On a global and national scale 2020 was incredibly painful, and I feel that keenly. But on a very small personal scale, 2020 was one of the best years of my life. I loved having my children home again and the relationships we deepened, I loved the slow pace of our days, I loved the […]
Books I Read in 2019
In 2019 I decided to do something my sister has done for many years: record the books I read. So I bought a little Moleskine and started jotting down titles each time I finished a book. I was coming out of severe depression and anxiety, and was seeking to rebuild my mind. Reading was a […]
A Brave Thing vs. A Great Thing
It is a brave thing to die for one’s fellow-men; it is also brave, and often far harder, to live for them. Livingstone did both. Indeed, the humble Blantyre mill-boy had done the noblest and highest thing that man can do; he had given his whole life to help God’s less happy creatures. And this […]
Relation of Education to Redemption
I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite authors about the subject of education is Ellen White; her words in the small book aptly entitled Education (published in 1903) merge with Charlotte Mason’s words in my mind, broadening my understanding of the heart of God, the responsibility of parents and teachers, and the capacity of […]
Dear Mama (Remix)
These words play over the speakers at the coffee shop this morning, and tears choke in my throat. This is a culture to which I cannot relate. But these are universal feelings I think we can all comprehend. Oh, you sin-stricken, pain-filled world. No matter the age, the place, the culture, our primary relationships remain the same. We […]
A Marriage Song
A Marriage Song by G.K. Chesterton Why should we reck of hours that rend While we two ride together? The heavens rent from end to end Would be but windy weather, The strong stars shaken down in spate Would be a shower of spring, And we should list the trump of fate And hear a […]
here’s a woman who knew
“My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.” -Abigail Adams {{yes}}
100 Year Old Chalkboard Lessons and Modern Waldorf Math Circles
I was totally entranced by this discovery of 98 year old chalkboards buried beneath newer chalkboards in an Oklahoma school. That the carpenters in 1917 hung new boards over the old ones without erasing the lessons is somewhat enchanting to me. Click over to the Washington Post article to see more images. In particular, […]
Up-Hill
Does the road wind up-hill all the way? Yes, to the very end. Will the day’s journey take the whole long day? From morn to night, my friend. But is there for the night a resting-place? A roof for when the slow dark hours begin. May not the darkness hide it from my face? You […]
Favorite Granola (recipe)
There are very few meals I can eat in the morning without feeling ill a few hours later; carbs before proteins are deadly. This granola is magical for me, because the nuts, seeds, fruit fiber and fats round out the oats and sweeteners. One bowl of this with milk, cream or yogurt, and I feel amazingly balanced. I make granola about once […]