So what, or who, have we been keeping company with this month? We chose John Knox. We have read some books on him in the past, so this year we chose this historical fiction book by Douglas Bond.
And since we are focused on John Knox, it's the perfect time to learn more about Scotland! So we checked out some resources from the library on Scotland--books, travel videos, and music, of course. I have yet to try out some simple recipes, but you can be sure I'm not going to have haggis on my menu! This study has been very fun and I have learned a lot. We thought maybe we should trace our family lineage to Scotland so we could have an excuse to have a family tartan and Tender Warrior might just wear a kilt (not likely), but any lineage to Scotland would come through my side not his. The children decided after one of our travel videos, that Mama should be able to play the bagpipes since I play the Irish tinwhistle and the bagpipes are much like a recorder with some air blown in a bag. Alas, while I think it would be fun to try and I do enjoy listening to them for a little while at parades, I suppose it doesn't fit me too well. I like strings and harps and flutes and the piano. Now we are all ready to visit Scotland someday (maybe when I get to England, hmmmmm?)
For my own personal reading time, I chose this book from the library:
This is the first "adult" book I have read by Liz Curtis Higgs. I have to say my all-time favorites of hers are her children's Parable series books. I have not read any of her Christian fiction....it's just not my genre. She does have a series based on Scotland. And she admits she has fallen in love with Scotland in all of her travels and studies for her books. So this book reads like you are her travel companion. It's kind of an interesting way of writing a book. I enjoyed it and her humorous style of communication.
As for children's videos, there aren't too many out there yet, and I haven't seen one on John Knox yet (or Martin Luther) that would appeal to me. But here is a series on Heroes of the Faith called Torchlighters that we learned about through Bible Bee. It is produced by Voice of the Martyrs and I think it is very well done for a children's series. To date, there are just 10 titles. We've enjoyed a few of them throughout our Bible Bee studies. As for the Reformation, the one on William Tyndale would be most suitable.
We do love fall and the beauty and bounty that God has provided for us. We also love history and appreciate the history of the church. We think it's important to spend this month and this day celebrating these things and shining a light in the darkness that surrounds us. That has meant we have tried different approaches over the years to do this. Some have been successful and others.....well, we thought we could have done better, but we trusted that the Lord used it anyway.
So, we will wrap up the month with some cozy apple cider and pumpkin recipes (maybe I'll get to those Scottish recipes yet, but perhaps not today) and some good stories in the evening. My littles still like carving pumpkins (no scary faces or evil symbols here!) and I do realize some Christians don't agree. We just use the opportunity to go through the "Pumpkin Patch Parable" book and use the pumpkin to tell the story of salvation. Just one way we seek to redeem the day...because all things were created for His glory. And we are always learning, always reforming. "Sola Reformanda" is our theme. Not only for this Reformation-themed month, but for every day of our lives for His glory.
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