Thoughts from the Teahouse

Dr. Livingstone; A Glass Half-full Kind of Guy!

teahouselj — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:13:21 +0000

Dr. Livingstone, as you know, was a missionary/explorer into Africa in the 1800′s. I knew a few stories about him, but sadly not much. I am now reading a biography called, The Life and Explorations of Dr. Livingstone, by John S. Roberts. It is an interesting read. For example, did you (solitary reader of my blog) know that David Livingstone spent his early life working in a factory. By early life, I mean at 10 years old he became a ‘piecer’ in a mill and worked from 6am-8pm. He then studied on his own from 8-10pm and did personal reading from 10-midnight. Six days a week! 10 years old!! He would put his book on the spinner at the mill so he could read while working. At nineteen, he was promoted to cotton-spinner which was much harder work, but paid better. He used his wages to attend University and medical school (a daily walk of nine miles!) and became a medical doctor. His hopes were to become a missionary to China and he knew that being a doctor would be a practical and helpful profession in mission work.

Circumstances (opium war in China) caused him to redirect his work and he was led to South Africa.

While on an early journey into the interior of Africa, Dr. Livingstone describes the following ‘adventure’ with a lion…

“Starting, and looking half round, I saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me. I was upon a little height. He caught my shoulder as he sprang; and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain, nor feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking round at the beast. This peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by the carnivora; and, if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of death. Turning round to relieve myself of the weight, as he had one paw on the back of my head, I saw his eyes directed to Mebalwe (a native schoolmaster), who was trying to shoot him at a distance of ten or fifteen yards. His gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels: the lion immediately left me, and, attacking Mebalwe, bit his thigh. Another man, whose hip I had cured before, after he had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe: he left Mebalwe, and caught this man by the shoulder; but at that moment the bullets he had received took effect, and he fell down dead… Besides crunching the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth-wounds in my arm.”

What’s in Your Fridge…

teahouselj — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:34:59 +0000

I’m not sure what got into me, but I decided to take a picture of the inside of my refrigerator. It’s not that I am proud of it, in fact I’m not. I’m just feeling random. So here’s the picture…

Then I started playing with it on Paint.net (a very basic and free photo editing program).

Here is ‘my fridge’ with witty captions …

Here it is with x-ray vision! Nice…

I think I will have notecards made up on pink linen paper in this lovely embossed style. It says “CLASSY”, I think…

Here’s grandma’s fridge. It looks remarkably like mine! (Ha – did the sepia feature fool you?)

Ruth wanted to paint a picture of ‘my fridge’. Not a bad rendition for an amateur.

But my favorite option was the ‘quick-fix’ feature. See how it made ‘my fridge’ better…

*I don’t remember buying that many eggs, but whatever – maybe it’s an upgrade!

I’m off now to take pictures of my closet and the basement for a ‘quick-fix’.

What’s up, buttercup?

teahouselj — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:25:11 +0000

Actually, not much is going on. Ruth worked on her CAT tests. Daniel is on the verge of losing his first tooth (even though the replacement is already fully grown in and waiting for the spot!) and Ezra turned 2!

We’ve gained some feathered friends. An all white homing pigeon is one new ‘pet’. She is currently living in a cage on the side of the shed in the backyard. I’m not really sure why we have her. I want to purge the pets, not add to them – except for the beagle. I love the beagle. We also adopted a baby blue jay. Al’s hoping that she’ll be able to fly away soon. AND…we had a large bear in the backyard. But we are definitely NOT keeping him!

Here are some recent pictures…

Daniel is fishing with his ‘ugly stick’

He caught a perch – but check out the size of the perch compared to the lure! Hungry perch!

Daddy’s perch…

Daddy’s girl catching perch (or trying)

Ruth’s snake-charming skills didn’t work on the snake, but Daniel sure looks woozy!

Ruth with a small blue jay…

My sweet Ezra… Happy Birthday!

PS – after we got home from King of the Frosties where I took the Ezra pics, I showed Al what I thought was a skin tag under Ezra’s arm. Turns out deer ticks look just like skin tags! My poor boy has been feasted upon by a tick for more than 24 hours! I’m calling the Dr. on Monday. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Hello???? Hello??? Is there an echo in here?

teahouselj — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:27:55 +0000

Well – we went and did it. We did what I was sure we wouldn’t be doing for a long time. We got a new…

puppy. Isn’t she beautiful???!!! She is a sweet little beagle. We’ve named her Echo because of her bark. I wanted to go with the name, ‘fingernails on chalkboard’ but it’s not an easy name to holler out the back door when I’m calling her in. One of her many sisters might be living nearby!

Here are some more pics…

BEWARE!

teahouselj — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:52:38 +0000

This child WILL steal your heart!

Morning Coffee…

teahouselj — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:51:52 +0000

“Continue steadfastly in prayer,

being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
Colossians 4:2

Ezra

teahouselj — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:09:25 +0000

what are you lookin' at?

NDD?

teahouselj — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:54:40 +0000

I saw a story about Nature Deficit Disorder on the news. No worries that our kiddos will suffer with that particular disorder. We practically live in a cave! No Wii, Playstation, Nintendo, Atari or even TMX Elmo for us. The outdoors is their favorite place to be and play. We have forts, fields, streams, fire rings, treehouses and lots of creepies and crawlies. Fun abounds!

In the Cross of Christ I Glory

teahouselj — Sun, 03 May 2009 10:48:00 +0000

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me,
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

by John Bowring, 1825

Morning Coffee…

teahouselj — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:12:37 +0000

“For we ourselves were once

foolish,

disobedient,

led astray,

slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy,

hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness

of God our Savior appeared,

he saved us,

not because of works done by us in righteousness,

but according to his own mercy,

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Titus 3:3-7