Scripture and a Snapshot - Study the Works of the Lord

Great are the works of the LORD,

studied by all who delight in them.

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures forever.

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and merciful.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!

~Psalm 111:2-4, 10~

For the past several school years, I have chosen a School Scripture before the year starts. It's something that helps me to hone in on what I believe the Lord has for us during the school year, and gives me an over-arching purpose that's bigger and more important than a grade point average. Something to aim for and to pray about. I came across Psalm 111 some time ago, and verse 2 especially made me think of a young person studying science, looking into a microscope or a telescope and being fascinated by discovering what God has made. So this is one of two passages I chose as a theme for the school year. After all, if we believe God's creation is wonderful and amazing, we should desire to learn more about it. And our study of his works should fill us with wonder and prompt us to praise him for his majesty and his mercy.

See more about our School Scriptures on Homeschool Coffee Break.

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Glimpses is hosted by Embracing Every Day, a lifestyle blog by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - Charity's Cross

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Charity's Cross (Charles Towne Belles) (Volume 4) by MaryLu Tyndall - It's been quite some time since I read the first three novels in the Charles Towne Belle Series, so it was with some surprise that I noticed Tyndall had written a fourth novel for the series. This one follows the story of the oldest of the Westcott sister, Charity. She had married the wealthy Lord Villemont and remained in England when the rest of her family moved to Charles Towne in the Americas. Unfortunately for Charity, her husband was cruel and abusive, and the story opens with Lord Villemont's shooting death and Charity's panicked flight from England as she realizes she will be accused of murder.

Charity manages to get to the Caribbean and there meets the enigmatic Elias Dutton, a pirate turned preacher. Elias is intrigued by this brave yet secretive woman, and rescues her from trouble over and over, even masquerading as her husband for awhile in order to secure her passage on a ship to Barbados as she seeks to escape her husband's brother, who is intent on returning her to England to stand trial.

Charity wrestles with guilt and fear, and believes she cannot trust any man. But she is learning that Elias is honorable and perhaps even trustworthy, and to her dismay she is developing feelings for him. She knows she can't stay with him and keep accepting his help and protection, and that he probably won't want anything to do with her if he discovers the truth about what she has done. Elias thinks he has found the pure and innocent woman he has been hoping for ever since his heart had been broken by a schemer a few years ago, but is unsure he can trust his own judgment. Especially when he finally discovers that Charity's secrets include a marriage, her pregnancy, and that she is a murderess.

Tyndall brings her signature interest in pirates and adventure stories to another set of larger than life characters in extraordinary circumstances, and even forges a connection between the Charles Towne Belle series characters and the King's Pirates series characters.

By the same author: Tears of the Sea, Elusive Hope, The Ransom, Forsaken Dreams, Veil of Pearls, Surrender the Dawn, Surrender the Night, Surrender the Heart, The Falcon and the Sparrow, Charles Towne Belle Series (The Red Siren, The Blue Enchantress, The Raven Saint), The Legacy of the King's Pirates series (The Redemption, The Reliance, The Restitution)

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday - First Day Pictures

Tuesday of last week was our first official day of school for the year. It's been my custom for many years to get First Day pictures of my students, but as the boys got older they grew less cooperative, so during the past couple of years I almost gave up on this tradition. This year I have just one student left, so I challenged her to make her own "first day" sign and let me take a picture.

Wait - does my hair look okay?

Let me check . . .

And then we got a case of the giggles.

which got worse . . .

before it got better.

But we finally got some good pictures.

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life at Rossmont.

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesday - Charity's Cross

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn at Books and Beat. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers! 

I teased this book a couple weeks ago (see it HERE), and have since started reading it. I am currently without an e-reader, so I can't do teasers of any of the many e-books I have coming up!

"What are you doing here?" she asked him in a curt tone that belied her joy.
"Unchain her at once," Elias ordered as if he were the king himself.

~Charity's Cross (Charles Towne Belles) (Volume 4) by MaryLu Tyndall, page 103

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

What I'm Reading - September 12, 2016

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next! I also link up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I finished reading . . .

The Winter Crown: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth Chadwick -  Finished this historical novel about an iconic medieval queen, and am hoping to read the third in this trilogy sometime soon. (Read my full review HERE.)




I'm currently reading . . .

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas - Was loving this latest installment in the series until my Kindle died! Had to pause, but I will be back at it as soon as possible.




The Pray-ers, Book One: Troubles by Mark S. Mirza - I'm reading this for a review on my Homeschool Coffee Break blog.




Charity's Cross (Charles Towne Belles) (Volume 4) by MaryLu Tyndall - Started turning the pages on this like crazy as soon as I finished The Winter Queen, and especially after my Kindle quit working and I was limited to physical books. Action-packed!

Next on the stack... 

The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5) by MaryLu Tyndall
Swept Away (Trouble in Texas) (Volume 1) by Mary Connealy
She Walks in Power (Protectors of the Spear Book 1) by MaryLu Tyndall

      

On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - A Spring of Water
Recent Reads - The Winter Crown
Wordless Wednesday - The Summer of Landon PhotoJournal
Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter First Paragraph - She Walk in Power


And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Weekly - First Week of School Edition
52 Lists #36 - Autumn Bucket List
Virtual Refrigerator - First Day Art
The Summer of Landon PhotoJournal
A Homeschool Coffee Break Back to School Preview
From the High School Lesson Book - Establishing the Routine


What are you reading?

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - A Spring of Water

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

~John 4:13-14~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Glimpses is hosted by Embracing Every Day, a lifestyle blog by Barbie Swihart.

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - The Winter Crown

This post contains affiliate links. 

The Winter Crown: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Elizabeth Chadwick - This novel is the second in a trilogy focusing on the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I started reading it not realizing that there was a novel preceding it, but it stood alone quite well, especially because I was already familiar with Eleanor's story.

The story opens with the coronation of Alienor (as she referred to herself in documents, and Chadwick used that spelling throughout) as Queen of England, alongside her husband, King Henry II. Early in their relationship, Alienor and Henry had a passionate relationship and although they argued, they did have a working partnership as rulers. Alienor knew her duty was to produce heirs to the throne, and her life became more wrapped up in her children. Her relationship with Henry deteriorated as he was unfaithful and didn't respect her political abilities as she wanted him to. This novel describes her growing discontent in the diminishing role Henry is pushing her into, and the power struggles between Henry and their sons. Eventually, young Harry rebels and two of his brothers go with him to the court of Louis of France. Alienor's advice to them and her own actions are treasonous to King Henry's suspicious mind, and this book ends with Alienor as his prisoner and hostage.  Alienor's story continues in The Autumn Throne, which I do think I will read soon, in order to remember how her life unfolded from that point on, at least from this historical novel's point of view.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was an unusual and powerful woman in her time, and most portrayals of her that I've read do not paint her in a flattering light, even while remaining sympathetic to her during the injustice of her imprisonment by her own husband. In Chadwick's novel, Eleanor is naturally the heroine because she is the central character, but her flaws and faults and attitudes are realistically shown as well. As I read, I was able to see events as Eleanor may have perceived them, which gave a new perspective to a familiar period of European history.

By the same author: A Place Beyond Courage, Lady of the English

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/