Over the past couple of days we've been chatting--in the comments here--about getting some cool badges and graphic links for your blogs pointing back to Sonlight.

Well, it turns out that Kristy has had some Sonlight badges available for over a year. Too good to be true? Not at all. Go grab her homemade Sonlight badges now! And if you want to put together your own badges, by all means, do it!

But what if you want an official Sonlight badge? More than that, what if you want to potentially make tons of migs and megs of memories a few coppers? Too good to be true? Almost. But you can sign up and become a Sonlight affiliate and potentially get paid for sharing your Sonlight love. And that's cool!

Now you're probably sitting there thinking, 'Luke, you obviously don't know me, man. I don't want to use no stinkin' pictures on my blog. I'm a text only kind of person. None of them fancy jpegs for me! You don't care about my wants.'

Not true at all! In fact, there is a way to spread the joy of homeschooling with all of your friends through personal heartwarming stories from homeschooling parents from around the world. And it's as easy as pushing a button or selecting copy/paste. Too good to be true? Sort of. You need to have a Blogger blog or know how to add an HTML/Java widget to your blog. Look over on the right there...

Find the Sonlight Moments Widget. If you're on Blogger, click the button. If not, follow the link to the HTML code and paste that into a widget on your own blog.

Wait, there's more! I know you. You're the kind of person who doesn't have time for blogs now that you've discovered Facebook. And so you don't think this post applies to you.

But you're mistaken. That's right: You can become a Fan of Sonlight with a simple click of your mouse. Too good to be true? Nope. Find out how easy it is to become a Fan of Sonlight.

Want more? I totally missed you? Rather not support Sonlight at all? In fact, you loathe Sonlight to your very core?

Tell me about it. There's a cool option to email me. And the comments section is always open (though I won't guarantee that your comment will stay if you spout bile at me <smile>).

And if you're somehow not yet my friend on Facebook, and you don't object too strongly, please add me. I always love more friends <smile>.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Mary Grace wrote about the lifeboat value game. The basic premise: How do you choose who lives and who dies if forced to make that choice?

And this "game" is played in public middle schools.

A similar type question was posed in The Dark Knight--for those of you who are fans of that movie: Two ferries, one with women and children, the other with hardened criminals and guards; both have a detonator to the other boat. If neither of them pushes the button, they both blow up at midnight. The clock is ticking.

Mary Grace ties this to our dying society, and I think she makes some excellent points.

Bottom line: We've got to consider our worldview when we think about today's issues.

And today I ran into the opposite worldview on this whole "nurses offering to pray for patients" thing [NB: He drops a couple f-bombs in his post]. In fact, this issue is seen as a much wider political movement aimed at allowing all sorts of crazy things.

Greg

I can see why people would be bothered by medical professionals proselytizing their loved ones on their death bed. I even get the argument of: They wouldn't want me to offer to pray to Satan for them, would they? But offered in true humility, I think prayer is a very good thing.

This post feels really disjointed, and I think that's because I feel all these ideas are connected but I can't synthesize them down to a cohesive point. But if we hope to progress as a society, we must look to love one another, stand up against evil, and offer to give our seat in the lifeboat to someone else. And maybe that's it: The issues in all these instances is pride and misplaced loyalty/focus... because, honestly, who doesn't want to be cared for, who doesn't want to be respected, who doesn't want society to thrive?

I think what we often forget is that, sometimes, we have to offer to get out of boat to make that possible.

And that's a lesson you'll be able to work on much more effectively at home.

With that, I'm getting out of the boat.

Actually, I'm just going home for the evening.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. Bonus points to the person who knows where the title comes from... since my movie quote was so well accepted yesterday. And, yes, it does apply to today's post <smile>.

I love that moment in Back to the Future when Doc Brown says, "They found me. I don't know how, but they found me!" Cracks me up [NB: This movie has some language in it, and the quotes page reflects this fact].

And every once in a while someone asks me, "How did you find my blog?"

My answer is typically: I'm not sure. I read a lot of blogs, so maybe I was linked to you. Or perhaps you showed up in my Google Alerts for Sonlight or homeschooling.

So far no one has responded with: Who are you? Big Brother?^*

But that day can't be far off. ...especially since I use Twitter search to see what people are saying about Sonlight there. And sometimes I even respond. I imagine it's quite frightening. You type out a pithy 140 character statement about your homeschooling experience and suddenly this "Luke_Holzmann" guy has responded. Who is he? Why he is watching you? What's going on?

This fear keeps me from replying at times.

Like today:

I started preschool at age 4. I used Sonlight, but I recommend the cheap route: READ and use workbooks http://tinyurl.com/d774ne

I held back, even though I wanted to say: Amazon is not cheaper! We've tested that theory.

<sigh>

I know, I know: If you take the time to scrounge around for used copies--especially of a whole Core--you can make out like a bandit. And I'm thrilled for families who can now experience the joy of Sonlight because of opportunities like these. It just bugs me when people claim we're "expensive" when our packages are cheaper than trying to get the books from other retailers.

But I keep my mouth shut--only sharing my feelings with you, my trusted comrades--and bind my time. The day will come when
I will rule the world! <Bwa hahaha ha!>

...did I just say that out loud?

Come to think of it, perhaps you'd better run for it, Marty!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

^*Though people do come back and ask about my connection to Sonlight. "I am the Media Relations Specialist and my parents founded the company."
Nepotism, friends, I haz it.

...that last part is mostly in jest, but I do feel the pressure of that stereotype.

"You have been ... found wanting." ~ Daniel 5:27

If I ever see the phrase "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin" scratched into a public bathroom stall's wall, I will laugh. It would be just ironic enough to tickle my funny bone. But there are other times when people express a similar sentiment that isn't nearly so funny. Like the times people say, "You're not man enough to [insert important and manly ability here]." That isn't nice at all.

Of course, the majority of my readers are moms, so that example is not as personally applicable. Let me think.

...Oh! How about:

"You're not old enough to come with us!"

Shortly thereafter you will likely have a sobbing younger sibling to console.

Well, my dad has been lancing a boil of this nature recently on his blog. The claim he has been dealing with is that "Sonlight isn't Christian enough to be counted among the Christian Home Educators of Colorado."

And the overwhelming response?

"I'm so glad Sonlight isn't 'Christian' enough to be part of this group."

It all depends on whose scale you are using. If you are found wanting by someone with whom you disagree, that's not really a big deal. That would be the equivalent of caring about the judgment of the kid sitting in the bathroom stall and defacing public property. On the other hand, if you are found wanting by a group of well-respected people who have a lot of clout when it comes to your future... that's another thing entirely. If the finger of God wrote that, we'd better pay attention.

And so this issue revolves around the question of "What is Christian enough?" Clearly for some people in the homeschooling world, you must have a "metaphysic" that deluges everything you do with an overtly "Christian" message. And I would say that is writing on the other wall. Sonlight isn't like that--check out reasons 15 and 21, for example.

I wouldn't want to be part of a company that is truly found wanting. And while there is always room for improvement, Sonlight Curriculum is still the best^* Christian home education supplier both in Colorado and the world. We're not for everyone, but that's okay.

Sorry, I'm really close to this subject and I felt I needed to toss in my two cents.

I hope tomorrow I don't come in to a bunch of emails and comments telling me how much this post has been found wanting. <smile> Until then!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

^* Just because I'm biased does not mean I'm wrong <smile>.

Ever have those days where you're just doing your thing over and over again, like life is on the "spin cycle" and there's not much more to it than that?

For me: That was today.

Not that I mind repetition much--[aside: my fingers tend to forget that the "ti" in that word is repeated]--but shouldn't life be more? Where's the excitement, the awe? Isn't there more than this?

Even more odd is the fact that I did a wide variety of things today, to the point of almost being overwhelmed. But they still felt like they were part of the overall "spinning" of life. For me it was web corrections, HTML adjustment, email management and... web corrections, HTML...

<spin> <spin> <spin>

...all while watching the clock do it's own spinning, reminding me of my limited time. Based on the blogs I've read, this is how laundry, meal preparation, and diapers are (and I'm probably missing a whole host of other things). I wish I had a brilliant insight, or super encouraging message.

But I don't.

I'm in the same boat.

The same sinking ship.

The same spinning washer [please mentally insert applicable Calvin and Hobbes comic strip].

Sometimes the phrase "tomorrow is another day," isn't that hopeful. On the other hand, the curse of "May your life be interesting" isn't exactly ideal either. And perhaps that's why the teacher said: A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.

May you find satisfaction in your work, whatever line of work that may be. And if it has to do with your own kids, I'm a little jealous <smile>. Not that I don't find satisfaction in my own job, but that I'm getting antsy about this whole "expectant father" thing....

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I worked on some of the web content for Sonlight.com today. I fixed a mislabeled product--one of the math textbook and workbook bundles was listed as just the workbook... and has been for five months--what!?

If you're anything like me, you don't really think about the people behind the websites you browse.

You mean, someone has to make that happen?

It still surprises me even though I've built my fair share of sites. I still live under the impression that the pages I visit are created by perfect machines that don't make mistakes.

Well, I'm not a machine. And I'm far from perfect. But I am pretty good at fixing mistakes if I know what's wrong.

Example: We now offer the 2009 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia DVD for Mac.

World Book 2009

I needed to find a new image for the 2009 edition. World Book's site only had a very small version of the new cover. So, using my "mad Photoshop skills" I went in and fixed it myself. Now when you visit the Sonlight page you are greeted with the 2009 edition image courtesy of yours truly.

We do our best to make Sonlight's site perfect, but we're a bunch of humans over here. I once put out a plea for your feedback on the website, assuring you that the web guys see your comments. I'm now one of those "web guys" and I'll be taking care of some of those issues (if they're easy, like typos <smile>). So, please, if you see something wrong: Let me know!

But remember: Sonlight.com, like every other site, is not much more than smoke, mirrors, and Photoshop holding a little bit of HTML, CSS, and Java together. My hope is that despite the fragile nature of the web, you will find more than enough support, encouragement, and resources for your homeschooling journey. And if there is a way I can help make it even more effective, I want to know.

Even if the website is a virtual space, we're really humans on this side of the modem. And we're here to help you.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Bob complains to Joe, "I'm switching to BlogPad XanPress because I'm so fed up with eJournal 404."

"Whatever works," Joe replies with a shrug.

"Whatever works."

What an interesting phrase. Who would, in response to someone's cry for vindication in their choice to change, say, "Eh, stick with what doesn't work"?

No one. At least, no one without ulterior motives.

So, yes, as a reasonable person, I suggest you do "whatever works" for you and your family--especially in the homeschool arena (since this is a homeschool blog and all <smile>). The only caveat I would include would be to make sure you have a good idea of what it means for something to "work" before you pitch it for something else.

One of the good ways to decide if what you are doing is working or not is to set some goals. If you're not hitting those goals, it's likely time for a change.

But there are also pitfalls to pitching things that "don't work." I read a great story about answered prayer today which is very encouraging. It's great when prayer "works," yes?

But what happens when prayer "doesn't work"? We get dejected, disappointed, angry, and perhaps give up on that for something else. After all, we should stick with whatever works, right? Who would fault me for giving up on God after He let me down? Who could tell me, "No, Luke, stick with what's not working"?

Sometimes what appears to be not working still is. The analogy that just popped into my head is my alarm clock. It still works even though it is silent all but ten seconds of the day. It's doing something in the background, even if I have no idea what that is and it does nothing to help me now.

And so, as you consider your homeschooling options, and the extra-curricular opportunities you may have, be careful that you don't stop something that doesn't appear to be working when it actually is.

Because who would want you to stop something that's working?

Not me.

And probably not Bob or Joe either.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father