Augustine goes on to say "Nevertheless, make it clear to me, physician of my most intimate self, that good results from my present undertaking.  Stir up in the heart when people read and hear the confessions of my past wickedness, which you have forgiven and covered up to grant me happiness in yourself....Prevent their heart from sinking into the sleep of despair and saying 'It is beyond my power.'  On the contrary, the heart is aroused in the love of your mercy and the sweetness of your grace, by which every weak person is given power, while dependence on grace produces awareness of one's own weakness......A brotherly mind will love in me what you teach to be lovable, and will regret in me what you teach to be regrettable.  This is a mark of a Christian brother's mind....A brotherly person rejoices on my account when he approves me, but when he disapproves, he grieves on my behalf.  Whether he approves or disapproves he is loving me....My good points are instilled by you and are your gifts.  You never abandon what you have begun.  Make perfect my imperfections."

     Why is it so often the case that we do not grieve over one another, but instead attack, as if , to devour one another?  Does this kind of love bring fullness, or shame?  No, we are taught to "bear with one another in love." 

      A holy act of love, not a testing of our patience, but an enlarging of our heart.

     I must confess that as a child I thought history to be boring and, seemingly, meaningless, but since I started homeschooling my children 15 years ago, I have truly come to appreciate and love it.  I love to read anyway, so a new love was added in historical fiction, from Henty to other great classics that had escaped my notice.

      Right now I am reading Augustine's Confessions and it amazes me that something written over 1600 years go, could remain so timeless. I am on the chapter about memory and some quotes have really struck me.  First, he says, "Why then should I be concerned for human readers to hear my confessions?  It is not they who are going to 'heal my sickness'(Psalm 102:3).  The human race is inquisitive about other peoples' lives, but negligent to correct their own.  Why do they demand to hear from me what I am when they refuse to hear from you what they are?  And when they hear me talking about myself, how can they know if I am telling the truth, when no one 'knows what is going on in a person except the human spirit which is within'(1Cor2:11)?  But if they  were to hear about themselves from you, they could not say 'The Lord is lying'.  To hear you speaking about oneself is to know oneself.  Moreover, anyone who knows himself and says 'That is false' must be a liar." 

      As I read this, it struck me that the person who denies the truth "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" are calling God a liar, I was once that liar.  Don't I praise Him for opening my eyes to see, and my ears to hear, that I might make my own confession of a need for a savior, a kinsman redeemer?

Yes, I do.  

Today is another overcast, chilly day and I am rounding up the last of the stray details that need to be completed for the Noah jr. high basketball banquet.

I hope it will be a blessing to everyone who has participated and poured in so much effort this year!  Our girls team won 4th at Nationals last week in OKC, and we are very proud of them and how they have progressed since last year.

My daugher, Hannah, has three coaches that are pretty young, one is a senior and the other is in college and they are such a blessing to be such sweet encouragement to our girls, what great role models they are!

My daughter Allison, is another such role model for her little siblings.  She went on a missions trip to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico last week with her Christian college group and they built a house, then she made the extra effort and drove back to OKC for Hannah's last game.  That is what family is for and I am blessed.

God has blessed me.

Beautiful rain

today is our 3rd day of precipitation and it is wonderful after the months of drought we have experienced...which now means the burn ban is lifted and we can start raking and burning leaves.  I know this is spring, but I couldn't burn before now, so why rake!

Spring cleaning is in full bloom and we are getting a lot cleared from our property and I have another load to haul to the dump...oh happy day, I like cleanliness!

Today we read in Jeremiah one of my favorite sections of verse:

   "Thus says the Lord, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,' declares the Lord."