School Starts, Great Devotional & Little Britches!

It's a glorious sunny day where I live, and it is a great day for the first day of school here! Mary started high school this morning!!!  Wooooo-hoooooo! Go Spartans!!! (Welcome newcomers! Mary is our youngest who was born totally blind. You can read a letter I wrote when she was born here.)

I can't believe she is in high school now! She was a little bit nervous, but I know she will be able to relax when she gets to her chorus class! ☺ (Update: I picked her up & she was all smiles :-) When she got to chorus, the music was ready for her in music braille code!

♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥    ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥ 

I'm dying to finish up telling you more about Little Britches, the book I just finished reading aloud on Friday. It is so fantastic! I introduced you to Little Britches by Ralph Moody last time. If you missed it, it's right here. 

But first, I want to tell you about yet another nugget I learned from Elisabeth Elliot. Mary and I have been reading a devotion together in the morning from an old book called, Daily Strength for Daily Needs. It contains one scripture (which I usually read more than once) and then some other poems or writings on the topic in the scripture. Then we pray for the day and for our family (oldest to youngest) and then other family and friends.

While we are still seated and we've finished breakfast and our Bible reading and prayer, we read the next chapter in our current book. I cannot say enough good things about Little Britches. Last time, I told you I would give you some more of my favorite sentences in the book. 

Be sure to read the great one from yesterday's blog that his father told him after an upsetting incident when Ralph was a young boy. My boys adored Little Britches, but Mary was too young to remember. I'm so glad we can refer to all these character building passages now!

Ralph's father also says to Ralph (a passage we've referred to many times over the years!):

“A man's character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn't do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.” 

You better believe we've talked about "not tearing the boards off your house!"

Here are some other nuggets from Ralph's father:

"You know, Son, sometimes a fellow has to take a licking for doing the right thing. A licking only lasts a short while, even it it's a hard one, but failing to do the right thing will often make a mark on a man that will last forever."

And this last one I want to share with you:

"He said it would be good for me, as I grew older, to know that a man always made his troubles less by going to meet them instead of waiting for them to catch up with him, or trying to run away from them."

Keep reading great books to your children and other children you love! We all know children are like sponges when they are young! If they can so easily memorize commercial jingles, why not give them something good to put in their minds?

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -Philippians 4:8

Walk by Faith,