Relationships are the core of the Clan's life. Crookedpaw and his brother have such a sweet, unconditionally loving bond. Crookedpaw's mom is still cold to her son, as she has been since he was injured. Crookedpaw's mentors have their own ways of training and Crookedpaw has to see which way works best for him. Then there is the battles between the clans which we see a lot of in these five chapters..as the Riverclan is defeated trying to take back Sunningrocks and as they are victorious in retrieving the babies that had been taken from them.
This gets me to thinking about my relationships. As an introvert, I really love, love time alone, time with my husband, and time home. Just last night, a spur of the moment dinner opportunity came up and I just was not prepared mentally to spend a couple of hours with people I hardly knew. Another conversation yesterday left me agreeing to things that I wasn't comfortable with - simply because I am afraid to say no and disappoint.
From Riverclan's example, I am becoming more and more aware that relationships vary, we are not supposed to be happy social butterflies with everyone and jump on every bandwagon of ministry. Our most important relationship is with Jesus, staying close to him so we can hear his plan for us each minute. As a wife and mom, my family comes next. The plans laid out for each of us are widely different. As we stay in the Word and pliable in his hand, we will know what to do.
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In chapters 5-10 in The Warrior's Crookedstar's Promise by Erin Hunter, we find Crookedkit leaving the clan and learning some of his worth among farm cats. I can relate. I ran away from my faith out of fear and doubt, and did learn about life in the big, bad world, but like Crookedkit, finally realized that my home is with Jesus and until I returned and learned to trust Him with everything, I would not find happiness. The experience, though, in my time away from Jesus, made me the open-minded and empathic Christian that I am today. Yes, I have many faults still..pride, distrust, defensiveness. But the mercy I developed through my rebellion, I would not change for anything. I just hope I can be a leader of love in my clan, like Crookedkit, who is definitely learning through humility.
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Warriors Crookedstar's Promise by Erin Hunter
Prologue through Chapter 5
I am loving this story. Although, as I was just flipping through the front of it right now, I realized that if I would have made myself familiar with the map and the description of the characters that the author places at the beginning, it would have made my understanding so much better. I will get better acquainted with that before I continue reading.
I love the bonds they have as a clan. It is very sad that Stormkit's mom rejects him after his accident, and I am so hoping this will be reversed later in the story. So love Oakkit's devotion to his brother. Before the accident, Stormkit was always the leader, very proud of himself and very firm on being the greatest warrior. Yet, through it all, Oakkit has been right by Stormkit's side, devoted and not envious, and even when Stormkit becomes Crookedkit due to an accident, Oakkit is still by his brother's side, admiring him.
Makes me think of how we are to be with each other as people. No matter if someone is being proud or ugly or unkind, we need to see the good in each other and remember that we have our moments of grumpiness too..
Join us! We are reading 5 chapters a week.
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The Slow Poke
Two things stood out to me in this last chapter. 1) Harbin had an incredible imagination that should not be tampered with. However, it should be harnessed as to the times when it is okay to let his mind roam. 2) The slowpoke cure reminded me of an ADD medication ~ it sped him up & made him focus. I think there are times that this kind of medication is necessary, but I do feel that it is way over used. Instead, intrinsic self-control should be fostered in the child, such as, the reward for getting chores done is time to sip on a soda & think all sorts of wonderful & wild thoughts..
This concludes our book.
The next book we are going to start on is Warriors Super Edition, Crookedstar's Promise by Erin Hunter.
Erin is an avid cat lover and is intrigued by the natural world. She uses mythical explanations to understand animals' behavior.
This story is about a kitten who becomes disfigured and is rejected by his mom. He dreams of becoming Clan leader. In order to do so, he makes a hasty promise that results in much destruction.
This week we will read the Prologue through Chapter 5. We will continue on reading 5 chapters a week. There are 40 chapters in this book. Check your local library; that is where I got my copy. And let's enjoy together.
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The two cures:
1) teach leadership skills to bullies
2) let whisperers lose their voices in order to appreciate their talking voices
Loved the transformation of working happily together to turn the little studio out back of Nicholas's home into The Neighborhood Children's Club..reminds me of reading about the fun of creating dens to hang out in from the book The Idle Parent by Tom Hodgkinson.
Cozy fun is the Hush, Hush Club turning into a club for picnics and rainy day theatrics..reminiscent of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
So cool to see the mamas' support their kids..baking treats for them. And the picture of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's home with all the children and their various activities gives me a vision for my kids' ministry.
Homey
things stood out to me in this chapter..the brownies as an after school
snack, the chunky doctor making house calls, the boys borrowing an
onion from the neighbor, and chocolate ice cream sodas. I must say that I
don't quite agree with the whole never, ever crying as some crying is
healthy and cleansing, but I do think that the over-exaggeration of a
problem behavior is sometimes the best way to cure it.
Chapter 1 is the Show-off Cure where Mrs. Piggle Wiggle provides show-off powder that makes little Phillip disappear every time he tries to steal the show with his antics..I have a child who wants attention, either positive or negative. If she can shock us into action with her behavior, she has succeeded..what we are learning is that ignoring the behavior is one of the best ways to subvert it. No attention, no need to act out..
Presenting: a Kid's Books Reading Club ~ to keep us young & to share with our kiddos..we will be starting out with Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald & illustrated by Hilary Knight, reading 2 chapters a week (1 on the last week, since there are 5 chapters). I will post questions/thoughts to consider and we will have a blast! Grab yourself an iced tea, gather round the children & read aloud or cozy up by yourself in an arm chair and enjoy!!!
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