I’m not asking about life after you’ve just had a baby. I’m wondering if you feel like you’re the walking dead, not because you’re so exhausted, but because something is missing in your life. Maybe you’re not Undead, but someone you know is.
My Life as a Zombie
During my first years of graduate school, I staggered around campus exhausted, not because of the work or even the stress, but because I was existing apart from God. I thought psychology could put life into my life and solve my many problems, but it couldn’t. Studying psychology for me, was like a Zombie thinking that devouring brains could assuage the pain raging inside them. My book, So You’re Not Wonder Woman, is about my transformation from Zombie to Wonder Woman through the Super Power of God. Wonder Woman became the object lesson I used to tell women they don’t have to live as Zombies amid piles of dirty laundry, unpaid bills, and broken relationships.
Zombies: The Ultimate Object Lesson
I’ve had many women tell me that Wonder Woman is a powerful word picture for them of who they can be through the power of Christ. That’s why I was excited to read Undead by Clay Morgan. The book not only depicts life apart from God as a Zombie-like existence, it turns the entire Bible into a series of macabre stories that share the Gospel. The book is well-written (I’m a very picky reader), funny (Clay creatively uses footnotes to inject humor), and incredibly informative. He shares a rationale for our obsession with all things zombie (and vampire, too) and gives us fascinating lessons in history and science along the way.
You Need to Get Undead If
You feel like something’s missing. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been to church, you’ve been having a difficult time, or you’re just curious about Jesus or the Bible. Undead will encourage you.
You have a child fascinated with zombies or vampires. If you’re a Christian homeschooler, the book would serve as an excellent unit study.
You have a relationship with a young adult who has left the church. Clay speaks directly to the UnChristian generation, but especially to those who have some church background.
You want to learn a method of reaching unbelievers. My sister-in-law teaches story-telling as a means of sharing the Bible with people of all cultures. Even if you could not get someone to read the book, you can learn Clay’s method of turning the Bible into creepy stories–and I mean creepy in a good way!
One Important Note
On page 33, Clay writes, “Most conservative Christians don’t like to consider any other possibility outside of God creating all of existence in six literal days, although I think it’s possible that the origins of the universe aren’t as squeaky clean as that.” He then goes on to make it clear that he does not believe in traditional evolution wherein everything was created by chance. In saying this, he certainly appeals to a culture that clings to the evolution-based premise that the earth is billions of years old, while refusing to agree with a universe that was not created. If someone takes your suggestion to read the book and isn’t familiar with evidence against evolution, I highly recommend the video, The Grand Experiment, produced by our friend, Dr. Carl Werner. Our baby has a bit part in it! This superb material is also available in book form.
Finally, I must disclose that I requested a free copy of the book to review. As an author myself, I know how important social media and reviews are to getting books into the hands of readers, so I wanted to be of help. However, if I hadn’t liked the book, I wouldn’t have given a positive review (unless of course I were a zombie).
Get a Free Copy of Undead
In the interest of getting the word out about Undead (this is the official book page) and also building this blog’s following, I will be giving away a free copy to one of my readers. If you buy and read the book, please take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon. While you’re there, please review So You’re Not Wonder Woman as well. Reviews are the number one determinant of buying decisions. Have a great Undead day!
1. Decide if homeschooling is right for you. It took me some time to decide to homeschool. I share my story here. Read this list of issues to consider and if you still want to homeschool, continue to step 2.
2. Learn the homeschool laws for your state. You’ll want to be ready with the information when asked. While you are at HSLDA, consider joining to make sure you have an attorney to defend you if needed.
3. Homeschooling is much easier with friends. Contact a local support group. Many of them offer seminars for new homeschoolers.
5. Plan to attend a homeschool conference. The speakers will educate and inspire you and you’ll have a chance to look at lots of curriculum and purchase it without paying shipping. Many events have a new homeschooler track.
6. Share your intention with relatives, friends, and neighbors. Be ready to answer questions without getting defensive. Remember, you were once uneducated about it, too.
8. Buy curriculum if you haven’t already done so. Borrow or buy used while you are still getting your feet wet.
9. Decide which extra-curricular activities you’ll participate in. Limit them or you’ll find you’re doing car schooling instead. Here are a few homeschoolers’ thoughts:
11. Create a homeschool schedule. You may never keep it perfectly, but having a general plan for the day will help you achieve your homeschool goals.
12. Devise a plan for keeping the house clean. Because you will be home most of the time, you will have to do more to tackle messes. Here’s one approach you may like.
14. Make the first day of school special. Have the kids write what they’re looking forward to in school and save it until the end of the year. Check out these ideas.
15. Make plans to stay motivated. The excitement at the beginning of the year won’t last unfortunately. Subscribe to my blog and God bless your school!
I started on AOL Journals. If that doesn’t date me, I don’t know what does. I wrote a little on Blogger, then moved to psychowith6.typepad.com when my friend, Barbie, who is much hipper than I am convinced me to give it a try. I enjoyed writing for friends and family in a style that has become the stuff of Facebook today.
When I published So You’re Not Wonder Woman, the book based on my popular talk by the same title, I felt I needed a corresponding website. Wonderwomen.typepad.com was born. I began writing “professional” posts for wonderwomen, saving my personal stories for psychowith6.
My blogging friends and I started communicating on Facebook and posted inconsistently. When another good friend of mine, Deb of CountingYourBlessings, became enamored with blogging, I returned to writing and started motivatedhomeschooler.com. I lost interest in both blogs again until Deb invited me to a SITS Girls Blogging conference. In advance of that, I moved wonderwomen.typepad.com to NotWonderWoman.com on WordPress.
I’ve been very motivated to blog since then, but realized that keeping up with more than one blog with my large family, homeschooling, and other hobbies just isn’t feasible. Deb suggested I return to psychowith6.com and combine everything I’ve been doing into just one blog. So here I am and here you are and God only knows where we’ll go! But I’m glad you’re along for the ride.
Please read the About page to learn more about me and my family.
Then check out the Best Of page to read the best posts from all three former blogs.
If you find something you like, check out Why You Should Follow Me, and leave me a comment. I’m crazy about them!
Finally, I want to be honest with you about some of the links on this site. Some of them are affiliate links. That means that if you click them and buy the products they’re connected to, I will be paid a small commission. To date, I have not made a penny on affiliate links. So if you’re worried that your clicks will help buy me a second home in the Bahamas, rest assured. They won’t.
The Bible says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).
I take my role as an online teacher seriously. Before you decide to follow me on social media, read what I write, or listen to what I have to say, I want you to know that I am a woman who seeks to respect authority–my husband’s, church’s, and God’s as revealed in His Word. You should also know that despite having a Ph.D., I can be really, really dumb. My good friends will deny it, but my mother and husband will tell you the truth! Anything I say should be checked against the authorities in your life. I’ve been wrong before and I will be wrong again.
Despite the risks of being a teacher (for both of us), my heart’s desire is to share what is valuable in my own journey as a wife, mother, home educator, child of God, and psychologist. I’m blogging because I love to write, but also because I love people. I’ve met some of my dearest friends online and I’d love to add you to my list!
Social media can be very confusing if you’re new to it. Here’s what you can expect if you follow me online.
If you’d like to:
See significant change in your life and you’re already reading the Bible, I suggest you read my book, So You’re Not Wonder Woman. In it, I share the dramatic changes God created in me in every area of my life that my Ph.D. in psychology failed to make. All proceeds from the book benefit charity and missions. It’s free for Kindle Prime members and I regularly make it free to other Kindle owners. I’ll keep you posted!
Get help in specific areas, click the categories right below the large photo on the home page, or enter something in the search box at the top right of the home page. The categories are pretty self-explanatory, except that parenting is listed under both homemaking and homeschooling, hobbies includes posts on blogging/writing, psychology and relationships are under health, and the hope category is anything to do with faith. I could put just about everything in the hope category, but I’ve stuck with posts that are more devotional in nature.
Read my posts in a reader or via e-mail, click here. I use Google Reader and Flipboard on my iPad to keep up with my blog reading, which is like having a custom-made magazine. If you’d like to check out the blogs I read, see my blogroll at the bottom of the home page. Just know that I have a hard enough time controlling what I write. I can’t moderate others’ blogs, so use your own judgment in reading and subscribing.
Read my posts and other information I recommend on Facebook, click here and then click Like on the right. You’ll also be able to share content with me and other community members.
Read other great blog posts I recommend on the topics I cover, follow me on Twitter here and then click Follow. This is also a great way to share blog posts with me that you think my followers would enjoy.
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Learn more about what it means to be a Christian, check out this excellent resource:
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“Should I quit blogging?” is a popular Google search term. I’ve wrestled with and prayed about whether or not blogging is the best use of my writing time. After all, that time is in limited supply! In weeding through my Google Reader this weekend, I discovered that many of my friends quit blogging two or three years ago.
Even though I would be in good company if I quit, I have determined to give blogging my best effort for the next six months and then decide the future based on the results. Given that decision, I thought it was interesting that my blog is being featured today on ChicnSavvyReviews. I completed a questionnaire for Kelsey about why I blog and what I hope to gain from blogging some time ago, but I find that it still applies.
Check out Kelsey’s blog and if you’re a blogger, where do you see your blog a year from now?
P.S. ProBlogger is running a series this week focusing on the biggest blog dilemmas. See you there!
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
