Sunday, July 11, 2010

Generational Reading

Breakfast is served and Heather has eaten and is now reading to the children as they eat. Her voice has a wonderful cadence. Anyone will want to sit and listen to the soothing assuring voice as the story she is spinning from the pages of the book unfolds. The proper mixture of the words on the page and her voice cause the characters to jump off the page and perform better than any man made movie can ever produce. She is able to awaken the imagination of even an adult as she uses accents and inflections of the characters themselves.

Bible stories take on a new dimension. Instead of telling only the facts of a Bible event, Heather strives to capture the imagination of the listener and take them to the very place with all the sounds, smells and sights that can very well be a part of the story. Adding dimension to the beloved Bible stories without sacrificing the truth in the stories is done with great care. The style of sharing Bible stories this way comes about because Pippi is asking questions such as;

"What are they wearing?"

"Is the sun shining?"

"Is it a pretty day?"

"Is it cold or hot outside?"

"What are they eating?"

"What color is Jesus' robe?"

"What does the trumpet sound like?"

Thankful for the investment of time that Heather is pouring into her children through the reading of the written word and bringing it to life, I praise our God that she is such a devoted mother. Opening up the world to her children through the books she reads gives them the ability to use their imagination in ways that we may never understand.

Many years ago as I sat and read the limited library of books in our home to the children over and over again with my feeble attempts at voices and action, I never dreamed that one day, my children would return the blessing back to me one thousand fold with their enthusiasm and love for the written word. Mesmerised, I sit full of joy knowing that the time spent those years ago produced such a rich world of imagination. At that point in time, I could have never begun to understand that the simple reading over and over of the favorite books of my children would have a part in producing what I witness daily in our home.

4 comments:

  1. I had the pleasure to hear Heather read a story. She is an amazing reader, I agree with you, I felt the magnetism to listen to her read the story. She brings characters alive better than the movies...LOL
    And what a privilege for you to hear her read to her children, and telling them stories from the Bible. I'm glad you are able to enjoy those moments with your family because you all live under one roof!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for the comment. You are so encouraging.

    ReplyDelete
  3. THANKYOU, HEATHER AND GOO YOU ARE BOTH AMAZING.

    LOVE GRANDAD

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Granddad! You are pretty amazing yourself!

    ReplyDelete

Royal National in London