A little thought from Tolkien

My whole family loves to read...and lately we've had "The Fellowship of the Ring" floating around the house and we all take turns reading it and enjoying it together. We do crazy things like walk into the room and announce trivia questions like "How did Oin die" and "How many days was it from the time Frodo was stabbed to the time he got to Rivendell" and "How did Gandalf make his signiture "G" ? Things like that...and while we enjoy the movie, we still love to read the book and discuss it! :)

I ran across a passage the other day and I wanted to share it, because it has a really good principle. (and by the by, Gandalf and Frodo share this conversation in the mines of Moria in the movie, where as it's proper place is in chapter 2, The Shadow of the Past.)

Gandalf is telling Frodo the history of the ring and as Frodo begins to see the import of the matter this comes up:

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Using our time wisely. It's not about what happens to us, it's about how we react to the events in our lives. I find that principle to be intriguing, and challenging. At least for me it's an ever present attitude choice: how am I going to react to the situation with which I'm faced. Will it be with a Christian spirit and a graceful attitude, or will it be out of passing emotions and lashing out?

So it's just a thought. And you could do so much more with this.

How are you deciding to use your time?

A little wisdom from Winnie the Pooh

There is so much in some of these books. I've said this before and I'll keep on saying it....all wisdom doesn't have to come from some PhDer or ancient philosopher. It can come from the quiet observation of simple children's books authors. Like A. A. Milne and the immortal Pooh Bear.

Here are some of my favorite quotes. They seem simple at first, but if you Really look at them (that would be a Pooh ism) you can see some profound wisdom.

"A little Consideration, little Thought for Others makes all the difference."

"Don't underestimate the value of doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."

"You can't help respecting people who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling TUESDAY simply doesn't count"

"You can't stay in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes."

After being made a faithful knight of Christopher Robin, Pooh has these thoughts...." Christopher Robin won't tell me any more", and he wondered if being a Faithful Knight meant that you just went on being faithful without being told things."

from The House At Pooh Corner and Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Children's Books for Grownups

You know, there is a lot grown up people can learn from children's books. Me, I love books. I especially love to re-read books. Even children's books. There are a few I go back to over and over again- they are favorites, plus they have a huge message.

All of these have very important life lessons. (Ok, the one about the strawberry is just fun, and I love it and I'm going to use it to teach my little ones adjectives!) But the other four have more of a message that can influence our way of thinking as adults. The main focus is perspective- how we look at life.

Have you ever read this book? It's by Marjorie Priceman.

It's really cute....it's about a little girl who is going to bake an apple pie, but the market is closed! Well, she certainly could just wait till the little market man get's back from fishing, but she has another option....she could just get her wheat from Italy, eggs from France, Cinnamon from Sri Lanka, milk from England, sugar from Jamaica, and apples from Vermont. So, she does!! And she's haunted me ever since....

The art work is very lovely- I'm not really very savvy on art stuff but, I like it! It's so neat and interesting to study! And the flow of the story is easy, and the whole thought behind it brilliant. But that's not the point.

The point that always gets me is that we can see the world everywhere we go. We don't have to go far away; it's neat, it's nice, it's an adventure when we do, but the real adventure is whatever we make it to be. It's about seizing those moments, make them teachable, whether it be to yourself or your children! Don't make life for yourself ho hum, be smart, be clever and see the beauty and sense of humor wherever you go.

So this book makes me think about how I'm seeing the world, if I'm actually seeing it or if I'm just kinda going along. You know, wishing I could see more, or complaining of my view when all I have to do is just live my life and SEE the world.