A Melodious Sonnet

Midweek Mix-Up: Mud Flats and a POW

by · Leave a Comment

Welcome to this week’s midweek mix-up! I enjoy putting these together, although sometimes life does not allow that to happen. I hope you enjoy them, anyway, when I do get them up!

What I’ve been reading lately:

The Sound of Diamonds, by Rachelle Rea

The Sound of Diamonds, by Rachelle Rea
Progress: Finished.

I ended up mostly enjoying this book. While I didn’t appreciate the romance as much, I loved reading about the time period and seeing all the historical tidbits through the story. I’ll be writing a full review to post on my personal blog soon.

In the Presence of Mine Enemies, by Howard and Phyllis Rutledge

In the Presence of Mine Enemies, by Howard and Phyllis Rutledge
Progress: Finished.

I loved this book! Although it does have some adult content, it was spiritually very encouraging and I loved the historical value of the book—as well as getting a glimpse into what the daily life of a POW is like. I’ll be posting a full review of this book on the site sometime in September or October, Lord willing. (Please note that this book includes some adult content, all in relation to the way the Vietnamese treated their prisoners. It is not a suitable read for children.)

What I’ve been doing lately:

As a family, we just got back from a fun trip with our aunt who is currently visiting us! We went up to the north part of the island we live on, and had a wonderful week of exploration, walking, fascinating history, and family time.

That view!

Right: One of the gorgeous views we were treated to along the mudflats at Farewell Spit.
Left: One of my brothers trying to hide from the camera.

 

New books on the website this week:

See more of our most recent books here!

Resource of the week:

I’ve recently come across AppSumo, a site that highlights good deals or freebies of truly useful things. Not too long ago, they had Scrivener for less than half it’s normal price on there. Then soon after, they had a freebie offered of Joseph Michael’s Learn Scrivener Fast course. Just yesterday, I got an email offering Workflowy Pro for free for a year. I’d highly recommend you sign up for their email newsletters (which you can do either by creating an account through “login > not a member yet” or by “claiming” a freebie)—this is a resource worth keeping.

Creating Beautiful Descriptions Using Coffee Table Books

by · Leave a Comment

I was recently flipping through a coffee table book about tigers, studying the different pictures. Interspersed throughout the book were pictures of native people, their ways of life, their religious beliefs, and their surroundings. Not many—the book was mainly about tigers, how they live, and how they’re endangered (I didn’t appreciate most of that last theme, but that’s beside the point). But there were a good number of “other” pictures.

Creating Beautiful Descriptions Using Coffee Table Books

Photo courtesy of Pixabay/Sponchia | License: CC0 1.0

Then it hit me: This would be a fantastic way to research the country a story is set in! This particular book had India, Thailand, and possibly other Southeast Asia countries as well.

Some of the pictures covered major crops, normal clothing styles, shamans (witch doctors), Buddhist temples, landscapes, the resident’s problems with native animals, and much more.

I have a hard time visualizing my characters, their setting, and the landscape around them. I know not all writers are like me, and I’m glad of that. But for those of us that struggle this way, perhaps this is a way to overcome it—visually.

Next time I’m attempting to describe a country, I’m going to find one of these picture books for adults and indulge in some beautiful descriptions.

Do you struggle with creating good descriptions? Have you ever used coffee table books this way before?

The Legacy We Leave

by · Leave a Comment

Amy Carmichael was a remarkable woman. From the age of eighteen and on, after receiving a clear call to go work for the Lord, she devoted her life to bringing Christ to all those she met. She especially felt called to the poor, uncared for women in the countries she lived in throughout her lifetime.

From her mid twenties and on, she struggled with sickness—sometimes laying her so low she could not rise from her bed for weeks on end. Yet even in those “lowest of the low” times, she did all she could to enlighten the Western world to the great needs of those around her, and she still continued to do her best to love, care for, and help all the needy who called her “mother”. She always pressed on in her work, even when her body was failing her. She allowed nothing to get her down.

Amy left a legacy that has come down to us over the years: Perseverance. And yet, as I see the life I’m leading, I have to ask myself: When I’m on my deathbed, perhaps saying the last goodbye to my grandchildren, what will they remember me for?

Will they remember me as a happy, interested friend, or as a sober, aloof figure called “family”? Will I be remembered as pushy? Greedy? Unthoughtful? Wasteful?

Amy is remembered for giving her all—can I ever hope to attain to any level of that ideal?

Not that we want to glorify her in anyway—no. I believe that without Jesus she never would have done half the amount she did do. But she did leave us a beautiful illustration of what happens when Jesus fills all, does all, and we allow ourselves to be simply His servants.

May we ever remember that we are leaving our fingerprints on the lives of others—and ask the Lord to help us leave the best legacy we can for those who will come after.

Why We Need to Read Poetry — and a Lot of It!

by · 3 Comments

Last evening, we were discussing poetry as a family. Dad admitted he loves poetry—which is rare for him, since he hardly has time to read anything other than the Bible. We were discussing different poems—some of the more famous ones like The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere’s Ride, and Barbara Freitchie. That last one was one we couldn’t quite put a name to, so in the end Mom got one of our poetry books and read it to us while we ate supper!

Why We Need to Read Poetry — and a Lot of It! (picture)

Photo courtesy of Pixabay/Oldifan | License: CC0 1.0

Poems are a needful addition to everyone’s lives. The rhythm, speech, and emotions are sometimes even more beautiful than a fiction novel.

Poems tell stories—stories that gracefully flow in harmonious melody, sometimes sad and sometimes joyfully.

Poems bring out emotions in us that we rarely acknowledge any other way.

Poetry is powerful.

Here are some reasons why you need to read poetry to your children:

  1. Poems develop great language skills. I’m continually in awe at those who can weave such beautiful pictures with a few words—and Lynley Dodd is a great example of introducing youngsters to big(ish) words.
  2. Poetry lightens moods—there’s just something happy about the rhythm of poems.
  3. Poetry teaches great reading aloud skills. Poems are naturally compelling in that they make you want to add greater or lesser emphasis to different parts. By having your child read them aloud, they can learn to read other writings more expressively as well.

Poems are beautiful—pictures of gold made out of twenty-six letters. Your home is missing a lot if you don’t have poetry once in a while.

What are some of your family’s favorite poems?

Some of our favorites include:

Midweek Mix-Up — the Cold War and a Free Outlining Course

by · Leave a Comment

Hello again! In today’s midweek mix-up, I’ve got some great resources for you, as well as some fascinating books I’ve been listening to lately.

Reading this week…

I haven’t actually “read” much this week—mostly because I’ve been doing quite a bit of computer work, and when I’m doing that I can’t read. But I have been listening to a lot of books, and I suppose that counts as well!

Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems, by Janet & Geoff Benge

Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems, by Janet & Geoff Benge
Progress: Finished (last week: 89%)

This is a beautiful retelling of Amy’s life. There was a lot about her early life, which I enjoyed immensely—often, we tend to hear the most about her time in India, and little about the rest of her life. I hadn’t realized before that she spent a while working in Japan before eventually being called to India, so that—along with the legacy she led and left behind her—was very encouraging for me. Highly recommend this biography—I’ll be putting a review of the book on the main site after a while.

The Lilies of the Field, by William E Barrett

The Lilies of the Field, by William E Barrett
Progress: Finished

I loved the story of Homer Smith—how he just happened to come across a group of four German nuns who badly need help, his coming an answer to prayer. Mother Maria Marthe put him right to work building a chapel for her, but he thinks she’s a bit crazy to ever expect him to be able to do it on his own.

Even though this story is a bit different from the books I usually read, it was fascinating and I’m planning to review it soon.

The Mouse That Roared A Novel, by Leonard Wibberley

The Mouse That Roared: A Novel, by Leonard Wibberley
Progress: 68%

What happens when a little country is slighted by a bigger country—namely, the United States? Add in the current world events—the cold war—and the little country running out of money to feed their citizens. The government of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides the only way to get enough money to feed their citizens—and settle their quarrel with the US—is to declare war on the US. There’s no way such a small country could win the war—but when they accidently seize the most dangerous atomic weapon in the world, they have suddenly won the war. This is a very humorous tale, one that I’m enjoying even though I’m sure I’ll get more out of it in a few more years.

Inspiring posts this week…

  • 12 Letters That Didn’t Make the Alphabet — Mom sent this to me earlier this week. Who knew that there were twelve other letters we could be using now—but generally aren’t? The only one that we actually use anymore is ampersand (“&”). Remember that old Apple Pie ABC rhyme? “…X, Y, Z and ampersand all wished for a piece in hand….”
  • Tips for Writers Who Don’t Work Well With Outlines — Great post. I think I tend to be on the outlining side, but many of these tips would apply to me, as well.
  • Two Harvard Professors Reveal One Reason Our Brains Love to Procrastinate — I found this post fascinating. Useful tips on how to change the way you look at procrastination, and how to practice being productive.
  • Grammar Websites For Writers — This is a great list of resources, not only for writers, but for homeschoolers as well. Some of the spotlighted websites are for editing, others are for researching and learning about grammar. I’ll be bookmarking this one for future use!
  • 5 Reasons To Pray Before You Write — I’m guilty of not doing this enough. It’s wonderful to have a reminder of where my responsibilities should lie, even if I always seem to forget this until all else has failed.

Resource of the week…

I’ve got two resources for you this week!

For Writers:

Write Your Non-Fiction Book Quickly and Easily: The Magic of Outlining

This is a free outlining course by Nancy Hendrickson, a renowned author and writing coach. I don’t know how long it will be free, but it looks very useful, and I’m planning to take time to go through it soon. My outlining skills need a lot of help.

For Homeschool Moms:

LessonTrek
Get a free lifetime membership!

From the website:

Easy-to-use online homeschool and private school planning.

In just a few minutes you can set up your school year & subjects, create lessons & assignments, record grades, and more.

Features:

  • Grade recording
  • Easy drag-and-drop interface
  • Copy/paste lessons easily
  • Print weekly lesson plans
  • Ongoing improvements based on your feedback

My aunt recently shared this on Facebook. If you want to get a free lifetime membership on the site, simply go to the site, sign up for a two week trial, and put in the referral code FFL15. No payment info to enter, and within seconds of signing up you can be planning away! I don’t know how long this deal is going to be available.

If you want simpler version of planning, you could try making your own chart for each child—I cover that in depth on this post.