayer can change the atmosphere in your home.   Prayer should be our first thought.

  Sacks tells us this "prayer can help us navigate the often uncertain landscape of life, and seek the direction, wisdom and presence of God along the way. It is amazing how, when we look back, we can see what God has done - especially when we invite Him into our families and allow his His Spirit to change the atmosphere of our homes".

We are often told that we should pray without ceasing, and this book helps us to make that necessary part of our lives of faith, a reality.

The third section of book is a 31 day section of different prayers that one can do as a family, praying for leaders, friends, decision making, schools, evangelistic works etc.  

I cannot say that I agree with everything in the book ... the whole section on the family altar and taking communion only as a family causes me hesitation... but much about the book intrigues, and the fact that it helps stoke the fires of increased conversation with the Lord God, that is a good thing is it not?

Recommendation: This book is definitely worth a read.   Take it prayerfully.  Be willing to be challenged and to be changed.  God calls for us to be prayer warriors... this book will help.

The Prayer Saturated Family
Author:: Cheryl Sacks

Pages: 187
Publisher: Chosen, division of Baker Publishing Group

Type: Christian Helps

Reviewed for: Nuts About Books.

 Amazon.ca: The Prayer-Saturated Family: How to Change the Atmosphere in Your Home through Prayer
Amazon.com: The Prayer-Saturated Family: How to Change the Atmosphere in Your Home through Prayer
 

Recipe: Whole Wheat Rolls and Buns.

This recipe was more complicated to make than I care to admit... Not sure why I found it so, but I did.

Anyways, here we go.

So I made two different sizes though only included the pics of the small ones.  It made a lot of dough (if turning into bread would have made probably three loaves).

Anyways so I made soft ones by cramming a bunch of little balls close together.

Then what was supposed to be harder rolls by making bigger ones that weren't touching.  I admittedly could not really tell the difference except the size. 

How to make them?

What did I find a challenge?
 Scalding the milk, then mixing the milk with the oil without creating a mess, and the rising of the dough seemed to take forever despite a warm house.

I also didn't use as much flour as the recipe called for so that made me feel a bit leery.

Anyways, the buns were made for our Christmas meal, hopefully people like them (though by the time this recipe posts they will have been eaten).  :)

Call This to Mind

Hymns

Holy, holy, holy
Rock of Ages
One day
Our God our help in ages past
Trust and obey
Great is thy faithfulness
Take the name of Jesus with you
God be with you til we meet  again

Scripture

Lamentations 3:19-26

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.

Sermon Notes

Our church is closing, it is a time of lamenting.
Lamenting shows itself differently in different people

Lamenting is  other always the result of doing something wrong.

Jeremiah had many hard things happen to him, hard things not always deserved.   Jerusalem had been destroyed, all he saw was his failures.

We are the same you know....so often only seeing our failures.  Having the shame of the past creep in on us.   These wonderings don't help us.  They only continue to bring us down.

But it doesn't end there though.

Jeremiah remembered something important.   God's faithfulness.

The bible never ends in our sin.   It ends in Christ's saving work on our behalf.
God's love for his people never ceases.  It sticks through regardless.

You are loved by God.

His mercies never come to end.   God continually shows us mercy.  His mercy continues every single day.

Since his mercies are new every day, it means that we have a future and a hope.   A future free of pain and sorrows.  The world and it's pleasures are so fleeting.   But our future...it is imperishable and undefiled, a place of perfection that will be ours forever.

Remember God's faithfulness in those hard times.   He works it out.  All those things that happen in our lives, he works it out.  For our good when  we are called according to his purposes.  Mercies new every single morning..

Great is his faithfulness.

Who is God? Not the Prince of Tyre

 You can read Ezekiel 28-1-10 HERE.

The lament against Tyre continues.   This time specifically against the Prince of Tyre.

The Prince of Tyre is judged because 

“Because your heart is proud,

and you have said, ‘I am a god,

I sit in the seat of the gods,

in the heart of the seas,’

I have to admit, part of me is astounded that a person could think that way.   To think of themselves as a god, yet I am really not surprised.  As the lad and I go through our history books there are many nations whose leaders were actually considered to be gods, or who when individuals gained leadership they said they were a god and could do or command anything they wanted.   So this time it's the Prince of Tyre who has this false notion.

God reminds him clearly.  He is a MAN.  Not a GOD.

Hymn Study: One Day

Just as a fun preamble...I was thinking the other day about hymns I would want sung at my funeral, and this is one of them.  I LOVE this song.

But funeral arrangements aside.... here's more about the author and the songs history.  :)

HEY!!! Happy New Year. Reflections on 2016

Happy New Year dear readers...

Did you stay up late?  Bring in the New Year or did you find yourself exhausted and head to bed early?   Regardless of what you did... may this New Year be one of growth, enlightenment and the knowledge of God's goodness in your life  :)

At this time of year you tend to find a lot of "this is my word for the year" or "this is my verse for the year" posts.   I find those posts fascinating reading.   I really do, they give insight into the person behind the blog you know?   When I find some that I particularly enjoy I will link them up here.  :)

Some word posts: Life.  Cultivate.  Growth.  Simplify. Restore. Crave.

So my top post of the year on this blog has been

Books We've Enjoyed Recently

 I wanted to update you on some of the books we've read lately.  

They've been a varied bunch, but I thought you might like them. 

 The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt.   This is a GA Henty book that took us quite a while to finish.   We did it as a read-aloud, starting with it being a lunch time book and then a bed time book so we could get it done.   I found it very wordy and often summarized sections with my lad.   BUT the tale itself is well done with it becoming not only a story about Egypt but of people coming to the know the Lord and how, in time, it changed an entire people group.    Excellent story.




Here, There Be Dragons   I read this one for myself a while ago and it's been sitting in my "put this on my blog" pile.  :)  Good read, want to read more in the series.  It's a typical protect the world from the bad guys type of fantasy fiction.   Good read though.   Character development, interesting scenes..







Sky Dragons: Dragonriders of Pern.  I freely admit that I love Anne McCaffrey books, and the books she writes with her son Todd... love them too.  The Dragonriders of Pern are one of my favourite fantasy books.  Dragons, danger, people, mystery, drama and they have everything.  I really hope that when my lad gets a touch older that he will love this series as much as I do.  Time will tell eh?

Anyways, SkyDragons takes us back in time to Xhinnia needing to help save Pern.  They land in an area with no caves and no safety.  Where will they nest to stay safe?   read the book and find out!

Recommended reading level... teenagers and up.   Not a lot of adult theme, but there is some.


Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll: Secret Agent Zet Series Book 1.   My son and I absolutely loved this book.   It was a quite read, held our attention, taught us alot about Egypt and her people, and was just a great mystery.  We were on pins and needles as we waited to find out how the bad people would be stopped.  Rest assured they were.   Definitely recommend reading this one.

I think this was a veritas press history book selection but I can't remember for sure.  But go.. get it, read it.  :)

Another one of my favourite authors is Mercedes Lackey.   The Companions of Valdemar is high on my lists of must reads.  :)   Recently I have read Closer to the Heart (The Herald Spy Trilogy Book 2)  as well as Closer to the Chest (Valdemar: The Herald Spy).    I am currently awaiting in the release of book three of this series.. patience is sometimes hard come by...  :)   Anyways, Mags and Amily have work to do in both of these books.   Can they help Valdemar?   We are introduced to some interesting characters in both books.  I particularly liked the addition of a special needs fellow (his name currently escapes) who is able to help out the rangers.  Can't talk well but can do amazingly specialized weapons and works of beauty.   Bands of informants created by both Mags and Amily that work two different sections of society.   A lot of a kindness in these books despite the danger and evil that sometimes surround.   Probably why I like them so much.  :)  

I will warn you.. if you do get hooked on the Heralds of Valdemar series... it's huge!!!   So many lovely books to read.  :)


Well there you have it.. I think I've gotten through all the book in my stake.   Need to do this more often you know?   :)

Three Middle School Books

Today I want to take a moment to talk to you about three middle school books I've recently had a chance to review.

First up is.. what I thought was a touch of an odd book..The title is Secrets of the Dragon Tomb.The characters were interesting and the story was a clever mystery and had twists and turns that kept me alert, but I still thought... it's an odd book.   A mystery wrapped up in a fantasy world.  

The  setting is high society Mars.  Strange clockwork machines,. Pterodactyls gliding through the sky, automatic servants hard at work, and in the north, the great dragon tombs hide marvels of Ancient Martian technology.

Twelve-year-old Edward Sullivan has always dreamed of becoming a spy .... Instead, he spends his days keeping his eccentric family from complete disaster.  BUT THEN his family is kidnapped.  Edward is off to save them. He discovers that spywork is a bit more challenging than he had imagined. . . .

This book was written by  Patrick Samphire and illustrated by Jeremy Holmes.

Recommend it?  I think so.   It's oddity is kinda appealing.   It's not fine literature, but it was entertaining seeing how this eccentric family ended up working together to save the day.

 Patrick Griffin's Last Breakfast on Earth.   Written by Ned Rust.

Mr. Rust introduces us to Patrick, the middle child in a family with seven children.   It's a busy household with a boy in the middle of it who liked science... who could have guessed that such a love would get him into such a mess of trouble?

Alternate realities exist!  Earth - Ith.  Celebrate the odd, teach the expected, be plugged in at all times, or not.   Meet the proscribed rules, do what needs to be done.   or hold on...

Perhaps one should work to save the world?   Yeah, work to save the world and have the biggest adventure of your life.

Recommend it? This book intrigued me.  :)   It was a fun read, and I think most middle schoolers would get a kick out of it.

Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.

Take two children, who form an unlikely alliance, one secure in her family relationship, the other not, the setting... John Muir Wildlife Park.   Add a mystery...something is happening with the wolves at the zoo.   Strange noises and happenings at night...the wolves are dying and no one knows why.  Add the intrigue of John Muir and his lost cabin..can it still be around?

Two snoopy youth, a fast moving vehicle, Yosemite Park, a mystery solved.  History explained.

Recommend it? I have to admit, my son and I loved this book.  Well written with excellent character development.  Good cliff-hangers.  Great story line that left room for questions and considerations...it's good to see a book make a lad think.   I so enjoy watching that.

So there you have it, three very different from each other books....but all with their own intrigues to them.   Depending on what your middle schoolers like to read, these three books just might fit the bill eh?

All these books were sent to me courtesy of Raincoast Books.

A time to be encouraged is coming.. the Virtual Curriculum Fair

Pretty soon the Virtual Curriculum Fair will start for the year 2017.  :)   Fun times eh?

Each week we will talk about different topics like Language Arts, Science, History and the like.   It will be fun and often times I learn so much.  There is SO MUCH knowledge out there it is astounding.  You will find yourself encouraged, surprised, educated, and filled with new material to help you in your life and your homeschool education journey.

But for this first week we are simply introducing ourselves and talking about how we do school and what not.

If you have followed by blog for anytime you will know that we do a little bit of this and that.  My son does a fair amount of school on the computer.   We are struggling with math because he comes at math from a different perspective than I do.   We are going to be adding more art and more geography and MORE Canada and what not.  But we are happy with our history and bible, our science and language arts.   I always see things I want to tweak...but those things need to be done carefully to avoid a rebellious child.

We read a lot and the lad is starting to write more...the joy of your very own story and art work... makes a lad smile.   I hope to share that with you.

I also plan to share some of our favourite art books.   I might talk about our math issues.  Talk about history and how much fun it is.   Who knows what the next four weeks hold?  Time will tell eh?

Weighing out the Sin

I don't know if you are familiar with Tim Challies... he is a Christian blogger who THINKS.  Like really, he thinks.  He writes book reviews, links to good reads, and posts some really fascinating stuff.

I do not agree with everything he talks about, but sometimes he writes a post that really gets me to thinking.    He recently did that with THIS post.   Sex on the Silver Screen - Outsourcing Depravity.

And it's gotten me thinking.

GAH!!!   Like I need more to think on this week.   I suppose part of the reason it has gotten me thinking is that when I am feeling stressed two things happen.

Field Trip: Welland Canal

When we had our trip to Niagara Falls we prefaced in it with a camping trip and a stop at the Welland Canal.   I couldn't make it work to see a boat go through, but we did see the Canal and had a chance to go through the Museum they have at lock 7.

We had a good time at this museum, learning a lot, enjoying the air conditioning provided, and just moseying around together.

Here are some of the things we saw:

We had a good time and were glad that we went.   It was too bad I couldn't coordinate the trip with a boat passing through, but perhaps next year.  :)

Art Series: 642 Big Things to Draw

Do you have a child who likes to draw but sometimes or often comes and says, Mom, I want to draw something but I don't know what!   Can you tell me what to do draw?

Now...if your child is anything like mine, 99% of the ideas you come up with will be summarily rejected.    I don't know about you but... I FIND THAT IMMENSELY  frustrating.   Probably shouldn't, but it is what is right?   Enter in... this wonderful book of ideas.   642 Big Things to Draw.   So many ideas... if a child can't find something to draw in here, well... do they really want to draw?

Anyways, let me tell you about this book, and I have to tell you books like this are MEANT to be used (unless you are my son who would rather grab an idea and put it on art paper).

This is a fairly big book (9.29 x 10.67) that is filled with pages divided into sections.

Each of those sections has a word or phrase written in it.    With a good amount of space to draw in as well, or if you don't want to be constrained by space, get a art sketch pad and draw there.  It's all good.  Just draw and let your mind relax as you bring forth your creative talents.

Everything in this book is large... from jumbo jets, to a zoo, to a giraffe's neck and Lake Superior.  A bit of everything inbetween.   642 different ideas condensed into 304 pages.   Slapped down into a book where the pages are divided into 1/2's, thirds, quarters in different configurations.  Keep the mind sharp eh?  :)

Once a week or so my son and I will grab a book and draw for 15 minutes.   Sometimes we start new projects, other times we continue to work on projects from the week before.  We use this book and others like this book as our sources of inspiration.   It is amazing how simple words can inspire art.

I LOVE IT.

642 Big Things to Draw

Chronicle Books
9.29 x 10.67
304 pages
Ages: all ages can have fun with this book

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Affiliate links provided to help you find this great idea starter for doing art.  

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

The Merchants Hissed...Tyre Lamented

Now it is time for Tyre to be lamented.  When I read the words of this lamentation what I hear is Tyre being very full of herself.

       ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
    [4] Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
        your builders made perfect your beauty.
   ....
    [7] Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
        was your sail,
        serving as your banner;
    blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah
        was your awning.
    [8] The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
        were your rowers;
    your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you;
        they were your pilots.
    [9] The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you,
        caulking your seams;
    all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you
        to barter for your wares.

All these beauty and perfection that comes with loads of peoples from other nations in service to her.  Elishad, Arvad, Sidon, Persia and Lud and so many other places.   All these places working for her and giving her beauty.   Such was Tyre.   Even Judah and Israel traded with her.

So much of Tyre was caught up in the peoples that came to her and her beauty.   The seas were hers.  But all this is to be destroyed.

    [27] Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,
        your mariners and your pilots,
    your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
        and all your men of war who are in you,
    with all your crew
        that is in your midst,
    sink into the heart of the seas
        on the day of your fall.
 .....
    [31] they make themselves bald for you
        and put sackcloth on their waist,
    and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,
        with bitter mourning.
    [32] In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you
        and lament over you:
    ‘Who is like Tyre,
        like one destroyed in the midst of the sea?
    [33] When your wares came from the seas,
        you satisfied many peoples;
    with your abundant wealth and merchandise
        you enriched the kings of the earth.
    [34] Now you are wrecked by the seas,
        in the depths of the waters;
    your merchandise and all your crew in your midst
        have sunk with you.
    [35] All the inhabitants of the coastlands
        are appalled at you,
    and the hair of their kings bristles with horror;
        their faces are convulsed.
    [36] The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;
        you have come to a dreadful end
        and shall be no more forever.’”

Tyre is mourned. Her ships are lost, her merchandise destroyed, her power over the seas... gone. 
She was part of the lives of so many.
It is time of mourning for all who dealt with her.

Sadness and lamentations.

But we are not told why this happened to Tyre?   Was it her pride and greatness that caused her destruction?   She was of use to so many peoples and nations.  And now she is gone and "shall be no more forever.".

Makes me feel sad.

Why were they destroyed?
The implication is they trusted in their ability to be excellent merchants and travellers of the seas.
That they put their trust in their own beauty, and abilities to trade with so many different people groups above that of anything.   They gave no thought to matters of faith or of the Lord.

Tyre is a warning to us.   We need to see beyond our daily life here.  We need to see to matters of faith as well.
 
Faith matters.   It matters more than our smarts, more than our beauty, more than our ability to turn a clever buck, more than our ability to provide goods and services that others want to have.   Faith matters and we forget that at our peril.

The Christmas Mindset

Hymns

O come all ye faithful

While shepherds watched their flocks by night

Angels from the realms of glory

Angels we have heard on high

The race that long in darkness pined

Once in royal David's city

Silent night

Away in a Manger

Joy to the world

Ere zij God

Scripture

Philippians 2:5-11

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Sermon Notes

What attitude should mark the person of Christ in light of his coming?

Phillipians also called the letter of joy as mostly the letter is one of commendation.

How you think changes the way you live.

The mindset we should have
1. The mind of Christ in us
    - Christ is the pattern for how we should live if we believe in him
    - this mindset is in us already if we believe in him.
    - joined together
 So
1. Equality with God does not need to be grasped ....he didn't clutch his Godness to himself.
2. Made himself nothing...a human, a fallen type human,
Not a glorious before the fall human, but a human with the weaknesses brought about by the fall.  But he lived without sin.  A weak body, not a well heart or mind.
3. Became a servant.  We are called to have this same mindset as well.   To be a servant, not seeking after prestige, serving those around us.
4. So obedient he would die.   Obeyed his father in all things.
5. That death would be in grievous manner.  Obedient to the point so what needed to be done would be done.

We need the mindset to seek the good of others.  To make their good a priority.

Sin made us self centered.  This passage reminds us that this is not the way God intends us to be.  His focus is on helping us see the need to care for others first.

Remember this fact: death is punishment for sin.
Yet Jesus died. The sinless one.
His death was the direct result of his obedience.
He took something he didn't deserve.
Taking death on the cross,  in his obedience,  doing what needs to be done,  to save people from their sin.

So have this mind in you.  The mindset of Christ.   Be changed by having a mind of obedience.   His mind is in you, live it out.

Recipe: Cheesy Beef Panzerotti

This is a recipe I threw together one night.

Needed:
One Pillsbury Pizza dough package.  Rolled out.
Cooked ground beef that has been seasoned.
Mozzarella Cheese grated.

I didn't add anything else as I planned to share this with my Brazillian Student (who doesn't do veggies at all), but if I were doing it for myself I would add a bit of green pepper and mushrooms, or even some tomato meat.

Place your ingredients on one side, meat, veggies (if any) and grated mozzarella
Fold the other side over top.   Pinch the sides together well.

Cook it in the oven

What temp??   whatever you normally cook pizza at.  :)  375 I think.... Cook until it's well browned.

We both found it quite filling.

It makes for a filling meal.

Hymn Study: While shepherds watched their flocks by night

 This Hymn is based on this Scripture passage.
 

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”   Luke 2:8-14

This hymn is attributed to England Poet Laureate Natum Tate.    Until 1782, it was the only Christmas carol officially sanctioned by the Church of England.  (source) All others hymns were taken from the Psalms.

Natum Tate and Nicholas Brady collaborated on a Psalter entitled New Version of the Psalms of David, which they published in 1696 to replace an earlier Psalter that had been published by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins in 1562.  The Psalter by Tate and Brady was adopted by the Anglican Church, and endured as the standard work for the singing of psalms for more than a century. (source)

Lyrics to 
While shepherds watched their flocks by night

While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around
And glory shone around

"Fear not," he said,
For mighty dread
Had seized their troubled minds
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind,
To you and all mankind."

"To you in David's
Town this day
Is born of David's line
The Savior who is Christ the Lord
And this shall be the sign
And this shall be the sign."

"The heavenly Babe
You there shall find
To human view displayed
And meanly wrapped In swathing bands
And in a manger laid
And in a manger laid."

Thus spake the seraph,
And forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song
Addressed their joyful song

"All glory be to
God on high
And to the earth be peace;
Goodwill henceforth
From heaven to men
Begin and never cease
Begin and never cease!"

Field Trip: Children's Messiah

It was recently our delight to attend the Children's Messiah at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Ontario.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

One of the singers directed her solos at the children, holding out her hands, bringing out scarves for them to twirl around, smiling at them.   It was such a pleasure to see her delight in them.

The program was about an hour,  and was a joint social outreach programme of St Paul's Cathedral Music Department and Magisterra Soloists.   They did not perform the whole Messiah, but rather select portions with the conductor explaining different pieces to the children.  

They also had some congregational singing: Joy to the World and Silent Night.

The video below taken with my cell phone, so excuse the quality.

We had a nice sized crowd and they served hot chocolate and cookies afterwards

They will be doing this again next year, so if interested book Dec 2 to hear the Children's Messiah.

God's Response to Tyre

Today the whole chapter is one section, called prophecy against Tyre. Rather than print it all out, I've included a youtube video so you can listen to it being read. :)

 As always I will be using the ESV translation to actually do my study.  You can find that printed here.

Today it is Tyre's turn to face the Lord.  Why? "because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste"

In essence Tyre said "WOOT WOOT... here's our chance to grab some goods while they are down and out!!!"

Not good form.
Seriously.

Makes me think of looters after a city gets devastated by hurricanes or floods or fire.   How the nastiness just comes out of the wood work.

Learning gained from Marking Papers

A job I took on this year was marking papers.   For the most part it's fairly easy work, but lately it's also been fascinating work.   The students are writing papers on items that interest them.  Tonight I learned about two things (for lack of a better word) that just fascinated me.

Ball Lightning.
a video that teaches a bit about them.

and here's one in real life

Ball lightning:
The term ball lightning refers to a strange and unexplained phenomenon in which eye witnesses have reported seeing spherical balls of light floating in the sky. They can be the size of a dime or several meters wide. People often compare the brightness to that of a 60-watt light bulb. Though it’s called lightning, it lasts longer than a lightning strike and when it disappears or explodes, it can leave behind the odor of sulfur. There have also been incidents where the explosion was fatal.  They can appear anywhere, including inside buildings. 

Fascinating eh??

 Lion's Mane Jellyfish

World's largest Jellyfish.    I find it interesting how the colder the water is, the larger they get.   Smaller ones are found in warmer water.  Aren't they gorgeous?

 

Large individuals are often red or purple, while smaller specimens tend to be shades of tannish-orange.   Frequent denizens of harsh, Arctic waters, lion’s mane jellyfish are seldom seen below the northern 42nd parallel. Also, they gravitate towards the surface and almost never venture beneath depths of 66 feet.  (source)

I am loving this aspect of writing papers and can't wait to show my son in the morning!   :)