Charles Spurgeon in his autobiography tells a heart-warming story of his grandmother making treats for him with leftover pastry. A kneading trough was located in the kitchen, and in it was a little shelf. Charles knew if he came into the kitchen, he would likely find a pastry treat waiting for him, shaped into an animal with currants for eyes. 

One of my grandmas got up very early on Thanksgiving mornings to cook and bake. She had extra pie crust dough after her pies were all made so she rolled it out thin, brushed it with melted butter, and topped it with cinnamon and sugar. She cut the dough into rectangles, baked it until golden brown, and served it to her grandchildren. To this day, my family loves pie crust made just like that.

My other grandma welcomed my sister and me for visits by putting our Raggedy Ann dolls on our beds along with a little Tupperware container of her homemade fudge so we each had our own portion, along with a love note. When we arrived at her house, we hugged her and Pampie, and then ran straight to our beds!

My children recall with fondness our read-aloud time. When we started homeschooling, I read a chapter from a book right after lunch. Eventually our read-aloud time moved to late in the afternoon.

They also greatly loved the season when they found an encouraging note under their pillow when they went to bed. Each week, I wrote one of those notes to a child, snuck into their bedroom during the day, and slipped the note under the pillow. I kept track of who had received the last note and worked through the children in age order so each would receive an equal number of notes.

Simple things create life-long memories. They don’t have to be time consuming, burdensome, or expensive. They express love! 

You probably have some of those memories, too, and are building them for your children. Want to share them?

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7).

Last week I spent a morning homeschooling some of my grandchildren while Melanie took a child to a doctor’s appointment in Kansas City. You know what? It wasn’t hard because Melanie has a solid homeschool schedule in place. All I needed to do was consult the schedule posted on the refrigerator, and then follow it. The children are used to the schedule, so they know what they are to do as well. They had even figured out how to compensate for the child who was gone for the doctor’s appointment and wouldn’t be there for her 1/2 hour playtime with Andrew and Benjamin!

Each child’s school morning is structured and interesting. The power of a schedule during our homeschooling years was vital for our success, and now it is blessing my grandchildren’s lives with productivity, direction, and peace (although I know it isn’t always peaceful with little children).

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

“Children’s children are the crown of old men;
and the glory of children are their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6

Because the Bibles we purchased a few years ago did not hold up well, we went on a quest to find publishers who made quality Bibles. 

When I tried to get one of my Bibles rebound, I discovered it had a glued binding and could only be rebound by cutting it off, resulting in a smaller inside margin. Once that is done, the text moves so far toward the spine that I was told most people are no longer happy with their Bibles. I agreed. It could be hard to read a Bible with some of the words hidden by the inside margin.

We went on to discover that the best quality Bibles have a sewn binding. A sewn binding generally lasts longer than glued, and it can be better rebound if it begins to fall apart. 

There are some glued bindings that look sewn to the untrained eye. Here is an article that will help you know if the Bible you are evaluating is sewn or glued.

Faith, with Leonard’s Book Restoration, gave me these hints for publishers who print sewn-bound Bibles:

As for a quality bound Bible, Cambridge Bibles are always sewn. So that is a safe bet, but if you don’t see one of those you like, Holman Bibles are frequently sewn as well. Those two are your best bet, though you will find a few Zondervan Bibles that are sewn.

Blessings,
Faith

Recently two of our children invested in hopefully quality, lifetime Bibles with sewn bindings printed by a company called Schuyler. Their new Bibles have soft goatskin covers that are extremely flexible and lay easily over the hand or sit comfortably in a lap. The thin, quality, matte finish pages feel nice and make the Bible lightweight. They are unlike any we have seen in a Bible.

Who published the oldest Bibles you have in your home that are holding up to daily use?

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto
them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5).