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I Will Remember You

Remember

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Christina Rossetti








Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies

To Canaan's land I'm on my way
Where the soul (of man) never dies
My darkest night will turn to day
Where the soul (of man) never dies

(lead)
No sad farewells
No tear dimmed eyes
Where all is love
And the soul never dies

(tenor)
Dear friends there'll be no sad farewells
There'll be no tear-dimmed eyes
Where all is peace and joy and love
And the soul of man never dies

The rose is blooming there for me
Where the soul (of man) never dies
And I will spend eternity
Where the soul (of man) never dies

The love light beams across the foam
Where the soul (of man) never dies
It shines and lights the way to home
Where the soul (of man) never dies

My life will end in deathless sleep
Where the soul (of man) never dies
And everlasting joys I'll reap
Where the soul (of man) never dies

I'm on my way to that fair land
Where the soul (of man) never dies
Where there will be no parting hand
Where the soul (of man) never dies

Sam

I thought that, since Pipsqueak so kindly shared a picture of her beautiful Smudge, I would share a picture of our beloved Sam. And, yes, his eyes came that way. We really don't know exactly what he looked like when he was born because we adopted him from a shelter when he was two months old. Somebody apparently dumped Sam and his sister in a bag and dropped them both off in a dumpster behind a mall. I don't understand some people.

Books that Sit and Books that Prick

For those of you who have asked about my progress in reading the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, I must confess that I haven't gotten past the first chapter. I promised our preacher I wouldn't start reading the books without him and it seems as though we just can't find a convenient time to start reading simultaneously. He is either in the middle of a book or I am. Well, usually I am in the middle of several books, but there are only so many I can juggle at a time. I am beginning to think that I am just going to jump in to the first book of the trilogy, The Bridal Wreath, without my friend.

One of the reasons I am bringing this up is because I have just updated my "literature" links. There are a couple of other books that I've been reading that may interest some of you.

I have been reading Home-Making and it has really been both pleasurable and painful at the same time. I suppose one might call it convicting. I find that the author is telling me exactly what I know to be true about creating a home and, although I have longed for this affirmation of what I believe to be true, it stings a little to see in print many of the ways in which I have fallen short. I don't say this to discourage you from reading this book, though. It was written by a nineteenth century man by the name of J.R. Miller whose eloquence and obvious love takes most of the sting from what he has to say. But not all. And that is as it should be. This book would be worth very little if it just affirmed what we already knew to be true without pricking our hearts into further action. This book is also not just meant for wives and mothers. It is meant to be read by the entire family. Miller is very careful to let the burdens of keeping a Christian home fall where they should. He has words for both husband and wife as well as for the children. We plan on reading this book as a family as soon as I am done with it. I think it will be a very humbling experience for me, but a necessary one.

Raising Maidens of Virtue has been a good read so far. I am pre-reading it before I read it with my girls. I bought it to read with them since they have been coming to me with concerns about modesty, male friendships and what it really means to be a Christian young woman. My girls are still young, but not too young to be talking about such things. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I have found it to be rather good at covering all of the areas that I feel my girls are desiring instruction in. We are one of only a few homeschooling families in our congregation and we were the first ones to start homeschooling. Thus, my oldest is the oldest homeschooled child in our congregation. We are having to make decisions on an almost daily basis that both put our faith to the test and set precedent for those who follow in our footsteps. I find it comforting that my daughters are coming to me with concerns that most girls wouldn't even think twice about in our culture. Part of me, though, was concerned that the answers that they were craving wouldn't fall easily from my lips to their ears. I think that this book will be of great service to us in this area.

Which leads me to a whole series of thoughts that I want to share, but they must wait until some other time. I have a dress that must be ironed before tomorrow morning and it is getting late in the day.

Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?

Take the Quiz here!

Lost and Found

We just had a thunderstorm pass over here and there is a mist rising up from the ground. It is evening. Someone is grilling. I can smell the sweet smell of cooking meat mingled with the smell of damp moss and tree bark. I'm alone at home. Will has taken the girls to a baseball game with several other families from our congregation. Time alone is a rare commodity for me. And, yet, my heart still feels a tug towards my children and my husband when we are apart.

One of the nice things about being alone is that I get to listen to "mommy's music". Right now, I am listening to the Guster album Keep It Together. I'm eating a banana and drinking orange juice. Is life really supposed to be exciting? I surely hope not because I don't know if I could handle it. I take comfort in the peace. In the familiar.

Now I am wondering where that mentally retarded man went to. The one who used to ride his bike to the curb across the street from our house and merrily ring his little bicycle bell. He had a nice smile. I haven't seen him in quite awhile.

Things are always changing around me without my consent. Sometimes without my knowledge. I suppose this is for the best. Maybe God just likes to step in and remove some of the clutter for me while I am otherwise occupied. I do this to my children's rooms every so often. They don't really need to form a bond with their Happy Meal toys. Sometimes they remember something, though. Something that wasn't a cheap piece of plastic, but I cleaned it out anyway knowing that there was another child out there who needed it more. I wonder if that is where that man went. To another one of God's children.

I suppose that is part of this life. Time keeps moving me forward and I lose things without even noticing. Some people spend their lives striving for something they can't quite put their finger on. I know what I am striving for. I just keep misplacing little things along the way. Funny how I assume they were really mine to begin with.

Part Four: Time and Eternity

XXXVI

I LOST a world the other day.
Has anybody found?
You'll know it by the row of stars
Around its forehead bound.

A rich man might not notice it;
Yet to my frugal eye
Of more esteem than ducats.
Oh, find it, sir, for me!

Emily Dickinson