Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Advice from Louisa May’s uncle

This advice from a father to his son away at university in the late 1800s is a worthy challenge to us all.

I hear indirectly that you’ve been called on to deliver an address or lecture or speech of some sort. Let us know all about it. The more thoughts you express, the more you will have, and there is no exercise of the mind that is so quickening and strengthening to all our mental faculties as carefully ranging and clearly expressing our thoughts on any subject worth thinking about.

I hope you, too, will take pains to acquire an excellent locution. Do learn to read well and speak well. Accustom yourself to speak extempore in common conversation. Cultivate the habit of saying exactly what you mean to say, of using clear and appropriate language, and of finishing your sentences. A slovenly, slipshod style in conversation will be very likely to insinuate itself into one’s extempore speeches.

Samuel Joseph May, brother of Abigail May Alcott.

Taken from Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother, by Eve LaPlante

I’d say this boils down to:

• Say what you mean;
• Mean what you say;
• Say it so it can be understood;
• Say it well (complete sentences and all).

Have you received or given any similar or very different advice?

__________

Subscribe to NoelPiper.com by using the one of the Subscribe links to the right or by clicking here.
__________

If you decide to purchase an item here, I do appreciate it if you link through from this site or from the sidebar at my travel blog. That way, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did.
__________

Please visit my travel blog too–Tell Me When To Pack

• Leave a Comment (0)  

Monday, December 31st, 2012

Kindle Fire or Kindle Paperwhite?

Our anniversary and my birthday are less than a week apart, with Christmas in between. Sometimes that means one larger gift that covers all the occasions. I guess I wasn’t very subtle about what was on my wish list this year for Christiversaday–a replacement for the Kindle I couldn’t find when I returned home from a trip a while back.

I’d played around a few minutes with a friend’s Kindle Fire and was impressed by the colors and apps. So that’s what I was crossing my fingers for. And that’s what my husband blessed me with on our anniversary. We enjoyed getting acquainted with it together.

Though the apps and games would be fun, my main use of a Kindle is for reading. So my heart sank when I realized that reading on the Kindle Fire is missing the same 2 important features that are lacking on the Kindle app for various devices (iphone, android, iPad, PC, Mac, Blackberry,Windows Phone 7)  –features that were a normal part of my earlier Kindle experience:

• Unbroken continuation of a highlight from one page to the next.
• The ability to organize my books into Collections.

Highlighting. On my earlier Kindle, to continue a highlight to the next page, I just kept the cursor moving to the bottom corner of the screen and the page automatically turned and the highlight continued. By contrast, when I’m highlighting in the Kindle app on my phone or on an iPad, I can’t drag the highlight beyond the bottom of the screen. That means if the passage continues on the next page, I have to start a new highlight on the next page. So when I go later to my notes and highlights, I find it saved as if it were two highlights rather than as one passage. That’s the way the Kindle Fire does it too.

Collections. Some people keep only a few books at a time on their Kindles and store the rest in “the cloud” until they want them (I know that’s an accepted term and shouldn’t need quotation marks, but it sounds like a nebulous–pun intended–metaphor to me.). But I keep pretty much everything in my device. So I want a way to organize my books and not have to page through several hundred hoping to find the one I want. The Collection feature on my earlier Kindle let me create categories that are most useful to me–fiction, Christian living, China, biography, etc. That feature is not available in Kindle apps or in the Kindle Fire.

I had made the big mistake of assuming that every new Kindle product was an upgrade–keeping the great features and making them better. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. It was too subtle for me that the Getting Acquainted with Kindle page was showing a Kindle Fire Family of devices and a Kindle E-reader Family. I thought Kindle meant Kindle.

I returned the Kindle Fire and ordered instead a Kindle Paperwhite E-reader. Now that has what I wanted and more.

What I wanted:

• Collections.
• Highlighting that continues to next page.

And more:

• Noticeably smaller size and lighter weight than the Kindle Fire and earlier Kindle e-readers.
• Touch screen.
• On-screen keyboard that pops up as needed.
• Higher resolution (62% more pixels)
• Adjustable built-in light that is not a backlight  (page down here for a more technical description).

When it comes to reading, the Kindle Fire is in competition with iPad, not with Kindle e-readers. If you want color and don’t care as much about the reading features, a Kindle Fire is probably what you want.

But if you’re like me and want the possibility of 1000 books in one 7.5-ounce device you can drop in your pocket, purse, or carry-on, go for a Kindle e-reader (Kindle E-reader Family on this page). My choice is the Kindle Paperwhite.

__________

Subscribe to NoelPiper.com by using the one of the Subscribe links to the right or by clicking here.

If you decide to purchase an item here, I do appreciate it if you link through from this site or from the sidebar at my travel blog. That way, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did. 

__________

Please visit my travel blog too–Tell Me When To Pack

• Leave a Comment 9  

Saturday, December 1st, 2012

Lots more books for boys (and girls too)

After my list of books for boys a few days ago, here are a few more I thought of:

    s   

Then wow! Thank you so much for your many, many  suggestions. Let’s start with books actually written by a couple of you:

By Hannah McKay and her father, Jeff Roth

To be released in January — 1st in a series

All they wanted was a little adventure. What they got was the adventure of a lifetime.School is out for the summer and Jack, Ben, and Jeb can’t wait to go exploring. Packing their knapsacks and saddling their horses, the trio sets out. But when they stumble across a hidden cave, they also discover the remains of an old Spanish soldier. And a valuable treasure they never could have imagined! But soon they are being followed by a stranger who wants the treasure. In the chase, the brothers end up trapped in an underground river bed, fighting for their lives. They must find their way out before they perish like the Spanish soldier. The boys have trusted the Lord to help them in the past, but will they trust Him now? Join Jack, Ben, and Jeb as they fight for their lives and learn to trust God in Tahosa Treasure! (Amazon Description)

By Bryce Morgan and Mitch Martin

Rescue Me! is a comic book that helps kids connect classic superhero themes with the amazing message of the Bible. This is not what some might think of as a Christian comic book! This is a classic comic book hero in a classic (family friendly) comic book story, interspersed with lessons connecting themes in the story to the timeless truths of the gospel. Kids of all ages won’t be able to put it down! (learn more at www.itscaptainsun.com) (Amazon description)

Here are a bunch you’ve told us about, many of which I haven’t read, but some of you like them and so I pass them on:

Each of the following image links represents either a series or one of several books by the same author:

Now I’m picturing hundreds of boys hidden away in their secret reading nooks–the space between bed and wall, a loft corner, up a tree in clubhouse or on a wide branch, behind the sofa or garage . . . Too bad for you if you were hoping they’d take out the trash or dry the dishes.

Please keep those suggestions coming!

__________

Subscribe to NoelPiper.com by using the one of the Subscribe links to the right or by clicking here.

If you decide to purchase an item here, I do appreciate it if you link through from this site or from the sidebar at my travel blog. That way, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did. 

__________

Please visit my travel blog too–Tell Me When To Pack

• Leave a Comment 4  

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Another Bible story audio

So sorry for my absent-mindedness. Here’s another Bible story audio that I fully intended to include in my original list. Thank you, Sarah, for the reminder.

A few years ago, we gave The Big Picture Story Bible to all our sons’ families. I was wishing there was audio, and now there is.

The title is perfect. This is a Bible story book that focuses on the big picture, not just each individual story as a stand-alone. Trevin Wax says that if “you have long hoped for a book that teaches children the biblical story from Creation to New Creation – a book that anticipates Jesus in the Old Testament and makes his crucifixion and resurrection the proper climax of the New Testament - then this book is for you.” (Note: He links to the earlier edition that does not include CD).

• Leave a Comment (0)  

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Sally Lloyd-Jones’ audio for kids

Thank you, Amanda and Erin, for reminding me about The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones (to link to the audio version go to the “format” box and choose “audio”). That’s one that I definitely was going to include on the list in my last post, but my brain turned off too soon. The reader you mention with the “charming British accent” is David Suchet.

If you’re not familiar with The Jesus Storybook Bible, here’s our son Barnabas’s review.

One of the great values of good children’s Bible-related audio is to help our children have “Bible Time,” as we called it in our family–a time alone with the Word–even before they’re able to read. Tim Keller recommends Sally’s newest book, for just that reason:  ”Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing may be the best, first introduction for children to have their own time with God.”

If you’re getting the audio (once again, the narrator is David Suchet) be sure to get the book too. With this book, as with The Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally has partnered with Jago for the artwork which multiplies the appeal and impact of Sally’s word pictures. The one-page devotionals are rich in the truth of God’s love, faithfulness, forgiveness, salvation that draw a reader’s heart toward him–that make a reader’s heart sing.

Song of the Stars is one Bible story–the one that the saints of the Old Testament were waiting for, the one that all creation awaited on tiptoe. Sally leaves a reader breathless with the joy as the bated breath of generations is exhaled in celebration at the birth of the Savior.

__________

Subscribe to NoelPiper.com by using the one of the Subscribe links to the right or by clicking here.

If you make a purchase after you click on a product link in a post here or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar at my travel blog, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did. 

• Leave a Comment (0)  

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Advent: What is it? And what shall I read?

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12}

Advent is what we call the season leading up to Christmas. It begins four Sundays before December 25, sometimes in the last weekend of November, sometimes on the first Sunday in December. This year, it begins this coming Sunday, December 2.

1 Peter 1:10-12 is a clear description of what we look back to during Advent. For four weeks, it’s as if we’re re-enacting, remembering the thousands of years God’s people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God’s salvation, for Jesus. That’s what advent means—coming. Even God’s men who foretold the grace that was to come didn’t know “what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating” (verse 11). They were waiting, but they didn’t know what God’s salvation would look like.

In fact, God revealed to them that they were not the ones who would see the sufferings and glory of God’s Christ. “They were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (verse 12). They were serving us. We Christians on this side of Jesus’ birth are a God-blessed, happy people because we know God’s plan. The ancient waiting is over. We have the greatest reason to celebrate.

(This was posted originally at the beginning of Advent 2011, and is taken from my book, Treasuring God in Our Traditions.)

__________

Here are some sources of daily Advent readings you might want to check out for personal or family devotions.

Desiring God will offer a daily Scripture reading guide later this week.

Arrival: Preparing to Celebrate Christ’s Birth – Free download of Billy Graham’s advent devotional.

The Essential Journey to Bethlehem — Daily Advent Scripture readings from Scripture Union. You can download the free ebook or subscribe via email, RSS, FaceBook, Twitter, or email.

When I mentioned Behold the Lamb of God last year during Advent, Russ Ramsey responded with this description:

It has 25 chapters, one for each day of December leading up to Christmas day. I designed it that way so if folks wanted, they could use it as a 25 day Advent devotional. And I did write it for family devotional use. The chapters are short enough to read in about 10 minutes. It follows the story of the need for and the coming of Christ from Eden up through the Nativity story. You hit the New Testament somewhere around chapter 17.

May God bless you as you celebrate his advent, his coming.

Please tell us about Advent resources you’ve found helpful.

__________

Subscribe to NoelPiper.com by using the one of the Subscribe links to the right or by clicking here.

If you make a purchase after you click on a product link in a post here or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar at my travel blog, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did. 

__________

Please visit my travel blog too–Tell Me When To Pack

• Leave a Comment 4  

Saturday, November 24th, 2012

Books for boys

I’ve had sons and grandsons for quite a few years, so it’s a long time that  I’ve been on the lookout for books that entice boys to read. In case some of you are running into the same challenge, here are a few possibilities, loosely in age order. Since I’m remembering some from my adult sons’ childhoods, I hope I might be introducing some of these to you for the first time.

To my thinking, one of the things that makes a good boys’ book is that I enjoy it too, reading  aloud with the children or quietly on my own. And of course, a lot of girls will like these books too.

Please comment with your thoughts about any of these books and with your recommendations of good books for boys.

Of course, top of the list is C. S. Lewis’s Narnia series.

The Cooper Kids Adventure series, by Frank Peretti. There are quite a few more of these too.

The Spirit Flyer Series, by John Bibee (There are 4 more books, but these are the ones we read aloud together when our boys were younger)

The Archives of Anthropos series, by John White

The 100 Cupboards Trilogy, by N.D. Wilson

The Dragon King Trilogy, by Stephen Lawhead

I haven’t read all the books written by Stephen Lawhead, but I’ve liked every one I’ve read, and most of them would be good choices for boys as well.

Chiveis Trilogy, by Bryan M. Litfin. You might want to check out my review of audiobook edition of The Sword.

The Pendragon Cycle, by Stephen Lawhead

That’s off the top of my head. I’m sure there are more, but they’ll have to wait for another post.

Remember, please chime in with your suggestions.

• Leave a Comment 39  

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

ADHD, audiobooks, and a review

For the month of July 2012 The Sword can be downloaded free from christianaudio.com.

__________

Boredom is a major roadblock to my getting done what needs to be done, especially the repetitive, mindless tasks like clearing my desk. Don’t tell me. I already know that’s not supposed to be repetitive, but what can I say?

Enter audiobooks. My smartphone becomes a distraction–I mean that in a good way. Following a good story keeps my mind off the pain of boredom. So I hardly realize I’m completing a dreaded, long-procrastinated job.

And yes, it’s stories that keep me going. I seem to need print in front of me to follow a non-fiction line of thought. But a good story helps me escape–I mean that in a good way. So I jumped at the opportunity to download and review The Sword, by Bryan M. Litfin, from christianaudio.

Whenever I read an author who’s new to me, I start cautiously, not knowing what to expect. But when the writing is good, I soon slip out of the role of observer and into the story. That didn’t take long in The Sword, especially because Ray Porter, the narrator, is amazingly good with individual, different voices for each character. Each voice remains consistent throughout the book, and goes a long way in portraying the personality of each person in the story.

I’m stumped trying to name the type of literature, the genre. Fantasy? Sort of, but it’s “real” people in our own world. Science fiction? Sort of, but only in that it’s set hundreds of years in the future. There is no science or technology. Allegory? Not really.

So I’ll just call it historical fiction set in the distant future. The setting is several hundred years from now after a raging virus and the resulting anarchy and war have wiped out most of humanity and our arts, accomplishments, and Christianity. The descendants of the survivors live in a world similar perhaps to the world of the Roman Empire, in the sense that there is an island of civilization surrounded by unknown wilderness peopled by scattered “outsiders” comparable to the barbarians in the lands surrounding the Romans.

In the book’s setting and heroism and drama, I felt a little like I was hearing the Stephen Lawhead I used to read to our boys, like the books in the Dragon King Trilogy (which are also available for download from christianaudio: In the Hall of the Dragon King and The Warlords of Nin and The Sword and the Flame).

The heart of the story is the reactions to the Old Testament that’s been discovered. The ones who are drawn to it recognize that this scripture is the way to know the true God who had been lost to them. So as we read/listen, we see them piecing together who he is–creator, sustainer, savior–and trying to figure out what that means in their lives. They know there’s some great significance to the ancient cross symbol, but with only the Old Testament, it’s still a mystery to them.

It seemed to me that reading about the experiences of these new followers of the true God might be a way of understanding better some of the dilemmas and fears of Christians in the unwelcoming world of the synagogue and the Roman Empire.

One small stumbling block to me was the accounts of the gatherings of believers and seekers. I thought the tone, language, agenda and format sounded too much like one of our contemporary churches or home groups.

But that anachronism was well-overbalanced by the stark realism when Elijah’s challenge to Baal is reenacted in a face-off with the evil “god.” I hardly knew whether or not I wanted God to show up in a fiery blast. I don’t want to give it away, but I was left, like the characters, wondering what his purposes are. That’s a good story. A good story that leaves the protagonists with no choice but launching out across glaciers into the unknown.

The end — of The Sword, anyway.

So I’m ready for the next two–The Gift  (at christianaudio) and The Kingdom  (at christianaudio)

__________

 This download was provided for review by christianaudio.com.

__________

Subscribe to NoelPiper.com by using the one of the Subscribe links to the right or by clicking here.

If you make a purchase after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar at my travel blog, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did. 

__________

Please visit my travel blog too–Tell Me When To Pack

• Leave a Comment 2  

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Onomatopoeia

This weekend, our 7-year-old granddaughter was reading to me from The Tale of Benjamin Bunny. As she felt out the syllables one by one, I heard the words as if through her ears. It was a reminder to me of  Beatrix Potter’s rich, old vocabulary. Ears pricking. . . gigs driving along. . . and the pony’s trit-trot.

Trit trot. As she worked out one word at a time, trying out all possible pronunciations until hitting on the one that’s familiar, trit was a puzzle. I nudged her forward into the next word. Trit and trot together–ah yes, the sound of the pony’s feet.

Only later did I realize she’d already learned about onomatopoeia from her daddy. She even had her own definition: “Like the sounds an animal makes–words that sound like noises.”

That brought to my mind The Cataract of Lodore, a rumbling, tumbling, rousing, dowsing onomatopoeic poem by Robert Southey.

(This video reading is too quiet, but you’ll get the idea.)

The Cataract of Lodore

by Robert Southey

“How does the water
Come down at Lodore?”
My little boy asked me
Thus, once on a time;
And moreover he tasked me
To tell him in rhyme.
Anon, at the word,
There first came one daughter,
And then came another,
To second and third
The request of their brother,
And to hear how the water
Comes down at Lodore,
With its rush and its roar,
As many a time
They had seen it before.
So I told them in rhyme,
For of rhymes I had store;
And ’twas in my vocation
For their recreation
That so I should sing;
Because I was Laureate
To them and the King.

From its sources which well
In the tarn on the fell;
From its fountains
In the mountains,
Its rills and its gills;
Through moss and through brake,
It runs and it creeps
For a while, till it sleeps
In its own little lake.
And thence at departing,
Awakening and starting,
It runs through the reeds,
And away it proceeds,
Through meadow and glade,
In sun and in shade,
And through the wood-shelter,
Among crags in its flurry,
Helter-skelter,
Hurry-skurry.
Here it comes sparkling,
And there it lies darkling;
Now smoking and frothing
Its tumult and wrath in,
Till, in this rapid race
On which it is bent,
It reaches the place
Of its steep descent.

The cataract strong
Then plunges along,
Striking and raging
As if a war waging
Its caverns and rocks among;
Rising and leaping,
Sinking and creeping,
Swelling and sweeping,
Showering and springing,
Flying and flinging,
Writhing and ringing,
Eddying and whisking,
Spouting and frisking,
Turning and twisting,
Around and around
With endless rebound:
Smiting and fighting,
A sight to delight in;
Confounding, astounding,
Dizzying and deafening the ear with its sound.

Collecting, projecting,
Receding and speeding,
And shocking and rocking,
And darting and parting,
And threading and spreading,
And whizzing and hissing,
And dripping and skipping,
And hitting and splitting,
And shining and twining,
And rattling and battling,
And shaking and quaking,
And pouring and roaring,
And waving and raving,
And tossing and crossing,
And flowing and going,
And running and stunning,
And foaming and roaming,
And dinning and spinning,
And dropping and hopping,
And working and jerking,
And guggling and struggling,
And heaving and cleaving,
And moaning and groaning;

And glittering and frittering,
And gathering and feathering,
And whitening and brightening,
And quivering and shivering,
And hurrying and skurrying,
And thundering and floundering;

Dividing and gliding and sliding,
And falling and brawling and sprawling,
And driving and riving and striving,
And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling,
And sounding and bounding and rounding,
And bubbling and troubling and doubling,
And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling,
And clattering and battering and shattering;

Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting,
Delaying and straying and playing and spraying,
Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing,
Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling,
And gleaming and streaming and steaming and beaming,
And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing,
And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping,
And curling and whirling and purling and twirling,
And thumping and plumping and bumping and jumping,
And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing;
And so never ending, but always descending,
Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending
All at once and all o’er, with a mighty uproar, -
And this way the water comes down at Lodore.

If you make a purchase after you click on a product link in a post here or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar at my travel blog, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I did. 

• Leave a Comment 3  

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Y’all come! Y’all come!

Y’all come!

That’s American Southern for Everybody’s welcome, and we want to see you!” I just got home from Georgia, the place where I learned my “heart” language all those years ago.

Now I’m turning my eyes and heart toward China, and I’m saying it twice because I’m inviting you twice. I hope I’ll see you two times this week.

Invitation 1: Tomorrow night

Bethlehem to China: A Journey

Presented by Noel Piper and Joann Pittman

Tuesday, January 10

7:00-9:00 pm

Bethlehem Baptist Church, Downtown Campus

Details and directions

Invitation 2: Thursday evening

My Literary Journey to being a Sinophile

Presented by Joann Pittman

Thursday, January 12

7:00 pm

Ramsey County Library Community Room, 2180 Hamline, Roseville, MN

Details and directions

Spread the word!

All y’all come and bring your family and friends. Joann and I are looking forward to seeing you.

• Leave a Comment 2  

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

A Holy Ambition: free download

Many of you are familiar with Logos Software. Recently Logos launched Vyrso Christian eBooks.

Until December, Vyrso is offering a free download of  A Holy Ambition, by one of the best authors around (if I do say so myself).

• Leave a Comment 2  

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Bible story books

I think Bible story books make great gifts for the children we love.

I really appreciate Justin Taylor for his frequent book reccomendations, especially because I usually agree with his assessments. So today’s post recommending his top picks of Bible story books is right up my alley.

I’ve already given some of them on earlier Christmas days. But I hadn’t yet seen The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments, by Marty Machowski. I’m looking forward to it. (Justin links to a great 72-hour discount on the book).

• Leave a Comment 2