Winnie-the-Pooh- wooh!

In case you haven't noticed it appears my blog is commonly a critique on children's books.  I suppose it can't be helped considering I am a nanny who lives without tv and is in the country, and limited in any traveling. It's true. I <3 books!

As any mom/ dad or day care provider quickly learns, there are good children's books and there are bad children's books.  Not bad, R-rated, books like the recent hit (go the *bleep* asleep book), but the poorly written/illustrated/how did this get published books that leave you falling asleep or wishing you had!

However, Winnie-the-Pooh is not one of those books.  Master D and I have been chewing on these pages for quite some time.  Earlier in the year we dined on the classic beginning "Winnie-the-Pooh" with its complete tales and poems and are now onto "The House At Pooh Corner".  Next in line are "When We Were Very Young" and "Now We Are Six" A.A. Miline's compilation of poems, which we may/may not get to, considering I have a mere two months left of this nanny gig.  As you probably know Winnie-the-Pooh is full of delightful characters, oddities, and diddies that are sure to delight both child and parent.  If you don't have time for reading this one, apparently the spoken book on tape, cd, mp3, whatsnext file is a joy to listen to says my sister & brother-in-law (proud parents of 3 children 5 & under). 

And if you haven't the time to read them all before the release of the upcoming movie this Friday, don't worry, as I always say, "watch the movie first and then read the book!"  Because who ever says, "the movie was better?!" No one! So that way you enjoy the movie for what it's worth and then dive into the deliciously written detailed book and you can't complain about either!

In the words of A.A. Miline himself, in the voice of Pooh,


... 3 Cheers for Pooh! (For who?), For Pooh- 3 Cheers for Bear! (For where?) For Bear-- 3 Chears for the wonderful Winnie-the-Pooh! (Just tell me, Somebody-- WHAT DID HE DO?)

Milestones

In my OT readings I just finished up Deuteronomy and am now onto the conquests of Joshua. Moses, their fearless and wise leader has just died and Joshua is now in command.  After 40 years of rebellion & walking in the wilderness, with manna as their main dish with a large side of grumbling and complaining, its finally time for the people to take the land God promised them.  On the way over the Jordan (crossing over dry ground as God parts the waters for His people yet again) 12 leaders, one from each tribe, are told to pick up a stone. This is in obedience from the command the Lord told Moses (Deut 27) and the He kindly gave instructions and reminded them again when it was time (Joshua 4).

Now it says they carried them over their shoulder, so I am thinking it's probably something a little bigger than whats currently in your driveway.  They are then to place it in a pile  in the promise land.  Pile em up, so that when their kids say, "Um, mom, dad, why is there a mound of rocks there? and can I climb them?" They can say, "Well, boys & girls, your grandma & grandpa were disobedient to God and didn't believe He could do what He said, so they had to walk around for 40 years in a wasteland. After all of that generation died, God allowed us, their children to inherit the promise land.  So don't forget God's commands, His power, and that He will do what He promises!  He is in control of everything, even that river, so that when we came into the land we walked through it with the Ark of the Covenant (God's presence) on dry ground! ...And no, you can't climb the hill of stones."


Some of you might have sang the old hymn "Come Thou Fount", I'm pretty sure we sang it at my wedding.  Anyway, one verse has a strange phrase, which I have grown to love, "Here I raise my Ebenezer", which is a Hebrew word for "Stone of Help".  Samuel knew his history and knew the importance of remembering what God had done.  He dubbed the stone "Ebenezer" after capturing back the ark of the covenant from the Philistines.  This takes place just 4 miles south of the same place they originally celebrated God's provision.  Ebenezer is a word now used to describe something that reminds of God's love, presence & help.

I just celebrated my first milestone of 1 year of marriage!  I too can look back at God's faithfulness, my grumbling, and say God is faithful! :)  I am trusting in His promises that His grace and power are enough for the road ahead and man am I grateful for my husband who is an Ebenezer to me as well.  Thanks for sharing this journey with me sweetheart!

I hope your in the mood for a little African safari. 

Some Ants Toot- and thanks to my Editor

Wow. How have I gone over a year without watching the promise-to-make-you-giggle-age-old-tried-and-true-tested-strong-bad-emails?!
I know, I know, the 'immature', 'pointless', and 'dated graphics', with sometimes 'rude' behaviors may not bring a smile to everyone's face. But, wow.  This episode really makes my day.

"Some ants toot. Tee Hee."  It's really pretty priceless.  My husband pretty much serves as my white-out-editor like SB.  I really shouldn't write anything without his skills or my sentences/ paragraphs turn 'pauline' and go on, and on, and on.  Luckily, my hubby also has the ability to make sense of my nonsense in other ways too, like recognizing my many mispellings misspellings.  Thanks toots!

Speaking of Ants... they are crawling everywhere in this country home.  While writing this I've seen at least 3 crawl across the desk... either that, or one little guy is doing laps. Nope, there is more than one, I just spotted two at once.

What's your favorite SB email?

Treasure Island

Last month we finished up our second fiction book Treasure Island.  It went much faster than Robin Hood!  In all it was fairly enjoyable.  I suppose what impresses me more is the influence the book had on starting pirate trends-- such as the one-eyed pirate, the one-legged pirate, the parrot on the shoulder, and even the character of Long John Silver.

Cook & Pirate

Turned Chain-Food Store

Before reading the book, I had no idea that Long John Silver character was a 'bad guy'.  For some reason the fact that he was a pirate never clued me in to the murky moral substance of the man. It's interesting how we've turned something so clearly abhorrent (stealing, looting, deception, drunkenness, etc.) into a cute children's dress up play game. 

And of course, while I laughingly sang the "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" song with the rest of Veggie Tales fans, I wasn't (and am still not) concerned that the silliness of the song was sanctioning piracy.  Interestingly, the song turned to children's movie... but I haven't seen it, so will leave the critique for the movie critics!

I suppose the concept of pirates is one of a longing for adventure and treasure on the great open seas.  Something most of us know very little to nothing about and so it's appealing.  What I do appreciate about the real book Treasure Island is that it does not celebrate this occupation.  Long John is certainly no hero, but really a man to be pitied.  While his personality was likable, it was clear that his moral character was despicable, and that two-facedness about him made him even more so.

This is a good 'coming of age' book which could offer quite a bit of dialogue about loyalty, obedience, and courage.  It is most likely suited for the 8-13 year old who is beginning to understand the complexities of life.

Interestingly, the next book Master D and I picked up to read through during his 'play times' is The Magicians Nephew, the first of C.S. Lewis Chronicles Series mentions Treasure Island within its first few pages.  The Magician's Nephew, which was written last, is actually the prequel to The Lion & the Witch & The Wardrobe.  I am excited to savor Lewis's children's novels as I did not read them as a child.  Although, I have said he is my favorite author, I have mainly read his non fiction work.

What is your favorite Lewis book?

Mood Rings and Mood Dials

Master D just got a baby book that has baby faces on each page of different moods.  He loves it.  See five different photos of a sad baby, an angry baby, a silly baby, a happy baby, a sleepy baby and so on.  Amazing that even infants can read faces and understand the mood of another-- even mirroring it.

Moods are incredibly mysterious.  I am always trying to attempt to explain them... he/she/I/you am grumpy/happy/annoyed because of...
But sometimes there is no real explanation... even then I want to say, "they woke up on the wrong side of the bed."  Isn't it strange how you can wake up in a good or bad mood?  I'm sure these matters can be explained chemically in the brain, but even then, do we know why our chemicals do what they do?  It is certainly hard to parse out the difference of a physical/emotional/spiritual mood.

My 'down' state of the last few months was a real battle, it was the ditch that I had to 'climb out of' each day.  Being joyful took a real effort as my anxieties seemed to crowd out peace.  It was illusive despite my attempts to grab it or find it through exercise, Bible reading, knowledge, etc.  I'm sure my hubby would have appreciated a 'mood ring' on my hand that would make him aware of my delicate state... perhaps a 'mood dial' would be better.  We are currently reading a sci-fi book where people can dial in the mood they desire on their machine in order to feel what they desire.  Sometimes, I wish it was as simple as that.

There is something so incredibly human about having moods.  I like to attribute moods to our pets Gill (snake) and Jericho (cat).  And while, I might be somewhat accurate with Jericho-- I think he really has about 6 moods-- feisty, playful, cuddly, sleepy and bored.  On our playful 'face your feelings' chart taped to the refrigerator there are over 88 moods-- and I'm sure the list isn't exhaustive.  That's an insane amount of nuances to this little thing we call 'mood'.  And we love to share our moods with others!  Isn't that the whole point of bookface updates?  I want the world to know MY mood!

And understandably so.  To recognize and reflect another's mood can be healing-- it is the mark of empathy.  To mourn when another mourns and rejoice when another rejoices. (Romans 12:5)  In this sci-fi book the very ability to empathize properly is the litmus test whether it is a person or android.   I guess the question is ... how human are you?

 Gratefully God does not chastise our change and torrent of emotions, He is the great sympathizer.  The one who will "comfort those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4) understanding our weakness (Hebrews 4:15).  Somehow this ability to feel is incredibly marked from our Maker. 

Robin Hood Manhood

First of all, I have some disclaimers.
1. I am not a man.  2.  I am not Robin Hood  3. I likely have no idea what it would really like to be either.

With that said, I have a few gripes about this famous hero.  I'm a mere 25 pages from completing the 250 Robin Hood rendition by Howard Pyle.  It's been a long go of it, since I have been reading it out loud to my "charge" for the past 6 months!  It began as an attempt to regain sanity from reading some mindless children books.  I figured a small baby doesn't really care what you are saying, they're just needing to hear words.  However, if Master D's first few words are "Thee & Thou" and if later in childhood he calls his little guy friends who claim their territories in their backyards "yeoman", than it is my fault.

I grew up enjoying the cartoon rendition of Robin Hood.  It never really hurt my sensibilities that he 'stole from the rich to give to the poor', but as I reflect upon the writing of the 'real' book, it seems a little pompous of Robin Hood to feel he has the ability to redistribute the wealth.  In fact, I don't recall 'giving it to those in need' being a main theme of what he does with the money.  Rather, it often supports his large band of men, who have decided to forsake honest labor and live as renegades and rabble-rousers in the woods.

Now perhaps it is unfair to ask our 'superheroes' to live to the same social norms that we are called to.  But, what I don't like is that each chance he gets, he allures the best and brightest and gathers him to his posse to join a life of merriment, adventure, and hunting.  It reminds me a bit of Peter Pan's lost boys who never want to grow up.  They're something wrong with that, in fact our society is filled with adults who have no intention to 'grow up'.

The definition to 'manhood' includes other nouns like masculinity, spirit, strength, resolution, courage, determination, bravery, fortitude, mettle, firmness, hardihood, etc.  While at times Robin Hood displays an amazing amount of spirit, resolution and determination, it is often against the law (albeit an often corrupt law) and his 'bravery' must be called upon because of his very resolve to find trouble.  However, there are a few occasions where he uses his strength and courage for the welfare of others, which is to be commended.  I suppose when it comes down to it, I'm saddened that these 'heros' are off fighting battles (often that they pick) and have abandoned society and family life.

I think there's a great deal of resolution, bravery and maturity that it takes to live an ordinary life.  One where a man must sacrifice daily and look not only to the needs and interests of himself.  So, three cheers to my husband.  Thank you honey, for not running off into the woods and playing with bows and arrows, but being willing to give up some game in order to have our shared adventure of life!

There seem to be a lot of people addressing this need for 'manhood' in our culture, here are a few resources I've heard:  

 Stepping Up by Dennis Rainey the host of Family Life Today

  

Men's Fraternity by Robert M. Lewis

 

And how could I forget Wild at Heart by John Eldridge

Any thoughts or suggestions on manhood resources?
Any good adventurous books that we'd actually want our 'Little Men' to emulate?

 

A Wicked Linneage, Even Child Prodigy Derails in Midlife Crisis

(A sad & scary story not to be read at bedtime.)

Once upon a time there was a vile king (we'll call J-ram) who had a father (J-phat) that had served God and the people when he was king. But J-ram didn't care about anyone but himself and many people in his kingdom revolted.  He was so bad that God made him die of an awful and painful disease.  Because he had been so wicked no one was sad he was dead. He died 'to no one's regret'.  

J-ram's son (whom we'll call Ah-ziah, like a bad sneeze) was just as bad as his dad.  He killed all of his older brothers so that he could be king.  Jehu was a righteous man who was sick of all the evil Ah-ziah had done, so he took out the rest of J-ram's grandkids and Ah-ziah to make sure the evil stopped. 

But the crazy queen mother (wife of J-ram, who we'll call Atha-liar) was so upset that her wicked son Ah-ziah (the king) was killed she murdered all the rest of the royal family so that she could reign.  Secretly a princess (J-the-best) hid one of the royal family, baby Joash, so he wouldn't die. Joash was hidden in the temple for six years while Atha-liar, the wicked queen ruled the land.

When Joash was seven years old a priest (we'll call Je-da) gathered together all the other priests and organized a revolt.  The priests were to protect the young Joash and have them stand guard so that they could put the crown on him and anoint him as king.  When Atha-liar heard everyone yell "Long live the king!"  She knew she was busted and her evil reign over.  She was punished in the same manner she had gained the throne.

Joash reigned for 40 years!  He made a covenant with God and the people to do what was right.  He even repaired the house of God so that it was no longer in shambles and Je-da, the priest gave him good counsel.  Sadly, after a long life Je-da died.  He was such a help that even though he was a priest he was buried with the kings. (Unlike the previous kings J-ram & Ah-ziah who the people buried elsewhere. They didn't deserve the honor.)

Now, you would think Joash would continue to honor God and the people.  He had served them and had been blessed by doing what was right.  But Joash liked the approval of others more than God, and when some bad princes came and told him to serve other gods, he listened.  Perhaps he was insecure and wanting friends, "the little king who had grown up too fast" and who had missed out on his "teenage rebellion stage", but  unfortunately his midlife crisis would effect more than just him.  God cared about Joash and the people he led.  God sent Je-da's son, Zechariah (Zeek for short) to tell Joahs to "Knock it off!"  But Joash put mud in his ears and stuck his tongue out (okay, not really).  He actually did much worse than that.  Joash didn't want to hear that he had messed up, so he killed Zeek.  Zeek, the very son of the man (Je-da the priest) who had protected, cared, and counseled him.

Well, as you can imagine, God was not very happy with Joash.  God allowed a smaller army to over take Joash's army.  Joash was wounded in battle and survived, but his servants killed him anyway because they thought what he did to Zeek was wrong.  And again, no one wanted to bury him with the kings because he had been B-A-D.  

And that my friends is an excerpt from the Chronicler.  Real stories, told real fast, with real lessons to be learned.  

One:  Listen to God, He actually wants your Best, 

Two:  Listen to people who also follow God, they're not selfish morons, 

Three:  Don't listen to people who want to take God's glory and give it to another,  

Four: The worship of things other than God (idols) brings about death and destruction.

Bible Characters: (2 Chronicles 21-24)

KINGS 

J-phat (Good King)  Jehosaphat

J-ram (Awful King)  Jehoram

Ah-ziah (Wicked King) Ahaziah

Atha-liar (Evil Queen) Althaliah

Joash (Good Guy turned B-A-D) as himself

The good 'guys'

Jehu (warrior) as himself 

J-the-best (Princess) Jehoshabeath

Jehoiada (Priest) Je-da

Zeek (Prophet)  Zechariah