Tuesday, June 16, 2015

STOP THE PUSH TO ALLOW BEAR HUNTING IN FLORIDA: Christian Blogger Lorilyn Roberts

Recently, I was getting the pump fixed on my pool and I met a gentleman, Karl Ambrose, at the store. While there, he gave me some disturbing information—that Florida is on the verge of opening up the state to bear hunts.

I can't think of many things more upsetting than hunting species for pure sport. In my opinion, it's barbaric, inhumane, and cruel. We don't eat bears, and worse yet, much of the scientific information about their numbers has not been validated.

Oftentimes these special interest groups push their agendas through the legal channels before the general public is even aware of what happened.

My goal here is to alert the public via social media—see Karl’s email below. Be sure to click on the link to let your voice be heard. Do you really want to allow bear hunts in Florida? A pubic that does nothing has spoken. The deadline looms. Please act now!




*~*~*~*

From Karl Ambrose

“Florida Bears may soon be hunted in their homes to supposedly reduced human/bear interactions.

“If bears are hunted in the only place that is their designated home, it actually may increase their likelihood of  increasing bear/human interactions.

“A source of problem behavior seems to be overlooked.  Most of the forests are surrounded by private hunt clubs.  The feeders that the hunters leave for deer, some of which may be illegal, are a likely source of emboldening bear that no one is mentioning.  A proposed hunt would also leave abandoned cubs.

“Why should the Florida Wildlife Commission propose a hunt that is likely to increase the number of human/bear interactions and not address the feeders that are actually luring the bears to the problem areas?

“It is my impression, from talking with FWC, that they have no intention of doing their job.  It seems that their real goal is to pander to deer hunters instead of getting to the source of the problem behavior.   

“Anyone who wishes to chime in on this subject can go to Myfwc.com and express your opinion.  The final meeting to approve the hunt is being held in Sarasota, Fl, on June 24.”

Monday, June 1, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: “Seventh Dimension - The King: A Young Adult Fantasy,” Five Stars from Readers’ Favorite Book Reviewer Jennifer Hansen





Seventh Dimension - The King is simply put, one of the best, most creative books I have ever read in any genre of literature. I read from cover to cover in one sitting..that is how spectacular and all-encompassing this book is!! I simply could not put it down!

There are so many elements of the story that I loved that I am not sure where to begin! The character development was extraordinary! I felt like I knew both Shale and Daniel and I saw myself in their struggles and their achievements! I LOVED the animals as well and how intertwined they became throughout the story.

I also was so impressed by the vivid imagery that Roberts created! I could see everything so clearly as I read through the story which just added another layer of excellence and depth to the tale. 

While I loved all of the aforementioned aspects of The King, what was most important to me was the development of their individual spiritual journeys. This is what makes this so much more than a great story...there is something that everyone will find that they can relate to in their own relationship with God. 

I am sure I am not the only one who would like to have met Jesus 2000 years ago...the mastery and God-given talent that has been written in these pages has allowed me to do that....I absolutely loved this book and I hope that everyone who reads it will be blessed by the story as I have been! This is not just a story ....it's an adventure and experience I won't soon forget!


📗📗📗📗📗


The next book in the Seventh Dimension Series will be published on July 24. Here is the back cover blurb: 


The Seventh Dimension Award-Winning Series continues in Seventh Dimension - The Castle. Daniel is haunted by a recurring dream of his missing father in a mysterious castle. When he is captured by the Romans and finds asylum in the Temple, he discovers a sealed scroll that reveals his future concerning a wager between good and evil. But the stakes are raised when the 17-year-old witnesses the trial and crucifixion of Yeshua. The convergence of time with supernatural events creates a suspenseful ending and the prelude to the fourth book in the Seventh Dimension Series, The City




 You can order your copy and have it automatically delivered to your Kindle 





Wednesday, May 20, 2015

HOMESCHOOOLING: “Public High School after Homeschooling – How Hard Is It To Make the Transition?” by Lorilyn Roberts

Mission Trip to Nepal, Joy, October 2014
My daughter, Joy, is finishing her junior year of high school. Yes—just one more year and I’ll be done. I laugh because, as parents, we know we are never done. We just accompany our daughter to the next fork in the road—college, or some sort of vocational training where she can learn a skill that will help her to—well, pay bills.

While I can’t say it’s been an easy transition from homeschooling to public high school, it was the right decision for my family.

To give a bit of background, my oldest daughter is twenty-four and my youngest, Joy, is sixteen. I adopted both of them from Asia as a single mother by choice. My oldest one arrived from Nepal when she was three and I adopted Joy from Vietnam when she was fourteen months. I homeschooled my oldest one from third grade all the way through two years of high school when she then enrolled at a community college as a high school junior. She graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and now has a well-paying job in a related field.

I homeschooled Joy beginning with kindergarten. At the end of that year, she scored in the top ten percent of all kindergarteners around the country, but she was a reluctant learner—at least when it came to me being her teacher. She loved me as a mom but not as her favorite teacher. After one year, I didn’t have the emotional energy to continue homeschooling her, so I put her in private school for three years.

2005 art, Joy's favorite subject



By the end of the third grade, she was testing at the fiftieth percentile and I was $15,000 poorer. Joy was a gifted learner and had been at the top of the charts after I homeschooled her in kindergarten. I pulled her out of private school and homeschooled her from fourth grade through ninth grade, although the eighth and ninth grades were a homeschool-private school combination. In other words, she was homeschooled two days a week and in private school three days a week.

When Joy entered the tenth grade, I enrolled her in a large public high school with over 2,000 students—quite a change from homeschooling. Even at the private school, she went to three days a week, she only had about ten kids in her classes.

I experienced much trepidation putting Joy into public high school. I thought about all the things she would encounter. I worried about the students she would meet, if she could make friends, if she would be able to succeed, and if the change would be overwhelming. She had never been in public school and I agonized over it her entire ninth-grade year before finally making the decision to enroll her in public high school.

To be transparent, I never felt as if I was that successful homeschooling Joy, at least not like I was with my oldest one. While both of them scored in the top seventieth percentile or higher every year, Joy didn’t like being homeschooled. She didn’t want to do the work for me, and I didn’t have the time to supervise her, as I needed to, especially when she hit middle school.

God showed me she needed to be accountable to someone else. I was too soft. I valued our relationship more than constantly fighting over unfinished work or the occasional issue of “cheating.”

When we went to the homeschool-private school environment, even though teachers expected more, they were also too lax. It was a Christian school, and while I appreciated the Christian influence and grace, I knew it wasn’t what Joy needed. She needed to learn the importance of accountability—the real world is tough. In public high school, teachers expect your assignments to be turned in on time. If you don’t do them, they don't listen to your excuses. In college, you need to study hard even if you don’t attend a class every day. As an adult, your boss expects you to do your job. One season of life builds upon another.

If you get the picture I am painting, you can imagine what that first semester was like when Joy entered tenth grade. On the positive side, she immediately made good choices in friends. I am thankful for God’s protection in that area. She stuck to the straight and narrow path and navigated through the social waters unscathed. I pray that will continue through her senior year.

As an aside, Joy was a competitive gymnast for over ten years and switched to competitive cheer when she entered eleventh grade—so she was busy. In her first year in public high school, she did not participate in a sport. I wanted her to focus on getting good grades

Joy’s grades that first semester were—well, not good. I will spare you the details, but the only “A’s” she received were in P.E. and art.

As painful as this was to me, my philosophy was this: Sometimes kids need to fail before they realize they want to succeed. Most kids, if given the choice, would rather succeed than fail. As parents, we need to make sure they have the choice. We don’t want to set them up for failure, but neither should we ensure success if they haven’t earned it.

Kids and teens need to learn the value of hard work Once Joy failed a class, she realized that failure was an option, and it wasn’t an option she wanted. She didn’t like it. That first year in public high school was hard—but she never complained and I never made excuses for her.

Eleventh grade has been much better. She is making A’s and B’s in all her classes, even taking AP classes, and doing well. She has learned how to study. Sometimes we have to make the tough choices we don’t want to make to teach our children life lessons they won't learn any other way. In Joy’s case, public school was the best choice.

Joy in her cheerleading outfit with a good friend
Our public high school isn’t perfect, but I know Joy is receiving an excellent education. I did insist she be enrolled in honors, pre-AP or AP classes. I wouldn’t allow her to be placed in classes with students who didn’t want to learn. As a parent, you have more input than you might realize on what classes your child takes. You know what is best for your child, particularly if you have been a homeschooling parent.

I also insisted that Joy take electives she would enjoy. She took art in tenth grade, photography this year, and will take pottery her senior year. High school is one of the last opportunities to indulge in cultured learning. The arts in my opinion are underrated. If you look at the richest civilizations in history, their culture has touched our society—what nation would we be if it were not for the amazing influence of Egypt, Greece, and Rome on our language, music, and arts? In college, classes tend to focus on career goals, unless you major in art, and most parents prefer educational pursuits that will ensure a well-paying job when their child graduates.

If you are debating whether to put your child in public school after homeschooling, particularly high school, ask yourself these questions: Do I trust that my child can make wise choices? Can my child handle peer pressure and bullying? Can my child deal with alternative lifestyles and kids who embrace different values? Will my child hold on to the morals I have spent years instilling in her, and can she shoulder the responsibility that comes with being in public school? Is my child able to make friends? Is she insecure or confident in her abilities?

If you feel like your teen can navigate the social waters of public high school, then I would ask, can my child receive a better education in public high school than if I homeschool her?

This is a tough question, but it’s an important one. High school is the stepping stone to college. If your child does not master the core subjects in high school, college will be difficult. Knowing Joy’s poor study habits, I knew she would not succeed in college unless someone toughened her up, and I knew it wouldn’t be me.

If your child is doing well homeschooled, working hard, and making good grades, I wouldn’t pull her out to enroll her in public high school. If something is working, don’t fix it. Many teens, including my first one, are able to go from homeschooling directly into college. It can be done and many homeschooling students do it successfully every year.
11th grade Joy's art, anatomy

Assess your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Ask your teen what he or she wants to do. A happy teen is easier to live with than a discontented teen. If you discover after a couple of months, public high school isn’t working or vice versa, it doesn’t mean you failed. You simply make the adjustment. Life goes on. In the end, it will be only a small blip in the educational journey of your child.

I used to say, “The worst day homeschooling is better than the best day in public school.” Mostly I remember the good days and there were many of them. One year may be great and the next, not so much. Life happens. Children change as they mature, and despite other things that may become a distraction, parents need to continue to provide an environment conducive to learning at home. It’s good to reassess each year where you stand on these important issues.

As a Christian, I found myself in bed many nights, exhausted, asking God for wisdom and guidance. Homeschooling was one of the hardest things I ever did but also one of the most rewarding, but there came a time when God clearly said to me, “It’s time to let go. Joy needs to go to public school so she can learn things you can’t teach her. You can trust me.”





If you would like more information, I would encourage you to check out Kids in the House. I homeschooled before the invention of the internet and sites like this one would have been very helpful when I was seeking answers to these difficult questions. Read and learn as much as you can, whether you are new to homeschooling or a seasoned homeschooling family. When it comes to high school, check out all of your options and ask God for wisdom. He will guide you to make the right decision for you and your family.


📙📙📙📙📙








Friday, May 15, 2015

MEDIA: CHRISTIAN REVIEW MAGAZINE FEATURES LORILYN ROBERTS





You can read Christian Review Magazine’s delightful review at:


Christian Review Magazine featured me in January but I just discovered it. I have done nothing but write Seventh DimensionThe Castle: A Young Adult Fantasy for the past five months, and I am now able to come out of the closet and rejoin the world of blogging, marketing, and sharing. I honestly enjoy these activities almost as much as I do writing books. Seventh Dimension The Castle will be released in July 2015. 


Tuesday, May 5, 2015

MY RESCUED ANIMALS: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts



I"ll always be by your side while you write the best books in the whole world.




I'm an animal lover. Always have been, always will be. Animals have taught me lessons I couldn't have learned otherwise. When I see animals, I see the hand of God.

Sometimes I laugh when I see strange creatures, whether on TV, on the internet, in the wild, or in the oceans. I saw many weird ones when I scuba-dived. At other times, I mourn when I see the heartless killing of them. I don't mean for food, I mean for sport, for pride, for evil.

Lest I get too depressing, because that's not what this post is about, with the earthquake in Nepal and finishing my latest book, I am rather emotionally drained. Therefore, I decided to write this post for sheer enjoyment. I have pulled out photos of some of my pet animals, and yes, I have way too many. We have seven neurotic cats and one devoted dog.

All of them are rescued animals—from the streets, the Human Society, and unwanted. Actually, I think they rescued us. Yes, I would be much richer without their upkeep in heartworm medicine and food and vet bills, but how much poorer I would be without their love. 

Enjoy these snapshots. Laugh, cry, but mostly, remember God brings love to us through our pets. Every good thing comes from above, and yes, I do believe our cats and dogs and other critters will be in heaven. Does God not give us the desires of our heart? And my heart's desire is to see Gypsy, Gretchen, Shelley, Abby, Rex, Molly, Thomasina and Lewis (who have gone to their reward) as well as those still with us. How many blessings I would have missed without their licks, wags, kisses, purrs and—well, even their little messes. (As only a mother would understand:)




Yes, another dumb commercial.

Can I come in, too?

I'm so beautiful. Eat your heart out!
I'm in charge around here


I'm a cat on a hot Florida roof.

The best thing about Christmas is I get to play with the boxes.

Water always tastes better from a toilet.

Help! I promise I'll never do this again.
.
Thank you for fostering us for a future home:)

Peek-a-boo

I just love these blankets.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

A PRAYER: Pray for the People in Nepal Following the Earthquake

Kathmandu

My heart goes out to Nepal. I can't imagine the suffering. Nepal is poor and does not have the infrastructure or resources to deal with anything like this. The epicenter was between Pokara and Kathmandu. These are the two cities Joy and I visited when we took Christian books to orphans last October. I have read reports Durbar Square was completely shattered. Below I have posted pictures from our trip from Durbar Square, Pokhara, and Kathmandu. 




Children in Nepal

My daughter Joy at the Durbar Square that was destroyed in the earthquake

Durbar Square, Lorilyn and Joy

Durbar Square

Town of Pokhara

Pokhara



I received an email from Ram and he said his family and house are fine, as well as the church. Joy and I stayed with his family for part of the time while we were there. They have adopted ten or eleven orphans. I don't know if they know about the other 130 or so other adopted children in Child Hope International homes around the country. Please continue to pray. World Vision is collecting donations if you want to help.


Pokhara Lake