Moving On Up

Nicole Hill always had that sparkle of a woman to watch, even back in the day when we met and she was preparing for marriage. Seven children later, she's managed to bring her family through the daunting task of getting her husband Matthew through college with style and obvious grace. She's sharing that knowledge on a great blog, particularly if you like make-a-head meals. Give it a look. The recipes and home-won wisdom will repay your glance.Climbing Hills

Congratulations, Jo!

Your terrifying courage is well repaid.


"If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervor and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardor of his loving passion. Only he understood this who said: My soul chose hanging and my bones death. Anyone who cherishes this kind of death can see God, for it is certainly true that: No man can look upon me and live."
St. Bonaventure

Assignment: Confessions

I've decided to drop numbering my forays into the Great Books. It made some sense when I was working from end to end, but now that our group is choosing books in a mostly random fashion, I feel it conveys no meaning.
I truly did enjoy Augustine's Confessions though I felt I didn't get as much out of it as I wanted. I would like it if I had the time to read it two or three more times, but I don't. I can make do with the bits I picked up. Looking at his perspective on time and comparing it with the little I know about modern ideas really reinforced the idea that our knowledge grows cumulatively each generation upon the next. I loved how personable St. Augustine is. Anybody else going on and on like that I'd think "What a windbag!," but because he is confessing not lecturing my heart was much more open to the lessons he had to offer.
Even though I failed to mine every nugget, I was impressed enough to continue with the next book of Augustine's that the Great Books recommend--The City of God. I'm only getting started, but I'm enjoying it. It's more my style of thinking than Confessions. I want to compare it with Jeremiah and Lamentations if I can find the time.
In any case I can say mission accomplished about Confessions and move it along.

Go the F**k to Sleep

Family movies about bad parental priorities seldom have as charming a vehicle for the retraining camp as Mr. Popper's delightful penguins. I went with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I've loved the story since I was a child and I read it to my kids. The idea of barely referencing the characters I love so much worried me. They did a wonderful job crafting a new story. The new Mr. Popper has six charming penguins to teach him the lessons he seems to have have missed with his own offspring. The penguins allow him to be more emotionally honest than one can be with children. The movie is gentle and funny, and well worth watching. Everyone should have penguins to practice on. You can go right ahead and read them Go The F**k To Sleep without worrying about scarring them for life.