The wonder of children

I was reading an old book and I love this quote on children:

"When some of us look at children,

especially when they are happy, we feel what the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was

expressing in a poem called "Spring" when he asked: "What is all this juice and all this joy?"

For us, children are the springtime, all creative burgeoning of human life.

They are not only in that springtime; they are that springtime.

Except when they are ill or hungry or in terror, their faces are fresh

free of the scars of old passions and enduring responsibilities.

They seem to breathe their own excess of vitality into the things they touch

or try to touch. Their surprise (and they themselves are surprises)

sometimes makes us older ones want to

draw close to them, the way a freezing traveler

wants to stop his purposeful voyage in order

to draw close to a warm and lambent fire.

What joy!

What excitement!

What beauty!

What delight!

Yes, the wonder, the juicyness, the blessings of children!!! YA gotta love them!

Easter Cookies

Don't forget....now is your chance to make Easter Cookies : http://nannykimsrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-story-cookies.html There is so much symbolism here, but you need to make them the night before easter and then easter morning there is a special thing.....read the link!

checkmate

This painting is by Bill Stephens. I like it. It can be found here: http://stephens.myexpose.com/view/?skip=160 This is what he says about it:

"There exists a chess game between the devil and a man in which the man is one move away from checkmate. If he looses, that jar beside him will hold his soul as all who are on the mantle over the fireplace. The man thinks he has lost, but actually if one studies the board, they will come to realize he has a way out, but he can't see it. Signed 18x24 Canvas giclee $185.00 Please add $50.00 for a signed one-of-a-kind giclee print which you alone would own."

I saw this a few years ago and I still often think of it! It is amazing how one picture can speak to a person, eh?

More of Muriel

I just wanted to post this picture of my MIL. She died on Feb 24 and it was taken before she got married around 1948. It is so nice to see old pictures of loved ones.

The glory of morning and another GOD WINK

Today as I was trying to get up!!!! ...I reflected on how wonderful morning sun shine is when you are waking up. (Yes, I did sleep in). There is something so beautiful aboout the morning sunshine--it is so gentle and so uplifting and beautiful .

God then favored me with what I call a God Wink. I have my devotional time in bed with a cup of coffee. In my readings today was a passage from 2 Samuel 23--it was talking about a good ruler (and of course the ultimate good ruler is Jesus) ...but I loved the analogy:

4 he dawns on them like the morning
light
like the sun shining forth on a
cloudless morning, ....

IT was just what I was feeling about the morning light and I love this analogy of a good ruler.
I love it when God does these God Wink's!

Why I like to blog?

I did a post on why I like blogging and thought I would share it on this blog as well. It can be found here: http://spindlecottage.blogspot.com/2010/03/things-i-love.html

Also I just want to say I miss those sweet times of the day that I had with my Mother-in-law. I miss watching the cooking network with her. I miss praying with her. I miss her little spark in her eyes. I miss feeding her......some of these were quiet intimate times. Some were laughing times. I miss her ---just being with another person-- a woman, knowing you are loved and accepted is a wonderful gift. Being able to be real and say what you want is a blessing. I miss her.

Remembering Gram who died this past week

Gram (my MIL) went to be with the Lord Feb 24 a little after 4 in the morning.