And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Malachi 3:17

When He Cometh

When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

Refrain
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.

He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom:
All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
His loved and His own.

Refrain
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.

Little children, little children,
Who love their Redeemer,
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

Refrain
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.

Words by William O. Cushing
Music by George F. Root

I came across an idea years ago that I plan to do with my children–or rather, for them. This works for grandchildren, grown children and even nieces and nephews too. I was chatting with fellow HS mom Stephanie about it and thought I’d share it here with you.

Take your favorite version of the Bible (for me, it’s the KJV) without study notes. Choose one with wide margins, sturdy leather covers and nice size print.  This will be an heirloom, so make sure it will wear well.

Spend a year for each child’s Bible. As you do your daily Bible reading, personalize the Bible for that child. Write notes, underline passages, and jot down ideas you have for them. As you read and pray with them in mind, the Holy Spirit will quicken you to certain passages and relate them to your child. In your prayer time, God will reveal their bent, challenges and strengths. Write these in the margins. (You can also do this over many years. As the Lord leads, add to each Bible over time.) You can take note of memories or things to come, prayers you have and character qualities you want to instill in them. And be sure to date it!

Over the course of the year you will fill it with memories, prayers and notes as you make it personal to the child. For example, I would highlight scriptures for Princess G concerning healing and making all things new (relating to the eczema she deals with). I would make notes in the passage about preaching the Gospel to the whole world to Princess S because she loves to talk to everyone about God. For Prince J I would make sure I highlighted the passages about David being a man after God’s own heart and that that is my prayer for him. You can also add events, like protection scriptures remind you of a time that they were rescued or protected. Or success scriptures remind you of an accomplishment.

I plan to do this when they are older and give it to them as a graduation gift. My heart’s desire is that they would treasure it and read through it to see what I prayed and believed God for concerning them. And I hope we can look back at it together over the years and see God’s faithfulness, remembering the One who wrote all our days down before a single one came to be.

I came across this amazing idea to create a Bible with blank pages for notes. It’s so brilliantly simple I wish I had thought of it first! The only thing I would change is the spiral binding. Being a hand book binder myself, it has my mind working on a more beautiful way to get the job done.

I have made so many “friends” along my homeschool journey–Charles Willson Peale, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Christopher Columbus, Louisa May Alcott, Benjamin West. Then yesterday a new friend came into my life– Frances Ridley Havergal. We met quite by chance, bumping into one another at a local thrift store. And I am sure I will ever be the same.

The little book I picked up for two dollars was a well-worn copy of Havergal’s Kept for the Master’s Use. (I have since discovered that she wrote several books for children, which I am now eagerly seeking!) The unassuming tome is thoughful application of Scripture in a personal way, using our lives and bodies to illustrate her points, using her hymn “Take My Life and Let it Be.” Chapters include: “Our Hands Kept for Jesus,” “Our Voices Kept for Jesus,” “Our Silver and Gold Kept for Jesus,” “Our Lips Kept For Jesus,” and so forth. Here is a sample from her chapter entitled “Our Feet Kept for Jesus:”

The figurative keeping of the feet of His saints, with the promise that when they run they shall not stumble, is a most beautiful and helpful subject. But it is quite distinct from the literal keeping for Jesus our literal feet.

There is a certain homeliness about the idea which helps to make it very real. These very feet of ours are purchased for Christ’s service  by the preciious drops which fell from His own torn and pierced feet upon the cross. They are to be His errand-runners. How can we let the world, the flesh and the devil have the use of what has been purchased with such a payment? (p. 60)

And she has this to say about Jesus’ hands in the final chapter entitled “Christ for Us:”

3. His Hands “for thee.” Literal hands, literally pierced, when the whole weight of His quivering frame hung from the torn muscles and bared nerves; literally uplifted in parting blessing. Consecrated, priestly hands; “filled” hands (Ex. xxviii. 41, xxix. 9, etc., margin)– filled once with His great offering, and now with His gifts and blessings “for thee.” Tender hands, touching and healing, lifting and leading with the gentlest of care. Strong hands, upholding and defending. Open hands, filling with good and satisfying desire (Ps. civ. 28 and cxlv. 16). Faithful hands, restraining and sustaining. “His left hand is under my head and His right hand doth embrace me.”

Ms. Havergal’s poetic prose and call to consecration are inspiring. I know I will pore over her book for years to come, allowing my new friend to challenge and inspire me, beckoning me higher and higher in Him. So I’m off to put on a pot of tea and sit with my new friend and listen to her thoughts on the Saviour I so dearly love.

Links to her biography, music and writings:

My King: or Daily Thoughts for the King’s Children

Poetry Selections from The Ministry of Song

Hymns by Ms. Havergal

The Works of Miss Havergal (Online reading)

Morning Bells; Or, Waking Thoughts for Little Ones

The Havergal Trust

Last week in botany we talked about roots. We discussed two reasons for roots–nutrition and support. To see what God has to say about roots, we went to Ephesians 3:17-19 “...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be also able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height–”

God says we are to be rooted in love. Princess G reasoned what it means to be rooted in love–that you will feel secure, peaceful, loving, etc. She also reasoned that these amount to the Fruit of the Spirit. We eat of the fruit of the Spirit when we are rooted in God’s love. As we take it in we are nourished by this Heavenly fruit.
Then, as she was a tree with her branches out wide and her leaf fingers wriggling in the wind, she also reasoned that as she takes in the Fruit of the Spirit through her roots, her branches will also produce that same fruit. She will then be able to offer to others that same fruit, changing her world with peace, love, joy, etc (and, of course, self-control!). What a wonderful picture! She drew it for her notebook, with herself as a tree, rooted in a heart with branches that offer the nine fruits of the Spirit. (see Psalm 1, revelation 22:2.)
It is these moments that remind me why I do this. I am teaching her to reason from the Word of God and to apply it to her life. God, help me to be rooted in Your love. Help me to feast on the Love that only You can give, and help me to be so full of that love that it changes everyone I meet.

places God’s Word at the center of all subjects. We do not tack some scriptures on to a canned curriculum, but we discover the principles from which the subject is derived and teach those. I love using the Word of God as the foundation for all subjects. I enjoy it for many reasons.

First, it keeps me in the Word more than any other type of education would. My philosophy of education requires me to study and prepare my own heart before passing principles on to my children. Like a momma bird, I am breaking down the meat of the Word into something their little tummies can digest. This preparation keeps my mind on God’s Word and meditating on Him.

Second, I see the Bible through a series of lenses, or filters, if you will. I view the Bible in different ways for different subjects. In JBC we are looking governmentally at God’s Word. It is also our mathematics primer–we can see that math comes out of God’s nature. The Bible is the highest form of literature, so we view all other written text compared to it. It is also a science text, even allowing us to be present at creation to see how God put the Earth and its inhabitants together. I also see its excellent grammar and manner of expression, which elevates our standard of grammar and sentence structure. And it is a big, beautiful window to His Story. We can see providential history played out over thousands of years.

Third, because it is God’s written instructions, I can find everything I need there. Trouble with a child? Look for the answers there. Struggling to grasp a subject? I just check my concordance and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the wisdom I need. I never need to be stressed or concerned, for His Word has the comfort and encouragement I need to make it through. I know what my duties are as a parent, and my children know theirs also. This structure is very reassuring to me. His will is not mysterious or unattainable. God makes it all plain for me in His Word. His Word says

2 Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it]:
3 Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek [Wisdom] as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures,
5 Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of [our omniscient God].
6 For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He hides away sound and godly Wisdom and stores it for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him); He is a shield to those that walk uprightly and in integrity,
8 That He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the
way of His saints. Prov. 2: 2-8 AMP

 

This is my scripture for my own home education. It is comforting to know that
as I teach my children to seek skillful and godly wisdom that we will not be
disappointed. All this hard work has eternal rewards. As we pursue these
subjects using biblical principles, I am not just teaching science or grammar,
but God is revealing “skillful and godly wisdom” to them. Hallelujah! That’s all
I want for them: to know the Wisdom that comes from above. All the rest is
gravy.

Together, the school subjects give me comprehensive view of God’s Word that I would never experience otherwise. I can see the “whole counsel of God,” enjoying His wisdom and insight on matters like economics, interpersonal relations, education and home and family life. It is an understatement to say that there is no better manual for education and living than the Bible. If you never taught from another book you would get an excellent education.

We have been studying about the Geneva Bible this week in HisStory. When we were discussing it Princess S said, “This is really fun!” Go figure! She loves hands-on stuff (like every other kid on the planet). I’m just glad she enjoyed it.

You can see scans of the entire Geneva Bible online here. Princess G liked reading it because it was so different that what she’s used to. She was surprisingly good at reading it too!

The Geneva Bible sprang from persecution in England. Bloody Mary banned the printing of English scriptures, so many Reformers fled to Geneva. There, among contemporary scholars like Calvin and Foxe, they created this version of the Bible. More on the history of the text can be found in nice, concise form here.

We discussed the impact of the Geneva Bible on us in America today and here’s the paragraph she wrote about it:
The Pilgrims used this Bible. They got their idea for government from the Bible and passed them down to the Founding Fathers. This Bible was important in our country’s birth.
We talked about how this Bible is important to her because there would be no America without it. The Bible in the hands of the people always brings liberty. God’s Providence allowed Scriptures to be brought to America’s shores and into our homes.
“For forty years after the publication of the King James Bible, the Geneva Bible continued to be the Bible of the home.”
This version was beloved by the Pilgrims, the founding fathers and even the Army (Oliver Cromwell used excerpts for the soldiers’ pocket Bibles). Other interesting facts about it:

• it was the first Bible to break the text into verses
• it was the first study Bible, with extensive notes
• it was quoted by Shakespeare
• it’s about 90% the same text as Tyndale’s 1384 version from the original Greek and Hebrew.
• it was printed in Roman typeface for easy (?) reading
• the King James version is about 90% the same text as this version

…and why is it called “the Breeches Bible?” See the Geneva Bible Gen. 3:7.