Check out the amazing giveway at Dear Lille.

So sorry about not having posted for awhile. We've been pretty busy between school, traveling, and dealing with  flooding. I hope to be back soon.

For now, here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like in our area

Love Lustres At Calvary

My Father,
 Enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips,
 supply words that proclaim 'Love lustres at Calvary.'
There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on Thy Son,
    made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me;
There the sword of Thy justice smote the man,
   Thy fellow;
There Thy infinite attributes were magnified,
  and infinite atonement was made;
There infinite punishment was due,
  and infinite punishment was endured.
Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,
  cast off that I might be brought in,
   trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,
  surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best,
  stripped that I might be clothed,
  wounded that I might be healed,
  athirst that I might drink,
  tormented that I might be comforted,
  made a shame that I might inherit glory,
  entered darkness that I might have eternal light.
My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,
  groaned that I might have endless song,
  endured all pain that I might have unfading health,
   bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem,
   bowed His head that I might uplift mine,
   experienced reproach that I might receive welcome,
   closed His eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,
   expired that I might for ever live.
O Father, who spared not Thine only Son that Thou mightest spare me,
All this transfer Thy love designed and accomplished;
Help me to adore thee by lips and life.
O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise,
my every step bouyant with delight, as I see my enemies crushed,
   Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed,
  sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood,
  hell's gates closed, heaven's portal open.
 Go forth, O conquering God, and show me
    the cross, might to subdue, comfort, and save."

from The Valley of Vision

The Precious Blood

"Blessed Lord Jesus,
     Before Thy cross I kneel and see
     the heinousness of my sin,
     my iniquity that caused Thee to be 'made a curse',
     the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.
 Show me the enormity of my guilt by the
    crown of thorns,
    the pierced hands and feet,
    the bruised body,
   the dying cries.
Thy blood is the blood of incarnate God,
  its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought.
Infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a price.
Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
   born in my birth,
   alive in my life,
   strong in my character,
   dominating my faculties,
   following me as a shadow,
   intermingling with my every thought,
   my chain that holds me captive in the empire of my soul.
Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light, 
   the air supply breath,
   the earth bear my tread,
   its fruits nourish me,
   its creatures subserve my ends?
Yet Thy compassions yearn over me,
      Thy heart hastens to my rescue,
      Thy love endured my curse,
      Thy mercy bore my deserved stripes,
      Let me walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliaton,
           bathed in Thy blood,
           tender of conscience,
           triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation."

from The Valley of Vision
     

Tagged!

     Anna from Damsel in Distress has just given me a blog reward. Thanks Anna!
        Here are the rules:
           1.List 8 stories or books you would like to live in
          2.List 8 other bloggers who deserve this award

 Wow this is a really tough one! As an avid reader, there are so many books that I would love to live in. Here are some of my favorites off the top of my head:
     1. The Count of Monte Cristo  by Alexander Dumas
     2. Pride and Prejudice         by Jane Austen
     3. Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up  by Eleanor H. Porter
     4. In Freedom's Cause        by G.A. Henty
     5. The Scarlet Pimpernel  by Baroness Orczy
     6. Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
     7. North and South      by Elizabeth Gaskell
     8.To Have and to Hold  by Mary Johnston

  And now, instead of awarding 8 people specifically, I invite anyone who wants to do this tag to join in!

An Amazing Giveaway!!

Attention all Homemakers! Miss Antoinette has just alerted me to this amazing giveway at this blog.  Here's the trick: just leave a commment on her blog telling her that I sent you (you could probably mention Antoinette's name as well.)

So enter in on the action! What can you lose?

Twenty Years Ago Today

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

 Well the time has come: My first book recommendation!!!!

  I chose this book for the obvious reason that today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Previously, I have fallen in the category of most Americans by hailing Lincoln as a noble and heroic individual that fought against slavery, etc. I had been taught this my whole life from public school, to christian school, and even throughout the first couple years of homeschooling. But this year was entirely different. This year I was able to study the truth  of what happened during the Civil War. This was largely due to my excellent curriculum. But then a lot of it also had to do with this amazing book. The Real Lincoln  was a real eye-opener for me. It is not written by some crazy southern fanatic with absolutely no historical evidence. This book is full of quotation after quotation ranging from Lincoln himself to southern people, to the British, and even to some radical abolitionists who realized that Lincoln's agenda was not entirely honorable. I think one of my favorite (and most disturbing) part of the book  is when Dilorenzo elaborates on the suppression of rights and the violation of the Constitution under Lincoln and his administration. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning new things. Let me warn you though, this book is not popular since it reveals the lies of the historical revisionists. This is certainly not something that you will hear today, even in much of  the South. I would encourage anyone who is studying the civil war to at least this book before you jump to any herioc notions of the man whose birthday we celebrate today.

For more information on Lincoln, check out these blog posts:

The Myth of Racial Equality,  by Samuel Turley

The Great Emancipator,  by Jasmine Baucham

My Regency Dress

Last fall, I was able to sew my first regency dress with the help of my dear friend Jessica. I have always liked this dress that Caroline Bingley wears in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice and with her help I was able to accomplish it. Thank you Jessica!
Here are a couple of pictures of the dress. The pictures were also taken by Jessica. Isn't she talented?!

 

 

 

Look How Far We've Come

Yesterday, I came across these  quotes from Alexis de Toqueville. It was amazing to me the difference a little over 150 years can make.
"Religion in America...must be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it. Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon religious belief. I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion--for who can judge the human heart? But I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions."


"In the united States the sovereign authority is religious...America is still the place where the Christian religion has kept the greatest real power over mens' souls; and nothing better demonstrated how useful and natural it is to man, since the country where it now has the widest sway is both the most enlightened and the freest.....Religion..does direct, mores, and by regulating domestic life it helps to regulate the state."

"In the United States the influence of religion is not confined to the manners, but it extends to the intelligence of the people....Christianity, therefore reigns without obstacle, by universal content; the consequence is, as I have before observed, that every principle of the moral world is fixed and determinate..."


"The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."


"I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of American in her harbors...in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power."


Now compare this to what our current president recently said:
"Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation. At least no just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation and a nation of non-believers"

All I can say is: Look how far we've come.  I pray that we would be moved to repentance.


"America is great because America is good and if America ever ceases to be good, American will cease to be great."  Alexis de Toqueville

"If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. "
2 Chronicles 7:14

"Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." Psalm 2:10-12