links in may
Time to share some of my favorites from around the web this month. There are some goodies. Let me know what you resonate with!
Start a conversation in the comments if you like! These are fun topics to discuss.
And tell this guy to stop picking the green strawberries!!!
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Utah Slot Canyon Adventures
We're not going to Utah this month, but I'm still dreaming about these slot canyons and the awesome exploration we'll get to do one day. Sheena and her family are such an inspiration to me. Check out the pictures of her kids climbing through these canyons. :)
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Parenting Backwards?
I recently read an article that I believe should start a conversation among parents. Do you think we should let a child be hungry for a few minutes to learn to delay gratification? Should we let them take risks even though the neighbor moms might raise their eyebrows? When will we realize that children might learn more simply by playing? And should we jump in and solve all their problems for them?
Have American parents got it all backwards? Read Christine's post if only to provide some food for thought {I don't agree with every word of it, btw}. :)
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Writing Stories on our Blogs
One thing I really love about blogs are the stories. My husband can write a really good story. Stories bring meaning and value and belonging and perspective to our sometime jagged lives. I want to hear your stories. I want to remember that sharing my stories is plenty worthwhile too. Read Ashleigh's post about old-fashioned blogging here.
"We’ve been belittled for thinking our daily lives are worth sharing, warned we won’t be taken seriously, told there’s nothing sacred in the rhythms of the everyday. Who wants to hear about our minutiae when the people of the world are busy with their own lives? The telling matters...to the readers who pull from your life hope and freedom and empathy and courage and commonality and faith and humor and inspiration."
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DIY Popsicle Stick Weaving
I am so curious about this popsicle weaving trick that provides such entertainment! Have to try it. Wonder if it is super hard to do.
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Internet Withdrawals
Did you know the Internet is addictive? hah! That excessive use might damage our pre-frontal cortex and cause symptoms that look surprisingly like those of ADD? Dear me. I know what it feels like to "unplug" and feel depressed and completely unsure of what to do. It's ridiculous. I enjoyed listening to Michael Hyatt's podcast entitled "What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains", especially the bit about the Five Disciplines:
And if you're really into this topic, read Paul's experience {he "quit" the Internet for a year!}.
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Do We Know {And Act Like} We Need Jesus?
Emily Freeman always challenges me and writes things that I completely connect with. It might have to do with our personalities being so similar. This time she writes about teenage girls, specifically, and how there is usually a Christian focus on being a good example. I've been there. I have fully lived in what she describes some girls do -- they try to manage people's opinions of them, maintain a reputation, and be someone who others will look up to. And I have felt suffocated, bitter, angry, and noticed that I am sometimes difficult to relate to.
"Her friends don’t need an example, they need a friend. A real one. An honest one. A touchable one. They need a friend who doesn’t think she’s better than everyone, but one who knows she isn’t. They need a friend who knows she needs Jesus."
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Dance in the Grocery Aisle
This article from Sarah Bessey is uh.mazing. It's full of anecdotes that I bet all of us moms understand! And the dance party in the grocery store? Priceless. Have you ever done that? :) Read the beginning of her writing over on her blog or the whole thing in the She Loves magazine.
"It’s for when you stay up too late just because you are so happy to have a quiet house.It’s for another night of grilled cheese and tomato soup for supper. It’s for the days when you are not so much “balancing” motherhood and work and life and family as you are juggling it all like flaming torches."
---
Education from a Kids Perspective
I love this. Hackschooling, eh? Here are two of my favorite quotes:
"You don't seem to make learning how to be happy and healthy a priority in our schools."
"Much of education is oriented, for better or worse, towards making a living rather than making a life."
Start a conversation in the comments if you like! These are fun topics to discuss.
And tell this guy to stop picking the green strawberries!!!
---
Utah Slot Canyon Adventures
We're not going to Utah this month, but I'm still dreaming about these slot canyons and the awesome exploration we'll get to do one day. Sheena and her family are such an inspiration to me. Check out the pictures of her kids climbing through these canyons. :)
---
Parenting Backwards?
I recently read an article that I believe should start a conversation among parents. Do you think we should let a child be hungry for a few minutes to learn to delay gratification? Should we let them take risks even though the neighbor moms might raise their eyebrows? When will we realize that children might learn more simply by playing? And should we jump in and solve all their problems for them?
Have American parents got it all backwards? Read Christine's post if only to provide some food for thought {I don't agree with every word of it, btw}. :)
---
Writing Stories on our Blogs
One thing I really love about blogs are the stories. My husband can write a really good story. Stories bring meaning and value and belonging and perspective to our sometime jagged lives. I want to hear your stories. I want to remember that sharing my stories is plenty worthwhile too. Read Ashleigh's post about old-fashioned blogging here.
"We’ve been belittled for thinking our daily lives are worth sharing, warned we won’t be taken seriously, told there’s nothing sacred in the rhythms of the everyday. Who wants to hear about our minutiae when the people of the world are busy with their own lives? The telling matters...to the readers who pull from your life hope and freedom and empathy and courage and commonality and faith and humor and inspiration."
---
DIY Popsicle Stick Weaving
I am so curious about this popsicle weaving trick that provides such entertainment! Have to try it. Wonder if it is super hard to do.
---
Internet Withdrawals
Did you know the Internet is addictive? hah! That excessive use might damage our pre-frontal cortex and cause symptoms that look surprisingly like those of ADD? Dear me. I know what it feels like to "unplug" and feel depressed and completely unsure of what to do. It's ridiculous. I enjoyed listening to Michael Hyatt's podcast entitled "What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains", especially the bit about the Five Disciplines:
The discipline of rest.I don't want to let myself repeatedly fall into this trap that leads to depression and a loss of perspective. It takes great intentionality to rest, reflect, read, invest in relationships, and participate in recreation that renews. I think I'll be putting these five disciplines on the fridge.
The discipline of reflection.
The discipline of reading.
The discipline of relationships.
The discipline of recreation.
And if you're really into this topic, read Paul's experience {he "quit" the Internet for a year!}.
---
Do We Know {And Act Like} We Need Jesus?
Emily Freeman always challenges me and writes things that I completely connect with. It might have to do with our personalities being so similar. This time she writes about teenage girls, specifically, and how there is usually a Christian focus on being a good example. I've been there. I have fully lived in what she describes some girls do -- they try to manage people's opinions of them, maintain a reputation, and be someone who others will look up to. And I have felt suffocated, bitter, angry, and noticed that I am sometimes difficult to relate to.
"Her friends don’t need an example, they need a friend. A real one. An honest one. A touchable one. They need a friend who doesn’t think she’s better than everyone, but one who knows she isn’t. They need a friend who knows she needs Jesus."
---
Dance in the Grocery Aisle
This article from Sarah Bessey is uh.mazing. It's full of anecdotes that I bet all of us moms understand! And the dance party in the grocery store? Priceless. Have you ever done that? :) Read the beginning of her writing over on her blog or the whole thing in the She Loves magazine.
"It’s for when you stay up too late just because you are so happy to have a quiet house.It’s for another night of grilled cheese and tomato soup for supper. It’s for the days when you are not so much “balancing” motherhood and work and life and family as you are juggling it all like flaming torches."
---
Education from a Kids Perspective
I love this. Hackschooling, eh? Here are two of my favorite quotes:
"You don't seem to make learning how to be happy and healthy a priority in our schools."
"Much of education is oriented, for better or worse, towards making a living rather than making a life."