Saturday Salutes

Emily touched my spirit with her post titled When She Speaks.  We never know the impact we may be having in some one's life.

This is why we pray for and financially support missionaries like Mark and Amy Coats and teach our children to do the same.  Praise the Lord for the new name written down in glory!!

I strongly desire a peaceful environment in our home.  Stacy Karen shares Four Steps to a More Peaceful Home at Keeper of the Home.

Since my laptop died Thursday night, we did our part to help the economy by purchasing a new one yesterday.  The blessing is that it's tax-free weekend here in South Carolina, so at least we did save some money! 

Hope you have a great weekend!

Time to Pick Up the Pace

I don't know if I could tell you exactly what I did during July, but it's obvious that not much reading took place!

I'm currently in the midst of The Olive Plants:  Raising Spiritual Children by Warren Henderson and The Well-Trained Mind:  A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise.  This is my second time reading The Well-Trained Mind and it's an excellent book.

My eight-year-old and I moved on to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl for our bedtime reading.  I remember one of my elementary school teachers reading this aloud in class, but don't think I've read it since.  She really made the characters come to life and I'm having a wonderful time reacquainting myself with Charlie Bucket, Mr. Willy Wonka, Grandpa Joe, Violet Beauregarde and Augustus Sloop!

I've just begun reading The Adventure of Missionary Heroism by John C. Lambert and Joshua M. Wean to my ten-year-old and am looking forward to learning more about these Godly heroes in the coming weeks.

So far I've read six of the twelve books on my reading list for 2011 and five of the eight books I selected for our daughters.  I think I need to pick up the pace a bit so that we can finish our reading by the end of the year!

What have you or your children been reading lately?

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Looking for Billy?

Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been, Charming Billy?

Okay, my name's not Billy, but I admit to not having been around my blog much lately! 

Last week was spent with family and included a glorious three-day getaway with my husband.  Some of the highlights included a twentieth anniversary supper at The Local Chop and Grill House in Harrisonburg, VA and a visit to Luray Caverns.

I returned home with a long list of things to accomplish, but I hope to be back to regular posting soon!

What Tale Are You Telling?

Have you ever wanted to write a book? 

All of us are authors, knowingly or not.  We read in Psalm 90:9, "....we spend our years as a tale that is told."

What story are we writing on the pages of our lives?

Which chapters in your book are the longest?  Is it one that covers showing love to others or one dealing with pride and selfishness?  I fear that the sentences in some areas of my book are few when the paragraphs should number many.

We are each living a different part of our narrative.  Some are newlyweds, learning to love and grow together.  Others, like myself, are finding new facets to parenthood nearly every day. Some of the older ones among us have books that are full, revealing moments that have enriched others while doing much for their Savior.

By God's grace, may we all pen a script that brings glory to Him and blesses our fellow man.

What will you add to your story today?