Be Still My Soul

Photography by Michael Coller

Good morning!

Welcome to The Homemaking Party! It's a stormy day here in NW Arkansas and we are all staying home and staying in!

All week, I've been singing the hymn, "Be Still My Soul", based on Psalm 46:10. It has spoken to me in several ways lately. Here are my favorite parts:

"Be Still, My Soul"

by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697-?

Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Hymn #651 

The Lutheran Hymnal

Titled: "Stille, mein Wille"

Composer: Jean Sibelius, b. 1865, arr.

Tune: "Finlandia"

Do you have a favorite song or verse that is blessing you today? Let me know! Hope you have a beautiful week!

The Christian Home Magazine #134

Happy Friday!

Our magazine is a little thin this week as I'm attending the Teach Them Diligently conference and Lynzie's babysitting. That's two writers out for the weekend! I know you'll be blessed by these submissions from these beautiful ladies. Enjoy!

Have a beautiful weekend!

Frugal Finances

Frugal Finances blogger, Laura Lane, gives us some great instructions on making Super Quick, Super Cheap Laundry Detergent.

Entertainment

Entertainment writer, Laura Lane, shares a review of The Elusive Miss Ellison by Carolyn Miller.

Biblical Womanhood

Biblical Womanhood contributor, Emily from Blessed Homemaking, offers a challenge for modern women in The Lie That Feminism Built.

Tying Up Loose Ends, More Rock Hunting, & My First Author Event

Welcome to The Homemaking Party! You may not have heard the news, but we find ourselves moving again!! Our landlord has decided to sell his home, (which is what happened in our last home nine months ago that put us here) so we are on the move again! Someday you'll see me on here having bought my first home---but for now we're still renters. So...I've started packing and thought it would be a silly joke on my kids to have this little Kewpie doll peeking out of the top of this box. After I took the photo, I drew a little speech bubble and wrote "Hi!" Ha!! We'll see who discovers it first...

Speaking of packing...and Kewpies... While I was going through some things on my desk, I found a whole bunch of stuff that I keep meaning to feature here on the blog. So, today I'm tying up some of those loose ends (others I'll feature on my literature blog, Belle's Library) so I can pack these things away. I'll start with these two antique photos of babies with their Kewpie dolls. I love to collect Kewpies and have several from different generations. Sometimes I search Etsy for Kewpie stuff and every now and then, I find a photo with a Kewpie in it. They're pretty rare so I snatch them up fast! I believe the one on the left is probably circa early 1950s and the one on the right is likely 1920s. What do you think?

This one is just so special. I love the look on the woman's face as she attempts to entertain the baby with the doll. Of course, baby is distracted by the photographer and has no interest in Kewpie. I believe the caption says, "Mother's Cupies"---which leads me to believe she had a Kewpie collection too! I love her sheer dress, her head covering, her long necklace...I just love everything about this photo and her sweet expression reminds me of my friend, Leah.

Next up is this birthday card my friend Tina gave me. It's hard to tell, but the pink rose is made from a pretty, satiny fabric. This card dates to the 1950s. It's so special---she knows me well!

Here is the inside. I often send vintage cards to my friends and family but this is one of just a handful that have been given to me. How sweet!

This is a neat vintage pattern from the 1960s that I got from my friend Cathy when I was in England in September. What I really like about this is not so much the pattern, but the packaging. I also love to collect vintage postal ephemera and this is the first time I've seen "the other side" of the mail order catalog form. 

This is one of those little order forms one used to be able to snip from a catalog, newspaper, or magazine and send away for something. It has always seemed silly or maybe just scammy to me, but I guess that's what one did before being able to call up a company or pull up a website and order with a bank card. 

Finally, here is a collection of antique postcards I won in a swapping group. The one with the pansies is blank. The yellow rose card was printed in Germany and tells the intended recipient "This rose is in bloom with no now in our yard." The card was never sent to Mary H. Sherman. The card with the two flower baskets says, "Birthday Greetings". The other side is written out to Miss Rosa Baker of Avoca, Wisconsin from "your sister Ella." The postcard of the cathedral in Rouen features Ruth discussing her week in France and plans to visit Belgium, Holland, and England. She will be "home in three weeks now" and she closes with, "Perhaps I shall find time to write some letters on the boat." Postmarked 1932. The one with the two girls is written in Dutch but features a Connecticut postmark and was sent to someone in Massachusetts. The one with the four men pictures Elder F. Johnson, N.L. Brown, O. J. Miller, and Elder E.W. Brunner(?) Finally, the one with the hollyhocks and butterflies is dated 1918 and is an Easter Greeting card. It's written to Mrs. Alice Maupin of Free Union, VA and reads, "March 31, 1918 Wishing you a peaceful Easter full of joy. As ever your sister Ella." 

Yesterday, Michael and I went out to do some errands and we found more rocks. It's funny---I've only ever found them with him! We rehid the top two and left the bottom two where they were.

I also took Michael on a short walk to see the chapel hidden back in the woods here in town. This is a popular spot for weddings, piano recitals, and photo shoots.

Relaxing music plays inside and there are gorgeous views of the lake and forest. Bella Vista is truly one of the prettiest places I've been!

...and here I am at my first author event, held last Saturday at the Bella Vista Library. Jamie, dear that he is, brought all the kids to say Hi and support me and the other authors in attendance. It was a really fun day. I met several new authors and sold some books to boot! I'm thinking of seeing if some local churches would like me to come and give a talk at their ladies events. It's been years since I've done that but I'm feeling the nudge... Ha!

Well, I hope everyone is really enjoying their week! We are waiting on some thunderstorms tonight and throughout the week. Hopefully it will cool down! Whew! Blessings!!