Lady Cady

Faith * Family * Life

The Keys to the Castle

Do you sometimes wish for Better in your life? I know I sure do. These sure are crazy times aren’t they! I reflected in Church yesterday that even though these are difficult times – this isn’t the end! Don’t despair my friends. These things have all been foreseen and foretold by Prophets. This is Act 2 where the Drama really heats up for the poor Protagonist. We can make it through “a time such as this” and the reward will be beyond any we can imagine if we are faithful through it all. How happy we will be when we get our own Keys to our Castle. ❤

The keys to the castle
Aren’t silver or gold
Because the keys to the castle
Are things that aren’t sold.
They are things that we do
As we go through our lives –
It’s being the very best
Husbands and wives.
It’s loving our children
When even it’s hard.
It’s not judging our neighbors
Despite their front yards.
It’s going to church
When we’re not sure it’s the way.
It’s attending the temple
When it eats up our day.
It’s kindness and patience
Over anger and pride.
It’s following God
And not letting it hide.
It’s following Church leaders
As they guide us each day.
It’s following Church leaders
Who show us new ways.
It’s trusting that Christ
Really took all our sins.
it’s trusting that Christ
Really did win.
It’s obeying the Spirit
When it tells us To Do.
It’s obeying the Spirit
When we don’t even want to.
Each of these things
Is a drop into place
And so, we’ll be ready
When we again see God’s face.
When He welcomes us home
And tells us “Well done!”
And we happily tell Him
We followed His Son.
And then with the love
Only a father can give
He’ll show us the place
We then get to live. –
A mansion of glory
Beyond any we’ve known.
A castle of glory
With our love, we have grown.
A place just for us
For the rest of our days.
A place just for us
For following God’s ways.
Because the Keys to the Castle
Are things that aren’t sold –
The Keys to the Castle
Are more priceless that gold.
The Keys to the Castle
Are something we earn
When we cast aside all
And to God, we do turn.

Book Recommendation – Ponies for a King

My older kids are big into horses right now. They love riding horses. They love talking about horses. They love reading about horses. Because of this, I am always on the lookout for great horse books for them. I’m picky, picky, picky so this isn’t always easy. I came across this one recently from the Good and the Beautiful, so I ordered it to add to our little home library.

I picked it up one afternoon when I sat down for a minute and started reading it myself. It totally sucked me in! It was a quick read (which I really appreciated) – only 65 pages. I finished it in just a few sittings. The main character is a ten-year-old boy named Lynn and the Good and the Beautiful have it filed under Level 5 for reading level. My daughter is ten so she will love it. My son is 13 so it is a little easy for him, but he doesn’t care as long as it’s about horses. 🙂 In fact, the minute I finished it, he whisked it away to his room so he could read it too.

The story is about two families who have been enemies for generations. Both families raise ponies and entrust their ten-year-old sons to care for the ponies for the summer. They must live in a different area, away from their families for the summer, where the pones can find more food to eat. As you might expect, these poor kids soon encounter difficulties and away the story takes us! It was such a wonderful story about friendship, bravery, making the right choice, and being kind. I loved it. And I’m happy to recommend it to my kids and anyone else who might have an obsession with horses like two kids I know.

If you would like to find out more, you can buy the book from the Good and the Beautiful website here. You may be able to find a used copy on ThriftBooks (my favorite online used bookstore) or Amazon of course.

Happy reading!

Home

I have a confession to make: I’m a Homebody. Judge me if you must. I live with the best people in the whole world so really do you blame me? Why would I want to go spend time anywhere else? Plus, sometimes we wear matching pajamas and eat cookies. 😍

From this place upon this porch
I look out and I see,
The things I love, the things I need,
That lift and strengthen me.
My children riding on their bikes
Around and around and around.
The most beautiful trees that you might see
More than anywhere around.
A husband who works very hard,
And loves and cherishes me.
A dog who thinks wherever I am
Is where she needs to be.
And when I turn and go back in
There’re more things that I love,
Like the sounds of quiet guitar playing
From somewhere up above.
Pictures hanging on the walls
With lots of smiling faces
And little cars lined in a row
Waiting for the races.
A lazy cat, stretched on her back,
Of course, where I want to sit.
And how around our kitchen table,
We make a perfect fit.
Books scattered all around
To teach and help me grow.
Sitting in a big glass mixing bowl –
A fresh batch of cookie dough.
Memories soaked in these walls
Of times that we have shared –
Times that we have laughed and loved
And showed how much we cared.
Now I could leave, could take a chance
And travel the whole worldwide,
But I have all I need and want
Right here where I reside.
Now you may be one who has the need
To travel, to leave, to roam
But as for me, I’ll stay right here
In this place that I call Home.

Blanky

My second little boy somehow became attached to a blanket when he was a baby. It wasn’t anything we did intentionally – it just happened. He is three now, but he still takes it with him everywhere, and I mean everywhere. And oh, the crisis if it goes missing or we left it at home! (Or heaven forbid it needs washing…) “Where’d blanky go!” is all anyone hears until it’s found again. I sometimes call his blanket Linus after the character in the Peanuts cartoons or his Invisibility Cloak since it’s a camo pattern. We may think it’s silly and exasperating at times but it’s who our little boy is, and we love him for it. 🙂

On these pillows upon my bed
I like to rest my sleepy head
But the darkness comes in too
And I’m not sure just what to do.
My mama hugs and holds me tight
And chases away most of the fright
But she must go back to her bed
To rest her lovely, precious head.
So, with both hands I hold on tight
To my blanket through the night.
We cuddle up, it keeps me warm.
It gives me strength to face the storms
Or meet new people I do not know
Or go to places I don’t want to go.
I also need it to take a nap
Or cuddle up while on Dad’s lap.
It makes any story so much better
It even helps me learn my letters.
How glad I am that it chose me, –
To always keep me company.
To comfort me when I feel alone.
To comfort me through Life’s Unknown.
How glad I am each day and night
For my blanket, to hold on tight.

Light

Light – what a simple, amazing thing! We typically have a power outage or two or three every fall/winter because trees think it’s a great time to fall on power lines… It’s always fun in the beginning but we’re typically so glad when the power comes back on. How grateful we are for electricity! But even more amazing than that, is the Light of Christ. Oh, how blessed we are by His love!

A simple thing, – it helps me see
What’s on the floor in front of me.
Where I need to mow the lawn
And each pair of shoes that I put on.
It helps me see to read a book
And helps me see each meal I cook.
Appreciate my children’s faces
And where I need to clean in places.
It comes in my window with the rising sun
But doesn’t vanish when the day is done.
Instead, it twinkles in the night –
Oh, how beautiful the nighttime light!
It’s oh so needed to help things grow,
For each plant and seed we sow.
But of all the light by each survive, –
The light we really need to thrive –
Comes from a place we cannot see,
Someone who taught us how to be
And lived a while before our time.
Whose Perfectness was his crime.
But with our faith, if we follow Him,
He’ll kindly take away our sins,
And sorrows and each worldly care
For each brave soul who steps up and dares.
Oh, what a simple price to pay! –
To receive light brighter than the day.
So, no matter how dark the night,
With my faith I choose His light.

Sometimes There’s Nothing Left to Do

Some days are a breeze. Other days are harder. And then there are those days… The ones where you’re not sure how you’re going to make it through and really, you just can’t wait for bedtime for a bit of a break. No matter what kind of day you’re having, it’s never a bad thing to pray. 🙂

Sometimes there’s nothing left to do
But pray for help this day.
Sometimes there’s nothing left to do
But lay my cares away.
To trust someone to help me out
When there’s more than I can bear.
To trust someone to help me out
With love and tender care.
To have a guiding hand hold mine
When life feels a bit astray.
To have a guiding hand hold mine
And lead me on my way.