A Quiet Simple Life | Sallie Borrink

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

A Quiet Simple Life

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Our Family Life

PBS Jane Austen Week Three: “Mansfield Park”


Here’s my short take on Mansfield Park. I liked it. Liked it much better than Persuasion, but not as much as Northanger Abbey. I didn’t especially care for Billie Piper as Fanny Price. As David said, she just looked too contemporary in the part and didn’t seem to visually fit into the story. I think if a different actress had played Fanny I might have liked it better. It is interesting that I like the stories of Mansfield Park and Persuasion better than Northanger Abbey, but in these productions I vastly preferred Felicity Jones at Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey to the other leading ladies.

A very insightful bit from the story is when it is revealed that Maria has left her husband and run off with Henry Crawford. The father mentions that he desired to raise his girls to be good and instead they only turned out to be good mannered. As a Christian, I think about how I desire for Caroline to be holy and godly as she grows up into a young lady. How sad it would be if she only grew up to be good and well-mannered.

So what did everyone else think? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts!

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Eleven Years Ago, I Became A Mrs.


Today is our eleventh wedding anniversary. We were married at noon on a snowy day. Eight months before, we had just met on America Online. But we knew it was meant to be. We had a lovely wedding and it was a happy day in every way.

Eleven years ago I could not have predicted that my life would be what it is today. I would have thought I would be thinner, have more money, have more children (who were also older), have a bigger house, have had less sorrow and relational pain, have had better health, and have had less spiritual hardship.

But life truly is what happens when you are making other plans. It is a journey full of the unexpected.

We’ve had unexpected joys and surprises. We’ve also had a lot of detours and washed out bridges and stalled cars and rain delays in our eleven years. And while some have been painful, all of them have served a useful purpose.

Because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Rich in love, rich in parenthood, rich in our needs being met, rich in people who care about us, rich in spiritual opportunities and growth, and rich in the gift of time and perspective.

No, marriage has not been what I would have expected. It has, in fact, been far better. So many people, including Christians, speak so lowly of the marriage relationship, that one is tempted to wonder if it really can be good over the longrun. And can it not just be good. Can it be great? Yes, I think it can.

I would have hesitated to say this before I had been married for several years. Too many people say that marriage is great because you are newlyweds. Well, there may be some truth to that, but I can see plenty of miserable newlyweds around me as well. But after eleven years I can say that marriage is wonderful if you are married to the right person. It is not perfect. I’m not perfect. David isn’t perfect. We both have our faults, our baggage, our insecurities, our selfishness, and our inherited sinful nature. But even the hardest days, the most disappointing days, have been better because of David.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this gift.

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PBS Jane Austen Week Two: “Northanger Abbey”


Did you watch week two with Northanger Abbey? After what we experienced last week, my expectations were much lower. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, I would love to know if that was the intro they had already taped with Gillian Anderson or if they redid it after all the bad reviews last week. I thought she was much more relaxed and natural. Vast improvement. But the red background still needs to go.

I have not read Northanger Abbey so I can’t comment on the accuracy of this adaptation. David and I both suspected that large parts were glossed over as it seemed several storylines were wrapped up at warp speed, especially in the last fifteen minutes. However, I still enjoyed this movie and had no problem following the main points of the storyline. It kept my attention the entire time.

I thoroughly enjoyed Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland. Again, what a vast improvement in casting compared to last week’s debacle with Persuasion. I liked almost all of the casting. William Beck as John Thorpe thoroughly gave me the creeps.

There was much nicer camera work and music.

I was disappointed by the raciness of some parts. It didn’t seem necessary to me in order to make the point.

So what did you think? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts!

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Putting a Toddler to Bed at Night with Books?


I’ve never seen this done before or written about, but thought I would ask. Does anyone put their toddler to bed at night with books and let him/her fall asleep reading?

Caroline has a very good nap routine now. She is consistently in her bed reading every afternoon for about 20-30 minutes and then falls asleep. She then usually sleeps about two hours. (Heavenly afternoons for David and me!)

Bedtime is a different story.

In the past, she has fallen asleep during her bottle and then we just put her to bed asleep. (I know all the books say not to do this, but that’s what we did.) If she didn’t fall asleep during her bottle, she would usually just sit quietly in our lap, enjoying her binky, and would fall asleep and we would put her in bed.

Then she started walking.

Since she’s been walking, she wants nothing to do with falling asleep in our arms. We decided that if she is capable of doing a naptime routine, she should be able to do a bedtime routine and put herself to sleep.

So last week we started the cry it out thing at night. She has only cried hard for a few minutes each night except for one night I thought she was going to burst a blood vessel she was so mad. She generally is asleep in 20-40 minutes. I have mixed feelings about crying it out, but I’m also not willing to wrestle her every night and try to get her to calm down and go to sleep.

So all this got me to thinking. Would it be bad to put her to bed at night with books and let her fall asleep that way? Then we would go in and turn out the light after she is asleep. David and I both read before we go to sleep and we have since we were children. It really does help me unwind and fall asleep. Will it work to start her out so young doing this?

Okay, all you experienced moms out there. Pitfalls to this thinking? Holes in my theory? Unforeseen ramifications?

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