Scripture and a Snapshot - New Every Morning

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him."

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him.

It is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

~Lamentations 3:21-26~

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I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

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Connect Five Friday - Aspiring Teachers

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

The Friday Five Link Up is a List Link Up hosted by The Book Date. It can be five connections of any kind. Books can have been read last year or any year. Books can be used more than once. They may not have been read yet. . . It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Maybe it's not a list of actual books, but things connected to books - e.g. favourite book shops, recipes etc. It might even be five movies related to books or five poems or five poets or five bookish moments, five thoughts about reading - be creative! The link-up will be open each Friday and will close on Thursday. Use the hashtag #connect5books

Recently one of the authors I follow on Facebook posted a conversation starter about books featuring governess and employer romances. It's a theme often used in historical settings. It got me thinking about books featuring teachers as well, so this week's Connect Five is novels with aspiring teachers.

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The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare - Recently finished this one, so naturally it was the first one I thought of. Adunni faces more hardship, abuse, discrimination, and cruelty than anyone should have to bear, and certainly far too much for a young teenage girl, but her hope and spirit is infectious. Her fondest dream is to finish her own education and earn a voice so that she can return to her village as a teacher. She wants to help other girls find their voices and a better life through education and independence. Or, as Adunni words it, "to find their free". 

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My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel's Dream by Pepper Basham - Laurel McAdams is another young lady who wants to be a teacher, but has the odds stacked against her. She's grown up in a remote community in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the living conditions are primitive, money is scarce, and things don't change. But she has a boundless optimism and love for learning, and her dream is to go to college and become a teacher. The new schoolmaster wants to be a doctor, and this is a stop on his way, but he helps and encourages Laurel, and not surprisingly, falls in love with her too.

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Undaunted Hope (Beacons of Hope) by Jody Hedlund - In the late 1800s, Tessa Taylor arrives to teach school at an isolated mining community in upper Michigan. She's determined to do the best job possible, and to distance herself from some embarrassing mistakes in her past. It's her first teaching job and her chance to start fresh.

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Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - Anne has had a very unhappy life as an orphan, but she has a very lively imagination and Matthew convinces Marilla that they should keep her. Anne blossoms as Marilla does her best to give her "a proper upbringing" but she has a great tendency to get herself (and sometimes her friends) into scrapes because of her imagination, daydreaming, and a bit of bad luck now and again. I couldn't pass up including Anne in my list of aspiring teachers because this first novel in the series follows Anne's life till she earns her teacher's license and is about to start on her first year of teaching.

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Where Courage Calls (Return to the Canadian West) (Volume 1) by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan - In Janette Oke's Canadian West series of many years ago, Elizabeth Thatcher became a schoolteacher in frontier Alberta and eventually married the RCMP officer she met there. This new series by Oke and her daughter carries on the story, following Beth Thatcher as she too leaves her beautiful Toronto home to become a schoolteacher in the little mining town of Coal Valley, Alberta. In many ways she is following in the footsteps of her relative and namesake, Elizabeth.

©2008-2020 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Wordless Wednesday - Elk Country

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.

One day of our weekend trip took us to the Austin Dam Park Project . . .

and to Elk Country in Pennsylvania. Some pretty scenery and yes, we did see a large number of elk! (Got a few low quality photos to prove it!)

This post is linked at Pictorial Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles, and at the photo link-up hosted by My Corner of the World.

Pictorial Tuesday

©2008-2020 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

What I'm Reading - August 10, 2020

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.

This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next! Although the Book Date link-up happens weekly, I don't manage to post that often. I aim to post and link about once a month, although I sometimes link up my monthly summary as well. Another month has gone by, and I feel like not much has changed, but let's see . . .

I finished reading . . . 

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare - One of my new favorite books! Adunni is a young Nigerian girl who wants an education more than anything. She faces so many challenges and hardships with sweetness and hope. (Read my full review HERE)

 

I'm currently reading . . .

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa - A charming memoir told partially from the point of view of the cat Nana as he accompanies his owner on a journey to visit old friends.

Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett - I started, but haven't gone too far with this one yet. It's set in Yellowstone park during the 1930s, when a park ranger's daughter agrees to do some teaching to young men working for the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Not sure I'll finish re-reading this classic in time to participate in the online book discussion, but it's such a good book!

Next on the stack... 

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

When Silence Sings by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Summer of Dreams by Elizabeth Camden

Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman

Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis' Chronicles by Joe Rigney

    

   

What I'm Highlighting . . . If you're one of the many who are considering homeschooling as an option for your kids this coming school year, please hop over to Homeschool Coffee Break and get some tips in Suddenly Homeschooling - How To Get Started. I've also started writing a series of articles discussing high school curriculum and resources we've used or reviewed. Check out the From the High School Lesson Book series to see those.

And my friends that read Just A Second are invited to join me at Homeschool Coffee Break for the Twenty-Six Lists link-up. It's every other week and the list prompts are for everyone, not just homeschoolers. Currently we're talking about Family Traditions. 

On my blogs recently . . . 

Besides the reviews, here on Just A Second you'll find:


Scripture and a Snapshot posts

Wordless Wednesday - Kinzua Bridge

Monthly Bookshelf Review - July 2020

Share Four Somethings - July 2020

Wordless Wednesday - After A Storm

Connect Five Friday - Novels of the Exodus

Wordless Wednesday - Echinacea

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Five Minute Friday - Progress

Twenty-Six Lists - It's A Family Tradition

From the High School Lesson Book - A Resource Collection for Math

July Photo Album

From the High School Lesson Book - A Resource Collection for Literature Study

Five Minute Friday - Young

Twenty-Six Lists - Summer Menu Favorites

Writing Non-Fiction In High School (A Homeschool Coffee Break Review)

From the High School Lesson Book - A Resource Collection for Grammar and Composition

Five Minute Friday - Smile

Coffee Break Reading List (July 16, 2020)

Writing Fiction - Bringing Stories to Life (A Homeschool Coffee Break Review)

What are you reading?

©2008-2020 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recent Reads - The Girl With the Louding Voice

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare - I remember seeing this title on the reading lists of other bloggers, and although it's not my usual genre, something about the cover and brief description captured my interest. I'm so glad I took a chance on this novel - it has been a delight and the main character is one of my favorite young heroines.

Adunni is a fourteen year-old Nigerian girl who wants an education more than anything. She lives in a small village where education is not highly valued, and certainly not for girls. Her mother was her champion and worked hard to keep Adunni in school, but by the time the story opens, Adunni's mother is dead and her father is broke. Adunni is sold as a child bride to an old taxi driver who already has two wives, and that is the end of her hope to continue school. In fact, Adunni's future is very bleak, as she is hated and abused by the senior wife, but she finds an unexpected friend in the second wife who encourages Adunni to hold onto her dreams. 

A tragedy takes her new friend's life, and fearing for her own life, Adunni flees the village, and is taken to the capital city of Lagos and given as a house servant to a wealthy woman known as Big Madam. Adunni naively hopes that Big Madam will send her to school, but these hopes are soon dashed and Adunni finds herself in slavery and regularly beaten and abused by her mistress. Thankfully she finds a friend in Big Madam's household too - the cook Kofi tries to keep her safe and when he discovers Adunni's dream of education he shares information with her about a scholarship opportunity. 

Despite the many obstacles and disadvantages, Adunni starts working towards applying for the scholarship, eventually coming to the notice of a young woman in Big Madam's social circle who is sympathetic and is convinced to help Adunni. Tia is reluctant to get involved at first, but Adunni's hope and kindness wins her over and the two become close friends as Tia teaches Adunni better English and even agrees to sponsor her and write a recommendation for the scholarship application.

Adunni faces more hardship, abuse, discrimination, and cruelty than anyone should have to bear, and certainly far too much for a young teenage girl, but her hope and spirit is infectious. Her fondest dream is to finish her own education and earn a voice so that she can return to her village and help other girls find their voices and a better life through education and independence. Or, as Adunni words it, "to find their free". 

Adunni narrates her own story, and her broken English is lyrical, with descriptions of her feelings and surroundings that are incisive and haunting, and often achingly beautiful and poetic. She knows that she needs to improve her English, and as she does so with Tia's help, the narration's grammar becomes more standard, but Adunni's insightful observations and expressions remain distinctive. 

I have no idea if a follow-up novel is planned, but Adunni is such an endearing and inspiring character that I would love to see her story continued as she grows to adulthood. In the meantime, I give this moving and beautiful novel my highest recommendation.

This is a book outside my (genre) comfort zone (and a debut novel) for the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge.

©2008-2020 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scripture and a Snapshot - My Peace I Give You

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I 

will do it.

"If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

~John 14:12-19, 26-27~

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Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

©2008-2020 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.