My blogger friend, Margaret Feinberg, was so gracious to lend Jesus and the Eskimos to me to read.   She had mentioned it in her blog, and it sounded so interesting, but this book is not even available online, so she let me borrow it.  (Margaret lives here in Juneau, and I found her through the blogger world, but I actually met her one day when I saw her at a garage sale and recognized her! - yes, its a small world).

Anyhoo, Jesus and the Eskimos, by Fred Savok is the story of how God prepared the Eskimo people for the gospel, and then brought the good news of Jesus Christ to these people through missionaries from Sweden.

Fred's own grandfather, Egaq, had a dream or vision of a man, dressed in white, descending down within 3 feet of the floor of his igloo.   He said, "I am the Father of all people.  Soon all people will hear about me."   This really shook Egaq, who had been warned by the Shaman that there was a "very powerful light" coming from the South.  The Shaman recognized that the power of this light was much stronger than their own power, which came from demonic forces according to Mr. Savok (and I would agree).   Just weeks later Egaq and his wife Qutleruq were visited by missionary Rev. Johnson, who explained God's love for them, the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins, and as much as he could of God's Word, the Bible.   Eguq and Qutleruq at once were extremely grateful and hungered for more of God's Word.  They traveled hundreds of miles so that their daughter could go to the white mans' schools - to learn to read the English Bible and teach her own people about Jesus.

Its just an incredible story, the way he describes the fear and superstitions that plagued the Eskimos, and how they wrapped their arms around the gospel and were so thankful for the white men bringing God's Word to them.   These missionaries did not try to change the culture and tradition of the Eskimo, but allowed God to change their sinful natures from the inside out.  To me, this was a breath of fresh air, since so often I hear about how missionaries, in this area anyway, would punish the Native American children for speaking their native tongues and tried to replace the native cultures.

Being here in Alaska, I found this book especially interesting, as it gave many details of the Eskimo life in the artic.  Most of the story takes place on the seward peninsula of Alaska, which projects into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle. Of course this is very far from us, but some of the things I could relate to, such as berry picking, salmon fishing, etc.  It gives details of seal hunts, the food they ate, their native celebrations, etc.

There were some disturbing stories in it - traditions and superstitions the Eskimos followed before they became Christians; but there were some beautiful stories of miracles as well - before and after the missionaries came.

Fred writes, "The starting and development of the Church, which meant much more to the Eskimo than anything else in the world, meant a right to live without fear of enslavement and death."

Unfortunately, your local library probably doesn't carry this book.  In the front cover it says to order a copy, send $14.95 plus $5 for shipping to HLC Publishing, PO Box 82620, Fairbanks, AK  99708.   I'm going to send for my own copy right away (and hopefully they still have copies, it was written in 2004).  It is a beautiful story worth reading.

We officially started our homeschool year on Friday.  We are going to have a busy year this year.  We use Sonlight, and are currently on the core 3 program, which is Intro to American History.  This year the books I will be reading to the boys are:

And for history:

And the readers the boys will be reading on their own (even though Morgan is only 6 he is reading at about the same level as Tristan):

And our science books are:

We will also be using sequential spelling, Singapore math, Rosetta Stone Spanish I, Muzzy Spanish, and English from the Roots up - Latin/Greek.  We will be doing Atelier Art at least once a week for a creative outlet.  We also have some fun computer math games, like Rainbow Rock, Vroot and Vroom, and Quarter Mile Math that the boys can do.  Of course we will be doing some poetry and scripture memory work as well.

For Bible and missionary stories we will be reading:

The Bible

Catching their talk in a box

Wisdom with the Millers

Gladys Aylward

Whew, I'm getting tired just looking at this list.   Its going to be a fun year. (all these books are linked because I copied the lists from Sonlight.com instead of typing them all out).  For any homeschoolers unfamiliar with sonlight, all these books listed are real books, none are "textbooks".   Great classic books that make learning fun.

We are really blessed in Alaska to be part of a correspondence school that reimburses our curriculum expenses.  It is considered a public school, so our Christian books aren't included, but it has been a huge blessing for the core subjects.  I meet with a teacher monthly and hand in samples, report cards quarterly.

We will also be doing some PE/extracurricular stuff, but we aren't signed up yet.  Probably gymnastics, but we'll see...

I recently finished reading In this Mountain, by Jan Karon.  It is the 7th in the Mitford series.  Although I'm not a fan of series that drag on and on, Karon continues to capture my attention and make me laugh, and I will continue with the next one.  I didn't read Common Life: The Wedding Story, since it went back in time, and I just want to know what happens next.

This isn't a review of this book in particular, but more the whole series.  Jan Karon has a way of developing characters so unique that you feel you know them better than your own family.  Father Tim is loving and kind, seeking God in all that he does, but challenged by his faults and doubts about life, and his frustration with diabetes as he dreams of cheeseburger and fries instead of a tuna salad. 

I'm not going to go into depth into the story lines, but the book is about an Episcopal priest living in Mitford, NC, an idealic little town up in the mountains, based on Blowing Rock, NC.  When visiting friends from college, we girls went up to Blowing Rock, an adorable little tourist town with gift shops and gardens, so I envision it as I read.  The books center around Father Tim's life, interacting with the townspeople, his next-door neighbor, his dog, and his parishioners as he faces the challenges and adventures God brings his way.

Reading these books is like coming home, talking with friends, encountering trials along the way, and laughing all along at the silly things that happen in life.  Be aware that reading them when you are hungry may be detrimental, since the author describes wonderful Southern dishes in such a way that you can smell the buttermilk biscuits baking, see the lemon squares for the ladies brunch, and hear the chicken frying.

We recently listened, on audio cd, to The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, who also wrote Because of Winn-Dixie.  We had read this book to the boys last summer, and enjoyed it so much, I decided to buy the cd from my favorite online book site, Half.com.  The book is for grades 2-7, but even my younger boys listened attentively the entire time to the story of a tiny mouse name Despereaux Tilling.

Winner of 2004 Newberry Medal, the story enlightens the reader about love, hope, perfidy, empathy, and remorse, entrancing them as the adventurous fairy tale unfolds.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. And what happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

I'm in the midst of reading Desiring God by John Piper.  I'm ashamed to admit that I started this book on the airplane here to Alaska back in July, and I'm only half-way through.  It really is not airplane reading material, I might add.  It doesn't read fast and easy like a Yancey or Strobel, but it is deep and intense.  It seems that every paragraph is worthy of being quoted.  I might mention, the book is subtitled, Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.  Christian Hedonist?  isn't that an oxymoron you may ask.  Piper sets out to describe how the whole duty of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.  Ultimate joy and happiness truly comes from glorifying God.  This is the theme of the book, Christian hedonism isn't an oxymoron, but truth, as seen in scripture.

I was reading chapter 4, and this paragraph really spoke to me:

...It is not that we are all trying to please ourselves, but that we are all far too easily pleased.  We do not believe Jesus when He says there is more blessedness, more joy, more lasting pleasure in life devoted to helping others than there is in a life devoted to our material comfort.  And therefore the longing of contentment which ought to drive us to simplicity of life and labors of love contents itself instead with the broken cisterns of prosperity and comfort.

 

Piper ends the chapter saying:

Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others.

I've had a taste of that joy, the joy thats bursts forth when I am close to God, listening to His Word, and seeking His will above all else, the joy of serving others; but I desire to be filled with it, like the runner's high, that can only be experienced after much perseverence and training.  This same runners analogy is used in this text, Heb 12:2:

  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Obviously, since I haven't finished the book, this is not a summary or review of the entire book, nor do I intend to prove his points with scripture here in this blog.  Unlike some Christian books that may quote a scripture here and there, this book is built around scripture, examining it and meditating on it.  If interested, you can pick up a copy for yourself, but so far I'd recommend it, as it is very engaging and thought-provoking.

I could say I just recently read the book Little Britches by Ralph Moody, which would be true, but the truth is that this most recent read now makes the fourth or fifth time I've devoured it, so it would definitely have to be listed as my all-time favorite book (other than the Bible).  Yes, I'm a 37 year old woman, and the book is about a 8 year old boy growing up on a ranch in Colorado in the early 1900's, but the stories and lessons will resound with anyone who values family, hard work, and building character.  Within the few years the story takes place, Ralph herds his neighbors cows, goes on a sole journey to find his friend Two Dog, faces the sherrif like a man, and learns to trick-ride his horse with his cowboy friend, Hi.  But more importantly, Ralph learns what it means to be a man, from his role model, his father.  After sneaking some chocolate, his father deals with him in this way:

He said, "Son, I realize a lot better than you think I do that you have been helping to earn the living for the family.  We might say the chocolate was yours in the first place.  If you had asked Mother or me for it, you could have had it without a question, but I won't have you being sneaky about things.  Now if you'd rather keep your own money separate from the family's, so you can buy the things you want, I think it might be a good idea."

 

I never knew till them how much I wanted my money to go in with Fathers....I felt I was beginning to be a man, but I guess I was still just a baby, because I hid my face against Father's stomach and begged him to let me put my money in with his.

 

Father hadn't been coughing nearly so much that fall as he used to, but he coughed and it seemed as if he choked a little before he answered me.  He said he didn't want a sneaky partner, but if I could be open and aboveboard he didn't know a man he'd rather be in business with.

 

I couldn't help crying some more when he told me that; not because my bottom was still burning, but just because I loved him.  I told him I'd never be sneaky again, and I'd always ask him before I did things.  We walked to the house together.  At the bunkhouse door he shook hands with me, and said, "Good night, partner."  When I went to sleep, my hand was still hurting--good--from where he squeezed it when we shook hands.

 

Ralph's father was the "perfect" father, he disciplined his son when he did wrong, but more importantly, he loved him and had his "heart".  Ralph learned to do the right thing, not because of fear of punishment, but because he loved his father so much he didn't want to disappoint him and wanted his dad to be proud of him.  In my own life, obeying God is so much more joyful when I do it because I love Him, not because of fear or because I'm required to.  As parents we should try to capture the "heart" of our children by loving them unconditionally, just as God loves us.