A Few Good Things on Friday

 Just a few things we've been enjoying lately.  Maybe you would too?

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https://www.hummingfluff.com/lovelypeoplecomic.html

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Trying by Kobi Yamada, Illustrated by Elise Hurst

The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

Good Stuff

We have some out of town friends coming to stay with us for a few days on Thursday and they have never been here~ which means I have some serious dust bunnying and rolling out the proverbial red carpet to do today.  

There are still zinnias and cosmos to cut for bouquets around the house (thanks to the hose treatment when the first hard freeze happened!) which I am very thankful for because fresh flowers in a home just make it so much more beautiful.   Pretty much everything we own is second hand, furniture roadkill or given to us.  We don't have fancy new furniture. But by golly- we still have FLOWERS.

While I am changing the sheets on all the beds and mopping under the dining room table (which hasn't happened in...well, too long)  and trying not to eat all the cookies that I bake in preparation for their visit, you can enjoy a few things that I have enjoyed around the web!

This is great- in a might-illicit-tears kinda way:

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This is great- in a laugh out loud funny kinda way:

 (And now you know the name of my next child.)

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A thought-provoking article about not judging a book (or rather, person) by its' cover. And what if the world would wear the signs that make them who they are at that moment???

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This looks good:

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Rachel does it again.  This blog post is a must-read. It was so what I needed to be reminded of today (and every day).

GOOD STUFF for the weekend

 I have been having so much fun compiling 'Good Stuff' posts lately, I think this might just become a regular thing.   I think a 'Because YOU Asked' type post should become a more regular posting as well.  I have been sitting on a few questions emailed to me for TOO.LONG (I am so sorry ladies- you know who you are.)  So look for that coming up too.

Here are a few 'Good Things' for the weekend.

• The Creativity Crisis from Newsweek is a thought-provoking read. I liked looking through (and reading the commentary from) the slideshow of drawings from the 'creativity test' they gave to people.  Once I knew what they deemed less creative and what made something more creative I thought..."Hmmm."  It would be fun to see what Corynn and Andrew come up with.  So I recreated the squiggles and this is what they came up with.  

I am betting you can probably guess who's who.  ;-)

• Popsicle Stick Harmonica's- Totally doing this with the children!

This.  Yes, this.

• Why You Are Where You Are Now: For Such a Time As This.  You all know Ann Voskamp, I'm sure.  And this recent post of hers had me in tears by the end.  We are Esthers, all.

• If you are a fan of John Taylor Gatto, I bet The Ultimate History Lesson: A Weekend With John Taylor Gatto would be right up your alley.   It has five segments totaling over five hours of interview so don't expect to be done in 20 minutes!  :-)  I have been chipping away at it when I am able.  Maybe you'd like to also?   

• It is going to be HOT this weekend-  Taking this little bottle boat down to the creek might just be the perfect way to cool off.  Since we don't own barbies- I am thinking our dollhouse family might like a boating trip.

• Don't miss the SUPERMOON on Sunday!!!! This will be the perfect ending to our year of astronomy!

Any plans for the weekend?  

We just POSSIBLY might have a romantic weekend, the Mister and I.  Maybe.  You know how these things go...  I'll tell you one thing, I sure could USE one!  A sunrise wedding on Saturday.  A kid-less, just the two-of-us Friday night.  The kinks are all still be worked out- but it should be fun. 

See you on the flipside!



 

Good Stuff

A few "CAN'T MISS" things.  That's all.

 

A really inspiring book by a really inspiring girl, Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson is the kind of book that you crack open and don't stop reading until you've read the last word.  She and her husband were the sole survivors of a plane crash that left them both scarred, physically and spiritually and emotionally.  It is a coming-to-grips story and the story of renewed life and the struggles/pain that an entire family must overcome.   I bawled my eyes out when I re-lived, through her words, the knife in the heart stab of her chidlrens' rejections of her.  Oh.My.Word.    One hugely profound thing I got from this book is how Stephanie's siblings gathered around her and offered themselves in beautiful and not-quite-beautiful ways.  The love that her brothers and sisters showed for her in her time of need is what I pray my own children will show theirs.  A tearjerker of both happy and sad tears.  Loved it.

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Being television-less, we tend to get our news a day or two later than most.   Yes.  We hear the news.  (I don't want any hate mail.  Kay?)  We have plenty of opportunities to get the news from the radio and the internet and we stay fully informed about what is going on.  Don't worry, we don't have our heads in the sand. On the contrary- sometimes I think we know TOO much.

Last week I finally got around to hearing the Presidential Breakfast speech given by Dr. Ben Carson.  I wouldn't have bothered tuning into a Presidential breakfast speech ordinarily even if we DID have a TV, until that is, I heard who was the speaker.

What a speech.  It was great.

If you, like us, don't have a TV~ or even just missed watching it- you really should. Anyone who starts out a national speech with four scripture references is worthy of a listen.




 America the Beautiful, the book Dr. Carson references in his speech (Dr. Carson co-wrote it with his wife) is the next book I am going to read.  Very excited.

In case you have no idea who Ben Carson is, here is a great movie based on his remarkable life.   When we watched it last year, we LOVED it.  Watch it sometime- a great movie for a family movie night!

 

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Ever heard of George Grant?  An incredible man.  Our pastor introduced him (and by 'him', I mean his lecture series) to us a few years ago and I have since become quite a groupie.  I've been listening to his astounding lecture series (which I fully intend to use as our high-school history curriculum) in order to re-learn the history that I never retained in my own schooling...or, as it turns out- learned WRONGLY.  Coming from a sound Christian worldview and revealing things that aren't in most history books, THIS is history worth learning.  (They are super-pricey at this point but well worth it.  You can also hold out- they are preparing a more cost-effective downloadable/streaming option soon!)

He has written over 60 books and now you know why my TO-READ list is now growing exponentially.  Those, unlike the lectures, are FREE to read thanks to interlibrary loan!  ;-)

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Speaking of George Grant, his blog The Quick and the Dead is a powerful and profound blog exposing Planned Parenthood for what it really is.  It is hard to read, it is hard to think about...but the more the message gets out, perhaps the number "3,300 children murdered each day" will begin to lessen?  Please, Lord?



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And on a much more jovial note~

Those of you familiar with Lamplighter Theatre- there is a SUPER sale going on right now that you don't want to miss!  SEVEN Dramatic Audios for $7.00.  They usually go for almost $200.00 a piece!  (I got both sets 1 and 2!)  You don't want to miss it- and it ends tomorrow at 11:59 EST.  So HURRY!