Wednesday, June 27, 2007

THE WORD - WORDS




I have always loved words. Either speaking them (I am a talker) or reading them. I loved talking and discussing things with my father and mother. Being raised, basically as an oly child, books were very much my friends from a very early age. As a young girl I think I read every Nancy Drew book. Many a night I would be reading in the middle of the night and my mother would awaken and see the light on in my room and hollwe, "Susan, shut out that light and go to sleep".

I remember, as a young girl, having discussions with my father about libraries. Being born in 1885 he was well aware what a privilege it was when Public Libraries began to be opened and established. We today just take for granted that we can get almost any book, at any time. All we have to do is go to a book store, or a library or even on line and find them. It did not use to be so and books were very scarce and precious.

The first public library was claimed to be established in Boston, Massachusetts in 1636. The Boston Library still operates today. Benjamin Franklin and a group of his friends founded The Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731 as a means to settle arguments. The subscription library was born. A subscription library allowed individuals to buy "shares". The money raised from the sale of shares went into buying more books. A member, or shareholder, then had rights to use the library. The Library Company, which may have been the first truly public library (members could actually borrow books), is still in existence as a nonprofit, independent research library.

The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 under President John Adams. With an appropriation of $5,000 the original library was housed in the new Capitol until August, 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol Building, burning and pillagint the contents of the small library.


Within a month retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement. Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating books, "putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable in every science"; his library was considered to be one of the finest in the U.S. In January 1815, Congress accepted his offer, and appropriated $23,950 for his 6,487 books. As an aside, The Library of Congress is the most beautiful building I have ever had the privilege of seeing.


Andres Carnegie was the person who made it possible for many communities to have a library. Between the years 1883 and 1929 he funded 2,509 libraries in English speaking countries. 1,689 were built in the U.S. Very few towns that requested a grant and agreed to his terms were refused. When the last grant was made in 1919, there were 3,500 libraries in the U.S. of which nearly half were paid for by Carnegie.


It was in 1935 when the first mass produced paper back books became available. The reduced cost of these books was a further step in making the written word available to a large number of people.


It is truly amazing when we take time to stop and think about words. Almost all communication is done with words. We speak and communicate to one another in words. We are so excited when a baby says that first word. The ability to form ideas in our mind and relate our thoughts to others is in words, either spoken or written. Even the third verse in our Bible begins "And God said...."


I am thankful for words, for the ability to speak, for the ability to read, for the ability to purchase and own the books of my choice, for the ability to check out a book from my library or borrow a book from a friend, for the ability to read the various posts on the blogs I choose and find interesting, informative or funny.


Most of all I am thankful that God inspired men, by the Holy Spirit, to write the 66 books that form our Bible.


I am thankful the New Testament is CONTAINED in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is EXPLAINED in the New Testament.

I am thankful the New Testament is CONCEALED in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is REVEALED in the New Testament.

I am thankful the New Testament AUTHENTICATES the Old Testament and the Old Testament ANTICIPATES the New Testament.

I am thankful the New Testament LIES HIDDEN in the Old Testament and the Old Testament LIES OPEN in the New Testament.

I am thankful the Old Testament PREDICTS a Person and the New Testament PRESENTS that Person.

I AM THANKFUL FOR GOD'S WRITTEN WORD

THE ABILITY TO READ AND SPEAK IT

THE PRIVILEGE OF LIVING IN A FREE COUNTRY

THAT ALLOWS ME FREEDOM TO READ, TO SPEAK AND TO WRITE
Most of the historial information in this post is from Wikipedia, the free enclopedia.
Old & New Testament comments from
Food for Thoughts by Roy Gustafson

28 comments:

Pearls of Wisdom said...

Amen ! Beautiful post my friend. I love the library also. My 7 yr. is taking part in a great month of activities there and we are so blessed. I loved this part of your post:I AM THANKFUL FOR GOD'S WRITTEN WORD

THE ABILITY TO READ AND SPEAK IT

THE PRIVILEGE OF LIVING IN A FREE COUNTRY

THAT ALLOWS ME FREEDOM TO READ, TO SPEAK AND TO WRITE

I am so thankful for that too. You have to check out my humorous Noah ( red tape and what I learned from Noah)post hope you and Micky get a kick out of it.

Smiles, hugs and blessings,

Angel ( Angel Mama )

Lyndy said...

Susan, What a beautiful post. I can relate well with you, as I was an only child and books were also very much my friend and still are today. Such a blessing.

Have a wonderful day my friend.

Lyndy

Linds said...

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Susan. It means the world to me.

... said...

nice post. i love books, too. i love the smell of a library or book store. i love the experience of books. i love the possibilities and opportunities that books bring to a reader.

and i read every nancy drew book, too. loved them.

Anonymous said...

I of course LOVED this post!!! :)

Momma Roar said...

What a terrific post! Again, I'd love to sit across the table from you and share words!

I read a lot of Nancy Drew when I was young too. My mom had a ton of them and the Hardy Boys!

Tina said...

We love the library here too!

Carole Burant said...

You are so right, too many times we take for granted how easily we can get books and how it wasn't like that at one time! I read this post with interest because I had no idea all the facts that went behind the first library!! xox

Kelli said...

Excellent post, Susan! We have so much to be thankful for!
Kelli

Barbara said...

From a fellow book lover, this was a very interesting post.
Yes, Oliver has beautiful eyes, the first thing everyone says. He has his Mum's eyes and his Dad's eyelashes which is a good combination.

Maalie said...

I don't think the book can ever replaced as a medium of study.

Jill said...

And words have allowed me to find your wonderful blog! I liked the history lesson on libraries. I have always been a big fan of "going to check out books". In my small town growing up, it was the highlight of my week. I hope libraries always stand proud in large cities and small towns. With technology the way it is, I have sometimes thought people might think checking out a book is too old fashioned.

LBP said...

What a great post! I love libraries. The older the better. I just love the smell of books!

Pen of Jen said...

Like you and all that have commented, I am a lover of books, but if I had to choose just one you closed with the most precious book of all...the Bible.

LOVE this post...

Jennifer

Amber said...

Great post! I love Nancy Drew too.

FYI, I live right outside of Jefferson's home town--I just moved here.

BTW, thanks for stopping by the other day.

God Bless,
Amber

Lyndy said...

Hey Sweet Friend,

I just wanted you to know that I nominated you for an award, so check out my blog.

Lyndy

Susie said...

Very informative about the history of libraries. I must admit, I have been one to take our libraries for granted and this post made me reflect on how lucky we are to have access to books and other media..

MightyMom said...

my husband and I are both bibliophiles...and Sonshine is budding. Thank you for the effort you put into researching this glorious post! One thing I find quite sad in today's world..folks don't take the time to learn and use new words. Ever read the dictionary??
And I was more Meg Mysteries, Trixie Belden and Agatha Christie than Nancy Drew. I sill own about 80 Agatha Christie books. And reread them often. Currently reading The Boomerang Clue. :-)

Lori said...

I am thankful for God's Word too.
I love to read.
Thanks for sharing this post with us.

Myrna said...

Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, and every biography I could find in the library were my friends for years! What does a person who doesn't read do?!!

Great post--so typically Susan!

BTW--Isn't it about time for that trip you were planning? Do you plan to blog while you are traveling are will we have to do without your words of wisdom for a few days!

Tammy said...

I really appreciated this post! I learned a lot about libraries- something we do take for granted in this day and age.
My children and I go almost every week, and they participate in the summer reading program there.

I was also raised an only child and loved reading from an early age...it's true- books become your friends!

Anonymous said...

Most of all I am thankful that God inspired men, by the Holy Spirit, to write the 66 books that form our Bible.

I am thankful the New Testament is CONTAINED in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is EXPLAINED in the New Testament.

I am thankful the New Testament is CONCEALED in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is REVEALED in the New Testament.

I am thankful the New Testament AUTHENTICATES the Old Testament and the Old Testament ANTICIPATES the New Testament.

I am thankful the New Testament LIES HIDDEN in the Old Testament and the Old Testament LIES OPEN in the New Testament.

I am thankful the Old Testament PREDICTS a Person and the New Testament PRESENTS that Person.

Susan, I have never heard it said quite this way, although it's what I believe! This is awesome!

Pen of Jen said...

Susan is a place winner at Pen of Jen!!
Hip hip hooray:)

Jackie said...

Ahhh...I miss libraries. It truly is a priviledge for all Americans to have such easy access to any and all books. Not so easy in other parts of the world, which is why I'm slowly but surely building my own home library. I can't live without books! Loved the post.

Susan Skitt said...

Susan, I'm a word person too. Love reading! Interesting history on libraries and I couldn't agree more with what you posted about the Old and New Testaments. Certainly, the Word became flesh and has set us free! Jesus!

Blessings today dear sister in the Lord.

Danny Wright said...

Hi Susan

Great post. I too love the Word and words. I long ago learned that there is more than information in books; in fact there is art as well!

Pearls of Wisdom said...

Dear Susan,
Please stop by my blog for an award.

Hugs and Love,

Angel ():)

Susie said...

Hi Susan,
I've tagged you for a meme..
Can't remember if you've done it or not.
xo