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| Visiting by the back fence at Mrs White's Vermont Estate |
I have a little room off in the back of the house. There is a small sofa in there where I sit with an afghan. This is where I like to take my housekeeping breaks. This room has a bookcase full of good Christian literature, a basket of sermons on C.D., and my old Bible and hymn book. I keep a small table beside the couch to hold my tea. There is a window with a white lace curtain which flows in the breeze. I can hear the rushing sound of the river at the edge of the property. It is a peaceful and quiet retreat.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the "excitement" and "rush" of the world around me. We are shown so many ideas of things to do with our time, or things to buy, or entertainment to take us away from it all, that it can weary the soul. This is why I like the little back parlour.
I recently came across a couple of charming books by an author I have never heard of before. Her name is Grace Livingston Hill.
The first book I read was published in 1929, "The Prodigal Girl." It was about a father who came home from work one day realizing that his children were out of control. They were selfish, rebellious, and ungrateful. The neighborhood youth were running wild, and the schools were teaching things that were breaking up families. The parents took their children out of the schools, packed up the family and went to stay in the old home place in rural Vermont. It was lovely to see them cope without the luxuries of "city life." But the best part of the story was the theme of godliness and redemption that came so sweetly through.
The second book I read was even better. It is called "All Through the Night," about how the Lord is with us through dark times (the night) and joy comes in the morning. The main character was a godly young woman who has to welcome contrary relatives into her home. They are unbearably rude and difficult to live with. She does an amazing job as their hostess, knowing that her aim in life is not just her own comfort and happiness, but the leading of others to the Lord. Her patience, kindness and long-suffering was an incredible lesson. The story was very peaceful, despite all the trouble the relatives caused. It was a delight to read.
These types of books are so hard to find. But I love to read old books like this, which have a beautiful Christian message. This is what I do in the little back parlour. Then I am ready to get back up and minister to my own family.
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
A wonderful goal - To Earn and Not to Spend.
Happy days - Cooking for Mister.
Some Encouragement - Ideas for a Happy Home.
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Read Mrs. White's book on Saving Money and Inspiring Charity:
-Economy for the Christian Home.
Paperback, 110 pages.
I love Grace L. Hill, I grew up reading her books. You can get them for a penny on amazon I think. Nice for you to have your own little space, sounds dreamy:)
ReplyDeleteBecky
I own ALL her published books! Love her writings!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE "The Prodigal Girl"!!! It was the first book of GLH I ever read! Your room sounds wonderfully serene!
ReplyDeleteI have a great many GLH books on my kindle that were free, if you like ebooks. Can you share the title of the first book with us, please?
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across Grace Livingston Hill last winter, and have thoroughly enjoyed her books that I have read. My favorite is "Cloudy Jewel," which places emphasis on removing oneself from harmful worldly pursuits and honoring the Sabbath. Just lovely, inspirational, and encouraging reading. I'm so glad you've discovered her writings as well and enjoy them so.
ReplyDeleteYour back parlor sounds just lovely, Mrs. White. You are inspiring me to find my own little back parlor somewhere around my home.
May your week be blessed by the good God above,
Mrs. Skutt
Your little room sounds like a wonderful haven! I have heard of Grace Livingston Hill, but have never read any of her books. I shall have to see if my local library has any of them and check them out. Thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for updating with the title. I'm off to find The Prodigal Girl now!
ReplyDeleteGrace Livingston Hill books are a treasure to be sure. The ones I've read over the years have had a strong moral, Christian theme which includes hard work, cheerfulness and sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteYou might check your library. Mine has some copies. Upon reading them, I realized the moral decline in America and many churches began much much earlier than I thought. I suppose Solomon was right—there's nothing new under the sun.
Hugs to you,
Laura
Your messages are manna for me. Each one has ministered to a need or question. Thank you for your faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteMrs. White, you are the perfect person to appreciate Grace Livingston Hill books... you cherish all the good ways of home, hearth, family, and church from by-gone days. GLH wrote a new book (or two) about every year and it is so fun to see her use whatever current phrases were in style at the time, e.g. "the cat's pajamas"
ReplyDeleteShe writes with such wonderful descriptions of goings on in the kitchen such as what all is on the stove or going in the picnic basket! She describes rooms in the houses so that you can easily imagine sitting in the room with the characters. She herself designed/built a house in Penn. and was very interested in old houses and architecture. Along these lines she wrote one of my favorite books, The Enchanted Barn. It is one of her books that stands out to me as heavily descriptive along with a strong message of hope and redemption. Do try to read that one!
In case you're interested, she has a little devotional book she wrote entitled For Each New Day and there is a biography The GLH Story by Munce.
God bless you as you depend on Jesus for all your strength and provision,
Mrs. Rippe
What a wonderful post!! Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate you taking the time to do so and thank you for your kind words!!
ReplyDeleteHus
Deb
Your back parlor sounds like a lovely place to read and rest.
ReplyDeleteI ready many of Grace Livingston Hill's books when I was a teenager. Loved them so much. I think her biography talks about how she is glad that she will soon go to be with the Lord. She thought the world had become so decadent.
Have you read any of the Miss Read books? or Emilie Loring?
I'm not much for reading fiction books...Grace Livingston Hill is the exception. One of my favorites is "The Enchanted Barn"...I love the "make do" theme that runs through the story, and the homemaking details described in so many of her books. The Honor Girl is another one I enjoyed. I was happy to read the comments about free or almost free access to her books on Kindle. Will be checking those out for sure.
ReplyDeleteMaybe your library has the books? That was my source for them when I read them about 25 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI adore Grace Livingston Hill books!
ReplyDeleteI have recently found that many are available from Amazon on Kindle for free! It's worth checking into. We had several of her books in our town library for years. You might check into interlibrary loan, too. They are a treasure.
Be blessed my friend!
Mrs. Laura Lane
For Grace Livingston Hill books, you may want to check out the website Librivox.org.
ReplyDeleteThis website has audiobooks free to download and listen.
All are older books no longer under copyright.
They have many of GLH and of her aunt also (Isabella Alden aka Pansy).
Both were wonderful Christian authors.
Blessings, Carolyn