Little By Little

LITTLE BY LITTLE

One step, and then another,
And the longest walk is ended;
One stitch and then another,
And the largest rent is mended
One brick upon another,
And the highest wall is made;
One flake upon another.
And the deepest snow is laid.

So the little coral workers.
By their slow, but constant, motion,
Have built those pretty islands
In the distant, dark blue ocean;
And the noblest undertakings
Man's wisdom hath conceived,
By oft-repeated efforts
Have been patiently achieved. 

The Test

 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” —Psalm 139: 23

       The other day I went with a friend through the great Carnegie steel mills where men were busy at the fires and furnaces and forges making steel and turning it out into rails and beams and rods and great sheets of steel. It was very interesting and very noisy.
       But the most interesting thing to me was not the fire, nor the forge, nor the furnace, but what I saw in a little quiet room fitted up with strange cold looking machines, each run by two young men. This was what they called the testing room.
       From every furnace a sample of steel was taken. A piece about as long as my arm or less, and as wide and thick as my four fingers. This piece of steel was gripped at each end by one of these machines and pulled or stretched, just as you would stretch a piece of rubber. You could see the steel as it was drawn becoming thinner and thinner until suddenly it snapped. Each of these little pieces of pure steel stood the test up to about 56,000 pounds pressure, and then it broke. The men then knew where to put the great pieces of steel to which the piece that had been tested belonged. If it stood a high pressure they put the steel into railroad trains and automobiles where safety was required and if it stood only a low pressure they used it for something less worthy.
       We, too, are tested. We are tested out in the great world, at home, at school, everywhere we are being tested and tried and if we prove worthy we are given a place of honor and usefulness. The Bible tells us over and over again that God tests and tries us:

“The righteous God trieth the hearts.”
“Search me, O God, and know my heart:
Try me, and know my thoughts.”
“When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold.”
“Thou, O God, hast tried us as silver is tried.”

       Shortly after the time of Jesus there lived a great and good man by the name of John Chrysostom. He was called “the golden-mouthed” preacher. He was a great man and a great preacher of the Gospel. The Roman Emperor ordered him to give up his Christian faith or he would be exiled. Chrysostom replied, “Thou canst not, for the world is my Father s house; thou canst not banish me.” Then said the emperor, “I will slay thee.” Chrysostom replied, “Nay, but thou canst not, for my life is hid with Christ in God.” “I will take away thy treasure,” said the emperor. “Nay,” said Chrysostom, “but thou canst not, for I have none that thou knowest of. My treasure is in heaven.” “Then,” said the emperor, “I will drive thee from thy friends and thou shalt have no friends left.” “Nay,” said this brave man, who was being tested and tried, “thou canst not, for I have a Friend from whom thou canst not separate me. I defy thee. There is nothing thou canst do to hurt me.”
       What a brave man he was, and how nobly he stood the test, and like Job came forth as gold. Let us make this text our prayer:

“Search me
O God
And know my heart;
Try me
And know my thoughts.
And see if there be any wicked way in me
And lead me in the way everlasting.”

"Search me, Oh God" hymn

The Stars Are Coming

 THE STARS ARE COMING

"See, the stars are coming
In the far blue skies;
Mother, look! they brighten;
Are they angels' eyes?"

"No, my child; the lustre
Of the stars is given,
Like the hues of flowers.
By the God of heaven."

"Mother, if I study,
Sure He'll make me know
Why the stars He kindled,
O'er our earth to glow?"

"Child! what God created,
Has a glorious aim;
Thine it is to worship, -
Thine to love His name."

The Unseen Comrade

“He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Daniel 3: 25

Fervor Cross.

       Once upon a time there lived in the far away land of Babylon a great king. His name was Nebuchadnezzar. What a terrible name for a man and it must have been more terrible for a boy. He was a great, strong king, and he loved his own way. One day he set up in Babylon a great image or idol of gold, and ordered every one to worship it. Great plans were made. It was arranged that at a certain time when the people heard the sound of “the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer” that everybody should fall down and worship the great idol of gold. If any should refuse to worship he would be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
       When the music sounded all the people fell upon their faces. Did I say all the people? I was wrong. There were three young men who refused to bow before the idol. They were Hebrew young men with names as strange as the name of Nebuchadnezzar: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They worshipped the living and true God, and Him only, and they refused to worship anything made of gold. So they were taken and bound and cast into the furnace of fire. The soldiers thought they would immediately perish, but when they looked again into the furnace they saw them walking unharmed in the midst of the fire, and the strangest of all strange things they saw. They saw not three men but four. They came running to the king. The king himself went to the furnace and looking in said, “Lo I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” God Himself had entered into the fiery furnace and kept His loyal servants safe from harm.
       That is an old, old story. But I can tell you a new, new story just like it. It happened not very long ago. A man with another strange name—his name was Shackleton—set out in a great strong ship called the “Endurance” to find his way to the South Pole. His ship was crushed to splinters in the ice and he and his companions nearly lost their lives. Leaving the wrecked ship they made their way across ice and snow and sea to South Georgia Island, and there Shackleton and two of his companions, Worsley and Crean, made their way across the Island, a perilous march of thirty-six hours, over ice mountains, down dangerous chasms, and once they let themselves over a thirty-foot waterfall by a rope and finally came to the whaling station. For a year and a half they had been in the lonely ice world and the first to meet these three strange looking men were two little boys belonging to the station, who fled from them in terror.
       When they had been warmed and washed and clothed, after their long and lonely journey, Sir Ernest Shackleton said to his companions, “It seemed to me often that we were four, not three.” His companion Worsley said later, “Boss, I had a curious feeling on the march that there was another person with us.” And Crean confessed that he, too, had felt the presence of the great unseen Companion.
       So you see whether it is in the fire, or in the ice fields, God cares for those who trust Him, and always with us is our unseen Comrade, who says:

“Fear not
For I have redeemed thee;
I have called thee by thy name,
Thou art mine.
When thou passest
Through the waters
I will be with thee:
And through the rivers
They shall not overflow thee;
When thou walkest through the fire,
Thou shalt not be burned;
Neither shall the flame
Kindle upon thee,
For I am Jehovah thy God
The Holy One of Israel;
Thy Savior.”

The Larks - Shadrack, again, again, again

Child's Talent

 CHILD'S TALENT

God entrusts to all
Talents, few or many;
None so young or small,
That they have not any.

Though the great and wise
May have more in number,
Yet my own I prize,
And they must not slumber.

Little drops of rain,
Bring the springing flowers;
And I may attain
Much by little powers.

Every little mite,
Every little measure,
Helps to spread the light,
Helps to swell the treasure.

Sample Illuminated Letter "C"

Description of Sample Letters: A collection of illuminated letter "C" throughout earlier centuries when it was a common place art form. These letters may be traced and integrated into student illumination of scripture, poems, prayer, etc...

• Read more about the history behind the letter "C"
  

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

The Violet

 THE VIOLET

"Oh, mother! mother! only look!
See what I've got for thee;
I found it close beside the brook, -
This pretty violet, - see.

"And father says there will be more
So, mother, when they come,
We'll pick my little basket full,
And bring them with us home.

"And, mother, - only listen now!
'Tis very strange, indeed, -
This pretty flower, with leaves and all,
Was once a little seed.

"When it was planted in the ground,
The sun shone very bright.
And made the little seed so warm,
It grew with all its might."

"Yes, Charles: the bright sun made it warm,
'T was wet with rain and dew;
The leaves came first, and then, ere long,
We found the violet blue.

"Charley, I think when we are good,
Obedient, and kind,
Good feelings, like the little flowers,
Are growing in the mind.

"But when we suff'er evil thoughts
To grow and flourish there.
Then they are like the noxious weeds.
That choke the flowerets fair."

Despise Not Simple Things

 DESPISE NOT SIMPLE THINGS

Despise not simple things:
The humblest flower that wakes
In early spring, to scent the air
Of woodland brakes,
Should have thy love as well
As blushing parlor rose.
That never felt the perfect breath
Of nature round it close.

Despise not simple things:
The poor demand thy love,
As well as those who in the halls
Of splendor move.
The beggar at thy door
Thou shouldst not e'er despise;
For that may be a noble heart
Which 'neath his tatters lies.

Despise not little things:
An ant can teach of toil;
The buttercup can light the heart
With its own pleasant smile;
'Tis not from towering heights alone
The noble thought within us springs;
There's something holy and sublime
In the love of simple things.

Sample Illuminated Letter "B"

Description of Sample Letters: A collection of illuminated letter "B" throughout earlier centuries when it was a common place art form. These letters may be traced and integrated into student illumination of scripture, poems, prayer, etc...

• Read more about the history behind the letter "B"
  

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

God Is Good

 GOD IS GOOD

Morn amid the mountains,
Lovely solitude,
Gushing streams and fountains,
Murmur, "God is good."

Now the glad sun, breaking,
Pours a golden flood;
Deepest vales awaking,
Echo, "God is good."

"Wake and join the chorus,
Man with soul endued!
He, whose smile is o'er us,
God, - our God, - is good.

The Making of the World

First Reading.

 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

       Today we are told how God made this earth that we live on. Sunday is the earth's birthday, for on the first day of the week the Creation began.
       The world was all one mass - dark, empty, and shapeless - till God made the light by His Word, and said that the light was good. Without light we could not live: even the very  trees and flowers would die. When we have been in the dark how glad we are to see light come back, even if it be only one grey line beginning in the sky ! This shows how blessed is this gift. It was good, too, that we should have quite a dark night for rest and stillness.
       The second great change enclosed the earth in an outer ball of air, which we call the sky or firmament. That is the deep blue into which we look up and up. The water risers up from the earth and makes the clouds that take such strange shapes, sometimes dark and full of rain to water the earth, sometimes shining white, or pink and golden with morning or evening light.
       The third great change was, that water filled the deep hollows of the earth, while the hills rose up dry above them, with rivers and streams running down their slopes into the deep seas below. God did not leave the land bare and stony: He clothed it with green fresh plants and herbs, with leaves and flowers, and trees to give us their fruit or their wood, and filled even the sea with plants formed to live under water.
        Next, God allowed the rays of the sun to gladden the earth, and let it see the moon lighted up by the sun, as well as the stars far beyond our firmament. We count the months by the changes in the moon; and our earth's journey round the sun marks our years and seasons. We all rejoice in a bright sunny day, though the sun is too bright and glorious for us to bear to gaze at him; and how lovely the moon looks, either as a young crescent, or a beautiful full moon!
       The waters began to be full of live things, that swam, or crept, or flew: fishes, and birds, and insects. By that time this world was nearly as we see it, and a beautiful home for us to live in. Then God made the four-footed beasts - sheep and cows, horses, dogs, cats, elephants, lions - all that we use or admire ; and, last of all, when He had made this earth a happy, healthy place. He planted the Garden of Eden, and put in it the first man and woman, the best of all that He had made; for though their bodies were of dust, like those of the beasts, yet their souls came from the Breath of God. They could think, speak, pray, and heed what is unseen as well as what is seen.
       There are many many lessons to be learnt from this wonderful story. Let us try to take home one of them. Let us ask our Father that the ground below, the light above, the sky and sea, the sun and moon, the trees and flowers, the birds and beasts, and His holy day of rest, may remind us that they came from Him, and that we may be very thankful to Him for having given us such good things. 

QUESTIONS.

1. Who made the world? 
2. Which Commandment tells you about God's making the world? 
3. What is there in the sky that God made? 
4. What is there on the earth? 
5. What do you see around you that He made? 
6. Can we make birds, or beasts, or flowers? 
7. Or could we make them live? 
8. Who makes them and us live? 
9. Where does all our food come from? 
10. Who gave us com? 
11. What must we ask God to do for us? 
12. What must we thank Him for? 
13. Do not you think it would be pleasant to whisper to yourself, when you see a pretty flower, or a beautiful sky, or when the sun shines bright and warm,
14. Thank God for being so good to me?

Second Reading.

''And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul.''  Genesis 2: 7

       In the Bible God tells us that He made the world, and everything in it: land and water, and grass, flowers and trees, insects, birds and beasts, and last of all He made the first man and woman. The man was made by God out of the dust of the ground, and then God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and gave him a living soul. And the woman was made by God out of the man's side. They were called Adam and Eve, and they were to be the first father and mother of everyone who was to be born into the world.

       The good God gave them a beautiful home. It was a garden, with a clear river of water flowing through it, and all kinds of delicious fruit-trees and beautiful flowers growing in it. Nothing could hurt or vex them there. They did not know what pain was, they were never tired, and all they had to do was to dress the garden and to keep it. They had no faults, and never did wrong; and God Himself came near totalk with them.

       That was the way they lived, always good and always happy, whilst they obeyed what God had told them. In the midst of the garden grew two trees: one was the Tree of Life, and the other was the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. God told them that if they ate the fruit of this Tree of Knowledge they would die. We do not know what those trees were like, but sometime or other I hope we shall see the Tree of Life, for it is growing in heaven, close by the river that flows by the Throne of God ; and when we see it, and taste of it, we shall live for ever, and be happier even than Adam and Eve were. We shall never be as happy as they were while we are living in this world; but if we will try to obey God, and live holy lives. He will take us to heaven, and that will be still better than the Garden of Eden.

QUESTIONS.

1. What did God make? 
2. Whom did He make?
3. What was the man made of? 
4. What was the woman made of? 
5. What did God breathe into them? 
6. What did He give them? 
7. Why were they better than the beasts? 
8. What was the man's name? 
9. What was the woman's name? 
10. Of whom were they the father and mother? 
11. Where did they live? 
12. What had they to do there? 
13. What grew there? 14. 
14. What were the two chief trees that grew there?
15. Which were they not to touch? 
16. Where is the Tree of Life now?
17. When do we hope to see it? 
18. What is a still happier place than the Garden of Eden?

Third Reading

"Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." Job 38:11

       What glorious and wonderful things God has made! Did you ever see the sea ? There it is - a great vast space, all water, looking green near us, but blue further off - always heaving up and down. The waves rise, and then ripple along, and burst with a white edge of bubbles of foam. And, if you live near the sea, you know how, at certain times in the day, one wave after another begins to break a little higher on the beach; eight waves seem to run up the same distance, then the ninth comes much further, then eight more come like that, then another. A great space that had been left dry gets covered up with water again, and where you were walking just now is quite deep "water. What is this called? The tide. Well, what will the tide do in proper time. Will it come rolling in over the beach, sand, pebbles, and rocks, and wash us all away and drown us all, and cover up the land? No ; presently each will turn. Each wave will be a little less high than the last, till it will have gone back again and left the beach uncovered as before. Why does the tide do this ? It is because God so wonderfully contrived this earth and sea, that the waters should rise and go back. He made the sand the bound of the sea, and said, ''Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." So, you know, we sing in the Psalm every Sunday:

''The sea is His, and He made it :
And His hands prepared the dry land."

QUESTIONS.

1. Which day was the sea and land made? 
2. What curious thing does the sea do every day? 
3. What do you call the coming in and going back of the sea? 
4. Why does the tide always stop in its proper place?
5. What did God make the bounderies of the sea? 
6. What did He say to it ? 
7. What verse praises God for making the sea?

The text was written by Charlotte M. Yonge.

The Sea Shell

 THE SEA SHELL

There is found a tiny sea shell,
Half-imbedded in the sand,
Sometimes flashing in the moonlight.
Like a diamond on the strand.

And from out the winding chambers
That are hid within the shell,
Ever steals a curious music,
That doth never sink nor swell.

But, like the far-off voice of ocean.
Murmurs forth its monotone.
Holding thus within its bosom
E'er an ocean of its own.

Thus the sea shells ever gather
Little oceans in their breasts,
Which do echo there for ever
Ocean's hymn, which never rests.

Thus the soul will echo music,
Born in heaven, and not of earth;
And give praises all, for ever.
To the One that gave it birth.