"To Everything There is a Season"

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.

I feel like I go through periods where I am somewhat manic in my blogging. I have so much to say, and I just spout away. Then the pendulum swings the other way and I become more contemplative. I feel an urgent desire to read and seek wisdom and feel ill equipped to provide commentary for a while. Such is the nature of things.

So I've been doing lots of reading lately and have been mulling over many worthy thoughts. Here are some of the sources of my inspiration this past week:

Preacher Man says these Raisin Bran muffins are his new favorite! I quadrupled the recipe. (I found boxes of Raisin Bran for $.99 some time ago and they have now expired! Oops! They make wonderful muffins though!)

I finished reading, "Open Heart, Open Home" by Karen Mains. There are so many deep thoughts in this book. I am feeling the need to turn them over in my mind for a few days before sharing my comments.

Large Family Logistics routines are going swimmingly! I'm looking forward to blogging about my daily routine on Thursday with the Four Moms. Part of the reason for my quietness has been that I've been so busy catching up on mending yesterday for Laundry Day and whipping the kitchen into shape today for Kitchen Day.

I've been doing some quiet contemplation reading on "Like Mother, Like Daughter". Oh that we all had an Auntie Leila! Oh wait, we do! She is kind enough to embrace us all (via blogspot) and share her wisdom. Her latest post, "Self-control and Where to Get It" is worth reading half a dozen times. She expresses so well what I have been coming to grips with in my own life:

Here's the thing -- I really feel that most of the frustration parents feel at their children's lack of self-control is firmly rooted in their own lack of self-control!

There is nothing more painful (or motivating) than looking at your beautiful child, the apple of your eye, and watching your own flaws, failings, bad habits, and weaknesses rear their ugly head right in front of your very eyes. Sometimes the answer to training problems out of our children is to first remove the beam from our own eye and retrain ourselves. It is difficult work. It is necessary work. It causes me to pause and reflect. (And while I have not examined each and every article yet, all of her articles on raising children that I have seen are EXCELLENT! Go click on the category for "discipline", spend an hour soaking it in, and gain some wisdom.)

Your Baby Shouldn't Read - Share books with your baby... LOTS of books... yes. Plop your baby in front of a DVD every day and do flash cards... no. Everything in its time. (Back to Ecclesiastes!)

And lastly, The Modest Mom wrote an excellent, excellent article on Being Chaste in Marriage. Very worthy thoughts here, ladies!

So what have you been reading lately?