A friend is going through misery with her daughter. Not that the girl is terrible- she isn't on drugs or running around with older guys- but she is causing stress by not following the plans her mother has made out for her. She isn't completing her school work and is looking at failing the ninth grade right now. Her mother has such high hopes for her, and the daughter is letting her future fizzle. It reminded me of God saying He knows the plans He has for us, plans to help and not to harm us. And still we let His plans go unfulfilled. We must stress God out, too. ------- The boys are working on a project about the Renaissance. They are learning about THE Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci. So this week I told them they could either paint a portrait or a Biblical scene. They chose the latter, and #1 is painting his favorite Bible scene, Revelation 12 and 13---DRAGONS! He told #2 that he couldn't copy, so #2 had to pick another battle, of course. Anyway, he chose the scene where Elisha sends his servant out only to report back that they are surrounded by the enemy. Elisha asks that his eyes be opened and he sees that they are also surrounded by God's army. So #2 is painting looking through Elisha's eyes. In one eye is reflected what the regular person saw, and in the other eye is the spiritual scene. I was so amazed I didn't have the heart to tell him that that would not be a Renaissance painting. He is in a whole different realm.