Tuesday Review

On the days when I'm feeling a little rough around the edges with this whole homeschooling/mama thing, I think of Karen Andreola's book, Pocket Full of Pinecones.  I really enjoy the Charlotte Mason philosophy, but have never become a true-blue CM woman.  I feel I got too far into homeschooling before I found CM and struggle to implement CM's ways into our school on a huge scale.  But now I've got two littles coming up in a few years....I'm hoping for a fresh start.  So for now, I use a book like "Pocket Full of Pinecones" for inspiration to keep going.  Here's what I'm talking about:

My devotions gave the day its energy... It is proof that I remember Him, depend on His mercy, which is so thankfully new every morning. It is evidence that I trust Him. It is because my days are so busy that I have kept myself from the God-can-wait syndrome. I need my heavenly Father and so I seek Him early. Prayers are the wings of the soul. They bear the Christian far from earth, out of its cares, its woes and its perplexities, into glorious serenity. It is the first God-ward step that the soul takes.

Life can be stressful.  What a comfort it is to 'rest me in the thought' that God is ruling, that Christ is sustaining all things by His powerful Word.

I love this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning that Karen Andreola included in the book:
The little cares that fretted me,
  I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields, above the sea,
  Among the winds at play;
Among the lowing of the herds
  The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
  The humming of the bees.
The foolish fears of what may happen,
  I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay.
Among the rustling of the corn,
  Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born -
  Out in the fields with God!

This book is set in the 30's, and the main character of the book is taking her kids out of public school to homeschool them.  I wonder how much that was actually happening back in the 30's, but that little tidbit became unimportant to me as I became interested in this little family's transition into homeschooling amid job struggles, pregnancy, a move, helping extended family during sickness.....you know, real life situations. 

The main character, Carol, keeps up the faith during all the ups and downs.  You know, there are those times when life seems too hard and we are tempted to let the "little things" slide.  She never does that and that encourages me.  She keeps her peace during the time her husband is struggling at work.  Rather than nagging him and offering advice, she prays for him and trusts that God will resolve the situation.  She prays for her children constantly and seeks their good.  Someone tell me that this book could not be a good read even for the most die-hard textbook-using homeschooling mom!  I just don't think it can be done.