Bagpipes....
Have you ever tried studying while someone was practicing the bagpipes? I don't know if I've mentioned that three of the boys are taking bagpipes. (Logan (14) Parker (12) and Nelson (9). God has blessed them with good instructors at a local bagpipe band in Penicuik. They are making good progress. I'm sure we'll have a set of bagpipes with us on furlough.
I had another interesting Scottish history moment today. Almost two years ago I bought a set of books from the 1850s, The Memoirs of Dr. Thomas Chalmers. They were compiled by his son in law a few years after his death. Dr. Chalmers was the most influential man of God in Scotland in the 1800's. He was the leader of the Free Church of Scotland when they came out of the church of Scotland because of their conviction on the separation of church and state. Each book was around 500 pages. I finished that set today and am very thankful God gave me the opportunity to look into this man's life and a significant portion of Scottish church history.
The interesting moment was when I read about him laying the first stone for the New College property of the Free Church of Scotland. It was interesting because I was sitting in the library at that property in Edinburgh reading about it. I'm so thankful that God has put us in an area rich with church history. I praise God that He saw fit to bless this nation incredibly in the 1800's.