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Greetings,
On this page you'll find excerpts
from recent issues of our
"Homeschool Science (and life) Newsletter".
Greg
Landry, M.S.
14 Year Veteran Homeschool Dad
Director, Human Anatomy & Physiology Laboratory
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
828-265-4101 (office)
828-262-7625 (cadaver lab)
828-964-1662 (cell)
Click Here for email contact.
Thoughts on
Daughters . . . and Sons
I tear-up every time I get email from one of my
homeschool science students this semester. Why?
There's a line at the bottom of all her email
messages that says..
"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy
is going to have to seek HIM to find her!"
This young lady gets it - she REALLY get it!
Like many of you, we have daughters. They're now
16 and 20 years-old. Since they were babies, my
wife and I have been praying for their future
husbands.
We have impressed upon them over the years that
the kind of guy they want to spend the rest of
their lives with.. the guy that God has for them,
is the kind of guy who will be attracted to a girl
who is "lost in God".
He's the guy who will be attracted to a young lady
who loves the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind,
and strength. A young lady whose thoughts, words,
actions, and dress are pure. A young lady who is "in
the world, but not of the world".
A while back I gave this to my daughters. I compiled
and combined it from several similar pieces I've
read over the years..
Wait for the guy who pursues you, the kind of guy who
brings out the best in you and makes you want to be a
better woman..
Wait for the guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot..
Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead and wants to
show you off to the world when you are in sweats..
Wait for the guy who holds your hand in front of his friends
and thinks you're just as pretty without makeup..
Wait for the guy who turns to his friends and says, "that's
her"..
Wait for the guy who will be your best friend, the person who
will drop everything to be with you..
Wait for the guy who praises God for you and encourages you
in your daily walk..
..and most importantly, wait for the guy who is more in love
with
God than with you.
Love Y'all,
Dad
Cadaver Lab -
Three Stories
I was recently talking to a friend about some
of the funny things that happened in my anatomy
lab last semester. I love these kids - this put
a smile on my face.
As you may know, the anatomy lab can be a rough
place at times; people faint, vomit, cry, laugh,
refuse to open their eyes, etc. But most students
end up loving it once they get through the first
time or two.
Here are a couple of situations from last semester
that will put a smile on your face. Please note
that all of these students ended up "lovin' anatomy".
__________
Bill fainted the first time he saw the cadaver. He
was lowered to the floor gently by a couple of girls
standing behind him. On his back, on the floor, with
about ten people staring down at him, he opened his
eyes and said;
"Hey, get out of my room. What time is it?"
__________
A female student fainted, but didn't go down so
easily. Her head hit the wall on the way down,
causing a fairly substantial wound on the back
of her head. As we were trying to stop the bleeding
and get her to the ER to get stiched up, what was
she concerned about?..
"I just got a new haircut, please don't let them
shave my head to stitch that cut."
__________
And then there was Harry (name changed to protect
the guilty). Harry and about ten other students
were dissecting on one cadaver while I and a few
students were dissecting another cadaver. Here's
how the conversation went from there;
Harry: oops!
me: what happened Harry?
Harry: I think i cut something.
me: what was it Harry?
Harry: I think it was the lung.
I walk over to take a look.
me: Nope Harry, that would be the small intestine.
..And this boy wants to be a surgeon. :)
But, that's what the learning process is all about.
My Daughter -
God's Hand
I have to tell you it's still very difficult to write
this. Still very emotional, tears roll down my face
as I relive this.
A couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday morning it was one
of those days when we (my family) were all headed in
different directions, some of us afar. I'm sure you've
been there. :)
Our oldest daughter swims for a college in Tennessee
and qualified for the national championship meet in
St. Louis. She had a few days of spring break at home
and was headed back to school to meet her team at noon
to travel to St. Louis.
We all huddled at the doorway, arms around each other,
and I prayed - among other things, that we would love
and serve those who God put in our path and that we
woould be salt and light wherever we were. I also
prayed that He would protect us all as we traveled.
We all kissed good-bye and left. About 45 minutes later
the phone rang. The caller ID was "Beech Mountain", a
small town about 45 minutes from our house in a mountainous
area. I knew she would be passing through that area at that
time. That wasn't good news.
I answered the phone and it was my daughter - certainly
a relief to hear her precious voice; "Daddy, I'm okay
but I've been in an accident". After making sure that
she really was okay and away from the road, my next
concern was getting her to school in time to leave
with her team.
I told her to get her stuff together so that mom
could pick her up and get her to school by noon.
Her response, "I can't Dad, my stuff is all over the place".
My heart sank. As a parent, those are certainly words
you don't want to hear.
a couple of days earlier we had about ten inches of snow.
Part of the road she was on still had patches of ice.
Going around a curve, she hit a patch of ice and lost
control of the car. She went off the shoulder and rolled
numerous times down a very steep 90 foot embankment. There
were large boulders and trees all the way down. All of
her windows blew out and the roof crushed. The contents
of the car were strewn all over the embankment.
The car landed on it's side, driver's side up. She was
unharmed, not even a scratch. She was able to climb out
of the driver's window and flag down a car for help.
Although she didn't make it to school on time, we drove
her to St. Louis and she had a great meet.
This accident was one that could not be fully appreciated
by describing it. When my wife and actually saw the
scene of the accident and peered down the steep
embankment, we were weak-kneed. As we saw the boulders
and trees that she missed, all we could do was thank God.
As you know, as parents, there are several aspects of
this that were very difficult for us:
1. The realization that when we kissed her goodbye that
morning, it could have been the last time.. this side of
heaven. I know we talk about that possibility a lot, but
when it actually comes this close, it's very sobering.
Our take-away: REALLY cherish every moment with family
and friends and recommit to fully devoting our lives to
Him. Life on this Earth is fleeting.
2. Knowing what she was thinking and feeling as she
realized she was going down that embankment. As parents,
our heart hurt for what she went through.
Our take-away: we were very thankful for her strong
faith and reliance on Him. She is truly completely
sold out to Him. As parents, there's not much more
we could ask for. He is faithful.
A few days after this happened, I received a note
from one of our pastors. Paraphrasing.. Greg, thanks
for being a dad who prays with his family. His ways
are certainly not for us to know. But, He is a God
who answers prayer.. not always when or what we
expect, but He does answer prayer.
While I've certainly always loved seeing or talking
to my daughter on the phone, I have to say there
is an extra bit of sweetness now when she's home or
when I hear that precious voice on the phone. :)
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