Quotes: faith vs. feelings

This is an awesome quote from the book Streams in the Desert:

"We have taken a great step toward maturity when we trust God without relying on our feelings. It is more of a blessing when we believe without experiencing any emotion. While the first level of faith believes when our emotions are favorable, the second believes when all feelings are absent. And the third level transcends the two for it is faith that believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all seem to urge something to the contrary."

And a similar quote by Amy Carmichael: 

"If you would live in victory over the circumstances great and small that come to you each day. . . and if you want God's life and power to well up from the depths of your being. . . then you must refuse to be dominated by the seen and the felt." 

I would very much recommend reading this article by Ashley Green.

A Quote from C. W. Gluck

Here's a quote that my flute teacher told me to memorize this week. Enjoy!

"I believe that my greatest labors have been devoted to seeking a beautiful simplicity. I have avoided making displays of difficulty at the expense of clarity. Simplicity, truth, and naturalness are the great principles of beauty in all artistic manifestations." 

     Christoph Willibald Gluck 

Geography

I think it's important to know about the the world, and to have a good idea of geography. I think most people feel that way, but most people also can't name all 50 states of America or all 13 Canadian Provinces and Territories, much less all of the countries in any given continent.

Sheppard Software has a plethora of fun free online exercises to help you become more familiar with the world. I have worked on the Canadian Provinces and Territories, Asia, The Caribbean, Europe, The Middle East, and Central and South America. Right now I am trying to learn the Mexican states, and I hope to conquer Africa and Oceania soon. These games are a fun way to quickly get to know the geography of a continent. It usually takes about fifteen minutes for me to become very familiar with the location of countries in any given continent.

There are different levels available for learning the geography of whatever part of the world you are working on. There are nine levels, and each one challenges you in a different way so that you can become as familiar as you wish with the area that you are working on. You also have the option to work by regions, or by the entire continent. There is the to option to work on learning the capitals of countries and states/provinces, and the option to work on learning the landscape, surrounding oceans/seas and the main rivers of the continent. There are enough tools available to you for you to become very familiar with the far corners of the world.

You can check it out here. Enjoy becoming more familiar with our planet!