What I'm Reading and Our Homeschool Read Alouds ll May 2025

 What I'm Reading:

Experience Jesus. Really. by John Eldridge

See my full review here.

Saving My Assassin

by Virginia Prodan

This powerful memoir follows Virginia Prodan as she grows up in communist Romania.  After becoming a lawyer, she starts defending pastors and churches.  It's through her political activism that she becomes a target of the government, and eventually has to escape with her family.  Incredible story of prayer, perseverance, and the Lord's protection.

More Than a Carpenter

by Josh McDowell

Similar to Case for Christ, More than a Carpenter lays out a logical sequence for coming to Christianity.  This quick, short read is perfect for middle school or early high schoolers.

Ballet Shoes

by Noel Streatfeild

Pauline, Petrova, and Posy are sisters.  Well, sort of.  They live a quiet life until one day they realize the money is running out.  Their benefactor, Gum, has been gone for several years, and their guardian, Guarnie, is doing the best she can to make ends meet.  As part of their plan, the girls are enrolled in a dancing academy where they will eventually learn skills for helping the family.  Pauline and Posy love the stage while Petrova desires a mechanic's life.  Through all their ups and downs, the girls' hard work and determination carve out their futures.

Our Homeschool Read Alouds:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

Janner, Tink, and Leeli live in a small cottage with their mother and grandfather.  Most days are humdrum, except for the occasional Thwap captured in the garden.  Until one day, the three head off to the Dragon Festival alone and run into a bunch of unfriendly Fangs of Dang.  There they are catapulted into a journey of discovery, uncovering long-hidden family secrets.

Bruchko by Bruce Olson

 

At 19 years old, Bruce Olson set out to bring the gospel to a remote South American tribe.  Despite disease, loneliness, torture, and an immense language barrier, Bruce makes contact with the tribe and is eventually welcomed into the family.  Through it all, Olson's faith takes him through impossible situations, including flood, several near-death experiences, and kidnapping.

What are you reading?

Experience Jesus. Really. {Review}

In our present age, we're used to instant access to information.  Social media gives us a high of connectedness.  We are addicted to distraction and busyness.  Author John Eldredge would call us "disciples of the internet."  But all this comes at a cost.  Have we traded deep spiritual connection with the Creator for a cheapened version of fulfillment?  How can we access the ever present God when we live in a world of skeptical pragmatism?

Eldredge awakens his reader to the reality of God's nearness and how we can become more aware of Him.  He explores the idea of modern mystics, those who seek to live close connection with the Father, while still living in our 21st century world.  And he hopes to answer how can we return to this deep communion with God despite the distractions that are all around us.

I really enjoyed this one.  Eldredge breaks down what it looks like to be in such intimate relationship that we find complete fulfillment.  He highlights the need to return to the Lord again and again in order to keep us centered and living in true purpose.  Some of my favorite quotes from this book include:

• You are a disciple of the systems that tutors you, where you turn on a daily basis for guidance on living.
• But now, when you turn to Jesus and you are not answered in the way the Internet answers, you feel he isn't listening or that you can't hear from him.  You sadly believe the two of you are distant from one another, because your soul has been programmed for immediate responses.  The notion of lingering before God doesn't fit with the pace we've come to expect.  That's one example, but the effects of Internet discipleship go far, far deeper.
• Friends- we need daily encounters with Jesus; that is what we are after.  Nothing else will address the human condition.
• When we understand mysticism as simply the daily experience of God and His Kingdom, we can say that mysticism is the normal Christian life.  Which is to say, it is human existence put back on track.  This is what Eve and Adam enjoyed, and it is central to God's restoration of humanity.
• Our being can actually take refuge within the begin of God.  We can experience being surrounded with the presence of God and His mighty kingdom in the same way you can jump into the ocean.

And that's just the tip of the very beginning of this book.  It is FULL of practical wisdom and encouragement, leading the reader into a deeper communion with our Lord.  I can't wait to read it again.

*Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

 

Five Ways to Add Fun to Your Homeschool Day

*This post was originally published on 2/1/19.  Enjoy!

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Teaching Your Kids How to Treat Books

 *This post was originally published on 9/7/16.  Enjoy!

We are a small house with big readers.  All three of my kids started reading at four years old, and of all our homeschooling accomplishments, giving them a love for reading ranks as #1 in my eyes.  But between the public library, the school library, and our own personal library, there are literally hundreds of books in our home at one time and with the privilege of reading so many books, comes the responsibility of caring for them.  So how do you teach your little ones, and your big ones, to care for all these books?  I've compiled 5 tips to get you started in teaching your child how to treat books.

1. Picking Age Appropriate Books-- Just as you wouldn't give a child a butcher knife, so you're also not going to hand a 2 year old a first edition Velveteen Rabbit.  The goal is to cultivate a love of reading.  So fill your home with chunky board books in a variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction.  Make them accessible and allow your child to "read" on his own initiative, free from the worry of tearing pages.

For older children, verse yourself in the classics.  Fill your home with Treasure Island, Peter Pan, and Pollyanna.  Look for stories that have stood the test of time.  Introduce well-rounded, beloved characters and thoughtful story lines.  A loved book is more likely to be treated with care.

2. Everything in it's place--As I've said before, our house is small.  But we've always found room for books.  Still having a home for all these books is important.  Children can't be expected to take care of books that don't have a place.  So in our home, we have three bookshelves, one in each kids' room and one in the living room.  Beyond that, we have a designated shelf in the entertainment center for library books and heavy canvas bags for transporting borrowed books back and forth.  All library or borrowed books stay in common living areas and are put back on the shelf after use.  We talk to our kids about the privilege of borrowing other people's books and how important it is to return them in good shape.

3. Keep pencils, markers, stickers, and more, out of reach--Little ones look at books and they see paper.  What fun it would be to fill all that paper with their own illustrations and stories!  So pencils and markers (as well as stickers, scissors, crayons, etc) are kept well out of reach and only used with mom's supervision.  We talk about how books contain someone else's stories, and if my little one wants to write a book, he can write on some of mom's copy paper.

4. Valuing the old as well as the new--I personally have a love for older books.  Not only are the story lines often rich, but I like to imagine the many people who have loved and enjoyed that book through the years. Maybe that's why I'm enchanted by used book stores.  Not only are there new stories to discover, but there are notes inside covers, dates and dedications written between family members, and even more history than the book can ever tell.  So we take our kids to used book stores, book sales, yard sales, and search out these treasures.  They've learned that whether a cover is worn or the pages are yellowing, there's still a whole world to discover.  And sometimes that makes them even more valuable.

5. Let them see you read--The more my kids see me reading, the more they realize what a privilege it is.  What we model for them is often times what they become.  So when it's reading time for the kids, I do my best to read as well.  We talk about the stories we're reading and the books we would or wouldn't recommend.  And we also talk about using a good bookmark, how to place a book on the shelf so the pages won't fold, reading books with clean hands, and more.  And by them seeing me reading, they realize that I'm following my own advice and take it to heart.

Wherever life may take them, I hope that my children will take a love of reading with them.  And when they outgrow a book, I feel confident they will leave it behind in good shape for the next reader.

How do you teach about/organize books in your home?

What I Read and Our Homeschool Read Alouds ll April 2025

What I'm Reading:

Living Fearless by Jamie Winship

Author Jamie Winship has lived and worked in some of the most volatile places in the world, helping leaders work through conflict and find resolution.  Through his experiences, he's found that much of the world's conflict is a result of fear and not knowing one's identity.  Using Biblical principles, even in hostile environments, he's brought peace and identity to many of God's children.  In his book, he teaches readers how to abide in Christ and sift their mindset, allowing God to use them wherever they are.  This is one of those books that requires multiple readings and deep soaking, but is so worth the time and effort.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

This one is a classic.  It's been quite some time since I picked it up, so I had it playing on audiobook this month.  Two sisters, two different temperaments, a repressed society, hidden love... mistaken intentions... it all comes together in one big happily ever after.

The Wonderful Wizard of OZ by L. Frank Baum

Another classic, but this one I've never read before.  It carries on much like the movie, but in the last 1/4 or so, it takes a decided turn as the characters must now use their gifts... brain, heart, and courage.  It's through their travels to different lands that they truly see what they're capable of getting Dorthy back to her home.

Our Homeschool Read Alouds:

The Cricket War by Tho Pham & Sandra McTavish

Based on a true story, The Cricket War follows a young boy, Tho, as he flees Vietnam in the early 1980s.  His family scraps together the money to send him to an uncle in America, but his voyage is anything but predictable.  Adrift on a small Vietnamese fishing boat... as a stowaway on a pirate ship... and waiting in a refugee camp, Tho dreams of reuniting with his family.  This age-appropriate read-aloud takes a closer look at refugee life without being too gritty for the middle-grade age.  The main character made the refugees' plight accessible and was a great addition to our history curriculum.

Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman

Kabir's mother was put in jail before he was even born.  So the women's prison is the only home he's ever known.  Now, at the age of 10, he's released and sets off to find the grandparents he's never met.  But life on the streets turns out to be unpredictable, and luckily, he meets Rani.  Together, they set off to find a family and hopefully free Kabir's mother.

This was very good, very well done.  I read it with my 8th grader, but we could have read it really anytime in middle school.  It's a tough topic, but the author approaches it with a lot of grace.

What are you reading?