Again, I thank my husband for discovering cool things for me on the internet. This time it is an extensive book search engine. Typically I assume the best prices are to be found on Amazon, but this search engine has proved me (sometimes) wrong. It claims to search 130 bookstores and 80,000 booksellers then gives you a breakdown of prices with postage included. It is especially helpful for my husband who needs rare or out-of-print books. We'll be on a first-name basis with the mailman soon.

I first saw this video a couple of years ago. It is a good reminder that we should not seek the deceptive beauty of this world, but rather the beauty that comes from inside: a gentle and quiet spirit. "Gentle" and "Quiet".... hmm... not really attributes admired in this day and age of progressive women. It seems weak. Yet, there are times when it takes great inner strength to remain gentle and quiet... in fact, it is so difficult that it can only be the Lord who softens us and grows in us this truly beautiful spirit.

While preparing dinner a couple of days ago, my son came in and started knocking all his A-B-C magnets off the fridge and onto the floor. I told him he would have to pick them up again and in due time he got to work putting them back. It didn't take too long before he tried to coerce some help:

"Mama! Help!!!" Patting stomach. "Do by myself, tummy owie-owie!!"

Now what mother can resist that kind of logic? Cheeky monkey!

One thing I've been realizing more and more lately is how often we divorce the Bible from its historical context - and what richness of meaning and significance is lost when that happens. I'm so blessed to have a husband who has not only spent years reading and studying these things, but also having been to many of the places mentioned in the Bible, he is able to read the accounts with a deeper level of understanding.