Some really inspiring reading today, including posts and photos by some of my favorite bloggers…
I loved reading Brenda’s story about her son’s graduation from college. She writes:
As I sat there this morning, I could not help but think of how my son had been labeled by the end of first grade as one who was slow, stupid, dyslexic, a trouble maker as he had trouble sitting still for long, and generally one who would not amount to much.
So we took him out of the public schools.
You’ll have to click over to read about his accomplishments in the School of Science at a top university known for its science programs.
I literally laughed out loud when I saw O Christmas Tree by Christian. Who goes shopping for a Christmas tree with blue skies and short sleeved shirts? Oh, that’s right. They live down South. Funny the different perspectives we all have on what a “normal” Christmas is. Christian also has some lovely photos of camellias lately if you scroll through her recent pictures.
Lanier recently posted that she had fifteen more copies of her handmade book, Kilmeny of the Orchard. When she offered it last year, I waited to suggest it to David as a gift. By the time I returned to her website, they were gone. This time I bought one the moment I saw the post! It is a gorgeous book. The photos really don’t do it justice. To think that she sat there and made this by hand! What an incredible labor of love. I have a feeling it is going to be harder to snag one each time as other people discover her beautiful work.
Lanier also wrote recently in Early Advent about a very personal struggle that she chose to share with the world. She writes:
I also wanted to share a piece that I wrote for the Art House America blog, if anyone is interested. I have to say, this was seriously one of the most difficult things I have ever written–like I told one friend, I wrestled this essay to the ground and came up limping. It’s something I rarely talk about, and I confess to a certain degree of inner conflict over even posting this link. There is an illusion of safety, you know, in relative anonymity. But it’s not safety we’re made for–it’s goodness. The goodness of God and the honor of sharing that goodness with other souls. Forgive my fear and trembling, kind friends, and thank you for the many ways in which you have given me courage to keep putting words out there.
And a few new to me websites/blogs that might be of interest to others…
Enjoy!
Perhaps I should have noted in my post that it was 74 degrees outside the day we went Christmas tree shopping. Warm indeed! Actually, abnormally warm even for our deep southern neck of the woods. The weather has chilled off nicely now so we’ll hunker down for our 2.5 months of “winter”!
I’m so happy that you managed to snag one of Lanier’s books. I remember you writing about them last year, and the disappointment of missing out on getting one. When I saw that she was offering a few more this year I thought to myself, “I hope that one of them goes to Sallie’s house.” Big smile.