Families Writing

I'm blogging on the Sonlight Blog today about how to encourage our families to write more. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave me a comment over there.

A Lamp to My Feet

Usually, my favorite version of the Bible to read is the New King James (or sometimes even the old-fashioned KJV). I guess it's because I grew up using the KJV and those are the Words that are most familiar to me. The NKJV has retained the same flavor but is a little easier to understand with modern spellings and the "thees" and "thous" changed to "yous."

Awhile back I downloaded The Message Promise Book for my Kindle while it was temporarily free. It is a collection of Bible promises organized by topic in The Message translation. Several people I highly respect really enjoy reading from The Message for their personal Bible reading, though I've never cared for it much myself. For some reason this week I decided to read the little Promise Book on my Kindle. Both the organization into topics and the "fresh" language have been just what  I needed right now. The colloquial turns-of-phrase have me reaching for my "real" Bible to compare the verses. Here is an example of one that stood out to me this morning:

Matthew 11:28-30 from The Message:

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

And then same verses in the dear, familiar words of the King James Version:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I am so grateful for the easy access we have to God's Word, and that He is still (always!) faithful to speak to our hearts in just the way we need.

Time for Tag!

The little tag games that go around the blogosphere from time-to-time are fun, I think. This time around I was tagged by Natasha @ Day by Day who was tagged by Emily the Industrious. I think maybe Emily started it. In any case, here are my answers:

Question
When you're scared of something that is not truly frightening, what's the very first thing you do?
Answer
Gasp and flap my hands in the air, then try to act like I didn't really react. My husband and kids laugh at me for doing this all the time.

Question
When you feel like you've lost control of your emotions, what do you do?
Answer
Take a deep breath. And pray.

Question
When was the last time you cried?
Answer
I don't remember.

Question
Why did you cry?
Answer
Because I needed to, I guess.

Question
Who is your closest confidant?
Answer
Lyle (next to God, that is)

Question
For what would you go to college for if you were going?
Answer
Library Science

Question
Who is your most annoying pet?
Answer
Tabitha the cat, I guess, though I have definitely been around more annoying cats. Still, it couldn't be Cookie who is the ultimate sweetheart. And the fish are just fishy. That's all the pets we have. One dog. One cat. And 3 fish.

Question
Why don't you like tags?
Answer
Who said I didn't?

Question
Which five people do you tag?
Answer
Let's see. Who would want to do this? I tell you what... if you like tags and feel like doing this one, just consider yourself tagged!

A Sweet Reminder

Last fall I bought a couple of pretty mum plants and transplanted them into my front flower bed. I hoped they would come back this year, and much to my delight, they did! I've been watching them grow all summer, carefully pinching them back so they wouldn't get too "leggy." I was excited to see the first little nubby buds show up a few weeks ago... and finally... they have begun to bloom, right on schedule!

But what have we here?

In the same flower bed, I have a treasured little azalea bush that my dear friend, Kay, bought for me as a housewarming gift when we moved into this house three-and-a-half years ago. It has faithfully bloomed each spring, and I've been so happy that it has seemed to thrive for me.

Did you notice I said it blooms in the spring? Imagine my surprise to notice this little guy... just one lonely little bud... blooming brightly last week! In September. Not May.

I have no idea why the funny little flower bloomed out-of-season. It seems like there might be some sort of spiritual lesson there if I could just put it into words.

It's been two years today since Kay went to Heaven. Spiritual lesson or not, I thought it was nice of God to let that one little flower bloom to remind me of my special friend.

Sonlight Blog

I'm blogging about hands-on ideas for homeschooling at the Sonlight Blog today. I would love for you to leave me a comment there!