William Bouguereau - Girl with Bird, Bach - Double Violin Concerto in D, Amy Carmichael - Hast Thou No Scar?

This is our final painting for now by William Bouguereau.  I like the delight in the little girl's eyes as she enjoys her pet bird.  Bouguereau was very skilled at making people look real and catching their expressions.  Again, I would welcome any comments you have this week or next on this post.

Today we'll feature our final piece by Johann Sebastian Bach for this season - Double Violin Concerto in D minor 2nd movement - Largo you can listen on the following link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo0K_n3VLG4

One of my heroes is Amy Carmichael who was a missionary to India and started the Dohnavur Fellowship where she raised many young girls that she rescued from temple prostitution.  The story of her life, A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot is a wonderful biography.   There are also other biographies of her life written for younger children.  I highly recommend that you share her story with your family.  Also any of her devotional writings are worth reading and savoring.  The following is Wikipedia's entry on Amy:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Carmichael.   Amy wrote poems for young people that we will feature in coming weeks but I especially like this well-known poem of hers about the suffering that we experience as we follow Christ.

HAST THOU NO SCAR?


Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.
Hast thou no wound?

No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And piercèd are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?