Elizabeth's Dance Open House (Wordless Wednesday)

Quotations

Three quotations from Thomas Alva Edison:

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."

Victorian Literature

As I mentioned here, we have been studying Victorian England the past couple of weeks in Tapestry of Grace.

Ryan presented a report on Victorian literature to his online co-op class.

Keeping Christmas

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was born in Pennsylvania, the son of a respected Presbyterian clergyman. He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and pastored a church in New York City. He also launched a career as a writer, and was first published in the 1880's.

His short Christmas sermon, Keeping Christmas, was published in 1905.

A SHORT CHRISTMAS SERMON

KEEPING CHRISTMAS

ROMANS, xiv, 6: He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord.

It is a good thing to observe Christmas day. The mere marking of times and seasons, when men agree to stop work and make merry together, is a wise and wholesome custom. It helps one to feel the supremacy of the common life over the individual life. It reminds a man to set his own little watch, now and then, by the great clock of humanity which runs on sun time.

But there is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.

Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to put your rights in the background, and your duties in the middle distance, and your chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground; to see that your fellow-men are just as real as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts, hungry for joy; to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world—stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death—and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.

And if you keep it for a day, why not always?

But you can never keep it alone.

You may see more of Van Dyke's work, as well as the work of many other authors, at Project Gutenberg, a producer of free electronic books.

Writer of the Week

The Good Samaritan

retold by Catherine (age 11)

Jesus then spoke saying, “Once a man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On his way he was attacked by robbers who tore his clothes, stole his money, hurt him, and left him to die. After some time, a priest came down the road and saw the man half dead, but continued on. Soon a Levite was passing by; he, too, saw the man, cared nothing for him, and went on. Then a Samaritan, who was despised by others, came by. He saw the man on the ground dying, but did not pass on. He bandaged the man’s cuts and took him to an inn. The next morning, he gave the inn keeper two pence and told him, ‘Please take care of him and when I return I will repay you for anything you may have needed to buy.’ Who was the neighbor of the man who was attacked by the robbers?”

Jesus continued, “The Samaritan, because he showed kindness and love. Go and do as I have told you.”

How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig

Joe and I teach a worldview class to a small group of 8th - 10th graders using Summit Ministry's Lightbearers materials. Since we knew we would be offering the class to more students than just Zachary and Ryan, we purchased the Christian school edition of the materials because it includes DVDs that can be played on a TV screen. (The homeschool edition's discs can be played only on a computer.) The material is written for a full 36-week school year. Since our class is extra-curricular for all the participants, we meet every other week for a couple of hours and cover one week's worth of material during that time. Since we're moving at half-pace, it will take longer than a regular school year to complete the course.

Lightbearers materials include the following:

• Susan Schaeffer Macauley's book, How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig
• Teaching DVDs
• A student workbook that contains more reading material, questions for all the readings/DVDs, and assignments
• A well laid out teacher's manual, which includes a day-by-day schedule

Each of the 12 units takes 3 weeks to cover. The units are:

• Introduction
• Theology
• Philosophy
• Ethics
• Biology
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Law
• Politics
• Economics
• History
• Conclusion

Here's a description of the course from the Lightbearers website:

Lightbearers is a . . . video-based curriculum . . . designed to help students clearly understand the tenets of the Christian worldview, and how they compare to the tenets of the leading humanistic worldviews of our day. Students will learn how to apply their Christian faith to every area of life . . . some of the issues covered include: abortion, apologetics, cults, evolution, feminism, homosexuality, naturalism, moral relativism, pluralism, relationships, and socialism.

As you can see, we delve into some pretty heavy-duty topics. Joe and I are both greatly enjoying teaching this class, and we highly recommend the materials.

Changes in Science in the Victorian Era

We've been studying Victorian England the past couple of weeks in Tapestry of Grace. Zachary and Ryan participate in a weekly dialectic-level online history co-op where we moms take turns leading the discussion. This week Zachary presented a report on science during the Victorian Era.