Commemorating 911 With Our Children

When my youngest son brought the 911 picture book to me for our bedtime read aloud I hesitated. It was weighty material for bedtime, but as is typical of my personality, I dove in anyway. Sharing not only the beautiful and inspiring but also the painful past with our children is important because history is important and passing along the history of our country and the world helps to prevent the repeating of mistakes, making of poor decisions, and their inevitable results. Additionally it binds us together with a shared heritage.

While reading the book aloud to my two youngest children I felt myself becoming emotional but I pressed on. It wasn’t until I got to the portion describing the firefighters rushing into the building that I couldn’t hold myself together any more. In particular was the story of two first responder brothers; one was a police officer and one a fireman. They passed each other in the lobby of the 1st tower. It was the last time they saw each other alive. My children didn’t understand at first why I was crying, but they soon began to feel the emotions and knew this was one of the saddest days in United States History.

I hadn’t intended to teach the younger children about 911, but my two oldest children were entering an essay competition in which they wrote about a 911 hero of their choice. I scoured the local library for books to assist them in their research, and came across some moving picture and chapter books that I thought they could use. Any time there are new stacks of books in our home (which is quite often!) the kids want to go through them and choose a few to read. This stack was no different.

Although I read an emotionally charged book at bedtime, I am glad that now all of my children know something about the horrific attacks of 911. With this being the 20th anniversary, as well as the turmoil and unrest that the implementation of the removal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan is stirring, this year is especially a difficult remembrance. The wounds are a bit fresher. Hindsight a bit harder to stomach in light of current events.

I am almost certain that our promise to “never forget” has been forgotten by many of our government leaders and possibly among our population. Therefore, I am extremally grateful for the essay competition because it helped my family to remember the events of 911: the attacks, the everyday heroes and the courageous first responders, the death and devastation, and also the coming together of the American people to unite for a common cause. We need more brotherly love at this point in our nation’s history, and the remembrance of the events of 911 is one way in which to pursue unity. Viewing each other as we did directly following those attacks, as well as viewing our nation and its remarkable qualities, and the collective body looking to a Higher Power, Jesus Christ, if we did that in a similar light it would be a balm to our fractured nation.

With that in mind, I would like to offer a few books for you to share with your family as you deem age appropriate. I will list them in the order of maturity with the first being the most gentile introduction.

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Banned Books, Cancel Culture, and Home Libraries

In A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille, the author presents the concept of a national book. A national book is something that almost everyone in the nation accepts as a central truth. At the time of our founding, the Bible and later The Declaration were our national books and remained so up until some time in the 1980s, as purported by the author, when we began failing to recognize a national book. Since then a national book has not replaced the Bible nor the Declaration of Independence.

The issue of a nation existing without a national book is that the nation becomes one without a shared culture, or at best in the process of losing it.

In 2020 we saw an attack on the founders and figures of our nation as monuments and statues of people such as Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and others were vandalized, removed, and in some cases destroyed. Now in the first few months of 2021 the printed word has come under attack. First as I will address in regards to Dr. Seuss and secondly in a book banned by Amazon last week.

Yesterday, March 2, 2021 the birthday of Dr. Seuss witnessed the demoralization of one of America’s most beloved children’s authors under the guise of accused racist publications. The Random House publishing company announced they would no longer publish six Dr. Seuss stories including: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937), If I Ran the Zoo (1950), McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.

Our family owns and loves If I Ran The Zoo. The other titles on this list of newly banned books I am not familiar with. I have only scanned And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and had not even heard of these other books until this week. Frankly I am not a huge fan of Dr. Seuss for a few reasons pertaining to personal taste. However, our family values and semi-regularly reads a few of our favorite Dr. Seuss books: The Sneetches and Other Tales, If I Ran The Zoo, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Horton Hears a Who, The Foot Book, Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You?, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! I have never once considered a Seuss book to be racist in general and primarily because most of his creatures are made up and nonsensical and therefore pertain to no race at all.

In addition to a national book, there are books which our society historically considers classics. I would put Dr. Seuss’ works for children into a more modern classic category. Certainly one in which all Americans can easily recognize central characters and quote a few lines of the text.

As summarized by Oliver Van DeMille, If we will let them, the classics can teach us lessons without the pain of repeating certain mistakes ourselves. They can show us correct choices which will get us where we want to go….The most challenging struggles of life are internal and the classics can help…. Classics help us connect with individuals whatever their race, creed, age, culture and even place in history.

Inarguably when I think of classic literature I lean more towards Dickens, Bronte, Alcott, Montgomery, A. A. Milne, Shakespeare, Austen, etc. However, concerning national, modern classics Dr. Seuss would certainly be at or near the top of that list.

A brief overview of three of Dr. Seuss’ books will highlight the messaging that Seuss books convey:

The Sneetches teaches a wonderful lesson about a community of creatures who gauge status on the presence or absence of a star on their belly. The story summarizes the futility of judging people on the basis of their outer appearance and rather understanding that we are all the same on the inside. I particularly love this book for its lesson on humanity and because of its phrase stars upon thars. It’s delightful to read aloud!

In Horton Hears a Who, we are admonished that a person’s a person no matter how small. I’ve considered this a pro-life message since I began reading the story to our children over a decade ago.

The Butter Battle Book published in 1984 is lauded as teaching tolerance and respect and I would further add that it is a cautionary tale of war. I couldn’t help think of the Cold War the one and only time that I read the book with my kids. It’s one I intend to revisit.

When we erase historical events and people in our history with whom we may or may not agree , we erase our national identity and our shared heritage of both the virtuous and the vile. Additionally, when we ban books and limit the free speech and expression of authors and artists we are weakening the ties that bind us as a culture and nation. We are stifling learning, discussion, debate, and connection within and among our people.

Last week Amazon removed the book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by conservative author Ryan T. Anderson from their platform. This book was published in 2018 and had been sold on Amazon since its release at that time. You will want to listen to The Briefing with Al Mohler to summarize this topic and then to his interview with the author on Thinking In Public which took place in 2018.

Make no mistake, a minority of our population which communicates with the majority megaphone wants to dismantle our country’s heritage and further strip away all sacred beliefs exercised in the secular realm. Put another way, our country’s Judeo-Christian principles are systematically under siege and we must determine as a populous and as individuals where we will draw the line and upon what ground we stand on.

While Dr. Seuss and Ryan Anderson’s books are for two vastly different audiences and entirely different purposes the attacks on them come from the same point of reference: that which is deemed counter to the current woke narrative must be erased and silenced.

It is time we reencountered our original national book. It is the only one that will save mankind–God’s Word.

Let me go on record as saying: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As for our home library, my husband and I will determine which literature to allow and what to ban for our family’s consumption. In the words of Martin Luther: Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

Please visit my online bookshop where you will find books for life. BrookesBookshop.com.

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Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Booklist: Medieval History to The Gulf War

Welcome all Classical Conversation families! Additionally, welcome to homeschooling families that use this list to supplement their medieval history study!

A few notes about the arrangement of books in this post:

    1. This booklist is a tool and not a checklist! Please use it to supplement your morning time routines or studies of CC memory work.
    2. My family will not read all these books listed each week. Instead, this will be a reference list for me to utilize in weekly book selections and in chapter book read alouds or read alones.
    3. The pictured links in the twenty-four week lists are arranged by picture books first followed by chapter book selections.
    4. Additional chapter books, audio books, missionary studies, and fine arts books, including a poetry section, are listed after the twenty-four week suggestions. 
    5. I will not be providing a download of this list, but encourage you to write these suggestions in under the Memoria section of your Foundations Guides.

It is my hope that this list proves to be a wonderful resource for your family enabling you to make memories around the shared experience of reading great books. Enjoy!

*All links below are affiliate links.

Week 1:

What Really Happened In Medieval Times is a wonderful resource filled with 8 biographical short stories on figures such as: Joan of Arc, Saint Patrick, Martin Luther, and more.

Week 2:

 

Geography: English Channel

Week 3:

Geography Selections: France

I Juan de Pareja is a chapter book set in Spain and based on a true story. This is one you will want to read to the entire family ages 8/9 and up! A personal favorite of mine.

Week 4:

 

Week 5:

The Book of Boy holds some religious beliefs that you may want to clarify or discuss. Perhaps it is a good one to read like a book club with your older students such as 5th and 6th grade. Check out this review over at Redeemed Reader. 

Timeline:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Week 8:

Week 9:

Geography Selections:

Week 10:

Geography Selections:

Week 11:

I was unable to find many resources on the French Revolution, with the exception of the two chapter books listed above (one of which was suggested by a reader), so I have opted to provide more books featuring France instead.  Please  leave  your  suggestions  in  the  comments  section. I welcome them!

 

Week 12:

Week 13:


Week 14:

Week 15:

Week 16:


Week 17:

Week 18:

Week 19:

A Single Shard is one of my all-time favorite books. Perfect for a meaningful read aloud!

Week 20:

Inside Out and Back Again is a book written in prose. The protagonist is based on the author’s real life experience moving to Alabama as a refugee after Vietnam. This book will provide many good discussion points about the treatment of people who are different from us in nationality, traditions, and religion. Check out Redeemed Reader’s post for discussion questions! 

I suggest these two incredible books by Gary Schdmidt for read alouds. The Wednesday Wars for upper elementary and middle school, and the second for middle school due to sensitive content. These are two of my very favorite books! The Wednesday Wars ties in Shakespeare as well which is a bonus!

Week 21:

My Brigadista Year is a coming of age story set in Cuba just before the Bay of Pigs. Probably a good fit for 5th or 6th graders knowing that propaganda is woven in the story as a reality of the time and setting. However, I loved this story because it tells how Cuba became a literate nation in such a short amount of time. You can read more about this book over at Common Sense Media. 


Week 22:

Week 23:

Week 24:

 

Audio Resources:

Additional chapter books to read aloud or to read alone:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is the first of a four book series by Andrew Peterson. Read more about the series here The entire set is found in this book:

 

 

Missionary Biographies set during or just after WWII:

Supplemental Geography:

Books about our Great Artists:

 

Music for Composers Study:

Poetry:

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Classical Conversations Booklist Cycle 1: Ancient History

Welcome all Classical Conversation families! Additionally, welcome to homeschooling families that use this list to supplement their ancient history study!

A few notes about the arrangement of books in this post:

  1. This booklist is a tool and not a checklist! Please use it to supplement your morning time routines or studies of CC memory work.
  2. My family will not read all these books listed each week. Instead, this will be a reference list for me to utilize in weekly book selections and in chapter book read alouds.
  3. The pictured links in the twenty-four week lists are my top suggestions for families new to Classical Conversations or with first year, abecedarian, students. I wanted to make this easy for you!
  4. The books are arranged in alphabetical order per week first by picture books, and then chapter books.
  5. Please leave any additional suggestions your family enjoys in the comments below. Thank you!

*All links below are affiliate links.

Week 1:


How Many Animals Were on the Ark?
Cabinet of Curiosities: Collecting and Understanding the Wonders of the Natural World
Karl, Get Out of the Garden!: Carolus Linnaeus and the Naming of Everything
The Seven Days of Creation
The Real Story of the Creation
The Real Story of the Flood
Adam and His Kin: The Lost History of Their Lives and Times
How to Think Like a Scientist: Answering Questions by the Scientific Method

Week 2:


The Assyrian Empire’s Three Attempts to Rule the World : Ancient History of the World | Children’s Ancient History
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science
Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems

Week 3:


Something From Nothing
Snow in Jerusalem (Albert Whitman Prairie Books (Paperback))
The Bronze Bow

Week 4:


Hosni the Dreamer: An Arabian Tale
Pyramid
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Week 5:



Cleopatra
Exodus
Pagoo
Temple Cat
The Egyptian Cinderella
the How and Why Wonder Book of Sea Shells
Tutankhamun
Boy of the pyramids, a mystery of ancient Egypt;
The Golden Goblet (Newbery Library, Puffin)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile (Puffin Story Books)

Week 6:


Galileo and the Stargazers
The Hero and the Minotaur
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth
Archimedes and the Door of Science (Living History Library)
The Children’s Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy
The Children’s Homer (Audiobook)

Week 7:

Augustus Caesar’s World
Beyond the Desert Gate
The Bronze Bow
The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt (Dover Children’s Classics)

Week 8:


From Cone to Pine Tree (Start to Finish Second Series)
Gandhi
I is for India (World Alphabets)
Oh Say Can You Seed?: All About Flowering Plants (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)
The King’s Chessboard (Picture Puffin Books)
The Story of Little Babaji

Week 9:



A Single Pebble: A Story of the Silk Road
Kites
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
Ruby’s Wish
The Curious Garden
The Empty Pot
The Magic Pillow
The Master Swordsman & the Magic Doorway: Two Legends from Ancient China
The Seven Chinese Brothers (Blue Ribbon Book)
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
The House of Sixty Fathers
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze

Week 10:



Grandfather’s Journey
In the Eyes of the Cat: Japanese Poetry For All Seasons
A Tree Is Nice (Rise and Shine)(Science)
The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks (Picture Puffins)
Today And Today
My Side of the Mountain (Puffin Modern Classics)(Science)
Pocket Guide to the Outdoors: Based on My Side of the Mountain
The Big Wave (Deals with death and religion-Excellent book!)

Week 11:


The Reason for a Flower: A Book About Flowers, Pollen, and Seeds (Explore!)
This is Rome: A Children’s Classic
Polycarp of Smyrna (Heroes of the Faith)

Week 12:


Genghis Khan (Illustrated Biography)
Marco Polo

Week 13:


A Boy Named Giotto
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (Irma S and James H Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature (Awards))
Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa

Week 14:



Anna Hibiscus (Set in modern day Africa, but a beautiful and loveable story series that will charm your readers!)
Anna Hibiscus (The audiobook is equally beautiful!)
A Rock Can Be (Millbrook Picture Books)
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (Rise and Shine)
King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian
Masters of the Renaissance: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and more

Week 15:



Around the World in a Hundred Years: From Henry the Navigator to Magellan
To the Top! Climbing the World’s Highest Mountain (Step-Into-Reading, Step 5)

Week 16:


The Corn Grows Ripe (Puffin Newbery Library)

Week 17:



Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale (Picture Puffin)
Stories From Africa
A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story (Violent content that may be suitable for your older children; however, a lovely story of hope and restoration.)

Week 18:

Secrets in Stone : All About Maya Hieroglyphics

Week 19:



Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Week 20:


Hallelujah Handel
The Snake Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series) (Geography)

Week 21:


Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic (Science)

Week 22:


If You Were Me and Lived in…Peru: A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World (Volume 12)
Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu
My Name Is Gabriela/Me llamo Gabriela (Rise and Shine) (English, Multilingual and Spanish Edition)
Paddington (Geography)
Secret of the Andes (Puffin Book)

Week 23:


Chatter, Sing, Roar, Buzz: Poems about the Rain Forest (Poetry)
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest
Victoria Goes to Brazil (Children Return to their Roots)

Week 24:

Additional Resources:

In studying ancient history, our children are exposed to many different religions and worldviews. A wonderful way to reinforce the Christian worldview within other cultural contexts and religions is through missionary biographies. Heroes Then and Now provide wonderful biographical accounts of missionaries in the countries we study in history and geography. If you are unfamiliar with this series, I would recommend this starter kit. It contains four missionaries in geographical locations we memorize this cycle and the fifth is Corey Ten Boom which you could use for geography;y and history study in Cycles 2 and 3.

You might also consider these two:

An action packed, science audio series we love in our home is Jonathon Park. Here is the first complete set; there are ten in all and we have enjoyed and learned so much from each and every one. This series reinforces the creation perspective and the effects of the world-wide flood.

Two excellent history resources that we used before include:


Story of the World, Volume 1 Publisher: Peace Hill Press (Audio Version)

For study of composers:

For a closer look at how children live in the countries found in our memory work this year consider this:

I am adding the Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers after seeing a comment on the Classical Conversations Facebook Page that it is fantasy written allegorically to the life of King David. How exciting! So let’s say it fits shall we?  I have the first book already on my shelf and can’t wait to dive in. Also, listen to Sarah Mackenzie of the Read Aloud Revival speak with author, Jonathan Rogers about this series and his other works here.

Finally, this last book has been such a valuable resource not only in compiling this list, but in studying the world with our children on numerous occasions. If you don’t already own this book by Jamie Martin, you will want to add it to your library of books on books.

You can now purchase my book, Thirty Balloons: An Adoption Tale, on Amazon.

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Remembering Our First Foster Care Experience

This week we celebrate the one year anniversary of our youngest son’s adoption day. What an unbelievably arduous and adventurous process that adoption has been for our family…and we are not done yet! But nearly, praise the Lord, we are nearly made one in name, number, and wholeness as this coming Monday we will receive the adoption case manager for our youngest daughter.

However, today I am reminded of where our adoption journey began as we received our first foster son six years ago. I think back on how naïve we were. How ready we felt to change the world little knowing how very much our world would change. To celebrate National Foster Care Awareness Month I have rounded up all my previous posts, posts dating back to 2012 when we were first foster licensed, and conveniently placed them here for you.

I can scarcely remember the family of four we were prior to this grand journey our family embarked on half a dozen years ago. Our two oldest children’s lives have been forever impacted in both good and challenging, but primarily positive ways, due to our choice to foster and adopt. They have known a mom and dad under more stress than they would have had we not invited beautiful children and the state into our home to share it as our own. As you will see in these posts, they were babies themselves, four and two years of age, when we began. Our children came to know Christ in these years. They converted from not only our son and daughter but moreover to our sister and brother in Christ, and they have indeed born their crosses beside us and brandished shield and sword to fight on behalf of the fatherless turned family. I am so grateful for their stance beside their father and me. I can’t wait for you to walk down memory lane with us. May it be a hall of calling for some to join us as you pass our pictures and posts here.

Would you do me a favor? If you know someone or a community of people embarking on their foster journey, would you share this post with them? I think they will find a friend and a familiar narrative to the ones playing out in their minds as they begin journeys of their own.

So take a trip down memory lane with me as you read these posts and follow a mom’s raw and authentic heart’s cry of can we do this, give me eyes to see as you see Lord, and concluding thoughts that changing the world for one child is worth everything. 

Tomorrow’s Race (here)

Pour Another Cup (here)

Simple Addition (here)

Lessons for Everyday (here)

Lord Give Me Eyes to See (here)

I Must Remember This (here)

Confessions of  A First-Time Foster Mom (here)

Seven Books That Encouraged Me Along Our Journey (here)

 

 

You can now purchase my book, Thirty Balloons: An Adoption Tale, on Amazon.

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Of Conductors and Worldview: A Trip to the Orchestra

My two oldest children and I attended a Coffee Concert series with the Florida Orchestra twice over the last few weeks. I love to visit the orchestra. It reminds me of dance classes in younger years; the music surrounds you and all you can think about is the present. The sights, sounds, and emotions that the music conjures within help to focus and calm you like few other experiences. The orchestra also lends to time to ponder and ask questions.

As I studied the musicians and the two different conductors, I couldn’t help but evaluate the importance of their jobs and the styles of the two. I questioned: wouldn’t a group of seasoned, talented musicians be able to play a well practiced piece by simply following the music? They can keep the rhythm and tempo themselves, right? I am not alone in asking these questions. Consider this post from NPR about the difference a seasoned versus a novice conductor makes in the performance of an orchestra. Or this article from the BBC which outlines what a conductor actually does. It would seem that a conductor makes all the difference in the quality of a performance.

Coming from an audience participant, I know that the conductors, at least in the Coffee Concert Series, provide a description of the musical piece, its history, and anecdotes about the composer. Once I have been given this information, I can visualize the score better and understand what the composer is trying to communicate with clarity.

Isn’t God the Grand Conductor?

I believe that God is like a conductor, and Easter is a beautiful score in the musical drama of time and space as we know it. The symphonic score of God, particularly as it pertains to creation, the fall of man, and man’s redemption through Christ, provides the background information that we need in order to understand the world around us. Just as a conductor shapes our understanding of a symphony, so too God forms our worldview with His grand story. Apart from God and His Word, the Bible, I would not be able to answer the questions of life: what is the chief end of man, where did man come from, what went wrong, how can what went wrong be remedied, what is my purpose, and what happens after we die? He, as Conductor, shapes all that I perceive and study around me. A biblical worldview is the only one I have found to withstand such questioning.

So too, the Lord as Conductor, signals to His instruments and lets them know when to play, when to rest, when to increase the tempo or slow it down, when to play a soft note or one with vibrato. God orchestrates our movements if we follow His lead. Even considering last week’s post, God will give wisdom, knowledge, and joy. (See Ecclesiastes 2:26) That is why I can question more over meager because He will answer my questions with a direction, a signal, a command. He will look at us as a Conductor towards His musicians and gesture with His hand and eyes that our turn awaits, our moment has come, our opportunity to play our portion of the symphony has arrived, for such a time as this… Or, we will see that His hand is set towards us to wait and watch.

It’s is amazing what thoughts can come to us on a trip to the orchestra. These were mine. Have you encountered thoughts leading you towards the resurrection, Easter, or worldview in your everyday occurrences this week? Please share.

Below I have linked to several resources that are helpful with a study of the orchestra and classical music. We are diving into six weeks of music study in our home education and will be using a few of these. Following these are some of my favorite and most trusted worldview resources.








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Standing At the Gate

Last year my family took our first trip to Busch Gardens, a local theme park full of fabulous rides and amazing animals. We met up with some friends and our children quickly ran off to ride a few of the roller coasters. After several turns on Cobra’s Curse, a few of us wanted to try out Cheetah Hunt. Cheetah Hunt is known for its speed and length.

As several of the kids, and two of us parents, raced to the entrance, the park worker stopped my oldest son and measured him.

You have to be forty-eight inches to ride this particular roller coaster. Our son was only forty-six inches. His heart fell as did his dreams, and the empathetic feelings of this mama bear soared. We encouraged him that when he grew the required height we would be back to tackle the coaster.

Imagine his excitement as month after month he longed to grow those two additional inches to return and ride Cheetah Chase. Now, fast forward one year. Not only has our son grown three inches, we additionally purchased annual passes to Busch Gardens as our children’s Christmas presents.

Last week we took our first trip to enjoy our annual passes. The weather was a beautiful, crisp fifty-five degrees. While wonderfully unexpected cold weather for southern Florida, it was apparently not the ideal conditions for theme park rides as our two favorites were shut down for most of the day.

As we were about to exit the park without having rode a single coaster, we heard Cheetah Chase running and my two oldest kids and I ran to claim our place in line.

We patiently and expectantly waited our turn. Soon enough, we were the next to board, standing at the gate moments away from his and my first time on the ride when suddenly we hear, Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you we are experiencing technical difficulties and Cheetah Chase will be closed at this time. We have no way of knowing how long a delay this will be. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Disappointment and sadness momentarily came over my son. We had to get back to my husband who was watching the two younger children, one of which most certainly needed a diaper change by now. I couldn’t wait an unknown time to be the first in line on a ride that had shut down multiple times that day. I didn’t think that would be wise of me as a mother. Let some other people be the first to try it I explained to my children after begrudgingly waiting five minutes for the problem to be fixed. All the while we waited watching a coaster full of people stuck a few feet away on the track.

As we were leaving the park, and a few times after that, I told my son how I was sorry we couldn’t ride Cheetah Chase, or even Cobra’s Curse, that day. But I was certain God was growing character in him, even as he had grown him already in height, and for that I was grateful. I explained to him that in the waiting he was developing character and patience. Delayed gratification is a good thing after all.

We as parents often pray for our children that they would grow like Christ, in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52) However, when it comes to the means that God may allow for that growth, we instead ask Him, please make a way for my child, please let this cup pass, please allow this process to speed along, please let him or her make the team Lord, please give them… xyz.

We ask for growth in wisdom and stature and we need to lean in and trust God’s processes even when it hurts. Moreover, we, you and I, emphasis on I, must learn to thank Him for those times. That’s hard! As fleshly parents we want the easy way for our kids. But the Bible tells us that God’s way is the straight and narrow road, even as His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and few find this way.  (See Matthew 11:30 and Matthew 7:13)

You see, my son has lamented his size in comparison to his peers only a few times. I’ve prayed and sympathized over it multiple times hoping he wouldn’t be burdened with comparison! He accepts who he is and leans into the gifts of determination, tenacity, grit, and encouragement that God has given him. Even if he doesn’t consciously recognize this at his young age. His size is something God is using to conform him to the image of Christ.

What about you? What are you standing at the gate of, next in line and awaiting your turn? What seems like you are forever waiting on? Now ask yourself, what lessons am I learning in this waiting? How have I changed as a person because of the delays in my life? So that, when your turn comes, when my turn comes, we will walk through the gate a changed person from the one that first approached it.

Standing at the gate with you,

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Over 50 Books to Highlight Orphans and Celebrate Adoption

It is wisely proposed that you will be the same person ten years from now aside from the books you read, the places you visit, and the friends you make. Today I want to offer you a list of over 50 books that highlight orphans and celebrate adoption; books that may forever change who you are and who you are becoming. The common thread of these books are that the main characters are orphans, or their lives directly impact orphans. An orphan/ adoption story doesn’t a good book make, but a host of great literature is composed of stories of tragedy, triumph, and grit of young men and women who have lost their families and the journey that they take to overcome the difficulties of their past and present. These are stories that will either reflect your own life, or provide windows to view and learn from lives unlike yours– perhaps lives that you and I can impact for eternal good.

Whether you are an adoptive parent, or a biological parent, seeking books to celebrate your adopted child, champion the cause of the orphan, or encourage your child’s journey, I am sure you will find many stories on this list that will forever capture the heart and imagination of your family. I suggest you pre-read these stories to determine which ones will be best suited to your children if you have children who are sensitive to sorrow. I have personally read each book and would read them to our family according to the age separation that I made on the booklist.  Some of these stories have happy endings, some do not. I have noted the books which present with violence and sensitive content. You know what will be a trigger for your child for either healing or hurt. Many of our children come from hard places, therefore, while reading stories with death or domestic violence will not affect some children, others are highly sensitive and may need to read more lighthearted tales.

 

Another note which I have made on some of these stories involve worldview. Your worldview is the paradigm or framework with which you answer the main questions of life: why are we here, how did we get here, what is the chief end of man, what happens to us after we die? If this is a new topic for you, you may want to read more in my post, Mothers with a Worldview (here). Specifically, in A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the word magic is capitalized signifying that magic is a deity. This promotes a worldview of mysticism. Additionally, a few passages in the fascinating fictional book, Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter, struck me as promoting a naturalistic worldview. (Read more about this worldview here.) Freckles is a book worth reading and highly recommended! The characters and beauty of the limberlost will remain long after the last page is read. However, though these are two wonderful books with touching stories about orphans, there are also conversations worth having concerning them. (As a side, I noted profanity in the book, Freckles, due to a few times in this book when the Lord’s name is said in an irreverent manner.)

Many of us, no doubt you if you are reading this post, want to supply our children with books rich in truth, goodness, and beauty all the days they are growing in our home. Further, we want them to choose such books for themselves when they are grown and gone from our nest. I have come to the conclusion that many books are good and beautiful, fewer are true, good, and beautiful. Each can be read and appreciated when they are looked at through the proper lenses. We want to equip our kids to recognize and differentiate those books which are simply good and beautiful, and those books which are all three. Next we want them to cling tightly to the true, esteem that which is beautiful, and take the goodness with them always.

I hope that in reading the books found on this list and having conversations about them, that this end of instilling truth goodness and beauty will be met in your home. Further, that the hearts and minds of your children will be encouraged and equipped to show love and kindness to all people, accept who they are and their story in your family, and dream big. With God, all things are possible!

If you have other suggestions to add to this list or specific questions about any of the books therein, please leave a comment or email me at Brooke@ThisTemporaryHome.com. Also, a loving thank you to Kasia at Simply Pchee for designing this beautiful download for us all to print and enjoy. Visit her amazing design sight here.

Happy Reading!

Order your copy of my new children’s book,Thirty Balloons: An Adoption Tale, on Amazon!

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Using Books to Cultivate a Heart for Orphans and Adoption

My passion for adoption started growing long before my adult years. It came as a result of the planting of the Holy Spirit, and it also came in the form of story. Books cultivate life experiences in a safe environment and develop compassion and sympathy, passion and purpose, in children prior to their ability to act on those feelings.

As we enter into the cooler, cozier days of November, it is a perfect time to introduce, or perhaps continue the narration of, stories to our children which cultivate a heart for orphans and adoption. There is a lengthy list at Good Reads and here are a few of my favorites to get you started. I tend to recommend these as read aloud books to be shared with the whole family in order to encourage dialogue. Not all of these books are serious, but they all prompt us to think about orphans and begin cultivating a heart for orphan care and adoption in our homes. As with all books we share with our children, please be sure and preview the content to make sure it is age appropriate and sensitive to the specific environment of your child’s history and emotional maturity.

Don’t have children of your own? That’s okay too! As C.S. Lewis stated, A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.

Read Alouds for K4-3rd grade or older:


Read Aloud Books for 3rd and Up:

 

 

Older students (young adult):

 

One more that is on my to-be-read pile and was recently highlighted in this week’s episode of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast is:

Which books have you used to bring awareness of orphan care and adoption into your life and home? What books would you add to this list? I have always gravitated to books about orphans and in the coming weeks will unfold as much as I am presently allowed about our current adoption journey. Stay tuned!

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If I Could Give You One Gift It Would Be a Library Card

One of the great things about being a parent is that you get to catch up on all the books you missed in your own childhood!

~Gladys Hunt, Honey for a Child’s Heart.

library fun

Next month I am throwing a favorite things party for our homeschool community. At this party, each woman is to bring one of her favorite things to share with five other women. My husband wittingly quipped, Are you giving five library cards? What a fabulous idea! If I could give each person a library card I would–but, alas, an address and phone number is necessary for each account!

This summer we have participated in the Give Your Child the World Reading Challenge with Jamie Martin of Simple Homeschool and Sarah Mackenzie of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast. In the challenge, we read wonderful literature based on different countries and regions around the world every week for eight weeks. Each book we selected came from Jamie’s beautiful new book baby, Give Your Child the World. A thorough list of books for students of all ages broken down by world-region.

My favorite time of day with each of our three children, and as a family, is the multiple times we sit and read aloud together. There is something about the shared story, vocabulary, and experiences that the pages of good books provide.

It is not necessary to have monetary means to travel the globe or walk in another man’s shoes. All we really need is a library card and a good list to guide us. This summer I spent my many hours reading several books about books. It may be a bit of an overkill that I take four books to my local library each week, several times a week, to guide my family’s reading selection. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I want to share a list of books to help guide your family’s reading choices and direct your heart and mind to ponder the importance of reading together as a family to shape the character of your children and generations to come.  These books are rich and make wonderful additions to any home library.


Based on my review of each of the book lists, I would suggest starting with Honey for a Child’s Heart and Give Your Child the World. They help shape our parent hearts and present the information in an easy-to-read format. Utilizing these booklist books, we have chosen several new family favorites this summer; including these three:

What are your favorite books that you have read together as a family this summer? Where do you turn to help make your book selections? I would love to hear your ideas!

May the books be plenty and the hours spent together engrossed in a wonderful story be multiplied,

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