Long Before We Met

for LeVonna           Words & Music © 2013
by Wm. C. Anderson

Our shadows tell a story
Of time before we met,
In a place some call Heaven
In a space not yet.

When shades were drawn
With no light or heat,
When the Heart of Heaven
Was the only beat,

You and I were born
By a Love conceiving,
In the Mind of God
In an Act Believing.

He made you in His Image
That the Eye of God would send
A gift of Love undying,
Loving with no end.

He was there within you,
Before there was time.
He will be there with you,
Long after you are mine.

So I kiss each morning gently,
It is night before sunset,
Long after you are mine,
Was long before we met.

The Light of His Love formed you
And every sun that ever set,
Radiant in such beauty
As Love is now reflect.

The Love that composed you
Is the Love we met,
Love that is unending,
Love with no regret.

God did not unfold you
Without a beautiful sun to set.
Your Love was there before you,
Long before we met.

Academic Offerings / Visitors, Feathered and Otherwise

We are always happy to have our former students drop by for a visit. Gunner, pictured left, and his grandmother had a nice visit with Dr. and Mrs. Anderson this week. It has been a few years since he moved to California, but he related to us that he really misses Texas and the school.

We are excited to launch a new academic program starting this Fall: Autodidacticism (Self-Directed Learning). This program is outlined below and may be viewed, along with other offerings, by clicking here. Improvements have been made this month to outline our academic offerings on the website.

In addition to the traditional instruction at Anderson, time will be created each week for students to select a topic of interest and delve into the study of it. Research has shown the benefits of allowing students to select their own topic of study, and with the encouragement and tutelage of a teacher, they are able to achieve this goal and work on an area of their own choosing.

Following a refreshing dip in our newest bird bath, this feathered friend posed on our back deck. Isn’t he a beauty?

The only way to begin to understand and study a subject, event, or time period in its entirety, is to have multiple disciplines at your disposal. This allows for a more complete picture to be drawn in the student’s mind surrounding the subject. This self-directed interdisciplinary study enables students to explore a range of topics of their own selection without the constraints of artificial curriculum barriers and enables them to learn the process of scholarship, which includes: topic selection, research methods, critical thinking, and logical conclusions.

This method of study enhances a student’s conception of the idea of scholarly pursuits and elaborates the extent of research which is necessary for a conclusion to be derived in the mind of the student.

Classes are set to resume on Tuesday, September 3.

A Healthier You – and Your Child – Thanks to Fredrick and the Fish

Our Friend and Protector – Fredrick the Frog

Our friend, Fredrick, who happens to be a beautiful and very friendly frog, is among the many members of our pest control patrol. He is simply delighted with our “No Pesticides” policy and is happy to dine with delight on the delicacies available under and around the front entrance of the school. He lives, unbelievably, inside this flower pot which stays on one of the front steps. And, more unbelievably, he does not disturb the plants he sleeps under and, we do not disturb him (he sleeps during the day).

Research has been published from eleven studies which tracked a total of over 222,000 people and found the risk of death from coronary artery disease fell as the consumption of fish increased. Eating fish a few times a month reduced the risk by approximately 11%. Consuming fish two to four times per week reduced the risk by 23%. While consumption of fish five or more times a week reduced the risk by around 38%.

Studies have also shown that fish oil lowers numerous risk factors for heart disease, including triglyceride levels as well as blood pressure. And it decreases inflammation.

Cold water fish, such as salmon, herring, sardines, and tuna, contain E.P.A. and D.H.A. These reduce the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death caused by electrical problems in the heart. Consumption of fish also reduces the risk of having a stroke as well. It is important to note that fish also contain vitamin D, healthful proteins, selenium, and many other nutrients.

The following list provides for good sources of omega-3 fatty acids stated in milligrams (mg):
Anchovy 2,050
Herring, Atlantic 2,000
Salmon, farmed 1,950
Salmon, wild* 1,850
Mackerel, Atlantic 1,200
Sardines, Atlantic 1,000
Bluefish 1,000
Trout 900
Tuna, white, albacore 850
Mussels 800
Bass, striped 750
Oysters, wild 500
Tuna, light 300
Halibut 200 and
Eggs 50 per egg

Bon Appetit !

Our Need To Connect

Kevin Grubbs and Samantha Herek had a delightful visit Dr. and Mrs. Anderson this past week. Our congratulations to Kevin who recently graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and is pursuing graduate studies and Samantha who graduated from the University of North Texas. Our best wishes and prayers are with both of you. The pride we feel in your accomplishments and in the lives you live cannot be measured or adequately expressed. We love you and admire you!

Matthew Lieberman, psychologist, is undertaking research in social neuroscience and discovering something quite fascinating. His research is opening up new insight into a better understanding of our need to communicate with other humans. In fact, our “need to communicate” with others is more important and basic than our need for food or our need for shelter.

This explains, to a significant degree, our escalating addiction to social media and technology. We have evolved into highly social beings who have the need to connect and be nurtured by others.

With this understanding, we can plan for inclusion of new social technologies tempered with the age old wisdom of Socrates, “Everything in moderation. Nothing in excess.”

Perhaps blending what is new with wisdom from the past will allow us to maximize our benefits and survive the radical process of such dynamic change.

The Heart of a Child

I have discovered that great truths are simple. And they come quietly, almost imperceptibly, as they await discovery. They are very patient. And when they are revealed, you see them clearly, simply and quietly.

I have also noted that the greatest of truths will emerge from your heart, not your head. So let us stop thinking and start feeling.

One simple truth is that a child is very fragile. They, like us, can break. They are pliable and can be molded into the unimaginable and even unrecognizable. Or they can be shaped by our kind and loving deeds into loving and dynamic personalities, heroes and even saviors.

If your child is suffering, please do whatever is necessary to begin a healing process. Stop whatever it is that is causing pain, physical or psychological. Place your child in a peaceful, non-threatening place, and let time, enough time, pass by so that his or her body and mind can simply rest and adjust to new, predictable, stable and quieter surroundings.

Healing takes time. It takes patience. And mostly, it takes love that surpasses all understanding, love that clearly says, “You are my life, the air I breathe, my everything”. Love is the antiseptic on the wound. Love keeps the heart from getting infected with more pain, which can ultimately evolve into hate.

The heart of a child, like ours, is naturally loving. Father Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, was right, “There is no such thing as a bad boy”. Very often the heart of a child becomes a reflection of what that child feels. Anger can become a reflection of pain, the inability to focus, a reflection of instability and the uncertainty it spawns, withdrawal a reflection of fear and perfectionism, a reflection of insecurity.

Folks, our world is rapidly becoming unreal. And the coping skills of children are overwhelmed. There is too much stimulation, too much technology, too many demands and far too many minutes that have every moment filled in with every second planned, accounted for and documented.

A child’s fragile heart and developing mind need an abundance of time when he or she , not you, fills in the blank spaces using the fertile ground of imagination. One cannot imagine if you do not have the luxury of time to think. You cannot dream if you cannot soundly sleep. And you cannot love if you cannot feel that someone loves you.

Your heart is your child’s greatest teacher.