tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63877079046947596862024-03-05T11:54:37.338-06:00Never Jam Today“The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday--but never jam today.” ~The White QueenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger639125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-50665653435027930012019-01-15T11:49:00.000-06:002019-01-15T12:09:47.684-06:00we vow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0CRr0KR0WfVLVYgHEt7VavEc2Sr32FgzxfMPJNA1jDf0uW4f5mQu2t14AK3S3kThoOzPdljD2GDSd3wMl2OQ6fVvEihw7Sn1Cvwmo9fBou1pCRvyb7EZbPVj6SCf4Z9y6I-wzh_FLMI/s1600/Untitled+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0CRr0KR0WfVLVYgHEt7VavEc2Sr32FgzxfMPJNA1jDf0uW4f5mQu2t14AK3S3kThoOzPdljD2GDSd3wMl2OQ6fVvEihw7Sn1Cvwmo9fBou1pCRvyb7EZbPVj6SCf4Z9y6I-wzh_FLMI/s320/Untitled+design.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-c003922c-7fff-4a86-750e-b84ebff94e93" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17.33px; font-variant: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small; font-variant: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two bookish firstborns... of course we wrote the minister's entire script.</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17.33px; font-variant: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small; font-variant: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17.33px; font-variant: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small; font-variant: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the very beginning of his story God has been doing the impossible. He created the universe and everything in it, including the first man, from nothing. He looked at his creation and saw that it was very good. However, he said that it was not good for the man to be alone. So God created a helper just right for the man--bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh--and God said, “This is why a man will leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they will become one flesh.” That was the first marriage. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As God’s story continued, he kept calling people to do the impossible. Throughout the Bible we find the stories of Moses, Gideon, Elijah, Esther, Mary, and many more, men and women who did not have the wisdom, strength, or ability to do what God asked them to do, but every time, God himself provided what was necessary to see the impossible accomplished. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren and Joshua both believe that above and beyond the love they have for one another, they have been called by God to enter this marriage. And they also acknowledge that they do not have the wisdom, patience, forgiveness, or perseverance they will need. Lauren wrote this in a letter to Joshua several months ago:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I almost think we should take communion before we make our vows... because, really, who has what it takes to actually keep those kind of promises? I can't promise you that I will love you for better and for worse--in fact, I can pretty much promise you the opposite--that when it gets worse, I won't have what it takes to love you. But if we exchange our body and our blood for Jesus' body and Jesus' blood, if we exchange our power for the power of Jesus and His Spirit, and THEN we make these impossible promises... not us, but Him... trusting that He will be the one working in us to want to love and to be able to love... THEN we will have more than a fighting chance, because He is fighting for us, and He is perfect love.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With those things in mind,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren, will you take Joshua to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him and respect him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live? Trusting God's Spirit to do the impossible in and through you, say I will. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joshua, will you take Lauren to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her and respect her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live? Trusting God's Spirit to do the impossible in and through you, say I will. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will all of you witnessing these promises trust God's Spirit to do the impossible in Joshua and Lauren, and will you support them in their marriage?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you arrived here, you saw on the trees around us the story of Lauren and Joshua’s lives together, leading up to this day. The song that was sung earlier plays a special part in that story. Joshua wrote this to Lauren while she was in Scotland last summer, before they started dating:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I'm not putting any proverbial horses before any carts. I'll leave that to others i.e. my mom. If you haven't heard this song, stop and listen to it. Ok. The imagery in the song is pretty obvious but I was thinking a lot about the glassy sea part. "And it ends with a bride and groom and a wedding by a glassy sea." I have always assumed that I would get married in a church. However, after repeatedly listening to this song, I have a different opinion. I want my wedding to be a sermon in and of itself. I don't want people to be so distracted by flowers or dresses or whatever that they don't see Jesus. I have heard preachers at weddings talk about it being a celebration of the bride and groom. But to me it should be a celebration of what Jesus has done in those two people and a commitment to what he is about to do in and with them. I want the preacher to talk about how this is an example and a rather poor one of the wedding between Christ and his church. So maybe a lakeside is a better venue to proclaim that truth. It's the same reason that I want to wash my bride’s feet. To show her and everyone there the full extent of my love and my willingness to serve her. If it doesn't point to Jesus it won't be part of the wedding.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The words of that song are printed on the fans you have with you. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the story of the Son of God
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hanging on a cross for me
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And it ends with a bride and groom
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And a wedding by a glassy sea </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the very beginning God designed marriage to be a picture of the relationship between Jesus, the groom, and his people, the bride. Today we all find ourselves in the middle of that story: God’s Son has already hung on a cross for us, but we’re still waiting for the wedding of Jesus and His bride, when Jesus and his people are finally together in heaven. The apostle Paul wrote:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Husbands, love your wives as Jesus loved his people. Jesus died for his people to make them belong to God. Jesus made his people clean by the washing of water with God's word. Jesus died so that he could give his people to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that his people could be pure and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other wrong thing in them. And husbands should love their wives in the same way. They should love their wives like they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. Nobody ever hates his own body, but feeds it and takes care of it. And that is what Jesus does for his people, because we are part of his body. The Scripture says, “So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife. And the two people will become one body.” This is a huge mystery—but I am talking about Jesus and his people. But each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The night before Jesus died on the cross, he ate one last meal with his followers. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus got up from the table, poured water into a bowl and began to wash their feet, drying them with a towel. He told his followers that if he didn’t wash their feet, they had no part with him. When he finished, Jesus said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren and Joshua would like to display their love and respect for each other, their willingness to serve each other, and their choice to listen to Jesus and do what he says.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feet Washing (Song: Keith Green, When I Hear the Praises Start)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That same night, after Jesus washed his followers feet, He made them some promises. He promised that he would be with them and send them a helper--His Spirit--and he promised that he would come back to get his people at the end of the world for that wedding by a glassy sea. But He also promised that the rest of their story would not be easy or filled with comfort. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joshua, repeat after me these promises to Lauren.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the name of God, I, Joshua, take you, Lauren, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren, repeat after me these promises to Joshua.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the name of God, I, Lauren, take you, Joshua, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although we will all be parted by death from the people we love, the story and promises of God give us hope and confidence. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember the song again.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the story of a bride in white
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waiting on her wedding day
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anticipation welling up inside
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While the groom is crowned as king
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O death where is your sting
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cause we'll be there singing
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holy Holy Holy is the Lord</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Jesus' people, our story doesn't end with our funeral. Our story ends with a wedding, when we see Jesus, our groom and our king, face to face.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bible talks about that wedding day at the end of the world; it uses another name for Jesus: the Lamb of God.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Then I heard what sounded like a great many people. It sounded like the noise of flooding water and like loud thunder. The people were saying: “Hallelujah! Our Lord God rules. He is the All-Powerful. Let us rejoice and be glad and give God glory! Give God glory, because the wedding of the Lamb has come. And the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready. Fine linen was given to the bride for her to wear. The linen was bright and clean.” (The fine linen means the righteous things done by God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Those who are invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb are blessed!” Then the angel said, “These are the true words of God.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 23.04px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #26272a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren and Joshua, through the giving of rings today you acknowledge the love you have for one another in spite of your imperfections and weaknesses. You acknowledge that you no longer belong only to yourselves but to one another. You acknowledge that God’s Spirit is working in you every day, giving you what you need to be faithful to one another and to him, and knowing all these things, you choose to trust him to do the impossible in your life together.</span></div>
</span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-44765438459384610172019-01-15T10:30:00.000-06:002019-01-15T10:31:13.244-06:00a year in books, 2018 <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 15.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 20px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Favorite Read-Aloud with my Husband (yes, I am married)</span></h3>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>A Severe Mercy, </i>by Sheldon Vanauken</span></span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;" />
<b><span style="background-color: white;">First-Time Favorites</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>The Power of Proximity, </i>by Michelle Warren</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>For the Family's Sake, </i>by Susan Schaeffer Macauley</span></span></span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>Letters to the Church</i>, by Francis Chan<br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Re-Reads</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>100 Cupboards</i>,</span><i style="font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by N.D. Wilson (plowed through the entire book the day before my wedding)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>All Things Bright and Beautiful,</i> by James Herriot<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Read-Aloud with the Girls I Look After</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Star of Kazan, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Eva Ibbotson</span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b>Biggest Book that I Couldn't Put Down but Will Never Read Again</b></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>Atlas Shrugged</i>, by Ayn Rand<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><b>Looking Forward to in 2019</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>The Door Before, </i>by <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">N.D. Wilson</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>The Descent of the Dove, </i>by Charles Williams (I know, I said I'd read it last year...)</span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>Orbiting Jupiter</i>, by Gary Schmidt</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b>Currently Reading:</b></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy</i>, by Eric Metaxes</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave</i>, by Edward Welch</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>The Mennyms</i>, by Sylvia Waugh (with the girls)</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8115814215110797923" itemprop="description articleBody" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 620px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i>That Hideous Strength</i>, by CS Lewis (with my husband)</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-81158142151107979232018-01-08T11:18:00.003-06:002018-01-08T11:39:26.401-06:00a year in books, 2017<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Books That Compelled and Marked Seismic Shifts in My Life</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;">March 2017: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">(I moved out, one mile from home, with my brother!) </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Houses That Change the World</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>,</i> by Wolfgang Simson</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">July 2017: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">(I sent a letter to someone I barely knew, knowing it meant he would become my future husband)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>A Severe Mercy, </i>by Sheldon Vanauken</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Top Five Favorite Mystics</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">1) </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Organic Church</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Neil Cole</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">2) </span><i style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The Power of Proximity</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, by Michelle Ferrigno Warren</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">3) </span><i style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Primal Fire</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, by Neil Cole </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">4) </span><i style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Transformed</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, by Caesar Kalinowski </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">5)<i> </i></span><i style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Family on Mission</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, by Mike Breen</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Re-Reads</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>The Princess and the Goblin</i>,</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by George MacDonald</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>That Hideous Strength, </i>by CS Lewis</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>Gaudy Night, </i>by Dorothy Sayers</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Sibling Read-Aloud</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Boy: Tales of Childhood, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Roald Dahl</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Read-Aloud with the Girls I Nanny</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Saturdays, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Elizabeth Enright</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><b>Looking Forward to in 2018</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Images of Faith: Reflections Inspired by Lilias Trotter, </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">by Miriam Huffman Rockness </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>One Thing, </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">by Neil Cole</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>The Descent of the Dove, </i>by Charles Williams</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>The Penderwicks at Last,</i> by Jeanne Birdsall</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-19697433552810049632017-02-10T16:26:00.000-06:002017-02-10T16:28:21.721-06:00How Would Charlotte Mason Teach the Bible Today?For a while now, I've researched the way Charlotte Mason taught the Bible. Charlotte was a British reformer and pioneer in the field of education in the 1800s. I found a lot of ideas, and a few helpful resources. However, most of the blogs I read lacked practical examples of how to discuss and apply God's Word. Most of the printed study resources I found were designed for grades 7-12.<br />
<br />
I know that people who love Charlotte Mason's style of teaching also love the fact that special, expensive purchases are not necessary. So I'm very excited to share a practical Bible study resource for all ages that applies Charlotte's ideas, without requiring any special purchases. The resource is called Simply the Story.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Simply the Story</span><br />
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Simply the Story is an oral study method, which means it is appropriate for all ages, countries and cultures. Literacy is not a requirement; everyone takes part in deep discussion and discovers treasures in God's Word. Simply the Story gives teachers the opportunity to put away their pens and teach the way Jesus taught, through stories, questions and discussion.<br />
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STS champions direct contact with Scripture. Participants build relations with each other as they study and share the Bible, using open-ended questions, listening and responding. The teacher is a guide, and not the fountainhead of knowledge--that role is given to God's Word and His Spirit.<br />
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Participants also build relations with the real people who lived in Bible times, as they consider: <i>what might we learn about this person's character from the words they speak? From their actions? From the choices they make? Could they have made a different choice? And yet they made this choice. What might that tell us about this person spiritually? Do we see any results of words, actions, choices... Was anyone impacted? Where do we see God in this story?</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Does it measure up to Charlotte's standards?</span><br />
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Every requirement that Sonya Shafer (of Simply Charlotte Mason) wrote about in her <a href="https://simplycharlottemason.com/blog/teaching-bible-subject-by-subject-part-5/">blog post about CM-style Bible studies</a> is included in Simply the Story: participants hear and then narrate an accurate Bible story (an "episode" in CM language), putting the story into their own words to strengthen comprehension. Discussion is central to STS, as is slow, careful observation, and each study ends with personal application made by the participants themselves. The joy of self-discovery is prized, and sermonizing is strongly discouraged. There are no crutches--the Bible is the only resource needed/utilized. It's exciting to watch the Bible become a living book again!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">How can I learn more?</span><br />
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Here is a link to Simply the Story's free PDF handbook, where you will learn everything you need to know about how to tell stories and engage your children in deep discussions.<br />
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<a href="http://www.simplythestory.org/downloads/handbook/AA-STS%20Handbook%20Edtion%206a%20July.15.pdf">Simply the Story Handbook</a><br />
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May Truth not become a tool that we hold in our hands, but remain the living Word Who changes us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-25996942648850745432017-01-04T11:36:00.001-06:002017-01-04T11:37:45.773-06:00my year in books<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2016...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite New Discoveries from Authors I Love</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Man Born to be King</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Dorothy Sayers</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">That Hideous Strength</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by CS Lewis</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Mystics</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Beautiful Outlaw</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by John Eldridge </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>The Insanity of Obedience</i>, by Nik Ripken </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>Honor and Shame</i>, by Roland Muller</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>In the Arena</i>, by Isobel Kuhn</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Most Appropriately Atmospheric Re-Reads</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>Gaudy Night</i>,</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Dorothy Sayers, read in St Andrews, Scotland</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><i>Celia's House</i>, by DE Stevenson, read in the Scottish Highlands </span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Sibling Read-Aloud</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Westing Game, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Ellen Raskin</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Biography</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green</span>, </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Melody Green</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><b>Looking Forward To In 2017</b></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Melina Marchetta</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>The Jeweler's Shop,</i> by by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life</i>, </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">by Ann Voskamp</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-90633570096882634412016-05-26T03:06:00.001-05:002016-05-26T03:06:52.751-05:00Storytelling across the UK... <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YFWJBsCfU8Y/V0aulUioOAI/AAAAAAAANPQ/jfNAt9xtkuw/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YFWJBsCfU8Y/V0aulUioOAI/AAAAAAAANPQ/jfNAt9xtkuw/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zNlscdod7HlLZNkaqystkPW5ITvPG539VxnaRin7YlpLPgL-EUlQCxzyWNjzG3I-vt1cHGZJ41SIXgzAnYmTuqA5vNYfLjBBB228nbrAEkWS_guZ88398J18U2xDHqGwisq06wgKSRA/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zNlscdod7HlLZNkaqystkPW5ITvPG539VxnaRin7YlpLPgL-EUlQCxzyWNjzG3I-vt1cHGZJ41SIXgzAnYmTuqA5vNYfLjBBB228nbrAEkWS_guZ88398J18U2xDHqGwisq06wgKSRA/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
<a href='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OcNu2EuXtro/V0aumm0D9UI/AAAAAAAANPY/oUSOLkvnDDU/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OcNu2EuXtro/V0aumm0D9UI/AAAAAAAANPY/oUSOLkvnDDU/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyn42vO8ztMufIthqSjWZaWgDYNCiBl3xnJ_M7qbi_oXy2L_XIakmXZmhhnY7AY6fyVqNujcTl8bSBDk7Ah3HEUNLZYzc_nmiUOFBQtxeLMwx0CCmP8ATrSPVBxHfhWxxGfTcoW_DOXec/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyn42vO8ztMufIthqSjWZaWgDYNCiBl3xnJ_M7qbi_oXy2L_XIakmXZmhhnY7AY6fyVqNujcTl8bSBDk7Ah3HEUNLZYzc_nmiUOFBQtxeLMwx0CCmP8ATrSPVBxHfhWxxGfTcoW_DOXec/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-89691706358536585502016-02-15T14:58:00.001-06:002016-02-15T14:58:39.154-06:00reading during lent...<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24983774-the-man-born-to-be-king">Dorothy Sayers' radio drama / play-cycle "The Man Born to Be King."</a><br />
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Why can't the BBC Radio archives be available?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-78874034897026930192016-01-16T07:53:00.000-06:002016-01-16T07:54:13.224-06:00words received for 2016<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;"><i>It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.</i></span><span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Lamentations 3:26</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;">"'It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait.' I never saw, till recently, how that word 'both' exactly strikes the balance so needed... Some of us rush ahead with our hopes and are downhearted when they crumble, having never learned to quietly wait. Others go on quietly waiting for a lifetime, without much of the spring of hope anywhere; </span><em style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;">both</em><span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;"> hope and wait... in quietness </span><em style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;">and </em><span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;">confidence; that is the answer." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: -webkit-center;">--Lilias Trotter</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-22672711200815241372016-01-09T13:35:00.000-06:002016-02-15T15:02:59.179-06:00"Good books are friendly things to own"--Edgar Guest<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Books in 2015...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Best New Life-Changing Discoveries </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Parables of the Cross</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Lilias Trotter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>Simply the Story handbook</i>, by Dorothy Miller</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite (Albeit Only) Classic</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Faerie Queen,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> by Edmund Spenser </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite MG Novel</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Greenglass House</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Kate Milford</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Mystic</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Hannah Whitall Smith</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Binge Read-Overs</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">12 </span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Lord Peter</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> books</span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Dorothy Sayers. Yes, 12.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Blue Castle</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by L.M. Montgomery (the perfect way to spend my 29th birthday)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Sibling Read-Aloud</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">The Wind in the Willows, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Kenneth Graham</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2px;">Favorite Biography</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2px;">Until the Day Breaks: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>The Life and Work of Lilias Trotter, </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">by Patricia St. John</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><b>Looking Forward To In 2016</b></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, by Melina Marchetta (<strike>September!</strike> October!)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><i>The Man Born to be King,</i> by Dorothy Sayers</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><i>Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle</i>, by N.D. Wilson</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-45166370721899275042015-11-07T17:08:00.001-06:002015-11-07T17:09:18.174-06:00many beautiful things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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saw a lovely documentary last night at the kansas international film festival... the story of one of my favorite people...</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-27180575491554742362015-10-31T12:54:00.000-05:002015-10-31T12:55:56.952-05:00while reading the wind in the willows......we were inspired by Mr Toad.<br />
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Lines scribbled during breakfast with/for my youngest brother (10)... spawning tears of laughter...<br />
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Ten millionaires may carry<br />
Their money to the bank,<br />
Still, they can't hold a candle to<br />
The wealth of Mr Hank<br />
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A wooden spoon quite often<br />
Gives naughty boys a spank.<br />
But never spoon has touched the rump<br />
Of perfect Mr Hank<br />
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Other men need soap or else<br />
Their skin begins to stank.<br />
But only smells of daffodils<br />
Exude from Mr Hank<br />
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The wise men were confounded--<br />
Their minds completely blank.<br />
Who solved the age-old riddle?<br />
The brilliant Mr Hank.<br />
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Who is that buff young Samson,<br />
With muscles like a tank?<br />
"I only press nine hundred,"<br />
Protests the humble Hank.<br />
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Adonis lived in ancient Greece--<br />
Now let me be quite frank.<br />
The man's a warty toad beside<br />
Our handsome Mr Hank.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-89840976282348732672015-08-11T11:34:00.001-05:002015-08-11T11:34:27.847-05:00when I grow up......I want to be just like <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1232960.The_Greater_Trumps">Sybil Coningsby</a>.<br />
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Go and read.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-30865689733302345152015-07-24T14:13:00.000-05:002015-07-24T14:21:28.099-05:00we rest in thee, and in thy name we go<i>"The secret of [Hudson Taylor's] own strength was not far to seek. Whenever work permitted, Mr. Taylor was in the habit of turning to a little harmonium for refreshment, playing and singing many a favorite hymn, but always coming back to--</i><br />
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<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FihzVa-E4p0">Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.</a></i><br />
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<i>...Mr. George Nichol... was with him on one occasion when some letters were handed in to his office, bringing news of serious rioting in two of the older stations of the Mission. Thinking that Mr. Taylor might wish to be alone, the younger man was about to withdraw when, to his surprise, someone began to whistle. It was the soft refrain of the same well-loved hymn:</i><br />
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<i>Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art . . . </i><br />
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<i>Turning back, Mr. Nichol could not help exclaiming, "How can you whistle, when our friends are in so much danger!"</i><br />
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<i>"Would you have me anxious and troubled?" was the quiet reply. "That would not help them, and would certainly incapacitate me for my work. I have just to roll the burden on the Lord."</i><br />
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<i>Day and night this was his secret, "just to roll the burden on the Lord." Frequently those who were wakeful in the little house at Chinkiang might hear at two or three in the morning, the soft refrain of Mr. Taylor's favorite hymn. He had learned that, for him, only one life was possible--just that blessed life of resting and rejoicing in the Lord under all circumstances, while he dealt with the difficulties, inward and outward, great and small."</i> --Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor<br />
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It's tempting to view resting in Jesus as the easy way out. But is it?<br />
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Jesus gave himself up to the Father's will, rested in the Father's will--and it caused Him to sweat great drops of blood.<br />
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Psalm 69:2 speaks of deep waters... Lilias Trotter wrote this way: <i>“‘I am come into deep waters’ took on a new meaning this morning. It started with perplexing matters concerning the future. Then it dawned that shallow waters were a place where you can neither sink nor swim, but in deep waters it is one or the other: ‘waters to swim in’ – not to float in. Swimming is the intense, most strenuous form of motion – all of you is involved in it – and every inch of you is in abandonment of rest upon the water that bears you up.” </i><br />
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The children of Israel, backed against the Red Sea... Egypt's entire army at their heels... every impulse would be to run, every nerve would be tensed to flee. But Moses says, Stand still. See the salvation which the Lord will accomplish for you.<br />
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In that moment, was it easy for Israel to stand still? Easy to rest in the confidence that God would fight for them? Or was it perhaps the intense, most strenuous form of motion...<br />
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Hebrews 9:14 says that Jesus offered himself to God <i>through the eternal Spirit</i>... The Son of Man, the Word made flesh, did not have enough strength, enough will-power, enough resolve, to abandon himself to the Father and rest in the Father. But the Spirit... through the eternal Spirit... Jesus offered himself to God, and rested in the Father.<br />
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".<i>..the moment the soul yields itself to obey, the Lord Himself gives the strength and joy to do it.</i>" -- Andrew MurrayUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-22556684502682367892015-06-30T10:06:00.000-05:002015-06-30T11:52:30.769-05:00the listening time<div style="background-color: white;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLP_NlTwxOBQSWBdgFcTcmnTXupLAjvHAykz8xwpkZUZ-WMGI7lVqluTpEquVzsD4DLu53Uch_01_XQO5v947i0HOZJF4mo49NBVby61AHItuUYJvCcvWmxV4XIMomRlOQUPHQm89f9c/s1600/DSC_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLP_NlTwxOBQSWBdgFcTcmnTXupLAjvHAykz8xwpkZUZ-WMGI7lVqluTpEquVzsD4DLu53Uch_01_XQO5v947i0HOZJF4mo49NBVby61AHItuUYJvCcvWmxV4XIMomRlOQUPHQm89f9c/s320/DSC_0008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Have you ever read Ruth Sawyer? </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Roller Skates </i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">and </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Year of Jubilo</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">, and <i>The Way of the Storyteller</i>... Storytelling, the traditional </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">art </i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">of storytelling, the Irish seanchaí kind of storytelling, was such a part of her life. She was the kind of person who knew to begin a story with--"Listen." How could she not, raised on the stories of an Irish nurse? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">“</span><em style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Early in the morning the stars drop so close to earth—no, water—that you feel if you cast up in the sky you could hook enough for breakfast…. There you have us, sitting for half an hour, talking in whispers, why whispers I don’t know. Perhaps because the world is enchanted and a loud, harsh voice might break the spell. And as we sat, there came from the four corners of the earth a hush, you know, finger to lips. I’ve sat that way with you so many times waiting for the curtain to go up. And we were waiting for the day’s curtain to go up, and for five minutes no one even whispered</em><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">.” --from "Year of Jubilo"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">At the beginning of this year, I told a friend, oral storytelling is something I've always wanted to study. Can you imagine, obtaining a degree in storytelling and folk lore (as Sawyer did)? Then skipping over to Ireland now and again, just to collect stories (as Sawyer did)? </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Four months later, Jesus brought Simply the Story into my life, the opportunity to learn oral storytelling, questions and discussion--in Ireland of all places (10 wet, green days). To use Lilias Trotter's words, "</span><i style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">How wonderful God's timings are. There is a such a strange kind of heavenly poetry about them--& it brought such a strong assurance that His Hand is in it all, working out a purpose worthy of His great thoughts!</i><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Sabina Wurmbrand tells of a woman who once taught French and English literature, entertaining 84 women in a single, silent train car, telling the story of Dorian Gray over the course of three hours, capturing the imaginations of peasants and intellectuals alike. They experienced something great and beautiful, in the midst of something dark and terrible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">I've always loved the power of story, but </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">an immersion into the world of oral learners--</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">the 80% of humanity, including developed nations, that cannot or does not prefer to learn through reading--an immersion into the world of spoken story </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">shifts your perspective on the written word, maybe shifts your focus, as well, from a world of your own fire-side and quiet study, to a return to the singing time, when literature was an affair of the market place and the banqueting hall. A return to the listening time, the time of talk and tale-telling, when the longs hours were lightened with stories and conversation much deeper than today's children may ever encounter. A time when there was room for storytelling, and room for listening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Simply the Story, this way of sharing that touches the heart, not just the head...</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">The Word </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">who was born and made choices and told stories and asked questions and listened and died and rose again and sits at the Father's right hand. The Word--Logos--opening the doors of our hearts, so that the Spirit may more fully enter in.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-40364447136686872492015-06-29T09:30:00.000-05:002015-06-29T09:35:25.938-05:00blossom in the desertFavorite discovery of the year: <a href="http://manybeautifulthings.com/">Lilias Trotter.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2469710.A_Blossom_in_the_Desert?from_search=true&search_version=service">Come, look, see.</a><br />
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"Will it not make life narrow, this focusing? In a sense, it will - just as the mountain path grows narrower, for it matters more and more, the higher we go, where we set our feet - but there is always, as it narrows, a wider and wider outlook, and purer, clearer air. Narrow as Christ's life was narrow, this is our aim; narrow as regards self-seeking, broad as the love of God to all around. Is there anything to fear in that?"<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-67755246314878489972015-03-26T14:48:00.003-05:002015-03-27T16:57:13.867-05:00a fly on the wall (and you thought this house was abandoned!)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><i>Listen in to a recent conversation we had about child training, habit training, and the Holy Spirit. Enjoy, and may your trust in Jesus grow stronger as He reveals Himself as the God who works in us.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;">We
love so many of Charlotte Mason's methods. Living books, feasts of
beautiful ideas, hours in the outdoors, short, varied lessons,
narration, the importance of free play... the list could go on!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last
year, after reading several volumes of Ambleside's Concise Summaries,
I wondered whether it was possible (hypocritical, even?) to
embrace someone's methods while disagreeing with their foundational
philosophies. We decided that Charlotte's philosophies are not the
only way to arrive at her conclusions.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Her
methods were ahead of her time. We see the wisdom and benefit of
those methods. Yet Charlotte was a woman of her time. Her beliefs and
convictions were shaped by Victorian religion, a form of godliness
which had largely forgotten the power of the Holy Spirit (which is
why the Keswick Convention rocked England).</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;">My
question comes from having lived with several families, both North
American and European, with a variety of opinions on child training.
Some use a consistent method very similar to habit training, and...
it's not enough. There's an ever-present tension between law and
grace; children who are constantly watched, yet evade and disobey;
disciplined and discipled with love and grace, yet their hearts are
untouched; ever hearing, never penetrated by the </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">dynamis</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"> of
the Gospel, by the Person of Jesus.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Galatians
3:23-4:1: "<i>The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order
that we might be justified by faith.... the heir, as long as he is a
child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of
everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set
by his father.</i>" Absolutely true. Parents are to train up a child in
the way he should go. However, when the child becomes the focus,
instead of the Way (Jesus), habit training can quickly derail and
cut the legs out from under the Gospel. </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For
Charlotte Mason,<i> “t<u>he problem before the educator is to give the
child control over his own nature”</u></i> (Volume 1, page 103) so
that he can overcome his bad traits, conquer his own inclinations,
gain power over his own self. For Charlotte, the Will is what enables
us to do that which we know is right but which we may not feel like
doing, and therefore she desires to strengthen the Will. She is quick
to add, <i>“I do not undervalue the Divine grace––far otherwise;
but we do not always make enough of the fact that Divine grace is
exerted on the lines of enlightened human effort.” </i></span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlotte
rightly recognizes the importance “<i>of the Christian mother, whose
highest desire is to train [her child] for the Christian life</i>.” But
she continues, “<i>When he wakes to the consciousness of whose he is
and whom he serves, she would have him ready for that high service,
with every faculty in training––a man of war from his
youth; <u>above all, with an effective will, to will and to do
of His good pleasure.</u></i>” (Volume 1, page 323) Hold on! Those last
words highlight the way that habit training can easily try to replace the Holy Spirit. Philippians
2:13 actually says, “<i><u>It is God who works in you</u>, both to
will and to do of His good pleasure.”</i></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlotte
believes “<i>it is because of the possibilities of ruin and loss which
lie about every human life that I am pressing upon parents the duty
of saving their children by the means put into their hands. Perhaps
it is not too much to say, that ninety-nine out of a hundred lost
lives lie at the door of parents who took no pains to... fortify them
with the habits of a good life.”</i> (Volume 1, page 330) Is this how the Bible views salvation? Can Christian parents save their children by fortifying them "with the habits of a good
life”?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Corrie
ten Boom knew something different. “When I try, I fail. When I
trust, He succeeds.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">Even if we append </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;">"I am, I can, I ought, I will" </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">with, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," Charlotte's philosophy</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"> inclines a child to depend upon himself. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">When faced with the impossible standard of God's Word, such children often experience self-condemnation. The truth is confusing, because it seems to contradict everything they know: I am--a wretch? I cannot--but Jesus can?</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
have seen what children are, when given free rein. I have seen what
children are, when spanked ten times a day. I have seen what children
are, when given time and space to consider their behavior, then
gently led by a firm authority into the truth of Scripture. <i>But
it is not enough.</i> None of these are enough. We must choose
the Holy Spirit <i>every single time,</i> and we must help
our children choose the Holy Spirit, <i>every single time</i>.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A
couple things helped crystallize and articulate these thoughts.
Andrew Murray, a Spirit-filled contemporary of Charlotte Mason:</span></span></span></div>
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<i><br />
</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><i>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
this [the child] is to become the master of his own will, that
he </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>voluntarily
submits</u></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> it
to a higher authority.”</span></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><i>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">...cast
yourself on the covenant for the leading of the Holy Spirit in your
work, for the renewal of the Holy Spirit in your child, that it may
be your and his joy to see his will given up to choose the good, to
choose God.”</span></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><i>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">...may
a due sense of my own impotence, and Your Almighty Power working in
me, combine to keep me humble and yet hopeful, conscious of my
weakness, but confident in You.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Also, part of an article by Leslie Ludy, titled <i>Tending to Their Souls</i>:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After
walking our children through the Gospel, and joyfully watching them
give their lives to Jesus, one of the most important principles we
have had to continually remind them of is the concept of the “old
man” and the “new man” (See Romans 6:8-13)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As
they are newly planted in Christ, our children need to learn the
principle of reckoning themselves dead unto sin and alive unto
righteousness. When we see a sinful behavior pattern surfacing in
their lives, we will often ask them where “old Kipling” or “old
Harper” is. And they will remember that their “old man” is dead
and buried, and that they are now “new Kipling” or “new Harper”
who is in Christ Jesus. In their new position “in Christ,” they
have the power to reckon themselves dead unto sin and alive to God
through Christ Jesus. It may sound like a complicated truth for
preschoolers to grasp. But we have found that they truly do “get
it.” They are very aware of the difference between their “old”
and “new” man. The old man has no ability to overcome sin. But
now that they are “new creations in Christ,” old things have
passed away. Through Christ, they have been given the power to choose
righteousness over sin. When we remind them of these truths often, we
see an incredible difference in the way they live their lives.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
certainly doesn’t mean we have perfect, sinless children. (Ha!
Wouldn’t that be nice?!) But they are beginning to grasp the secret
to living a godly life, and they are starting to understand the fact
that sin no longer needs to control them.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For
instance, when my youngest son begins to whine and resist obeying, I
appeal to his understanding of the Gospel. “Remember that you are
‘new Kipling,’” I will remind him. “You can ask Jesus for the
grace to say ‘no’ to sin right now. You are in Christ, Kipling.
Disobedience no longer needs to control you. If sin can’t get to
Jesus, it doesn’t need to get to you!”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Often,
these words will motivate him to stop the downward spiral he’s on
and ask for the grace to behave like “new Kipling” who is “in
Christ Jesus.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Frequently
there is a marked difference in his attitude after taking the time to
remind him of these truths. It’s truly a marvelous thing to watch
God at work in his little soul. When you are working with your kid’s
behavior issues, don’t stop short and rely only on discipline and
character training principles. Incorporate the message of the Gospel,
and frequently remind them of the covenant they have made with Jesus
Christ. As they grow and develop, the victory and power of the Gospel
will become an unshakable foundation in their lives. </span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-69524701637599958102015-01-01T17:40:00.000-06:002015-01-01T17:48:31.822-06:00"I sway an airy kingdom"<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://noeldevries.blogspot.com/2007/11/little-beauties-lm-montgomery.html">from <i>My Library</i></a>, by Maud Montgomery)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Music, wit and wisdom in 2014:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Best New Discoveries</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Mystic:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">How to Live the Victorious Christian Life</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by an unknown Christian</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Novel: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Children of the New Forest</i>, by Frederick Marryat</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Favorite (Albeit Only) Classic</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Little Dorrit,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> by Charles Dickens</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Favorite MG Novel</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Boys of Blur</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by N.D. Wilson</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Most Difficult to Complete (But Loved It!)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis</i>, by Michael Ward</span></span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Favorite Mystics</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Abide in Me</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by Andrew Murray</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Raising Your Children for Christ</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by Andrew Murray</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Favorite ReReads</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Gaudy Night</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by Dorothy Sayers</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Persuasion</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by Jane Austen (the perfect book to read at age 27)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Favorite Sibling Read-Aloud</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The Saturdays, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">by Elizabeth Enright</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b>Looking Forward to in 2015</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><i>Life Together</i>, by</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> Dietrich Bonhoeffer</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Autobiography of George Muller: A Million and a Half in Answer to Prayer</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">final, untitled installment of N.D. Wilson's Ashtown Burials series</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>The Art of Life</i>, by Edith Schaeffer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>The Faerie Queene</i>, by Edmund Spenser</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">something (anything) of Andrew Murray</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">something of Dickens</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The Penderwicks in Spring</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, by Jeanne Birdsall</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Shaming the Devil</i>, by Melina Marchetta</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>Greenglass House</i>, by Kate Milford</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-30254575106805664882014-04-02T02:32:00.001-05:002014-04-02T02:32:45.254-05:00one thousand gifts, france + switzerland, final week<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9y6VtihD5Rk/Uzu8GeCwQYI/AAAAAAAAHRI/IL_Hf-w0ees/s2560/1396423690550.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9y6VtihD5Rk/Uzu8GeCwQYI/AAAAAAAAHRI/IL_Hf-w0ees/s288/1396423690550.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 216px;'/></a><br/>
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<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuStwLjPqNo9xYIY5PvZg5-Ehof_KRdNV8-Fmi4BepAYCBh7pwa0BunbMUw8s46apJcdO6dJrZbwCaKUKcR1CiMI8qJ1WNIuleRo2ynkndaMe3bXvxsrLR8jwAXebfBF-4mAUEWpxnmxQ/s2560/1396423879579.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuStwLjPqNo9xYIY5PvZg5-Ehof_KRdNV8-Fmi4BepAYCBh7pwa0BunbMUw8s46apJcdO6dJrZbwCaKUKcR1CiMI8qJ1WNIuleRo2ynkndaMe3bXvxsrLR8jwAXebfBF-4mAUEWpxnmxQ/s288/1396423879579.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 288px;'/></a><br/>
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<a href='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aamE_yocNAs/Uzu9GkCShOI/AAAAAAAAHSI/aSmkKxB7tmA/s2560/1396423942916.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aamE_yocNAs/Uzu9GkCShOI/AAAAAAAAHSI/aSmkKxB7tmA/s288/1396423942916.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 216px;'/></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-13021469095821754692014-03-26T03:15:00.000-05:002014-03-26T03:19:47.703-05:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week nine<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIaoR_J5uIABQKtWrPF9wjSDzWycMmYNeKf3HwJQKBaMbCWNSTOpH0xAhDZ6LhNIrPFmjq7KbG6IhA8sVBYzj0evYMybG3JBnuWL2nI_48OcaWuGBbKeMKLtH9WIBhgOTj_zEhMlAsUrA/s288/1395821495766.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /><br />
<br />
Driving tour with an Irish Ms. Bates<br />
<a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B8len"> Mølen </a><br />
Viking cairns<br />
Lungfulls of sea air<br />
A thermos of milky tea and biscuits shared in the car, parked beside the water<br />
Crispy chips (aka french fries) and leaf steak at a seaside convenience store<br />
A starfish left by the tide<br />
Dark chocolate and peanut butter<br />
Waking in the night to see the full moon streaming through the window<br />
Speaking to the 13 year old in Lithuanian, her mother tongue, and her reply: "Was that French?" (Note to self: must work on accent)<br />
All the little children gone for the day... a deliciously quiet house<br />
Curled up on the sofa with a mug of coffee and home on the phone<br />
Tiny frozen blueberries over millet for breakfast<br />
A letter from a friend<br />
A sudden, brief downpour<br />
Rainbow<br />
Singing Norsk hymns in a state church <br />
A black gospel soloist from Chicago, and my N. Irish friend saying, "fancy her being from the same county as you!" (We call them states in America, love ;-) <br />
Purple crocus<br />
A flight to Switzerland tomorrow morningUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-50893728679258425712014-03-19T01:26:00.000-05:002014-03-19T01:26:01.660-05:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week eight<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JvYPrCCjFdQ/UyiPLfSHtiI/AAAAAAAAHQg/l0P83bO4j_Q/s2560/1395167017730.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JvYPrCCjFdQ/UyiPLfSHtiI/AAAAAAAAHQg/l0P83bO4j_Q/s288/1395167017730.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /></a><br />
<br />
My feet on old familiar forest paths, now that the snow has melted<br />
A splash of blue paint on a tree, assuring me that I'm still following the trail<br />
Salty air<br />
Wet, low-tide rocks<br />
Dappled, muted light through forest branches, on ground covered with green moss<br />
Walking home, thinking, Chocolate sounds really good. Looking down, and seeing a bite-size, unopened chocolate on the roadside<br />
Walking further, seeing another one!<br />
And another!<br />
(Jesus forgot that Valentine's Day was last month. But better late than never, when it comes to chocolate.)<br />
Playing football with the little boys at the old school's stadium<br />
A full moon over the fjord... Seen from this hill, it shines, hovering like Howl's Moving Castle, halfway between dark earth and dark sky<br />
Dvorak's cello concerto in B minor<br />
An upright bass player, after the final piece, reaching up to stretch, clasping her hands over the bass scroll and resting there<br />
Symphony performers in black skinny jeans, tights and mini skirts<br />
Hand-picked lingonberries over Scotch pancakes, made by a Scotch woman<br />
Cadbury chocolate from the UK, and her husband saying, she must like you, if she's sharing her Cadbury<br />
Leaping (Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.)<br />
A new dayUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-68291957407293931492014-03-12T03:39:00.001-05:002014-03-12T03:39:24.246-05:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week seven<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qVw9qayWMo40FxkNyBtW3DzrZWot0JlZSzgAUT_VN8anCzxucyrlkTVEEmuXvnj6-FgLB7xbNJcTlfjwbITKkO4GRR64asRFoboAYcjj98Dqoe3VKjugEZZjl_iJk9Yf_qe2AnQYDO0/s2560/1394613559961.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qVw9qayWMo40FxkNyBtW3DzrZWot0JlZSzgAUT_VN8anCzxucyrlkTVEEmuXvnj6-FgLB7xbNJcTlfjwbITKkO4GRR64asRFoboAYcjj98Dqoe3VKjugEZZjl_iJk9Yf_qe2AnQYDO0/s288/1394613559961.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 288px;'/></a><br/>
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Spring term<br/>
Snowdrops brought from the forest in tightly clenched hands, held behind backs: "for you"<br/>
Chocolate cake and telephone calls<br/>
Deer in the yard<br/>
Slipping out onto the porch to sing, Come Spirit, come charm, come days that are warm<br/>
Tight white buds in the branches<br/>
A morning walk, the two year old in his stroller, a calmly trotting four year old at our side (alien behavior; I am all astonishment)<br/>
British Little Einsteins<br/>
Bird gossip at all hours (even 4 am)<br/>
Standing in the grass outside my door, wrapped in a wool blanket, humming Keith Green, make my life a prayer to you<br/>
This is no thaw... This is Spring!<br/>
Lying flat in the sunshine that covered the sofa<br/>
Paying for bus tickets, and the driver asking if I was also a student price<br/>
Missing our bus connection and walking home in the sun, rather than wait<br/>
Singing as we walk under a bridge, because tunnels are lovely for singing<br/>
Norwegian brunch, a long table crammed with plates and food and people from half a dozen countries<br/>
1 John outside in the sunshine<br/>
Checking out Celia's House from Open Library dot org<br/>
Blue sky morning<br/>
Airing out my sweaters<br/>
Nut cake with cream and pomegranates<br/>
Tidings of a chalet in the Alps two weeks hence</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-16166565467161885452014-03-05T04:03:00.000-06:002014-03-18T13:25:23.869-05:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week six<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ8I7RbHTiqM5wY_JAmEcSF1nYexGtGU2VLqK75_JmK-MVm3L5M2cHB93AWJk_ak-6Il7lggKCh2Go55SxplNUEyQxhLiRZ3LLa8iEViwowTESgTvpQq-WYNUrkm6aXNsm7_17vjP3hk/s2560/1394013601845.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ8I7RbHTiqM5wY_JAmEcSF1nYexGtGU2VLqK75_JmK-MVm3L5M2cHB93AWJk_ak-6Il7lggKCh2Go55SxplNUEyQxhLiRZ3LLa8iEViwowTESgTvpQq-WYNUrkm6aXNsm7_17vjP3hk/s288/1394013601845.jpeg" style="display: block; height: 288px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 216px;" /></a><br />
<br />
My very own little blaze in the woodstove<br />
Jello from a Thai neighbor that tastes exactly like Twizzlers<br />
Sound of gentle rain<br />
Headphones and Most Agreeable music from period dramas to shut out the two year old's bedtime tantrum<br />
The sudden thought, "So this is...abiding" as I put clean sheets on the four year old's bed at the end of a long day<br />
March!<br />
Sending letters all day<br />
Receiving letters (in my inbox) all day<br />
Good news from a far-away friend<br />
Lovely perfumes as chattering Chilean women walk past me into church<br />
The first day of spring term<br />
Walking past the girls' room and stopping to smile at the sight of the 13 year old sitting up in bed, knitting and listening to an audio book<br />
The baby teething on the bars of his play pen<br />
Babies sleeping in their prams on the porch<br />
Homemade almond joys<br />
Acts 3:16 It is His name, through faith in His name...a faith that comes from Him...that makes me strong and whole this dayUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-47080067910620475962014-02-26T03:00:00.000-06:002014-02-26T03:00:33.935-06:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week five<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-MNvzL9eI_ET8athlfEfnm4hxKmiRDNnO54gH02oX7RRdZAGWIdBYC6x7lyw9ErD6USb88qOjQZlc9wr3SddGIL0T7L0NnXjo5aADP4-zWKDaoGUtCJppZVSMGnzNkTQZ9Pce_keO3U/s2560/1393405143528.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-MNvzL9eI_ET8athlfEfnm4hxKmiRDNnO54gH02oX7RRdZAGWIdBYC6x7lyw9ErD6USb88qOjQZlc9wr3SddGIL0T7L0NnXjo5aADP4-zWKDaoGUtCJppZVSMGnzNkTQZ9Pce_keO3U/s288/1393405143528.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /></a><br />
<br />
Waking in the middle of the night to full moonlight streaming across my bed<br />
Mangos and cilantro and lime<br />
The final day of winter term<br />
An insistent chickadee<br />
Snowdrops from the forest<br />
The six year old teaching herself the first phrase of Perpetual Motion by ear<br />
One week until March<br />
Crisp, clean sheets<br />
GK Chesterton<br />
The little girl with kitty facepaint and a tulle skirt, shoveling candy into a brown paper bag from the self-serve bins at the grocery store<br />
A wrought-iron sunrise on someone's garden gate<br />
Watching a man bicycle slowly along the waterfront<br />
Milky rooibos tea (coconut!)<br />
Free ticket to Handel's Messiah, performed by the choir of King's College, Cambridge (via youtube)<br />
Nutella and almonds on a rice cake<br />
An exhausting three hour traipse through the forest<br />
Deep carpets of moss and fairy three-leaf clover<br />
The smell of spring<br />
Mist in the pines (an enchanted forest!)<br />
Psa. 92:4 "I will triumph in the works of Thy hands"</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-62183693486752961282014-02-19T10:18:00.001-06:002014-02-19T10:18:27.069-06:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week four<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IM7cwkIoP7s/UwTY7XTMXBI/AAAAAAAAHO0/bO20CmdgOdI/s2560/1392826601202.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IM7cwkIoP7s/UwTY7XTMXBI/AAAAAAAAHO0/bO20CmdgOdI/s288/1392826601202.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /></a><br />
<br />
Drops of water in the branches like strings of fairy twinkle lights<br />
Sailboats draped in winter tarps<br />
Blue is the perfect color for a sky<br />
I have made mistakes, by the oh hellos<br />
Drying my hair by the friendly, crackling little fire in my wood stove<br />
Three bowls of fish stew<br />
A bus trip to the library<br />
Mistaken for a student by the bus driver<br />
Cat nap<br />
A spoonful of honey for dessert<br />
Encouraging myself in the Lord via Psalms and ear buds<br />
Two weeks until March!<br />
Clean laundry<br />
Watching raindrops splash into puddles like small explosions<br />
Slicing smoked salmon<br />
Clasping a mug of hot tea between my hands<br />
A Norwegian dad named Odd<br />
A long walk in the blinding sun<br />
Picket fence shadows all along the road<br />
Life is as serious as I want it to be<br />
Finishing Abide in Christ<br />
Hearing a message arrive in my inbox as I read<br />
Glancing outside to see a stray cat <br />
Frittering away the whole afternoon watching Harriet Vane and Lord Peter</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387707904694759686.post-44828115008009359952014-02-12T04:01:00.004-06:002014-02-12T04:01:32.761-06:00one thousand gifts, norway, excerpt, week three<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9BkoxPjKxMo/UvtGC8UIzZI/AAAAAAAAHOg/T4YENa-uqhw/s2560/1392199178918.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9BkoxPjKxMo/UvtGC8UIzZI/AAAAAAAAHOg/T4YENa-uqhw/s288/1392199178918.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /></a><br />
A walk down to the fjord<br />
Someone's open bedroom window, in zero degree weather ... oh, the healing properties of Scandinavian air!<br />
A lovely folkmusic concert at the Ibsen House<br />
No drawn curtains in the houses we pass<br />
Lamps and potted plants in every window<br />
Looking into the house at the red light with generations of family portraits on the wall<br />
The romantic couple standing nose to nose outside her house in the dark and the falling snow<br />
A pen newly filled with ink<br />
The ridiculous fortunes on yogi tea bag tags<br />
This address in a magazine: Newton Road, The Mumbles, Swansea<br />
A steady rain coming down outside my window<br />
That bit of music from The Young Victoria that exactly resembles that bit of music from the animated LWW when they're grown and chasing the white stag<br />
Leaning against the radiator to write in my gifts notebook while the boys play quietly<br />
The smell of freshly chopped parsley<br />
Reading The Blue Castle out loud to myself with a strong Masterpiece Theatre accent (despite the fact that it's a Canadian novel)<br />
The sun! (after 17 days)<br />
Blue sky!<br />
The air filled with bird gossip about Spring<br />
When the sun comes, it's everywhere. It greets you at every window, squeezes beneath every closed door, bejewels the snowy hillside<br />
Clean sheets<br />
Church bells pealing their call to worship<br />
Two pigeons fluttering up to perch on an iron balcony<br />
Jesus is the Fair Truth<br />
The four year old tacking down the steep driveway at a full run<br />
Lichen on the roof tiles<br />
Waking to a chickadee's song</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1