Please forgive my absence from the blogging world. Wow! Quite a bit has happened since I made the Borscht (which actually tastes even better the second day). My laptop and I are in a completely new house in a completely new state! In short, the Lord has led our family down a new path. We're starting a new ministry called "Church Around the Table". But that would take up an entire blog post! The website is up and running, though and you can take a sneak-peek at churcharoundthetable.com
In all my absence, I have read several new books that I needed to share. So, I felt it was high time to make another post about my favorite books. There have been several new additions!
The first book I must share with you is "They Loved to Laugh" by Kathryn Worth. My dear aunt lent us this book awhile back and I have finally picked it up. Set in the 1830s, it's the story of an orphan girl named Martitia who goes to live with a quaker family with 5 boys who are all determined to make her learn how to laugh. It's a touching story about family loyalty, joy, pride and piety with a sprinkle of sweet romance!
I now realize that I haven't mentioned my very favorite book series; one of the best, in my opinion. The Elsie Dinsmore series written by Martha Finley. The series begins with 8 year-old Elsie in anticipation of her estranged father's return and follows her all through the rest of her life. I started reading the first one when I was 9, but it rather went over my head. I picked them up again when I was 12 and I've never looked back! There are abridged (forgive my language) versions, but I encourage any young girl who wishes to read them without mother or sister to explain the advanced words and long sentences, wait until they are more acquainted with antiquated language than to start off with an inferior abridged version. I recommend these next two books to get younger girls started with understanding the older style of writing...
I give you "The Little Lamb" by Christoph Von Schmid and "Little Threads" by Elizabeth Prentiss. These precious stories geared toward younger girls as a read-aloud are great for introducing antiquated language and old-fashioned values to your little ones. The Little Lamb follows young Christiana as she raises a little lamb for her poor mother. It teaches compassion, perseverance, honesty and contentment. In Little Threads, two girls, known by their nicknames, Tangle Thread and Golden Thread learn lessons revolving around filial love, obedience and generosity.
Harvey Newcomb has written many books on the formation of godly character geared mostly toward young adults and I've found his works to be most helpful. His book "How to be a Lady" is a gem! Some girls might balk at the idea of having a man tell her what is acceptable or not in womanly character. But if you think about it, we get perks from learning from the wise men in our lives; we see it from their perspective and gain insight that we may not have learned from another woman. I am by no means saying that the advice of other women should be rejected! But to take the inspired advice from godly men is nothing to be frowned upon. I encourage you to read any of Harvey Newcomb's books. They are all excellent to encourage Christian character!
And finally, Elisabeth Elliot's wonderfully written biography of Amy Carmichael. Now, for years I had heard the name of Amy Carmichael repeated in many places like our conferences and Bible studies and I always wondered who she actually was. Recently, I have opened the pages of Elisabeth Elliot's captivating account and now I understand what all the "fuss" was about :) "A Chance to Die" has actually been a life-shaping book for me. Amy's willingness to follow the Lord's call at any cost has challenged me and her warrior mind-set has called me to arms! Will you answer the call?
This concludes my second book list. I would love to hear what you think; especially if you get the chance to read any of these titles! You can email me at missmckennaray@gmail.com . Enjoy!
I give you "The Little Lamb" by Christoph Von Schmid and "Little Threads" by Elizabeth Prentiss. These precious stories geared toward younger girls as a read-aloud are great for introducing antiquated language and old-fashioned values to your little ones. The Little Lamb follows young Christiana as she raises a little lamb for her poor mother. It teaches compassion, perseverance, honesty and contentment. In Little Threads, two girls, known by their nicknames, Tangle Thread and Golden Thread learn lessons revolving around filial love, obedience and generosity.
Harvey Newcomb has written many books on the formation of godly character geared mostly toward young adults and I've found his works to be most helpful. His book "How to be a Lady" is a gem! Some girls might balk at the idea of having a man tell her what is acceptable or not in womanly character. But if you think about it, we get perks from learning from the wise men in our lives; we see it from their perspective and gain insight that we may not have learned from another woman. I am by no means saying that the advice of other women should be rejected! But to take the inspired advice from godly men is nothing to be frowned upon. I encourage you to read any of Harvey Newcomb's books. They are all excellent to encourage Christian character!
And finally, Elisabeth Elliot's wonderfully written biography of Amy Carmichael. Now, for years I had heard the name of Amy Carmichael repeated in many places like our conferences and Bible studies and I always wondered who she actually was. Recently, I have opened the pages of Elisabeth Elliot's captivating account and now I understand what all the "fuss" was about :) "A Chance to Die" has actually been a life-shaping book for me. Amy's willingness to follow the Lord's call at any cost has challenged me and her warrior mind-set has called me to arms! Will you answer the call?
This concludes my second book list. I would love to hear what you think; especially if you get the chance to read any of these titles! You can email me at missmckennaray@gmail.com . Enjoy!
3 comments:
Love hearing about what you're reading! I would definitely caution anyone about reading the original Elsie books to young children due to the amount of racism & revisionist history they contain. The modern adaptations did a good job of eliminating most of the problematic elements while preserving the Christian themes. :)
Mmm! Good thoughts, Faye! I agree MOSTLY with what you said. I, being starchly against abridging books, would say, if mothers feel some themes in the books are a little beyond their younger ones' comprehension, they should wait until they're older before reading them at all. And mothers might need to explain about the Dinsmores having African-American slaves and servants. The books do avoid the war, as the Dinsmores spend all that time in Europe, but a few of the family members end up enlisting.
I've actually read most of those! :)
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