In the Big Ol' Net, Vol. 3

You know how you can tell when I've run out of time late at night to finish a "real" blog post but really want to post something quick anyway?  Because I post one of these internet round-up things.  :)

(Vol. 1 is here.  Vol. 2 is here.)

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I found it fascinating to read Isaac Asimov's predictions back in 1964 about what life would be like 50 years in the future.  Now that we're here, have we achieved what he thought we would?  :)

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I looked at this with Josiah and David, and these camouflaged animals blew our minds.  The Creator of all of these is AMAZING!  (And #16 was incredibly difficult to find!)

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I'm always interested to hear how others "do school," and this particular article about Finland's school system was particularly encouraging to me because the way we personally homeschool is more similar to it than to the public school system here in America.

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It goes without saying that the transfer of faith from Jeff and I to our children is one of the absolute highest priorities of our lives.  With that in mind, I read with special interest this article about why children are leaving the faith.

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This video of forgiveness after tragedy is kind of long (9 minutes and 42 seconds), but it's a wonderful story of redemption.  The part that hit me the most, however, occurs at 3:55 when Erik speaks of our lives as being a 3x5 snapshot that we're trying to make look right, but we have no idea that God "paints on a canvas the size of the universe."  In the recent challenges to get my heart soft enough to accept the changes that are coming as a result of my mom's Alzheimer's, this spoke deeply to me.  This word picture of God painting on a canvas the size of the universe while I hold a 3x5 picture in my hand makes me feel small; but even as it humbles me, it lifts me up to great heights--and fills me with hope that God is making something beautiful out of this pain.