Sibling Love

 

Source: Dark Silence in Suburbia

It seems I'm adding new Pinterest boards at such a rapid pace these days, it's surprising even me. Since joining in February, I thought I'd settled in this summer with about twenty-five or so, but there has been one thing after the other that has come along and each time it's like I feel somewhat constrained to start another one!

Just a few days ago, it was the "Playing Mommy" board and yesterday, well, someone repinned a photo which has been on the "Beautiful Children" board for quite a long time. A thought has been playing around in my mind for a month or so, but when the above picture was repinned, it pushed me over. Hence, once again a new board for SG.

Now what do you see in this picture? In my opinion, what stands out most is the sibling love, manifested in care and protection of the older for the younger. In this particular instance, it's two brothers who have a need and a great one at that. We don't know the circumstances behind why they found themselves in that situation, just that it's there for us to see. But for me, while I see the need, more than the need itself, and overriding it, I'm seeing, and feeling, the love. And thus, today, the board called "Sibling Love" is born.

Some of the pictures pinned on this board will be needy children, but some will be children in a comfortable and loving home situation with two parents. Some may be in a loving one parent home. But some will not have parents at all. And what better time to remember children like these than the week coming up on "Orphan Sunday."

These two children, the cover picture for the new board, are here to represent two things: One, the brand new board displaying love between brothers, sisters, brothers and sisters. Two, a needful reminder of the orphans, some of them even finding themselves struggling to live on the streets, homeless. May God have mercy on them, but even more, may He impress on each of our hearts a desire to find ways to help.

Lovingly,
Maxine, a/k/a Nanna

The Best Inheritance

My prayer, and that of many others . . .

Playing Mommy

"We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings." ~ F. H. Bradley

I've been having some fun this week looking through pictures of little girls and dolls. Now anyone who had known me well in the past would know that as a child, I loved playing with dolls and had the same experience with my two daughters. Not only did they enjoy their dolls, but I enjoyed their dolls almost as much as I had my own. It is a definite fact that our dollies were, in fact, members of the family. Actually, they still are.

Now, in looking through these various photos and paintings of girls and dolls, I've discovered something. To the child, a doll can fulfill several roles. It can provide companionship, be a little "me" who can wear the same outfits, be a student, be a patient, and who knows what else. But more often than not, with the heart of a little girl being what it so often is, you'll find that this little make believe person is someone whom the child can "mother." Somewhere in the interaction between the girl and the doll, you will see it come out. And sometimes the pretend child is almost as big, if not bigger, than the real one. How delightful it is to watch the child's imagination and play. And we all know how important this play is; in fact it has often been called the child's "work." But it is in many ways usually preparing them for adulthood.

Now you may be wondering why this sudden interest in dolls to the extent that I would be perusing photos of them. Well, the reason is our new board at Pinterest. Having recently pinned an absolutely gorgeous vintage photo of a young girl and her doll, this whole idea of "playing mommy" was so apparent, it inspired me to do a whole board dedicated to the concept. So, I've been looking for pictures to put on it, and you won't be surprised to find out there are many to choose from. There are so many pictures of girls and dolls, however, that I decided to be rather choosy about it. You'll see that the focus is not on the dolls themselves, but the children. It's what the child is doing with relation to the doll(s) that I've been trying to capture, or something in her demeanor that caused me to gravitate to a particular photo. Sometimes, it's the look on her face.

You can just imagine how much fun this has been! And you'll even see a few pictures with a little girl and a real live younger person who's being mothered! Remember, we're focusing on the maternal instinct which comes out at a very early age. The board is here and the photo above is typical of what you'll find there: Budding mommies "playing," but in reality, preparing for the future.

The Promises of Scripture

Train them remembering continually the promises of Scripture.

"You have a plain promise on your side,'Train up your child in the way he should go, and when he is old he shall not depart from it.' (Prov.22:6) Think what is is to have a promise like this...

"Think who it is that promises. It is not the word of a man, who may lie or repent; it is the word of the King of kings who never changes...

"Think,too, what the promise contains, before you refuse to take comfort from it. It speaks of a certain time when good training shall especially bear fruit,--'when a child is old.' Surely there is comfort in this. You may not see with your own eyes the result of careful training, but you know not what blessed fruits may not spring from it, long after you are dead and gone..

"'Cast thy bread upon the waters,' saith the Spirit, 'for thou shalt find it after many days' (Eccles. 11:1) Many children, I doubt not, shall rise up in the day of judgment, and bless their parents for good training, who never gave any signs of having profited by it during their parents' lives. Go forward then in faith, and be sure that your labour shall not be altogether thrown away. Three times did Elijah stretch himself upon the widow's child before it revived. Take example from him and persevere."

 ~ From the Duties of Parents, J. C. Ryle, See the first post in this series.
[There are so many encouragements and hopeful words in this short segment. Mr. Ryle has a main purpose here of helping to guard against parental discouragement in the course of the proper training of children. He's not saying we can do things our way and cling to the promise of this verse. But he is saying we have hope in it if we persevere in the right way. We do our best in following His precepts. He brings the fruit eventually. But we must sow. ~ mr]

Lucy Stories

I just recommended Elizabeth Prentiss' Lucy Stories over at the Facebook page and I'd like to do the same here in case someone happens by and sees this. You can read an excerpt from Lucy's Six Teachers at the Prentiss blog here. It will give you an understanding of the special little touch this nineteenth century writer had with children. She wrote quite a few stories for the young. So, if you're interested and get a chance, her books are available at a variety of places.

Giggling is Fun

Just for fun and because I pinned a good article today about getting your kids to laugh/giggle, here are a few jokes for you to tell your kids or they other people. Here goes:

What is the easiest thing to part with?
A comb.

How many men were born in 1920?
None. Only babies were born.

Why is a catcher's mitt like the chicken pox?
Both are catching.

What do you call a lazy doctor?
Dr. Doolittle

What do you call a rabbit with fleas?
Bugs Bunny

What is the difference between a shiny penny and a dirty nickel?
Four cents

What did Cinderella say while she was waiting for her photos?
"Some day my prints (prince) will come."

Okay, so they're corny. So what? All the better for your kids to tell.

(From Lots O' Riddles, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.)

You Are My Sunshine

Just to brighten up your day! And isn't that what sunshine does? And when you SING about it....  Actually, though, this was inspired by the sweetest story ever which I shared at the Facebook page this morning. I don't know if I'm allowed to copy/paste the story here so best not to take any chances. It's on the HCG page if you want to hunt it up though. Happy Thursday. Unfortunately, the sun isn't shining here today.

Lassie

 (Image from the movie, "Lassie Come Home.")

I rather think this is a TV series your children might enjoy and benefit from. I'm so sorry that most of the ones I tend to recommend are oldies, but such is the state of things, I'm afraid. I remember watching this show during its very long run from 1954 to 1973. Now that's a long time for a TV show, so obviously there were a lot of people who watched it besides me.

If you like heartwarming stories with lessons of love, compassion, adventure, courage, and the like, maybe it would be worthwhile digging up some dvds if they're to be found or look for it on a channel that broadcasts the old shows. And then, of course, the movie can be viewed from a variety of sources, I would hope. I don't KNOW this, but maybe you would want to look into it.

We don't have to succumb to everything we're being fed today. We do have choices, and one of those choices is to dig into the past and unearth some of the oldies but goodies. In my opinion, the Lassie show and movie fit into that category. And this is especially true if you like dogs AND children like me. But then again, sometimes I found the show a bit sad as it often made me teary. But that's just the way I am, and then again, who's to say that's not a good thing for your kids too?

I need to mention that the show had Lassie's exploits taking place with family life in a farming community, then some seasons of adventures with  US Forest Rangers, and the canine star finally ended her long series run at a children's home. For some reason, I don't remember the last seasons so perhaps I never watched those, I'm not sure.

So there you have it. Lassie is my latest TV recommendation. More to come no doubt.

Fondly,
Maxine, a/k/a Nanna

Let's Play Checkers

I had completely forgotten about this game. I'd like to play with my grandchildren. Surely this would be a fun activity for you and one of your children. Or you could encourage a couple of them to play together. Let's not let technology take away the fun we can have together in such a nice way. Good one on one time for sure. And from there....to chess.

Give Me Oil In My Lamp

Grandfather God

 A six year old boy named Aaron described God: "He's old. It's been a long time since he was a kid!"

His seven year old sister, Aubrey, offered a more specific portrait of God when she added, "He's like seventy or seventy-two. He's like everybody's grandpa in the whole world." Then she added thoughtfully, "except he's not our grandpa, he's our Father."

(Borrowed from Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions, copyright Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler, 1997)

I found this very intriguing and it really got me to thinking. Somehow this little girl saw a distinction between God as a grandpa and as a father. And the thing is, she's correct, at least with respect to how we usually view what a grandfather does and what a father does. This particular devotion is entitled "Grandfather God" and it's for the date October 12th. As pointed out there, God isn't just a grandpa figure who gives us things and pats us on the head. He's not like our grandparents who usually don't discipline or punish us. God sees and knows our sin and He DOES discipline us for it.

But I would add, as our heavenly Father, He also provides for us and cares for our every need. We can be thankful for these things and we can hope and pray that earthly fathers who are raising their children would do likewise. We can hope they'll be like their heavenly Father as they raise their children. At least we can hope this for those Christian dads we know in our lives.

Apples, Anyone?

The article at the website about apples has always been one of my favorites. I guess it's because I like almost anything made with apples and also because they are indeed good for you. So now that we're right smack in the middle of the season when this great fruit is plentiful and economical, why not take a look at this article and the links it contains? Enjoy! Oh, it's here.


Maxine, a/k/a Nanna

To Live In Hearts

I hope I continue to live in the hearts of those whom I leave behind, and hope you do too. And may it be in the ways that matter most and best to Christ.

Lovingly,
Maxine, a/k/a Nanna

The Power of Sin

XV. Train them remembering continually the power of sin.

"You must not expect to find your children's minds a sheet of pure white paper, and to have no trouble if you only use right means. I warn you plainly you will find no such thing. It is painful to see how much corruption and evil there is in a young child's heart, and how soon it begins to bear fruit. . . In little ways they will creep out at a very early age; it is almost startling to observe how naturally they seem to spring up. Children require no schooling to learn to sin. [Italics mine]

"But you must not be discouraged and cast down by what you see. You must not think it a strange and unusual thing, that little hearts can be so full of sin. It is the only portion which our father Adam left us; it is that fallen nature with which we come into the world; it is that inheritance which belongs to us all. Let it rather make you more diligent in using every means which seem most likely, by God's blessing, to counteract the mischief. Let it make you more and more careful, so far as in you lies, to keep your children out of the way of temptation.

". . . Remember the natural depravity of your children, and take care."

 ~ From the Duties of Parents, J. C. Ryle, See the first post in this series.


[ This is the most unpleasant of the topics so far, but it's a necessary one. If we ignore the Adamic nature which resides in each of us, and the fact that it's an inheritance we received at birth, we'll have a most difficult road to travel in our parenting. But knowing this helps us to have pity on our precious children, and love them even more when we remember we're all in that same boat, and hopefully we'll be more diligent and careful to lead them to Jesus and instruct them in the right Way.]

He's Got the Whole World

Just a reminder!

I Couldn't Care More

"In a world full of people who couldn't care less, be someone who couldn't care more." ~ Author Unknown

If there is anything we can teach our children that's more important than kindness and compassion I would love to know what that is.

Lovingly, Maxine