Isaiah 35: Beautiful Restoration

Isaiah 35:5 KJV — Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Isaiah 35:7 DBY — And the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of wild dogs, where they lay down, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

Translations vary, but it seems reasonable to use the word “mirage” here to describe the world before it is restored to the Eden state.

It is a fitting description of the fallen world. It winks at secular pop culture allusions to The Matrix and simulation theory. This existence seems artificial because it is. It is a fever dream. It is not reality.

In the end, our blind eyes will see and we will inhabit a healed Earth.

PreK

PreK is a brand new thing. Kindergarten was new and voluntary when I was born (1979). The idea that humans can’t learn how to socialize without a school system that has only existed for ~100 yrs is absurd.

Private School vs. Home School

Private schools are accredited by the same government that runs public schools.The rules and regulations are indistinguishable. If you look at John Taylor Gatto’s history of the American school system, you will see that all schools are training children to be factory workers. The only difference is that private schools produce more factory managers.

1. More Personalized Education: You can’t get more personalized than home education.

2. Better Grades: Grades do not exist in the real world. To acheive goals, individuals must learn what motivates them and how to motivate themselves.

3. Friends: Social opportunities abound with home education. Children get to build friendships with children and adults of all ages. In school, it is frowned upon to have a friend who is even a few months different in age if that child happens to be in a different grade.

Homeschoolers are more varied in interests than those in school. There is greater diversity of thought and belief than are allowed in school.

Isaiah 34: No Nation Will Escape

Isaiah 1:2 RSV — Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

Isaiah 34:16 KJV — Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

I love how there is a challenge to come back, read this prophecy, and know that it is thoroughly accurate in its depiction of destruction.

No nation will escape this wrath. All nations have rebelled and will suffer.

Carnival All The Time

Jonathan Pageau is a an icon carver, Orthodox Catholic, and expert on symbolism.

His ability to understand and translate the appearance of ancient symbols in modern times is unparalleled. He doesn’t approach the subject from “This is why we’re all going to Hell.” He explains how ancient people would have understood certain patterns and divides each pattern into its constituent good and bad elements.

These two episodes illuminate the meanings behind pop music and the Paris Olympic opening ceremony. One leads nicely into the other.

12 Years

“Do you know these kids?”

That question usually comes along with elevated noise levels and some brewing trouble.

This time it was to praise a group of young teens on their first public performance as a band.

This is a new phase of parenting.

Westen has always loved music. This picture was taken 12 years to the day of his first public performance.

Now he’s looking like a full blown rock star on the bass guitar

WORLD OF CHAOS

My son’s new band World of Chaos will debut at Rainbow Records tonight!

Westen been a stage hound since David Stradley asked for volunteer readers at a Delaware Shakespeare event on Market Street in Wilmington. He couldn’t read yet and Stradley had to feed him his line.

Westen actually made it onto a DelShakes stage in their production of The Merry Wives of Windsor and has acted in too many plays to name here (most for Pages Alive Theater).

He’s been learning guitar for a little while now and has had a crash course in bass to prepare for his musical debut.

If you’re local to Newark, Delaware, and want to support some awesome kids, we’d love to see you tonight!