The CMP Review — Week of December 25

December 25, 2023

“The Christ, in sooth, is come—in such poor state
As might the child of beggar at the gate;
But seraph spake with us, and glory shone,
And multitude of angels joined in song!”

— Charlotte Mason

Merry Christmas from the Charlotte Mason Poetry Team!

December 26, 2023

Every Christmas, G. K. Chesterton and his wife Frances would send out Christmas cards imprinted with their names. These cards, however, contained more than just their names. Each year would also feature a new, original poem composed by either Gilbert or Frances. The poems were always beautiful; some became famous, and some were reprinted in The Parents’ Review.

Why in The Parents’ Review? Because Frances Chesterton was born Frances Blogg, who for several years served as Organising Secretary of the PNEU. In those days, “Gilbert Chesterton … used to attend P.N.E.U. Conferences to admire her.” This admiration led to an engagement and ultimately to new pursuits for Frances; however, her link to the PNEU was never completely severed.

In 1925, the poem for the Chesteron’s Christmas card was authored by Frances. It was published in The Parents’ Review, and this week we share it with you. May it enrich your experience of Christmastide as you meditate on the mystery of the incarnation. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff

December 27, 2023

Did you give or receive any books this year? I’d love to hear about them.

I still remember the Christmas my sister and I received the Little House series from a favorite aunt. This was followed by many amazing books from her over the years.

Dorothea Steinthal and her siblings also had a beloved book-gifting aunt. Her name was Charlotte Mason, but the Steinthal children knew her as Aunt Mai. Dorothea tells us, “Every Christmas brought a batch of books with a personal inscription for each of us. A bright-colored, illustrated, ‘Chaucer for Children’ and another, ‘Queen Victoria’s Dolls’ I remember specially.”

@rbaburina

December 28, 2023

As her final year of high school was approaching, my daughter asked if she could study Japanese as part of her language requirement. I said yes but only if she could find her own teacher. This she did without hesitation, discovering a native speaker in our community who was happy to share both her language and her culture with my daughter.

These early lessons were about more than just hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Vocabulary was a doorway leading to an ever-deepening interest in the literature, history, and foods of a different land. But according to Charlotte Mason, the study of language transcends even this:

There is a subject or class of subjects which has an imperative moral claim upon us,” she wrote. “It is the duty of the nation to maintain relations of brotherly kindness with other nations; therefore it is the duty of every family, as an integral part of the nation, to be able to hold brotherly speech with the families of other nations as opportunities arise; therefore to acquire the speech of neighbouring nations is not only to secure an inlet of knowledge and a means of culture, but is a duty of that higher morality (the morality of the family) which aims at universal brotherhood.

Under the tree for my daughter this year was Nancy Singleton Hachisu’s 2018 Japan: The Cookbook which was seized upon with zeal. And discussions with extended family turned to plans for an upcoming visit to Tokyo. So far language has led to culture; my hope and prayer is that it will lead to brotherhood too.

@artmiddlekauff

December 29, 2023

For about a week, we had a couple of constant visitors at our birdfeeder. This male red crossbill with his female friend. Scroll through to see them together.

Their beaks are just amazing and their feathers look like persian carpets. Their colouring is so beautiful! The pictures do not do it justice.

And now our friends have moved on and we’ve not seen them again.

Do crossbills ever visit you?

@antonella.f.greco

December 30, 2023

Four years ago, I read James Clear’s Atomic Habits, and it remains a cornerstone in my journey of personal growth and understanding habits. As Clear aptly puts it, “The holy grail of habit change is not a single 1 percent improvement, but a thousand of them. It’s a bunch of atomic habits stacking up, each one a fundamental unit of the overall system.” This insight resonates deeply, emphasizing that sometimes we must make habits obvious, attractive, easy, or satisfying to truly integrate them into our lives. If you’re seeking a profound shift in your habits and life perspective, I highly recommend diving into Clear’s practical guide, Atomic Habits.

@tessakeath

“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” And that should be all we need to know. Jesus, the Son of God, all-loving and all-powerful. “And all were sure what He would do,” writes Charlotte Mason: He would say, “Let us make speed, Go we to cheer the sisters two!”

But that is not what He did. “He abode at that time two days in the place where he was.” Waiting. Staying. Abiding. Why not go to the ones He loved? As the year draws to a close and we enter a new season, let us reflect with Charlotte Mason on our loving, waiting Lord. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff