Books for the Home 4b

Greetings, I hope you will pray and plan for a day of purpose and pleasantness at home.

I have been talking about books I once used in my home. Today I discussed these books:

The Eric Sloane book, below, is suitable for boys and young men at home. It contains information for

creative activities and personal conduct/manners.

You can search for these online at Thrift Books, Abe Books and other sellers, including Walmart.com

I read this poem by Edgar Guest:

Hard Luck

BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST (1881-1959)

Ain’t no use as I can see

In sittin’ underneath a tree

An’ growlin’ that your luck is bad,

An’ that your life is extry sad;

Your life ain’t sadder than your neighbor’s

Nor any harder are your labors;

It rains on him the same as you,

An’ he has work he hates to do;

An’ he gits tired an’ he gits cross,

An’ he has trouble with the boss;

You take his whole life, through an’ through,

Why, he’s no better off than you.

If whinin’ brushed the clouds away

I wouldn’t have a word to say;

If it made good friends out o’ foes

I’d whine a bit, too, I suppose;

But when I look around an’ see

A lot o’ men resemblin’ me,

An’ see ’em sad, an’ see ’em gay

With work t’ do most every day,

Some full o’ fun, some bent with care,

Some havin’ troubles hard to bear,

I reckon, as I count my woes,

They’re ’bout what everybody knows.

The day I find a man who’ll say

He’s never known a rainy day,

Who’ll raise his right hand up an’ swear

In forty years he’s had no care,

Has never had a single blow,

An’ never known one touch o’ woe,

Has never seen a loved one die,

Has never wept or heaved a sigh,

Has never had a plan go wrong,

But allas* laughed his way along;

Then I’ll sit down an’ start to whine

That all the hard luck here is mine.

(*"Allus" is a way of saying "always".)

 This poem has an interesting message about thinking that "nothing ever goes right for me" or "I'm always having hard luck."  Start in your youth to adopt the habit of being an being an over-comer that will help others overcome the same problems.

I also recommended hefty doses of ingredients from Philippians 4:7 before you even face your day at home. One of my grandchildren takes her Bible outside first thing of a morning and reads aloud as she takes a slow walk before the noise of the day begins.

2 doses of rejoicing

1 dose of  a combination of reasonableness, gentleness and refinement

1 dose of prayer

unlimited doses of thanksgiving

 

Repeat throughout the day as needed. It is not possible to over-dose. 

Maintains peace and provides an adequate guard for your hearts and minds.

Please enjoy homemaking while you listen today.