Where Faith and Learning Intersect, by Merry

[I am dictating for Merry here, just before bedtime. For those of you who wonder about the intersection of faith and learning, a good example follows, complete with preface and conclusion. All by Merry:]

The story is so people can know they're going to heaven someday, but the story isn't really true. The story was kind of made up by a very good author that wrote it, and if you would like to write it down on your computer, you can do it if you want to. And you can teach this to your children. Even if your children don't know the song, you can teach them the story. PS. If you want to ever listen to this song, you can just come over for a show to my house so you can learn about the song more easily. . .and because the author told it in a very imaginative way.

[SONG FOLLOWS:]

Six and Seven went to heaven, all upon a summer's day!
When they got there, did they pray!
And they were overjoyed to see God in heaven,
And when they saw him they were so happy to pray.
And find the way
to go to heaven.
But no one knew where Six and Seven had gone to heaven,
But Two did know,
And Two did show,
When Two got there she said, Who are you?. . .
And Savior said, You three, what are you doing here for me?
And then Two said, We want to see the Savior.
And so Six and Two and Seven went back to their normal place
where they did live forever.
And they did die and went to heaven one day.

[pause]

Oh, I have another thing for the author's note. This is so you can learn your numbers by counting by sevens. You can look at it in your book and count along if you want to. You can even look at it on blog. But make sure to remember this song!

Woman Glimpses Autumn, More in Love Than Ever

The windows are open to the breezes, and the breezes are cool and light, and full of the promise of fall. I feel like a bird who has been released from under a stone. While some dread the weather turning as a bleak foreshadowing to winter, I have never been so grateful for the tint of yellow in the trees outside my window, for the rain that crushed the humidity and sent heavy heat away to some other corner of America. Good riddance!

I decided to let all that would go to seed in the garden, hoping that the birds will gather their own harvest. The sunflowers are heavy and bent with seeds. I've the let the kale go, hoping that just in time the weather will turn and its bitter leaves will sweeten.

I feel the promise of clean air, blankets on beds, big pots of cinnamoned applesauce simmering. Already I turned out gallons of grape juice and freezer jelly from the concord miracles our friends shared with us. The hot grape juice tasted for all the world like mulling cider, and suddenly we are all alight with the excitement of autumn.