Marshall

Marshall is Here

Yes the due date is Febuary 16th but...

Marshall David Lieberman was born at 4:29 PM yesterday, Jan 31st, in front of the hospital, in front of the emergency room entrance, in front of several surprised onlookers, in the front seat of our B.U.V. (also in front of the hospital security cameras). I held his head and called for help. A nurse named Joanne came out and helped with the rest. Ginger and baby were wheeled into the emergency room. Weight: 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Length: 18 3/4 in.

Seriously.

I'm not making any of this up.

One day earlier: Our midwife, who had been caring for Ginger since September, told us to get medical help, that Ginger was at risk due to multiple and uncharacteristic panic attacks and a week of brutal insomnia. We were only able to make phone contact with a Dr. who was able to prescribe some meds to help Ginger. (I'm not making this up either) Now, you all know how we feel about meds. But we did it because we didn't know what else to do. Our good friend came and picked up the kids. Ginger slept for the first time in a week.

I wake up at 5 AM to Ginger saying she is in preliminary labor.

We go at 7AM to preregister at the hospital. Paid $2000.00 on the Mastercard. That covers all care for mother and child for two days. Good deal, I thought.

We go back to hospital at about 1 PM (ish). They check Ginger and say she is in labor, but it looks to us like she's got 6 to 10 more hours of labor ahead of her based on past experience. So at about 3:15 PM, we left the hospital for Ginger to go labor in the comfort of our own home..

Well the further we got from the hospital the more contractions Ginger started to get.

On the way home, after running around town a little bit, at about 3:52 PM we were stopped by the sheriff for speeding. (I told you I'm not making this up, but you're not believing me) I explained, he scolded and gave us a warning. While he was standing there handing back my DL, Ginger opened up the door and went into a strong moaning contraction in the poor officer's face. He asked if we needed an ambulance. At this point I'm still thinking Marshall is going to be born in February. I've thought several times since then that I should have taken him up on that ambulance. It would have kept the town safer and quieter.

We were at home for less than 10 minutes. I decided to go back to the hospital, 20 minutes drive under normal circumstances.

3 miles down the road, Ginger's water broke. Contraction on top of contraction. The rules for stop lights, stop signs, other cars all changed in an instant. The traffic at 4:23 PM in this town is surprisingly heavy. I really only almost wrecked the Dodge once. Between contractions in the van, Ginger's only complaint was that I was not honking the horn enough. We didn't need the horn; Ginger was making plenty loud without it.

Go back and read the top to fill in story here.

After the baby was born, we didn't see him again for 4 1/2 hours during which I was very worried. They gently put us off several times during those hours.

Ginger lost over a liter of blood during the delivery. She also had a placental abruption (sp?) which means the placenta detaches too soon and tears, causing loss of blood.

Marshall had a belly full of blood and had blood in his stool, so they decided to watch him for a long time.

Ginger's friend, attended during the afterbirth process as doula (a trained labor assistant). She was extremely helpful and helped us understand what was going on.

We spent the night at the hospital. Ginger and the baby were discharged in the 4 PM hour. I looked up at the car clock and realized that we were leaving exactly 24 hours to the minute after we arrived on the emergency room doorstep.

Our pastor and church family have been more than wonderful during this experience.
Our friends took care of kids for two nights.

I am grateful and humbled to be a member of the body of Christ today.

We are happy to be together as a family again.

A Letter from Ron Paul to his Supporters

I share this which a friend shared with me based on my comments below.

When I started this campaign more than a year ago, I was a somewhat
reluctant candidate. I knew our message of freedom, peace, and prosperity
was the right one for our country, but frankly, I didn't know how many
people today would have ears to hear it.

Well, did I learn a lesson! Millions of Americans understand what ails our
country, and what is needed to fix it. So, with you at my side, I am in
this effort to win. Not only by building the ideas of liberty, but by
getting the nomination. Our opponents would call that nuts -- you know, the
advocates of more inflation, more spending, more taxes, more war. But let
me explain why they are, as usual, all wet.

For one thing, for the first time since 1952, we are headed towards a
brokered convention. Instead of a coronation of one of the establishment
candidates, the delegates, influenced by the people, will decide. And I am
afraid that this will take place in a time of heightened economic crisis.
That means even more Americans will be ready to hear our message. But it
also means I am really going to need your help.

One would never know this from the mainstream media, but we've only had a
few primaries and caucuses, and even after the extremely important date of
February 5th, we will still have more than half to go. And the Republican
nominee will not be decided by the popular vote among the "leading
candidates" in a few states also handpicked by the media. The nominee will
be decided by the delegates. So let me tell you a little about our
"under-the-radar" strategy to get those delegates.

On "Super Tuesday," February 5th, there will be 22 primaries and caucuses.
I have a hunch that we're going to do very well. But, of course, the media
and the rest of the establishment refuse to recognize that. It's the
attitude of the small child who covers his eyes to make something scary go
away. But we are not going away.

While the media focus on the couple of states they claim are important,
we're competing everywhere. And the reason that we're able to do that is
because of your grassroots support. You all are an asset that no other
campaign has: donors, and activists who want no special deals from the
government, just the Constitution.

We're competing very strongly in all the caucus states, and in all other
states where delegates are up for grabs. And we're going to keep picking up
delegates. Our strategy's already working.

And we're committed to winning states. I have little doubt that if we can
double our efforts in this coming week, we're going to grab many delegates
from other candidates. Then we'll start getting ready for the biggest
moment of all - the convention in September.

The path to the convention is twisty, however. When we were in Iowa, we got
10% of the vote. But no delegates were awarded that night. That's because
voters didn't directly choose national convention delegates; they selected
the county and state delegates who will make that decision. And if another
candidate like Mike Huckabee is no longer in the race at the time of the
state convention in June, his delegates are free to support whomever they
want. If we work extra hard, we can convert them into delegates for our
campaign!

A similar thing happened in Nevada. We won 14% of the straw poll vote that
the media reported on, but what they didn't tell you was that we may have
gotten up to a third of Nevada's delegates to their county conventions! I
always laughed when I heard some people say Nevada didn't matter. Nevada
chooses more delegates to the national convention than South Carolina.

So, while the media will focus on the results from Florida, and probably
take down the campaign of my friend Rudy in the process, those results are
less important to you and me. Let them fight in Florida while we bring our
message to Americans in other areas, like the economically hard-hit state
of Maine.

We want to win as many delegates to the Republican National Convention as
possible, even if other campaigns don't see some areas of the country as
"important. But in this work, I need your help. Help me get many, many
delegates to this historic convention, by these three methods.

1. Donate. Your generous contributions are essential if we're going to keep
going until September. We need, frankly $5 million by February 5 to run
more TV and radio ads in the Super Tuesday states. Your help means
everything: https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate.

2. Canvass. You can help us identify those who support our message in your
precinct. You can help us to convert others, too. After all, your neighbors
pay attention to you. I am going to visit as much of the country as I can,
but I need you as my partner in your area: https://voters.ronpaul2008.com.

3. ASK others to sign-up on our website. I meet so many people on the
campaign trail who don't even receive my letters! I've told my campaign to
make communication with you, the engine of all this, much better. But if
people don't sign up for my e-mails, that won't happen. If you could just
get one extra person to sign-up, that would be great. More would be
tremendous.

Help me by forwarding this e-mail to every other Ron Paul supporter you
know, and urging them to join our efforts! https://www.ronpaul2008.com/join
.

We've come so far, but now the fun is really starting! I have a feeling the
mainstream media will move from ignoring us to attacking us. But that will
be a sign of our success. Join me as we continue this great movement into
year two, and to a hot convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. We can do it!

Sincerely,

Ron

The homeschool family music video by Tim Hawkins

We have seen this several times over the last month and have enjoyed it very much. We hope you do too.

Hospitality Commands

Today, a young homeschooling father sent this link to me from The Guardian in the UK. I wondered what our response should have been.

The young man who sent it to me said: "Sometimes, I really wonder why anyone else who lives elsewhere in the world, (excepting Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, and other such countries) would risk visiting the U.S.? And why would otherwise intelligent Americans put up with this sort of thing?"

Another, also a homeschooling dad said: "When we delegate our job of our brother's keeper the charge Jesus Christ gave us himself to the state what do we expect. Whether believers in
Manhattan? Was this lady a part of the body of Jesus Christ? Is she contacted the church in Manhattan would they have helped? In this day of personal affluence and prosperity I wonder if we can even care for the sick. This was a country that loved their Lord and knew nobody could rule in his place. But now it seems there is a new Lord and people no longer believe in Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Now Jesus is your personal savior that you choose for your own personal peace and affluence. And now you have doctors for your health, the state for your welfare obligations to the poor, and the state also to be your parents and your children's parents, to be your very Lord."

I echo their thoughts and say: "whether they are part of the Body or not, they should be taken care of in a hospitable fashion. But not by the state. I'm thinking in a theonomic world, there would be church contacts at every hospital which would be able to step in and intervene in a situation like this. The strangers in our midst need to be treated with appropriate hospitality. This would speak more to an unbelieving world than many, many Billy Grahme type crusades and the like. How do we move more in that direction? Of course, if the church won't do it, the state will, and the more the state does outside of its biblically ordained sphere of duty, the more we lose our freedom.

If we won't be responsible, then we won't be free.

The State of the Republican Primary

I think this is a well reasoned article on the state of things. What that guy says about RP is true, but it is beside the point.

The country doesn't get it and the media doesn't want them too. Paul won't be selected for a running mate either. He has money but he either isn't using his $$ enough to get his message out, or maybe he is spending it but it's just not working. I know the polls have not been spot-on accurate, but they have been pretty well predictive as far as RP goes. The sad fact is that he isn't really challenging the front runners. And with each primary in which he gets no showing, he becomes more and more of an afterthought. I don't have much of an awareness of what his campaign is doing. But I have remember seeing an ad for him on tv (ok maybe once). Just You-Tube stuff.

I personally don't get these voters with their wait-to-the-last-minute-to-decide mentality. I have always selected within a few days. Debates are mostly tomfoolery anyway, so I pay little attention to them.

Of course now, I am becoming more and more undecided. Not in my primary vote; it's going to RP. But ultimately I am possibly going the way of a non-voter.

Thompson is gone. Huckabee, I maybe could hold my nose and vote for him. But he's as good as gone. He's looking more and more like a VP.

McCain is unstable in all his ways like my son Nathan said.

Romney is going to spend the US to Hades.

Having any of the Republicrats as pres. galls me.

No third party is making any waves. I guess they don't have the money.

I can't hold on to the Ron Paul optimism.

Except in this: The Lord reigns. May I be faithful in what he has given me to do.

Sam Lawlace's Ron Paul Video

Here is a video, made by an award winning young film maker. Sam was homeschooled and spent his senior year learning the craft of film making. Whether you like candidate Dr. Ron Paul or not, I think you'll love the film.

Hannah's Award Winning Sonnet

Hannah entered into HSLDA's annual national poetry contest. She won second place. Here's the poem:

God's Wonders

I hate to think of those who've never felt
The dusty earth beneath their unshod feet,
Who've never on the banks of rivers knelt,
To feel its cool and watch its surface pleat.
I hate to think of those who've never known
The sun's warm kiss upon their heads and necks,
Who've never held a summer rose half blown,
Or felt a fuzzy chick's dear gentle pecks.
These people sit inside their gloomy homes,
And stare at gloomy pictures on the wall.
Although they may own palaces and domes,
They speak of naught but waiting for God's call.

God's wonders, placed with halls so dark and grave,
Do seem to me as king beside the knave.

A Quote by David Bently Hart

I ran into this quote this morning as I was reading Doug Phillip's blog. Tell us your thoughts.

Probably the most subversive and effective strategy we might undertake would be one of militant fecundity: abundant, relentless, exuberant, and defiant childbearing. Given the reluctance of modern men and women to be fruitful and multiply, it would not be difficult, surely, for the devout to accomplish—in no more than a generation or two—a demographic revolution. Such a course is quite radical, admittedly, and contrary to the spirit of the age, but that is rather the point, after all. It would mean often forgoing certain material advantages, and forfeiting a great deal of our leisure; it would often prove difficult to sustain a two-career family or to be certain of a lavish retirement. But if it is a war we want, we should not recoil from sacrifice.1

More on Exercise

Our family exercise has morphed again. Here's the new wrinkle: the Tabata protocol. The what? Google the word Tabata and you'll find references to some Japanese guys, and more specifically a Dr. Tabata. He is an exercise researcher who discovered that doing very intense exercise for 20 seconds then a 10 second rest, then another blast of intensity for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. Do it for eight rounds. That's only four minutes of exercise.

Some typical exercises done with the protocol are squats, pushups, and pullups. In the Lieberman family, we haven't tried the pullups yet. But we do the squats on a regular basis. We also do burpees and bear crawls. I'm not the first one to say it, but I'll repeat it. "Twenty seconds never seemed so long, and ten seconds never seemed so short." It is sheer agony by the fifth and sixth rounds. So why do them? The results are spectacular. No equipment required. And the time commitment is short.

For us the squats are the most intense, then burpees and finally bear crawls. By the way bear crawls are when you move around on your hands and feet without touching your knees to the floor.

Try it out and tell us what you think.

Home Fitness

It's been a challenge for me to learn how to help my children stay physically fit. I have struggled with my weight all of my adult life and found it difficult to keep an exercise commitment. So one year ago, at the ripe age of 43, in fear and trepidation, I joined a gym. I was inspired by hearing about the success of a man my age who had dropped 40 lbs in about six months. I worked out at the gym faithfully for nearly a year then I quit. Because I found something which is working better for my family and me.

First of all the trips to the gym took precious time away from my family on a regular basis. Also, I don't really like exercising with all of those other people particularly women. I wanted to do something different.

Whenever I embark on a project like this I usually do a lot of research. The whole area of health is difficult to research because everyone is selling something, so you have to weed through a lot of stuff to get to what works. I read several books, did hours and hours of online research, I even fell for some faddish stuff, but finally have settled on a combination of things that work very well for my family.

The first part of the combination is a book called The Navy SEAL Workout by Mark De Lisle. This book's apparent goal is to give a set of exercises which done over time, trains the individual to get fit enough to join the Navy SEALs. One reason I liked this idea is that the Navy SEALs have a reputation for building very strong men without a lot of expensive equipment. I bought the book and started using these exercises and quickly realized that I was getting a better workout doing these body weight exercises than from all of the expensive equipment at the gym. The only equipment piece needed for this workout is a place to do pullups. Now in terms of getting a person ready for the SEALs, I cannot vouch, but my fitness is definetly improving. On a side note, I think there are better Navy Seal Workout books on the market, but this one has a workout plan that we can actually do. I think The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness by Stewart Smith is great, but it is too intense for us at this point.

The key thing is I can do these exercises with my children. My seven through thirteen year old all join in on the "torture." I am seeing strength and physique gains in my children.

Another piece is a system of working out that I found at the suggestion of a church member. The system is called crossFit. Though I don't approve of everything that Crossfit posts on their website, over all I find that I like their concept of fitness. Anything they do, I need to scale back considerably to make it doable for me. Still, I have gained, particularly from their work out of the day or WOD. They post them five days a week. I don't often do the WOD, but I learn from it. I have learned a lot of new exercises which are all very intense. Most of these I don't do with my children, but as they get older, I expect to start springing it on them.

I am curious what you have done to help keep your family fit. What has worked for you?

Testing

Just testing, guys.
Larry

Hey Art can you read this, thanks David

Ok this is my first attempt at posting ....hope to see you all very soon in Texas !

God bless, David

Offense

Here's a great article on the liberal notion of tolerance.

David Barton's article An Historical Perspective on a Muslim Being Sworn into Congress on the Koran

I just finished reading the article entitled An Historical Perspective on a Muslim Being Sworn into Congress on the Koran by David Barton. This is a PDF file and will take a couple of minutes to load on dialup. Read it. I like Barton's balanced approach to this problem. He views the swearing in as being problematic but does a great job of putting it perspective and provides excellent historical information in the bargain.

One of the points he makes is that the world has far more to fear from secularists being in power than muslims. He give statistics which show that secularists murdered more people in one century than all of the other sects did in the previous twenty centuries!

As I wrote about this in a different forum several weeks ago, I conjectured that this swearing in will ruffle many an evangelical's feathers. They'll go to and fro huffing and puffing about it not realizing that they gave up battle a long time ago. They really didn't fight it. And the way they did it was by agreeing to the general philosphy of pragmatism. Rather than arguing from scriptural precepts. They argued from natural law.

Do we see Elijah or the prophets giving pragmatic arguments? (Well if you consider that to not obey God's law will bring his curses on you, your nation, and family, it sounds pragmatic to me!) And don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that pragmatics aren't ever considered. Of course they are. But are they really a standard for ethics? No. Why? Because who ever holds the sword or the wallet gets to define what is pragmatic. Whoever can woo the public for five minutes defines it.

God's law rules the day weather we acknowledge it or not.

Read his Word. Learn it. Live it. Love Him. Share it.

This article by Barton is worthy of using during your family time, using it over a few evenings.

I would love to know what you think of it.

Lessons Learned From Years of Homeschooling

Lessons Leared from Years of Homeschooling is a blog sponsored by Chalcedon.edu. Some thought provoking thoughts on today's blog entitled "Standing on Your Own Two Feet." Many of us entered the homeschooling model because we thought it was the best way to prepare our children to meet the world's challenges. Then, after a while in the "room", we realized that God had called us to something very different than what we had envisioned.

The Christian Almanac by George Grant

The Christian Almanac This is the link to the Amazon website for the book I discussed in the former post.

I would love to hear about what ya'll are doing in you family worship times. Please provide as much detail as possible. What books do you use? What kinds of activities do you do? Do you sing? How often do you do it? What have been the challenges to your doing a family time? What resources would like to have which you haven't been able to find?

Please answer these or other questions about a family worship time.

Family Time

Our family has recently discovered George Grant's Christian Almanac. We are using it during our evening family time. The book is arranged by date with a this-day-in-history format. It also has a through-the-bible-in-a-year feature. We are enjoying it and learning a lot of history.

What are you doing for family time? If you only have adults in your home, do you still do family time? Does it look different?

As The Twig is Bent- A poem

As The Twig Is Bent
A.V. C.
2006

As the twig is bent
So grows the tree
'Tis said of the child .
O, How grows thy seed?

How will you ensure
Their moral fibers strong
That there be no question
In matters right and wrong?

Cords of Truth to anchor,
Tied by Steadfast Hand
Straightright yielding fruit
In crooked twisted land.

Not left to find its way,
But bent to glorify
This sure, chief end in store,
Their Maker to glorify.

Welcome!

To introduce: Homeschooling Dads is a blog in which several homeschooling dads will discuss things. We will discuss the things that are on our minds from politics to poetry, specifically with a hard lean toward biblical worldview. We are not professional theologians but more typical things like contractor, salesman, entrepreneur, postmaster, and parole officer. We are between the ages of forty and sixty. Some of us have all adult children, some with no adult children and some of us have a mixture of school-age children and adults. The largest of our families is fifteen children--the smallest three. There is not a chance that we will agree in everything which we discuss, but I expect that we will find a lot of commonality. I hope that we will challenge each other and readers too, always keeping in mind Christian charity. May the Lord bless this blog and be glorified in it!