Warm Snap

We've had a bit of a warm snap and since we hadn't gotten the leaves cleaned up from this fall (very bad :0) we took advantage of the pleasant weather to do so.





before



 Jacqueline doesn't care for raking, so she made the trips down the hill to the compost area.



After the umpteenth millionth time down the hill, she has updated her resume and is applying for the raking position next year ;0)

We worked Friday afternoon after school and Saturday morning.  It definitely looked better once we had finished.

You know they saying every job worth doing is worth a new tool.  Well, it works for women too :0)  Mom got a hand pruning saw and trimmed the crab apple tree.  But don't tell Dad.  He might take it away from us (he has been known to purchase tools that we can't lift)...we're referring to it as a scrap booking tool.

Looks pretty good...



Three Words

If today got three words to describe it I would pick:

funny,

marvelous,  ( I found these books, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, at our local thrift store for less then ten dollars)

and hopeful.( I can't wait for spring so I can wear my new gardening hat, and for Easter, so I can wear my new hatpin !)

I hope you are having a great day too.

On This Day in Christian History by Robert Morgan: A Review

     On This Day in Christian History by Robert Morgan is a small devotional meant to be read every day.  A day includes a short story about the life or part of the life of a Christian hero, compassing early Christian maryters to Billy Graham, and a Bible verse that goes along with the theme.  Most of his examples come from Catholic history with a few Pentecostal, women preachers, and main stream Protestants thrown in for good measure.  These stories are supposed to encourage and challenge believers in their walk with God. 

     I was disappointed by this book.  When I saw the title, being a huge history buff, I was very excited. As I got into it, I found that most of the stories were anything but encouraging and most often dishearting.  You are told of the faults of men in detail and then supposed to be encouraged because God used them. The book never shows how God helped these men overcome their faults. God just worked around them. The best example of this is Charles T. Studd who left his wife in England for years, was terribly critical of all people who didn't meet his standard of hard work (meaning 18 hrs days, limited meals, and no vacations), and finally died a broken man. Popes that are good guys in one story are villains in the next.  Pope Gregory VII, also known as Hildebrand, forced the German emperor Henry IV to stand in the snow to receive absolution for disagreeing with the pope's "reforms".  A few entries later, Hildebrand is praised for those very reforms!

     Not all of the stories are bad, however. One of my favorites is the story is how a Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball converted a teenager named D.L. Moody. Moody converted a man named F.B. Meyer, who converted J. Wilber Chapman, who converted Billy Sunday who converted Billy Graham.  The story shows how one "little" thing, like being a faithful Sunday school teacher, can lead to many people knowing Christ as Savior.

      Although the book is well written, I did not find the content to be an encouraging or challenging start to my day.  This isn't a book that I will be returning to.

While my opinions are my own, I want to thank BookSneeze for sending me a copy of this book to review.

The Snow!

The view from Jacqueline's window. 

The view from my window.

The snow, in bitter cold,

 Fell all the night;

And we awoke to see

The garden white.

And still the silvery flakes

 Go whirling by,

White feathers fluttering

From a grey sky.

Beyond the gate, soft feet

In silence go,

Beyond the frosted pane

White shines the snow.

~F. Ann Elliot~  

Well, it's more ice then snow,but it is beautiful.  Momma woke us up this morning with the news that it had snowed.  We still have our electricity which we were afraid we might lose, so that is something to thankful for.

 Dad isn't going to work, so we can have a nice quiet day filled with book reading, warm food, and maybe Dad will build us a fire! Jacqueline wishes me to add that she is half way to the snow already and begs me to go with her. I haven't decided if I will nor not. 

Update: We went sledding down our hill on a piece of leftover cardboard.  :0) And Mom is making pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips for breakfast!