Sonlight carries a cute little book titled "A Grain of Rice" in which a humble farmer asks to marry the Emperor's daughter. The Emperor refuses, so the man asks for a single grain of rice. Insulted that the man has gone from his daughter's hand to a grain of rice, the Emperor insists he ask for more. So the man asks that he be given a single grain of rice, and that that number be doubled each day for a hundred days ...with fantastic results. A very enjoyable read.

But as great an introduction to exponential growth as that book may be, I'm here to tell you about a different opportunity: The Sonlight Rice Bag Project.

You can download the introductory letter that was sent out to Sonlight customers here. And while we sent this letter only to Sonlight customers--since those are the only names and addresses we have--you are free to join in, even if you aren't a Sonlight customer. So sign up and tell all your friends!

We may not be able to provide an exponential growth of funds over the next hundred days to provide literacy classes for India women, but with your help, we can raise $200,000 for literacy classes in India. I could go on and reiterate what has already been written, but they've said it better than I could. So, check it out. Get involved. And invite others to partner with us in changing lives in India forever.

Get the Sonlight Rice Bag Letter here.

Find out more here.

One last note: After you have collected change, please feel free to cash it in for a check or contribute to Mission India online.

[NB: Be sure to let them know that this is part of the Sonlight Rice Bag Project so that Sonlight can double your contribution.]

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

...and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight [Psalm 19:14].

I like to think about things.

That trait has been with me since a very early age. In fact, there was a time in Jr. High where I had already thought about every topic that was brought up around me. I felt pretty smug about that, but I think I was pretty smug about a lot of things in my early years.

And today.

But as I've gotten older, I have found that I don't have concrete nor concise thoughts on a great many subjects. And I think about quite a few more that I don't think others are necessarily comfortable discussing. And this poses a problem for me as a blogger in the homeschooling world: How do I write things that aren't going to bother people unnecessarily? How do I link to things?

This came up today because I read a post that I found very interesting. So I felt like I should share it considering it really was another "post of note." But now it is staring at me in the "Other Posts of Note" section on my sidebar there, and I wonder, How will people respond when they see an article titled In Defense Of Halloween on this blog?

I mean, sure, I didn't write the thing, nor did I make any comment as to how right or wrong I thought it was, but by sharing it from this blog, someone could easily get upset. So then I think that I should probably comment on why I shared it, but then I also think, Come on, people need to grow up. If they don't want to read it, don't read it. I'm not making you. But then I immediately realize how immature of a response that is. Why so defensive? Probably because I'm anticipating an attack.

And so my head turns.

I don't have this problem on my personal blog (as much). There I talk about what I'm thinking about no matter what the content matter. But here--and in everything else I produce for Sonlight--I am held to another standard. I have to play to the strictest sensibility of propriety... within reason.

But I've been allowed to be myself, find my own voice, and speak truthfully on this blog. This is not a place for Sonlight marketing and polishing. This is me, Luke Holzmann, talking about my thoughts on Sonlight and homeschooling.

But my thoughts will reflect on Sonlight, whether we are in agreement or not.

And that is a burden I've known is there, but am feeling more acutely today. I have recently not linked to posts that I thought were interesting (or funny) due to mild profanity and potentially questionable photographs (of children, no less).

[Pardon me while I smirk. Okay, I'm back.]

After letting this mull around in the back of my mind, I have come to a thought, a prayer, a hope that I do my best live out in my writing. It is a cry that I quoted at the start of this post:

May the words of my posts and the links from this blog be acceptable in Your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Now I'm very interested in your thoughts.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

...hyper. Energetic. Active. Squirmy.

Or so I've been told.

I was actually a very mellow kid, at least from my recollection of calmly doing my studies. (You'd have to ask my mom how she remembers me to get a more balanced perspective.) But even if I was an enthusiastically creative young man growing up, I don't think I ever had a real problem with sitting still.

A Photo of Me Doing School sort of...

But this is hardly the case for everyone. In fact, Nan got me thinking about this today after reading her post over at "The Well Drained Mind." It's long as far as posts go, but a great example of creativity in dealing with the extreme excess of exuberant energy embodied in the events exhibited everyday by the less sedate among us.

The post once again reminded me of a fantastic chapter in "Why Gender Matters" where Dr. Sax talks about how all-boy classrooms can accommodate the kind of kinetic energy many boys have. Sax describes an all-boy classroom where the teacher allows his students to position themselves however they like during the lessons and reading. So, while one boy slowly spins in a circle, another is flopped on the floor, while another sits calmly in his seat. Had this been a mixed classroom, Sax points out, this would have been terribly distracting for the girls, but actually helps the boys focus.

And looking back on my own experience in homeschooling, we were allowed to sit wherever we wanted during school. And I've seen plenty of photos in the Sonlight catalog that show this works for both boys and girls. We also played with Legos while my mom read to us. It was sometimes a little loud when we were digging through the bucket for a 2x4 thick red piece, but it worked well. The more artistic of my siblings sometimes doodled too.

All that to say: Even if you and I may not have an over-abundant amount of energy at our disposal, I think it is far better to let those who do expend it rather than try to force them to contain it.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, whether you were, or have, a hyperactive student:

Hyperactivity - Mark Lowry

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

After looking over the blogs that were submitted for Sonlight's Blog Day extravaganza, I decided I couldn't possibly leave two blogs out, so everyone will get listed here. So here they are:

1. A new blog: "Homeschooling Apropos." Looks to be a great source for articles that homeschoolers will enjoy.

2. A blog that follows the various thoughts of a homeschooling mom over at "Half Pint House." A little bit of everything over there!

3. Another blog that covers the thoughts and experiences of a homeschooling mom: Ganeidas Nest. I've been following this one for a while.

4. "Reading Circle Books" covers a multitude of subjects including: Reading, Learning, Hoping, Blogging, Being. Plenty of links to articles that inspire thought, laughter or response.

5. "Up on the Roof" contains a bit of everything...pregnancy stories, recipes, theological ramblings, and frugality tips. Things that have made me laugh more than once.

6. Want to read all about farming adventures, homeschooling, quilting, soapmaking, and art school escapades? Look no further! And Sew On!" is the place for you. Lots of fun photos to help you get into the experience.

Now to finish this out:

7. This blog, of course! Can't help but give myself props <smile>.

So, there it is. Hope you had a great Blog Day and Labor Day. Now I'm off to catch up on the 408 posts in my Reader. You bloggers sure do write a lot!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

So, what is Blog Day?

Blog Day is an international holiday for bloggers who want to connect with people and blogs from across the world that they otherwise might not get the chance to meet or experience. It's a day to learn about new perspectives, share some insight, and expand your circle of friends even further, just by exchanging a few web links.

And now the big question is, "How will it work?"

Here's the link for the Blog Day posting instructions. It's not at all complicated. We're excited to see all the fun and interesting blogs you have.

So what is Sonlight going to do for this crazy holiday?

Well, post a comment on this post with a link to, and a short description of, your blog. Then, after I sort through the amazing links you all throw our way, I will choose five of them to post on the blog and encourage everyone to visit. Pretty easy, eh? So join us in celebrating this unique holiday and share in the community, sense of exploration, and discovery that Sonlighters have come to love.

Also, if you'd like to share Sonlight with others through your blog beyond just Blog Day, there's a quick and easy way to do so. We've designed a widget just for you that shows the latest three "Sonlight Moments". All you need to do is copy and paste the code into your blog's source code or an HTML widget. If you are uncertain how to do that, let me know. I'm always happy to help.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Blogger, Expectant Father

The homeschooling blogosphere has been filled with the news of Dozer's death. I don't know Marsha or David and haven't been following their blog very long. Even so, I keep bringing them up in morning prayer.

Every morning, employees here at Sonlight gather to pray together for unreached people groups, things going on in the company, our lives, the lives of those we know, and our customers who submit requests. We mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. But sometimes it is hard to go back to work after a particularly sobering morning.

But we go back to work because life goes on, even if life will never be the same for those for whom we have prayed. Yet despite the pain, the changes, the gaps or lasting aches, life doesn't change all that much for them either.

And that's the thing that is tweaking with me today: Life isn't the same, but it isn't that different either. Like graduation, marriage, a new job, moving and many other major life events, life permanently shifts but doesn't change that much. We still go to work, spend time with our family, eat, sleep... we're still ourselves, just slightly altered by our experience.

And so it felt odd today to write about the trouble we have been having with Sonlight's website. I mean, that is such a small detail compared to death in a family. But, on the other hand, with the website down, families cannot get access to the materials or help they need. And while it makes perfect sense to pray about both, it feels odd to write about them both as well.

Sorry. This post has been mostly my musings and jumbled thoughts, and I felt I had to get them out there. It has taken me three tries to get to this point.

So we're praying for you and your family, Marsha and David. And we're also working on getting our site back up. We would appreciate your prayers as well--especially for Kurt, our IT guy who has been up almost all night.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Kelli Crowe got me thinking this morning. Her latest blog post is about a project her sons have been working on. It's really cool, but she notes that

Currently, David likes to write in all caps. ...I think it['s] more about expressing his individuality than anything.

I completely agree.

Over my already long, decorated and prolific writing career <cough, cough>, I have realized something about my creative writing: I do it for my own enjoyment. This is most acutely demonstrated in my poetry, which few enjoy and even fewer understand.

I have written a ton--including an 82 page, single-spaced, 10point Times font rambling poem that acted as my journal over one of my college summers. The "Tome," as I fondly titled it, has been read by two people.

Two.

And I'm one of them.

Thus, the biggest challenge for me, as a writer, has been learning how to write for other people. I'm still working on that. But I love writing, probably largely due to the fact that my parents let me find joy in my expression, and only later bled over my papers in an attempt to make them coherent.

So, besides ALL CAPS, what other ways of self-expression may arise? I can only give you a few examples from my own life:

I loved the Courier font for years.

I love puns and word plays.

I decided early on that "cannot" and "each other" and "P.S." were all silly, as well as the practice of putting the period on the inside of a quote if the last word was "irregular." So:

Ps. We can not bear to listen to eachother when someone is "abnormal".

Sadly, when writing more academically--as I do on this blog--I have to remind myself to do it "properly," but sometimes I don't catch these errors.

And because I love to read myself write, I tend to be rather verbose at times as well.

So for fear for boring my audience who doesn't love my writing nearly as much as I do, I will draw this all to a point: Do not "correct" your child's writing if they are doing something out of exploration and enjoyment of the English language.

I mean, I'm convinced that some poets became "great" because they refused to capitalize anything. Just assume your child is destined for greatness.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father