The Way Out

David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known (Psalm 77:19).

God has promised
To make a way of escape
From temptation—
A way that leads to the sea,
A path into deep waters.
I complained
And my spirit was overwhelmed.
A way of escape?
Into the sea?
Deep and great waters?
I communed with my heart
And made diligent search.
The deep waters surround me;
I swim in a sea of trial.
Has the Lord cast me off?
Does he no longer favor me?
Is his mercy gone forever?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
In anger has he shut me up
In a sea of confusion?
Then I remembered,
Thou leadest thy people like a flock
By the hand of Moses
Into great waters.
The waters saw thee, O God
And they were afraid.
The depths . . . were troubled;
They obeyed
And the waters parted.
I too will walk by faith
Into great waters,
And if I cannot hear your footsteps behind me,
I will walk on.
I will remember
How he divided the sea
And . . . made the waters to stand as a heap.
I will pass through
With them.

Read this devotional online http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/14605?src=devo-email

How Curious George Saved His Creators

Margret (1906-1996) and H. A. Rey (1898-1977) were Jewish. They were both born in Hamburg, Germany and lived in Paris from 1936-1940. In June 1940, they fled Paris on bicycles carrying drawings for their children’s books, including one about a mischievous monkey named Fifi, hours before the Nazis marched into the city.

They made a narrow escape from Nazi-occupied Europe via a four-month journey across France, Spain, Portugal and Brazil and ended up in New York in the fall of 1940.

Their illustrations of animals for children’s stories saved their lives as officials along the way opened their suitcase and saw the innocent pictures and assumed they were harmless and sent them on their way. So, in a way, Curious George saved his creators, even as they saved him by carrying his stories during their escape.

It’s not surprising that saving the day after a narrow escape became the theme for most of the Curious George stories.

What is surprising to many is that the Reys were able to create such light-hearted characters and capture childhood innocence in such a dark time.

Knowing what they went through helps us to appreciate the miracle and value of their art.

It also sends the message that even though life can be difficult, even dangerous, something good can be produced out of the worst situations.

Reminds me of Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Also reminds me of Romans 5:3-5

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

CBN did a story about this fascinating story here.

And the Chrysler Museum of Norfolk, VA has an exhibit that documents their journey. Here’s a link to a description of the exhibit.

Review of Felice Gerwitz Books

The Truth Seekers Mystery Series

By Christina and Felice Gerwitz at MediaAngels.com.

Book 1 The Missing Link: FOUND

by Christina and Felice Gerwitz

From what I understand, the reason that Felice and her daughter wrote these novels is that Felice noticed the lack of good books for younger readers to learn about Creation Science in an enjoyable way. Her daughter, Christina, suggested that Felice write one herself. So they wrote one together. And then they wrote another… and another. The results were exciting, action-packed mystery novels that contain lots of good Creation Science information.

Although these books are geared toward youth, I enjoyed them so much, I read them to myself before I read them to my kids.

As I was reading Book 1, I was continually amazed that Felice’s daughter, Christina, was only 14 years old (I originally wrote that she was 17, but Felice informed me that she was only 14 when they started writing these books!) when she helped her mom write this. I thought they wrote very well, and I truly enjoyed the story, the characters and the knowledge I gained from reading it.

The writers interweave Creation Science facts with an exciting story of a couple of mysteries that teen brother and sister, Christian and Anna Murphy, get tangled up in and help to solve as they help their dad with his job. They display good character, even as people around them show less than ideal character and behavior. They influence the people around them, but they don’t act stuffy or superior. They pray whenever they get in a tight spot, and they give thanks to the Lord when He delivers them. They seem like real-life kids, very likeable, not perfect but definitely learning to be Christ-like.

The mystery surrounds an excavation of a fossilized man that the paleoanthropologist leading the dig believes may be the “Missing Link”. Christian and Anna, along with their dad, hold onto their faith and their unswerving belief that man did not evolve and this fossil could not be the “Missing Link”. They watch and pray, and they find out in the end that things are not always as they seem.

I read the second book Dinosaur Quest at: Diamond Peak to myself first, too, because I was already reading enough books to the kids at the time, and I couldn’t wait! It was just as good as the first one. This time, the kids were on their own away from home, but they still maintained their integrity and behaved in a godly fashion in spite of extra freedom that they knew was more than their parents had expected them to have.

The mystery was exciting and was tied to the photography job they were there to do. They were to photograph a dig of a very large T-Rex dinosaur that the paleontologists believed was fully intact. The Murphys had lots of interesting discussions with the man in charge of the dig. Fortunately, one of the men on the team also believed in biblical Creation and helped them defend the faith. There was some foul play as someone tried to get rid of this man by cutting his climbing rope. Other mysterious things happened that caused the Murphys to seek out the truth that someone was trying to cover up. And through an accident, they made a very surprising discovery about the dinosaur fossil. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what it was.

The third book is just as exciting and action-packed as the first two. Keys to the Past: Unlocked has the Murphys exploring a sunken ship and finding an artifact that helps prove that civilizations were more advanced from the beginning than evolution models claim. They also have some very enlightening discussions with the researcher who is studying the ocean’s sedimentary layers to try to prove that evolution is true and the earth is billions of years old. The Murphys and their dad tell him some things that really make him think in a new way.

Felice wrote study guides for each of these books that help to extend the study of Creation Science and other topics that are explored in each book. They also help budding writers study literary techniques and help the teacher check for reading and vocabulary comprehension.

I would recommend these books to anybody who likes mysteries and is interested in learning more about how to defend the biblical account of Creation.

You won’t be disappointed. Your kids will love them, too!

I just found out about a neat interview that Felice did with her daughter, Christina, for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo in which they talk about their homeschool experiences and some of the background experiences for the writing they did in these books.

You can find that here!
Check out all of Felice’s other resources at MediaAngels.com.

Our Baby Turns Three!

Abby turned 3 Saturday.

We went to see Cars 2 as a family. It’s the first movie we’ve all ever gone to the theater to see. We took up a whole row! We were all able to go because we have the van! PTL!

We enjoyed it, except halfway through it, Abby came over to me and said, “I hate this movie.”

I started explaining to her in simple terms what was happening – which wasn’t easy because the plot was pretty complex, and I had to really concentrate to follow what was going on myself. She seemed to hate the movie less after that, but it was still a little over her head. I bet she’ll watch it if we get the DVD, and she’ll probably like it better if she can move around or make noise or leave whenever she wants to.

Then we made a Strawberry-Jello-7-Up Cake for her birthday party. It was so delicious.

Then she opened her presents which we got in the reduced aisle at Walmart. We spent about $5 on each gift, except for the Hot Wheels cars. They were only $1 apiece. So we spent about $17 on her gifts and they made her very happy and kept her and Emma and the twins happy for hours that night.

So much Hello Kitty stuff!

Oldest daughter always decorates the Strawberry Cake.

She loved her presents! I have GOT to cut her bangs.

Dadgum! (as Mater often said in Cars 2)

As I uploaded this picture, Abby said, “Look at all my friends!” Her brothers and sisters are her friends.

Batman vs. My Little Pony: Who will win? I have GOT to cut her bangs!