Shine Thou upon us, Lord,
Shine Thou upon us, Lord True Light of men, today, And through the written Word Thy very self display; That so from hearts which burn With gazing on Thy face, Thy little ones may learn The wonders of Thy grace. 2Breathe Thou upon us, Lord, Thy Spirit’s living flame, That so with one accord Our lips may tell Thy name; Give Thou the hearing ear, Fix Thou the wandering thought, That those we teach may hear The great things Thou hast wrought. 3Speak Thou for us, O Lord, In all we say of Thee; According to Thy Word Let all our teaching be; That so Thy lambs may know Their own true Shepherd’s voice, Where’er He leads them go, And in His love rejoice. 4Live Thou within us, Lord; Thy mind and will be ours; Be Thou beloved, adored, And served with all our powers; That so our lives may teach Thy children what Thou art, And plead, by more than speech, For Thee with every heart. John Ellerton, 1881 Tune: Leoni
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Hope and Love
by Jane Hirshfield All winter the blue heron slept among the horses. I do not know the custom of herons, do not know if the solitary habit is their way, or if he listened for some missing one-- not knowing even that was what he did-- in the blowing sounds in the dark, I know that hope is the hardest love we carry. He slept with his long neck folded, like a letter put away. The Coming R.S.Thomas And God held in his hand A small globe. Look he said. The son looked. Far off, As through water, he saw A scorched land of fierce Colour. The light burned There; crusted buildings Cast their shadows: a bright Serpent, A river Uncoiled itself, radiant With slime. On a bare Hill a bare tree saddened The sky. many People Held out their thin arms To it, as though waiting For a vanished April To return to its crossed Boughs. The son watched Them. Let me go there, he said. via Br. James, S.S.J.E "Birds, though you long have ceased to build, guard the nest that must be filled. Even the hour when wings are frozen God for fledgling time has chosen. People look East and sing today: Love the bird is on the way. " from "People, look East" hymn for Advent II "If the chickadees coming to the feeder are fluffed fat as tennis balls the temperature is in the low thirties, plenty cold enough for a muffler." Hal Borland
November
William Cullen Bryant - 1794-1878 Yet one smile more, departing, distant sun! One mellow smile through the soft vapory air, Ere, o'er the frozen earth, the loud winds run, Or snows are sifted o'er the meadows bare. One smile on the brown hills and naked trees, And the dark rocks whose summer wreaths are cast, And the blue gentian flower, that, in the breeze, Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last. Yet a few sunny days, in which the bee Shall murmur by the hedge that skirts the way, The cricket chirp upon the russet lea, And man delight to linger in thy ray. Yet one rich smile, and we will try to bear The piercing winter frost, and winds, and darkened air. Paper wasps inspire Ts'ai Lun's (CE 105) invention of paper.
The magnolia leaf fall has made a paper wasp nest visible outside the bathroom window - evidence of a very busy summer. I learned the queen starts the nest with chewed wood fibers, adding the first layer and laying eggs of the workers who will expand the work.
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"Ideas
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A wee explanation: this website was created as a way to amplify the daily surprise of seeing glory in one small life. The notebook entries represented here are all selected from things actually lived and noted on paper in an effort to live the full life British educator Charlotte Mason so ably championed.
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Book Of Centuries
Book Of Firsts
Church Year
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Enquire Within
Fortitude Journal
Gratitude Journal
Keeping
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Nature Notebook
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Picture File
Poetry
Prayer Journal
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Zeitgeist