::Three Girls::

Three girls.
Watered and grown under the same church roof. Prayed over. Struggled over. Loved deeply.
Paths crossing and intertwining.
Looking across yawning chasms of upbringing and personality at one another, yet cocooned close by a sisterhood that binds.

Three women.
Hearts raised to God under different roofs. Praying. Struggling. Loving deeply.
Carving paths towards one another.
Drawn close by time & circumstance. Eternally sisters.

::Why I will never win Trivial Pursuit & Sebetu Rolls::

::Week 16::

A few words about fallibility. It is ever among us. Just yesterday I was pointed to a glaring error in one of my posts. I must admit, though I tend to laugh at my mistakes, I felt an embarrassed flush creep up my cheeks. I am very good at making rapid-fire connections, where, in fact, there are none. That, combined with some poor cyber-sleuthing, and a self-admitted void in my geo-knowledge often contributes to my oblivious propagation of false information.

Have patience with me. Know that I do not make things up, though my assertions can be so off base that it reads like I am spinning a fantasy. Also know that I stand corrected. The women of Benin were nicknamed after women from Greek mythology. Their name has nothing to do with a river from Central America.

Dictation: Very remarkable Words: diapers, people, concert, colourful, dinner, really, edge, ruined

I've grown up a lot in the past 8 years. When I was a baby, I pretended to talk on the phone, but now, I really talk on the phone. When I was a baby, I pretended to read, but now, I really read. When I was a baby, I wore diapers, but now I don’t. I miss being a baby.
~Cae's Comparison Paragraph~

As you can see, my daughter loves using commas as much as I do!

"[A painter] of vivid perceptiveness . . . it is as if painting were a simple matter of feeling . . . Already the young painter could mesh a broad painting style with a compelling drama of light and shade. . ."
~"Interpreting Sargent"~


Remember, latitude rhymes with FLATitude.


::The Fur Trade::

As we have seen, one of the reasons men were sent from far across the sea to settle in Canada was to tap into the riches fur trade.

::Niger & Nigeria::

History~
I read a fascinating account of princess Sarah Forbes Bonnetta. She was an West African princess whose tribe was conquered and killed by the Dahomeys. At five, Sarah was prepared to be sacrificed it a tribal ritual when an Englishman, visiting West Africa in hopes of putting on end to the slave trade, asked for her to be spared. Once Sarah's story reached Queen Victoria, her life took the most unlikely turn. She became the Queen's ward, almost like a grand-daughter.

::The Life-Giving Nile::


Egypt was settled along the Nile because that was where life could be sustained in the midst of the harsh Sahara desert.

The Egyptians based their calendar around the ebbs and flows of the Nile. We made our own Egyptian calendar using numbers instead of confusing hieroglyphs.

::GENESIS::Chapter 38, 39, 40, 41
We made Mesopotamian Sebetu Rolls (a.k.a herb scones).

"Goblin Market in "Goblin Market and Other Poems" by Christina Rossetti
I found this poem very haunting. Is it about two girls resisting temptation? Or is it about innocent being ripped away by force? Thankfully, Caelah accepted the words of whimsy on a superficial level. I, however, felt at times that I should not be reading aloud the things I was. . .

Cae's favourite lines:
Curious Laura chose to linger
Wondering at each merchant man.
One had a cat's face,
One whisked a tail,
One tramped at a rat's pace,
One crawled like a snail,
One like a wombat prowled obtuse and furry,
One like a ratel tumbled hurry-scurry.


My favourite lines:
Golden head by golden head,
Like two pigeons in one nest
Folded in each other's wings,
They lay down, in their curtained bed:
Like two blossoms on one stem,
Like two flakes of new-fallen snow,
Like two wands of ivory
Tipped with gold for awful kings.
Moon and stars beamed in at them,
Wind sang to them lullaby,
Lumbering owls forbore to fly,
Not a bat flapped to and fro
Round their rest:
Cheek to cheek and breast to breast
Locked together in one nest::Dams::




::Week 16::

The Play! Read and rewrite Act 2 Scene 2.

::James::

Scripture: What is the last Scripture verse you heard or read? What was God saying to you?

James. I have begun to memorize the book from beginning to end. . .

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. Greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you suffer trials of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so the you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you is lacking wisdom, then he should ask to God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. . .

The memorization of scripture has eluded me again and again. Either, I have set out to commit some verses to mind, and been blown off course. Or, a mental/spiritual block had halted me in my path before the desire even set in. I have heard countless admonishments memorize, and have read about "storing God's words in my heart." But I have never truly laboured over the task. I read my Bible. I study like the very best of students. Yet, I have never taken the time to lock much of the precious life-giving material into my brain.

The time is now.

James speaks to me. It always has. It calls me to an active faith, not one of passive religiosity. It reminds me to watch my tongue, and warns me of dark consequences if I don't. And, regarding that which is most absent in me, James tells me to be patient. Like a farmer who must wait for his crops to grow-- patience.

My method is tailored to my learning style. I am visual. And so I copy and copy and copy. I type out the verses until they are seamless, flowing from my brain, through my fingers and onto the screen. And I do this in gold. I will always choose to imprint beauty in my mind before ho-hum. Besides, these words are golden.

Someone once wrote that a habit is something you wear. I want to wear scripture. I want to breathe it in until it alights on my skin with permanence.

::Healthy fear::

idan and I are off to Tremblant for the next two days. When you think of it, please pray there are no broken limbs or concussions?

::Two bottle-slurpers & Reflections::

Entertainment: What music do you currently listen to? Why do you prefer this genre? What kind of TV shows do you watch? What do you love about them? Do you have a favorite movie that you have really enjoyed watching this year? Game? Pastime?

Music. The only thing I listen to these days is CHRI--our local Christian station. Or Mozart, as he is our feature composer this term. My choice to listen to Christian radio has very little to do with personal taste in music, and everything to do with how intently my kids listen. I used to have CBC radio on all the time. But the content has gotten more and more disturbing. When Caelah finally said; "I don't want to listen to this anymore. I don't want to hear about more people dying, " I tuned out for good. I must admit, however, that there are a few occasions where the Christian music has been so schmaltzy and syrupy that I had to shut it off. And I do a happy dance when I hear a good, heavy rock song by a Christian band I love--namely, NeedtoBreathe. Bobbing my head, I think to myself ; "See mom? Christians can rock-out too!"

Books. I used to find lots of time to read. In fact, I used to find too much time to read. I would completely shut out the noise and blink off my peripheral vision, focusing in a way I only wish I could apply to other areas of my life.

When I do read these days, the books must:
A. Really spark my kids' interest. My boys will only stay still if a book really wows their eyes and ears.
B. It must feed my soul. As much as I miss my princesses and far-off lands, I must chose between whimsy or heart-food.


Shows. We don't watch much around here. No time. For example. Aidan and I began to watch "Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe" three weeks ago." We have only just met Aslan. . . However, the only show we make time for here and there is Top chef. Mmmmmm. Pretty Food.

Games. We are big game players 'round here. Three games have captured our attention this year. Two of the three can be played with the kids-- although that is a very sacrificial endeavor, on our part. They are all incredibly competitive children. (Hmmm. Where did that come from?) And they take great liberties with the "rules."


Outside. Ski! Caelah and I have become members of our local Cross-Country ski club. She now has her own skis and straps them on at all times of the day. I have been so impressed by her natural athleticism. Skating season has started. Aidan and Anthony have big hopes of flooding the river behind our place. Lots of work, but utterly magical if they manage. I dis, however, take note of the snow-mobile tracks on the river. Do those things have good brakes?

::Tea & Reflections::

orning Tea.
A Caelah-Gabriel ritual.
Conferences: Have you ever attended a conference that changed you? Ministered to you? Tell us about it.

The conference that may have changed my life was ::Urbana 2000::

A. It was the first time I was away from Aidan, during our burgeoning romance, and his absence confirmed in me that, yes, I did love him. I remember launching myself into his arms the moment I got home again.

B. It was my first experience of mass worship. And by mass, I mean 30 000 Christians praising God at the top of their lungs. Arms spread. Tears streaming. Body thrumming. And while I knew that there was one part emotionalism, I also discovered the reality and possibility of soul-wrenching worship. Very new.

C. It let to my one and only Missions trip to Africa. The consequences of which have twined deep into my core. I broke, and was broken. Was re-awakened. Renewed. Re-united. Reconciled.

I was changed.