I love these little colonial girls. Their clothing is so authentic - pure 18th-century stuff. Even back then girls had way more fun dressing than little boys, although often you often couldn't tell who was who as boys usually wore girlish attire till graduating to more manly breeches. Check out the straw hat and hat pin! Clever way to keep that pretty ribbon in place. I've spent the weekend working on book 3 while running kids places, fighting a cold, making a huge pot of spaghetti, and walking in the heat wave we're having. It's been the warmest January on record here with some recent days hovering around 60 degrees! Kentucky weather:)
My schedule is getting a bit sweeter with a visit from my Kentucky momma on the horizon. February and March look fun as I'll be guest blogging over at Cathy Bryant's Word Vessel and Seekerville. I promise to post the links when the time comes so you can visit if you like. For now I'm thinking up discussion questions for book clubs for Courting Morrow Little and reading galleys for an author who has asked for endorsements. Never dull here:)
Most importantly, I've been trying to meditate on verses regarding the heart. Since Myrna commented on a particularly moving Scripture in my last post, I've tried to commit it to memory. Here are some translations of Proverbs 4:23:
Above all else guard your heart for it is the treasure of the kingdom.
Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. KJV
Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. The Message Bible
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. NASB
Do you have a verse that is especially meaningful to you? I'd love for you to share it here.
There is a verse in Genesis that says,"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" when Sarah didn't believe she would get pregnant. To me it ties in with Jesus saying with God all things are possible. I have a lot of favorite verses, especially from Psalms and the New Testament, but that was the first to pop into my mind.
ReplyDeleteOh I love this painting! The light is so gorgeous, and aren't those girls just precious? I need to find out more about this painter...
ReplyDeleteWe've been having spring-like weather here too but its about to end-- 'significant snowfall' is slated for later this week. Never a dull moment around here.
And a friend shared this very verse with me a couple of months ago and I too was very struck by it. As someone who 'follows their heart' in art, its good to hear. I also think it will come in handy to share when I have a boy-crazy teenage girl on my hands in a few years, lol.
Happy writing!~
heather
This is a wonderful verse to commit to memory and I will be sharing it with my foster daughter as we continue to witness to her about the beauty inside the heart is the most important, not the outward beauty of looks. Hope your cold gets better. I have Terry still down with Pneumonia.
ReplyDeleteMay His Grace fill this day for you.
The picture is precious!! Love the movement it suggests.
ReplyDeleteThese verses are great. I love the first on that says our hearts are the treasure of the kingdom. What a great reminder that our hearts belong to the King and we need to keep them pure and focused on Him.
Have a great day!
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed..." Luke 4:18 NIV
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that hat pin looks rather murderous. Lucky for Gilbert Blythe that Anne Shirely wasn't wearing one when he called her "Carrots!: (Anne of Green Gables).
ReplyDeleteIt's been unseasonably warm up here as well. We actually got rain (torrential) instead of snow. Everything's about the same shade of gray from ground to sky. :-)
You sound busy but productive...though I hope you nurse that cold. Tell the men in your life to coddle you a bit.
I have so many favourite scriptures...the first one that sprang to mind was "Choose you this day whom ye will serve... but for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 25:15.
That's something I remind myself every morning as I get ready for my day. I figure if I have already made the choice to serve the Lord before I set foot outside my door, all the other choices I have to make that day will be easier.
Hi Laura, Another precious picture! I just love the realism. I'm glad someone is having springlike weather - we're having a rain storm, just in time to melt some of the snow away for more snow all week long. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite verse is Proverbs 3:3 (another Proverbs heart verse)- Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Adge, Your verse is one that kept me afloat all those years when I was writing and nothing was happening (except more writing). It reminds me of the one I cling to now, "...This I know, that God is for me." Psalm 56:9
ReplyDeleteWith those 2 in mind, I wonder why we worry about anything at all!
You also said something really important - that it popped into your mind which means you didn't have to look it up! It's there with you all the time because you took time to memorize. So much better than scrambling through pages. It really belongs to you when it's in your heart.
Heather, I thought you might like this John Buxton painting - he's quite the 18th-c. artist. Maybe he will inspire you like he does me. His website is amazing and I can't figure out which I like best.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you today! Stay warm and make a snowman for me:)
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteYou 3 are on my mind a lot. I'm praying Terri heals quickly though I know that takes time. How wise of you to share Scripture with your f.daughter! The verses I memorized with my mom when I was young are the ones that have stayed with me the longest. I'm sure that will be the same for you and her. I long to have that gentle and quiet spirit the Lord loves.
Bless you for your comments here!
Kristen, Like your focus on keeping our hearts pure for the King. Well said! Glad you like the picture. If I couldn't write books, I'd love to paint:)
ReplyDeleteKav, You always make me chuckle. Murderous, indeed:) I bet more than one little colonial boy lost his eye to his sister's hat pin!
ReplyDeleteYour Joshua verse is one I've seen hanging over the lintel of many a doorway. Out here they use old antique saw blades from the glory days of logging - 6 to 8 feet long - on which they paint this verse in caligraphy, etc. I guess it would be like your reminding yourself of it each morning - very wise!
We really do choose who we serve, for good or ill, each day. Thanks for bringing that home. We can never sit the fence- we're always going one way or the other. Hopefully veering toward the kingdom.
Yep, I'm afraid we're cast in very gray shades here also. But nice to think you're up there beneath the same cloudy sky!
Oh I hope this means you're back, Carla!! I've been thinking of you so much. You are definitely missed when you're away though I know it was a needed haitus.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your verse I had a mental picture of a necklace - love the wording about writing them on the tablet of our hearts. Something we writers can relate too! BTW, I always think of you as faithful, for many reasons, so the Scripture seems to fit you to a T:)
Thanks so much for chiming in here. I've really missed you!
Britt, Love your verse here. Not long ago this Scripture gave me chills when I imagined Jesus reading it in the temple like he did and realized all the implications and the OT significance. It's one of my favorite verses. Thanks so much for sharing it here. I can never see it enough!
ReplyDeleteLaura, this has been a lovely post with so many great responses. I am back in the blogosphere and so glad to see you again. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDeleteCarla, You were truly missed but not forgotten! I have you on my prayer list:) Thank you for your friendship and gracious words. They always minister to me.
ReplyDeleteLove this picture Laura! I think of the one pic I have of you and I dressed up in Grandma's old clothes when we were little out in front of her house.....I think you had a bonnet on but not me. Anyway, sure hope your cold is much better and the family is well. I have been so busy haven't been to your blog recently but glad to know all is well. So glad your Mom comes in Feb. for a visit! Polly comes here in Feb. for a weekend, and then Mark, I and the kids are headed to Ky. and Ohio the entire week of Easter! Yeah! Get so visit all the family and enjoy a week off of work. Hello to Randy and the boys and I love your blog as always! Hope to talk with you soon.
ReplyDeleteRhonda, Wonderful to hear from you:) I think of you so often and am always amazed when you remember to swing over here! Your schedule is as hectic as mine! Aren't those old pics great? I'm hoping Judy will bring her old ones if she comes to the reunion. Just think - I get to see you all this year!!! Woohoo! And being back in Tennessee will be such fun. We had a ball last time. Give the kids and Mark a big hug from all of us!
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