March day

It has been a lovely Spring day, here.
We've been home educating and I've been appreciating some of the English ideas in Mother's Companion. Hopefully, more of that in a later post.
 This afternoon, we met up with another home educating family. The children painted and played games. The mothers chatted and exchanged ideas-CPD (Continuing professional development) for home education is something that perplexes me, from time to time, but in practice, I learn so much from other mothers.
This is a sample of Mr Exuberance's work-it was meant to be blossom painted with the finger tips but adding more paint and using hands and arms was more fun.

Mr Exuberance has been busy-planting tomatoes and best of all, helping Daddy sieve compost, this evening.

This hymn has been a favourite, for years,since I first learnt it as a teenager, a fair number of years ago. I've been thinking of it again, today, but hadn't realised until I looked it up that it is another Newton hymn.

I do pray that it may be a blessing to others, too.

Begone unbelief,
My Saviour is near,
And for my relief
Will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle,
And He will perform,
With Christ in the vessel,
I smile at the storm.

Though dark be my way,
Since He is my guide,
'Tis mine to obey,
'Tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,
And creatures all fail,
The word He has spoken
Shall surely prevail.

His love in time past
Forbids me to think
He'll leave me at last
In trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review,
Confirms His good pleasure
To help me right through.

Determined to save,
He watched over my path,
When Satan's blind slave,
I sported with death;
And can He have taught me
To trust in His name,
And thus far have brought me,
To put me to shame?

Why should I complain
Of want or distress,
Temptation or pain?
He told me no less:
The heirs of salvation,
I know from His word,
Through much tribulation
Must follow their Lord.

How bitter that cup,
No heart can conceive,
Which He drank quite up,
That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher,
And darker than mine;
Did Jesus thus suffer,
And shall I repine?

Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine food;
Though painful at present,
Will cease before long,
And then, oh, how pleasant,
The conqueror's song!