Faith Lift Friday

Visit Sheryl at Taking the Challenge for Faith Lift Fridays thoughts & devotionals with links to other participants.




He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Commit Thou All Thy Griefs

Commit thou all thy griefs
And ways into His hands,
To His sure truth and tender care,
Who heaven and earth commands.

Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey,
He shall direct thy wandering feet,
He shall prepare thy way.

Thou on the Lord rely,
So safe shalt thou go on;
Fix on His work thy steadfast eye
So shall thy work be done.

No profit canst thou gain
By self consuming care;
To Him commend thy cause, His ear
Attends the softest prayer.

Thy everlasting truth,
Father, Thy ceaseless love,
Sees all Thy children’s wants, and knows
What best for each will prove.

Thou everywhere hast sway,
And all things serve Thy might;
Thy every act pure blessing is,
Thy path unsullied light.

When Thou arisest, Lord,
What shall Thy work withstand?
Whate’er Thy children want, Thou giv’st;
And who shall stay Thy hand?

German by Paul Gerhardt/English translation Wesley

Technorati tags: Faith Lift Fridays, Scripture, song, Faith, Joy

A Little Fun...

Don't think I've posted one of these before and I thought it might be a bit more cheerful than the QUARANTINE sign. Our joyful cup still runneth over with kleenex and cough drops but we are resurfacing finally. Sooooo...

What Gemstone Are You?

Your Gemstone is Amethyst

Dignified, impressive, and wise. You have a deeply spiritual soul

What Gemstone Are You?

Let me know if you find out, even if you don't post.

Technorati tags: Just for Fun, Blogthings

Really, It's Just a Minor Setback--

...or would I want some cheese and crackers with my w(h)ine? A totally, self-involved pity party. Enter at your own risk.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting today. Really you want to come in? Don't look at the mess around the Joyful Duplex. You need to be warned if you want to come in you should first don the safety-gear.

Then you can have some tea, there's a lot of tea today.

Ignore my bathrobe and stylish attire. My goal is to have a complimenting Lone Ranger mask to add to the ensemble soon.

Sometime shortly after hitting the "Publish" button for the Miss Bishop review and checking a few blogs the world came to a crashing halt yesterday.

Wordless Wednesday went out the window. So if you stopped by to see one of my photos feel free to browse the archives.

Thursday Thirteen is likely to fall by the wayside to, seeing as my brain has just recently found a modicum of coherency. But I've only managed to maintain function for less than a half hour at a time. And then I make my way back to my dark bedroom and heating pad.

In other words, life went from 60 to 0 in nothing flat. I have not felt that bad in years. The boys had (thankfully) gotten most of their school done before I collapsed. I had an inkling the night before I might be getting "a little something." When it started, I thought, "Well I can watch those movies, I've been wanting to." But that involved light and noise. And those became my enemies.

What was worse is that the boys decided to follow in my footsteps shortly after. Them I feel sorry for. Me--I probably deserved it.

We are grateful that Daddy has been working from home and took over the handing out of the medicines, warm compresses, tea and soup. He also ventured out to the Walmart wilderness and brought home a humidifier, more pharmacuticals and Listerine. Oh and being the pushover Daddy that he is, he brought the boys home a new video game.

So the house is trashed, the blinds are closed. Every blanket in the house is being used. Maybe life will return to our normal chaos tomorrow. I'll try to respond to my e-mails and some comments tonight, maybe. But for now thanks for checking up on us.





Be sure to slather you keyboard in hand sanitizer as you leave.

Miss Bishop—A Review

Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich

January isn’t over and yet I can tell you what will be one of my Top 10 Favorite Books of 2008. Miss Bishop.

Oak River, a town in 1876, offers nothing but promise to 16 year old Ella Bishop. She enters Midwestern College with a vision for her life. A plan she is sure will work out. She is positive, engaging, a delightful young woman full of vigor and joy.

The story travels from September of 1876 to June of 1933. Fifty-seven years of Ella Bishop’s life, 57 years of change for Oak River and Midwestern College. Fifty-seven years in which Ella Bishop’s plans are continually disrupted.

Published in 1933 this book is not as active as many novels are today; it moves at a pace from a past time. But it is full of it's own tension, challenges, pains and joys of a full life, lived well. Miss Bishop is a character study of a life lived in service to others, denial of selfish desires. Proof that one life can change so many others.

I'm sure I'm not doing the story justice.

There is a movie called Cheers for Miss Bishop that I discovered today. I've placed it on hold at the library. If it's worth watching I'll add a reveiw for that.
For now go and find Miss Bishop at your library!

Technorati tags: books, reading, book review, Miss Bishop, Bess Streeter Aldrich

...and the Little One Said, “Roll over! Roll Over!!”

So they all rolled over and Mom fell out.

Remember that old song? Well I slept it...or rather experienced it last night. Because...

Last night someone…someone—not me, someone decided to show our oldest the old Mich@el J@ckson “Thrill3r” music video. (Intentional mis-spelling to avoid spiders and trolls and general unwanted attention--sorry.)

Because there was dancing in there. And because our children like ballet.

See the connection? Neither did I.

Roo got only a few seconds into the video and freaked out. We are talking really upset. Never did get to the dancing. Uh-uh, no-way, no-how, was he going to watch zombies and Frankensteins dance. I don't blame him. Dumb video, if you ask me. But I digress...

So, ooooohhhh…round about bedtime, Boo, who did NOT even see the video, got to thinking about it and got the heebie-jeebies.

Guess where and with whom two boys decided to sleep last night. Guess who did not have a good night’s sleep.

The boys slept great, Thankyouverymuch.

And the video show-er slept elsewhere. Like a rock…

Which is part of why I am caffeinating this afternoon.

Next time, he gets to sleep with them.

I'm just saying...

Children’s Book Monday--Miss Hickory

Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

Miss Hickory is a doll of the finest materials, her Hickory nut head is attached to her apple-wood twig body. She is dressed in clothes from her owner Anne and lives in a little corn cob hose at the base of the lilac bush. Life is perfect for Miss Hickory. That is until her owner leaves and forgets her prim and proper little doll.

Winter in New Hampshire isn’t easy if you are a twig doll with a nut for a head. Miss Hickory uses her wits and with the help of some of her friends embarks on her changing season adventure. Will Anne recognize her treasured toy upon her return.

First published in 1946, this Newbery Award winning story is a favorite of mine and my children. The lithograph illustrations by Ruth Gannett are the perfect compliment to this tiny adventure. Read it aloud, it is too good to miss.

Visit Elise at A Path Made Straight for more ideas for wonderful children’s books.

Technorati tags: Children's Books, children's book review, reading, homeschool Miss Hickory, Carolyn-Sherwin-Bailey

Gift from a Friend

Renee at 2 Peas in Pod shared this award with me. She is always a bright light full of joy and is so deserving of it. I don't know that I live up to it, but for her to say I do means a lot.

I want to pass it on to Annie, Sheryl, Kim, Maria and to Jenny. You all have been so kind and blessed my heart. Renee I'm sending it back at you too!!

I Can’t Believe She Wants to Know MORE about Me

Shalee certainly is a glutton for punishment tagged me for a meme. Shalee also tagged me for a meme way back here. She knew I was weird even before she met me. But since she lied and didn’t tell the world how bad I was was so nice and said lovely things when she did meet me, I’m going to play along. Because I don’t talk about myself enough.

Cough, sputter, SNORT!

But since I did this one before, I am tweaking it a little because who wants to listen to the same junk you all want to know MORE about me!

Four jobs you've had in your life
Four jobs I wish I had been able to have:
Ophthalmologist (I was a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant and was so impressed with the doctors I worked with.)
Librarian (You work with books!)
Proofreader (Not good at proofing my own, but love to edit others.)
Bookstore owner (I'm sure this would be hard to understand, seeing as how I never talk about reading and books, books, and more books!)

Four movies that you would watch over and over
Four movies I want to watch soon that I’ve not seen:
One Night with the King
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride and Prejudice (all of them)
Beowulf & Grendal

Four TV shows that you love to watch (or used to watch)—Used to watch before children (and computers):
ER
JAG
West Wing
M*A*S*H

Four places you've lived
Four places I wish I lived:
The Island of Sodor
Narnia
Dinotopia
The 100 Acre Wood

Four places you've been on vacation
Four (actually 13) vacations I want to take:
The Shire
Camelot
The Island of Avalon
Hogwarts

Four websites you visit daily:
Pastor Al
The Weather Channel
My Way Photos—both “User Photos” and “Pet Photos”
Bloglines—where I see if you’ve posted something new for me, me, just for ME!

Four of your favorite foods:
Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Banana Bread
Cheesecake of any variety

Four places you would rather be right now:
Heaven
New Zealand
England
Rivendell

Four people I’m tagging:
Leslie at Do You Weary Like I Do?
Maria at Free to Fly
Kim at mom-musings
Sheryl at Taking the Challenge

Faith Lift Friday

My Lord is ever with me
Along life's busy way;
I trust in Him completely
For guidance day by day.

So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me; for I trust in Thy Word. Psalm 119:42

WHAT TIME I AM AFRAID

What time I am afraid
I put my trust in Thee;
In God I rest, and praise
His Word, so rich and free.

In God I put my trust,
I neither doubt nor fear,
For man can never harm
With God my Helper near.

In God, the Lord, I rest,
His word of grace I praise,
His promise stands secure,
Nor fear nor foe dismays.

Upon me are Thy vows,
O God, in Whom I live;
The sacrifice of praise
To Thee I now will give.

For Thou hast saved from death,
From falling kept me free,
That in the light of life
My walk may be with Thee.

Behold God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. Isaiah 12:2




Visit Sheryl at Taking the Challenge for Faith Lift Friday.

And You Thought You Knew Everything About Me!

Leslie at Do You Weary Like I Do? tagged me for this meme traveling around Bloggyville that asks us to:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:
Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

So, for your horror enjoyment I dug up and dusted off:

Link 1--Family/What Doesn't Get Said in the Christmas Letter
Link 2--Friends/I Saw Big Don
Link 3--Myself/Where the bloggy madness began
Link 4--Something I Love/Really, I love these!
Link 5--Anything I Choose/More stuff you truly didn't need to know about me. LOL!

And if you aren't bored with me yet (and that will surprise me!) you can look on my sidebar for "Joys Revisited--Some of My Favorite Posts." Then you will probably run screaming and never come back.

I'm supposed to tag five people, so I'm tagging you, and you and...well if YOU want to play join in!! I love to read the stuff you love to write!