Sweet Vintage Books for Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday! 

I finally got unpacked from my Seattle trip (got back a month ago...ha!) and wanted to show off all my fun pink book finds. These first two books are so special to me as they are ones I had as a little girl. My mom read them to me countless times---especially Me Too. I can't wait to share them with my little girls. I found these at our favorite Mount Vernon, Washington antique store, Red Door Antiques.

I found these two antique books at a shop I'd never been to: Curious Goods in Conway, Washington. Both books are undated but some internet sleuthing tells me they were published around 1904.

On the left is J.M. Barrie's The Little Minister (Barrie is the author of Peter Pan). On the right is Charles Kingsley's Greek Heroes. (Kingsley authored The Water Babies and several other stories for children, including a fun collection of Shakespeare retellings that we've enjoyed over the years in our homeschool).

I especially love it when books are inscribed. Both of these are. One is to this "Anna" and the other is from her to her mother. I love these sweet treasures!

Happy Pink Saturday! Be sure to visit Beverly for more Pink Saturday goodness!

A Pretty Teacup for Pink Saturday

It's a very special Pink Saturday today! Not only is it the day of the latest Royal Wedding, it's also the 16th birthday of my sweet friend, Emily! Happy Birthday Emily! 

Today I'm sharing this sweet cup and saucer set my son Michael gifted me for my birthday in October. I love it because it features all the things I love: pink, roses, a postage mark to represent my love for letter writing, a key to represent all the secret doors I plan to unlock, and a crown to represent England, my favorite place on Earth!

"Spring has sprung" is a saying we often quoted in the Pacific Northwest. However, now that we're in Arkansas, it seems a little silly to make such light of what is actually a total EXPLOSION!! Spring has definitely exploded in our neighborhood. With the inclusion of the street in front, this is our 360° view at our home. My son, Cainan, took this photo yesterday morning. He's a Hobbit fan and, I'll admit, it does look quite Middle Earthen!

This is our first spring in our new home and it's been fun to see what's popping up. There's a large flower bed in front of our bay window and these lovely things are filling it up fast. Who can tell me what sort of plants these are? The thing I'm loving most about our outside right now is the lovely perfume of honeysuckle. It's absolutely pervading our neighborhood and just makes me so happy!

How are you enjoying your Pink Saturday? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to visit Beverly for more Pink Saturday goodness!

Psalm 61: The Prayer of Kings and Housewives

Our six year old daughter, Kynthia Joy, is in the nightmare stage. It's so strange how some of my children have never once woke me, afraid of what's lurking in their darkened bedrooms, while others struggle with nighttime fear for years. I know better than to let a wiggly six year old into bed with me---once she finally gets settled, all hope of sleep for both of us is gone. After she'd wiggled for a good hour or so this morning, I sent her back to bed, telling her I'd turn on the living room lamp and sit in there reading so she didn't have to be afraid.

Exhausted as I was, quiet time is hard to find around here so I decided to read my Bible for a bit. I'm currently following what I call the "Blue's Clues" method of study. ("Present time, present time, open it up and see what's inside.") I read some of 2 Chronicles, and then flipped over to Psalm 61. Faithful God didn't disappoint.

Psalm 61

To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

"Hear my cry, O God, 

Attend to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I will cry to You.

When my heart is overwhelmed; 

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a shelter for me, 

A strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.

                                                               Selah

 For You, O God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those 

who fear Your name.

You will prolong the king's life,

His years as many generations.

He shall abide before God forever.

Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may 

preserve him!

So I will sing praise to Your name forever, 

That I may daily perform my vows."

Only God can take the prayer of an ancient Middle Eastern king and make it the prayer of a 21st century housewife. Matthew Henry* says, "the Psalm itself is very personal, and well adapted for the private devotion of a single individual." Yes. 

I've read this Psalm over and over this morning. The first part that struck me was the "vows":

"For You, O God, have heard my vows;"

and"

"So I will sing praise to Your name forever, 

That I may daily perform my vows."

Henry says the vows he's speaking of are the vows he's made to God---to worship him, to sing praises. Reading it the first couple times, I thought of the other vows King David had made---to his family, his country, his people. I thought of the vows I've made: to my husband, my family, my friends. The commitments I've made to ministry. All of these are also vows to God. For a Christian, a vow made to man is also an implicit vow to God.

Oh, don't I need God's strength to daily perform my vows? It's in praising him that I find that strength. In worshipful obedience, I am empowered to fulfill all my commitments to him---and with joy, to boot!

The second part of the passage that blessed me was this:

"You have given me the heritage of those 

who fear Your name."

I don't have a super strong Godly heritage on all sides of my family tree---not in recent history, anyway. Yet, through Christ's sacrifice, He has made it possible for me to have the same inheritance of eternal life as all the other saints throughout history---the same inheritance given to Christ, himself! Henry says:

"Saints are described as fearing the name of God; they are reverent worshippers, they stand in awe of the Lord's authority; they are afraid of offending him, they feel their own nothingness in the sight of the Infinite One. To share with such men, to be treated by God with the same favour as he mete's out to them, is a matter for endless thanksgiving."

Amen. What a privilege it is to worship, serve, and obey the Lord.

*Matthew Henry was a 17th century minister who wrote an exhaustive commentary on most of the Bible. His notes and commentary are valuable to the Christian who would want to further understand the Bible, verse by verse. You can find his commentary online --- Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible