Heart Reflections Live

It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing yesterday of veteren actor, Fess Parker- the world lost "Daniel Boone" and "Davey Crockett" in the same day...

I grew up watching these alongside my younger brother, and I really lament the loss of such shows for the current generation. Being the mother of two sons now, as well as two daughters, have brought these ponderings to the forefront of my mind again. Who have todays generation of young males to look up to- Bart Simpson and Harry Potter? Or here in Australia, I'm sorry to say, one of the biggest TV hit shows last year was "Underbelly", the true story of some of the biggest crime families in recent history- what sort of a world is the media trying to promote?

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article- still in my archives- "The Deceptions of A Manufactured Generation"- things have degenerated further since then. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to buy good wholesome shows on DVD- "The Andy Griffith Show" and we have nearly all "The Little House on the Prairie" series. I'm determined our sons will have wholesome heroes before their eyes.

Films like "Old Yeller" and "My Friend Flicka" are good too, as they paint a picture of adolescence being a time to begin to grow into manhood and learn responsibility, unlike the current trend of Peter Pan living and rebellion.

Maybe now that Fess is gone, we'll consider adding his two famous heroes to our boys collection.

One thing's for sure... Zachary and Christopher will see Godly, manly heroes in our house.

Labels: pop-culture, Teaching children, The twins

When I started school in the 1970's, these Happy Venture Readers from the 50's were still in use. I'd been looking for one for ages, and yes, one turned up in a garage sale in my hometown.

The books, though very simple, are based on PHONICS not sight words, and I'm using the phonetic word lists at the back to get 4 year old Zara started with reading.

When you compare these lovely old readers to the more modern ones, you can really see the literary decline even over the last 40 years...

Labels: Books, Teaching children

Labels: Books, reading, Teaching children

In our quest to keep all things pure and lovely before our children's eyes, one thing we love to collect are vintage children's books.

The illustrations are far more beautiful I believe than many of the more modern children's picture books, they concentrate on stable families and good values,traditional gender roles, and I love the clothing.

These are just a sample of many we've picked up recently from garage sales for next to nothing. Sadly, but happily for us, no one seems interested in them anymore.

Phillipians 4:8 is a great guideline for choosing products for children in this wicked age. As well as vintage books, we look for Bible Stories with reverent realistic pictures, good Christian books, and old classic novels with good morals. Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy, I'll post a few close-ups for you.

Labels: Books, reading, Teaching children

We have our family devotional time at the start of our homeschool day, and at the moment we are taking our girls through the 10 commandments. We have 2 books that we are using besides the Bible: One is an old Rand Mcnally book by Mary Alice Jones from 1950's that the girls love. We were really touched by the explanation of the 3rd commandment, and I'd like to share it with you...

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Exodus 20:7

THE GREAT GOD, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is the holy one. Men do not speak of him carelessly. They speak of him reverently. They speak of him lovingly. For God is very great, and God is very good. The heavens declare his glory, and all the inhabitants of the earth stand in awe of him. He makes light to shine out of darkness and tells the number of the stars. He heals the brokenhearted and is mindful of all his children. He is God. His name is holy.

Labels: Devotions, holiness, Teaching children

Labels: homeschooling, reading, Talitha, Teaching children

"The Princess and the Kiss" by Jennie Bishop, is one of our daughters' favourite books, and one that I would personally like to recommend to other families.

It's a cleverly written child-friendly fairy-tale, complete with romantic, medieval-styled illustrations, that extols the virtues of purity, and of "Saving oneself" for marriage.

There are many wonderful lessons contained in this story, and it's fun to help your children discover them. My children and I would talk about the suitors that the Princess turned down, and we discovered that Prince Peacock, Prince Romance and Prince Treasurechest never mentioned God in all their dealings with her. I also liked how the man she finally married, politely approached the Princess through her parents.

If you want to bring your children (male or female) up with principles of godly courtship, as opposed to worldly serial dating, then this book is a wonderful tool. As with teaching modesty, it is never too early to impart teaching on these important issues eg. children accustomed to wearing board shorts over their bathers from early childhood, will generally follow through into their teens- try suggesting this to a teen who has never been taught these principles from childhood, you may have a battle on your hands!

Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

For Australian readers, I ordered this book through Koorong for $25.95- it may be a little more now. I believe Jennie Bishop has also written another book especially for boys- "The Squire and the Scroll"- it may be worth checking out too.

Labels: Books, reading, Teaching children

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, wrote these words back in 1884, "Think of the possibility of raising a multitude of men and women whose bodies have never been poisoned by vicious indulgences, whose minds have been enlightened and filled with the principles of Divine truth from their infancy, and whose hearts, from their earliest days, have been inspired with the love of Christ and possessed with the one supreme ambition to glorify the Father, dethrone the devil, destroy sin and save the world!"

Labels: godly living, Quote, Teaching children

Labels: family, generations, godly living, heritage, Teaching children

Those who know me well, know that my taste in music is definately, well "Old Fashioned". The music I grew up with ranged from classical to orchestral (Mantovani) & all the great voices of the early 20th Century. These were played on the record player at our family home & also at my paternal Grandparents' place. We were all lovers of great music. I never really got into rock, unless you can count Elvis Presley, as my Dad & I used to dance to his music together around our living room. His music always brings back "Precious Memories" to me.

My husband shares many favourites with me. It seemed only natural to bring up our children with some of the same sounds. One of our favourite genres these days are Hymns. I' m hooked on them. Our children are learning to love them too.
One of my favourite times during the week is when it's my turn to do the school run with Talitha. It's 25 mins each way, so hubby & I share the job. We cruise along & I'm always flipping the car radio between our local Christian Station (plays everything from hymns to contempory) & the local Nostalgia station which plays music from mainly the 1920's to the 1960's. As soon as anything too modern for my tastes comes on I flip back to the other station. Talitha & I laugh & talk & share all the way home.

We were talking in the car the other day, when something came up about Bing Crosby. I told Talitha how much I enjoy his Christmas carol CD's. Talitha suddenly piped up with, "Bing Crosby- Is he married to Fanny Crosby?"

I managed to stifle my giggles & explained that they were born many years apart. When I told my hubby later , he ripped with laughter! Never one to miss an opportunity, we did Fanny Crosby's "Praise The Lord!" for devotions last night! Their musical & Christian education continues!

Labels: funny, Hymns, music, Talitha, Teaching children

I'd been thinking for some time about using some of the special Christian days on the calender as an opportunity to have a fun learning time with the children & to help them have an appreciation for Church History & to learn of those who've gone before us in the faith.

So the morning of St Patrick's Day found me ironing green outfits for all the family.This was fun for us adults too, as my hubby has Irish blood in his family. I only have one Irish Colleen in my family tree I'm aware of- but it's better than nothing!-I'm mainly from English & German stock).

I started by explaining to the girls that St Patrick was the man who brought Christianity to Ireland & they watched the Veggetales flannelgraph animation of the story. We then sat down with a Church history book with illustrations from which I read the brief story of St Patrick & also of St Columba-the Irishman God sent to bring Christianity to Scotland.We studied a map of the British Isles finding where they came from & went to. We then relaxed and listened to some Irish/Celtic style praise & worship music, followed by some Celtic guitar.

That was just about the extent of it for this year. We stayed home not really being into the green beer bit & all that goes with it. One year it might be nice to take the children to see some Irish folk dancing.

Do any other Mums out there have any ideas to share from what they do with their children to celebrate some of the other Christian holidays on the calender, or St Patricks Day? I'd love to hear your ideas.

I also found out recently that Oct 31 is Reformation Day- the anniversary of when Martin Luther nailed his complaints against Roman Catholicism to the church door. This could be a fun learning day with German food & finding out more about Martin Luther at their age level-any ideas?

Labels: Church History, St Patrick's Day, Teaching children