Every Leaf

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. - Emily Bronte

Your Father's Tender Hand

Charles H. Spurgeon

A child had a little garden in which she planted many flowers, but they never grew. She put them in, as she thought tenderly and carefully, but they would not live. She sowed seeds and they sprang up; but very soon they withered away. So she ran to her father's gardener, and when he came to look at it, he said, "I will make it a nice garden for you, that you may grow whatever you want." He fetched a pick, and when the little child saw the terrible pick, she was afraid for her little garden. The gardener struck his tool into the ground and began to make the earth heave and shake for his pickaxe had caught the edge of a huge stone which underplayed almost all the little plot of ground. All the little flowers were turned out of their places and the garden spoiled for a season so that the little maid wept much. He told her he would make it a fair garden yet, and so he did, for having removed that stone which had prevented all the plants from striking root he soon filled the ground with flowers which lived and flourished.

Just so, the Lord has come, and has turned up all the soil of your present comfort to get rid of some big stone that was at the bottom of all your spiritual prosperity, and would not let your soul flourish. Do not weep with the child, but be comforted by the blessed results and thank your Father's tender hand!

The Small & Simple

We think it is the big moments that define our lives - the wedding, the baby, the new house, the dream job. But really these big moments of happiness are just punctuation marks. The narrative is written every day in the small and simple. - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Freedom

Play is, first and foremost, an expression of freedom. It is what one wants to do as opposed to what one is obliged to do. - Peter Gray

Watch Your Step

Grandma used to say, 'Watch your step - what you get into can be tough to get out of.' Make godly choices. - Lynn Townsend

Loved

We are not defined by the size of our jeans. We're not the sum of our Twitter followers or the square feet of our house. We are God's daughters, tucked in His arms, where He longs to carry our worries, and where He would die for us. He did die for us. Yes, this, friends. We are loved. - Emily T. Wierenga

Melody

Funny how a melody sounds like a memory. - Author Unknown

Best Dog

Everyone thinks they have the best dog...and none of them are wrong. - W. R. Purche

Listening for Stories

Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole. - Eudora Welty

Remembering Them

If you know someone who has lost a very important person, and you're afraid to mention them because you think you might make them sad by reminding them that they died --- you're not reminding them. They didn't forget they died. What you're reminding them of is that you remembered that they lived, and that is a great gift. - Elizabeth Edwards 

Need

God loves us so much that sometimes He gives us what we need and not what we ask. - Max Lucado

Carrying

Your task is to be faithful; to do the next thing. And when you cannot get up on your own, let someone carry you, knowing that in due time you will be called on to do the same for others. And when you are blessed with the responsibility of carrying someone else, then your own experience with suffering, your own experience of depending on others, will give you the wisdom and empathy you need to love them well. Christ's body here on Earth is one of His greatest mercies to us. - Alan Noble

Solace

I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles. - Anne Frank

Lie Still

I am so weak I cannot write. I cannot read my Bible. I cannot even pray. All I can do is lie still in the arms of God as a little child, trusting Him. - Hudson Taylor

Home

Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort. - Jane Austen

Belong

Jesus is always reminding us that we belong to one another. - Melissa Zaldivar

Thoughts & Feelings

We can let our thoughts and feelings deplete us of strength, or we can lean fully into God and ask for Him to carry us. - Tracie Miles

Interwoven

Play is not separate from our learning. It's not for "after our work is done". It's the vehicle for our language development, social learning, emerging STEM thinking and more. It's interwoven into everything we do, and engages students' heads, hands and hearts. - Joel Seaman

School Day

I don't make time for play, the whole day is play. - Kristi Mraz

Change

Change of any sort requires courage. - Mary Anne Radmacher

Rest

Rest is not idle, is not wasteful. Sometimes rest is the most productive thing you can do for body and soul. - Erica Layne

Smile of Heaven

I would rather have the smile of heaven than the applause of the world. - D. L. Moody

Children

Just like us, children have bad days. Days when they're tired, not feeling well, lose their temper, or are emotional for no reason. This doesn't make them bad, it makes them human. - Sarah Boyd

Let's

Let's take them out to the rivers and forests, the mountains and the oceans. Let's let them daydream for hours at a time. Let's let them experience boredom and, in so doing, give them a fertile seedbed for imagination, play, and wonder. Let's let them swim in the creeks, run in the fields, get dirty, stay up late to see the stars, and catch bullfrogs with their bare hands. - Ainsley Arment

Nature

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. - John Muir

Rest

Rest is a weapon given to us by God. The enemy hates it because he wants us to be stressed and occupied. - Elisabeth Elliot

Chaos

I want to be so anchored in Christ that chaos around me does not produce chaos within me. - Author Unknown

Nature

Among tall pines and quiet water

Heaven seems a little closer.

- Author Unknown

Tenderness of Heart

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart. - Jane Austen