I've been meaning to put up a post about our favorite Easter books and an email from Erika nudged me to get it done sooner than later. So now you have plenty of time to get some of these for this year!
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From Mousekin's Easter Basket by Edna Miller |
. Who can resist Enda Miller's soft, clear watercolors?
It's Time for Easter
by Sechrist and Woolsey is another annual favorite. It begins with a "brief form of the Biblical narrative from the Synoptic Gospels, traces the origins of curious symbols and Easter customs through the folkways of many lands, ancient and modern, from the pomegranate, once sacred to Demeter and Persephone in the Greek rites of spring, to the pretzel...Besides learning the meaning of the traditional egg and bunny, readers will find explanations of church rituals and the reassuring message in the very name of Lent...Special attention is given to Easter music...and sketches of the composers' lives are added...a collection of poems..." - a delightful anthology!
This last title is so precious to me. Elizabeth Goudge, in her inimitable style, takes us through the life of Jesus from the Annunciation to the Resurrection. She writes what she imagines His life was like from age 12 to 30. Short passages from the Gospels are given, and then she fills us with background descriptions of the flora and fauna of Palestine, weaving it all seamlessly into a beautiful narrative. I can open this and start at any point in the Easter story and be certain they will attend and wonder - it is woven so well.
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God So Loved The World |
"We have thought of Our Lord's life as being like the three movements of a great symphony, with its first movement gentle and tender, the second a slow powerful mounting into tragedy, and the third a song of victory. But now, just before the fear and darkness descend, there comes a foretaste of the victory. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the happy ending of a happy journey, is like the gleam of light that comes sometimes before a storm, that one carries in memory through the hours of darkness until the greater glory breaks." - Goudge, p. 219
Doesn't that just make you want to snuggle up and read the whole thing?
From joy to joy,
Nancy
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, friend!
DeleteThank you for the beautiful Easter book suggestions. I have spent the last hour perusing your blog and want to thank you for sharing your lifestyle of a living education. I got online in search of retreats for HS moms, and feel as if I've had one! Your effort to inspire, encourage, and revive weary hearts is quite effective! Thank you, too, for all the practical ideas. I have been blessed!
ReplyDeleteSweet words, Mrs. Evans. Thank you. If you'd like, come back on Thursday when I post the flyer for the 2012 Living Education Retreat!
DeleteFrom joy to joy,
Nancy