Rosie Revere Engineer

Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of

robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

IICorinthians 11:25,26

As I read Rosie Revere Engineer I thought about my granddaughters who are always playing, drawing, and constructing with whatever they happen to find. I thought of my little brother who was constantly inventing something (an electric eraser) or writing a new silly song.

Rosie wanted to be an engineer but it never turned out quite as she intended. People laughed. People she loved laughed. She felt like a failure. She hid her inventions and decided to give up until her great-great-aunt Rose came to visit. Rose had once worked building airplanes. Her dream never accomplished was to fly. Rosie was determined to help her aunt fly. She worked and worked and finally was ready to give it a try. Her invention rose into the air and for a few moments it .... Then it crashed to the ground. Her dreams of being an engineer crashed too. Rosie was embarrassed. She never wanted to invent again. But great-great-aunt Rose was there to encourage her. She had not failed. It had done what it was intended to do. It had flown. With Rose's encouragement, she began to invent again. Her inventions encouraged her classmates to become inventors as well. 

How often do we want to give up on ourselves? We feel God's calling, but what will others think? Will they reject our witness? Willl we say the right thing?  Will they laugh at us? Will they no longer be our friends? 

The Lord called Paul to be a witness for him. Did everyone he preached to become believers? No! Did he have friends everywhere he went? No! But some listened. Some believed his preaching. Some became his friends. Some joined him in preaching the gospel so others might believe. 

Let's look at our verse again. Notice the trouble Paul found himself in trying to accomplish the goal the Lord had given him. Preaching wasn't the only thing Paul did. He was a tent maker. His job gave him income and the opportunity to be a witness. He faced so many troubles be he never gave up when no one listened. He never gave up when the ship wrecked and they almost drowned. He never gave up when he was beaten or in danger. He kept doing what he knew he was supposed to do. 

God never fails us. He never leaves us alone. He calls us and equips us, even as children. Though we might feel like we have failed. Though we may feel like others are laughing. God sees and wants us to keep working. He wants us to use the opportunities we are given in our work, our school, and our "play" to be His witness. 

 Heavenly Father, help me never give up. Help us keep doing the things you've called us to do, to work hard, to be creative, to be your witness, regardless of what we perceive as others' reactions. Thank you for giving us examples to keep us encouraged. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Worldviews in Children's Literature

 

We often recognize stories as having a beginning, middle, and end but do we recognize the smaller points of the Gospel, the pointing to God in literature and storytelling?

The Beginning: What happens in the beginning? The characters are introduced so we know who to look for in the story. The Main Character is introduced with flaws. This character's flaw(s) will lead us to the conflict, the struggle in the story. Fairy tales, picture books, children's books, and novels all contain the flaws of the main character. We relate to this character because we too are not without flaws.

• Red Riding Hood - disobedient to mom, talks to stranger
• Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle- poor diet, overeating
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen - immaturity is implied
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder - disobedient to parents, sneaking breaking cultural norms
• Code of Silence by Tim Shoemaker - lies
• 
  

The Middle: Here in the middle the consequences of the flaw begin to show themselves. The turmoil and struggle to overcome those consequences.

• Little Red Riding Hood - confronted by the wolf in Grandma's bed
• Very Hungry Caterpillar - becomes sick and tries to fix his problem by eating well
• Owl Moon - child puts a hand over mouth to keep any noise from escaping.
• Little House in the Big Woods - spanking
• Code of Silence - teens are confronted with life-threatening consequences if the truth is told.
• 
  

The End: In the end the main character has overcome the struggle. There is a new person with new vision in the end.

• Red Riding Hood - the woodcutter (Jesus) enters the scene to kill the wolf (Satan) with Red's realization implying that disobeying and talking to strangers can cause her and others to become entangled in dire consequences. She and Grandma are thankful for the woodcutter.
• Very Hungry Caterpillar - the caterpillar must become a cocoon (die to self) and become a new creature never to return to its old way of life (salvation).
• Owl Moon - the child receives a slight shush from the father but is warmly invited into a conversation after the "hunt" signifying the child has matured, has become "grown-up" like brothers.
• Little House in the Big Woods - Father tans his own jacket as well as that of the boys. A picture that we all suffer the consequences of our sins, sometimes because we choose to impose legalism instead of God's love.
• Code of Silence - there is far less consequences when we tell the truth.

Perhaps as we read to our children beginning at that very young age we can begin to point out more than just the beginning, middle, and end. There is so much more to the story, so many twists and turns just as there is in our lives. It takes a dire consequence to wake up the characters in the books to make a change. Even if that consequence is just missing out on a hunting trip until they are mature enough to follow the rules. It takes a wake-up call to our sins for us to see the need to change and let Jesus have charge. Beginning to show an author's purpose opens the doors to our children's understanding of the gospel.

Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. Psalms 119:160

Heavenly Father, please teach me to view everything through the eyes of the gospel so I am not deceived by the ideas of man. Let my mind be renewed with the truth of your word. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

What's your favorite story? It doesn't have to be a kid's story. Maybe you like reading middle grade books or young adult. The author of any story includes a worldview regardless of the storyline itself. The stories mentioned above do have a Christian worldview but there are many that support a secular worldview. We need to be aware not just of a cool story but of what the story is imprinting in our hearts and minds. 

What book are you currently reading? Try finding the flaw in the main character shown at the beginning of the story.

Next, find the conflict the flaw creates in the middle of the story.

Finally, how does the main character resolve the problem? Does the character regret the flaw? Is he selfish and trying to justify his actions because his lifestyle is worth it. (as in Trumpet of the Swans)?. 

What do you feel the author is trying to teach? Why?

Ten Ways to Hear God

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth! ~Psalms 46:10

The winter snows are beginning to fall. I love snow. I recently finished reading Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper, a children's book about a child visiting with her Grandmother who cannot see well.  Mrs. Camper describes the things Lina hears because of snow as she walks to her Grandmother's. Lina hears shovels scraping, the crunch of her boots, the ploompf of snow falling from a limb. On and on she notices all the things she usually ignores or can't hear without snow. Finally at Grandma's, when she has only heard eight things, she hears the drip, drip of snow melting from her mittens. Lina's Grandmother has difficulty seeing. When she asked Grandma if she knows there has been a blizzard last night, Grandma said she could hear the snow when she raised her window this morning. Grandma says, "Today everything sounded hushed and soft. No noise is the sound that means it's snowing." That was the tenth way Lina heard snow. 

I could easily relate to this story because I have experienced the hush and the softness, the peace of snow. Ten Ways to Hear Snow also made me think about the ways I hear God. I wondered if I could think of ten ways that I hear our Lord. 

1. In the rustle of leaves in the breeze. —Jesus tells us in John 3 that the wind blows where it wishes and no one knows where it comes from or where it goes like the Holy Spirit as it convicts and guides us. 
2. In the laughter of children. —Jesus said to let the little children come unto him. 
3. In the reading of God's word. —The Ethiopian eunuch was reading the book of Isaiah about how the Messiah would be led like a sheep to the slaughter when Phillip encountered him on the road. Acts 8.
4. In the preaching of God's word. —Paul asks in Romans how will people hear about Jesus without a preacher
5. In the kindness and love others demonstrate. —Paul writes in ICorinthians 13 about demonstrating our faith with faith, hope, and love; love being the greatest. 
6. In the sharing of a testimony. — In Acts, Paul testifies of his conversion on the road to Damascus. 
7. In the singing of birds in the early morning. —Song of Solomon chapter two speaks of the singing of birds as a time to come away with my love, my fair one. 
8. In the chirping of crickets at night. —Jacob, running from his brother, took stones and made himself a pillow to sleep. God appeared to him in a dream that night. It was the place of Jacob's decision to follow the Lord. 
9. In the flow of still waters as I sit beside a stream. —Psalms 23 tells us God leads us beside the still waters. 
10. In the voice of God when I am still, in prayer. —In I Kings 19 God speaks to Elijah in a still small voice to get his attention and give him direction. 

The voice of God when I am still. To know the presence of God I need to be still. I need to listen to his voice, blocking out the clamor of life around me. What will he say? He will tell me truth. When all the world tries to tell me their truth, the only voice that matters is God's truth. 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. ~John 14:6

Heavenly Father, help us to be still so we can hear your truth and know that you are God and you are the one and only in control. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids:

Have you noticed God speaking in your life? Has he spoken to your heart while you were still? Maybe you were listening to Christian music, or your Sunday School teacher. Maybe you were listening to your parents as they led family devotions. 

This week, listen for the ways you hear God speaking. You might like to draw a picture or write a sentence in your journal. You will probably think of other ways than the ten I listed that you can feel and hear the presence of God. As you listen to God, He will also listen to you. Is there something you would like to tell Him? 

Dear Parents

 

Dear Parents,

Have you read your children's literature lately? I recently had a conversation with a lady who is helping raise her seven-year-old niece. She was horrified with the language in children's books promoted in public schools. Many parents and caretakers are upset with the values children's books are often promoting. So what's up?

Children enjoy books that use less than polite words for the bottom and bodily functions, words many Christians don't allow their children to use. Publishers and authors want to sell books so they use language that will get a giggle and values that are heavily promoted by society. Children will read a whole series if they get that giggle factor. Teachers just want children to read. 

But is it all the teachers' fault? 

Most children are not homeschooled nor do they attend Christian schools. Is it not our job as parents to monitor the literature our children are subject to and promote literature that has positive examples and Christian values? 

Where do we start? 

We can take our children to the library and read to them and with them. Start early, really early, like at birth. We can evaluate what we read. We can let our children know how we feel about a book and how it does or doesn't match our values. I love Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. I don't know her faith but her book promotes positive family relationships and a dad who is worthy of imitation. I'd put her picture book at the top of a list of best books for young children.

Books about God and Jesus are great but they're not likely to find their way into your child's public classroom. We need to be more like Paul on Mars Hill. 

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. ~Acts17:23. 

We can help our children find a way to use the secular world to show Jesus to their classmates. Isn't it all about demonstrating Jesus, not just telling about Jesus that will make a difference?

Here's a partial list of the books I enjoy reading to children.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle -a salvation story - the caterpillar eats the wrong thing and though he tries to turn over a new leaf, he still must die to his old way of life to gain a new life with a new body.
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle - be aware of who you hang out with - every animal invited the spider to come and play, then left except a fly who kept hanging around. He was eventually eaten by the company he kept.
Beauty and the Beast - a servant's heart story - our kindness can make a difference in so many lives
Little Red Riding Hood - listen to your parents - a story of Satan who walks about seeking whom he may devour
Elephant and Piggy by Mo Willems - a variety of stories about two friends who face common or funny situations but manage to do the right thing to resolve the issue
The Grinch by Dr. Seuss - Christmas is not about gifts but about the Gift
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss - a sanctity of life story, A person's a person no matter how small.
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder - stories of family life centered around family values
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - a fantasy genre that depicts the war between good and evil
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - Historical fiction about a ten-year-old girl whose family hides a Jewish friend to protect her from the Nazis. A story about doing the right thing even in the face of grave danger.

What books would you add?

Hey Kids:

What do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Why? Now that is the question. 

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is one of my favorite books. Why? Because it's about snow and hunting and being with Dad. The child loves and respects his dad. They have a great relationship. I think this book shows me without telling me to honor my parents and appreciate God's creation. 

Do you have a favorite book that shows Christian values? Be sure to let your parents know so they can add your book to a list of favorites.