sowing and reaping

It's almost June. Schools are winding down, the temperature is winding up, the neighborhood kiddie pools are filling up.

And my kids are inside doing school. Only now do they bemoan the wasted hours, the frittered time. My daughter is in a rage right now because the kids next door are making too much noise as they swim in their pool and slip on their waterslide. She wants me to go next door and tell them to be quiet.

S is at the emotional stage right now where everything is traumatic. The self-hair pulling, the hands clasped over her ears, the stompings and wailings and throwing of schoolbooks. Get over yourself, girl. You're reaping what you've sown. Plant something different next time.

That may sound like I lack compassion, but that's not the case. I'd rather be done, too. But this experience, too, is school, and she needs to learn that choices have consequences.

I hope the lesson sticks.

pulpit fail

We receive many emails from different organizations of varying Christian stripes - so much so, that they tend to blur together.

This morning, however, we received an e-newsletter from a church where I personally was familiar with their pastor and his ministry. Since it made a blip on my recognition radar, I clicked on the link and had a look around.

Apparently they have a new pulpit - a gift from a like-minded church located in Hammond, Indiana (with which, sadly, I am also familiar).


"THAT IN ALL THINGS HE MIGHT HAVE THE PREEMINENCE" is boldly proclaimed in all caps on the front of the pulpit, over a white cross edged with glowing blue. . .

Now, please tell me, while looking at the photo --exactly WHO will be preeminent as the pastor stands in that pulpit?






Riiiiight.



Now, I am 97% sure that this was not considered when the pulpit was being designed. However, there is that cynical 3% within me that makes me just shake my head, when I consider the source-- which displays that stripe of thought that the Pastor is God's Man, never to be questioned, challenged, or held to account for sin; the giving church worships their preachers and a particular Bible version and pushes the grace of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the background. So - to my cynical 5% (it's growing) it's interesting that the man is stationed ABOVE the Cross of Christ.

That in all things HE might have the preeminence.



Sigh.

deadline

30 days hath September,
April, June, and November...

Just wanted to get one post in for the month of April, since it is now April 30....


Harking back a bit, one month ago today I was in Quebec.

I still have travel photos on my camera to upload, and travel stories to tell before I forget them (for instance - from Minnesota to Western South Dakota........it pretty much sucks. No offense, or anything, but Dudes. Get some trees. And I mean trees that ARE trees, not some weasly little things that poke out of the ground. The only saving grace was Wall Drug....which must be where all the trees went, to make billboards. Pennsylvania's got the right idea in the tree department, but they go for numbers rather than height.)

But those stories are not for today. I must get my children back on track doing school. We all have a severe case of Spring Fever.

... so I'd better get to bed, if I'm going to do any serious catchup tomorrow!

guest book review: Don Quixote

This is for Rebecca, who's been taking stabs at reading this.


D. read an abridged version of Don Quixote for school, and here's his assessment (and I quote):


"I can tell you the entire story in very few words.

He reads too many books. He becomes a nut. So then he gets a squire, and he trains his squire to become a nut. Eventually he dies because he's a nut."

context, context, context.

A and I are enjoying a quiet evening in the living room. He's reading, I'm playing games on my laptop. Here's the conversation:


Me (playing Scrabble online): "I'm only coming up with four-letter words."

A: "Why? Are you in that bad of a mood?"

spring is not icumen in

Spring is not icumen in
Lhude sing poo-pooh!
Snoweth snow and Bloweth nose
And Groweth impatience anew...
Lhude sing poo-pooh!

**edit** Apparently my song reference above is too obscure. I based it on the old Madrigal song written in Middle English, "Sumer is icumen in." Here's the original poem with a performance of the song. Enjoy! Now, back to your lives, citizens!**

I awoke to a winter wonderland this morning. Late this morning. I had to recover from a long, busy weekend and a lack of sleep following the time change.

3 inches is usually more than enough to keep the Puyallup School District from functioning--however, school was NOT cancelled. I learned this AFTER D. missed his band class. He was truant - playing in the snow.

A. figured we might as well let the kids play outside - it'll be the last snow of the season, likely. So, no school today yet. Instead, I'm cleaning house and doing more vacation planning. Road trip!!

mother hubbard

A, just moments ago, commenting on his inability to find a suitable lunch:

"I'm beginning to understand why tigers drive away their offspring from their territory... otherwise, there's no prey left."


He further queried:

"What do you call something that just lies around, causes trouble, and eats food?"

(Me: "A cat.")

"No. A parasite. A lawyer."



He'll change his tune once I rustle up some suitable grub. Seems I'd better get to it.

thoughtfulness

My son has just brought me a cup of my favorite tea: Ginger Peach, by the incomparable Republic of Tea. I love it hot or cold.

I wonder if he's trying to soften some blow that will fall shortly?

... and I hate being all suspicious like that, but these children sometimes exhibit my worst behaviors, and I have been guilty of buttering people up.


Maybe I should just stop fussing and drink my tea. Good idea.

**UPDATE**
I found an empty carton of ice cream next to the teapot. Okay, not COMPLETELY empty... there were about two bites left. Tea with ice cream: who knew?

on kitchen countertops

There's nothing like having a freshly scrubbed kitchen countertop, pristine and cleared of clutter.


It's a battle, though, to keep it that way. There must be an inner compulsion in each member of this household that drives us to put things on the countertop. The empty space beckons us to spread out one's cartooning supplies, the monsters made of Sculpey, the assorted recipes that we'll be using to keep the family fed and content. The mail from yesterday. The avocado pit, stuck with toothpicks and balanced in a small juice cup of water, in hopes that we can get it to sprout--aptly named "Sputnik" by my daughter. And one mustn't forget the cups, plates, bowls, and flatware that never quite make it to the dishwasher, but instead stack up on the countertop, awaiting Somebody's attention.

I hope Somebody gets here soon. I'm running out of space.

my business is picking up

Last night, on my daily walk-thru before bedtime, I discovered:

* an open gallon of milk, sitting in front of the linen closet

* General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi, facing off on my bathroom floor next to the box of shoe polish supplies, also on the bathroom floor for some reason

This morning, I encountered:

* a pot of Earl Grey tea, with copious amounts of sugar speckling the surrounding countertop

* a saucepan on the stovetop, containing bright vermilion cooked crayfish staring blankly at their surroundings

* folded clothes in various piles scattered around the flat surfaces of the living room, making it intraversable (at least they were folded)

* a ringing phone, but the handset was not on the hook, and I don't know where it is...

Believe you me, my business is picking up.

snippets

"Auuughhhh!! What's the point of science without LIQUID NITROGEN??!"

(insert clever title here)

First off, let me just say a big howdy to my three faithful readers. You probably already know the basic jist of my life because you're on my Facebook friend list! :)

Lately I have really been feeling the strain of homeschooling through a particular virtual academy. I love the k12 curriculum, I really do. And I love the people I've met at the Washington Virtual Academy. But the daily grind of making WAVA's required monthly goals is sapping the joy out of this whole educational journey. We are schooling from morning until bedtime.

Add piano, choir, band into that mix, and the academic hours are shortened even more, adding to the crunch. We don't have AWANA or a comparable program at our church, and sad but true, I'm thankful, because that would be Just Another Thing To Do That Takes Up Time.

I'm snappish, short-tempered, and --yes, oddly enough--weepy! Me! (The snap and short-tempered bit is not so strange, but the weepy bit is the strange part).

So we really need prayer as to where we go from here. I am certain that I need to rely more on God's supply of grace. That's a definite. But: do we leave the virtual academy and remain independent homeschoolers? Do we change virtual academies? Do we send a kid off to school? If so, which school? Christian or public? Should I give up the piano studio and resume classroom teaching?

Leaving things status quo is taking a great toll on our lives. AGAIN, I know I need to rely more on God's power and provision. But have I overloaded my plate with things that God has not intended for me to bear? He promises to provide enablement for what He has ordained, not necessarily what I choose for myself.

So that's the latest from here.

We're off to a piano recital. I have 5 students in the recital, and both D and S are playing for their teacher Sharon, so it'll be a Kodak moment. :)

I'll sign off with the current meme. Feel free to just stop reading here if you find these things completely uninteresting!

Things I have done during my lifetime:

(x ) Gone on a blind date
(x ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( x ) Been to Canada
( x ) Been to Mexico
( x ) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
( X ) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
( X ) Been lost
( x ) Gone to Washington, DC
( x ) Been to the Smithsonian
( x ) Rode The Metro in DC
( X ) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with Stingrays
( x ) Fed/petted stingrays
( X ) Cried yourself to sleep
( X ) Played cops and robbers
(x ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
( x ) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( X ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( x ) Made prank phone calls (Is your refrigerator running, better go catch it)
( x) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( x ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( x) Danced in the rain
( x) Been to Europe
( X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Watched a Mardi Gras parade in person
(x) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
(x ) Been deep sea fishing
(x) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
(x) Been to a music concert
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
() Gone jet-skiing
( ) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( x) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( x) Seen the Grand Canyon
( x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( x) Been to New York City
( ) Been in a Haunted Place and experienced something
( x ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Gone out with someone you met online
() Toured Alcatraz aka The Rock
(x) Drove down Lombard Street in San Francisco
( ) Been on a cruise
( ) Traveled by train
( x) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
( ) Rode on a San Francisco cable car
( x ) Been to Hollywood
( ) Been to a taping of a live show
( ) Listened to Dueling Pianos in person
( x) Been to Disneyland AND Disney World (both)
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest
(x ) Seen whales in the ocean
() Been inside a castle
(x ) Been to Niagara Falls
( x ) Rode on an elephant
( ) Been to San Diego's Gas Lamp District
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( x) Seen redwood trees
( x) Been to Busch Gardens
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(x) Hiked a mountain trail
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
( ) Been to Waikiki Beach
( x ) Been water-skiing
( x ) Been snow-skiing
( x) Caught fireflies in a jar
( ) Been to Waikiki Beach
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( x) Gone white water rafting
(x) Gone on a picnic
( ) Been to the Louvre
(x ) Swam in the Mediterranean
( ) Watched the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas
(x ) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
(x) Played a sport
( ) Swam with sharks
( ) Fed a giraffe
( x) Gone camping in a tent
(x) Seen both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
(x) Been to Knotts Berry Farm in Anaheim, CA (duh! I'm a Californian!)
( ) Been on a horse and buggy ride
(x) Traveled to more than 20 different states
(x ) Been to an NBA game
( ) Been to an NHL game
(x) Have eaten dessert first
( ) Been to Australia
() Been to Williamsburg, VA
(x) Read a book with more than 500 pages
( x) Met someone famous
(x) Went to a symphony (in concert)
(x) Seen The Nutcracker Ballet in person

education matters

I will never stop learning as long as I live.

I have some good examples before me. I have a friend who is in her 70's and still taking piano lessons. She's a retired missionary to Colombia who homeschooled five children on the field. She continues to play piano for solo/ensemble competitions, as well as take lessons. Her wisdom and humor make piano classes fun.

I had a piano lesson this morning. Well, it ended up being more of a kaffee klatsch, since I find myself with little in the way of spare time to do anything more than sight-play some easy Chopin or Bach. Winnowing a work down to its harmonic structure, and digging the meat out of the melodic line, forget it. Not when I have literally been teaching school until 9 or 10 p.m. nightly.

Anyway. Good piano/klatsch today. Mimi was very encouraging. Or maybe I was just out of the house, no kids to harangue, and talking with an adult about Life, the Universe, and Everything. I can learn something just by sitting at her Steinway B (note that she sits at the Steinway D, thank you very much, plays like chocolate silk and sounds like amber-colored honey...I digress...) and discussing the teaching in my own studio using the literature my students are working in.


Yeah, this late night school thing is really getting me down. As a matter of fact, I kinda was on strike today. Not in a defiant, in-your-face picket line sort of way, but more like Bartleby the scrivener, in that I "preferred not to" teach. Instead I made heart-shaped cutout cookies, covered with Toba Garrett's cookie glaze. It's flood-consistency frosting that dries to a nice sheen. I added some silver dragees and had some fun imagining selling them for $15 per cookie like Toba does. (no, seriously, go see. www.tobagarrett.com. And no, my cookies didn't look as good as all that.) I allowed S, who is battling some cold/virus thing, to help me with the decor. I figure by now we're all exposed to the germs, so why not? Indeed, A. had it first, and now D has a 99.something fever. S will end up being a baker, that one. Her life involves quite a bit of planning parties, hosting parties, or making party favors and party food. Maybe her life here is too boring.

Meanwhile D wants to educate me on the finer points of playing Godzilla: Unleashed on the Wii. So far I have escaped his clutches on the grounds that if I don't have time to practice the piano because I'm too busy teaching HIM, then he doesn't get Wii time, nor do I (unless, of course, it's Wii Fit...exercise is an acceptable use of time, you know.) This evening, though, since I was on a Bartleby-type of strike, we enjoyed to the fullest: watching a tape of The Doctor(Nine)save Rose Tyler and battle the Daleks--then doing Wii Fit (Super Hula Hoop rocks)--then D.(as Godzilla, naturally) battling Megaguirus and some seahorse-lookin' thing whose name escapes me at the moment, though I know D. has told me several times. (The training of Mom clearly has not stuck). He also did some internet searching on how to unlock a particular monster called Biollante. Just as he completed the necessary steps to unlock Biollante, though, the program did just the converse: it locked up and we had to reboot the system. Lost!

In other education news, A and I have been noodling when best to take a trip to upstate NY to see his dad and then up to Quebec to see his aunt and uncle, who are now in their 80's. We've settled on the weeks that straddle Spring Break. And, Providentially, I have a car waiting for me in Detroit. So the plan is to get one-way flights to Detroit, see the Mom/Grandma and the Brother/Uncle and family - then hop in the car (I have actually ALREADY done the paperwork and tranferred title)- then drive to New York, drive to Canada (passports in process of being renewed - $75 each, such a deal /sarcasm) - then the real fun and education begins when we drive back across the whole flippin' US of A from NYC to SEA. The route will send us from New York City (2 days) to Indianapolis, to Chicago (2 days), to Sioux Falls, to Casper, to Missoula, and then Home. We will learn MUCH on this trip, oh yesss. Even if it is merely in areas of self-control and biting our tongues, or how to count antelope factorially when we are in Wyoming. If you live near any of these cities, be warned that you might just get to see us. Or you might have to come up with excuses not to see us.

The other educational experience that looms in my future is that I get to do my own taxes this year for the first time ever. My dad--in the tax business for 38 years-- retired. He gave me notice over Christmas that he's done. He bought me Turbo Tax and said he'd be available for questioning.

Ugh. Numbers AND the Government. Could anything be less enjoyable?

I wonder if, come April 15, I could simply write, "I prefer not to" at the top of my 1040?

the longest day

I marvel at my children's ability to procrastinate. I can very clearly set forth a well-documented chart of things to do, the order in which they could most efficiently be done, and hold out a "carrot" if the things get done, to reward the kids.

11:21 p.m. Kids not done with school. Kids comatose. Mom frustrated. Dad going to bed.


I don't know about this whole piano teaching gig. I love it, plus we need the money. But school just doesn't happen well on piano days.

So maybe Tuesday and Wednesday will be the kids' weekend, and we school Thursday through Monday.

Oh wait. Where did my weekend go?

I'll think about that tomorrow.

Definitely these kids are mine, though. Masters of procrastination.

ooh, shiny! a blog!

...I wonder how long it's been here, unattended?

Working on a new header. ^That one is ancient and unused. And what is more, I can't seem to link to it from photobucket. They've redone the site and I don't feel like investing time in it to relearn how to post the img.

More important than a new header, though, is CONTENT.



Working on that, too... in between schooling 2 halflings and doing the wife, mom, and piano teacher thing. :)


I'm also playing Lexulous online with Cabcree and Mrs. Blythe. PRIORITIES!

thoreau would be proud

My darling son D never does anything the "regular" way. He will purposefully get answers wrong on various assignments, just to mix it up a bit.

This is challenging for me in the discernment department, sometimes: did he get it wrong because he's pretending to be ignorant; or is he, in fact, ignorant of the correct answer?

I've just returned from cleaning out the van in preparation for my parents' soon arrival from CA (just in time for another ice or snow event here in the greater Pacific Northwest--joy to the world!). While cleaning, I discovered a Sunday school paper completed by my son. I can't blame him for his answers-- the writing prompts are hokey. Nonetheless, I pity his Sunday school teacher, who is a dear, sweet lady. If she quits, I don't know what we'll do.

Here's the text:
If I Were a Light (finish the phrases)
I would want to hang out at. . .
(D's answer)a bowling alley


I would like to light the way for...
A Moose


I would increase my brightness by...
extinguishing a flaming chicken



I do not know what spiritual application was made in this lesson (nor have I asked) - but there's just not much base material to work with here, do you see what I'm saying?

So I can't fault his dumb answers to dumb prompts. Way to go, Regular Baptist Press. I'm not very impressed with your new curricula if this is representative.

Weather Report. Boring to non-native Washingtonians. Ignore.

Issued by The Weather Channel

7:17 pm PST, Thu., Dec. 18, 2008



The latest snowfall reports from The National Weather Service in Seattle, WA: 9 miles northeast of Arlington, 27.5"... 5 miles north of Grand Mound, 11.5"... near Olympia, 9.0"... 15 miles west of Port Angeles, 9.0"... near Bellevue, 7.2"... Federal Way, 6.5"... Rainier, 6.0"... 10 miles southeast of Bremerton, 6.0"... 5 miles south of Bethel, 4.2"... 8 miles south of Lacey, 4.0"... 11 miles west of Artondale, 4.0"... near Hite Center, 4.0"... 12 miles east of Shelton, 3.5"... Mountlake Terrace, 3.5"... near Puyallup, 3.0"... 5 miles north of Seattle, 3.0"... near Everett, 3.0"... 4 miles east of Mount Vernon, 2.5"... near Fort Lewis, 2.0"... near Auburn, 1.8"... near Seattle, up to 6.0"... near Redmond, up to 11.0"... near Frederickson, up to 3.0". Stay tuned to The Weather Channel or go to weather.com for further updates on this winter weather event.

american idolater

So I haven't posted much lately, because, frankly, you don't want to hear about it.

I haven't been extremely successful in any particular venture. Indeed, I haven't felt like I've done anything well for the last 6-8 weeks, perhaps longer. I'm in a state of barely-controlled chaos: from home management, to child rearing, to homeschooling, to time management, to disciplines of Grace like a regular time in God's Word.

As I lay awake in the frigid wee sma's, reflecting on my non-success (something sure to keep any person sleepless and depressed), it occurred to me that this is just another area where I can't admit to myself or other people that, really, I am a mess sometimes. Why not, though? Because I'd look bad? Oh, yeah, that's Pride, isn't it.

And actually, as I thought further about this current winter of my discontent...the source of my discontent is myself. I'm not happy with the way things are going. I'm not comfortable. MY needs aren't being met. Oh, yeah, that's Self, isn't it? I'm bowing to the altar of Myself and then wondering why it's so unsatisfying.

So my natural reaction is to pull an ostrich, burying my head in the sand and pretending it'll all go away (further compounding the problems). Don't want to step on the scale until I've had a good week. Don't want to let people see the cracks in the veneer until I can get my act together. Don't want to run to God until I get myself all fixed up.

How backwards to think that I can bring anything to God except my pitiful, broken self anyway! He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. And those who walk in pride, He is able to humble. So the choice is pretty easy: I can humble myself in the sight of the Lord, and allow Him to lift me up, or let Him do the humbling for me.

Perhaps that is just what He's doing.

The words of the hymn text seem to fit my need at this point in my life:


Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, / Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you, / Full of pity, love and pow'r.

Come, ye needy, come, and welcome, / God's free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance, / Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden, / Bruised and broken by the Fall;
If you tarry till you're better, / You will never come at all.

Let not conscience make you linger, / Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth / Is to feel your need of Him.

I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.

the most wonderful hectic time of the year

I quit teaching piano.


Did I surprise you? Well, temporarily quit, at least. :) I will resume in January.

But honestly... what kid or family needs ONE MORE THING on his/her plate right now? At this time of year, when we're expected to focus on family, friends, togetherness, giving, sharing--I find myself wondering whether we put too many burdens on ourselves to perform to others' satisfaction. Christmas is a good thing, yes! Celebrating the Savior's birth - a good great thing! Family, friends, togetherness--good things!

But all these "good things" add up to one hefty draft on the bank account of our finite, precious TIME. Then those good things turn into so much irritation at yet another demand to fulfill --just because it's a "good thing" to do.

Simplify, simplify......

To God all Praise and Glory.

I am overwhelmed and profoundly grateful.

Bob Jones University posted this page on its website today about their past racial policies. This is amazing for this institution.

I thank God for 1.) the humility and grace He gave to the administration to admit past wrongs, and 2.) the humble spirit with which the organizers of Please-Reconcile.org have handled the entire approach to the University.

I am certain that the letter has not officially made it to the University yet, but clearly the administration has noted what has taken place.

Here's the BJU post:

Statement about Race at Bob Jones University

At Bob Jones University, Scripture is our final authority for faith and practice and it is our intent to have it govern all of our policies. It teaches that God created the human race as one race. History, reality and Scripture affirm that in that act of creation was the potential for great diversity, manifested today by the remarkable racial and cultural diversity of humanity. Scripture also teaches that this beautiful, God-caused and sustained diversity is divinely intended to incline mankind to seek the Lord and depend on Him for salvation from sin (Acts 17:24–28).

The true unity of humanity is found only through faith in Christ alone for salvation from sin—in contrast to the superficial unity found in humanistic philosophies or political points of view. For those made new in Christ, all sinful social, cultural and racial barriers are erased (Colossians 3:11), allowing the beauty of redeemed human unity in diversity to be demonstrated through the Church.

The Christian is set free by Christ’s redeeming grace to love God fully and to love his neighbor as himself, regardless of his neighbor’s race or culture. As believers, we demonstrate our love for others first by presenting Christ our Great Savior to every person, irrespective of race, culture, or national origin. This we do in obedience to Christ’s final command to proclaim the Gospel to all men (Matthew 28:19–20). As believers we are also committed to demonstrating the love of Christ daily in our relationships with others, disregarding the economic, cultural and racial divisions invented by sinful humanity (Luke 10:25–37; James 2:1–13).

Bob Jones University has existed since 1927 as a private Christian institution of higher learning for the purpose of helping young men and women cultivate a biblical worldview, represent Christ and His Gospel to others, and glorify God in every dimension of life.

BJU’s history has been chiefly characterized by striving to achieve those goals; but like any human institution, we have failures as well. For almost two centuries American Christianity, including BJU in its early stages, was characterized by the segregationist ethos of American culture. Consequently, for far too long, we allowed institutional policies regarding race to be shaped more directly by that ethos than by the principles and precepts of the Scriptures. We conformed to the culture rather than provide a clear Christian counterpoint to it.

In so doing, we failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry. Though no known antagonism toward minorities or expressions of racism on a personal level have ever been tolerated on our campus, we allowed institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful.

On national television in March 2000, Bob Jones III, who was the university’s president until 2005, stated that BJU was wrong in not admitting African-American students before 1971, which sadly was a common practice of both public and private universities in the years prior to that time. On the same program, he announced the lifting of the University’s policy against interracial dating.

Our sincere desire is to exhibit a truly Christlike spirit and biblical position in these areas. Today, Bob Jones University enrolls students from all 50 states and nearly 50 countries, representing various ethnicities and cultures. The University solicits financial support for two scholarship funds for minority applicants, and the administration is committed to maintaining on the campus the racial and cultural diversity and harmony characteristic of the true Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

I have no words, except Soli Deo Gloria.