Words for Wednesday, and a funny photo

In a brief moment of blog browsing, I ran across the heading "words for Wednesday" here, and thought of something I read on contentment a few days ago in Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon. If you would like to read the whole thing, you can do so here. But here is a bit of it that caused me to stop and ponder:


Morning, February 16
“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
Philippians 4:11
THESE words show us that contentment is not a natural propensity of man. ... Covetousness, discontent, and murmuring, are as natural to man as thorns are to the soil. We need not sow thistles and brambles; they come up naturally enough, because they are indigenous to earth: and so, we need not teach men to complain; they complain fast enough without any education. But the precious things of the earth must be cultivated. If we would have wheat, we must plough and sow; if we want flowers, there must be the garden, and all the gardener’s care. Now, contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated; it will not grow in us by nature; it is the new nature alone that can produce it, and even then we must be specially careful and watchful that we maintain and cultivate the grace which God has sown in us. Paul says, “I have learned ... to be content;” as much as to say, he did not know how at one time. It cost him some pains to attain to the mystery of that great truth."

Life has not been as pleasant or smooth-sailing as I would like for it to be recently, and this reading was a good reminder that contentment is something that takes work and effort - it is easier, and more natural, to grumble, complain, and indulge in self-pity, than to choose contentment.

To end on a lighter note, this was taken about noon today. Yes, she's still in her pajamas, but all three of them have come down with their first cold of the school year and are a bit puny.

Not sure what is up with the hat - she's been wearing it around the house the past 24 hours - but she is "driving" her baby around in this car/bus(?) and hamming it up in true form.