The title sounds almost like Milk Toast... which I've never had. How is it? (Please comment if you have an opinion on the subject <smile>)

The title could also refer to a couple hot topics these days, such as homosexuality in the media or public breastfeeding. As much as those are very important topics, to be sure, today's post is about something else entirely: The government and public education.

I read a rather interesting offhand comment today: "The school requires you buy tickets for milk."

Huh?

I think I've heard of this kind of thing before, but it just struck me as odd today. Perhaps it's not as indicative of a "the government will save you" mentality as it seems, but it sure feels that way right now. Almost as if someone, somewhere said, "Milk is good for kids. We can't force them to drink it at home, but we can make them buy it and drink it here in school. Let's pass some legislation for that."

It's just weird to me.

I also read a repost of a story Spunky wrote about the beauty of having choices. It's a fun little tale that is thought provoking. On the other hand, it's an analogy and so isn't perfect. But her point remains....

I am very thankful for the freedom we still have to homeschool our children and choose whether to buy milk for them or not. And I am not against public education, but if you haven't considered homeschooling yet I think you should.

I don't really have anything else to say about this at the moment; just these few loosely related thoughts.

By the by, there are many, many Other Posts of Note today... if you're looking for more content.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Every day at 8:30am MST, we here at Sonlight have the opportunity to get together in small groups and pray. It isn't mandatory, but it is encouraged.

We pray for each other--like the headache I had this morning which seems to have finally decided to move on.

We pray for families who submit prayer requests or I notice out on the blogosphere.

And we pray for various people groups around the world. We use the Global Prayer Digest as a tool to help us learn about and pray for others. You can download the .pdfs for free if you want to try it out with your family.

Praying for others is a great way to help yourself grow. Even if you aren't religious at all, gaining a broader world perspective through prayer digests is a great thing. It helps us think beyond ourselves and consider the issues plaguing our earth. Sonlight carries a nice "coffee table" type book--though it's not hardbound--that offers an introduction to many unevangelized countries and peoples of the world. It's another tool you could use to help gain a more global perspective.

What fascinates me--but I'm rather odd--is that some people are disgusted by the idea of praying for unreached people groups. I can understand that praying for another's salvation can seem horribly self-righteous if you do not see a need for man's redemption. If you fit into this category, please take the positives from this post: Learn about others and think about what you can do to make the world a better place.

But what if you go beyond merely feeling insulted for these people, and, instead, you think I'm rather a fool for praying? What if you've come to the conclusion that God is imaginary? There's a site dedicated to this very idea. I encourage everyone--especially you praying Christians out there--to at least give this guy two minutes and twenty seconds of your time and consider the first of his 10 questions for Christians.

I find it interesting, and I hope you do as well. ...but I've already admitted to being a little strange in this regard <smile>.

How would you respond?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. If you have a few seconds to see something cool, check out the newly redesigned MathTacular.com. It's sweet!

Sonlight's website has a bunch of pages. There's just a lot you can learn about Sonlight. But sometimes this huge amount of content makes it hard for us to catch all the problems.

Take today, for instance: Are the Sonlight IGs Instructor Guides, Instructors Guides, Instructor's Guides, or Instructors' Guides?

After talking it over with Laura Lee, one of the writers here at Sonlight, I learned that currently the official phrase is "Sonlight^® Instructor's Guides."

Oh.

<cough>

The IG page has now been updated from "Sonlight's Instructor Guides" to reflect this change in possessive case.

...but that sentence is passive voice. And that's not good writing. ...but "writing" is a gerund, which should also be avoided, thus requiring a rewrite:

I have updated the IG page. No other corrections in what I have written are required.

There is still much work for me to do. Today, while looking into building an Affiliate link, I ran across the Affiliate Links Guidelines page. As I looked at the sample HTML, I realized that some of it is wrong.

So, I added that to my list of things to improve.

The good news is that this is life: A constant opportunity to improve. Sometimes it's little things, like broken web links; other times it's big things, like character issues.

May you see real growth in your life--and in the lives of those closest to you--today.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I've been saying that this world is mad quite a lot lately. Perhaps that has less to do with the state of the world and more to do with the fact that I get stuck on certain phrases, but that's not entirely the point.

This morning I read a post that featured a picture of two smiling girls who were carrying posters that said things like, "God Hates America." And that just threw me for a loop. Smiling. Apparently genuinely happy. Declaring God's intense hatred toward us.

Huh?

After a very brief Google search [read: I didn't have to leave page 1], I came to the conclusion that Westboro Baptist Church is actively setting fire to bridges.

Burning Bridges

And they seem to be burning the bridge on both sides: I don't think they're acting very Christ-like.

In fact, Rob Bell makes some good points about how it doesn't seem to be working. If you're not so much into Rob, perhaps you'll find Yancey a bit more compelling.

...

On the other hand, how do we build toward those who focus on passages like Malachi 1:2-3?

Back in high school I was rather... pushy... in how I talked with others about my beliefs. I was vocal. I cared. I really wanted people to see the truth. And one day I started to say something and a girl near me said, "Stop it, Luke. I don't want to hear it. Just stop."

That was probably the first time I had to consider the option of keeping quiet.

And perhaps this all comes down to a question that I mentioned yesterday: Who cares more about your soul: The person who lets you come to your own conclusions, or the one who says, "Turn or burn"? And who thinks they are more effective?

Smiling girls. Bullhorns. Bridges.

That's a recipe for madness if I've ever seen one.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

"Worldview" is one of those words that was tossed around in Bible college as if by sheer frequency of use it would gain more meaning. The major problem in discussing worldviews at Biola was that we all came from basically the same one. How do we get a clear picture of a the Buddhist mindset as a group of Christian kids in a Bible class?

I have had the tremendous benefit of a dad who, when everyone is in agreement, takes the opposite side just to make sure all the pieces fit together. And so I was raised on a good dose of questions like

• What does it matter that the Bible is inerrant if we can't interpret it perfectly?
• Who cares more about your soul: The missionary that lets you come to your own conclusions, or the militant person who says, "Accept my god or I chop off your head"?
• And these kinds of questions continue to today.

In fact, I've heard that during some Bible studies people have asked my dad, "Are you even a Christian?" They can't fathom how anyone who follows Christ could ask the kinds of questions he presents.

But we need to be willing to confront such questions. Granted, not everyone is as interested in everything as my dad is. And there are subjects that we must simply throw up our hands and say, "I don't know. Perhaps someone smarter than me will figure it out in the future."

We can't know everything; we must pick our battles. Knowing this, we still must never cover our ears and run away from the questions and the views of others. We must consider them, think about them, and respond.

We will be of no benefit to others if we try to shut them out.

But how do we talk to one another if we come from radically different worldviews? The very foundations of existence are different. Some examples (and, please, feel free to correct my misrepresentations where they occur <smile>):

Liberals believe government is the power that can help us. Libertarians believe the government does nothing but harm us.

Fundamentalists believe the world is set against us. Atheists believe the world is merely where we exist.

Public schoolers believe that socialization is connection with friends and peers. Homeschoolers believe socialization is connection with family and friends.

...politics, religion, education... three big cans of worms. And why?

Different worldviews.

I am so glad for my education with Sonlight that began to prepare me for my encounters with worldviews that differ from mine. To this day, I still enjoy talking with people with whom I disagree because it is my hope that I will learn to see things from their perspective and so better communicate my own. But every once in a while, there comes a point where the gap between us is so large that bridge building takes significant amounts of work.

May you always take the time to build bridges to those around you and never be the one to burn them.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I'm here at my Alma Mater: Biola.

They are trying to recruit me to become the Alumni Chapter Leader for the Denver area. And while we're here, we're spending time with Brittany's family. So, two birds; one stone; good stuff.

I was recently on campus right before Christmas, so not much has changed in these few months. But it's still interesting to be back where I went to college and met my wife. It's fun to walk the campus again. It's good to reminisce and talk about the future.

Biola shaped who I am today. I learned many lessons--more from the people I was surrounded with than the classes themselves. And that's because education has a lot to do with the environment and the people supporting you. The material you study is very important, yes, but even public school teachers know that parental involvement is commonly the key to a student's success. In college, that role is often filled by classmates, friends, and faculty. And that is why where you go to school is such a big decision that dramatically influences the person you become.

As I walked the campus today, my thoughts went back to my early years of education. If the environment and support I found at Biola was so important to my formation, how much more were those early years at home?

Where better to find the support and love you need to thrive in those pivotal early years than in the home?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Every once in a while a major force requires that we change or assimilate to continue to function. Equate such things--children, moving, switching jobs, homeschooling--to the Borg.

If you try to fight, you will be crushed.

"Resistance is futile."

Tomorrow, I will move my cube. Unfortunately, my cube isn't nearly as cool as the one in Star Trek, but it is where I work. And to do my work even better, I have to move. It's a good thing, but it will take a lot of work and adjustment.

Has homeschooling--or some other aspect of your life--begun to feel like a force threatening to assimilate you into oblivion? Are you feeling like you're losing yourself in the day-to-day tasks of life?

Or are you concerned about a change that is about to happen? A new job? Another child? An unfamiliar subject (e.g. calculus)?

If so, take heart! These are opportunities for you to move forward, gain new skills, and find joy in ways you have never experience before. Granted, it may be hard, require self-sacrifice, and be completely unpleasant at times.

In some cases, resistance is futile--and not even a good thing to do. In other situtations, we must stand up and beat back the overwhelming flood that is threatening us, our children, and perhaps, even humanity itself.

And here some people thought I was just moving to another part of the office.

May you have victory in the mundane areas of your life as well.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father