A new day rose upon me. It was as if another sun had risen into the sky; the heavens were indescribably brighter, and the earth fairer; and that day has gone on brightening to the present hour. I have known the other joys of life, I suppose, as much as most men; I have known art and beauty, music and gladness; I have known friendship and love and family ties; but it is certain that till we see God in the world—God in the bright and boundless universe—we never know the highest joy. It is far more than if one were translated to a world a thousand times fairer than this; for that supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and Wisdom, shining over the world and all worlds, alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how fair and glorious they are.
–Orville Dewey
Light and Love
The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.
–Francis W. Bourdillon
In darkness there is no choice. It is light that enables us to see the difference between things; and it is Christ that gives us light.
–Julius Charles Hare
Love is something eternal—the aspect may change, but not the essence. There is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. The lamp was there and it was a good lamp, but now it is shedding light, too, and that is its real function.
–Vincent Van Gogh
When the Light of Life falls upon the life of men, secret powers begin to unfold, sleeping perceptions begin to awake, and the whole being becomes alive unto God.
–John Henry Jowett
There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one small candle.
Listen! My lover!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle or young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.
See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
– Song of Songs 2:8-13
On another note: Friends, please pray for my son who is in a position of having to fly to Shanghai this Monday, via California, over Japan. Thanks.
Another reason we practice Spring Cleaning has little to do with clean.
Read:
The next in line for the Spring Cleaning ritual in our home is the bookcase area. We own enough books to fuel a small school, because we were once exactly that. You may wonder why I do not store some of them —
I have.
Let’s pretend, though, that yesterday’s scenario has aged five years, and the three imagined daughters are now 12, 10, and 7. You’ve been practicing inclusion of these girls for five years and now you are ready to tackle these bookcases. Your conversation might go like this:
The Bookcase
Girls, help me get a couple of these bookcases done today, okay? Mary, get the dusting spray, the vacuum, and the paper towels. Hmm, I think we need this table cleared to stack the books on it. Can you take care of that, too, Mary? Thanks.
As we put the books on the table, we’ll stack them all in the same direction and then we can vacuum the tops of them all at once. Oh, yes, we should align the tops of them to make it easier. And keep them in order, so we won’t have to reorganize them. I think this will work.
Okay, let’s see if we can do two units in a half hour. Set the timer. Go!
Look at this old crocheted bookmark from Grandma—I want to clean and starch it. Set it aside for later. Someone make a note; we need to reinforce the spine on the “B” volume of this encyclopedia.
Thanks for collecting all our supplies, Mary. Can you attach the hose and the duster? Good.
Let’s hurry, here. It’s a big job. Susan, can you see the top shelf or do we need the step stool. Go get it, then, Leah. I want you two on the dusting job and I will vacuum the books. Try hard to keep the spray off the floor. It can be dangerously slick. And be sure you wipe the corners well and get all the spray wiped off.
Okay, start handing me books, in order, and I’ll restack them in their places. This is going well, time-wise, but I think we’ll stop in the middle of the second bookcase, so we don’t go overtime. No need to wear ourselves out with such heavy work.
No, I think we’d better stop short of that. There’s always tomorrow. Let’s call it done for now, and have some tea, okay? Then I want to show you all how to wash a delicate piece of crochet. Mary, you take care of the vacuum. That’s my girl.
Oh, how good it is to have all your help, girls! I don’t know what I’d do without you.
Can you see how, since the girls have received diligent training, they have become like extra arms and legs for the mom? Not only that, but also, they are learning good, quick, efficient work habits they can take with them into their futures.
In exchange for all the training you gave them before, you now are reaping great helpers. They, in return for their help, are receiving a gift many people lack: the ability to be diligent, reliable, trustworthy, hard-working members of their future worlds.
Wherever they go, whether into marriage or some other career, they will be ahead of their peers and rise quickly to betterment at every possibility.
Okay, girls, today our fast-clean project is this stuffed coat closet. Oh, we have so much to do to make it better! Here, Little Mary, you can play with all these wonderful wooden hangers. Can you pile them onto the couch for mom? Great! Thanks!
Hey, Big Sis, look at Daddy’s old umbrella–it needs mending. Write that on the list for me, will you? First write “mend”, then I will spell “umbrella” for you, okay? Thanks!
Oh, look, here is the glove you were looking for, Leah! I’m so glad we are cleaning this closet out. Maybe we’ll even find some MONEY hiding in here. Run and put the glove with your other one, okay?
Oh, I wonder what is in this box–Would you look! It is empty except for one cap. What a waste of space, and just when I was thinking we needed a bigger closet! Are you back already, Leah? Take these road atlases over to the couch beside the hangers. Yes, that’s right. Thanks! No, Little Mary, those are grown-up books. Good girl.
Okay, this other box has candles in it. Can you tell from the lovely perfume coming from it? Here, everyone sniff and tell me what it smells like . . . Right! Just like flowers, isn’t it? Good job! We’ll set it on this big chair, and don’t you let me forget to put it back, when things in there are dry.
What else is up on this shelf? Daddy’s two good hats are dusty. Big Sis, do you know where the whisk broom is? Get it for me, please. Thanks. I didn’t know I would need that in here. Leah, could you bring me back the big box? Yes, that’s the one. Let’s put Daddy’ good hats in it, since he doesn’t wear them often. That will keep them clean and keep bugs off them. Oh, here’s that broom. Good. Now we can clean the hat before we store it. Won’t Daddy look sharp in this new, clean hat? What? You want to try it on? Okay, but let Mommy help you–Whoa! You look just like Daddy!
You know, I think I will pull all the coats out of here before I wash the shelf. I don’t want to get soap on our good coats, if I spill. We’ll lay them across the back of the couch. There. Much better for the coats, and you help me remember to take this graduation gown to my closet, okay? Okay!
Big Sis, how are we for time? Fifteen minutes? We need to hurry more.
Little Mary, would you like a job? Can you carry out all the umbrellas off the floor in here? You can? Great! Leah, you help her with that huge one. Yes. Good.
Big Sis, hand me the step stool. Thanks. Let’s see if Mom can fit up inside this little closet. Oh, sure, I see we need to wipe the shelf, so here goes. Can you fetch the fan from the dining room? I want this to dry fast so we can put everything away before the timer goes off. Do you know why it should be dry? Yes, the box could stick to the shelf. That would be a big mess. I think I will clean this door, too. Somebody handled it with grimy hands. Too bad!
Now to sweep the floor right quick . . . There!
Let’s put the coats back and let’s be sure to check all the collars. Uh-oh, Daddy’s trench coat needs dry cleaning, see? Look at that. We’ll take it out to the car in a while. Everything else looks good, so back it goes, into its place. Hey, Little Mary, I’m ready for you to bring me the hangers again. Thanks, Baby. You are such a helper. Okay, let me get the candle box. Now the hat box. We are almost done.
You two put the umbrellas back except for the broken one. Mommy will take care of it. Whew! All that work made me hungry! Who wants a cookie?
There you have it: one session of the new Spring Cleaning plan, in a one-sided conversation, with three imaginary girls helping. Of course, your children are not exactly like these and your words would differ, but do you see how it might work to incorporate children into this job?
They SO need the attention and the teaching. Let’s go for it!
We have an abundance of daffodils. You may think this vase full of them is an example, but it so far falls short.
Daffodils in vase
When we bought our property, it was a hot, arid summer. Few people would think of daffodils at that time of year. In fact, the lovely woman selling the property apologized for not having fresh flowers out that day. Amazing lady!
Come spring, this is what we found:
Daffs under the oaksDaffs in the horse fieldDaffs on the hillsDaffs in the woodsDaffs in the circle drive
We were shocked at the abundance, marveled at the forethought of people now passed on, who planted and planted and planted for someone else ultimately to enjoy. And they did this just because that’s the way it ought to be done.
I want to think like that. Sometimes I do. I have given and planted untold times for my children, for their future, but I want to be sure I leave behind something someone can point to and say, “Someone was sure thinking about the future!”
1. Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
2. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . . yours is the earth and everything that’s in it. –Ruyard Kipling
3. I can’t do everything in the world. –Kimberly
4. Things like picking up crosses and denying ourselves seldom find a place on our agendas. –David Faust
5. For excellence, ask an expert . . . for wisdom, ask a sage . . . for honesty, ask a child.
Home's Cool! 