Double Dutch

Madness

2013-05-19T19:02:00.000-05:00

I do think the I-word is premature, but nevertheless this is a handy guide for those of us having a hard time keeping up. Click on the image to enlarge.

Credit: Jon Gabriel (@ExJon on Twitter)

Ollie on the Playground

2013-05-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

After church Oliver likes to go to the church playground with his brothers. He still likes to swing and do "underdog," but lately he has preferred the jungle gym. (Be sure to watch it in high-definition.)

Lillie's Commencement

2013-05-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

[Below are Susie's remarks at Lillie's graduation ceremony yesterday.]

I stood in this same spot almost two years ago when we had Lincoln's graduation, and I can say that even though I've done this before, it doesn't get any easier. In fact in many ways it gets harder. It was a miracle I didn't cry during my first graduation speech; I’m not sure I can do it again.

I know I have many of the same feelings that I had two years ago: excitement, hope, sadness, relief, joy, and disbelief that it's over. I feel a little like I do when I watch a really good movie. A movie that has a little bit of everything: funny parts, sad parts, and maybe even parts that make me so nervous that I have to cover my eyes. But when the movie is over I think, "It's over already? It seemed so short. It feels like it just started." That's how I feel now. It's over already? There are times when I want to stop time and say, "Wait! I’m not done. There are so many things I don’t feel like I’ve finished." But I know that no matter how much time we have it will never seem like quite enough. Not that our parenting is over just because we have a high school graduate -- in fact, I have some people tell me this is when it gets really hard -- but we have come to the end of homeschooling. We have turned a page. We have finished a chapter.

So, today there are many things I'm feeling, but like I did two years ago the one feeling that stands out more than any other is gratitude. Complete gratitude for so many things. I'm grateful that in His good providence the Lord allowed us to homeschool. I'm grateful for our friends and family who have supported us and I'm grateful for this church. And today, I'm especially grateful for Lillie, our high-school graduate.

Most everyone here knows Lillie pretty well, but I imagine there might be a few things you don't know. Lillie is a glass-half-full kind of girl. She is a happy-go-lucky, cheerful, spontaneous extrovert. She likes to go places and do things. And she was born to two parents who are quiet, introverted, and glass-half-empty kind of people. Needless to say, Lillie brings joy and laughter and a little feistiness to our home. God knew exactly what we needed to loosen us up just a bit.

Lillie is also a loyal friend and sister, and she looks for the best in people. When Lillie was about three years old she asked me, "When is Be-guy-wuff [Goliath] going to get nice?" I wasn't sure what she was asking, but finally figured out that she wanted to know when Goliath was going to quit being mean and be on God's team. When I tried to explain to her that it wasn't ever going to happen, her little three-year old brain and heart wouldn't hear it. She picked up her pretend phone, babbled something into the receiver, then hung up and said, “That was Beguywuff. He said he would be nice." She is still just like that -- optimistic, hopeful, and looking for the best in people and situations.

Our feisty little girl has grown up into a beautiful, soft-hearted woman and we recognize that it’s only by God’s grace that we are here where we are today. I thank God that He has called Lillie to himself and for his protection over her mind and heart. I thank God for all the time we have had with her and the blessing she has been these many years. I thank Him that she knows that all things, both good and bad, come not by chance but by His fatherly hand. I thank Him that when hard things have come her way they haven't made her hard or bitter. And today I pray that the Lord would continue to draw her to Himself and continue to conform her to the image of Christ.

When Lillie was little Brandon used to play the Stevie Wonder song "Isn't She Lovely" while he held her and rocked her. The words to part of the song are: "I can’t believe what God has done; through us He’s given life to one." I echo those words today and marvel at God’s goodness to us. As the song says, "we have been heaven-blessed."

Summertime Draweth Nigh

2013-05-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

Durant Can't Carry the Entire Load

2013-05-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

The Westbrook-less Thunder took care of the Rockets last night to wrap up the first-round playoff series. The headline on Berry Tramel's column sums up why: "Kevin Durant got the help he needed to put away Rockets."

That wasn't the case in the previous two games. The Associated Press had correctly summed it up: "Thunder struggling to get Durant scoring help." I attended one of those losses with my uncle Bill. You'll note in the photo above that the ball appears to be attached to my forehead. At one point in the fourth quarter Francisco Garcia (pictured above guarding Durant) said to Durant's brother (wearing the green sweater): "He needs some help. He can't do it all by hisself."

That is true. Plus, the Rockets were hot that night. It got so bad that, as you'll note in the photo below, all I could do was pray that their shots wouldn't go in.

Oklahoma Conservative Underwhelmed with Tax Cut

2013-04-29T19:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday on News9, Patrick McGuigan expressed disappointment (not uncommon among conservatives I've spoken to) with the "anemic" tax cut passed this year by Oklahoma's policymakers. McGuigan, Billie Rodely, and Peter J. Rudy also discussed the matter on their weekly podcast. Let's just hope this tiny tax cut doesn't become no tax cut.

UPDATE: As my colleague Michael Carnuccio put it after the politicians gobbled up another quarter-billion dollars in growth revenue, "For the third budget cycle in a row, Republican control of state government has produced increased government spending, no immediate tax cuts for families, and continued earmarks for pet projects."

Priorities

2013-04-26T06:30:00.000-05:00

President Barack Obama did not attend the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but he is speaking to the nation's largest abortion provider this morning, the day after it had its annual fundraising gala.

Meanwhile, much of the nation's major media do not believe the mass murder of up to 100 newborn babies is newsworthy. Other stories take precedence:

Crapitalism

2013-04-24T10:38:00.000-05:00

It's not capitalism -- it's crony capitalism. Or as Douglas Wilson calls it, "crapitalism."

God Made All Things

2013-04-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

Ollie and I often discuss who made things. "Who made you?" I ask. To which he replies: "God." And on it goes. Who made elephants? "God." Who made Jack Henry? "God." Who made the sky? "God." So he's pretty much got that down.

Tonight while taking his bath he was enjoying plunging his face into the water and blowing bubbles. He would blow bubbles, look up at me and laugh, then plunge his face back into the water and repeat the whole process. It was great fun all around. I smiled and said, "You made bubbles, didn't you?" With a big smile he said "yeah" and plunged his face into the water again. But no sooner did his face hit the water than he popped up suddenly and corrected himself, exclaiming: "God!"

Ollie Ball

2013-04-20T18:05:00.000-05:00

Hoops on the driveway this afternoon. Jack Henry and I are Oliver's dribbling coaches.

Oliver also serves as a useful prop in a dunk contest.

Bureaucratic Bloat and Lost Opportunities

2013-04-18T21:41:00.002-05:00

I recently sat down with economist Ben Scafidi to discuss the startling growth in bureaucratic overhead in Oklahoma’s public education system. In this brief video we discuss the similarities between delivering mail and delivering education, how Oklahoma could have been raising teacher salaries, and how being in an intact married family is more closely linked to student achievement than is per-pupil spending. Take a look:

Progress

2013-04-17T18:45:00.000-05:00

"Abortion is always framed by the Left as a 'women's health issue' (though pregnancy is not a disease, and eliminating a fetus is not a health benefit), but when they were faced with a real health disaster, the press and the feminists all looked away," Noemie Emery writes.

Today's liberals will "fight to your death for your right to dead babies. Can you get more 'progressive' than that?"

Naptime

2013-04-17T00:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Susie

2013-04-15T16:30:00.004-05:00

Susie as a schoolgirl in Norway

Happy Birthday, Jack Henry!

2013-04-11T02:12:00.000-05:00

15 Lawmakers Unwilling to Define Marriage as 'One Man and One Woman'

2013-04-09T20:31:00.000-05:00

"The Oklahoma House has approved -- without a single negative vote but with some members walking out -- a resolution reaffirming marriage as between a man and a woman and supporting the federal Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages," the Associated Press reports.

"The House approved the resolution Monday on an 84-0 vote. House Democratic Leader Scott Inman and openly gay Rep. Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City were among more than half of the chamber's 29 Democrats who walked out of the chamber instead of voting."

The Democrats who were "excused" for the vote -- who weren't willing to go on record defining marriage "as the union of one man and one woman" -- are listed below.

Rep. Mike Brown
Rep. Kay Floyd
Rep. William Fourkiller
Rep. Chuck Hoskin
Rep. Scott Inman
Rep. Steve Kouplen
Rep. Kevin Matthews
Rep. Jeannie McDaniel
Rep. Jerry McPeak
Rep. David L. Perryman
Rep. Seneca Scott
Rep. Mike Shelton
Rep. Ben Sherrer
Rep. Emily Virgin
Rep. Cory Williams

Rapper Calls Out False Teachers for 'Treating Jesus Like a Lottery Ticket'

2013-04-09T17:28:00.001-05:00

Christian rapper Shai Linne has released a new song calling out prosperity preachers by name, Angela Lu reports. Included in this false teachers hall of shame: Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, T. D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Paula White, Fred Price, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Eddie Long, Juanita Bynum, and Paul Crouch. Listen to the song here.

Jesus is not a means to an end / the Gospel is He came to redeem us from sin /

And that is the message forever I'll yell / If you're living your best life now, you're headed for hell.

Special-Needs Scholarships Are Changing Lives in Oklahoma

2013-04-06T15:03:00.000-05:00

I write about them in this magazine article — and you can see for yourself here:

Not a Parody

2013-04-06T12:30:00.003-05:00

Gov. Frank Keating and the Right to Work

2013-04-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

I recently attended the dedication of the Keating Center for Capitalism, Free Enterprise, and Constitutional Liberty, a new institute housed at Susie's alma mater, Oklahoma Wesleyan University. I was asked to contribute a piece to the Keating Center blog; please check it out here.

We Bring Good Things to Life

2013-04-03T13:21:00.001-05:00

Hello, baby!

Happy 18th Birthday, Lillie!

2013-04-02T02:43:00.002-05:00

Easter Weekend

2013-04-01T09:28:00.003-05:00

Saturday-morning Easter baskets

Last year Oliver just had empty eggs to play with. This year he discovered they had candy in them.

After church, Oliver loves to swing with his brothers:

Brandon, Mary Margaret, and Lillie

Sunday morning after worship

Sunday lunch

After-lunch nap

After-nap egg hunt

It didn't take long for Oliver to figure out how to hunt eggs. I lost count of how many times we hid eggs for him to find.

Found it!

A little help from "Ghee"

Kisses for Lillie

Always missing and remembering Anne Marie

Planned Parenthood Official: It's OK to Kill an Infant Struggling for Life

2013-03-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

Florida state Rep. Jim Boyd: "If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?"

Planned Parenthood official: "We believe that any decision that's made should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician."

Easter Eggs

2013-03-25T13:18:00.003-05:00

Every year we have our night of coloring eggs. I remember well doing the exact same thing when I was growing up. In recent years it's just been me, Jack Henry, and Mary Margaret. This year Lincoln was home for spring break and eventually all the kids except Oliver wandered into the kitchen to help. Lots of fun and lots of good memories around this kitchen table!

This year we tried something different and used Kool-Aid for egg dye. It worked pretty well except for the grape -- it doesn't come out purple, but rather an ugly brown color.

Comparing eggs and deciding which ones were the best.

Everyone got pretty creative . . .

This little cutie was my favorite egg.