“Contemplation is life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is a spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life.”
Nothing is trivial that concerns a child; his foolish-seeming words and ways are pregnant with meaning for the wise. It is in the infinitely little we must study the infinitely great; and the vast possibilities, and the right direction of education, are indicated in the open book of the little child’s thoughts.
Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p. 5
One week here before we start back to formal {home} school! Praying 🙏🏻 and trusting. 🧡💛💚
One of the best things about narration is that it allows children to tell you what they know, rather than being a means of discovering what they do not. Children will make use of their knowledge according to their own needs, interests, and personalities. What each does with the knowledge thus digested will be unique.
~ Karen Glass, Know & Tell, p. 185
Glads at the public library! 😍
We do need more of God, much more. Little sips between long droughts will not sustain us. We need more of God in our bodies, our souls, our relationships, our work, everywhere in our lives. But when you live in a culture of the incessant upgrade of everything, the sensational, it gives the impression that if you’re going to have a deeper, richer, amazing experience of God, it’s going to have to come in some sensational way.
I have some wonderful news for you: Nope. Not even close.
Life is built on the dailies.
Consider love, friendship, and marriage. Love, friendship, and marriage are not built on skydiving together, trips to Paris, kayaking the Amazon. They’re not. Perhaps once in your life you might do something like that, but the fantastic is not your daily. Love, friendship, and marriage are nurtured in the context of simple things like coffee together, hanging out, getting a burrito, holding hands, taking a walk, doing the dishes, reading to one another, or just reading different things while you’re together in the same room. It’s the little things that build a beautiful life.
John Eldredge, Get Your Life Back, p. 59
Fun recent library book…
In order to bring this lifestyle of learning into your home, you must look for beauty and new ideas, listen to your children’s interests and desires, create memories, look for new habits to develop, and give yourself and your children the grace of time to savor your time at home. Become involved with your children. Look at their hearts. Let them look at yours. Give them your attention. Edith Stein encourages, “The children in school do not need merely what we have but rather what we are.” ( Essays on Woman, 6)
“Words are one way we leave tracks in our world, Sol. Maybe one day you will write a book, like Olaus, or Molly Thorn. And people will read it, like I’ve been reading to you. And they will know that you were here, and a little about what you were like.”
Sol’s face remained far away. Her cheeks were white and hollow, but her eyes shone a bit, I was fairly sure.
The smell coming out of our public library was intoxicating! 😍♥️
I really enjoy this app and that they make Saturday a time of spiritual reflection over the past week. ♥️🙏🏻 I highly recommend listening (you can listen on their website, too!)
I jotted down their questions this week and found it so refreshing and challenging to honestly pray through them. It’s sobering to deeply examine oneself in the light of our Lord!
Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
What do I make of all this texture? What does it mean about the kind of world in which I have been set down? The texture of the world, it’s filigree and scrollwork, means that there is the possibility for beauty here, a beauty inexhaustible in its complexity, which opens to my knock, which answers in me a call I do not remember calling, and which trains me to the wild and extravagant nature of the spirit I seek.
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, p. 140-141
Listening… I really enjoyed Episode S6E85 Morning Time for Moms, Part 4, with Christina Baehr, here. I couldn’t figure out how to directly link. Christina is a cozy fantasy author and homeschooling mom who chatted with Cindy Rollins. Thanks to my friend, Kate, for telling me about it!
Reading…Know & Tell by Karen Glass. I was desperately in need of a refresher on all things Charlotte Mason as I plan our upcoming homeschool year. I’m entering my 15th year of homeschooling. I’m so thankful to God for His faithfulness. 😭♥️🌿
Watching…This YouTube channel about Charlotte Mason homeschooling.
Noticing… raindrops on hollyhock buds, endless blue skies, and the way the barn swallows swoop around me when I’m on the mower. Not to mention the smell of freshly cut grass! 🥰🥰🥰
How ‘bout you? What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? ♥️🌿📚😍
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 