Powerful Words

This post is a long time coming...

When he first penned The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak could not have known the phenomenon it would become. Set in Nazi Germany during World War II, Zusak’s novel is tragic, yet it should be cherished. While The Book Thief deals with hardship and heartache, it does so with sensitivity and insight. Zusak’s protagonist, Liesel Meminger, is a young girl whose life is changing. Her parents were communists, and they were taken away from her. While traveling on a train to her foster parents, her brother died. During the course of the novel, her foster parents hide a Jew. Max Vandenburg and Liesel establish a friendship. Adapting to her new life, she develops a need for words. Liesel longs to read; her longing translates into book thievery. In Liesel’s world, these words become very important. Liesel’s story is hard. It is not light; it is not fluffy. It is arduous. With every page, the reader is reminded of the grievous effects of World War II. It is then very appropriate that Death narrates Liesel’s tale.

Liesel’s tale is universal. While Zusak may have written The Book Thief for young adults, adults can enjoy this heartwarming story too. In fact, adults may appreciate it more. Middle-school readers may find The Book Thief too disturbing; the fear and violence may be inappropriate for young children. However, high-school students can (and should) read about Nazis Germany. Markus Zusak’s story may be the perfect combination of a history and literature study for these students. Young women may prefer to read The Book Thief more than young men because of a female protagonist. Though, these same young men may identify with Rudy or Max. As an adult reader, I loved The Book Thief. Initially, I found it hard to warm up to. However, given the chance, The Book Thief charmed me. I am almost sorry that I had never read it before; The Book Thief would have been the perfect addition to my homeschool curriculum.

The Book Thief deals with the bombing of Germany, the Holocaust, and lots of death. While it is terribly tragic, The Book Thief is very moving. Zusak’s prose is dynamic and effective. I cannot help but agree with Max, “The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words” (445). Understanding the power of words is a lesson we should all learn whether young adults or not. 

It's all about Maine, ya know

Noah and Maggie continue to teach me how it works being a homeschool teacher. I LOVE it! Their enthusiasm and patience are very much appreciated. 

Geography has never been my strong suit. But, with some maps... I can teach it too! :)

Maggie looks through the 50 states cookbook

"Noah, show me where Maine is."

So, what is the Great Portland fire?

Of course, the kids had some fun too. :)

And I found a new, favorite book. Abigail Adams. What fun.

Just what is a Palisade?

After some schedule rearranging, Cindy and I made a plan to me to visit and work with her kids on History. Though nervous (and excited), I set off praying that my time with the kids would be a blessing to them, a blessing to Cindy, and (selfishly) a blessing to myself.

And the day went beautifully! History was a blast. The lunch conversation was delightful, and the games were fun (at least for me ;).

Noah, Maggie, and I discussed colonial etiquette: "Do not invite yourself to someone's house. Do not give your advice unless asked for, then be brief." Did grammar: Their, There, or They're... And read books.

Evangelia, Jude, and I played the "PEG"gy Back game. Which is now my favorite game.

All of us played Star Wars. But, perhaps not the tradition version. There was discussion of whether Dooku's name was Darwin. :P

And I learned that pretzels are brain food. :)



Vocab for next week:
Palisade - a fence of pales or stakes set firmly in the ground, as for enclosure or defense.
Trencher - a rectangular or circular flat piece of wood on which meat, or other food, is served or carved.
BBLS - DOES stand for barrels.

And what was that other word? Hopefully, the kids will remember.

I apologize for the poor picture quality. I forgot my camera. :(

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day!

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Of all our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence certainly has some of the most stirring language. The charges against the King ring true even in our day... and to our government.

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance... He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation."

Yet, Praise God for our freedom. And for His grace.

Creation Museum

When my Dad suggested we make a stop at the Creation Museum on our way home from KY, all I could do was excitedly shout, "YES!" So on our way home, we stopped at the museum for 6 hours. And it was everything that I hoped it would be. :)

The staff were quick to welcome us... and point us in the right direction.

As soon as we acquired our tickets...

the displays amazed me. :)


The 7 C's were one of my favorite pieces of the museum.

Me, Daniel, and Mom in front of a cave display

I loved the museum's emphasis on the Bible's answers to life's problems/questions.
And the emphasis on evolution's lack of answers...

What are our lives without God?

Sin. Chaos. Death. Destruction.

But, God's truth is wonderful!
The creations videos, displays, and animations were excellent reminders of our merciful God.

The history walk-through was great.
From Adam and Eve's sin to the Great Flood.
From Babel to the Cross.
Man's sinfulness and God's faithfulness were before us.

I was so excited for the ark exhibit!

The story of Noah's ark had always been fascinating to me...
what a great experience to see a life-size "piece" of it.

The ark was HUGE! Daniel could have fit inside the walls. WOW.

Stay tuned for part 2...

John Dewey scares me

"[No] matter what the personal belief of any one about what is desirable industrially and politically, any one who is interested in peaceful evolution instead of violent and bloody revolution will realize the central position held by a genuinely free educational system in the peaceful development of society and will bend every energy to defeat the enemies, now so numerous and so active, of schools that are free in inquiry, in teaching and learning; that are intellectually and morally free, the only genuine kind of free school, which are our boast." ~John Dewey in his essay "Education and New Social Ideals"

Why does he assume that a revolution is coming? And of course, he posits that anyone who opposes his humanistic educational system must want a violent, bloody revolution. Dewey's educational system focuses not on the individual child, but the society at large ---> making children into the cogs of society. So, how is a government controlled, government regulated, government administrated educational system... "free in inquiry"? "Morally free" needs expanded... Are we thinking the 60's mentality? Yikes. Thoughts, anyone?

*Note: Many people I know were/have been in the public educational system. (My parents included) This post should not in anyway reflect on them... This post is designed to engage John Dewey and his education philosophy.

2 Thumbs Up

At last! The Young Victoria made its way to Morgantown. And despite the chilly, inclement weather, we ladies ventured out to see it. It did not disappoint. Fabulous costumes, music, cinematography (a personal favorite of mine =), and acting were all featured. Many of my friends love this story, and I'm sure we'll all have a copy in the future. It was an excellent addition to a wonderful day... If The Young Victoria graces a theater near you, it is well worth the price of admission. Though, if you're looking for A&E's Victoria & Albert, you may be disappointed. Personally, however, I enjoyed it more... especially Albert & Victoria -- I even "liked" Lord M's portrayal more. Three cheers for a great afternoon at the Warner. :-)

PH Memorial

WVU has the honor of maintaining the mast and bell of the USS West Virginia. And each year, WVU has a memorial for the men who died at Pearl Harbor.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending part of that ceremony. Being a history buff, I had to take some pictures... So, I hope your not too bored. :)

Pearl Harbor Day

On this day 68 years ago, Japan attacked the United States... and Germany declared war on us. The United States had now entered World War II. By God's providence, the Allies won. His compassion never fails. Praise God!

"The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. {They} are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22,23

Celebrating Freedom

20 years ago yesterday... The Berlin Wall came down.

Communism is not to be taken lightly; it has enslaved many peoples and generations.

Praise God for the freedoms He has given us and others. May we be good stewards of it.

MMW: Robin Hood -- A Legacy

When we think about Robin Hood, we think about the man who robbed the rich and gave to the poor... Yet his legacy stretches far beyond his influence stretches far beyond the Sherwood Forest, even to places we might not expect.

Superheroes get their names and stories from all kinds of sources. Superman grew into a legend from the imaginations of two boys, Spiderman crawled into comics from the creative genius of Stan Lee, and Batman began as a different kind of detective comic by Bob Kane...

One of DC's staple heroes got his start as Hood wannabe: Oliver Queen costumed as Robin Hood and transformed into the Green Arrow. And for a little while in the Smallville universe, Lois dressed as his Maid Marian.

You really don't have to look very far to see Robin Hood's legacy...

Economic Thinking

"Every individual is continually exerting himself to find out the most advantageous employment for whatever capital he can command. It is his own advantage, indeed, and not that of the society, which he has in view. But the study of his own advantage naturally, or rather necessarily, leads him to prefer that employment which is most advantageous to the society."

~Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations~

John Keats has got himself a movie

Partly because I studied Keats last semester and partly because I adore the regency era costumes, I would LOVE to see this movie. Anyone else interested?

On this day...

70 years ago a war erupted. 70 years ago a conflict began. On September 1st, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. What was to be the bloodiest conflict in Europe began a mere 70 years ago.


I stand in awe of history. God can do amazing things... He stopped an evil empire from taking over the world. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.

The Young Victoria

John Calvin's 500 years

Ever since I can remember, I have been named by Christ. I am a christian. Among the many branches of the Christian church, I have grown up in the OPC. I have learned from the time I was a child the doctrines that John Calvin put forth. And I identify myself as a Calvinist.

Happy Birthday, John Calvin. God continues to use your legacy and vision to bless many lives.


"All these things will be easily understood after we have given a clearer definition of faith, so as to enable the readers to apprehend its nature and power. Here it is of importance to call to mind what was formerly taught, first, That since God by his Law prescribes what we ought to do, failure in any one respect subjects us to the dreadful judgment of eternal death, which it denounces. Secondly, Because it is not only difficult, but altogether beyond our strength and ability, to fulfill the demands of the Law, if we look only to ourselves and consider what is due to our merits, no ground of hope remains, but we lie forsaken of God under eternal death.

Thirdly, That there is only one method of deliverance which can rescue us from this miserable calamity—viz. when Christ the Redeemer appears, by whose hand our heavenly Father, out of his infinite goodness and mercy, has been pleased to succor us, if we with true faith embrace this mercy, and with firm hope rest in it. It is now proper to consider the nature of this faith, by means of which, those who are adopted into the family of God obtain possession of the heavenly kingdom. For the accomplishment of so great an end, it is obvious that no mere opinion or persuasion is adequate. And the greater care and diligence is necessary in discussing the true nature of faith, from the pernicious delusions which many, in the present day, labour under with regard to it...


Although we have already in some measure shown how faith possesses Christ, and gives us the enjoyment of his benefits, the subject would still be obscure were we not to add an exposition of the effects resulting from it. The sum of the Gospel is, not without good reason, made to consist in repentance and forgiveness of sins; and, therefore, where these two heads are omitted, any discussion concerning faith will be meager and defective, and indeed almost useless. Now, since Christ confers upon us, and we obtain by faith, both free reconciliation and newness of life, reason and order require that I should here begin to treat of both. The shortest transition, however, will be from faith to repentance; for repentance being properly understood it will better appear how a man is justified freely by faith alone, and yet that holiness of life, real holiness, as it is called, is inseparable from the free imputation of righteousness.

That repentance not only always follows faith, but is produced by it, ought to be without controversy (see Calvin in Joann. 1:13). For since pardon and forgiveness are offered by the preaching of the Gospel, in order that the sinner, delivered from the tyranny of Satan, the yoke of sin, and the miserable bondage of iniquity, may pass into the kingdom of God, it is certain that no man can embrace the grace of the Gospel without retaking himself from the errors of his former life into the right path, and making it his whole study to practice repentance. Those who think that repentance precedes faith instead of flowing from, or being produced by it, as the fruit by the tree, have never understood its nature, and are moved to adopt that view on very insufficient grounds."

- John Calvin in Institutes of the Christian Religion

July 4th Weekend

Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise thee
For the bliss thy love bestows,
For the pard'ning grace that saves me,
And the peace that from it flows;
Help, O God, my weak endeavor;
This dull soul to rapture raise;
Thou must light the flame, or never
Can my love be warmed to praise.

Praise, my soul, the God that sought thee,
Wretched wand'rer far astray;
Found thee lost, and kindly brought thee
From the paths of death away;
Praise, with love's devoutest feeling,
Him who saw thy guilt-born fear,
And, the light of hope revealing,
Bade the blood-stained cross appear.

Praise thy Saviour God that drew thee
To that cross, new life to give,
Held a blood-sealed pardon to thee,
Bade thee look to him and live;
Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee,
Roused thee from thy fatal ease,
Praise the grace whose promise warmed thee,
Praise the grace that whispered peace.

Lord, this bosom's ardent feeling
Vainly would my lips express;
Low before thy footstool kneeling,
Deign thy suppliant's prayer to bless:
Let thy love, my soul's chief treasure,
Love's pure flame within me raise,
And, since words can never measure,
Let my life show forth thy praise.
- Francis Scott Key, 1817

How wonderful to sing a hymn written by a man who wrote our national anthem... on July 4th weekend! F.S. Key certainly had a proper patriotism, but even more glorious, he loved the Lord. Praise God for a godly history!

Historical Quotes

Excuse me, Mr. Paine

I think you've forgotten something.

There never did, there never will, and there never can, exist a Parliament, or any description of men, or any generation of men, in any country, possessed of the right or the power of binding and controlling posterity to the "end of time," or of commanding for ever how the world shall be governed, or who shall govern it; and therefore all such clauses, acts or declarations by which the makers of them attempt to do what they have neither the right nor the power to do, nor the power to execute, are in themselves null and void. Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the age and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies. Man has no property in man; neither has any generation a property in the generations which are to follow. - Thomas Paine in "From the Rights of Man"

Mr. Paine,
How very short sighted of you not to consider the actions of our forbears and our actions as important for other generations. Not only do the decisions of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents affect us, but their legacy is something to build on and move beyond. It is ridiculous to believe that our parents do not influence our lives. Our goals, our prejudices, our virtues were molded and shaped by our parents. Either in the positive or the negative. And not only do those who come before us change our lives, but the decisions we make will affect our posterity for generations to come. Our good, bad, and indifferent choices will make the world that our children live in. They will live will our debt, our freedoms, our shortcomings, our victories, our laws, and our faith.

We have a duty to the generations before us to build on what they have started. To improve it, and move beyond them. We have a duty to leave the world with a vision for our children. God made us covenantal beings. Each generation is not autonomous; we must live up to the goals of the past and to the hopes of the future.

Rick Warren's prayer

"Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.
History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.
Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray:

'Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' "

I was fairly pleased with this prayer... and I echo "Amen."