The ongoing adventures of the Thomas family at Chenoweth Farm
Sarah has sent in her first report:
dear everyone,
hi. So, I’ve been in Haiti since Thursday at noon, and so far it’s really cool. It reminds me of Mexico in a lot of ways, but not as hot. Yes, I just said “not as hot”. Maybe working outside every day has helped more than I thought. Anyway, here’s the basic overview. On Thursday we Continue reading “Haiti Trip- Saturday 7/14”
For those of you following Sarah’s interest in missions, you may know that she will leave this Tuesday (actually, Thursday- Ed.) for the Caribbean island of Haiti for a fact-finding mission trip, ending with a visit to her boyfriend (who is doing his own mission work there all summer) and his family. You can start by reading her recent support letter, and continue Continue reading “Sarah’s Trip to Haiti, plus Dani’s work there…”
For many, the practices and motivations behind Wahhabi Islam (most terrorists claim this sect, including Bin Laden) are difficult and mysterious. The article linked under News (and here) gives great insight into at least one outworking of the attempt to please God by outward conformity, while ignoring matters of the heart. In fact, one Continue reading “Self Control vs. State Control”
Democrats, Republicans, Independents… even our enemies agree that the U.S. should get out of Iraq. The question is Continue reading “Can we win this thing in Iraq (and why should you care?)…”
Subtitle: “How spoiled cats fit into the scheme of things”
Recently, as some of you know, my family left for various parts known and unknown (see post below), and the LifeForms and I were left to our own devices for most of about 10 days. Many things happened in that time (I discovered how many LifeForms we actually have, for instance…) and generally, things clicked right along. Upon their return, the queen of the house (her daughter actually brought it up first) said:
“Did you spoil the cat?”
It seems, don’t you see, that there has been some disagreement among us regarding topics such as the diet of said cat (milk or no milk), the reliability of veterinary advice we have been getting (cats can’t digest milk- then what have they been doing with it for thousands of years??) and the feline girth (“that cat is fat and lazy!”). Of course, I was non-plussed, since many important events and circumstances had arisen and been dealt with during their long journey, and many important decisions had yet to be made, and … what cat? Ahem! In any case, regarding the spoilation of the royal feline, I have discovered, decided (and am announcing here) that: Continue reading “Cat Confessions”
Last Sunday was bittersweet– my entire family (sans LifeForms at home) was gone in various directions. My mom stepped in and swept her men off to an excellent dinner and afternoon on top of the Kaden Towers in Louisville. At that event, I gave my dad a card and a short meditation on something we used to do together 45 years ago. This was to thank him for all the years I’ve been privileged to be his son, and in his honor, I share it here [more…]
Sun Microsystems was around when I was in college… how long ago was that??? 🙂 Here’s an exchange between their CEO and a new hire:
Jonathan Schwartz, the pony-tailed chief executive of Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW – news – people ), got his five minutes of stage time too. He described how he had recently asked a fresh-faced new hire at Sun what he thought of the company.
“Well, it’s kind of an old-fashioned company,” the 20-something conceded.
“Old-fashioned?” fumed Schwartz. “In what way?”
“You use e-mail,” replied the younger man.
“What’s wrong with that?” demanded Schwartz.
“My parents send me e-mail,” he answered.
So uncool, so 1990s.
Oh boy… e-mail will soon be for little old ladies and old men wearing hats! (HT: Elizabeth Corcoran at Forbes.com)
In this article, Jonah Goldberg makes the case that education should indeed be universal, but there is no need for the majority of it to be done in government schools. Yes, these are public schools, but calling them “government” clarifies who is running them. Take a look at the politicians in the news, then ask yourself if government paid and recruited school administrators somehow get a pass on the worst qualities of those same politicians. Why is it that our tax dollars must fund public institutions? If I take my tax credits and send my kids to a Christian school, and you take yours and send your kids to a Muslim school which teaches that my kids must convert or die- isn’t that what the 1st Amendment is all about? Yes- your kids harassing mine goes too far- but doesn’t harassment happen all the time in public schools? In fact, sometimes it’s the administration doing the harassment under the guise of some PC, stupid rule!
“When Schools Compete, Everybody Gets A Better Education”
Bring on the vouchers/tax credits! Our country will be better for it…
With Memorial Day just past, and the tremendous sacrifices of soldiers and our fore- bearers on our minds, this article about the recent elections in Nigeria should give us great pause for thought. Read it, and Continue reading “Are we thankful yet?”
Yesterday a long-time occupant of Chenoweth Farm passed away. Several of us noticed that Starbuck seemed agitated that morning… by mid-afternoon, he had laid down and died. According to Mike Roberts, a long-time employee and partner, he had first been used to herd cattle here in the early 70’s, and was 36 years old when he died.
May he rest in peace…