The devil is in the details, it is said, I suppose because details can be overwhelming and confusing. For some, however, details are the bearings which make life roll along smoothly, and by taking care of the little things, find the big things fall into place. This is perhaps our perspective in managing to haul 17 thousand books from… Read More Moving a Library, Stage Two
If you’ve ever moved, you know the special agonies of the process. I say “if,” as though you’ve never had the experience. To be American is to move it seems, but my family has probably, and unfortunately, been above-average in this experience. The sight of boxes and packing tape make us groan, though their necessity is indisputable. Sorting and… Read More Moving a Library, Stage One
What can be better than reading a good book? When we are caught up in a story or narrative, whether fiction or nonfiction, we are infused with thoughts that originated with someone else. A fresh breeze of interest blows through our minds and dusts the cobwebs that tend to accumulate when we are in our normal round of activities… Read More Making Friends Through Books
During the usual school season, as we toil and trudge through our action-packed days, somewhere out before us is that distant glimmer of summer with its promise of long, lazy days to spend as we choose. And as we all know, when summer is upon us, those empty spaces soon teem with too many diversions and, sooner than… Read More Nature: Summer’s Open Book
It is true that I have, on several occasions, written about the decline in reading in our country, even lamentably in the homeschool community, in hopes of doing my part to turn the tide. Indeed, we have this library to help turn that tide. It is also true that I have grieved over the rapidly diminishing numbers of beautiful… Read More Can One Little Library Do Anything?
We aren’t really so far removed from childhood that we can’t recall the wonder, are we? Can you step back in your misty memory and recall some of the fantastic imaginings of your childhood, some of the absolutely unbelievable things you used to unhesitatingly believe? There really was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, a… Read More The Substance of Things Not Seen
I shocked myself when the words were out. My family was busily preparing for the arrival of out of town guests, the atmosphere was a bit harried and tense, and my ten-year-old quoted some dialogue from Lord of the Rings perfectly – for the third or fourth time in the hour. I burst out: “Can’t you say anything that… Read More What Are We Saying?
I held a poem in my hands today. His name is Jonah and he is the living and breathing, exquisite and precious firstborn son of my firstborn daughter. He is a poem because he was formed in mystery and has appeared, living and breathing in time and space, at once a whole person to see… Read More What’s in a Poem?
I’m afraid that when we think of discipling our children, we tend to think in terms of taking them to church, reading the Bible to them, or engaging in spiritual conversations with them. Those are necessary to discipleship of course, but in reality, our children are discipled much more unconsciously than we are aware. Just think of the last… Read More Out of the Mouths of Babes
Full to the brim and fast as lightning is my summary of this past year’s days. The first four months were dominated with preparations for the wedding of the year, which was glorious on that last weekend of April. The next third of the year was marked by my husband’s absences from home to attend training for his new… Read More Bookmarking the Year