I don’t think that a virtual commonplace book can serve the same purpose as a tangible one, but since I don’t have one yet – this entry will live on the blog.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

thy life in my death,

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty,

thy glory in my valley.

From The Valley of Vision ed. Arthur Bennett

Guess what, Charlotte Mason’s methods totally work! The other day Adele pointed to this book cover . . .

and said, “Look, a damselfly!” And I said, “No, sweetie, that’s a bumblebee. Remember you have some on your nature shelf?”

She pointed closer to this . . .

She said, “See, it’s a damselfly because the eye is on the side of the head.” She had learned about dragonflies and damselflies from one day a week or so ago when we found a few damselflies outside while Everett was having therapy. We looked it up online to find out what it was and now she knows it cold! Here’s my nature study journal entry from that day. This is what I mean about seeing things that were there all the time, but you never noticed. Once you really learn about it (and it’s self-directed study) you will always know it.