Children/Pregnancy- How to Pray For Our Children- Amy wrote an article FULL of biblical passages we can use to pray for the children God gives to us
- Pregnancy, Cancer, and God's Perfect Design- Why our bodies function better when we buck societal norms (as we recently discussed here @ Making Home).
- Sallie Field doesn't speak for all moms- You may have heard about Field's crude remark at a recent awards show that if moms "ruled the world" there would be no ******* wars. This is an informed and interesting response to the thoughtless spewage that comes out of Hollywood in forms like the comment from Ms. Field.
- New Mom Denied Extra Time in Medical Licensing Exam: She asked, and was denied, the option to have special accommodations to pump breastmilk for her infant in the middle of a medical licensing exam. There are so many subtleties and issues to examine in this one; I don't know where to start. (1) Couldn't she have postponed her taking of the test until she didn't need to pump as often?, (2) Is this discrimination against women or would it truly be unfair for her to take regular, 40-minute breaks to pump throughout the testing period?, (3) does anyone else find it ironic that, in this situation, the MEDICAL community is making it more difficult for a woman to breastfeed? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this article in the comments!
- Children Are Bad For the Planet- The article begins: "HAVING large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour..." and on it goes. (Please note: I will now happily accept all frowns that anyone wants to send our way for our misdemeanor of loving and receiving children into our family... I'd rather have a few frowns than to disregard my own conscience as informed by the Word of God.)
- Marketing PG/PG-13 Movies to Children- Christine presents a compelling case that reveals how the movie industry aims to draw children into higher ratings through series, trilogies, and careful target marketing.
- Education As Discipleship- Voddie Bauchum (This is one incredible man- I had the privilege of hearing him preach in person in 1999, and have enjoyed learning from him ever since) has written a treatise for why to homeschool, particularly in the early years... here's an excerpt:
"Let me be clear; I applaud men and women whom God has called to teach in government schools. These people are front-line warriors and many of them need to be right where they are. However, there is a big difference between sending “fully trained” disciples into enemy territory and sending our recruits to our enemy’s training camp. If we do the latter, we shouldn’t be surprised when our children come home wearing the enemy’s uniform and charging the hill of our home while waving an enemy flag."
- Meaning of Life: Monty Python's hilarious look at labor/delivery in a hospital! (Thankfully, none of my experiences have been anywhere CLOSE to this... but it is SO good for a laugh!)
Family Life
- Christian Family Embraces Organic Farming- I had to highlight this, because we actually bought meat and cheeses from this family for the entirety of our time in America at the beginning of this year. We also got to meet them, visit with them over a potluck meal, and take a hayride tour of their farm... they're a really neat family with a great vision for how to "do" family in a totally different way than many Americans do these days.
- How I Do It With Kids- Causabon's book (a GREAT thought-provoking resource for simplifying your life) provides a funny look at REAL life with kids vs. the perfection that's often presented online! :)
- You CAN Stay Home! - Kelly has written a great several-part series for motivation and ideas about how you can stay at home with your children.
Food for Thought
- Chapter One of "Jim and Caspar Go To Church"- You may find yourself buying the book once you read this online... it's a book written by a Christian and an atheist who attended a variety of denominations and kinds of churches across America and the conversations and insights they gained from each experience. An insightful look at Christianity in America.
- Embryo Adoption: There are an estimated unwanted 100,000 babies in cold storage in deep freeze units around America. Hundreds of these babies have been adopted and born (even after being frozen as a 6-celled blastocyst for FOURTEEN years--imagine asking that kid how old he is... "well, uh, that's an interesting question..."). Seriously, though: GO and read about it. You'll be amazed, as I've been, the more I've looked into this issue. While there are over 400,000 babies currently frozen for these treatments, about 75% of those are still possibly going to be "used" by their parents in hopes of having a baby, leaving approximately 100,000 unwanted babies that will not be used and will otherwise be discarded. But some couples are electing to adopt these embryos... it's an absolutely eye-opening look into ethical issues surrounding IVF and embryo creation for fertility issues.
- Vaccines and their ingredients: You may be surprised (as I was!) to learn that aborted human fetal tissue is an ingredient in many mainstream vaccines. Take a look and make an informed choice about these issues from now on.
- Enamored With Skirts- Interesting ideas about not only the wearing of skirts, but the "WHY"s of dressing the way we dress as women!
- A funny video/song about the 2008 Election
- CLICK ON THIS ONE: Randy Alcorn on Faith in Generation X
Actual Food, for Eating
- Twice-Baked Potatoes- YUM! I made a big batch of these and froze more than twenty of them (as she points out, no chives if you freeze em!) to have for future meals!
- Make Your Own Spice Rub- for great grilling flavor; sounds delicious!
A final fun link, just because I like it so much:
CHECK OUT THIS FABRIC. IS IT NOT BEAUTIFUL?!?! I can just see it as the lining, collar, and trim on a cute little girl's dress, or as detailing on a beautiful purse. Or to sew into the most happy, fun skirt for Maranatha to twirl and twirl in. Ooh... if only I had tons of money to buy fun fabrics and have them shipped here! :)
And, like always, a final laugh: Mrs. Brigham originally shared this cartoon (at right) about "udderfeeding in public"!
12 comments:
"Men do not have to put off their careers because they are feeding a child."
This woman/mother does not have her priorities right.
The judge said the board offered Currier several special accommodations, including a separate testing room where she could express milk during the test or during break time, and the option to leave the test center to breast-feed during break times.
...other nursing mothers who have taken the exam have found the 45 minutes of permitted break time sufficient.
The plaintiff may delay the test, which is offered numerous times during the year
Seems quite fair. Looks like the woman is not ready to compromise.
I've seen a lot of discussion about the medical exam thing-- and I guess she's already getting more time on the test because of a learning disability... I'm torn as to what I think....
The modesty article was interesting-- I agree that women should follow their own calling when it comes to modesty. Also, I think your body type plays into modesty as well. I am extremely small-chested, so I feel perfectly comfortable wearing a v-neck, as there is no cleavage to see when I bend over. Larger-chested women have to be more careful, I think.
Finally, I love that you love Monty Python.
~Emily
The link to vaccine ingredients is horrifying! I hope it is not true, but am afraid that it is as I know aborted babies are used for all kinds of medical "research" and many other things.
I plan to do more research to validate this.
If it is true, what are you doing? Can you get vaccines that are not made from aborted babies? Did this convince you to skip vaccines altogether?
Hi Jess,
Thank you for all of the great links. I have heard Voddie at a conference and he is simply the best! What an eloquent and godly man.The Monty Python sketch is too funny.The vaccine thing terrifies me! (It seems true to me.)I just had my first homebirth in July, after having two other children in the hospital. I love midwifery care. Today I listed 13 things I love about midwifery care, if you want to check it out. Blessings!
Actually, she did get more time from the Supreme Court. The test administrators are appealing, though, so I'm sure they'll go round-and-round again before it's all decided.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/09/26/new_mom_must_be_allowed_to_pump_breast_milk_during_doctor_test/
Interesting though, that I'd not heard they offered her other accomodations, and I've read many articles on it. It sounds like they were trying to be pretty accomodating.
Sorry, not supreme court, a superior court, then an appeals court.
Thanks for linking to my post about marketing movies for older ages to young children.
Regarding the pumping, if I were her I'd have bought the Whisper pump just for that reason. I saw it demonstrated at a La Leche League conference once. They go inside bra and there are little bags to catch the milk. It is worn inside the shirt. You can barely hear it. It is hands free, so a person can walk around or work or have two hands free doing whatever you want. She could have used that!
I take that story as an example of how a woman cannot 'do it all' and 'do it all at once'. Sometimes biology takes precident. Sometimes it is best to slow down or put one's career on hold for a bit.
And it is true that if she goes over 2 hours without nursing or pumping she could be at risk for a plugged duct or mastitis.
I just attended a Women's Business Confernece where the breast feeding test taking debate was mentioned during several of the speakers speeches. In fact one woman told funny stories about breastfeeding at work in the early 70s. It sounds like maybe this particular woman is being difficult but I do know from that many companies make it extremely difficult to work and breast feed. I had a coworker who was denied a private are where she could pump during the work day. She also had to endure comments and jokes about her "milking room"
The vaccination link was alarming. Can't deal with it right now. PRAY!
Love that fabric. Love Kaffe Fasset. I'm finishing a quilt for our bed that is his solids (and they are special solids) pieced on the front and one of his great prints for the back. Can't wait to snuggle under it when it gets colder.
I listened to a story on NPR a few years ago about the Snowflake program and it brought me to tears. It's a case where truth is stranger than fiction for me - science allows us to create life, yet hold off on the actual birth, perhaps indefinitely. Now I'm torn between adopting or carrying a "Snowflake"....
The story on large families is also very interesting. I think it's amazing, that in a day and age where everyone seems to live their lives in excess, those of us who choose to have more than 2 children are viewed so negatively. Ironically, the large families I know tend to be more environmentally aware and less excessive than the "normal" families around them. Whether it's due to monetary issues or just their beliefs regarding our duties to the earth, the overall impact of these families might actually be less. If the researchers had specifically studied the impact of large families, and not just the impact of humans in general, I might be swayed. But I suspect this is a case where numbers are spun for maximum effect. (Full disclosure: I have a masters in statistics and am BRUTAL when I look at studies whose findings I don't necessarily agree with!)
So much great food for thought. Thanks Jess!
Hi there. FYI on the vaccine issue: The vaccine that was originally made with aborted fetal tissue was the MMR vaccine. This was back in the 1960s-70s. It has since been propagated by cell culture, which uses no tissue from aborted fetuses. The Christian Medical Dental Association recommends that the vaccine still be given. Using this vaccine in no way endangers any other fetuses and does not currently use any tissue from concerning sources. Check out CMDA's website for more info.
I'm not sure what to make of the woman who requested more time on the medical licensing exam. I am a physician, but I had my kids after my training was done. It is just about impossible to delay medical training or to take breaks from training. In addition, the training is physically demanding, so I can't imagine doing medical school at age 40! So, what is the right answer for this woman? She could take the exam later in the year, but this would probably put her in danger of not getting into residency until the next year. Not pumping enough is clearly not an option - and some women need to pump more often and for longer periods of time. I'm not sure there is a good answer here.
Blessings,
Catherine
"The British fertility rate is 1.7. The EU average is 1.5. Despite this, Professor Guillebaud says rich countries should be the most concerned about family size as their children have higher per capita carbon dioxide emissions."
Doesn't he see the contradiction here? "Your people are more wasteful - so no, you shouldn't be more environmentally responsible, we should just have less people!"
How sweet and simple.
*shakes head*
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