I’m taking a short break while bread is rising and cake is cooling to do a little reading/writing.

I have plans for next Christmas. I’m going to start on present making early. I know, I know, I say this every year, and being a flighty procrastinator, find myself running around like crazy in December trying to catch up!
BUT! !This time I have made plans to get together with other ladies once a month and work on a project. I really, really hope this works!

Also, I think I will get the family to help me work out an advent catechism….I wonder if there is already such a thing in existence? You know, put down into words the things we talk about throughout the Christmas holiday to be used as a sort of family liturgy. “What do we celebrate at this time of year?” etc…. getting down into the beautiful Grace filled theology of Christ’s incarnation.

Tonight, Gaelan & his bride Emily will join us for dinner, advent devotions and gift exchanging before he heads off to work. Police Officers don’t get holidays off very often as sister Kathryn has often said.

Tomorrow, we will go to Kathryn’s house, (just a mile a way, what a blessing!) and eat begniets and open gifts with her family. We will then just hang out there, playing games, eating and visiting with friends who drop in.

I hope that you all have a blessed Christmas, as you remember the Savior who gave up the riches of heaven to dwell among us so that we may be adopted as sons of God.

All praise to thee, Eternal Lord,
Clothed in a garb of flesh and blood;
Choosing a manger for thy throne,
While worlds on worlds are thine alone.

Once did the skies before thee bow;
A virgin’s arms contain thee now;
Angels who did in the rejoice
Now listen for thine infant voice.

A little Child, thou are a guest,
That weary ones in thee may rest;
Forlorn and lowly is thy birth,
That we may rise to heav’n from earth.

Thou comest in thy darksome night
To make us children of the light,
To make us, in the realms divine,
Like thine own angels round thee shine.

All this for us thy love hath done;
By this to thee our love is won;
For this we tune our cheerful lays,
And shout our thanks in ceaseless praise.
Martin Luther 1524

That Ol' Moloch Box!

Television

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER
letThem near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotized by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULLAND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!'you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ!
They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more.
Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start --
oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts.
They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
Roald Dahl

More Christina Rossetti

WHY? \
Lord, if I love Thee and Thou lovest me,
Why need I any more these toilsome days;
Why should I not run singing up Thy ways
Straight into heaven, to rest myself with Thee?
What need remains of death-pang yet to be,
If all my soul is quickened in Thy praise;
If all my heart loves Thee, what need the amaze,
Struggle and dimness of an agony?--
Bride whom I love, if thou too lovest Me,
Thou needs must choose My Likeness for thy dower:
So wilt thou toil in patience, and abide
Hungering and thirsting for that blessed hour
When I My Likeness shall behold in thee,
And thou therein shalt waken satisfied.

I had planned to post something for Good News Thursday, but couldn't think of any that is of broader interest than our own home front. There is one thing. A little girl at our church fell last Sunday and scraped her elbow. It got infected and her mother took her to the E.R. on Tuesday. The Dr. said that if they had waited another day or two they are not sure that they would have been able to save her. She was in the hospital for two days as they tried to get the right combination of antibiotics to work. Please thank God with me that she is home, now. Also, both her parents have pneumonia, now! We've got young people over there helping out with the household and meals are taken care of. Please pray that the "G" family gets some rest! Thanks!

Good Friday

"BEHOLD THE MAN!"
by Christina Rossetti

Shall Christ hang on the Cross, and we not look?
Heaven, earth, and hell stood gazing at the first,
While Christ for long-cursed man was counted cursed;
Christ, God and Man, Whom God the Father strook
And shamed and sifted and one while forsook:--
Cry shame upon our bodies we have nursed
In sweets, our souls in pride, our spirits immersed
In wilfulness, our steps run all acrook.
Cry shame upon us! for He bore our shame
In agony, and we look on at ease
With neither hearts on flame nor cheeks on flame:
What hast thou, what have I, to do with peace?
Not to send peace but send a sword He came,
And fire and fasts and tearful night-watches.

A poem, predestined to be in my inbox when I needed it to be.

"I WILL ARISE."
Christina Rossetti
Weary and weak,--accept my weariness;
Weary and weak and downcast in my soul,
With hope growing less and less,
And with the goal
Distant and dim,--accept my sore distress.
I thought to reach the goal so long ago,
At outset of the race I dreamed of rest,
Not knowing what now I know
Of breathless haste,
Of long-drawn straining effort across the waste.

One only thing I knew, Thy love of me;
One only thing I know, Thy sacred same
Love of me full and free,
A craving flame
Of selfless love of me which burns in Thee.
How can I think of thee, and yet grow chill;
Of Thee, and yet grow cold and nigh to death?
Re-energize my will,
Rebuild my faith;
I will arise and run, Thou giving me breath.

I will arise, repenting and in pain;
I will arise, and smite upon my breast
And turn to Thee again;
Thou choosest best,
Lead me along the road Thou makest plain.
Lead me a little way, and carry me
A little way, and listen to my sighs,
And store my tears with Thee,
And deign replies
To feeble prayers;--O Lord, I will arise.

This & That

A picture that delights my heart. The older young men in our church. (My oldest in front in the burgundy, and next oldest in the back in the light green.)





















"The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him." Proverbs 23:24


Another Rossetti poem:

GOOD FRIDAY.


Am I a stone and not a sheep
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy Cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon,--
I, only I.

Yet give not o'er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.


Last night was a wonderful time. During family devotions we reflected on the description of creation before the fall and what the new heaven & the new earth will be like. We talked about the things God has done for us this past year and the things we are looking forward to in faith for the coming year. Then we spent a sweet time in prayer.



Tonight...the Virginia Tech game. We are hoping to have some friends over to watch the game and visit with us. I have a big pot of spaghetti planned to feed the gang. It has turned really cold here and we are expecting a little snow. There is a little wood pecker on the tree right outside the window, I will have to remember to put out some seed and suet this week.

Steven has his follow-up appointment for his sleep study today. He is hoping to get some definite results, and a plan for what to do next. Just keeping the sleep journal has been revealing, his being in his bed does not mean he's sleeping!

The downstairs looks fine still, from having company, so today the focus is on Shayna's room, and the ever-present but quite piled up laundry. Ironing anybody? No, I didn't think so. :^)

Today, I'm thankful for: The heat that turns on and warms our home. The woodpeckers outside with their cheery red heads. Our family Dr. who promises to keep trying to figure out what's preventing Steven from getting a good night's sleep. For God's care and guidance for the young men in our church.

Today's Bible Reading: Genesis 5-8, Psalm 119:3,4

Happy New Year!

It has been a different, busy and enjoyable holiday season. I'm glad to get back into routines and clear away the dust and debris.

We have company for dinner and devotions this evening. We love to have company and all are pitching in to get the downstairs ready to make our guests comfortable. We plan to not do much schoolwork this week at all so that I can work on routines and lesson planning.

In the past, I have taken Most of January off of school to totally dejunk and get the house ship-shape. It is wonderful to make a fresh start and January is usually a month that we easily get the blahs. This year, though, we have a more rigorous school schedule, so we are just going to try to stretch out the extra house work over a longer period of time.



I have been enjoying the poems of Christina Rossetti these past few months. Here is another that struck me.

THE LOWEST PLACE.


Give me the lowest place: not that I dare
Ask for that lowest place, but Thou hast died
That I might live and share
Thy glory by Thy side.

Give me the lowest place: or if for me
That lowest place too high, make one more low
Where I may sit and see
My God and love Thee so.


Focus for today: Laundry (especially catching up on ironing), Get the downstairs spiffy, Do our weekly chore cards.

What's for dinner: Red beans & Rice, Salad, Homemade applesauce and carrot cake

Today I'm thankful for: New beginnings. My husband who so diligently got up this morning and started back to work. My grown sons who bless me with their wisdom and servant hearts. My younger two who show me Christ (one way or the other) every day and who pray alongside me. My family and church family see the above reason.

Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 1-4, Psalm 119:1,2

The Best of Love Stories

LOVE FROM THE NORTH.
I had a love in soft south land,
Beloved through April far in May;
He waited on my lightest breath,
And never dared to say me nay.
He saddened if my cheer was sad,
But gay he grew if I was gay;
We never differed on a hair,
My yes his yes, my nay his nay.
The wedding hour was come, the aisles
Were flushed with sun and flowers that day;
I pacing balanced in my thoughts,--
"It's quite too late to think of nay."--
My bridegroom answered in his turn,
Myself had almost answered "yea":
When through the flashing nave I heard.
A struggle and resounding "nay."
Bridemaids and bridegroom shrank in fear,
But I stood high who stood at bay:
"And if I answer yea, fair Sir,
What man art thou to bar with nay?"
He was a strong man from the north,
Light-locked, with eyes of dangerous gray:
"Put yea by for another time
In which I will not say thee nay."
He took me in his strong white arms,
He bore me on his horse away
O'er crag, morass, and hair-breadth pass,
But never asked me yea or nay.
He made me fast with book and bell,
With links of love he makes me stay;
Till now I've neither heart nor power
Nor will nor wish to say him nay.
Christina Rossetti