Review of Jack the Conqueror

This sharp looking little book from the Lamplighter Collection ranks among my favorites.  It is short, sweet and deals with real-life problems in real-life ways. It does tend to take a  “God helps those who help themselves” angle, so remember that that idea is not really the whole picture.

Nevertheless, just as Nehemiah had to physically rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, Jack has to conquer his problems in practical ways. You see, our ten-year-old hero lives with his aunt who is poor and doesn’t care what he does or where he goes so long as he doesn’t cost her anything. He can wander around town, climb trees, run in the fields, and be as dirty as he likes all day long. But his clothes are very ragged, he doesn’t get much to eat, and he has no one to teach him. So, Jack, after finding out that this is not good, must “resolve well and persevere” alone. 

He’s not truly alone for long though. His willingness to try things soon wins him friends. With their help and Providence, Jack not only learns to be clean, work diligently, and read but more also. It really is fun to read about his adventures! Perhaps one of the best parts is how he manages to have his one and only set of clothes mended! His patience and diligence and the kind wisdom of his friends form an impressive model for children and adults to keep in mind as they conquer their own challenges. 

Title: Jack the Conqueror

Author: Mrs. C.E. Bowen

Setting: Bushgrove, England

Main Character: Jack Harold

First Printed: 1869

This Printing: September 2011

Publisher: Lamplighter Publishing

ISBN: 1-58474-187-2

ISBN13: 978-1-58474-187-9

Chapters: 15

Pages: 127

Pages/Chapter: ~ 8

Review of Jessica’s First Prayer

To continue with our series on missions, here is a review of a book that I think presents a poignant picture of biblical missionary activity. Even though the story is set in nineteenth-century London, the principals hold true today. The following thoughts are taken from my “Book Journal”. 

Yesterday, I started reading one of Lamplighter’s books that  came in the mail with our September package. Today I finished it! Yes, Jessica’s First Prayer by Hesba Stretton is a small book (less than 100 pages), but it also is such a sweet story that this afternoon I had to get to the end.

Little large-eyed Jessica has no one who cares for her in all of London until one day 

when a grave man begrudgingly gives her a 

cup of coffee from his stand. Her friendship will then lead her to a church where her bare feet are eventually led not only down to the pulpit but also down the Way of her Savior. Jessica’s sweet confidence that the Lord will hear her prayers “for Jesus’ sake” transforms the heart of her friend.

Firstly, I like how Hesba Stretton deals with the hard reality of mid-nineteenth century London life yet still keeps the story sweet. I would feel all right reading this story to an eight-year-old. Secondly, I love the minister. He is so gentle and kind to his two daughters and to Jessica. Most importantly, he sees beyond Jessica’s raggedness - he sees her as one of Christ’s lambs to be fed. Also, he actively seeks to help her not only by explaining God’s truth, but also helping to meet her physical needs. He is a good example for me in all these ways and seemed like a minister I would like to know.

Lastly, on a more technical note, I love how Lamplighter has put in footnotes for the Scripture references. It is so nice to be able to see what passage is being referred to, and I am really trying to pay attention since one of my goals is to memorize more verses!

Shared Dreams

Have you ever had a friend who shared your deepest dreams? By dreams, I don’t mean the asleep kind of dreams or the I-would-like-to-have-a-red-Mustang-convertible-someday kind of dreams (although those certainly can be good too); I mean the God-given, I’d-be-willing-to-give-my-life-to-this kind of dreams. Have you ever had a friend who shared those dreams? A friend whose heart beats with yours at certain (whether small or large) ideas of discovery, dominion and discipleship? What a blessing a friend like that is!

I’m thankful to say that I have at least one friend like that. My sister. And, oh, the adventures we have had!

A fairly recent adventure was attending the Illinois Christian Home Educators Convention. One of the wonderful things about ICHE is the fabulous resources waiting at one’s fingertips. This year we came across MP3 CDs of specific Stories of Great Christians, biographies of Christian men and women dramatized for radio by the Moody Broadcasting Network. In our area, these stories still air on the radio daily, and we have enjoyed them, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to purchase some for our personal library.

So far, my favorite of the CDs we purchased is “Saint: The Story of Nate Saint, Missionary Pilot”. While the story obviously focuses on Nate’s life from childhood to the gates of eternity, Marjorie Saint’s life is, of course, also woven in. Knowing honestly very little about Marjorie beforehand, I zoomed in on her part of the drama.

Imagine you are a young wife. You have just arrived in Shell-Mera, Ecuador, to see your new house (the mission station) that your husband has been working on. As he gives you a tour, certain things become obvious: your water will come from the rain barrel, the walls don’t go all the way up to the ceiling so that fresh air can come in (even though bugs will probably come in as well) and so much more. You can tell that your husband is nervous, thinking you might not like roughing it like this. How will you respond?

In the radio drama, Marjorie Saint responds like this, “I think I’m going to love it here. I’ve been sharing your dream for pioneer missionary aviation for as long as I’ve known you. It’s my dream now, too. It’s become a part of me. And if you think you can hog all the pioneering to yourself, you’ve got another thing coming!” ¹

Remarkable, right? Marjorie responds with grace and gusto because God had given her the same dream as her husband’s. She owns it for herself and can’t wait to get into it as much as he is. Beautiful, isn’t it? That’s what sharing God-given dreams looks like. That’s why we hope and pray to share dreams with our dearest friends (and especially the man God might have for each of us) - so the watching world can stop and say, “That’s beautiful! God must have done a great thing here.

If you want to see pictures or learn more about Nate Saint, you can start here: http://www.maf.org/about/history/nate-saint#.UeCEnRacN6E 

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¹ “Saint: The Story of Nate Saint, Missionary Pilot” Stories of Great Christians (Moody Broadcasting Network, Chicago: Chapter 11 8:03)

Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife

This week thousands of Americans are remembering a monumental battle that took place 150 years ago in Pennsylvania - the Battle of Gettysburg. Even though “Stonewall” Jackson had passed away in May of 1863 (before Gettysburg) we think remembering him is a fitting way to mark this anniversary.

Through my studies of history, I have discovered how important it is to hunt up original sources—to study people by looking at their own words. By looking at a person’s own words (in context) I can learn what he himself truly thought, not what some biographer or historian tells me he thought. This is one of the reasons that I love 

studying historic figures via their personal letters.

For me, this particular collection of “Stonewall” Jackson’s letters to his wife proved particularly sweet, and I think a few of you might enjoy it as well. Yes, he had flaws—sometimes glaring ones—like the rest of us, but I do think the Lord enabled him to do a few things very well and that we can learn from those things. Besides, let’s admit that a great many of us won’t pass up the opportunity to peak into some God-honoring love letters! And, if you grew up a dedicated Union girl as I did, you might see a new side to the men in grey as well. 

As I read Beloved Bride (and watched both Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story and Gods and Generals) I developed a great appreciation for a man of whom I used to know very little—Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Now both Jackson and his wife to whom he wrote, Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, stand amongst my historical heroes. I discovered that Jackson was not only a brilliant (blessed) Confederate general but also a loving and tender husband, a loyal friend, a principled and caring leader, a man who loved children, a thoughtful and delightfully doting father, and—foremostly— a steadfast, ever-growing Christian with a great heart for glorifying his Savior and leading other men to the life of forgiveness of sins and to sanctification. Now I understand why someone might want to name his son after this man.

Another part of this book that I like is Mr. William Potter’s sections where he gives account of the historical events surrounding the letters. When I read it, I can hear Mr. Potter saying it in his knowledgeable and kindly way just as it’s written. It’s like being on a Faith & Freedom Tour of Jackson’s life.  

    

Favorite Quotes

“Continue to pray for me that I may live to glorify God more and more, by serving Him and our country.”  ~November 9, 1861, pg. 73

    

“Time forbids a longer letter, but it does not forbid my loving my esposa’.”  ~May 26, 1862, pg. 90

    

“If God be for us, who can be against us?  That He will still be with us and give us victory until our independence shall be established and that He will make our nation that people whose God is the Lord is my earnest and oft-repeated prayer. While we attach so much importance to being free from temporal bondage, we must attach far more to being free from the bondage of sin.”   ~August 11, 1862, pg. 103-04

    

“I hope to have the privilege of joining in prayer for peace at the time you name, and trust that all our Christian people will; but peace should not be the chief object of prayer in our country.  It should aim more especially to implore God’s forgiveness of our sins and make our people a holy people.  If we are but His, all things shall work together for the good of our country, and no good thing will He withhold from it.”  ~November 20, 1862, pg. 113