A Christmas Book ~ If He Had Not Come {Schoolhouse Review}

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I've celebrated Christmas as a believer for over 20 years, and I don't think I've ever stopped to truly ponder the question, "What if Jesus had not come?" Have you?

My family and I had a chance to think and talk about that question after reading If He Had Not Come, a heartwarming, classic Christmas story originally written by Nan F. Weeks and now reintroduced to a new generation by retired teacher and short term missionary, David Nicholson.

Nan Weeks' story was originally published in 1938 in a literary collection, Christ and the Fine Arts, by Cynthia Maus. David Nicholson was captivated by Nan's story when he first heard it as a young adult in Sunday School, and starting with that very Christmas, it became a tradition for his family to read it every year. Almost thirty years later their tradition continues, and now others can begin the tradition, too!

Details At a Glance

Format: Hardcover

Page count: 40

Size: 8.5x11

Age range: 6 and up

Cost: $18.95 (There is also an E-Book version available for $3.99)

Social Media: Facebook

If He Had Not Come begins with a young boy named Bobby hanging up his stocking on Christmas Eve. Before he goes to bed, his dad reads from John chapter 15 in the Bible. Bobby can't stop thinking about the phrase, "If I had not come," as he drifts off to sleep.

 

Christmas morning he rushes down stairs after hearing a loud voice call his name. But everything is dark, no one is around, and all of the Christmas decorations have disappeared. Bobby leaves his house and begins a journey all around his town to find out what's going on. He wonders why a factory and a local store are open on Christmas day, but no one seems to know what Bobby is talking about.

 

As he continues his journey, he finds that his church, the Children's Home, the hospital, and the shelter are missing. He encounters vacant lots and sign after sign with the words, "If I Had Not Come" written on them. With no where else to turn, he runs home, picks up the Bible, and turns to the book of John, but the entire New Testament is blank except for a faint outline of the words, "If I Had Not Come" on each page. Shocked, all he can think about is a world without Jesus.

 

His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of church bells, and he realizes it was all a terrible dream. He shows his relief and gratitude by thanking Jesus that He did come.

 

***My family enjoyed the book, and I do think it is tradition worthy! The story is wonderful, and timeless illustrations characterized by soft, muted colors give it that classic Christmas-y feel.

 

My one and only complaint has to do with one of the illustrations. In one corner of a page plastered with "If I Had Not Come" signs there's a scene of a mother grabbing her child's arm and getting ready to spank her. It's not that I am against spanking, but the message it sends is a little confusing. Is the mother spanking her child because Jesus had not come, or is the girl misbehaving because Jesus had not come?

 

My children are old enough to not be confused, but I wonder if younger children could possibly get the wrong idea that they shouldn't ever be spanked by loving parents. I debated whether or not I should even mention this, but my husband agreed that it was a bit strange and could be interpreted the wrong way. I wanted to be on the safe side and mention the picture since it involves a sensitive subject.

At the end of the book, there are several discussion questions and activities that families can do together. First, If He Had Not Come Interactive Topics for Families and Sunday School Teachers, provides open-ended questions pertaining to the story and characters such as imagining what it would be like to be in Bobby's place on Christmas morning, talking about why some stores close on Christmas, making a list of other things that would be different if Jesus had not come, and more.

Second, Going Deeper, by pastor, Josh Mulvihill, encourages families to think about how life would be different if Jesus had not come into our world and to search Scripture regarding the birth of Jesus, why He came, and what it would mean for us spiritually if Jesus hadn't been born of a virgin. Several Bible verses are provided for families to look up together.

Third, The Gospel Message, shares how you can receive the gift of salvation in three A-B-C steps:

1. A - Admit you are a sinner separated from a perfect God
2. B - Believe in your heart that Jesus is Savior
3. C - Confess with your mouth and receive God's gift of salvation

Explanations and Scripture are provided in each step. Following the steps is a prayer you or your child can pray in response to believing Jesus is God's Son and that He died for your sins.

Fourth, An Idea to Help You Celebrate Christmas . . ., suggests drawing a fully decorated Christmas tree to remind you of the eternal life we have through Jesus. Six points tell how parts of the tree and decorations symbolize different aspects of the true meaning of Christmas.

***I read If He Had Not Come aloud to all of my kids, and afterward we discussed many of the questions at the end of the book. We talked a lot about what else would be different if Jesus hadn't come. One thing that struck me was that there most likely wouldn't be a Santa Claus. While my children haven't grown up believing in Santa, when they were younger I read a story about the real St. Nicholas every December. So, without the real St. Nicholas who was a Christian known for giving to the poor, we probably wouldn't have the modern Santa either.

With so much of what I call "Christmas fluff" out there, I think this book is a real gem. It offers a unique spin on the Christmas story requiring readers to really think about what life would be like without our precious Emmanuel. This book is a treasure you should consider reading to your children this year and every year! Check out what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew thought by clicking the banner below.

Throwback Thursday ~ Halloween Punk Rocker Fail

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Oh yes, the 80s. Legwarmers, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, black lace fingerless gloves  . . . there's a lot to love from that era. (Insert sarcasm) Oh wait, I almost forgot about Pac Man - I still love that game! ;)



Anyway, I was 80s all the way. I hate to admit it, but Cindy Lauper and Madonna were a couple of my favorite singers back then. Seems like yesterday I was singing "Material World" at the top of my lungs and walking the catwalk to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Which brings me to a few more of my old Halloween costumes. I remember trying to dress up as a punk rocker lots of times. However, I'm going to have to say my attempts rank as epic fails. (Which is probably a good thing.)

Pretty tame punk rocker as a 4th grader here. Picture is very fuzzy, but I am wearing a lace glove on one hand and my hair has hot pink washable dye in it. Blows my mind that my own daughter is the same age now as I was then. THANKFULLY she has zero desire to dress up as a punk rocker or any other super star.

I think I'm in 6th grade here. Except for the too-short skirt, still pretty tame. Hideous perm days. Bleh.

I think I am in 7th grade here. I really have no idea what image I was going for. Looks like a throw-something-together-at-the-last-minute costume. I'm noticing now that my clown sister was this close to smearing lipstick on my jean jacket!

I do think dressing up is fun. I would've loved to dress up alongside my kids over the years, but dressing up costs $! (And I didn't have a lot of time or energy to be frugally creative.) It was more important to me that my kids were having fun. If I had some elf ears right now though, I could probably pull off going to our harvest festival as a LOTR elf. Well, I'd probably need this, too. :)

Image credits go to the web.

Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls {Schoolhouse Crew Review}

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New Liberty Videos sent Schoolhouse Review Crew Members several different DVDs to review:

 

*Anthem for a Nation 
*The Forbidden Book
*Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls
*A Nation Adrift
*Teaching Origins Objectively
*Warriors of Honor

 

Our family received Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

 

Details At a Glance

 

Cost: $19.95

 

Length: 1 hour

 

Age Range: General audience, but I would say interest level would be for ages at least 12 and up.

 

About Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls DVD

 

This DVD is comprised of three parts: Dead Sea Scrolls, Hebrew Word Pictures, and The Forbidden Book.

 

Part 1: Dead Sea Scrolls

Ever wondered what the greatest archaeological discovery of all time is? Well, during this first lecture, Joel Lampe discusses just that - the Dead Sea Scrolls. Jam-packed with geographical, historical, and scientific data, he explains why the scrolls are in 19,000 pieces and how they are reassembled into about 800 scrolls. It's taken some pretty neat technology to be able to do all of that! He reveals what percentage of the information in the scrolls is actually Scripture, the languages in which the scrolls are written, and the different types of materials on which the scrolls are written.

You will learn about the caves in which the scrolls were found and which cave is the most important. You'll also discover which Old Testament book was the only one not found, what other kinds of useful information are contained in the scrolls, why they were left in the caves never to be retrieved by their owners, and more.
 

Part 2: Hebrew Word Pictures

In this talk, Dr. Frank T. Seekins explains how the ancient Hebrew language is constructed and shares what makes it different from every other language. He gives several examples of Hebrew word pictures that depict truths found in the Bible and demonstrates that ancient Hebrew is a meaningful, relationship based language.

 

Part 3: The Forbidden Book

 

Dr. Craig Lampe takes viewers on a quick journey back in time to the Dark Ages during his presentation. After covering a brief history of leadership and spiritual oppression at that time, he talks about a few courageous men - Erasmus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale - who no matter what the cost, dedicated their lives to preserving the Bible and sharing the Gospel with all people.
 

Opinion

 

I was a little disappointed after watching this DVD with my whole family. It didn't meet my expectations. The production quality wasn't very impressive, but I guess that's because judging by the cover, I thought it was going to be more like a documentary instead of brief lectures. Illustrations, photographs, and maps were used during the lectures which did help the overall quality.

 

While some of the information was very interesting, it felt like the speakers were trying to pack in too much information in a short amount of time. It was easy to get lost, especially in Parts 1 and 3. Part 1, according to my husband, sounded a lot like a presentation you'd sit through at a museum. Parts 2 and 3 reminded us a little of infomercials since after these presentations there were advertisements for products pertaining to the talks we'd just listened to. After Hebrew Word pictures, the product advertised looked like a DVD. I am not sure if that DVD contained additional information or if it was the exact same presentation we'd just heard. After The Forbidden Book, the product advertised was a book called, The Forbidden Book. Again, I am not sure what was different about the information within except for the fact that the book comes with original pages from the Geneva Bible.

The presentations in and of themselves were OK but didn't feel complete, especially the last two. It seemed like we were only getting summaries of the products that were being advertised. Now having said that, we did learn some new things, especially in Hebrew Word Pictures. My interest has been piqued to find out more on that subject when time allows. We were only give a few examples of how the language works, so it whet my appetite but didn't satisfy it.

Though my 9-year-old patiently and quietly watched the DVD, I know she had a hard time keeping up with the fast paced presentations. Plus, a lot of the information was over her head and didn't keep her interest. Although both of my boys (12 & 15) like learning about history, they didn't like the DVD format. Like me, they would have preferred a documentary presentation. Plus, I think my boys were a little bored since they've already learned about a lot of the information in history. I really thought the DVD was going to be a documentary that brought the material to life, sort of like an icing-on-the-cake kind of product.

If you aren't really familiar with the subjects of these lectures, this may be a great introductory tool for you and your older children. I wish, though, that I'd picked a different DVD from the list. If you'd like to check out the other DVDs with me that the Crew reviewed, click the banner below.
 

   

TBT: A Few of My Old Halloween Costumes

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Yes, I grew up dressing up and trick-or-treating on October 31st, otherwise known as Halloween, every single year. Candy? I'm there, people! ;)

 

Apparently because I looked more like a boy than a girl at the tender age of 1 1/2, my parents decided to just go with it - Mickey instead of Minnie.

 

 

And a few years later after my hair finally grew, I got to upgrade to the girl mouse! Yea. My mom was obviously a frugal mom and saved the Mickey costume for any siblings bound to come along. I bet you anything if the Minnie costume had come first, my brother wouldn't have had to wear that!

 

By this age, I had definitely blossomed into a girly girl. Looks like I had some amazing makeup skills for sure! Anything look familiar, here? Yep, my sister's like, "Awww, I gotta wear Brandi's old costume?" Well, at least she didn't have to be Mickey. ;)

That's all for this week. Next week I will share a few I-think-I-am-trying-to-be-a-punk-rocker pics.

Homemade Cider Tip

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Mmmm, when I make my first batch of Harvest Apple Cider usually toward the end of October, I imagine crispy air and gold & crimson leaves dotting the skies. Trust me, that takes a lot of imagination here in the desert.

Anyway, I still make the cider so my family can feel all comfy, cozy, and fallish.

TIP: To make cider last a little longer, double your cider recipe (or the one above) and store leftover cider in the fridge. I leave the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves in the cider, but I take the tea bags out. Heat up a single serving whenever you feel like it! Make sure to stir the cider before you pour it into a mug, and don't let any whole cloves sneak in. :)

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