Are you a Princess or a Pioneer?

"In one of the books I was reading recently, there was an offhand comment about how there are really only two kinds of women: the princess and the pioneer. I was struck by the wisdom and insight in this observation, and the more I thought about it, the more it seems to really sum up how women generally handle life. We either are the kind who are willing to roll up our sleeves and dive into the business at hand, even if it is something we have never done before; or we are looking around for the people who are going to be taking care of us." (Nancy Wilson, Femina, April 24, 2008)

Dirty Dishes

Thanks God for dirty dishes,
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We are eating well.
With home, health and happiness,
I shouldn't want to fuss.
By the stack of evidence,
God's been very good to us.

Dining on a Dime Cookbook (I love it!)

Tricia's Vacation Tips

I love this post by Tricia. She gives some great tips for how to enjoy a family vacation(even when it is still lots of work for you :0). And, the best part...many of her great tips apply even on your own turf!

Yard Sale Treasure Map

Yard Sale Treasure Map is a really nifty site! You type in a town and it shows you yard sales in the area and makes you a map taking you from sale to sale. It even puts the description of each sale right on the printable directions. It uses info from craigslist to compile it's list, but you can add other sales manually. A pretty great tool...check it out :0)

Eli Tree

Please pray for this sweet family. Brad and Christy Tree just found out that their little son, Eli, has leukemia. It is treatable, but they have a long road of treatments ahead of them. They will be driving to Kansas City weekly for treatments for the first 6-8 months and that is 3 hours away from where they live. They also have a little girl named Ellie. The mom Christy is my sister-in-in law's sister. Let's lift them up to God for comfort, wisdom, and strength for the days ahead.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
And confidently waiting come what may,
We know that God is with us night and morning,
And never fails to greet us each new day.

Yet is this heart by its old foe tormented,
Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;
Oh, give our frightened souls the sure salvation
For which, O Lord, You taught us to prepare.

And when this cup You give is filled to brimming
With bitter suffering, hard to understand,
We take it thankfully without trembling,
Out of so good and so beloved hand.

Yet when again in the same world you give us
The joy we had, the brightness of Your Sun,
We shall remember all the days we lived through,
And our whole life shall then be Yours alone.

Deitrich Bonheffer

The Magician's Nephew

Read it. You will love it! The Magician's Nephew is the first book in the Narnia series and I just wrapped it up tonight with my boys. C.S. Lewis uses such wonderful language and weaves such an amazing and rich story that it is simply not to be missed. I can't wait to start the second book!

How to Read a Hard Book (take 2)

HERE is the article that I was supposed to link to last time :0)

I just got The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and it has some of the same thoughts in it. Basically, it takes work and practice to be able to read hard books. It does not really "come naturally" to some and not others. Anyone can do it with a little practice! I'm looking forward to the part right after all the "practice" :0)

How to Read a Hard Book

This article was really helpful. The author gave a few practical tips for how to approach a book that seems way over our heads. His main suggestion...skim it. Don't get bogged down in all that you don't know. Instead, look over the topics, read what you understand, and keep moving. Then you can go deeper with some familiarity with the topic, or put it down, knowing what the main points in the book were. The article is worth a read. I want to go find a hard book to read now! I just need the time...

Apple Says No To Porn

Here is a terrific article about Apple's stand against porn. So terrific! As if their products were not great enough already.