Believing the Dream Read Online Free PDF

to say about the way we are to live. By tomorrow night I want to hear some ideas from all of you on how we can live that kind of love right here in our home and at school. Now let us pray.
    “Father God, we thank you for loving us, even though sometimes we don’t love others like you ask. Show us ways to be more loving and help us always to be thankful for all the things you have given us. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
    Kaaren looked around the room. “Now, all of you get to bed, and I’ll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in.” Her eyes stopped at Grace. Something is cooking in that girl’s mind. I wonder what she is up to .
    Later, as she sat on the edge of her bed and unpinned the long braid of golden hair she wore around her head like a crown, she yawned and rolled her head from side to side.
    “Long day?” Lars lay on his side, enjoying their nightly ritual.
    “No more than usual. How did Mr. McBride do out in the machine shed with you?”
    “Doesn’t take much instruction to clean rust off the machinery and oil it.”
    “He’s not slow, is he?”
    “Not that I can tell. His father just didn’t take any time with him. What a waste. He has to learn patience, my word, but he has to learn patience.” Lars ran his fingers through the hair she was brushing one hundred strokes. “He likes working with the horses, though. Perhaps he could apprentice to Hjelmer at the blacksmith.”
    “That would give him a trade, not that he needs one for money, but it would give him a feeling of usefulness.” Kaaren turned and rested one knee up on the bed, her long flannel nightgown covering her feet too. “I’ve talked with Onkel Olaf, and he will start him on woodworking next week. Let’s give him a chance at both things and see how he does. Ilse is determined he is going to learn to sign, no matter how frustrated and angry he gets.”
    “The poor man hasn’t a chance with all of us ganging up on him.” Lars lay back on his pillow. “Hurry up and get under the covers before you freeze and I have to warm up your feet. As Matthew said, let today’s troubles be sufficient for today.”

CHAPTER FOUR

    Northfield, Minnesota
    “I can’t believe all these entries.”
    Thorliff watched as Elizabeth sifted through the stack of envelopes. When he came up with the idea of the Christmas story contest, he’d thought perhaps twenty entries would be a goodly number. Instead, they received that many in a day sometimes. He had listed all the entries in a ledger that included the day they arrived and which category they fit under. Schoolteachers had assigned this as a composition to their students, both colleges were well represented, including faculty, and the people of the town and the outlying countryside were dredging up their Yuletide memories as well.
    “Father says we’ve received twenty-five new subscriptions to the newspaper, thanks to the contest.” Elizabeth looked over her shoulder to Thorliff. “This was a pretty good idea.”
    What? The prickly Miss Rogers giving him a compliment? Thorliff pulled the ledger out from under the counter. “Thank you.” But at times he wondered if he would have suggested the contest if he’d had any idea of the avalanche of entries they’d get. Or that the work of it was going to fall to him. Tomorrow was his turn to recite in Bible class, and while he was prepared with questions of his own, he had yet to formulate an answer to the teacher’s question.
    “Do you need some help?”
    He blinked and looked sideways at her. “Uh, yes. That would be very nice.”
    “So what is your system?”
    “I open the envelope, decide which category the story fits in, enter it in the ledger, and then place story and envelope in the proper box.” He motioned to the row of four boxes on the shelf under the counter.
    “Okay, how about if I open them and hand them to you for entry?”
    “Good.” Standing at the counter, they set to the task, with Elizabeth slitting all the envelopes with a