We had never believed in chiropractors' effectiveness. In fact, much of their philosophy is bunk, as far as we're concerned (e.g., all troubles can be trace to the spine, etc.) We think manipulating the spine is a dangerous prospect, and there are likely a lot of incompetent chiropractors out there. Having said all this, we have found one we are comfortable recommending without reservation: » read more »

I found an interesting book by William James Sidis. Though Sidis was supposedly a super-genius (so far, I'm not seeing it), the flaws in his logic show through. To be fair, he was more up front about his assumptions than most "scientists" but not as much as he should have been. I'm only a third of the way through yet, but it's proving to be a very interesting read, flaws notwithstanding. » read more »

Please pray for En Pointe School of Dance. This school is struggling somewhat due to changing demographics--new neighbors just aren't so interested in ballet. The school is considering moving locations as one step in stimulating new growth, but this has numerous trials associated. En Pointe is a center of very high quality ballet instruction (plus jazz, tap, modern, praise & worship and more), and all its leaders exude Biblical values.

Alternative Pest Control has been a valuable service provider to us for several years now. They are a Christian business, and their ethics seems to back this claim. They're affordable, effective, prompt, and courteous. They'll do routine extermination as well as termite letters and such. They also guarantee their work. » read more »

It seems this page is one of the most frequently visited on TuscanyCircle by web searchers (e.g., Googlers, Yahoo-ers, etc.). People must really be interested in emotional maturity these days. In a way, I suppose that should be an encouraging sign. What would be more interesting, though, is knowing what people are taking away from TuscanyCircle. Are they truly seeking emotional maturity? Or are they merely looking for affirmation, evidence showing how they're more emotionally mature than their peers? » read more »

There is a new movie that's out. It is an American Girl movie. I have heard many good things about it, and I intend to see it this weekend. I really think I will love it and the storyline of it. I will write what I think about it after I see it. I will recommend it now to any girls who love adventure, American Girl, or Kit the American Girl doll. There will be a description of what it was like this weekend or after here on the blog. (I forget what year she's from, but she has a typewriter and a candlestick phone.) Anyway, it sounds really cool!

From Pacific Justice: » read more »

Treason is essentially working for the enemy. The Third World is invading our nation through mass, unchecked, illegal migration. Those who help this invasion of criminals are guilty of treason. I wonder if those who cater to foreign languages in this country are aiding this invasion by making it more feasible for them to live here. » read more »

What percentage of men have an issue with lust? It's often joked that it's 100%. I suspect the real number isn't quite that high--probably closer to 99.999999%. Why is lust such a prevalent sin among men? What can Godly men do about it? » read more »

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.

But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures and returns.
For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling, His consistently.

You and Jesus are walking as true friends! » read more »

Vox references some stupid "brights" (pardon the redundancy) as claiming:

...Darwin's dangerous idea provided a powerful foundation for the secular worldview. » read more »

Anyone going to the SE Homeschool Expo in Cobb, coming up July 25-26? I want to go but don't want to go alone. There's at least one seminar I want to attend and will go alone if I have to just to get to it. Now that hubby isn't doing his race on that Saturday, maybe we'll go as a family on that day. We'll see.

Have you been to this expo before? Any thoughts?

I'd like to propose a new euphemism for public- and private-schoolers: aggregate-schoolers. While it should be immensely insulting to those who partake of such an inferior form of education, it's probably just subtle enough to escape such offense, especially among those generally less likely to perceive subtleties. » read more »

Our earth is not in the best state it could be in. People are always throwing their trash just anywhere. The garbage men don't pick up the little pieces of trash they drop. At the parks, almost no one cleans up after their dog. I'm not green or any of that weird stuff, but this is just wrong. It's like people don't care anymore. Believe it or not, I really don't think they do. There are trash cans everywhere! There's even bags to clean up after your dog at the park if you don't have any! » read more »

Phil and his team did an awesome job moving a spinet piano into our home. It was a simple move from one side of town to another, which was done is less than an hour! They were on time, professional, had the right equipment, and very friendly as well.

Turns out Phil is also a pastor of a local Baptist church, which I didn't know until I finally read his business card after he left. It was nice to get great service from someone who didn't advertise being a Christian, and yet lived it out in his business. » read more »

How do you wake another person up from his slumber of stupidity? How do you get another to begin questioning his purpose in life? How do you encourage someone to seek the Lord, to submit his life to Him, and to walk in Godly obedience forevermore? These are important parts of evangelism or witnessing. Many people are in bad situations and are not handling them well. The Lord can help them, but He allows us the freedom to choose. This means it may take some appropriate nudges to get him to seek the Lord's way. » read more »

I don't know what more I could add to this story about putting taser-like bracelets on all airline passengers. Frankly, I hope they do it. I hope it does end the airline industry. While we're at it, I hope I live long enough to see the total collapse of American stupidity. I would say I'd grieve the loss of America herself, but that happened a long time ago.

Doug Apple gives good advice to young women and teen girls. Doug talks about how dressing to attract men's attention really only gets them interested in a woman's body parts, not the woman herself. Surely, this is not the kind of attention she really wants. To be more frank than Doug: Ladies, don't dress like whores unless you want to be treated like whores. » read more »

I believe that this article does an excellent job of summing up society's attitude toward homeschoolers, and why it is under attack. » read more »

In this editorial, Joseph Farah suggests a radical notion: pass a test in order to qualify to vote. Of course, this idea has already been discussed at tuscanycircle in this thread. In the editorial, Farah provides a link to an online quiz comprised of some of the "more difficult" questions from the U.S. citizenship test. » read more »

Moby shared this:

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. » read more »

Anybody remember the series of storms we had back in March? There were a couple of tornado warnings in the northern Atlanta suburbs. At my house, we had an intense, thrilling hail storm, the likes of which I have never seen.

Well, I didn't realize it at first, but it turns out that the hail did some damage to our roof and other parts of the house. A couple of weeks ago, I called our homeowner's insurance company, which is USAA, to file a claim. Last week, they sent an adjuster out to inspect the damage. Yesterday, we got a check in the mail. » read more »

I usually appreciate Vox' blog entries. He's a reasonably smart dude, and that's refreshing. He's not the strongest theologian, so his worldview occasionally suffers (e.g., creationism), but I think he'd admit to that anyway. By and large, he's most often right. I plan to continue reading his blog more or less regularly. » read more »

Iran presents a special problem for Israel. MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) doesn't work with a people anxious to "die for Allah". What greater deterrent is there for such fanatics? » read more »

To inoculate means to protect against, theoretically forevermore. There are many ways to inoculate others against Christianity, all but insuring they will never seek the Lord. Stupid Christians are the worst offenders here, doing countless unbelievers and the church a grave disservice. Here are some of the ways in which believers stupidly work to condemn others. » read more »

Go see WALL-E. It was really good. The computer graphics are absolutely amazing. The story line is redeeming in the end. I won't tell too much so as not to give out the story yet, but seeing the movie could create some good discussion here on this blog.

We went to see it first thing before lunch as my 2 yr. old has been going around the house saying "wallll-eeee" for the past two weeks, with her older siblings egging her on. So we had to go see what all the fuss was about. » read more »

Every believer should know how to address common questions and charges given by seekers and scoffers. Failure to handle these basics can really hurt a believer's witness and even "inoculate" a seeker against the faith. Don't be a liability for Christ; be prepared to provide reasons for your faith. » read more »

Once upon a time, unpopular speech was protected speech. No more. Nevertheless, I dare to defy the ungodly social censors and speak my mind. If you'd dare to rationally discuss any of these assertions, I welcome the opportunity to set you straight. » read more »