Happy Independence Day weekend! Feeling so grateful for this land that I love. In all her imperfections, America is beautiful.
First up, some housekeeping. I’ve loved sharing a weekly round-up of my favorite reads/links, etc. but doing so in the manner in which I was going about it—said round-up prefaced by a lengthy essay or reflection—is unsustainable in this season of life and has for the most part eaten up the slivers of time available to me for the lengthy list of other essays in the hopper. So, I’ve tweaked the series name a bit and plan to keep each installment short, with a collect or prayer, quote and then our weekly round-up.
Happy reading!
“It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”
- John Adams
A Collect for the Fourth of July
Lord God, by your providence our founders won their liberties of old: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to exercise these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- BCP 2019
We’ll spend some time at the pool tomorrow before heading to a friend’s for bbq and fireworks and I’m forever finding classic 4th food inspiration from Ina Garten (like her iconic flag cake) and Babs (like this easy peasy Summer Ice Box Cake).
For the patriotic nerd in you (and in me), a history of July 4th celebrations.
Who has plans to see Young Washington? We were given the opportunity to view it early and can attest that it’s a great patriotic family movie for older kids!
For some reason, my husband and I have felt the pull to hyper-focus on our one and only son this summer (poor guy is swimming in a sea of sisters, though I’m convinced this will help to make him an excellent husband!) A Good Use of Summer by Alvaro de Vicente and Lane Scott’s latest on How to Build a Solid Boy have offered encouragement to this end.
Speaking of our son, we threw him an epic 1776-themed 7th birthday party and I’m sharing all the details.
I was thrilled to read of Anglican House Publisher’s new imprint Anglican House Family run by Danielle Hitchen of Catechesis Books. I pre-ordered their new family catechism resource in a hurry and eagerly await the whimsical Illustrated Family Prayer!
A Day in the Life of a Faithful Christian Household by Michael Foster was a welcomed reminder that discipleship in the home is less about perfection than showing up.
One of my favorite follows as of late is Our Table's Company—a mother-daughter duo bringing us along for the ride for their gorgeous and fun dinner parties and gatherings. They shared recently about the power of family dinner for building family culture and solidifying sibling relationships—an ever-welcome reminder to protect sacred time around the table.
It’s approximately 10 million degrees in central Virginia, so we haven’t been doing a ton of outdoor strolls, nevertheless, Griffin Gooch’s A Theology of Walking was a helpful supplement for the Christian who wonders if getting those steps in is worth anything beyond what the fitness influencers are presently peddling and I’m inspired to resume family country walks when temperatures drop even ever-so-slightly.
Finally, a few wonderful new patriotic children’s books we’ve added to our collection this year here, here and here.
While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.
- George Washington
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.