Behind the Name

On of the best things about history is that you can study a person's whole life.  You can see how the choices they made, both the good and the bad, came to fruition.  Hebrew 12:1, which is one of  the mottoes for this blog, talks about being compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses.  These are the people who have run and finished their race.  They now serve as examples to us, encouraging us to persevere to the end of  our races in a God-honoring, glorious manner.   

I have always been amazed by the wisdom of the past.  Its insights are so clear and its criticisms are so just, that I am constantly astonished how people hundreds of years ago, whose life is nothing like mine, can possible counsel me how to best deal with a problem or inspire me to be all that God expects me to be.  

This is only possible because the Truth of God's Word spans time.  The Truth that these men and women studied and then applied to their lives is constant.  What they wore, where they lived, what they ate is inconsequential when compared to the fact they loved God so much that they allowed His Word and His Truth to form their character and permeate every area of their lives.  This is what makes their lives and examples a timeless model and makes their advice worth having.

So how do we know who are the best models?  First off, we must know the Bible ourselves.  You can't steer clear of  bad thinking if you can't recognize it.  Then, assuming that the person has a Biblical worldview, we examine their lives and ask ourselves a few questions.  How do they develop their God-given talents?  How do they use their time?  How do they respond to trials?  What do they do when they fail?  

Proverbs 27:27 says, " Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."  By taking the advice of those who have gone before and learning from their lives I sharpen my character against theirs.  What could make them a more Worthy Friend?

Challenge:

How many of my Worthy Friends in the collage can you name?  Comment and let me know.

Tea!

This past Thusday, a friend from church, Miss Sharon, took us to a tea house called The Potted Geranium  in Greensboro to celebrate my graduation. 

The house was built in the early 1800's. The owner beautiful restored it before turning it into a tea parlor. The house is my favorite style (square farmhouse) and it even has my much loved yellow siding!

The food was really delicious! Jacqueline and I had chicken salad on croissants with a house salad of spinach, cranberries, walnuts, some sort of cheese, and the most wonderful dressing!  Mom had turkey salad and the same type of salad as Jacqueline and I had.

We had a delightful time of food and fellowship. We really can't thank Miss Sharon enough for taking us there, especially since we will going there for a certain holiday in November! ( Yes, birthdays, especially mine, are holidays).

The gardens behind the house are lovely and very well kept. I thought this bird house was very cute.

Of course before we left, we had to get a little antiquing in. I bought three books one of which was pre-turn of century edition of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. The edition is not in the best of shape but I thought it would go very nicely with the old book collection I have and I am rather a sucker for all books Elizabeth Gaskell.

The town is very quaint. This is the First Presbyterian Church. The brickwork and the magnificent doors are astounding.

Coming Soon!

The Classics

Cafe and Bookstore

Wouldn't that make a perfect bookstore & cafe? With the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, new books, and my homemade, right  from the oven, blueberry muffins, coffeecake, lemon squares, and maybe slices of apple pie in a glass case, it would be heaven, at least for me.

Swimming Lessons

Miss Laura and some other family friends asked us to teach their children how to swim. Jacqueline and I were a bit unsure at first since we aren't great on our technique but it has been a lot of fun. All of the kids are so sweet and fun to be around. We are meeting about 2-3 times a week in our pool with a 30 minute lesson and some free time after when all the moms and any children who aren't taking lessons can get in and swim too. We all thoroughly enjoy  both the fun with the kids and the fellowship with the moms!