Category: Websites

Writer’s Digest

Writer’s DigestI enjoy writing. I tell you that, just in case you could not tell. I have always thought blogging was a fad thing (and kinda still do), but it may actually be here to stay for a little while. It seems to have taken root pretty strongly.

While listening to Grammar Girl this week, she mentioned Writer’s Digest. She was talking about having a deadline for yourself to help you write more. She said that Writer’s Digest is always sponsoring writing contests. I remember back when I was taking a writing course that I used to love reading Writer’s Digest. I was too poor back then to subscribe, or even buy one every couple of months. I would go to the bookstore with my notebook in hand and write down all the information I could about different writing contests.

Even back when Internet in the home was new, WD had a website. I would spend hours there each night reading articles and writing for contests. I don’t remember submitting any entries, but I remember writing several. It was fun.

Well, as happens in my life, I will be passionate about something for a time and then it just fades away. I still enjoy writing, but I do not seek out freelance jobs anymore. It could have to do with the fact that the last place I worked did not allow us to moonlight. I wrote an article for pay once and had to surrender the check to the company. It was only $50 or $70, I don’t remember now, but back then it was a lot to me (would be a lot to me now too). The money was not as big of an issue to the company either, but they wanted to know that all my efforts were being expended on them. There were lots of reasons for that, to which I wholeheartely agree even to this day. But, it did kind of put a damper on my writing dreams.

Now I blog. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. I am a bit concerned that the people who butter my bread would see the amount I am blogging here and wonder what they are paying me for. But, not concerned enough to stop. If I were writing in a journal for personal enjoyment, no one would care. It is when you make stuff like this public that it tends to raise eyebrows.

Anyway, the point was to say that I enjoyed Writer’s Digest back about 8-10 years ago. I used to be on a couple of their e-mailing lists. It is time to surf over to their site and see what kind of offerings they have today. I might even enter a contest and sign up for a newsletter.

Dyslexia Decoded

Do you know someone with dyslexia? I found a website today that has lessons on how to teach children and adults with dyslexia how to read. It is based on a phonics method, which is a solid reading method. Because English has 44 sounds and only 26 letters, we have sought a different way to teach reading, which, frankly, has not been working. But phonics has worked and will work.

This website, Dyslexia Decoded, promotes the ReadingBySix method. At Dyslexia Decoded there are links on how to get the full program for free. They seem to be more interested in getting the material in the hands of those who need it than making money off of it. They do, however, have a revenue stream. The materials are all available in printed format if you would rather work from a hard copy as opposed to reading the computer screen. They also take donations at their website.

We used phonics when teaching our son to read and will do the same with our daughter. By the time our boy turned 4 years old he was able to read the newspaper. He may not have understood what was being said in the paper, but he was able to read the words and pronounce them properly. Phonics is a great method for teaching children and adults to read.

Here is a press release that I read from them:

Dyslexia? Now there is Free Help

Now there is free online help for people who have dyslexia or simply did not learn to read well while going to school. It is a click-‘n-learn program. Students and adults may learn decoding, basic reading skills, and advanced reading skills all with the click of a mouse.

The program is called ReadingBySix. It provides a systematic approach to helping people defeat dyslexia and related reading problems. You will notice measurable progress from week to week provided participants are active in their studies and do their assignments. The online courses are virtually free when you give a small donation. If you choose not to donate, they are completely free.

Dyslexia is a distinct learning disability characterized by difficulties in decoding individual words. These difficulties may not show up in other cognitive and academic abilities. Dyslexia results from the confusion caused by the brain’s inability to associate abstract symbols with abstract ideas. This includes associating letters and words with the sounds they represent. The key to defeating dyslexia is learning to decode English sounds.

You are invited to review the website and take a few of the courses for practice and learn how the program works. Then use it to teach your children or students to read. It can be used for preschool, home school, grade school, or high school. Students, adults, and children can use it. It teaches reading 100% of the time and it’s all electronic. If you know of people who need help, please tell them about ReadingBySix: http://www.dyslexiadecoded.com/

Source: Dyslexia Decoded
Free Help for Dyslexia

So, if you know anyone who struggles with reading, or if you are going to be teaching your child to read (which, in my opinion, the parents should do and not leave it up to a school system that is broken), then check out Dyslexia Decoded. You don’t have to have dyslexia to be able to benefit from this program.

Favorite Hymn

I was just surfing around tonight and ran across this blog. The blogger, Rebecca, is asking for people to list their favorite hymn so that she can use the list for upcoming postings. I happen to have a pile of songs I love and would be hard pressed to choose just one or two. But, here are a few that quickly come to mind and some thoughts about them. If you have a favorite, you can add them here, or go over to Rebecca’s blog posting and post them in her comments.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross This was a song I learned as a young teen. Since I attended a Christian school, we would learn new songs all the time. I very clearly remember my principal, David Hartsfield, teaching us this song. When he would teach us a song, he would teach us all the parts so that we could sing in harmony as a school. The downside? It was not unusual for him to tell us we had to sing before we could order at McDonalds when we were on school trips.

Like a River Glorious I first heard this song, that I know of, when I was in college. I believe it had to be a favorite song of the song leader. We sang it quite often, or at least it seemed to be often. I have often come back to that song as a beloved hymn.

On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand Another song that I was introduced to in college. I once heard a theatrical group sing that song along with acting out some of the verses. The uniqueness was that they had 20 or more different verses.

Great is Thy Faithfulness How can that not be on a list of favorites?

How Great Thou Art Probably has to top my list. That is, if I could rank these things. My favorite verse, and the one that is often skipped over is: My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole. Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Oh, my soul.

Those are just 5 that jumped out at me at the moment. With a song book in hand, I can easily point out dozens of songs that have some significance to me.

What are your favorites?

Scary punishment

I picked up the following off of the website for the podcast The Mighty Mommy from the Quick and Dirty Tips family of podcasts.

If you know for certain your child is lying to you to avoid punishment, you may want to ask him why. Is he afraid of the punishment? If he is, can you consider a different form of punishment? Depending on the infraction, you might even consider offering to relieve punishment altogether if your child will come clean. The idea behind this thought process is that you want your child to tell you the truth. Let him know that lying won’t get him out of the situation, but telling the truth now and in the future, will definitely result in a more positive response from you.

While I agree that a child telling the truth ought to understand that the fact he told the truth was honorable, and, sometimes it might even lessen the severity of the punishment, I do disagree with one point.

The Mighty Mommy states: “Is he afraid of the punishment? If he is, can you consider a different form of punishment?” I should hope he is afraid of the punishment. What good would punishment be if there were no reason to avoid it? Obviously, I am not talking about abuse of a child, but punishment should not be comfortable. If it were, then it would serve no purpose.

As I listened to this podcast this morning, I cringed. The reason people commit crimes is because they have no fear of the punishment. If they did, then they would not do it. That is not to say that people don’t get caught and punished, but that the criminal considers the risk of being punished to be lesser than the benefit of the crime. Of course there is the problem of committing the crime and never having to serve out the full punishment. You know, 15 years in jail, but they got out in 3 for good behavior. That never made sense to me.

Am I equating a little lying to avoid punishment from your Mom or Dad with being a hardened criminal serving time in jail? Yes. Yes, I am. Criminals start somewhere. Most of the time it starts in the home with the ones who love the child. If that child is willing to go against and abuse the people who love him the most, what is to keep that child in check when he goes out into the world of people who have no personal connection or love towards him?

A child learns how to treat the punishment system of a government by what they are taught in the home.

Romans 13 teaches that the government is not a menace to good works, but to the evil. That is exactly the pattern that should be taught in the home.

Lion Chaser Manifesto

I have not read the book from which this comes, but a former college mate of mine posted this to his blog. I thought it was very good. To read the whole thing, surf on over to Nolan’s site and check out his blog.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences….