Called Aside

Into a desert place apart (Matt 14:13)

There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by "rests", and we foolishly think we've come to the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives; and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator. How does the musician read the "rest"? See him beat the time with unvarying count, and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between.

Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the "rests". They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the key note. If we look up, God himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on Him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we sadly say to ourselves," there is no music in a 'rest'", let us not forget, "there is the making of music in it". The  making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach us! How long He takes for us to learn the lesson!  - Ruskin

Called aside -

From the glad working of thy busy life,

From the world's ceaseless stir of care and strife,

Into the shade and stillness by thy Heavenly Guide

For a brief space thou hast been called aside.

Called aside -

Perhaps into a desert garden dim;

And yet not alone, when thou hast been with Him,

And heard His voice in sweetest accents say:

"Child, wilt thou not with Me this still hour stay?"

Called aside -

In hidden paths with Christ thy Lord to tread,

Deeper to drink at the sweet Fountainhead,

Closer in fellowship with Him to roam,

Nearer, perchance, to feel thy Heavenly Home.

Called aside -

Oh, knowledge deeper grows with Him alone;

In secret oft His deeper love is shown,

And learnt in many an hour of dark distress

Some rare, sweet lessons of His tenderness.

Called aside -

We thank Thee for the stillness and the shade;

We thank Thee for the hidden paths Thy love hath made,

And, so that we have wept and watched with Thee,

We thank Thee for our dark Gethsemane.

Called aside -

Oh, restful thought - He doth all things well;

Oh, blessed sense, with Christ alone to dwell;

So in the shadow of Thy cross to hide,

We thank Thee, Lord, to have been called aside.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts to overflowing this day and forevermore.

(Devotional writing and poem from 'Streams in the Desert, Vol 1', written by Mrs Charles E Cowman, published 1925. Glorious artworks by the amazing Morgan Weistling)

Our Inspiring English Unit!

"Through hard work, perseverance and a faith in God, 
you can live your dreams".

For this term in English, my two eldest children (year 10 and year 7) are studying the novel 'Gifted Hands' by Ben Carson, M.D.

So that I could effectively help my kids with answering some of the questions if needed, I decided to read the novel for myself. I devoured it in two days, it was such an inspiring read!
His life story and the dedication of his mother, who was determined to have her sons believe the best in themselves, is powerful.

Ben Carson becomes a world-class pediatric neurosurgeon at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Growing up in poverty-stricken Detroit with his mother and elder brother, Curtis, Ben could have never dreamed of the future that lay ahead for him. When 9-year-old Ben's father abandons his family, his heart is broken with the hurt lasting a life-time... (read the rest here)

“By reading so much, my vocabulary automatically improved along with my comprehension.” 

I learnt a lot through this book, as a Christian, as an individual, but most of all, as a mother. I'm encouraged by the strong will and the sacrifices of Sonya Carson, and I could only pray that my influence on my childrens hearts, minds and lives will be anything close to hers on her boys! 

"My favorite subject was recess. Fortunately for me, I had a mother who believed I was smart."

If you've not read this book, I really encourage you to. 
It makes a great English unit for our children to learn the requirements of the English language, but even more than that, it implants a contagious zeal into their hearts to be the best they can be in whichever area they choose; to put God first, to treat others with respect, to use the gifts and talents God gave them for the benefit of others, and to keep on keeping on when things seem to be impossible.

“No knowledge is ever wasted.” 

I've found some links for you, in case you're wanting to use this book as a resource for your childrens learning, or just to read for yourself! For study guides, click here, here and here. You can purchase the book for yourself here, here, or here! Also, here is a link to FREE Ben Carson note booking pages and handwriting... love free stuff!

“God has an overall plan for people’s lives and the details get worked out along the way, even though we usually have no idea what’s going on.” 

I hope you and your children enjoy this biography as much as we have! 

What an inspiration Ben Carson is to so many! 
Praise God for his wonderful, life-saving, gifted hands!




(Linking up with this blog here!)

Five 'Things' That Make My House A Home

Pre-loved items, I love them. The story they tell, the lives who used them, the memories they stir. It's only been in the last few years that I've really grasped my love of all things vintage. I knew as a teenager that I was drawn to 'old-style' things, but now as an adult I realise that it's a part of who I am. 

While visiting family last week I was given some vintage treasures from my in laws. They are not 'stuff' people, that's just not who they are, and in all honesty I don't think I am either. I just can't resist something that once belonged to people that I love. I've found myself becoming very picky with what I decorate my home with, and vintage, pre-loved, but practical items are most important. We scoured second-hand book shops and op-shops too, where I found some book bargains that I'm excited about!

Making a house a home has always been something that is very important to me. Not for appearance sake, but as a way to create memories, warmth, comfort, peace and love within these walls for the people that I love. 

There are five things that I've discovered, for me, that go along way in making my house a home. If these things are pre-loved, then it's even better!

1. Photographs and art
2. Books, books and more books
3. Candles
4. Cushions and blankets (especially crotchet or patch work blankets!)
5. Old furniture

This gorgeous old timber box was my father in laws. It has his name on the top and so I'm hesitating to refurbish it. I do like blue. What do you think? Should I restore it or not? I think it's going to be my second 'family memories box' when my first one's full!

The books to the left are sweet little stories that have old-fashioned values and gorgeous illustrations! My Little Miss P is really enjoying Enid Blyton books, so when we found some at a great price, we grabbed them for her school holiday enjoyment! Hopefully Little Miss J will enjoy them as she gets older too!

My girls love poetry and this hard-cover book was a bargain at only $5.00! It's in beautiful condition and the illustrations are, again, so sweet. We'll be enjoying many winter nights snuggled in our beds reading this together!

Our family loves reading together and I'm looking forward to reading through the 'Little House' series by Laura Ingalls Wilder after we've finished reading the 'Chronicles of Narnia'. I was very happy to find some of the series cheaply to add to the ones we already own. Has anyone read 'All in the blue unclouded weather' by Robin Klein? I've not seen it before and it looks like such a sweet girls story, I'm looking forward to reading it with my daughters!

This volume of Narnia has all seven stories in it, it's also our third copy of the Narnia series. This copy was $12.00 and I'm going to be using it to highlight favourite quotes and scribble notes in, the others are not to be drawn in! It was cheaper to purchase the one volume rather than individual copies, as they were $4 - $5 per book, so that would've made it much more than $12.00 and much more than I was wanting to spend!

The Treasury of Narnia was just irresistible! It's full of Narnia goodness and I really look forward to enjoying this one by firelight! 

Our sweet kitty Ollie enjoys the new perch! I brought two journals that were discounted, honestly, just because I'm addicted to journals! The blue one was a beautiful gift from my brother in law and his girlfriend, very lovely! 

My other brother in law gave me this copy of 'My Utmost For His Highest', the incredible devotional by Oswald Chambers, I now enjoy my quiet times with it and the 'Living Light' devotional that I snapped up for $3.00. 'Christ in Isaiah' looks like a very interesting read.

Does anyone else think that 'if I'm going to need practical storage then it may as well be pretty?'  Well I couldn't pass up the gorgeous red tin from Dad and the long metal ones, they're perfect for holding pens and craft pieces. The candle holders fit my love of birds, my second favourite colour, green, the vintage look and the candle criteria! I look forward to lighting them! The bottles I grabbed as they were only $2.50 each and well, I'll find a practical use for them somewhere!

This teacup and saucer belonged to my husbands Grandmother. She was an incredible woman and Mum gave this set to me as she doesn't want 'stuff', but this is the kind of stuff that I love! I think of Grandma each time I look at it's pretty yellow blooms!

I collect teapots and some teacups and so these have been added to my collection. I don't see this collection as being essential to my home-making, it's just something that I enjoy, especially when my girls and I have tea parties together!

My sister in law took me to a new Costco store that's opened here in Australia ... big mistake! You should see the books there! I snapped up this complete audio CD set of Beatrix Potter stories (below), I thought the girls could listen to them as they go to sleep some nights!

I love learning about writing and these books were bargains! The 'Spiritual Writing' looks particularly good, has anyone read these before?

I went through the phase of having my dinner ware matching, and I have recently started collecting miss-matched vintage pieces, as they're more 'me'. These were gifted to me by my brother in laws girlfriend too ... they are beautiful! I brought the pink flowery one for $1.

I smile when I see our table set with old-fashioned beauty.

It gets so cold here in winter, and my children like to snuggle up as they feel the cold. Little Miss J especially as she's so tiny and thin. I brought this patchwork single bed blanket for only $5.00, it's in perfect condition and very warm!

The photo above is of my gorgeous husband (the cute little one on the right with the cheeky grin!) and his older brother. Mum gave this photo in the frame to me as she said she has plenty of photos of her boys, I'm so grateful to have it! It sits on top of Dads blue timber box.

I saved my favourites till last. These chairs were hand-made by my husbands Grandfather when he first married. They used them in their first family home, that was seventy-five years ago. I've placed them on our front veranda so we can enjoy cuppas out there. I'm really not sure if I want to refurbish these or not, I love them as they are all chipped and showing their history, but I can also see them restored. Help! What's your opinion?!

How do you enjoy decorating your home? Are you true to you and your style? What's important to you in your decorating?

I love these quotes by Edith Shaeffer ...

“I am sure that there is no place in the world where your message would not be enhanced by your making the place (whether tiny or large, a hut or a palace) orderly, artistic and beautiful with some form of creativity, some form of ‘art’ .

“It is true that all men are created in the image of God, but Christians are supposed to be conscious of that fact, and being conscious of it should recognise the importance of living artistically, aesthetically, and creatively, as creative creatures of the Creator. If we have been created in the image of an Artist, then we should look for expressions of artistry, and be sensitive to beauty, responsive to what has been created for us” .

Making my house a home is something that I'll never grow tired of ... will you?

(Linking up with the beautiful Homespun Oasis)

Family Friendly Wednesday: Lovely Poetry

We have a beautiful friend (with her beautiful daughter) visiting with us this week, so I am hoping to be computer free as much as possible so we can make the most of our time together! So, today's post is just a couple of sweet little poems I found, that I hope you enjoy!

 

"The Home I Love"       

Some homes are quiet, polished, neat
But one I know is far more sweet
Where tiny smudges on the wall
Tell of fingers dear and small.
Where toys are sometimes strewn about
And doors are banging in and out.
Where little children play and sing,
And laughter's often heard to ring...
The home I love is filled with noise
Of happy little girls and boys!    

Author: Kay Hoffman

 

 

 

"Family"

There's a special kind of closeness
that only families know,
That begins with childhood trust
and deepens as you grow.

There's a special kind of happiness
in sharing little things,
The laughter, smiles, and quiet talks
that daily living brings.

There's a special kind of comfort
in knowing your family's there,
To back you up, to cheer you up
to understand and care.

Of all the treasures life may bring,
your family means the most,
And whether near or far apart,
That love will hold you close

Author: Glenda Campbell

 

 

I hope you're all having a beautiful week!

Butterflies in the Lavender

I have been thinking again on the little things in life. The little things that are actually the big things. Every afternoon for the past few weeks in between two and four o'clock, our lavender has been in the company of a very large amount of lovely butterflies. It is simply stunning. To watch and observe the way they go about their work, and to think of the fact that our God made them with everything they need all wrapped up in a teeny tiny fragile little package.

What makes it even more enjoyable is watching my children chase the butterflies and gently cup them in their hands, admiring the colours and the beauty of them. Seeing the smiles on their faces. Such wonderful small moments that God had brought into our humble little garden. It's the little things that are the big things. Oh, I could have been busy with all sorts of household chores, but what I would have missed.

Let me encourage you to grab hold of the moments to watch God's creation at work, to watch your children admiring His masterpieces too. Take time to stop and breathe, to slow down and take in the moments that you could otherwise miss; for they are the moments that make up your life.

I have written a poem below about the butterflies and took a photo to share with you. I hope you enjoy the beautiful little moments in your life this week!

 

The Butterfly

 

On wings resplendent it makes graceful ascent,

along the soundless breath it journeys.

How agreeable to watch its flaunt,

of grand hue and refinement.

 

Unwavering on its fashioned calling,

it dances over bloom and posy.

Indulges in ambrosial essence,

completes its quests without delaying.

 

How intricate its stunning framework,

how exquisitely it has been formed.

Causing tongue and soul to worship

the wonder of Your work.

 

 Linking up with A Cultivated Nest for more inspiration!

 

All photography and poetry is the property of Sufficient Grace, please ask permission before usage, thank you!

Lost In His Beauty

Crimson river of refreshing grace,
bathed in the fragrance of Christ.
My heart held captive by the song of His love,
encompassed in a lace-like embrace.
 
Fresh flight of crisp green leaves;
warm, soothing streams of crystallised light.
Heart who's life is found in Him
I inhale the fullness of comforting peace.
 
Cherish the beating
of my love-struck soul.
Yearning to fit-well His mould;
a copy of The One.

New hunger falls like desperate rain;
a longing to know more.
The familiar rhythm of words long spoken
Every inch of each chamber woven by grace.

The shimmer of touch
as I breath in
His hope;
held in His tender caress.
 
Wildflowers planted blooming as many gifts;
planted by my lavish Redeemer.
I gather them all and relish their uniqueness;
reflect on their meaning and I am well.

I am free.

The crisp flow of His Spirit
restores my hope,
it tingles my skin
and quickens my heart.

The romantic in me,
the writer in me -
completely lost in the
beauty of Him.

 

Photo property of Sufficient Grace... please ask permission before useage. Thanks