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Reading, Art, and Guilt — a Guest Post

September 8, 2015 by Esther Filbrun · 1 Comment

8 Sep

Twice in the past two months I have had an “ah-ha!” moment. Both times, I suddenly had an answer to something that I had been feeling guilty about for years.

I was reading by the time I was three years old. When I was a baby, someone gave my mom a book, something about “Teach Your Baby to Read.” I was the first baby, so she had time, and she made flashcards to put on objects all over the house. I can’t remember not being able to read, and I’m guessing maybe she eventually regretted teaching me that young, as I quickly developed an addiction to reading! I remember being excited to start first grade, but then being very disappointed because the first day of first grade the reading lesson was simply, “God.” I was reading whole books by then! I spent hours and hours reading thousands of books as I grew up, and put that love of books to good use when I started a bookstore in my late teens. However, after I got married, little by little I started feeling guilty for loving to read, and guilty for taking time to read when there were other things to do, as there always are. Comments some people made such as, “I only ever read the Bible and ___________(church paper),” or, “Reading is a waste of time for me,” added to that feeling of guilt. I still read, because I can’t make myself stop reading, but always with a slight feeling of guilt.

Reading, Art, and Guilt

One of my son’s art projects.

Last year, my daughter came in from her bedroom one morning saying that she felt like the Lord had given her an idea. She wondered what I thought of a website devoted to book reviews. She would include warnings with the reviews of anything that parents might want to know about the book before giving it to their child, and build a search function to help parents find books about a particular area they were studying. After we all prayed about it, she built the website, and soon I started writing some reviews for her of books I read to myself or aloud to the other children. Still, I felt somewhat guilty about loving to read!

A couple of months ago, a couple of my children and I went to a book fair. As usual, we came away with a large stack of books, including a few that we already owned. We had to stop at a friend’s house to drop something off on our way home, and offered her the duplicate books. She was happy to take them, thanking me for the recommendations for her children, since she has a hard time knowing if a book will be worth reading or not. I was thinking about that little exchange after we left her house, and suddenly the thought came to me that part of my ministry to other people is to be able to recommend books for them and their children! God gave me the gift of being able to read exceptionally fast, and therefore I am able to read a lot more books than most people, which means I can help people by pointing them to the books they need! What a revelation. I still have to be careful not to let myself read when there are other jobs that really need doing (after all, I have a husband and eight children who like to eat three meals a day), but I no longer feel guilty about reading while I rock the baby.

My other revelation came just a few weeks ago. I have been homeschooling our children for 11 or 12 years now. Somewhere around 10 years ago, I picked up an art course at a book fair, and decided that we would do art classes—doesn’t everyone do art classes? Don’t children need to learn art? I decided that once a week, while the youngest two (I think) napped, I would do an art lessons with the three oldest children. We did—a grand total of three lessons! After that, until I ended up selling the art course when we moved overseas six years ago, I kept intending to get back to it, but life was constantly in the way. Anyway, I have very little interest in art or crafts of any kind. There was always a guilty feeling in the back of my mind, though, that my children were missing out because I was not making time to teach them any drawing or modeling or any kind of crafts.

A few weeks ago, my middle sons spent two days holed up in their workshop every spare minute, building something. When I finally got to see it, I was astounded. Those boys had cut a large circle out of a piece of plywood, and painted a railroad track around the edge. They painted roads and fields on the board, and built tiny houses. They unwrapped copper wire from the motor of a defunct washing machine, and built fences by drilling holes through twigs that they glued into holes they drilled in the board. They strung telegraph wires around the track the same way. They glued tiny trees into place, and made stick figures out of copper wire to put in various places. They even made little wooden cars and a train engine. What is all that, but art? And I had nothing to do with it! I don’t have to teach art to my children! If they are interested, they will learn by themselves. All I have to do is give them free time and allow them to use the materials and tools they find and want to use.

Believe it or not, a great weight has lifted from my mind since I realized these two simple things. Guilt has a way of dragging us down, and other people’s expectations can make moms feel very guilty. At least, that is the effect on me. When I don’t do or believe the same as the people I am around, I tend to feel guilty about that, as if I am wrong—but guess what! God didn’t make us all the same! I have a unique ministry—and so do you. It would have been nice not to have to wait so long to find mine, but I am thankful to not feel guilty anymore about reading and art!

Emma-BioEmma Filbrun is a stay-at-home homeschooling mother of eight children, and in between chasing toddlers and keeping the tribe fed you can usually find her reading a story to several of the children or directing operations from her rocking chair (where her baby puts mommy time high on the agenda). She shares the mishaps and adventures of a large family on her blog, Lots of Helpers.

Midweek Mix-Up #11: A Great Revolution-Era Book, and Productivity Printables

September 3, 2015 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

3 Sep

This week, as I was adding some books to Goodreads (follow me here if you’re interested!), I realized that I had forgotten to update this year’s reading goal for the past couple months! I was thankful that I had the record on here of past midweek mix-up posts—that made remembering what I’ve been reading much easier. So besides the fact that I enjoy putting these posts together, I was thankful I had taken the time to keep a record of what I’ve been reading!

Reading this week:

The Destiny of One, by Sarah Holman

The Destiny of One, by Sarah Holman
Progress: Finished

I finished this book Saturday. What an adventure! I’m thrilled to know I have the second book in the series, too, but I’m slightly hesitant to start it because I don’t want to get to the end and not have the third book ready to start! I found the first half of this book pretty slow going, but after the 60% mark things really picked up and I finished the whole thing one afternoon. This book isn’t quite as good as some of Sarah Holman’s later books—but considering it was her debut, I can understand. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, and plan on writing a review of it for the website.

>> My review of The Sound of Diamonds is up! You can read it on my personal blog here.

A Different Kind of Courage, by Sarah Holman

A Different Kind of Courage, by Sarah Holman
Progress: 16%

Looks like I’m on a streak right now reading Sarah’s books! A Different Kind of Courage is about the revolutionary war, and I’ve found this book to be very interesting. I really like how dedicated Sarah is to keeping the historical facts accurate, and the different characters—both fictional and those who actually lived at that time—are well developed. I’m looking forward to finding out what side William ends up on—and what happens to Matthew, his black free man who wants everyone to believe he can’t hear or talk!

New books on the website:

Thanks to Mom’s fast reading and reviewing, this is the tenth week straight that we’ve posted at least five new reviews a week! We now have well over 100 books up, and this week’s job for me is to work on uploading all the most recent reviews.

Ten Boys Who Made History by Irene Howat
Stories are told from the lives of 10 boys who became great men of God, showing how God worked in their lives.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Janet & Geoff Benge — Fascinating family read-aloud!
As a Christian theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was faced with a dilemma: Was it right to kill Hitler to save the lives of millions of other people?

Gladys Aylward: No Mountain Too High by Myrna Grant
Gladys Aylward, an English maid, bought a ticket and went to China to teach people about Jesus.

The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff — Great introduction to British history!
Justin, a surgeon in the Roman Army, and his kinsman Flavius, a centurion, become involved in the resistance effort when a usurper takes command of Roman Britain.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner — Fun read-aloud for the young children!
Four children whose parents have died are trying to hide from a grandfather they think dislikes them, and make a home in an abandoned boxcar in the woods.

Want to see other recent reviews? Discover more great reads here!

Helpful blog posts this week:

  • 5 Fun Writing Exercises for Teens to Spark Creativity and Develop Writing Voice (Almost an Author) — Great ideas. And as to her last point on daydreaming during math class, I’ve found doing math especially helpful in coming up with story ideas—I’ve had several while struggling to complete a lesson!
  • How to Typeset a Novel in Microsoft Word (Go Teen Writers) — Incredibly detailed, almost exhaustive, list of things to do when typesetting a novel. Greatly helpful, though. I’ll be using this next time I’m formatting a novel!
  • How Outlining Can Bring Out Voice (Jane Friedman) — Great tips here. This makes outlining seem a little bit more doable.

Resource of the week:

Printable productivity tools at DavidSeah.com

Productivity Tools Screenshot

David Seah’s Productivity Tools (screenshot)

David Seah has a lot of different productivity tools here—task management, goal tracking, a NaNoWriMo tracking calendar (used this the second year I did NaNo, and loved it! it was my lifesaver!), and much more.

Why Purposeful Families are Important

September 1, 2015 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

1 Sep

Recently, while reading part of my school work, I came across an interesting quote that reinforced the thought for me that purposeful families are important. By “purposeful”, I mean purposefully teaching children the skills they will need as they grow up—intentionally helping them learn the things that will make or break them as adults.

Why Purposeful Families are Important

Photo courtesy of Pixabay/Bessi | License: CC0 1.0

Here’s the quote:

“Families that have lost their knowledge of God’s dictated authority channels will not raise their children with the sense of honoring others that they should have. Children that grow up without learning to honor authorities will not know how to honor and follow church leaders or government authorities, and subsequently the nation will have many troubles in trying to retain order within its borders.” (That’s the quote in my own words. It originated in The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes.)

To think that it all starts in the home—in the family—that discipline affects all areas of life, not only just disappointing parents if the children aren’t taught right, but also causing problems for the church and the nation besides!

All goes to prove how seriously I, as an older sister, should take my responsibility toward my younger siblings. Yes, I need to be fun and be a good friend, but when it comes to teaching them that they need to respect my wishes, I need to learn to not give in so much.

Do you ever have a problem with not being firm enough? Please tell me—it’d be a comfort to know I’m not the only one!


Update:

I just heard about this book, and thought I’d pass the word along. I’ve read two of Elisha Press’ books (including the prequel to this one—it was very good!), and really appreciate the values that are presented through them.

Flight School BookWin a Copy of “Flight School,” a 12-to-adult Christian Novel by Jason McIntire

Do you like Christian novels—especially ones with substance? Do you like free things? Head over to Elisha Press, and enter to win a copy of the latest release from Jason McIntire: Flight School: One Summer, Many Choices. It’s a sequel to The Sparrow Found A House, which starts the story of the newly-blended and newly-homeschooling Rivera-Sparrows. The kids are back in the new release, which follows them to the start of their adult lives. Flight School is full of interesting characters, realistic situations, and biblical truth. Don’t miss it! You can order the book on Amazon right now—$2.99 for the Kindle version, or $9.99 for the 256-page print edition.

I’m thinking now that it might be a good idea to re-read their books, so I can include them in this website. The McIntire’s have written books that are very worthwhile to read. (By the way—you can read several of Elisha Press’ books for free. Go here to check that out!)

Midweek Mix-Up #10—Science Fiction and a Free Motivating Chrome Extension

August 27, 2015 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

27 Aug

Another week, here already! I’m not sure what happened with last week’s midweek mix-up (unless it got buried under the work to get the newsletter written and sent, which is a good possibility). Whatever the case, I’m back—and hopefully I’ll remember next week to do it!

Reading this week:

Last week, I found this fancy Chrome extension that converts blog posts to Kindle books (and sends them directly to your Kindle) with only a few clicks. So I’ve been reading a lot more blog posts recently than I had been for quite a while. Consequently, I haven’t read a whole lot in the way of real books this week, but I have read a fair amount in . . . .

The Destiny of One, by Sarah Holman

The Destiny of One, by Sarah Holman
Progress: 44%

This is a fascinating book. The first true science fiction book I’ve ever read, I believe—apart from the Magic Schoolbus series, of course (I guess The Twenty-One Balloons is sci-fi, but that doesn’t feel like the typical sci-fi book). I’m not sure it’s completely my genre—I’ll probably be a stickler for good ole’ historical fiction—but Maria has certainly interested me in her story and quest. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next!

New books on the website!

It’s fun to know there are fresh reviews for you to read each week. Here’s this week’s offering:

  • Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard — Danny discovers the love of his life—a great dog, and teaches him to survive in the wilderness.
  • Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray  — Philo and his two brothers find themselves on opposing sides in the conflict between the Jews and the Romans in 70 AD.
  • Ghost of the Moaning Mansion by Lee Roddy  — D. J. and his friends are trying to locate Grandpa, who has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.
  • Light From Heaven by Christmas Carol Kauffman — Raised by a Godly mother and an abusive father, Joseph learned to know and love his Heavenly Father.
  • A Sweet Singer by Marla Martin  — Lee was lonely, sitting on the porch, until God sent a bird to sing to him.
  • The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton W. Burgess  — Peter Rabbit has a hard time being content with who he is.
  • A Boy of Two Worlds by Lorna Eglin — Can Lemayan blend his two worlds, that of his Maasai family and that he lives in the  Christian boarding school, together?
  • The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese — When Ping gets lost one day from his home on a boat on the Yangtzee River, the little duck must dodge many dangers as he tries to find his way home again.
  • Martha by Gennady Spirin — The story, in words and beautiful pictures, of a crow that was rescued by the author’s wife and son.
  • The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff — Centurion Marcus has a mission—to recover the lost Eagle from his father’s Ninth Legion.

Most helpful blog posts this week:

  • Be More Productive: The 15-Minute Routine Anthony Trollope Used to Write 40+ Books (James Clear) — This is a very useful tip, and a post I’m going to keep around for a while!
  • How to Write a Bio That Will Turbocharge Your Guest Posts (Write to Done) — Great thoughts on what should make up a good bio—would be useful in writing an “about” page, too.
  • Fantasy and Science Fiction: Good or Bad? (Heritage Literature) — I find it a bit ironic that I’m currently reading a science fiction book right now, and linking to this post—but that’s how things happen at times! Obviously, I don’t completely agree with Lauren, but at the same time I see her point. Very thought provoking article; I’m glad she had the courage to post it!
  • No, You Don’t Have to Work 24/7 to Succeed (Michael Hyatt) — What do you think about the recent news on how Amazon operates? I’m not very impressed! Michael Hyatt has some great thoughts on why such a mentality is wrong, and what we should actually do to be the most productive we can be.
  • Twaddle-Free Literature by Grade Level (A Charlotte Mason Home) — I’ve heard of (or read) many of these—they’re pretty much all very good books.
  • The Daily Word Counts of 39 Famous Authors (Writers Write) — This post is very inspiring. I doubt I’ll ever be able to keep up such strict routines as some of these writers, but they knew how to stick to their work even when it was hard, and knowing that they were able to do that, I have hope that one day I’ll be able to get better at my jobs too.

Resource of the week:

Be Limitless: Track your time and stay focused on your goals. Constantly be motivated to stay at your best.

A nice title for a great extension (or prod, if you prefer to think of it as a slave driver). Basically, this new tab replacer gives you detailed stats on how you’re spending your time (um…maybe not so nice, but it is good to face facts once in a while), tells you what goals you should be working toward right now, and overall helps you stay focused and inspired.

And that’s it for this week! Have a great weekend!

Question: Do you read (or have you read) science fiction novels? What’s your take on the issue—think they’re okay for Christians, or maybe we shouldn’t be reading them (as Lauren believes)? Comment below—I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Why Your Children’s Homemade Videos are Important

August 25, 2015 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

25 Aug

Over the years, my siblings and I have made several short videos. Some were serious, others were goofy, and some were a combination. Those videos are precious memories for us to look back on.

One of the short “movies” my brothers and I have made.

I think the main reason homemade videos are important is that they are like time capsules—we were just watching one of the ones we took a year ago, and noticed that the one boy’s voice is a lot deeper now. Not only that, but many of the actors’ personalities show through—which will be fun to see in years to come.

There’s something about capturing the sounds, looks and individualities of our family now—when it seems so ordinary—and re-watching it down the road a bit. We can enjoy the present and each other’s company more, knowing that in a few more years it will probably be completely different again.

Videos are important ways to keep alive memories of the past. I hope my brothers and I can make many more in the years to come.

Take time, if you possibly can, to video your children. Or—better yet—let them get behind the lenses and do it themselves. Even if the results are shaky and of not much substance, they’re still priceless.

Hold tight to the sound of the music of living,
Happy songs from the laughter of children at play,
Hold them near, while they’re here, and don’t wait for tomorrow,
To look back and wish for today….

How do you preserve your homemade videos? An online service, your hard drive, cds, or something else?

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