Up on a Hill – England, Ambleside

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3

One thing I love about being a dad is that it gives me the chance to be a kid over and over again. Chloe and I laughed so hard and so long all day today that we ached from the effort. What a blessing to be able to laugh with your children. The biggest laugh of the day came around a decision we made to walk back to the train station instead of riding the city bus. We were told it was ~2 miles back to the train depot, so we were thinking twenty minutes, which came a went. While we were walking a brisk pace Chloe asked if we should run to make up the time. I told her that the turtle is the one that wins the race and she said that she did not feel like we were walking much like a turtle. Then I told her that we were a turtle with a fuzzy bunny tail! Hysterics followed as our turtle and rabbit cross became more and more morphed into one. It was silly and tons of fun. It passed the time and we did make it to the train station still laughing with huge smiles on. Laughter truly does knit hearts together.

We made the decision to stay in Kendal another night and try to rent those bicycles that eluded us in Inverness. Our continental breakfast was delicious and wow what a view with the River Kent below us and Kendal Castle in the background. We left the hotel by 10a on a train bound for Windermere. It was about a ten minute ride through the beautiful Lake District and then got on a bus headed for Brockhole, where we would rent bikes. We asked the driver to let us know where to stop and he said sure, then just as we were about to pull out the driver traded out with a new driver and off we went. This was a local bus and you had to know the area to know when to get off the bus. Our new driver did not let us know when to get off so we would up in Ambleside. We fell in love with Ambleside. It has the feel of a quaint Alpine style village on a mountain lake. It was beautiful and am sure during peak season is an absolute zoo. We are here right at the end of the shoulder season and it was still thriving with people.

We made our way over to the Armitt Museum to learn more about Charlotte Mason, a British educator who invested her life in improving the quality of education in England at the turn of the twentieth century. Our homeschooling methods are based on Charlotte Mason’s teaching style and the actual curriculum is called Ambleside. The museum had very little on Charlotte Mason, but had more on Beatrix Potter, who was Charlotte Mason’s biggest supporter. Upstairs the library had thousands of rare books from the 1800’s and prior, along with a book press that was hundreds of years old and a first edition King James bible. Chloe loved the cool roman officer helmet we got to put try on too!

After the museum we went to have a bite to eat at the Apple Pie Cafe. I order the Mince Meat Pie as I am told it is tradition. It was good, unlike the blended salty fish pudding in Israel (yuck). The weather has been great with cloudy skies and no rain. After lunch we hiked up the hill above town to a sixty foot waterfall. There is always something about running water that stirs my soul. We tried the bus again to see if could find the right spot on the way back. Our bus angel showed up in the form of a beautiful elderly lady sitting behind us. She heard where we wanted to go and let us know she would take care of us. She watching the countryside to know where we were and hit the stop button at the correct moment and told us to get off there. We were just across the road from the place we were wanting to rent bikes. It got better when we found out the bike shop was closing in an hour and could not charge us full price. I asked if we could rent bikes anyway and they said we would only be able to ride one hour. I said that was fine and would be happy to pay an hours worth of rental. Chloe did not need more than an hour to try her hand at mountain biking and we got a deal!

For this trip we had people write Chloe life building letters to edify her and encourage her in her faith. These letters have been a highlight and both humble and inspire us. To end the day we read the letter of the day and pray for the person who wrote it. Today Aunt Annie Davis wrote Chloe a letter that God created just for today. We laughed all day and Anne encourages Chloe to laugh till her stomach hurts. We are finding there are so many parallels in these letters to the day we have just had that they all have God all over them. Thanks everyone for taking the time to share your hearts and your love with our precious Chloe. These are kingdom impacting moments that are happening because of you. I leave you tonight the way Aunt Annie’s letter left us.

THE EASY ROADS ARE CROWDED – Messick

The easy roads are crowded,
And the level roads are jammed;
The pleasant little rivers
With the drifting folks are crammed.
But off yonder where it’s rocky,
Where you get a better view,
You will find the ranks are thinning
And the travelers are few.

Where the going’s smooth and pleasant
You will always find the throng,
For the man, more’s the pity,
Seem to like to drift along.
But the steeps that call for courage,
And the task that’s hard to do,
In the end result in glory
For the never-wavering few

Chloe’s Take:
I love you! We have had an awesome day today. We went to go get bikes (praying for God to do what He wills) and we missed our stop (God’s will), so we wound up in Ambleside, England. We went up stairs in the Armitt Museum and saw a horse named Dobbin, tons of ancient books, and a big all black bookself drawish thing. We took a picture with it as it reminded daddy of Mr. Mark Hamby. Then we went into another room (Elijah will love this) and saw a BIG roman helmet, more books, and a cool door. The door was covered in brands by a man who was just learning how to brand. We asked permission of the museum person to wear the roman helmet and she said YES! Daddy and I both got to wear it. It was heavy and cool. Then we went out and God blessed us with being able to rent mt. bikes. We got to go down my first hills and try a bit of rough biking. I got to be able to use my brakes when we went down a pretty big hill. It was so cool and fun my first time. I learned to avoid people and not get them hurt. Then we came back looking for some special things. We could not find any of them. Then we came back to the hotel and ate some dinner from our packs. We have enjoyed our day. Thank you Jesus! Thank you guys for praying for me. A few days ago at Sterling daddy taught me a lesson that ladies go first. I was wanting to push past people and daddy taught to me to let them go first and not push past people in line. Now I have learned a very important lesson. I am enjoying my time here and all the lessons God is giving both daddy and me. Love you and miss you!