If Anything is Excellent

Have you ever read a Bible verse and said ahhh! I get that but then it turns out later that you didn't get it at all?  All month on my desktop calendar I have read Phillippians 4:8:

...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I thought I understood what it meant, and perhaps I did at the surface level.  But the TRUE meaning did not come to me until I read this blog by Julie @ Come Have A Peace.  Go read it, I'll wait!

You're back... cool!  This blog really touched my spirit because I have always though of myself as a positive person.  However when I think back over the more recent conversations I've had with my husband, my children, my friends, with others about my children and husband... I've realized that I have NOT been positive at all.  I've been harping on their so-called "failures" rather than focusing on what is excellent or praiseworthy.  Talk about a knock in the head!!!

Rather than saying, he works too much, he's never home... I should have been saying, I'm so thankful I have a hard working husband.  Rather than saying "arent' you upset you didn't play in that game" I should have been saying, "I'm so proud of the way you encouraged the players on the court.  That really showed true team spirit!" Think of what is praiseworthy, what is excellent. What a concept! I love the way the Message Bible puts it:

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

I just love the understanding that God has given me, through Julie's post and of course, through His Word!  Is there anything that you've read lately that has given you a "light bulb" moment? 

Dear Lord,

I thank You Lord for your understanding and patience with me. I have not been true to Your Word, to look at the best, not the worse, to look for things worthy of praise, not the negative, to promote the peace that is so evident in the Word that you have given me.  I humbly come before You, asking for forgiveness and praying that you will give me wisdom on these things going forward.  In the name of your precious Son, Jesus Amen!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

Book Review: At her Majesty's Request: An African Princess In Victorian England

At Her Majesty's Request An African Princess in Victorian England by Walter Dean Myers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


About the book:

Sarah Forbes Bonetta was an African princess whose parents were murdered by enemy warriors. A British naval officer rescued her and brought her to England, where she became the protege of Queen Victoria herself.

My review:

This book reads almost like a real life fairy tale! A young girl is forced to watch her parents murdered and is then kidnapped for sacrifice by the enemy tribe. By fortune, a British Captain is there on the day of her scheduled demise and rescues her. She's whisked off to England where she becomes a prodigy, almost like a goddaughter to the Queen! The book follows Sarah from the time of her rescue to the time of her death.

I really enjoy biographies that are well written and this was no exception. It's written for Young Adults but even a middle school student will be able read this and understand. the beginning where her parents are murdered is the scariest part. I plan to have my 9 year old read it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and learning about this "adopted" princess.

This was a book from my personal collection.  I did not receive compensation for this review.  As always, the opinions expressed are entirely my own!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

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Happy 4th of July!!!

Oh darn, I'm late again aren't I???

Oh well, I still have to share with you what a wonderful Independence Day holiday it was for us!

The Friday before the 4th, our Girl Scout Leader emailed and said she was planning to attend the Independence Day celebration in front of our Borough Hall. It was at 8:30 am... yeah, well maybe we might see you there.. Uhm hmmm, sure! Well I had ever intention of "forgetting" and sleeping in. Well unfortunately fortunately my daughter's built in alarm clock went off and at 8 am she decided she wanted to go.  My response was BUT I'M SLEEPING!  But in the end, the educational experience won out.  So after a very quick shower and tossing on the clothes nearest to the bed neatly folded on my shelf, we made our way to the borough hall. 

The ceremony involves the Declaration of Independence being delivered to "Thomas Jefferson" aka Mr. Higgins (bet you didn't know that piece of history!).  Our "horse" was actually a HOG! LOL!  A member of the Blue Knights motorcycle club delivered the document to Mr. Jefferson.

Once Mr. Jefferson had the document in hand, he approached the podium and began reading the Declaration. 

One by one citizens from the community read a line.  My daughter was number 28.  She did a fantastic job, even on the "big" words!:

After the individual readers finished, the community read the final paragraph together:

Then the names of the signers were read by state, and the bell rung each time a new state was mentioned.  At the end of the ceremony, the bell rung thirteen times and a replica of the original flag was raised!

The whole ceremony was so moving and meaninful!  At one time, certain peoples were excluded from that Declaration.  What we experienced that day was the true meaning of the Declaration, everyone, treated equally and experiencing FREEDOM.   I was so glad that I dragged my behind out of bed to attend and I was so proud of my daughter for volunteering to read and doing such a wonderful job too!  And I was proud of my community for the awesome turn out!

To top it off, my daughter made the FRONT page of our local newspaper!!!  Now that was VERY exciting! 

I hope your Independence Day was as wonderful as ours!

Love and Blessings!
Margaret