This week...
I read Jeremiah 9-15 in the RSV Bible
I read 2 Samuel 11-13 in the ESV Study Bible
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Book Review: What is the Bible?
Bostrom, Kathleen Long. 2009. What is the Bible? (Part of the Little Blessings series by Tyndale). Illustrated by Elena Kuchank. Tyndale.
This August, Tyndale is releasing two more stories in the Little Blessings series by Kathleen Long Bostrom. (I reviewed a four-in-one collection back in January.) These two new titles are What is the Bible? and Who Made the World?
I've heard people talk
of the Bible in church.
It seems extra special,
so I'm on a search.
Who wrote the Bible?
One person? A few?
What does it say?
Can you give me a clue?
Is it a book
I will need as I grow?
Does it tell stories
of people I know?
This one is about the Bible. Or perhaps I should say the B-I-B-L-E. (I don't know why that song popped into my head just now, but it seems a little fitting, doesn't it?)
This book is divided into three parts. The first part is a question-poem written from a child's perspective. These are simple questions, questions that may be a bit familiar to parents with curious kids with a heart for God. The second part is an answer-poem written from an adult's perspective. The third part is for Bible references. What I love about this last section is that it goes through line-by-line of the answer-poem, and it provides a verse or two to back up the rhyme.
The illustrations by Elena Kuchank are traditional and cutesy. The types of illustrations that you might find on greeting cards. One plus to the illustrations is that her illustrations are multicultural.
Are you a Christian parent? Have you read any books in this series? What do you think?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Question of the Week #31
Do you have a favorite bible story book for children? If you're a parent or grandparent, what books would you recommend for Christian families to have in their home libraries. Is there a particular author or a particular series that stands out as excellent? OR in case you're not around any little ones, which books do you remember--if any--from your own childhood days? OR what things do you look for in a 'good' christian book for children?
Monday, August 24, 2009
Book Review: Who Made the World
Bostrom, Kathleen Long. 2009. Who Made The World. (Part of the Little Blessings series by Tyndale). Illustrated by Elena Kuchank.
Earlier in the year--way, way back in January--I reviewed Questions from Little Hearts, a four-in-one collection of stories by Kathleen Long Bostrom. (The book contains: What is God Like? What is Prayer? What About Heaven? and Are Angels Real?) This latest book is in a similar format.
1) a question-poem written from a child's perspective.
2) a small transition-type poem written from an adult perspective--something that points the child towards God
3) An answer-poem written from God's perspective
4) Bible references for parents and older children.
As you could easily guess, this one is all about creation. Here's how it starts off...
The world is so pretty!
There's so much to see.
A rainbow! A river!
A flower! A tree!
So who made the world?
God, I think it was you.
Did you have a helper?
If so, tell me who!
What was the first thing
you made, and the last?
Did you snap your fingers
to make it go fast?
Of course, that's only the beginning...
I really enjoy this series. And this one is no exception. While I don't love, love, love the illustrations--they're not bad by any means but they're not incredibly amazing either--I do love the text. I'm so happy to have discovered these books because I think they are great for Christian families.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sunday Salon: Week In Review (August 16-22)
This week...
I finished Hebrews in the NASB Bible.
I finished Ruth in the RSV Bible.
I read Jeremiah 1-8 in the RSV Bible.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Book Review: Whirlwind
Hake, Cathy Marie. 2008. Whirlwind. Bethany House. 358 pages.
"I've come to a decision."Millicent Fairweather clasped her hands together at her waist and waited in silence for her boss to continue. The clock in the far corner of the dim study ticked loudly."My daughters are of an age to expand their horizons. A change is in order. Therefore, I've located a place for them."
After Millicent Fairweather loses her position as nanny, she decides to join her sister and brother-in-law in immigrating to America. They hope to start a dress shop--her sister, Isabelle, has quite a seamstress. On the trip to America, Millicent is hired by a stranger, a Mr. Daniel Clark, to care for his young son, Arthur. Nanny is a role she's entirely comfortable with. And all seems to be going well, through Millicent, Daniel befriends her sister and her brother-in-law. But their arrival in America on Ellis Island does not go as planned. In fact, it turns tragic. Frank, the brother-in-law, dies leaving Millicent and Isabelle a bit perplexed. Where will they go? What will become of them? Fortunately, they're not friendless. Daniel offers for Millicent. He needs a wife--someone to be a mother to his child. And he'd be happy to take Isabelle into his home as well. Perhaps she can have her dress shop after all, as an extension to his own new business, a store.
Daniel Clark has big dreams. He hopes to make a success of it in Gooding, Texas. And this is where his new family will be established. Of course, changes aren't always easy. Millicent has some adjusting to do. She's not used to being a wife and a mother and a store clerk. Even if the marriage is for convenience without any intimacies expected.
Can these two newlyweds fall in love? Is their hope for Isabelle in America? And what secret has Daniel been keeping--and why--from his wife?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Book Review: Bittersweet
Bittersweet by Cathy Marie Hake, 2007.
Bittersweet is the sequel to Letter Perfect. While Letter Perfect was narrated by Ruth, Bittersweet is narrated by several characters including: Laney (Josh's sister and Ruth's sister-in-law), Galen Sullivan (Josh's best friend, Laney's long-time crush), and a new character named Ivy. I don't know if it was the change of narrators, or if my dark cloud has lifted, or if I've just grown used to her writing style, but I really enjoyed Bittersweet. Enjoyed perhaps isn't strong enough of a word. I loved this book.
A year has passed since Letter Perfect ended. It is the fall of 1860. The book opens with Laney and Ruth (not to mention the unforgettable Hilda) at the Fair (I'm assuming a state fair) along with some of the Sullivan family. Galen has remained at home to take care of the farm and tend the horses since he is in charge of one of the pony express stations. (I don't know if station is the right word since my knowledge of the pony express is severely limited.) And the time away from his family has shown him several things: he doesn't know anything at all about cooking OR cleaning. He is surviving on the kindess of strangers--okay, they're not really strangers, they're just neighbors who know that a bachelor would need some care and attention while his mama is away. The other thing that he learns is that there is a family (father, son, daughter) squatting on his land. He is not overly thrilled to find them. He wants them gone. He doesn't trust them. But finally, he relents to the man's pleas and allows them to stay if and only if he agrees for his son (I'm assuming 19 or 20ish) to work for him several days a week. Ishmael is the son's name. Ivy is the daughter. Ivy makes a good substitute cook and housekeeper while his mom is away at the fair. Not that she stays at the house--that would be improper--but she does cook a few meals for him and cleans up the mess he's made of the house.
The book is about what happens when everyone returns. Ivy and Ishmael are now "working" for the Sullivan family. Mrs. Sullivan has mercy on the family and sees how they are on the verge of starvation. So she 'hires' Ivy to help her cook and sew and do other household chores in exchange for food for her family. Ishmael, Galen discovers, is also a hardworker. But both Ivy and Ishmael lack polite manners. They've never been taught how to interact and behave around others. They don't know which subjects are taboo. Galen encourages Laney and Ruth to be patient and to try to teach Ivy some of the things she needs to know. A task that proves more challenging than anyone can imagine.
Galen begins watching Laney. Watching how Laney acts with Ivy. Noticing how kind she is. How patient. How forgiving. And he notices just how beautiful his best friend's little sister has become. He is madly in love with her. And he declares his intentions to Josh. But just as he begins to court the woman of his dreams, the unexpected happens.
Life isn't always easy. It isn't always sweet. Sometimes there is pain and confusion. Sometimes there is heartache. Sometimes there is anger. Sometimes life can make you bitter. As the McCain and Sullivan families learn, you may not have control over what happens to you in life...but you can learn to control how you react to life's unexpected turns.
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