Monday, October 22, 2012

Reading Aloud


This post is from Mark Hamby's, Lamplighter Daily Moments.  I chose to share it here because I am a big fan of Lamplighter Publishing, Lamplighter Theater and Mark Hamby, but even before I knew about him and his ministry I was and continue to be a fan for reading aloud.  Even though my youngest children are in high school now, I still read aloud during school and for leisure.  We listen to audio books together and audio dramas from Lamplighter books too. Reading aloud is a great way to spend time together without commercials.  It provides wonderful entertainment, sparks discussions, sometimes even a song will come up.  I hope reading aloud is a family activity you enjoy!  Here is Mark Hamby's article.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Lamplighter Moments Daily Devotional
By: Mark Hamby
Did you ever see a movie based on a 19th century setting where the host has one of the daughters read a chapter from a book? What has happened to this family and social activity of reading aloud?

Children who have many opportunities to listen and read tend to become skilled thinkers, speakers and writers. The New York Times published an article by Verlyn Klinkenborg (May 16, 2009), on the lost art of reading aloud, saying...

"... listening aloud, valuable as it is, isn't the same as reading aloud. Both require a great deal of attention. But one of the most basic tests of comprehension is to ask someone to read aloud from a book. It reveals far more than whether the reader understands the words. It reveals how far into the words--and the pattern of the words--the reader really sees." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/opinion/16sat4.html)

Reading aloud recaptures the physicality of words. To read with your lungs and diaphragm, with your tongue and lips, is very different than reading with your eyes alone. The language becomes a part of the body, which is why there is always a curious tenderness, almost a sensational quality, in those 18th- and 19th-century literary scenes where a book is being read aloud in mixed company. The words are not mere words. They are the breath and mind, perhaps even the soul, of the person who is reading."

As I ponder this connection between reading aloud and a child's intellectual development, I am convinced that reading and hearing the Word of God is the foundation for one's spiritual development.

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). I think I can now see the connection when Jesus read the words of Isaiah aloud when he visited the temple. Perhaps reading the Scriptures and other great books aloud in our homes and churches should have a rebirth--it may lead to a rebirth and awakening of our souls.
 
 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

CBC Hosting World Missions Conference

We want you to know about the World Missions Conference hosted by CBC.  As a military family member, I have attended several missions conferences at various churches around the world.  I have been a member of new church plants with missionary pastors and currently my husband is a church planting pastor of a new work on St. Helena Island.  The folks at CBC are hosting their first World Missions Conference and from looking at the schedule it has lots to offer.  As homeschoolers this is a great opportunity to visit with missionaries serving locally, nationally and internationally.  The remainder of the page is directly from the CBC website.  If you have questions I'm sure by calling the church office you can receive more information.
I look forward to attending a few of the events!  Ciao! 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This October Community Bible Church is showcasing a number of the hundreds of missionaries you are supporting by introducing them to you. In a conference/exhibit style, we are giving them a platform to display information about the areas in which they serve, as well as giving you an opportunity to ask any questions. For those of you who are new or unfamiliar with the Great Commission - to go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the remotest part the earth and be witnesses of Jesus Christ - this conference will be a great opportunity to discover the joys of evangelism!

In addition to the exhibits, a musical tribute to missions will be performed by the CBC choir and orchestra, and beloved radio pastor Alistair Begg will share an uplifting and encouraging message. A listing of conference activities follows:


http://66.132.136.114/uploads/wmcsched.jpg

Praise God for Our New Library Facility

We praise God that the long awaited new library on St. Helena Island opened Wednesday, October 17.  Around this time last year we gathered for the groundbreaking for the new library and now it is completed.  You may recall these words from an article that appeared in the Beacon:

As the site of one of the country's first schools for freed slaves, Penn Center is a National Historic District Landmark. The Penn Center Campus is a natural location for this new library branch. In 1906, the Laura M. Towne Library, as part of the Penn School, was providing public library services to black residents on St. Helena Island; built by the school's carpentry classes, the 10-by-10-foot, small-frame building began a tradition that we are proudly continuing today.
 
Now the library is completed, ahead of schedule, and ready to be enjoyed by the community.  Take a look at the history of libraries on St. Helena Island.  These are bits of the History of the Beaufort County Library and its branches that are related to St. Helena Island. 
  • The County Library continued the Bookmobile service established by the Laura Towne Library in 1958.
  • 1958 Prior to the Bookmobile, Mrs. Wilhelmina Barnwell and Mrs. York Bailey  carried books in their own cars to the children on St. Helena and Lady's Islands, until they had more "Book Outposts" than their personal vehicles could handle.
  • The Laura Towne Library at Penn Center, which had operated as a separate library on St. Helena Island since the early 1950s, became the first branch location of the County System.
  • 1973 The Laura Towne Branch Library closed.
  • 1993 The Saint Helena Island Branch location was established, sharing space with the Saint Helena Elementary School media center on Sea Island Parkway (Highway 21).
  • 2006  Beaufort County Library and the Penn Center began discussions about construction of a new full-service branch library facility on property adjacent to the historic Penn campus on St. Helena Island.

This piece below comes from the Library Services to Blacks in South Carolina website.
 
Penn School On St. Helena's Island

Following the Civil War, a variety of religious groups from the North established schools to educate Blacks in South Carolina. Libraries were an integral part of each of these schools and continue today as the bedrock of the state's educational and library systems.

Assistant and Pupils
Assistant and Pupils
Books were scarce in the period following the Civil War, especially on St. Helena's Island. As a result, story hour became an important part of the curriculum at Penn School.
Northern philanthropists sent Christmas gifts of books to the Island children every year.
Dathan School
Dathan School Christmas, 1913
Little Library
Library
Later, the Penn school's "Little Library" served the entire St. Helena's Island community for 25 years.

 As a homeschooling family, we  are thrilled about the new library.  We were active patrons and volunteers at the previous location and will continue to assist in the new facility.  As a person who enjoys reading and researching I am excited about this library.  As a member of the Friends of the Library board I'm actively involved in fundraising to support programs and purchase materials for all of our branches.  As library volunteers, our family is working to help our library with programs, shelving, and other areas where help is needed.  Our students are members of the Teen Board and also serve as volunteers. 

Home school families in the area, this library is a tremendous blessing to us; please use and support it!  Sign up to volunteer and get involved in the programs.  Join the Friends of the Library your membership fee will help purchase materials.  There have been many negative comments made about building this expensive facility with all of its technology out here and I for one look forward to proving all the nay sayers wrong.  We will not only use this facility but will also support and take the very best care of it!

Library hours are as follows: Mondays & Wednesdays 1pm-8pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am-5pm, Fridays 1pm-5pm, Saturdays 9am-5pm and closed on Sundays.  Use the links to follow the library on Twitter and become friends with them on Face Book.  Come out, tour the public spaces of the library, meet the staff and volunteers and enjoy using the library.  We look forward to seeing you at our brand new facility!