Journal

FOR TODAY: March 9, 2009

Outside my window... My magnolia tree is in full bloom, dropping petals on the lawn.

I am thinking... About hungry kids and homeless people. Every time I wrap up in a warm blanket or eat good food.

I am thankful for... My husband and a marriage that gets sweeter by the year.

From the learning rooms... a ladybug, golf-ball "treasures," learning about us: our bodies, health, families, culture. Guppies and too-tall grass in our 'island ecosystem.'

From the kitchen... Nachos, grading papers...I wish I was making homemade shepherd's pie and the best snickerdoodles. Hmmm... maybe I will.

I am wearing... a long light-weight brown skirt edged in brown cotton lace and eyelet, and a pale pink tiny-flowered cotton blouse. I love pink and brown.


I am creating... a new habit: I've washed the dishes for 21 days in a row! Yay me!

I am going... to stay home.

I am reading... Psalms.

I am hoping... to make life more beautiful for people in my day.

I am hearing... the sound of no children.

Around the house...cleaning out a drawer (I hate to throw anything away, even if I haven't used it in 4 years!) Crunching on the carpet...I guess it's time to vacuum. Hey, it's a process. At least I'm washing the dishes!


One of my favorite things... Energy. And the images that the word, 'shimmer' conjures up.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

• Spend more time in prayer/Bible reading.


• Bake bread.


• Another shooting range outing with J.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


Go visit the simple woman's Daybook and check out her encouraging website, too!
http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

For Jesus

After reading a book about 'radical' Christianity last night, I was reminded of this quote I copied a while ago. Sometimes it seems that salvation by grace is used as an excuse not to work as hard as we can for the Lord. But this is where God is speaking to me. I realize also the importance of rest, quiet times for reflection, holidays and celebrations, etc.

"Beware of sins of omission; lose no opportunity of doing good of any kind. Be zealous of good works; willingly omit no work, either of piety or mercy. Do all the good you possibly can to the bodies and souls of men.... Be active. Give no place to indolence or sloth; give no occasion to say, `Ye are idle, ye are idle.' Many will say so still; but let your whole spirit and behaviour refute the slander. Be always employed; lose no shred of time; gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost. And whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Be `slow to speak,' and wary in speaking. `In a multitude of words there wanteth not sin.' Do not talk much; neither long at a time. Few can converse profitably above an hour. Keep at the utmost distance from pious chit-chat, from religious gossiping."

~John Wesley

The Quieter Life

The other morning I woke, exhausted from the turbulent, anxious thoughts of the night, wrapped myself in a blanket, and settled into my chair with my Bible and a cup of pine-orange-banana juice. I was too weary to even retrieve my binder with today's readings, so I just opened up my Bible and read some verses adjacent to yesterday's.

Hebrews 3:7-8a "So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

4:1, 11-13 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it...Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

This also reminded me of reading about rest from C.S. Lewis.

"The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back, in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind."http://www.civitate.org/2009/01/items-of-interest/

That was exactly how it felt as I read Hebrews and prayed that morning. The quieter life came flowing in.

What to read:

I was just going to comment, but then it got too long, so....

If you are interested in self-education, and you like the idea of educating yourself classically, the easiest thing you can do is to read A Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. It guides you in how to read different types of books, three stages of evaluation, and keeping a reader's journal. The second part of the book is a reading list of classics in chronological order and divided by genre. Each book listed has information under it to help you in your studies.

To learn more about classical education in general, here are some places to visit:

What is classical education?
curriculum guide

The author of A Well- Educated Mind has her own blog, The History of the Whole World, which has many links that might be of interest.

A quote...

...from my strongest influence to educate myself classically on educating one's self classically.

"There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books. Thus I have found as a tutor in English Literature that if the average student wants to find out something about Platonism, the very last thing he thinks of doing is to take a translation of Plato off the library shelf and read the Symposium. He would rather read some dreary modern book ten times as long, all about “isms” and influences and only once in twelve pages telling him what Plato actually said.


The error is rather an amiable one, for it springs from humility. The student is half afraid to meet one of the great philosophers face to face. He feels himself inadequate and thinks he will not understand him. But if he only knew, the great man, just because of his greatness, is much more intelligible than his modern commentator." ~C.S. Lewis

Sometimes it's nice to have new things...

I have been eyeing this blouse since long-sleeved shirts came in last year. Today I found it on clearance for $3!

It's time to plant seeds again! Here are my finds this week. Next week I hope to get a watering can or some dirt!

I'm also taking down all my pink to decorate in green and yellow...but I think all I have are yellow things!

The lovely dishcloths my grandmother knitted for me.

The dish towels I embroidered for my hope chest.

Self-education

This post, No, I Don't Think So, by Susan Wise Bauer made my day. I love to read her straightforward writing. The rest of the post is very much worth reading if education is of interest to you.

"The thread that connects all my work is this: I’m thoroughly convinced that real learning happens when a mature thinker sets out to educate herself."

(Bethgem, this one's for you!)

Paint!

After longer than I care to admit, I have finished the painting requested by Grandpa Tom...

I have never painted a detialed landscape before. In the past, I used thick lines and colors, not layers. I would pretty much draw the picture and then fill it in like a coloring book. That's how this painting began. After watching a few you-tube videos, I saw that I could paint layer upon layer. I tried it, and for a first attempt, I'm pretty happy about the results!

(This painting is taken from a photo of Grandpa Tom's farm that Grandma took.)

I was in the middle of making cherry fudge delight, or something like that, and had thought I would post the recipe. Well I have to say nobody in the family relished the end result: brown sticky cherries, biscuit, ice cream, and hot fudge. Plain cherry pie and ice cream would have been lovely. But the cast-iron pots are just too dear!!! I had to post the photo anyway.

Quote

“We are always getting ready to live, but never living.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

This statement is, many days, a pointed description of me...

A Good Week

I always used to feel overwhelmed at the idea of taking on more than one challenge at a time. I guess something happened in my heart last weekend. It's like a switch has flipped. Peacefully, without having to flex my willpower until little beads of sweat pop out all over my forehead, I have begun eating healthfully, exercizing a bit, and keeping my home neat...every day. I have to chalk it up to it being purely the grace of God.

A healthy diet and cleaning help each other out. When I eat healthy meals and don't snack all day, I am in a better mood and my energy is excellent. I am only getting hungry enough to relish my next meal, not to get grumpy. In a good mood, it is easy to do my chores. With my dishes clean, it's convenient to make nice home-cooked meals anytime. I'm doing things with a bounce in my step! (I have been loosely following my penny-pinching version of the Maker's Diet.)

So here is a thank you to God, for gracing me with a beautiful week.

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit" saith the Lord.

I was motivated to share this post after reading Jennifer's process of learning about health, eating, and spirituality. An interesting and unique read!