Thankful Thursday
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. (Psalm 16:6)
1. First day of school!
2. Sausage and eggs for breakfast
3. An early-rising husband who always gets the coffee started in the morning
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Thursday, September 30, 2004
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Bedtime Stories
Mike and the two oldest boys were still at the fellowship hall cleaning up from Wednesday night dinner and Bible study. The two oldest girls had come home with me to help me get the three little ones to bed, and so far two of them were jammied and had their teeth brushed, but John was missing. Searching for him, I heard a little voice coming from my bedroom saying, "It's time for church." I peeked in and saw John holding the almost-life-sized Raggedy Ann doll my mother gave me long ago. Raggedy Ann had my white Sunday purse over her left arm just the way I wear it, and John was placing my straw hat upon her head. "It's time to go to church!" John repeated cheerfully.
Mike and the two oldest boys were still at the fellowship hall cleaning up from Wednesday night dinner and Bible study. The two oldest girls had come home with me to help me get the three little ones to bed, and so far two of them were jammied and had their teeth brushed, but John was missing. Searching for him, I heard a little voice coming from my bedroom saying, "It's time for church." I peeked in and saw John holding the almost-life-sized Raggedy Ann doll my mother gave me long ago. Raggedy Ann had my white Sunday purse over her left arm just the way I wear it, and John was placing my straw hat upon her head. "It's time to go to church!" John repeated cheerfully.
Senescent bloggers
And I don't mean that in the insulting way that the thesaurus uses it, I mean it in the Biblical sense - The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 16:31), and Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:32)
If you haven't met Sam and Lois yet, you need to get on over there and do so, now. They are a godly couple, probably the oldest bloggers in the world, and you can surely glean some wisdom from them. Besides that, Lois is really funny!
And I don't mean that in the insulting way that the thesaurus uses it, I mean it in the Biblical sense - The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 16:31), and Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:32)
If you haven't met Sam and Lois yet, you need to get on over there and do so, now. They are a godly couple, probably the oldest bloggers in the world, and you can surely glean some wisdom from them. Besides that, Lois is really funny!
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
For Liza Q
Studium Discere Tutorials offers classes in Latin, Logic, Rhetoric, and World History taught by Peter Roise, a graduate of New Saint Andrews College, who has an extensive knowledge of world history and a knack for teaching his students to see God's providence in history. Last year my oldest began taking his two year World History class (year 1 syllabus here), and is continuing with WH2 this year (syllabus here). Mr. Roise begins the class with Genesis 1:1 and weaves world history in with Scripture, to show students when the events in the Bible occured and how they fit in with what was going elsewhere in the world. In the process some pretty interesting information is brought to light, like the fact that King Ahab was recorded in contemporary documents as a wealthy and powerful king, and was highly respected and considered to be Israel's greatest ruler... by the pagan kings around him. (Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.) The students read a lot of primary source material, outlining each book as they read it, and they turn in two term papers per year. This class has worked out well for us since my daughter needed more challenging material and more structure than I can provide at this time.
Tomorrow is Michaelmas or, more properly, The Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, and since we always have our feasts on the night before, tonight we'll be having a special thanksgiving meal using many of the ideas that Liza mentioned in a comment this summer.
I'm planning on serving spaghetti squash with meat and tomato sauce, sauteed zucchini and yellow squash with onions, homemade bread with blackberry jam, and apple crisp and ice cream for dessert. Tomorrow we'll listen to Celtic music and read St. George and the Dragon. Thanks, Liza, for all the ideas! Before you posted that, I knew nothing at all of the traditions associated with this feast.
When I was growing up we always started school around the 20th of August, but when I started homeschooling my own children the first day of school was the day after Labor Day, which seemed like a nice "traditional" time to start school. (You can see I'm big on tradition!) But then three years ago, when we learned that there was such a thing as a Church calendar and Church year, we began to rethink the way we order our lives - should it be according to the state year or the church year? Well, when you word the question that way, there's only one obvious answer, so we've been gradually reorienting ourselves to the Church year, starting by having more focused family devotions and Scripture readings during Holy Week, then adding the Christmas season (we were already celebrating Advent). So this summer when I was planning out the coming shcool year, I decided to find a Church holy day to mark the beginning of the school year. I admit I was pretty haphazard in the effort. My method was simply to look at the church calendar and pick a convenient day in September, which happens to have two holy days - Holy Cross, on the 14th and Michaelmas, on the 29th. In my brief research, I learned that the colleges in England traditionally began the year at Michaelmas, so from now on the 30th of September will be the official first day of school for us.
Now it's story time with my little ones - we're reading through The Chronicles of Narnia, so I'll sign off with an appropriate Psalm. God's blessings on you all!
Studium Discere Tutorials offers classes in Latin, Logic, Rhetoric, and World History taught by Peter Roise, a graduate of New Saint Andrews College, who has an extensive knowledge of world history and a knack for teaching his students to see God's providence in history. Last year my oldest began taking his two year World History class (year 1 syllabus here), and is continuing with WH2 this year (syllabus here). Mr. Roise begins the class with Genesis 1:1 and weaves world history in with Scripture, to show students when the events in the Bible occured and how they fit in with what was going elsewhere in the world. In the process some pretty interesting information is brought to light, like the fact that King Ahab was recorded in contemporary documents as a wealthy and powerful king, and was highly respected and considered to be Israel's greatest ruler... by the pagan kings around him. (Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.) The students read a lot of primary source material, outlining each book as they read it, and they turn in two term papers per year. This class has worked out well for us since my daughter needed more challenging material and more structure than I can provide at this time.
Tomorrow is Michaelmas or, more properly, The Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, and since we always have our feasts on the night before, tonight we'll be having a special thanksgiving meal using many of the ideas that Liza mentioned in a comment this summer.
Facts on Michaelmas from the Internet.
1. Harvest Festival, around the Fall Equinox. Autumn is our favorite season around here so I'm up for adding a holiday.
2. End of blackberry season (this was pretty funny, with Satan falling in the brambles!!) Maybe we'll have some Polaner All-Fruit Blackberry.
3. Goose. Is that like duck? I don't like duck. Can I substitute a roast chicken??
4. Storehouses filled. We could stock up at BJs.
5. St. George is involved somehow. Sounds like a good time to read the Hodges/Hyman book - my little ones have never seen it.
6. Celtic, as far as I can tell. I have a great CD of Scottish Music (The Battlefield Band) that we can listen to.
So, a new holiday, chez Q. We can do a big shopping in the morning, eat PBJ (blackberry, not grape) for lunch, listen to the CD while we are putting away all our shopping stuff, read St. George (and other fairy tales with lovely illustrations), read about Satan's fall (not sure about the brambles, though...) and have a Feast with Mock-Goose, harvesty vegetables (carrots/turnips?), a BIG loaf of bread (another tradition I saw) and some kind of harvesty dessert - Apple Crisp with Ice Cream sounds good.
If we do it, I'll let you know how it goes!
I'm planning on serving spaghetti squash with meat and tomato sauce, sauteed zucchini and yellow squash with onions, homemade bread with blackberry jam, and apple crisp and ice cream for dessert. Tomorrow we'll listen to Celtic music and read St. George and the Dragon. Thanks, Liza, for all the ideas! Before you posted that, I knew nothing at all of the traditions associated with this feast.
When I was growing up we always started school around the 20th of August, but when I started homeschooling my own children the first day of school was the day after Labor Day, which seemed like a nice "traditional" time to start school. (You can see I'm big on tradition!) But then three years ago, when we learned that there was such a thing as a Church calendar and Church year, we began to rethink the way we order our lives - should it be according to the state year or the church year? Well, when you word the question that way, there's only one obvious answer, so we've been gradually reorienting ourselves to the Church year, starting by having more focused family devotions and Scripture readings during Holy Week, then adding the Christmas season (we were already celebrating Advent). So this summer when I was planning out the coming shcool year, I decided to find a Church holy day to mark the beginning of the school year. I admit I was pretty haphazard in the effort. My method was simply to look at the church calendar and pick a convenient day in September, which happens to have two holy days - Holy Cross, on the 14th and Michaelmas, on the 29th. In my brief research, I learned that the colleges in England traditionally began the year at Michaelmas, so from now on the 30th of September will be the official first day of school for us.
Now it's story time with my little ones - we're reading through The Chronicles of Narnia, so I'll sign off with an appropriate Psalm. God's blessings on you all!
Psalm 91
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Monday, September 27, 2004
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Thankful Thursday!
1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3-12)
2. rain and cool weather
3. R.C. jr
1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3-12)
2. rain and cool weather
3. R.C. jr
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
My, my. The things one learns while living a semi-agrarian lifestyle!
Every end-of-summer pecan trees do this thing called "sapping." That is, they rain down icky sticky sap all over the place. Of course the important thing is to remember this in the spring when you're telling your husband where you want him to put the new clothes line he's making you.
Every end-of-summer pecan trees do this thing called "sapping." That is, they rain down icky sticky sap all over the place. Of course the important thing is to remember this in the spring when you're telling your husband where you want him to put the new clothes line he's making you.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Urgent prayer request
Carmon's little son fell this afternoon and suffered a pretty serious head injury. Please pray for him.
Update: Baby William has a concussion, but is otherwise uninjured and is expected to come home today. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.
Carmon's little son fell this afternoon and suffered a pretty serious head injury. Please pray for him.
Update: Baby William has a concussion, but is otherwise uninjured and is expected to come home today. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
This day at Thy creating Word
First o’er the earth the light was poured:
O Lord, this day upon us shine
And fill our souls with light divine.
This day the Lord for sinners slain
In might victorious rose again:
O Jesus, may we raisèd be
From death of sin to life in Thee!
This day the Holy Spirit came
With fiery tongues of cloven flame:
O Spirit, fill our hearts this day
With grace to hear and grace to pray.
O day of light and life and grace,
From earthly toil sweet resting place,
Thy hallowed hours, blest gift of love,
Give we again to God above.
All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom, with the Spirit, we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Words: William W. How, 1871
Music: “Winchester New,” Musikalisches Handbuch (Hamburg, Germany: 1690); harmonized by William H. Monk, 1847, alt.
First o’er the earth the light was poured:
O Lord, this day upon us shine
And fill our souls with light divine.
This day the Lord for sinners slain
In might victorious rose again:
O Jesus, may we raisèd be
From death of sin to life in Thee!
This day the Holy Spirit came
With fiery tongues of cloven flame:
O Spirit, fill our hearts this day
With grace to hear and grace to pray.
O day of light and life and grace,
From earthly toil sweet resting place,
Thy hallowed hours, blest gift of love,
Give we again to God above.
All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom, with the Spirit, we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Words: William W. How, 1871
Music: “Winchester New,” Musikalisches Handbuch (Hamburg, Germany: 1690); harmonized by William H. Monk, 1847, alt.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
I can't stand it anymore! I must blog!
... so I'm back, even though we're still two weeks away from Michaelmas. I'm just not accomplishing some of the big stuff I'd hoped to get done - like the big organizing jobs and the deep cleaning - the heat just drags me down so much.
But! I have accomplished some reorganization in my weekly schedule. Nathan's speech and occupational therapy are being moved from Tuesday and Thursday mornings to after lunch, plus Katherine's World History 2 class is from 2:30 - 4:30 Tuesday afternoon where her WH1 class was 10:00 - 12:00 Tuesday morning last year. Both of these changes have made the afternoons seem more productive around here. I tend to get most of our schoolwork done in the mornings, and I don't usually have much energy for anything in the afternoons, so this has been a good change. I'm looking for "low energy" work I can do in the afternoons, and one of the things I've been doing is folding laundry while listening to taped history lectures with Stephen.
To celebrate my return I've worked up my own "50 Things I Love" list. I had trouble stopping at fifty, so for this list, I left out the two things I love the most - my God and my family - and I only listed chocolate once. ;-)
~Alfred the Great
~Angels in the Architecture
~anyone lived in a pretty how town
~baby kisses
~Beyond Stateliest Marble
~black olives
~blue salvia growing beside yellow roses
~the Buffalo River
~chocolate!
~cheesecake
~Clovis
~Craftsman-style architecture
~dark wood furniture
~daydreaming
~driving fast
~Ephesians 4
~fall
~fettuccine Alfredo
~fresh pineapple
~hardwood floors
~homemade chocolate chip cookies eaten while hot from the oven and with a tall glass of milk
~Lord Peter Wimsey
~Martha Washington
~Mike's grandmother's hands
~Mr. Knightley
~old-fashioned orange daylilies
~the pearl earrings Mike gave me for Christmas
~planning
~the platform of the Constitution Party
~pretty hats, long swishy skirts, and high heels
~Psalm 24
~Robert E. Lee
~roses
~sailing
~Samuel Adams
~singing the Doxology before supper
~Sir Percy Blakeney
~the soundrack to Les Miserables, especially Jean Valjean's prayer for Marius, "Bring Him Home"
~St. George and the Dragon
~Steve Wilkins' The Lord's Supper and our Children series
~Stonewall Jackson
~So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
~taking a hot shower after gardening
~Thanksgiving
~unicorns
~the Virginia Reel
~Vivaldi's Gloria
~Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"
~when the pastor holds up the bread and wine and says, "These are the gifts of God for the people of God"
~white lace curtains and bed linens
... so I'm back, even though we're still two weeks away from Michaelmas. I'm just not accomplishing some of the big stuff I'd hoped to get done - like the big organizing jobs and the deep cleaning - the heat just drags me down so much.
But! I have accomplished some reorganization in my weekly schedule. Nathan's speech and occupational therapy are being moved from Tuesday and Thursday mornings to after lunch, plus Katherine's World History 2 class is from 2:30 - 4:30 Tuesday afternoon where her WH1 class was 10:00 - 12:00 Tuesday morning last year. Both of these changes have made the afternoons seem more productive around here. I tend to get most of our schoolwork done in the mornings, and I don't usually have much energy for anything in the afternoons, so this has been a good change. I'm looking for "low energy" work I can do in the afternoons, and one of the things I've been doing is folding laundry while listening to taped history lectures with Stephen.
To celebrate my return I've worked up my own "50 Things I Love" list. I had trouble stopping at fifty, so for this list, I left out the two things I love the most - my God and my family - and I only listed chocolate once. ;-)
~Alfred the Great
~Angels in the Architecture
~anyone lived in a pretty how town
~baby kisses
~Beyond Stateliest Marble
~black olives
~blue salvia growing beside yellow roses
~the Buffalo River
~chocolate!
~cheesecake
~Clovis
~Craftsman-style architecture
~dark wood furniture
~daydreaming
~driving fast
~Ephesians 4
~fall
~fettuccine Alfredo
~fresh pineapple
~hardwood floors
~homemade chocolate chip cookies eaten while hot from the oven and with a tall glass of milk
~Lord Peter Wimsey
~Martha Washington
~Mike's grandmother's hands
~Mr. Knightley
~old-fashioned orange daylilies
~the pearl earrings Mike gave me for Christmas
~planning
~the platform of the Constitution Party
~pretty hats, long swishy skirts, and high heels
~Psalm 24
~Robert E. Lee
~roses
~sailing
~Samuel Adams
~singing the Doxology before supper
~Sir Percy Blakeney
~the soundrack to Les Miserables, especially Jean Valjean's prayer for Marius, "Bring Him Home"
~St. George and the Dragon
~Steve Wilkins' The Lord's Supper and our Children series
~Stonewall Jackson
~So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
~taking a hot shower after gardening
~Thanksgiving
~unicorns
~the Virginia Reel
~Vivaldi's Gloria
~Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"
~when the pastor holds up the bread and wine and says, "These are the gifts of God for the people of God"
~white lace curtains and bed linens
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