No word yet if she made it… Not sure if you know, but Number 3 is gifted with music in a way that I most definitely am not. She has taught herself how to play the keyboard, guitar, and is now working on the harmonica. I am not saying she is a prodigy or anything, but it is pretty amazing to watch. Her curiosity put to action in a way that I cannot grasp or understand. I am very proud and amazed. Today’s quote for her comes from a post on X about how the universe is not made of matter but of music. To oversimplify it, music = math and math = matter. It is an extremely interesting post that I highly encourage you to read. I did not know that Pythagoras, of math fame, who gave us the Pythagorean Theorem, also gave us our musical scale. Music is math. Follow the link and read it, very interesting stuff.
As a reminder, Lunch Box Quotes are notes I include in the kids’ lunches every day. Number 1 gets a text, but 2-4 get a handwritten napkin. And we are in 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. I am intermittent fasting with 1 meal per day, no alcohol, and no social media/news after 6 p.m.
Visual credits to: Featured image – @CowboyGospeler Quotes: @BeSaintly @StoicRise @the_culturist_ @arealmofwonder @fraveris
Quotes:
1. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Saint Francis of Assisi
2. “Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated.” – George Bernard Shaw
3. “There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.” – Pythagoras
4. “It takes years and maturity to make the discovery that the power of faith is nobler than the power of doubt; and that there is a celestial wisdom in the ingenuous propensity to trust.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
Bonus Quote: “The plains stretched away, bare and wide and lonely, with the grass whispering under the wind.” – B. M. Bower (1912)
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting – Day 10
John 15:1-3
Note: (These notes are a combination of the notes from my Bible, the study guide, and my thoughts. Mostly, though, they are the work of others, just rearranged.) Christ is the vine, and God is the gardener. Pruning is a loving discipline that redirects our energy toward what matters most. I want to be a fruitful branch. Things of the world appear to be life-giving vines, but they are not. Remaining in Christ means: 1) believing that he is God’s son, 2) receiving him as the savior and Lord, 3) doing what God says, 4) continuing to believe in the Good News, and 5) relating in love to the community of believers. True joy transcends the rolling waves of circumstance, and joy comes from a consistent relationship with Christ. Jesus delivered this message to his disciples in the garden. We are called to practice sacrificial love. This sacrificial love is only possible through consistent pruning.
Fasting: Yesterday was better, but food is still not the issue, though. Progress.
Prayer: Dear Lord, prune the unproductive and wasteful things from my life so I can bear fruit for You. Give me the discipline to stay in the Word, the humility to put others first, and manage the highs and lows of life with the true Joy found in You.
-Amen
Sources:
The plains stretched away, bare and wide and lonely, with the grass whispering under the wind
⏤ B. M. Bower (1912) pic.twitter.com/ar2I6M6SGW— Cowboy Gospeler (@CowboyGospeler) January 13, 2026
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
—Saint Francis of Assisi pic.twitter.com/vymNYLgt9x
— Become A Saint (@BeSaintly) January 12, 2026
— StoicRise (@StoicRise) January 7, 2026
Past societies produced so much beauty because they knew that math and beauty are deeply connected.
It all started when Pythagoras discovered something mind-blowing about reality: the universe is not made of matter, but music…
When walking past a blacksmith’s forge,… pic.twitter.com/bJxEpmQhxe
— The Culturist (@the_culturist_) January 10, 2026
“It takes years and maturity to make the discovery that the power of faith is nobler than the power of doubt; and that there is a celestial wisdom in the ingenuous propensity to trust.”
~ Harriet Beecher Stowe pic.twitter.com/5CxPXz5xo7— Cian McCarthy (@arealmofwonder) January 10, 2026