Saturday, June 30, 2012

FAMILY READ-ALOUD BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS


Our family benefited tremendously from daily times of reading aloud. Naturally, we read many, many toddler and early childhood books to the boys, but when our oldest was around age six, we began reading “real” books to them as a family. It’s surprising how much even the youngest can apprehend.

Our sons would huddle together on the couch next to us or lounge on our bed alongside of us to listen; later, as the boys grew older, they would just range on floor at our feet or on chairs nearby. The familial closeness fostered and the intellectual growth were major contributors to the men they are now. (Haha - One of our sons recently mentioned to me that he still misses those times and would probably come over every night if we started reading aloud again!)

I can’t recommend the practice highly enough and would like to share our recommendations for books that your family might enjoy, so here they are in no particular order:


Most loved:
The Little House on the Prairie (whole series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The complete Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
Little Britches; Man of the Family; The Fields of Home by Ralph Moody
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Walk Across America; The Walk West by Peter Jenkins
Gifted Hands by Ben Carson
The Prince and the Pauper; Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Little Women; Eight Cousins; Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Wheel on the School by Meindart Dejong
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Ryder Haggard
Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

Liked:
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
Calvin & Hobbs (all) by Bill Watterson (cartoons)
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
The House of Many Fathers by Meindart Dejong
White Fang by Jack London (Jr. High level)
Bobsey Twins series by Laura Lee Hope (suitable for age five)
O’Henry stories (any)
Sherlock Holmes series of stories

Sunday, June 10, 2012

KIND WORDS


Kind words are like honey - enjoyable and healthful.  Proverbs 16:24


Father,
With all of the sharpness and tartness in today's world, help my words to be words like honey. May they be sweet and honest. May I commend and bless in such a way that the results are enjoyable and healthful.
Cause me to realize, Lord, that kind words are not always words that sound kind. Sometimes kind words reprimand, while at other times they are a soft
disagreement.
May I understand that kind words must come out of a heart that has kindness in it. Give me the right kind of kindness in my heart to put forth the right kind of words.
In Jesus name,
Amen