You can read this slowly feasting on the dense information or you can read it quickly getting the overall picture either way this is a wonderful book You can read this slowly feasting on the dense information or you can read it quickly getting the overall picture either way this is a wonderful book full of knowledge. I did a little of both.
I even enjoyed the parts on the Scottish Enlightenment and David Hume. I especially loved the in depth look at Scottish education ideals and its influence in America.
This book inspired me to do some research into my own Maxwell heritage. We have a castle!
What a lovely surprise. I started this with the feeling it was a “should” read , I ended it amazed at the author’s skill in making these ideas accessiWhat a lovely surprise. I started this with the feeling it was a “should” read , I ended it amazed at the author’s skill in making these ideas accessible and life giving. Where I expected dry, he breathed life into these fathers even going so far as to intertwine stories from literature to explain complex ideas. I learned so much and it especially helped me in my ongoing wrestlings with the role of education in producing virtue. I feel much better knowing this has been an ongoing thought process through the ages. ...more
I started reading Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn with fear and trembling. As with most Christian women my age, Elisabeth had been a huge influI started reading Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn with fear and trembling. As with most Christian women my age, Elisabeth had been a huge influence on me. Her no nonsense advice had teleported me through the hard years of raising 9 children, even when I found her a little too severe sometimes. I finished Volume 1, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, with a sigh of relief. She had not been canceled and smeared by Vaughn. Much of that first volume reminded me of my own childhood growing up in a little Christian and Missionary Alliance church in DeLand, Florida which was attached to the retirement home for missionaries. I do believe Christ saved me at 5 years old while singing with a very, very old retired missionary SS teacher (What was her name? What was her name?), “Into my heart, Into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus, Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart Lord Jesus.” He did come in and he did stay. So reading about those old time familiar things was a trip down memory lane. I loved Ellen Vaughn’s candor about Elisabeth’s life and I took her warning that the next volume might be rough.
I was not prepared for reading Being Elisabeth Elliot. It undid me. Having finished it a few hours ago, I cannot stop thinking about Elisabeth and what it all means. So much of it I relate to on a smaller scale. I, too, schedule speaking engagements then put them out of my mind until time to prepare and then spend weeks wondering what I was thinking when I accepted. Why, oh why did I accept it? Until the moment I stand on the podium and the words come together. The biography leaves me with so many questions I really have no right to ask, so many puzzle pieces that my brain is trying to find a place for.
One part of me is so frustrated with Elisabeth and yet I also recognize the thinking patterns that as a Christian woman sound very familiar to me. Elisabeth was so highly intelligent she could convince herself of anything. Watching her, through her journals, talking herself into marrying Lars is painful. I know that whether Elisabeth faced the pain of a life of extreme loneliness because of her temperament or a life trapped in a bad marriage she still had the ultimate marriage as part of the Bride of Christ, but it still stings to read it. I read it without judgement but with a healthy recognition that I can see myself doing something very like this. My own mental gymnastics leading me to dark places. How many dark places am I in now because of my faulty theology or fallen thoughts?
Reading between the lines, perhaps not a wise thing to do with biography which is by nature unreal, it really doesn’t seem like any of Elisabeth’s marriages were truly happy, even her most loved one to Addison Leitch seemed tainted by his own past.
I think my favorite part was hearing about all the books Elizabeth read, some quite shocking. It gave her life after Jim and before Lars a feeling of freedom and exploration, an openness which one might never have guessed from her writings.
All in all, it made me see that the road does indeed go uphill all the way. I was hoping I might have reached some sort of apex. But it also made me realize that I can trust God with even my mistakes and bad thought patterns.
I honestly can’t begin to explain what happened to me while reading this book. I am so thankful Ellen Vaughn wrote it. It is such a horrible thing to put humans on pedestals. We can contribute to the suffering of one another by puffing each other up. So many falls of “famous” Christians are probably just God’s mercies. I guess Elisabeth had enough thorns in her flesh to keep her humble.
It all reminded me of Psalm 16 (As sung by The Corner Room, especially)
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.[ The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
AND
Psalm 126 as sung by Bifrost Arts
Our mouths they were filled, filled with laughter Our tongues they were loosed, loosed with joy Restore us, O Lord Restore us, O Lord Although we are weeping Lord, help us keep sowing The seeds of Your Kingdom For the day You will reap them Your sheaves we will carry Lord, please do not tarry All those who sow weeping will go out with songs of joy The nations will say, "He has done great things!" The nations will sing songs of joy Restore us, O Lord Restore us, O Lord ...more
I actually liked Melanie MCDonagh’s article on the wonderful books published by Puffin during the golden age of children’s literature. It is hard to iI actually liked Melanie MCDonagh’s article on the wonderful books published by Puffin during the golden age of children’s literature. It is hard to image any real reader not realizing the treasures moderns are missing by our ever expanding exclusions. Whatever happened to the imagination. As I child I never even noticed it the protagonist was male or female. I just fell down the rabbit hole of the story. Self-consciousness is the killer of the imagination.
Other highlights are essays on Emma and The Hound of Baskerville and of course, Hymns Ancient and Modern.
This was one of my favorite Felse novels so far. I have not read them in order. We have a modern day mystery entwined with an historical one. Great fuThis was one of my favorite Felse novels so far. I have not read them in order. We have a modern day mystery entwined with an historical one. Great fun and enjoyable characters. ...more
I grew up amongst the retired Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries in DeLand, Florida breathing the aftermath of all this book records. My bI grew up amongst the retired Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries in DeLand, Florida breathing the aftermath of all this book records. My brother-in-law was actually there as a young boy as his parents were C&MA missionaries in Ecuador. This book reminded me that I should be grateful for that heritage.
I am so, so thankful for Elisabeth Elliot and her writings on suffering. They have been a lifeline to me.
I think this book was fair to Elisabeth and honest. I listened to the audio at 1.2 speed and that seemed to help with the annoyances others noted.
I also could have done without the last part of the book. Why not let the story tell itself? Nevertheless, it is a very good book.
Excellent MacDonald story. While there is MUCH to think about in this book as always with MacDonald, one part that really struck me is the side story Excellent MacDonald story. While there is MUCH to think about in this book as always with MacDonald, one part that really struck me is the side story of James’s mother and how her very love shielded him from growing in grace. What hard providences do we set up our children for by our sometimes disordered love for them?...more
It took me a while to get around to reading this book. I have met and talked to each of these ladies in person and conisder them longtime friends but It took me a while to get around to reading this book. I have met and talked to each of these ladies in person and conisder them longtime friends but the one I knew first was Wendi and the one I knew best was Lynn and there's the rub. I just wasn't ready to read about them. But as the anniversaries of both their deaths rolled around I finally felt able to think about reading the book.
Right out of the starting gate with Donna-Jean's overview of the history of AO this book was pure reminiscence. I was there. I was on that list. I printed off those schedules. I have the duct tape to prove it. When DJ mentioned July 4, 2001. I reeled. The summer AO known then as PUO gave me the courage to read A Midsummer Night's Dream to my children. It was a beautiful memory sitting in the back yard of our home in NJ reading the real Shakespeare for the first time and the kids laughing in all the right places. Yes, yes, I did lose my temper and throw a lawn chair that summer too, but not AT anyone.
I knew Wendi for many long blogging years and she was a true force of nature. But reading how these ladies came together and knowing the incredible brain power each of them possesses, I began to see there is no way this was an accident. The amount of work and communication that went on is staggering. The lack of ego and the willingness to stick to it is nothing short of miraculous. This has been truly a fellowship of INKLING proportions. The simple common sense of these women who have breathed the air of Charlotte Mason's words for a quarter of a century is freeing.
This book will help you see that Charlotte Mason's ideas are ENOUGH even in their most basic form.
Even if you are not interested in how AO was formed, you will want to read the wisdom of these ladies.
Bravo, friends, I am so proud of you and I pray this book brings peace in a very noisy CM world....more
This is a niche book that took me almost a year to read appropriately. It is the kind of book that makes you want to pull out Our Island Story and in This is a niche book that took me almost a year to read appropriately. It is the kind of book that makes you want to pull out Our Island Story and in fact, it has been a great companion to Rebecca Fraser’s The Story of Britain. Of course, you could say this book was haunted by some of the writings of Lewis and Tolkien. The etymologies were so deeply meaningful. Fallow and bless and so many more. I too am a word-hoarder.
The pairing of the Anglo-Saxon seasons and poetry is simply gorgeous. I am now ready for a pilgrimage. ...more
Perhaps an underread volume of Charlotte Mason's and yet extremely important. The last two chapters alone make it highly recommended. I read it aloud Perhaps an underread volume of Charlotte Mason's and yet extremely important. The last two chapters alone make it highly recommended. I read it aloud with my Patreon group and am so glad that I did. Because children are humans/persons everything Charlotte says applies to adults as well....more
The first time I read this book it was a page turner; this last time it was not quite so awesome but it is a good beginning to a wonderful series of bThe first time I read this book it was a page turner; this last time it was not quite so awesome but it is a good beginning to a wonderful series of books which do an incredible job of illustrating the concepts of honor....more
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