See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 
1 John 3:1-3

Lyrics

Behold th’amazing gift of love
The Father hath bestowed
On us, the sinful sons of men,
To call us sons of God!

Concealed as yet this honor lies,
By this dark world unknown,
A world that knew not when He came,
Even God’s eternal Son.

High is the rank we now possess;
But higher we shall rise;
Though what we shall hereafter be
Is hid from mortal eyes.

Our souls, we know, when He appears,
Shall bear His image bright;
For all His glory, full disclosed,
Shall open to our sight.

A hope so great, and so divine,
May trials well endure;
And purge the soul from sense and sin,
As Christ Himself is pure.

Yesterday morning in church I was introduced to this lovely hymn.   I've posted the lyrics we sang above, but according to Cyber Hymnal the original lyrics were quite different.   We also did not sing it to the original tune, but rather to the tune of Amazing Grace.   Our congregation is somewhat older so we often switch tunes to more familiar ones when singing a new to us hymn.

Are not the lyrics full of who God is?  And the love that he holds for us.. just amazes.

Anyways, the story behind the song?   Let's see if we can find one.  :)

This hymn was written by Isaac Watts.  Born in 1674 to a schoolmaster, he was an intelligent child, studying latin at age four and writing poetry by age 7.  He became a pastor as an adult within the Independent Church.

He was challenged by his father (who was tired of his complaints) to write hymns because he often complained as a teenager that people were so lack-lustre in their singing. 

The following week, the adolescent Isaac presented his first hymn to the church, "Behold the Glories of the Lamb," which received an enthusiastic response. The career of the "Father of English Hymnody" had begun.  (source)

His style of hymn writing wasn't without its detractors as he used different tunes other than familiar metrical ones.   He would base his hymns off psalms and verses, not using some parts, and using others which some folks found hard to understand. (source)

Isaac Watts was not a man with a strong constitution, his health often failed him, but he loved preaching and did it as often as he could.  He was an intelligent, gentle soul who wrote many hymns and books.  He wrote nearly 30 theological treatises; essays on psychology, astronomy, and philosophy; three volumes of sermons; the first children's hymnal; and a textbook on logic that served as a standard work on the subject for generations. (source)

Sources:
wholesome words. Wiley online library.  Christianity Today.  Cyber Hymnal.  Hymnary.

Recently FlyBy Promotions sent me a book called My Mother's Quilt: Devotions of Love, Legacy, Family and Faith.   This is a lovely book, all about quilts and the women who created them, by Ramona Richards.   Stories of faith, stories of quilting, stories of family.

About the book:Inspired by thirty family heirloom quilts, each devotion depicts the enduring legacy of faith, family and tradition. Rich, personal, sometimes heartbreaking, often funny, each reading provides a lesson and encouragement from the faithful women who crafted the quilts.

Full-color photographs of each quilt show the style and artistry of each beautiful work. The quilts, sewn by several generations over more than one-hundred years, are as unique and lovely as the hands that created them. The oldest was buried during the Civil War to keep it safe and the author's mother created the newest in the last years of her life.

221 pages, 30 quilts, scripture and prayer.  

My Thoughts:
I have to admit, that my thoughts on this devotional are quite mixed.

They are!

There is so much I like about this book.   I love the family-ness of the book, the author is personal and inclusive in her talk of her family and how quilting in a part of it.  Faith is intertwined into her family and their quilting.

I was impressed with the quality of the photographs included, full-colour, just lovely.  It was so neat to learn some of the stories behind the quilts AND how they helped to age them.   It made me immediately think of a friend who would thoroughly enjoy this book.

The aspect that I struggled with is.. this doesn't FEEL like a devotional to me.   It simply doesn't.   It reads to me like a collection of neat stories, around the whole world of quilting, with a scripture verse and a prayer slapped on each story.   BUT I am admittedly tough on devotional books.  I get frustrated with nice stories being called a devotionals when often the scripture used and the story told don't have a direct connection.    This book didn't do this all the way through, but a few them left me scratching my head...

I had a friend over last night though who read through a couple of the devotionals who promptly said "I WANT IT!  This is such a neat book and I love it, and when I am done I'm giving it to my mom!"   So I told her I was giving it to someone else and she should enter the contest to see if she could win it herself... I apparently need to send her the link ASAP.  :)   So there you go.. It's a good read, and the pictures and stories are great.  Check it out today.  

About the Author:

Ramona Richards is an award-winning editor, speaker, author of nine books, and a frequent contributor to devotional collections. An avid live music fan, Ramona loves Nashville, which she’s called home since she was ten. Sensing her mother was near the end of her life, Ramona documented her mother’s stories and lessons behind each family quilt. These stories form the devotions in My Mother’s Quilts. Find out more about Ramona and her books by visiting her online at ramonarichards.com.

You can purchase your own copy of My Mother's Quilt HERE.

Life has been busy for the past while... I sometimes feel like I am on a roller coaster... but it's okay.. I have moments to breathe.. I have to, my achy feet won't let me continue to do too much all the time.  Anyways, thought I'd share some of it.

Putting new walls on my rabbitry.  I needed to make a change that would keep my bunnies cooler this hot summer, my solution was to build walls that air could pass through freely.  They are MUCH happier now.

We have squeezed in field trips, day camps, working at the food bank, actual hands on book work and my son is delighted that I mostly have him following our summer schedule of Veritas Press bible and history, math and 1/2 hour reading daily.

Reading books and writing reviews... it all takes time you know.   Formatting, creating pictures, thinking of how to write them, and actually writing them.

Doing Art With a Boy child, doing an official program which takes WAY longer than our 15 minutes of art a day that we've been doing...

Taking pictures of flowers and posting them to facebook, such a fun way to connect with friends and family. 

Rhubarb season is in full swing so I've been making Rhubarb pudding, cake, crisp, sauce and more.  

I also been coping with a hubby not home, hot weather, rescuing bunnies from heat stress, writing blog posts, and..... Preparing for a yard sale.  We'll be moving at some point (though we don't know when quite yet) so I'm clearing book shelves and selling what we don't need (including bunnies) and just tidying things up. 

I love keeping stuff and this house is amply filled with the evidence of that.   So it's very hard... actually REALLY REALLY hard to weed through stuff and see what doesn't need to stay here from old clothes to books to just stuff...But hopefully I can get rid of stuff that I really don't need and just get on with the rest of life eh?   In the end I don't want to move stuff that we really don't need.  :)

Chris Pauls and Matt Solomon have co-authored an intriguing book called "The Giant Smugglers".   Written for the Middle School audience, this book is an interesting and fun read that my son and I enjoyed over the past month.

Book Synopsis:
Charlie Lawson, living in a crummy apartment with his single mom, in small town Richland Center, Wisconsin, lives to play his video game, where he's the undisputed Total Turbo champ.

Charlie deals with bullies and boredom in his middle school until he stumbles onto something big happening inside the abandoned warehouse across the street from his house. Specifically, someone big. He befriends Bruce, a twenty-foot-tall teenage giant, who Charlie must keep a secret.

Charlie isn't the only one in town who knows what's hiding in the warehouse. Powerful, ruthless forces are closing in, and they'll stop at nothing to acquire a giant.  Does Charlie have what it takes to protect the biggest and best friend he's ever had?

Our thoughts:
My son really enjoyed listening to me read this book with him.  He could have read it on his own, but currently he's in the midst of reading through "The Unwanteds" and it's fun to read through new books together eh?   :)

Anyways, interesting book, that in story form introduces one to the dangers of steroid use and thinking of something bigger than yourself.   And Charlie really NEEDS to think of something bigger than himself, and he gets that not only with a big friend, but he gets it spades when his new friend is attacked!   Can he find a way to help Bruce?  

He did.   His wayward brother shows up, a nasty nasty man comes a-calling, a rather poorly behaved lad (due to his father's lack of foresight) discovers meddling is something he shouldn't have done (I actually felt sorry for this lad... he was pushed down this path by his dad focusing on the wrong aspect of life), greed and revenge play a hard role, and in the end... Bruce is free and clear and Charlie is reunited with his family.

Good book overall.  Tons of topics to be covered (we had good talking points given in this book), or just a good book to be read.

Worth a read by your middle school student. 

I have to admit, I want to know the story behind the nasty guy.   What's the deal with how he got to be who he was, what's with the cat suit and the injections, and the equipment... just curious about him...

With my Sweetheart away this week, and needing to go to Guelph the other day to sell some rabbits, my son and I thought we would make a day of it and see some of the Guelph sites. We chose McCrae House and the river that ran nearby it.

www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields-inspiration.htmJohn McCrae was a Guelph Resident and he was responsible for writing a poem that many people are very familiar with.   He was a young artillery officer and military doctor and one of the young men under his command died in the Battle of Ypres. 

Depending on who you believe, this young man's death was the inspiration for the poem, or it could have been the poppies growing, or it could have just been boredom speaking.  :)   Either way, his poem lives on.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The house was beautiful and the grounds were so well kept.  It was too bad it was so hot out, it would have been lovely to sit out there for a while and watch my lad look for spiders among the hedges.

Inside the museum we came upon this lovely map.   It was SO pretty.. I'm not sure that's the right word for it.  But it caught our eyes and we stood in front of it for quite a while looking it over really well. 

"Mom, why does it have all these place names?" 
"Why doesn't it look like our map at home?"
"Is it a real map or a fake one?".. he then started checking it over, my attention-to-detail lad, and noticed that the creases in the map weren't real creases and realized it was a replica.

John McCrae was part of the army, so we learned what the mess kit looked like.

We discovered and talked about how a man can have a close relationship with his horse and dog..."but mom, he really needed to have a cat!"

It was not a big museum and once we got past the map, we saw everything they had rather quickly.  There were other things to see, but these were the highlights for us.  If you ever have a chance to visit Guelph, take a peek inside!   On a nice day, bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the serene grounds.   $5 per person to get in, open Tues-Sun.

When we were done, we headed across the street to sit in the shade of some trees by the river.  The lad chased a young robin, and was stunned by the sight of a tree growing through a cement block.   He noted how it bent out the concrete.  It seemed a strong vigorous tree.  The goslings we saw were farther along then ours at home.

It was very restful sitting here, watching the water, listening to the sounds of people in the distance, "mom, would be even better if there was a big row of trees over there, then we wouldn't see the buildings, it would be even nicer then".   And it would have been, but it was still nice.

We then headed off to the Civic Museum, which I will post about another time.  :)

Want to see a NEAT book on the human body?  You must check out this book from Silver Dolphin Books.  It's called 3D Explorer: Human Body, discover the fascinating secrets of the human body.

It's a hands-on, check out the human body book!   5 different pop-ups of different aspects of the human body WITH a key to understanding them!   Full colour illustrations. Images to help define harder to understand terms.. like the drawings showing the different types of joints we have.  Complex 3D images, Easy to read. 

My lad is always interested in learning things about the world around him, and that includes how we work.  He will frequently come to me with new stuff that he has learned and that has amazed him.   Take for instance this one on how the immune system works.

Or about a month ago, I was browsing in one of the thrift stores and we came across a technical book.. I think for doctors to learn all the parts of the body... EVERYTHING was broken down so we could look up how the ear works and we could see the tendons that are not working right in my feet and legs.  It helped both of us gain a better understanding of what is going in our bodies.

NOW.... This book doesn't have that technical detail (neither should it) but it has a ton of interesting facts to amaze and delight, not only your children, but you as mom and dad as well.   My son's response to the 3-D images was "oh wow, look at this mom!"

For those to whom it matters it does contain some evolutionary stuff in, but not much and could be easily bypassed (or used as a talking point).  

The book starts off with "What is a Human" and proceeds from their to different aspects of the body, pulling up 3D images of Bones and Muscles, The brain, the eye, respiration and digestion.   It closes off with a page on the human life cycle and what it takes to grow well (ie. a balanced diet).

Each 3D image is presented with a section inbetween them, thereby adding strength to the pages.   They come with a Key to help you know what you are looking at.

I appreciated the full colour illustrations, as well as how they used colour to delineate different areas of the book. 

As I read through this book I could see myself using it to teach a co-op class.   The text was informative which makes the job a whole lot easier, having the 3D models makes it so handy to view and understand.  My lad enjoyed going through the book, I have to admit, he focused on the 3D pages more than the rest (less reading you know) but he overall liked the book.    "It gives good details mom" and "I like how the pop-ups show more than one layer mom".

Raincoast Books generously provided with 3D Explorer, Human Body to review, I found it VERY interesting, and if purchasing it would find it good value for the money.   It is suitable for ages 7 and up, but the technical language may need to be read as it does talk about endrocrine, pariental etc.  Using the correct terminology it's a book I will pull out again next year with my lad as we cover some specific aspect of how the human body works.

Revelations 19:12, “...and on His head were many crowns.”

Lyrics

Crown Him with many crowns,   The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heav’nly anthem drowns  All music but its own!
  Awake, my soul, and sing  Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King  Through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,
Those/rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of heaven: One with the Father known,
One with the Spirit Through Him given From yonder glorious throne.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me;
Thy praise and glory shall not fail Throughout eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of lords, who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, for ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me;
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.

Alternative verses
Crown Him the Virgin’s Son,   The God Incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won,   Which now His brow adorn:
  Fruit of the mystic Tree,  As of that Tree the Stem;
The Root whence flows Thy mercy free,  The Babe of Bethlehem.

Crown Him the Lord of peace,  Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease,  And all be prayer and praise.
  His reign shall know no end,  And round His pierced feet
Fair flowers of glory now extend  Their fragrance ever sweet.
The full 12 verses can be found here.

To my surprise I learned that this hymn has both protestant and catholic roots, depending on who wrote which verses (or how they changed them).   It's like HUH?   Anyways, let's learn who wrote and why shan't we?  :)

 Matthew Bridges originally penned this hymn in 1851, he was a man who disliked the catholic church, wrote a book listing it's faults, yet later found himself a member of it.  But by then, this hymn was a rather popular one being sung in protestant churches as well.  So Godfrey Thring grew concerned that protestant churches were learning Catholic theology through this hymn and wrote six new verses to it, in1874 these verses were written.  Overtime the verses have become confused until the most popular verses remain sung regularly.

Go figure eh?  I found this whole thing just fascinating.   In the end we ended up with a hymn that uses three verses from one author and three verses from another, in a hymn that is just a great one full of the doctrine of God.  Isn't it great how it all works out?

Some addition resources you might want to check out.
Hymnsite. ShareFaith.  Discipleship Ministries.

Could this book have been more timely or what?
My lad.. interested in outer space.
And what does Raincoast send me?   A great great book on How to be a Space Explorer!   Just so timely and perfect!

This book has everything young explorers need to know about travelling in space.  Real-life photos graphs, experiments to try out at home, interviews with real astronauts, what life is like in zero gravity, finding your way around the solar system and...how to pee in a spacesuit.  :)   

Great illustrations and wonderful pictures guide your child on their journey on How to be Space Explorer.  Lonely Planet, cooperating with author and astrobiologist Mark Brake, have combined to produce an outstanding (and helpul) book on Space Exploration.  Geared for 8+.

As you can see from the table of contents the book contains a well of information.  One of the things I appreciate is the different forms this information takes.

From quirky astronaut drawings that draw your attention to important details (for instance that 1/3 of all astronauts get space sick)  To the full colour illustrations scattered through out the book.

This book is a resource you can use for quite a long time (or perhaps want to give a home on your shelf).  Learning about mission, astronauts, needed supplies, equipment, the planets and their moons and so much more.

I have to admit, I liked this book.

• Well written.  The knowledge is presented as if they were talking to a person, for instance, "So how do we solve your fuel shortage problems for deep-space travel?"   It's all YOU the astronaut and what YOU will need and issues that YOU need to figure out.  This makes it a child-friendly book. 
• Full-colour illustrations, and real-life photography where appropriate.

How to be a Space Explorer is written by Mark Brake and is published by Lonely Planet Kids.  It is a hardcover book 160 pages long, making it good value.   I was sent a copy by Raincoast Books for my honest review.

It's getting late and I need to be getting to bed, but I wanted to take five minutes to do up a post for five minute Friday.  :)

This week the word prompt is Want.

Want... I had a whole post in my head about this word and you know what my body wanted? 

SLEEP.

I fell asleep and my lovely hubby texted me and scared me awake.   But that meant my "want" to get the post written and my "need" to get sleep were at war with each other and sleep won out.  :)  

But seriously... what does that word want mean anyways?
It can be a pointless thing.. because so often what we want gets supplanted by need or desire for something different.  Our "wants" are often so very fleeting, or in light of a bigger picture, deemed as lacking in importance.

So should we really truly pay attention to those wants?

Wouldn't it be far more advantageous to focus on need?
Need is different than wants.  Wants are nice I grant you that..  They are.  Like I want that green shirt rather than the pink one... Why.. because green is better.. but the need is actually more simple.... I NEED to have clothes to wear.  Clothes to cover my body that fit in with the weather, societal concerns and such like.   The want, really, how important must it be?

We live in a world it seems were WANTS are supplanting need.   I get told I need "take time for myself", that "I NEED to focus on me and what I want out of life".   But you know what.. I DON"T NEED to do that.  Focusing on me comes naturally.. and God wants me to do more than focus on ME and what I WANT. 

Jesus didn't WANT to die for us.  He didn't.   He gave his will over the Lord God and did what was NEEDED.   If he had merely focused on his own wants... then the whole world would have been condemned forever.

Satan has done an admirable job of bringing our selfishness into the front and making it seem so natural and right.   Conversations of "well, if it works for you it's all good" or "Do what seems right to you", or "it's a sacrifice to care for your children", or "let the village raise your child".   It's all Satan getting on to us about looking at our own wants before we see the needs of those surrounding us in our lives.   

What I want is transitory.   Selfish desires.  Short-term satisfaction.
What I NEED is sustaining.. clothes, shelter, food, faith in God.   The wants make it nicer and show our individuality... but the needs are basic, if we see the needs more, I think it will make the wants more sustainable, and help us to see the needs of those around me, around us, more clearly don't you think?

......

yes I know... longer than the normal five minutes!    I am forgiven?  :)

 You know how sometimes you can be given a book and someone says "read this" and you do and you are surprised by what you learn?

Well.. let me introduce to you "We Will Not be Be Silent" written by Russell Freedman.

I was stunned.
Carefully crafted with eye witness testimony.
Filled with black and white historical photographs.

I had never heard of the White Rose Society before.   Learning what the Hitler youth groups were all about, seeing the growing disillusionment, until one day they reach this zenith>>>>>>  "what in the world are we waiting for?   Until one day the war is over and all nations point to us and say that we accepted this government without resisting?"

I have to admit, before I read this book, that is EXACTLY what I thought.   Of the German people, so conditioned to obey governmental authorities, that when Hitler said "do this", like a herd of cows they simply set to (except for those who helped the Jewish people escape).   I didn't for a moment really think of anyone in Germany fighting back against Hitler and his rule (and agenda).

I can't say it was an easy book to read, but it was a good book to read.
To read of these young people actively fighting a regime that would kill them if it could (and eventually did).  BUT their actions made waves.  Hearts and minds were challenged to consider what Hitler's actions were doing to the German people.  Their love for their country and their fellow man... it mattered and it showed forth in their bravery and determination to do what was right.

"Today, the members of the White Rose are counted among the legendary heroes of World War II."  (p.82)

This book will be going back onto my shelf to use with my lad when we study World War II.   It was a fascinating book that gave me a different perspective on the German people of that era.