The Past
When my grandson was very young, long before he started school, his mother and I would devote a period of time every evening, before he fell asleep, when she would tell him stories, and I would read to him. He loved hearing her stories because he was the hero of each one. I wasn’t quite so creative, so I resorted to books such as Where the Wild Things Are, The Poky Little Puppy, and Amelia Bedelia. As he grew older, he developed an eclectic taste in books. We read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s complete set of Little House on the Prairie books, John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog series (there are a LOT of those!), Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, and Jon Scieszka’s Time Warp Trio books. We laughed together over The True Story of the Three Little Pigs…but, bar none, his favorite series was C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. We read every book in the series and reread quite a few of them. I am not sure who enjoyed this time more. I know that he loved hearing the stories, but I loved reading to him just as much. It gave us a period of time in which we could talk about positive character traits, bad and good choices, and other facets of life in general. In writing about this, I realize that I haven’t even begun to list all the books that we read. I read to him almost every night from his preschool years through fifth or sixth grade. What a joy it was! “Children’s children are the crown of old men…” (I’d like to think old women as well!) (Proverbs 17:6).
The Present
Well, my grandson is twenty-six years old now and needless to say, I no longer read to him. He had wonderful Christian teachers through his school years who encouraged him when he initially struggled. He is now a reader par excellence! I observe him many times wandering around with his earbuds in, listening to some book that he has downloaded. I don’t believe he is at all adverse to the written word, but he is a multi-tasker who loves to have his hands free while he is listening to the audio version of a book. He does share his grandmother’s love of history, and we have discussions in which we share about books we have read. Perhaps the fact that thrills me the most is his participation when we do Bible study. He usually has some excellent insights. He recently admitted that he loved the study of Daniel that we did, and I think he would like to revisit it. The older I get, the more I realize that the really precious moments of life are the ones we spend with each other and with the Lord. Work is necessary, but time spent together is the glue that melds us into a loving unit fit for God’s service. “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
Recipe
Pecan Bars
2 cups of flour
½ cup sugar
1/8 teas. salt
¾ cup butter, cut up
Mix the above ingredients until crumbly (like you would for a pie crust). Press into a 13 x 9 pan, greased.
Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of light corn syrup
½ cup butter
4 large eggs, beaten
2 ½ cups of pecans
1 teas. vanilla
Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in a sauce pan and heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently.
Stir ¼ of the mixture, by spoon, into the beaten eggs. Then pour the egg mixture into the hot mixture. Stir in the pecans and vanilla. Pour over the crust and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes or until set.
This recipe came from a dear sister in Christ. She was part of our weekly Bible study…the one we always started with a feast! This was her contribution one week, and I fell in love with these. Enjoy!
Letter from the Editor:
My name is Matt, I am not only Carole’s editor, I am her grandson. I wanted to chime in on this post to say how much I truly love and appreciate the time she spent reading to me. It’s safe to say that without her reading to me from such a young age I would be a very different person. The lessons learned from the stories she read as well as the discussions we shared have had a huge impact on my life. I wouldn’t trade one evening’s reading with my grandmother for anything. I love you Nanee.
When my grandson was very young, long before he started school, his mother and I would devote a period of time every evening, before he fell asleep, when she would tell him stories, and I would read to him. He loved hearing her stories because he was the hero of each one. I wasn’t quite so creative, so I resorted to books such as Where the Wild Things Are, The Poky Little Puppy, and Amelia Bedelia. As he grew older, he developed an eclectic taste in books. We read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s complete set of Little House on the Prairie books, John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog series (there are a LOT of those!), Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, and Jon Scieszka’s Time Warp Trio books. We laughed together over The True Story of the Three Little Pigs…but, bar none, his favorite series was C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. We read every book in the series and reread quite a few of them. I am not sure who enjoyed this time more. I know that he loved hearing the stories, but I loved reading to him just as much. It gave us a period of time in which we could talk about positive character traits, bad and good choices, and other facets of life in general. In writing about this, I realize that I haven’t even begun to list all the books that we read. I read to him almost every night from his preschool years through fifth or sixth grade. What a joy it was! “Children’s children are the crown of old men…” (I’d like to think old women as well!) (Proverbs 17:6).
The Present
Well, my grandson is twenty-six years old now and needless to say, I no longer read to him. He had wonderful Christian teachers through his school years who encouraged him when he initially struggled. He is now a reader par excellence! I observe him many times wandering around with his earbuds in, listening to some book that he has downloaded. I don’t believe he is at all adverse to the written word, but he is a multi-tasker who loves to have his hands free while he is listening to the audio version of a book. He does share his grandmother’s love of history, and we have discussions in which we share about books we have read. Perhaps the fact that thrills me the most is his participation when we do Bible study. He usually has some excellent insights. He recently admitted that he loved the study of Daniel that we did, and I think he would like to revisit it. The older I get, the more I realize that the really precious moments of life are the ones we spend with each other and with the Lord. Work is necessary, but time spent together is the glue that melds us into a loving unit fit for God’s service. “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
Recipe
Pecan Bars
2 cups of flour
½ cup sugar
1/8 teas. salt
¾ cup butter, cut up
Mix the above ingredients until crumbly (like you would for a pie crust). Press into a 13 x 9 pan, greased.
Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of light corn syrup
½ cup butter
4 large eggs, beaten
2 ½ cups of pecans
1 teas. vanilla
Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in a sauce pan and heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently.
Stir ¼ of the mixture, by spoon, into the beaten eggs. Then pour the egg mixture into the hot mixture. Stir in the pecans and vanilla. Pour over the crust and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes or until set.
This recipe came from a dear sister in Christ. She was part of our weekly Bible study…the one we always started with a feast! This was her contribution one week, and I fell in love with these. Enjoy!
Letter from the Editor:
My name is Matt, I am not only Carole’s editor, I am her grandson. I wanted to chime in on this post to say how much I truly love and appreciate the time she spent reading to me. It’s safe to say that without her reading to me from such a young age I would be a very different person. The lessons learned from the stories she read as well as the discussions we shared have had a huge impact on my life. I wouldn’t trade one evening’s reading with my grandmother for anything. I love you Nanee.