We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Mockers are spoken of negatively often in Proverbs. According to that book, they delight in their scoffing and any interest in correcting them only results in dishonor because they refuse to listen to rebukes. A mocker goes beyond disagreement with the Word of God. They ridicule it and those who follow it. They have no desire for honest debate. No desire to have their opinions changed. They are arrogant, sarcastic and pompous. They are filled with pride, derision and contempt. That is why Psalm 1 says the wise individual should not “sit in the seat of scoffers, but [rather] delight…in the law of the LORD, and in His law…meditates day and night.”
Randy Smith

Nature teaches us that every believer should be a soul-winner. [As Andrew Murray said,] “It is an essential part of the new nature. We see it in every child who loves to tell of his happiness and to bring others to share his joys. Missions is the automatic outflow and overflow of love for Christ. We delight to enlarge our joy in Him by extending it to others. As Lottie Moon said, “Surely there can be no greater joy than that of saving souls.”
John Piper

    • Reading to Preschoolers

    Posted on

    Reading to Preschoolers Saturday, November 6, 1993 4:45:37 PM Homeschool IdeaExchange Item From: Jason(Ripp) Rippetoe Subject: Reading to Preschoolers To: Homeschool IdeaExchange

    Cc:
    While I believe the term “preschooler” isn’t an accurate one for those not yet beginning there “formal” education, the years between birth and around four years of age are among the most important in a child’s life. It is during this time that there are many foundations laid that will affect the child throughout life.

    In a home that chooses to educate the children at home one of the best ways to make that task easier is to have lkids that love to read. If a child loves reading, doors are opened like you wouldn’t believe. So it behooves you to take some time to make sure that your child is among that crowd.

    Though there are few guarantees in education, one of the best ways to grow a reader is to read to them before they are able to read themselves. This introduces them to the fact that symbols on paper have special meanings that can be deciphered and can reveal wonderful stories and information. A child’s natural curiosity in unravelling these symbols on the paper do much to encourage a love of reading.

    So, now that I’ve ranted a bit, here are a few suggestions to involving a preschooler with telling the story when reading to him.

    1. Stop every now and again and let the child supply the next word or phrase. One of daughter’s favorite books has a line that goes “At home I wear shoes and suspenders.” When reading, we stop after “wear” and “and” so that she can jump in with “shoes” and “suspenders.” She guards her portion of the story closely and will bring things to a screeching halt if you step on one of her lines.
    2. Let the child be the “chorus”. The same book says several times throughout, “By the sea.” This is also Sarah’s part. As we read along, she chimes in at the right time.
    3. Replace the true wording with a nonsense word or phrase and let the child correct you. Kids love to catch grown-ups being sly. Of course, this is only going to work with a story that a child has heard repeatedly and knows by heart. Try it!
    4. Ask the child to tell what happens next. A well placed “And then what happened?” allows the child to be a participant in telling the story in their own words.
    5. Encourage the child to relate the story to his own life. Ask who-what-when-where-how questions; like “The girl in this story is sad…do you ever get sad?”
    6. Let the child explain why something happened in the story. Sneaky way to check comprehension.
    7. Substitute the child’s name for one of the characters in the story and tell them to pretend the story is happening to them.
    8. Ask the child what they would have done in a similar situation.
    9. Let the child tell the story from the pictures. My daughter loves this one and the extent of what she remembers is amazing to me.
    10. If you’ve got several children, have them act out the story.

    Try to make story time special in some way… a snuggle-up-and-read time done daily is of more worth than a once-in-a-while-halfway-reading-while-watching-TV time. You’ll get out of it what you put into it.

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