Words to Live By

"Sing unto the Lord, all the earth;
show forth from day to day
His salvation."

1 Chronicles 16:23

Old Chairs

I love old chairs. There's just something about their charm and grace that's so inviting. Whenever I see an old chair in an antique shop or a thrift store, I want to bring it home with me. Of course that's just not possible. There should be a sign outside my house - "Home for wayward and lost chairs".

My daughter was making some changes in her room. She asked if I would swap a chair she had in her room for a smaller one in our living room. I thought it was a great idea, and in the process, we rearranged furniture in the living room.

I've fallen in love with this chair.

It is big, and comfy AND short :-) I'm not very tall, and sometimes my feet barely reach the floor when I sit in an easy chair. This chair has compassion for shorter people. It's old and bumpy, but it encompasses me with it's warm inviting arms. I can sit in this chair and read, or watch the butterflys outside.

I love sitting here, wrapped up in a good book and a cup of tea.


"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away."
~ George Eliot

Treasures to be found

Antique Malls can be so diverse.  We sometimes find the most unique displays.

I'm afraid this booth took my breath away!

 Yes, I love books!  You just squeezed into this space. I could have stayed in this booth for days.

When I found the mysteries section, I made a search for something that would appease my need for a book!  And I found Agatha Christie!!

Five complete Hercule Poirot Novels in one volume!  For $4.  Couldn't pass this one up. What a great collection!

Words to Live By

Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting at my doorposts.
For he who finds me finds life,
and obtains favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 8: 34-35

Paw prints on my heart

I was not going to cry!!

I went to the library to check out the audio of "Persuasion." However I discovered that it was already checked out!.

Bummer.....

 I found the CD's for "Marley and Me" by John Grogan and stepped into the check out line. As the librarian looked at what I had, she asked if I had read the book. I told her no, but had heard it was good. "You better get the tissues out, cause it will make you cry." Well before I even popped the first disc in, I told myself I would not cry. I mean it is a story about a dog..... I can handle that.

So for that whole week I enjoyed this story about a big yellow lab named Marley.  As I was putting the last disc in the CD player, I reassured myself, I was NOT going to cry.

So I listened. And then it came.... the tears.... big loppy tears. It was not so much the sadness of the story's ending, but the overwhelming memory of my own little puppy. Who turned into a big lovable Airedale dog!

 She was my best friend. We had her before we had our children.

She was my buddy.

My friend.

 Ten years and two children later, she left us. And oh..... what an ache in my heart. Even now as I think of her, the tears well up. How do we fall so in love with these critters and then they leave us!! My love for her was so deep that I have never been able to have another dog. I felt that I could not do it again. Their life is so short.

 John Grogan said it well. There are just some animals that you never forget. They have left their imprint on your heart.

"Flowers of true friendship never fade."

Awesome Thought

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

though stretched from sky to sky.

                                                                                    The Love of God | Frederick M. Lehman

A Romantic at heart

I think I must be a romantic at heart.

I love to read old stories. I fell in love with the classics several years ago.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice stole my heart. The love story between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy wrapped me up in their emotional interludes. Love/hate/misunderstandings/reconciliation/happy ending. How could I ask for more?

And then there was Emma,

the spoiled country girl who tried to be the matchmaker. Only to find that it was she who would lose in love. Ah! But there is also another happy ending.

Sense and Sensibility............

Two sisters, two loves, two broken hearts, two happy endings.  These books are so much more than the movies portray.

Jane Austen is not the only classic author I favor.

I recently listened to the "Little Women" CD's. I found this to be a most enjoyable book. With so many characters and story lines. Even though I have enjoyed the movies, the books have so much more depth.

And speaking of movies, a couple of years ago I watched "North and South" a PBS made for TV movie. I thought the production was good, and ventured to find the book. It was very elusive. But when I came across a paperback copy, I grabbed it.

I'm telling you, I was gripped by this story. The movie is nothing compared to the story of Margaret and Mr. Thornton. One reason I love to read these old classics, is that their emotions are written in such beautiful detail, and yet there is nothing unsavory.

Yep, I think I am a romantic at heart. Love the old classics. How about you??

The Power of Words

I read a book recently, yes the whole book in one sitting.  Well most of it anyway. When I realized the direction the book was taking, I went to the ending.  Do you ever do that??  I ended up crying at the last chapter.  The book was a departure from my regular reading.  I did not like the language, and the ending left me feeling somewhat that the author was giving liberty that violates moral and ethical laws.  However, at the end, as I was weeping, her words dug deep into my heart.  I've been too sensitive these last few years, things happening in my own life that have ripped me apart. 

 All day long the words sifted through my mind.  I've always been a reader, and books have held a special attraction to me. So much so that I can vividly imagine in my mind the cast of characters, the plot and the story line.  I can see the buildings, the furnishings, the costumes.  I envision the people, what they look like, their expressions.  It's like a movie theater runs in my mind and I see the whole production.  So when the words run deep......... my heart tends to follow.

Do you ever think about how we get involved in the thoughts of the world?  This book made me pause and think about how easily we throw our feelings and emotions into the ring.  Yet the only one and true answer to all of life's difficulties lies in God's Word.

Eph 2:3-5

Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  

But God,  

being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.

BUT GOD!!  in his rich mercy and because of HIS great love - saved me!  There are no more powerful words then these.

My love of books

I have always had a fascination with books. Since the first time my mother took me to a library when I was about 4 years old, books have always held a special place for me. My Mom taught me that if you have a book, you will always have a friend. It's true, because a book sometimes can be a companion, a teacher, a tour guide and much more.

We have a lot of books in our home. I've always dreamed that one day, if we had a spare room, it would be the library. Some of the books are new. Some we've found through book sales, or even at thrift stores.

It is so interesting to pick up a very old book and look through the pages.

This book is titled Carlyle's Essay on Burns -

Published in 1912, original copyright 1900. I am not much into poetry, but this book had a dried pansy stuck between the pages. The romantic side of me wonders who put that pansy there? How long has it been there? There are little pencil notations through out the book, so could it have been a book used for a class? In the front of the book it is barely legible, but I think it says George Bliss.

Years ago I worked in a church office. The Pastor of that church was going into the foreign missions field. So he was downsizing and getting rid of many of the books in his library. This is one of the books I picked up -

Published in 1936, copyright 1903. It appears to be separated into five different studies.

My daughter found this Scottish Psalter a couple of years ago in an Antique shop.
Published in 1937, copyright 1929. I love the pages in this book.

Can you see how the pages are divided in two sections. I suppose that you could read one Psalm and change the music each time. Lovely book.

Now all you math fans, this is the book for you! Copyright 1899, revised edition (no other date).

I love the note to the teachers.

It's fun to browse through the old books in Antique shops. Of course some of those books are out of my price range, but when we find a nice book at a good price, it adds to our growing collection. It amazes me how the written word survives through the generations. The Bible being the oldest and most powerful of these writings.

Out of the nest

One week ago, I embarked on a new adventure. Many have gone before me, and many have much more experience than I have. But still, the moment arrived that has been heralded through all generations.

I became a grandmother.

It has not been taken lightly. Our youngest son and his wife became the proud parents of a little girl. One I am sure who will wrap each one of us around her little finger.

The thing that filled my mind as I was introduced to this next generation was the fact that the moment we are born, we begin the journey of being pushed out of the nest. Our first push comes from the birth. Snuggled deep inside a woman, a baby is bound by the safety of the womb. For nine months, the baby listens to the ever beating heart and grows in the  miraculous way God has designed. Then the moment comes, when the surge of pressure pushes the baby out into the cold and sterile world. Feeling the emptiness of warmth and security, the baby cries, seeking the comfort it was nestled in for months. People bundle the baby and the child learns to find comfort in the love being shown.

 Deut. 32:11  Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions,

We nurture our children with the necessities of life. But as with all living things, the baby will grow, and experience even more pushing. The inborn need for independence starts early. Learning to roll over, to sit up and eventually walk, each event pulling away from the safe bounds of security. Then the day comes when school becomes a big part of the child's life.  More independence is needed to further their development. Learning to make friends and how to conduct oneself with peers and teachers. And as many parents can testify, the years will fly by and it soon becomes evident as the child becomes a young man or woman, the nest becomes smaller and the world becomes larger.

On taking that leap sometimes we fall before we soar. Yet the greatest leap comes when we put our faith in the Lord, and walk in accordance to the example Christ has set before us.

Phil 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

		Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
		I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
		Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
		Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
		Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
		For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

New life brings new hope. We know not what tomorrow brings. My humble prayer is that our grandchildren will walk by faith, not by sight.