Adventures with Little Luther

I was so excited earlier this summer when I learned that the Playmobil Martin Luther figure was going to be released in the U.S. I must have been one of the first to pre-order it from Concordia Publishing House, and when I found out that they were encouraging people to share Martin Luther’s adventures over the summer with the hashtag #LittleLuther, I knew that was right up my alley.

My first photo was our Luther collection at home…what can I say? We’re very Lutheran!

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Little Luther was spotted at our Fourth of July celebration:

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Bunny was the first of our children to go away to camp, so Little Luther came with us to Camp Wartburg in Waterloo when we dropped her off:

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I had Little Luther with us on our vacation to Bowling Green, KY, Atlanta, GA, and Charleston, SC, but I only ever remembered to take his picture at the Corsair Distillery in Bowling Green. Have no fear, though…he visited places like Turner Field, Forts Sumter and Moultrie, and the beach at the Isle of Palms!

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He also accompanied us on our travels around Illinois, including Vandalia, home of the second state capital, and Springfield, where we visited the old and new Capitol buildings and the Lincoln Home, while we were learning about state history.

And he went on a few trips with us a bit closer to home…he was spotted at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Ted Drewes, Anheuser-Busch, and the Missouri History Museum.

He was even seen visiting our Lego Main Street!

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Chickadee is a big fan of Little Luther!

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She’s also a fan of Big Little Luther!

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This was a fun little promotion to add to our regularly scheduled summer activities!

CPH Stained Glass

Even though Rya worked for Concordia Publishing House for four years, I had never seen the chapel there before yesterday. I really loved the stained glass (shocking, right?), especially as it depicted the six chief parts of Luther’s Small Catechism.

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Lutheranism 101

I found out about a new book that CPH is publishing this fall, and I’m so excited about it! It’s called Lutheranism 101, and it covers all the key points of what it means to be a Lutheran, and what Lutherans believe.

I’m not clear if this book is meant for laypeople, or is geared more toward pastors, but I don’t care. I can see this resource being useful in so many ways! First of all, I can always use a refresher course in what my denomination is all about–no matter how much I’ve studied it, (a lot, but not nearly as much as many people I know, my husband included), I always, *always* learn something new when I read material like this. I’m no expert by any means, and I love having new insights on my faith. And it will be nice to have something a little more casual, (and injected with humor, to boot!), than, say, the Book of Concord.

I also see this being very useful in our homeschool (and I’m sure it would also be beneficial in Lutheran day schools, confirmation programs, and Sunday school programs, besides home use, and potentially adult Bible study). Based on the table of contents, it will provide us with a logical, pre-planned way to walk through the teachings of our church, and provide us with good doctrinal answers and information. I just have to wait a few more years for Turkey and Bunny to understand what we’ll be reading to spring it on them!

I can’t wait to actually get my hands on this book–it’s release date can’t come soon enough for me! Now I just have to decide if I’m going to pre-order, or just go to the CPH bookstore when it comes out. Look for a review here sometime this fall–I’m pretty sure I’ll have nothing but good things to say about it (can you tell I’ve studied the “look inside” feature of this book on CPH’s website several times?)!