ThinMint

Good News August 5th, 2022 highlights • US District Court Judge Cormac Carney ruled that Visa helped Pornhub “monetize child porn” and sex trafficking. The court also denied Visa’s motion to be dropped from a lawsuit against porn parent company MindGeek, ruling there was enough evidence to show the company “knowingly provided the tool used to complete the crime” of distributing child pornography. This decision could have long-lasting implications for credit card companies, legal observers say • Four time dosed German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has contracted the coronavirus according to the German APA • Voters in Jamestown Township, MI, voted to gut their library’s operating budget when the staff and elected board of directors declined to remove LBGQT books from the library’s collection. In an organized effort, the community voted, in effect, to close its library rather than have it remain open with books that indoctrinate children • FL Gov DeSantis has suspended State Atty Andrew Warren for “picking and choosing which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” including refusing to follow state policy criminalizing abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade, and repeatedly refusing to enforce laws cracking down on child sex-change surgeries • Public schools in Oklahoma will now require students in kindergarten through college to complete an affidavit stating their biological sex to be allowed to participate in school sports • CO Sec State candidate Tina Peters sues every clerk in Colorado over recount procedures • A Supreme Court NY judge halted Gov Hochul’s unconstitutional measure of creating infectious disease camps to hold people -even without proof of a disease, stating the regulation can no longer be reissued or made permanent • Gateway Pundit lawyers Marc Randazza and Jay Wolman of the Randazza Legal Group, along with GP General Counsel John Burns filed a motion to intervene in the Guiffre v. Maxwell case in the United States District Court for the District of New York. Gateway Pundit is asking the Court to unseal all records identifying Epstein’s sex clients • A Nat'l survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 62% of likely voters believe we're in a recession and blame democrats

Hello sweet friends! I realize it sounded a little braggy* to share the books I finished recently, and I'm sorry for that. I can assure you that the reading schedule is highly unusual, but I needed to catch-up/get slightly ahead. Guess I got a little exuberant sharing my love of reading 🙂 Good news highlights dropping next. Following that is a post for sharing all the wonderous we see. Also, Trump has a rally today in Wisconsin (posted below). I hope to return in time from a meeting to see him speak. Please do share your observations as it's so helpful to us! *new word alert = 🍪

- 5 - We read to gain, to be inspired, fall in love. We find the thing that makes us thrive -even if we’re not very good at it, and we steady on because it makes us better. What is the passion God planted in your heart? How will it bloom? Where do you start? As the above quote tells us, in our home.

- 4 - Turn your face towards the sunshine, be barefoot in the soft grass, get yourself an indoor plant to nourish, stand in the rain, look for shapes in the clouds like you did as a child. Be silly, be spontaneous, be content. If it’s delightful to you and glorious for God pursue it ardently, consistently. And if it’s pleasurable to you in any small way, read. Last week, I finished the book, “The Wind and the Willows,” chosen by Shannon Guerra’s channel, Gaining Ground. This was one I started with the kids many years ago, but couldn’t get them interested so it was put aside. I’m so tickled I got to read it all as it was so thoroughly charming! The previous book was, “Hinds Feet On High Places” and before that was Tolkien’s, “The Hobbit.” We’re starting, “Sense and Sensibility” August 8th so if anyone would like to join this very sweet, small and laidback group, we’d love to have you!

- 3 - Some folks say that every generation has their own woes, that nothing is new, and that throughout history people have felt “this is it.” I don’t think it’s far fetched to say that we are, without a doubt, living in unprecedented times. Other than the days of Noah, I don’t think anything can compare to the filth and ungodliness we are witnessing. So yeah, my kids will read good stuff to embolden and boost them, to get them excited and passionate, to help them feel brave, and be empathetic. They need it. Right now they’re experiencing the pain that comes from the unexpected and unexplainable. They need to see how beloved heroes handle unfairness, cruelty, grief. Last week one of their track and field team mates was killed after being struck by a vehicle while he was riding his skateboard. He was only 14. Our hearts hurt. Sadly, both hamsters unexpectedly died Sunday, the shock making the twins feel incredibly uncomfortable, scared. Life is hard. We need to have moments to do the things that make our heart smile.

- 2 - I’m also reminded of another statement from CS Lewis that has stayed with me for a very long time: “Since it is so likely that they [children] will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage…” You know, I think that ought to be applied to adults as well. How do we fight an unseen enemy that manages to seep, ooze, infiltrate and leech all that is good, honorable, charitable? How do we stay encouraged when it’s all too easy to become preoccupied with what we see happening around us? Read. Read about the feats of the men and women of the American Revolution. Learn about their heroic acts; understand how they overcame a long line of abuses; empathize with them having snitches as neighbors; appreciate all the impediments they had to overcome; and apply their courage, their boldness and their resolve to liberate their children’s world from tyranny. Read the struggles, the angst, the glories that David shares in Psalms. If it’s pleasurable to you in any small way, read!

- 1 - I think many of us see the worth in reading, collecting, and sharing books… Felix recently got me some new bookshelves to replace the scruffy ones I've had for 16+ years (the new shelves are like something a grownup would have *swoon* 😊). So my home is in disarray with books and knick-knacks scattered here and there. If the clutter wasn't books, I would lose my mind. I’ve been busy rearranging my collection, but admit I’m not in too much of a hurry as I savor the smell and sight of books stashed in unconventional places around the home, waiting to be moved to their handpicked real estate spot. The twins will be taking a tutorial class for their freshman year. This is a first for us, and I’ve been preparing for this new venture since June. They’ll be reading some classic American literature this year, and I am hopeful I can read all the books, too -even those I already read in high school. In the past two weeks, I’ve managed to complete: Johnny Tremaine, The Scarlet Letter, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Red Badge of Courage and The Call of the Wild. And of course, there’s my nightly cuddle with my Kindle, and a Telegram book club I joined. All this heavier than usual reading reminds me of On Living in an Atomic Age by CS Lewis: What a wonderful way to go through life - getting all cozy with a book!

Thank YOU so very much for all the amazing tips you shared regarding Latin. Sounds like I'm going to need to stock up on cookies to get through this course 🥴 Hope you have a spring in your step today as you bask in the knowledge that God loves you!

courtesy of @CallToBattle

Heeeeeeey friends ... 😬 Anyone have some tips/resources for a very lost and confused mom helping her high school freshmen learn Latin for the first time? (The curriculum we are using at the moment is Henle First Year.) And when I mean tips/resources, I mean like I need it really simplified. Pre-school level, complete with snacks and naps. Or... You teach and I pay you in cookies 😃

I can't think of a better way to start the morning! Thank you, Kazoo, for sharing this sweetness with us 👇🏻

I keep receiving surveys in the mail from the first hospital Felix was admitted. I think it's probably best I do not fill it out. Sometimes we just have to acknowledge our limitations. And I am pretty limited in feeling charitable towards some... organizations. Did I ever tell you that I have received bills for the first time as late as July for December and January claims with threats to ruin our credit? Did I ever tell you that I receive bills repeatedly for claims I already paid with threats to ruin our credit? Did I ever tell you that I receive erroneous bills telling us to pay double to 200 times more than what we owe? Did I ever tell you that the total bills from both hospitals came to just over a million dollars? Our eyes remain focused on Jesus through the continued trials. What also helps us get through these moments that test one's patience is reflecting upon and feeling very grateful for all you did for us. God is still doing the miraculous. Hope. Believe. Pray. Praise. Never, ever stop trusting God!!!!

Happy & Blessed Sunday Friends! I spent time yesterday and this morning enjoying the beautiful creation gifted to us by our Lord! Majestic and wonderful..my favorite thing to do! As I surrendered and was still in His presence, He spoke to me. The temple of the Lord, we each seek to find. Peace, comfort, love. Where does the Lord dwell? Amongst His people and His creation! As I watched the bumble bees collect pollen, butterflies supple sweet nectar, birds singing, grasshoppers hopping, ants busy...I was in His temple! I felt Him ever so close, divinely connected, as if He brought heaven to me. I believe in that moment He swept over my body a healing touch in my heart and soul! I encourage you to step away from the hustle of this life and enter into the temple of the Lord! "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." Psalms 27:4 -The People's Pharmacist 🙏🏼❤️🇺🇲