The Master is Come, and Calleth for Thee

"The Master is Come, and Calleth for Thee"

Who calleth?—Thy Father calleth,

Run, O Daughter, to wait on Him:

He Who chasteneth but for a season

Trims thy lamp that it burn not dim.

Who calleth?—Thy Master calleth,

Sit, Disciple, and learn of Him:

He Who teacheth wisdom of Angels

Makes thee wise as the Cherubim.

Who calleth?—Thy Monarch calleth,

Rise, O Subject, and follow Him:

He is stronger than Death or Devil,

Fear not thou if the foe be grim.

Who calleth?—Thy Lord God calleth. 

Fall, O Creature, adoring Him:

He is jealous, thy God Almighty,

Count not dear to thee life or limb.

Who calleth?—Thy Bridegroom calleth,

Soar, O Bride, with the Seraphim:

He Who loves thee as no man loveth,

Bids thee give up thy heart to Him.

By ~ Christina Rossetti

Would you like this poem for your Inspirational Scrapbook?


Related Postings:
Biography of Christina Rossetti

Roses Unit Study

What female doesn't appreciate the beauty and fragrance of a rose? Why not do a thematic study on this beautiful flower with your young ladies and learn more than mere science and nature, but the growing up of a girl to a woman as likened unto a bud to a full-grown rose… (My hope is that the maidens who aren't home educated can also amuse themselves with some of the books and activities listed below.)

Literature to Read Aloud with Your Daughters: The Flower of the Family ~ A Tale of Domestic Life by Elizabeth Prentiss (This is from the author of my favorite book, Stepping Heavenward, and is full of inspiration for the journey of the young lady.) Something that really impressed me with this book is that the father is involved in his daughters' life. He gives spiritual guidance and comfort to her. This is rare to read in books these days. Here is a favorite excerpt of mine from the novel of the father encouraging his dear daughter: 

"You may be sure of one thing; God himself has placed you in your present circumstances, and it is He who appoints for you your daily task. Now, is it possible to conceive that a Being of so much wisdom and goodness would place you amid duties whose tendency is to draw you away from him, rather than towards Himself?"

~ Elizabeth Prentiss, The Flower of the Family

I would suggest reading together for a half-hour a day from the above chapter book and having your daughters do some of the listed activities below each day according to their age and abilities. Include all work from this study separately in a notebook/binder or composition book for each young lady. Don't forget to let them decorate their own covers with pictures of roses, stickers or clip art! Encourage them to be creative.  By the end of a few weeks you will have a nice collection of "Rose Scrapbooks" to cherish as an educational and sentimental keepsake. You may print off my label above to place on your cover as a label to your scrapbook if you desire.

Rose Inspired Learning Activities

Character Building: Begin this study by reading a Beautiful Girlhood excerpt, Chapter 1, titled "Opening Flowers" to your daughters regarding roses and discuss (The above link will take you to a free online source of the chapter).

Spelling/Vocabulary: hybrid, rootstock, graft, deadhead, bare-root, dis-bud, fragrance, cane, climber (Copy words into your scrapbook and fill in definitions of unfamiliar words or phrases. Mothers may give a spelling or vocabulary test at the end of this study if she so desires to younger pupils.)

Vilmorin Rose by Pierre Joseph Redoute

Science/Nature: Draw and label the parts of a rose.

Science/Research: Using the internet or encyclopedia, research the types of roses such as a "climbing" rose, etc. and make a list. Write a short description of the type of rose next to each entry. 

Science/Research: Using the internet or encyclopedia, find out what kind of care a rose needs and write a short report on the subject. Make sure you include how much water they require, how much sunlight is needed, when the best time to plant is and what kind of soil is best.

Science Project: Plant some roses in your backyard using the information you have gathered. Take pictures of the process and include in your "scrapbook" and make sure to write captions explaining each photo.

~ Isaiah 35:1

Bible/Penmanship/Art: Copy the above verse regarding a rose from the Bible in your best writing, paying careful attention to punctuation. For extra beauty, draw a picture of a rose to include above your verse. Write the meaning of this verse on the bottom half of the page.

Language Arts/Character Building: While reading the book, The Flower of the Family ~ A Tale of Domestic Life by Elizabeth Prentiss, write down any passages in the book that really grasp your interest. When you are finished with the book, choose your favorite entry and write a short essay explaining why that verse was meaningful to you.

Language Arts/Penmanship: Copy the poem below in your best writing, paying careful attention to punctuation.

Painting by Paul de Longpre

The Rose

How fair is the rose! what a beautiful flower!

The glory of April and May:

But the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour,

And they wither and die in a day.

Yet the rose has one powerful virtue to boast,

Above all the flowers of the field!

When its leaves are all dead and fine colours are lost,

Still how sweet a perfume it will yield!

So frail is the youth and the beauty of man,

Though they bloom and look gay like the rose;

But all our fond care to preserve them is vain,

Time kills them as fast as he goes.

Then I'll not be proud of my youth and my beauty,

Since both of them wither and fade;

But gain a good name by well doing my duty:

This will scent like a rose when I'm dead.

~ Isaac Watts

Language Arts/Character Building: Write a short essay which explains what the above poem is talking about and how it could be applied to your life. Make sure to use complete sentences.

Language Arts/Creative Writing: Write your own poem about a rose. Keep careful attention to spelling and punctuation. 

Geography: Learn about what a "compass rose" is.  Print out and label one for your scrapbook or make one yourselves with this link.

Rosa centifolia foliacea by Pierre Joseph Redoute 

History: Research the life of the famous, botanical artist, Pierre Joseph Redoute and write a short report about his life and work (you will probably recognize these prints as they are widely used to decorate many commercial products). His collection of paintings titled "Les Rose" is probably still one of finest records of rose illustrations. He was nicknamed the "Raphael of Flowers" and worked as the royal flower painter for Marie Antoinette and later for Napoleon's wife, the Empress Josephine. There is a website dedicated to his life work and you can find some beautiful clip art of his work there. 

Rose Research: Find your favorite picture of a rose from Redoute and print it out and paste onto some notebook paper. Do some research on that particular rose, how it received it's name and why you chose it. You will be surprised at the variety of roses there are!

Painting by Paul de Longpre

Foreign Language: Learn how to say "rose" in the foreign language you are studying (you may need to use the internet for this).

Thinking Skills/Creating a Chart: Roses are said to have different meanings depending on the color. Research this idea and create a chart showing which color represents what.

Painting by Paul de Longpre

Home Economics/Flower Arranging: Create a rose bouquet to display in your home (you may cut from a garden or purchase some if you don't have access to a rose bush). Be sure to place in a pretty vase in a family room so everyone can enjoy it. Take a picture of your final product and include in your "rose scrapbook". The above link will give you some guidance in this "art" of flower arranging.

Rosa Canina by Otto Wilhelm Thome (rose hips)

Home Economics/Science/Research/Health/Hospitality: Research "rose hips" (aka rosa canina) and why they are so good for you. Write a short report about it and the benefits they provide for your health. Purchase some at a health food store and brew some rose hips tea for your family to be served on a pretty tray in a pretty way. Take a picture of your final product (your tea all set up) and include in your "rose scrapbook".

Painting by Paul de Longpre

Home Economics/Sewing: Sew a lovely "rose petal" sachet that you can put in your drawer for it's nice scents or to give as gifts.

Home Economics/Health/Hygiene: Make your own rose water. You may use it for it's fragrant scent or as an astringent for your skin. Remember that a young lady always take care of herself. She must be neat and tidy for she represents a maiden of God. Make sure to copy the recipe down in your "scrapbook" for future use.

Home Economics/Organization: Here is a free printable of beautiful rose labels from the Just Something I Made Blog (see sample above). Use them to organize your room by gathering together your crafts, paperwork, sewing supplies, etc., and placing "like items" in boxes or plastic containers according to category and labeling appropriately (using the above rose labels). Make sure to keep your room organized and clean. This is a great place to practice your housekeeping skills for the future home you will be managing.

Art: Paint or draw a picture of a rose. Younger girls may want to color a page of a rose to include in their scrapbooks (see sample above of coloring page).

American Beauty by Paul de Longpre

Art History/Picture Study: Using the internet or the pictures I am featuring with his name on this page, study the turn of the century rose paintings by Paul de Longpre. He is famous for his "yard-long" paintings (sample shown above). Choose your favorite picture and write an "art review" about it and describe why you favored that particular one. Paste a copy of the painting onto your "art review" for extra detail in your scrapbook. Hope you enjoy his artwork as much as I do. They are one of my favorites! 

Picture Study Question: Now, looking at the botanical style of Redoute's paintings and comparing them to the romantic style of de Longpre, which do you like more? (I think they are both so beautiful!)

Field Trip: Visit a local "rose garden" or gardens in general. Take a stroll through the lovely landscapes and prepare a picnic in advance to be enjoyed there. If you live anywhere in the Los Angeles area, you can visit the house and garden of Paul de Longpre (floral painter mentioned above). Make sure to take pictures and do a "scrapbook" like page of your trip including any interesting information, etc.

The Bride Rose by Paul de Longpre

Final thoughts… Read aloud excerpt from Beautiful Girlhood, Chapter 33 "The Full Blown Rose" to your daughters and discuss everything you learned about in this study. (You can read the chapter for free with this link.)

You may want your daughters to copy the proverb below in their scrapbooks as a finishing touch to this topic. Make sure to discuss what it means...

"Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent." ~ a proverb

(Linked up to: Raising Homemakers & Far Above Rubies)

Very Victorian Hairstyles

Embracing girlhood can be captured with lovely hairstyles for special occasions. Who, but the Victorian women knew how to place their locks in such a feminine fashion?  How about trying some of these hairstyles the next time you have a special occasion to attend? Or you can create an occasion such as a tea party with mother, sisters, cousins and friends. I thought these styles were really pretty...

I like the rose crown included in this hairstyle…

Are you capable of such curls and twirls and twists?

This one may be my favorite…

Oh, and this one too!

This one is clearly beautiful as well! 

Am I allowed three favorites?

Which one do you choose?

(Thank you to Karen's Whimsy for the pictures of these lovely locks.)


P.S. I would love to place a shawl over these women's shoulders…

Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti (Portrait by her brother)

My Gift

What can I give Him

Poor as I am;

If I were a shepherd,

I would give Him a lamb.

If I were a wise man,

I would do my part.

But what can I give Him?

I will give my heart.

~ Christina Rossetti

Who is Christina Rossetti?

Christina Georgina Rossetti was a Victorian poet in London, England though her family was actually Italian. She was home educated and much of her poetry presents a Christian message since she was a religious young woman with a high moral and value system.

Some interesting facts about her life ~ 

• She was a lively child who narrated stories to her mother before she learned to write.
• She broke off her first engagement to a fiance because he reverted to Roman Catholicism.
• Christina suffered poor health and through her life was diagnosed with angina and sometimes tuberculosis which is probably why you read so many poems of hers about death.
• She grew attached to another gentlemen in the 1860's but refused his proposal when "she enquired into his creed and found he was not a Christian." 
• She apparently gave up chess because she enjoyed winning so much.
• She objected to nudity in painting and refused to go see Wagner's Parsifal, because it celebrated a pagan mythology.
• She never married but lived peacefully in the world she was in, engaged in her home life, writing, and fellowship with her family and friends.
• Her last years were quiet ones as she suffered from neuralgia and passed away of cancer in December 29, 1894. She was 64 years old.

(Web Source: The Victorian Web)


Though she never married and had children of her own, the legacy she left the next generation were the words she wrote confessing a love for Christ. I hope you enjoyed reading some information on this talented woman and I hope it inspires you to live by your principles as our dear poetess had in her own way…

If you like poetry, pretty words and thought provoking passages,

you might be interested in making an inspirational scrapbook…

Portrait by her brother, Dante Rossetti

Poems by Christina Rossetti:

The Master is Come, and Calleth for Thee

Raising Roses

For Mothers and/or Maidens…

Wouldn't it be lovely to have close access to a rose garden? To be able to make a beautiful bouquet at a whim for your home... Autumn is the perfect time to plant these beautiful blooms. Why not embellish your back yard with these fragrant flowers? Cultivate your gardening skills… Learn how to prune a rose... Make it a splendid project! Research what they need to survive and thrive. Read books about them and enrich your mind. You may find that time in the garden to be very peaceful and this could "grow" into a life long interest...

If you love roses…
I will be posting a THEMATIC UNIT STUDY for maidens in the near future about raising roses
and growing godly girls. 
I hope you will enjoy it with your daughters…

(Linked up to: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home)

Regarding Future Husbands

Dear Daughters, 

This is something to think about prior to choosing a husband…

"It is a high honor for a woman to be chosen from among all womankind to be the wife of a good and true man. She is lifted up to be a crowned queen. Her husband’s manly love laid at her feet exalts her to the throne of his life. Great power is placed in her hands. Sacred destinies are reposed in her keeping. Will she wear her crown beneficently? Will she fill her realm with beauty and with blessing? Or will she fail in her holy trust? Only her married life can be the answer. 

A woman may well pause before she gives her hand in marriage, and inquire whether he is worthy to whom she is asked to surrender so much; whether he can bring true happiness to her life; whether he can meet the cravings of her nature for love and for companionship; whether he is worthy to be lifted to the highest place in her heart and honored as a husband should be honored. She must ask these questions for her own sake, else the dream may fade with the bridal wreath, and she may learn, when too late, that he for whom she has left all and to whom she has given all is not worthy of the sacred trust, and has no power to fill her life with happiness, to wake her heart’s chords, to touch her soul’s depths."

~ Excerpt from Home-Making by J.R. Miller (republished as The Family)

A Girl Writing

A Girl Writing by Henriette Browne

The above painting was done by Henriette Browne, a French woman who traveled to the orient and did many paintings depicting life there (though the above art is a French scene). She lived from 1829-1901. Can you think of others who lived during that time?

Doesn't this young lady in the picture look peaceful as she sits writing at her desk? Isn't that bird precious just perched there like a common companion? Younger girls probably have time in your life for this kind of quiet reflection and should embrace it. What do you think she is writing? I am going to imagine with you that she is copying down her favorite poetry…

Questions for the maidens:

• Did you know that the Book of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs are regarded as the "Poetry" books in the Bible?
• Do you have a favorite verse from any of the Scriptures mentioned above? Please share it in the comment box below.

Inspirational Scrapbooks for Mothers and Maidens:


Have you ever tried your hand at writing poems? Why not create an inspirational scrapbook. Using a notebook binder, composition book or journal, record your favorite poems, passages and special quotes in it. You might also like to decorate the pages with pretty pictures or clip art. It can be something special that you can pass down to your daughter one day! You may be surprised to find yourself penning in your own words on the pages for the more you read pretty poetry, the more your mind will think beautiful thoughts…

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

 ~ Philippians 4:8

(Linked up to: Raising Homemakers)

Pure Religion

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." 

~ James 1:27

Sometimes we can get so caught up in keeping ourselves "unspotted from the world" that we forget the act of service written about which is visiting the fatherless and the widows. Why not make a special mother and maiden time once a month or so and visit some of the aging widows that God has placed in your lives? I am sure there are many in your family and in the church that would be a blessing to see. Bringing a cup of coffee or tea on the commute will make mother and maiden visiting time extra special. These moments will be spent living out your "pure religion" while creating a time of bonding and memories together. To think that one day your daughter will reflect of the good times she spent with her mother visiting those in need! What a beautiful legacy to leave...

The Hope Chest

GIRL INSPECTING HER HOPE CHEST by Poul Friis Nybo

These days, the thought of a hope chest leaves people thinking old fashioned thoughts. However, there is still a great use for these lovely boxes of carved wood for your daughters. They can be a special place to store special things for their future. Perhaps it won't be the exact items you would find a century back but it can be just as prized. Here are a few ideas of what you can store in them...

• Mother's favorite books of encouragement for her daughter to enjoy as an adult
• A special family Bible
• Scrapbook of her childhood pictures to treasure
• Scrapbook of family ancestors with interesting facts about their forefathers to share with future generations (like a picture style family tree with narration)
• Quilts that have been passed down or other family heirloom treasures
• Mother's wedding clothing
• Recipe book for her future household with all the family tried and true recipes (Printables here)
• Items that reflect your family culture (For example, if you are Russian you may want to put in some Russian nesting dolls, etc…)
• Store handmade objects that mother and daughter have prepared like potholders, tea towels, etc.
• A tea set

Some books that may enhance this project are:

• The Hope Chest: A Legacy of Love by Rebekah Wilson (for older girls)
• The Running Rooster (Grandmother's Hope Chest, Volume 1) by Rebekah Wilson (picture books for younger girls)
• Lucie's Snowflakes (Grandmother's Hope Chest, Volume 2) by Rebekah Wilson (picture book for younger girls)
• Personal Help for Girls Hope Chest Series Volume 1 (Ages 9 & Up) by Pearables
• Preparing Your Hope Chest Volume 2 (Building a Foundation of Godly Character for Tomorrow's Mothers) by Pearables

"Faith is the very first thing you should pack in a hope chest."

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach


(Linked up to: Raising Mighty Arrows and Raising Homemakers)

                                                                       

Girl Chopping Onions

Girl Chopping Onions by Gerrit Dou

Doesn't she look like she has her work cut out for her? But she looks used to it, doesn't she? The artist who painted this, Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) was Dutch. Can you think of any other famous Dutch masters?

Questions for the ladies:

• Why do your eyes burn when chopping fresh onions? Wouldn't it be nice to finally have some scientific information about this under your belt? Research this little mystery and leave me your answer in the comment box…
• Based on what you see in the painting, what do you think she is preparing for dinner?