FEATURED ARTICLE
- KNOWING GOD'S WILL- Randy Alcorn gives excellent advice about discerning the will of God-- that it's often more about who we're becoming than what we're doing.
- Eighty-five cent pregnancy tests - SERIOUSLY! 85 CENTS!!! If you're trying or hoping or think you'll need them, this price is incredible! They also have a good price on ovulation tests, if you're so inclined.
- Mars Hill's summary of birth control options: Mark Driscoll's sermon on this issue is worth listening to... but this summary also includes lots of great reading material and links (at the bottom of the page) worth perusing if you're reading up about or making decisions about family size, sex, abortion, and birth control.
- Jobs will wait; babies won't.
- Doug Wilson has written a very interesting (and I think, very balanced) article about Birth Control
- Martin Luther King's niece, Alveda, speaks about abortion. She writes, "King once said, 'The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.' How can the “Dream” survive if we murder the children? Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate."
- The Haze Continues to Lift: Catherine's thoughts on having had an abortion 10 years ago
- Planned Parenthood's slogan says "Every child a wanted child". Although their approach is entirely wrong, the slogan is something we can all agree on- every child is wanted (if not by the bio mom, there are hundreds of adoptive parents waiting in line).
- Ted Turner calls for a two-child-per-family limit.
- Having more than two children is selfish and sinful?
- Three Kids? You Showoffs! Big families are now a growing status symbol among the very rich. This article (though it is seemingly written in support of larger families) contributes to the problem by perpetuating the idea that it must be expensive to raise children.
- The "What Ifs" of Adoption
- Breastfeeding videos: These links can show you what a good latch on looks like, and help you hear and identify problems in latching on/breastfeeding. What a great resource for nursing moms!
- In whose best interest is this, exactly? Stories from a foster-to-adoptive mom about visits with biological parents during the waiting period until the adoption is finalized. (Very insightful and worth the read!)
- Complementarian Singles: How Can I Prepare For Marriage? A great article about God-honoring singleness as you wait
- Be content when he is home; Be content when he is not. A great word on contentment for wives whose husbands travel or work a lot. (Be sure to check out her reading list at the bottom of her site-- GREAT recommendations!)
- How a Wife Should Respond to Her Husband: Bethany shares helpful notes for wives from a marriage conference
- When Blending Families, Mix Well. Terry shares from her own experiences about blending a family in a way that honors God, strengthens the marriage, and solidifies the family unit.
- Why it Kills to Keep Up with the Joneses
- Shacking Up- why couples who live together fare worse once married (this is an insightful interview with Mike McManus, a man I met almost ten years ago, who runs "Marriage Savers"-- a non-profit organization focused on marriage).
- Why do parents need to be united in their parenting?
- Third-culture kids: This is what you end up with when you live overseas-- children who don't really identify fully with their "first" culture, or their "second" culture-- so they end up forming their own. John Piper put out a list of great ideas about how to relate to and serve "TCK's".
- Raising Missions-Minded Children
- How long should a homeschool day be?
- Good old-fashioned homeschooling: Why having too many options can actually harm the homeschooled family... and why a return to simple home schooling may be in order when we feel overwhelmed or stressed.
- Finding support as a homeschool mom
- Washington Post: The real cost of government-run schools- it is shocking how much money is spent per child with such a poor outcome in government schools. No business would be able to continue running if they had such lousy returns on the investment.
- Ever considered: What if public schools were abolished? A fascinating (and I think, realistic) view of what would happen in our society if government no longer meddled with the education of America's children.
- Bakeshop Blueberry Muffins
- How to Make Cinnamon Sugar (and chocolate cinnamon!)
- List of all label "aliases" for MSG- for those of you who are allergic or try to avoid it
- Five tips from C.S. Lewis about pithy, worthwhile writing (and talking).
- Twelve ways to improve your blog
MISCELLANEOUS
- Heterosexual Roommates: Now that homosexuality is so rampant on college campuses, dating couples and boy/girl casual friends are asking, "so why can't we be roommates?" So now it's "pick your own roommate", male or female, on some college campuses.
- Divided We Stand: What do religious conservatives do without a political candidate "of their own"? We're about to find out.
- Is it OK to Look? The truth about pornography
- CPS investigates because family has "too many kids", and- *gasp* -their kids "do dishes"- Folks, the government's intrusion into our lives as citizens are getting more and more absurd.
- Olympics-- Shut Up and Compete: Randy Alcorn weighs in with thoughts about the upcoming Beijing Olympics, in light of human rights violations and the persecuted church.
- Feminism Run Amok on the Soccer Field
- Did Jesus Spend Saturday Night (before Resurrection Sunday) in Hell? John Piper says "no."
- The "Poison" of Computer Gaming-- [Are you all noticing more and more families being negatively affected by this? I sure am! I'd love to hear from you if you have thoughts about video/online games and what our response as Christian families should be!]
- Why I Left Greenpeace: from one of the founders- this is a great example of what can happen when our zeal trumps our love for truth
- How to help your grieving friend: practical ideas from a hurting mom
- Listeners' Bible: Free mp3 downloads of John, Philippians, and Ephesians
- Barak Obama: A wolf in sheep's clothing, says Voddie Baucham-- a candid examination of Obama's record on abortion
- Tim Hawkins: GPS for life
I've received lots of "thank you"s over the months for these show & tell posts, so full of links and reading material. But then I know these are overwhelming for some of you. I have to confess, I love seeing all the "out-clicks" on my sitemeter after posting one of these posts... it's so neat for me to see these great articles all being read and (hopefully) useful for you. It is a passion of mine to point people in the direction of good information/resources that will help women and families to honor God more.
Please feel free to e-mail me if there are particular topics you'd like to see more links about, or if there are articles you find that might be worth including in my show & tell posts in the future! Additionally, if there are things I could do to make these links more useful for you, let me know!
Thanks-- and happy reading!
20 comments:
Great links Jess.
And your baby is adorable!
Jess - hi I wanted to write to tell you I very much enjoy your blog - I visit all the time. You are a much younger Mom than me but you have such wisdom.
I have been blessed with three adult children and 4 sweet grandchildren which are just the greatest gift God has ever sent...
enjoy your beautiful family - stop over at my blog if you have a chance. :)
LOVE the article about the length of a homeschool day! I often get asked how long I spend teaching. People often try to hide their "your kid is going to fall behind" look. Overall, I usually spend anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half teaching my just turned 5 year old kindergarten...and "shockingly" she's by far ready to start 1st grade in the fall. I never thought it was the TIME SPENT that mattered...but instead it was the QUALITY OF THE TIME that mattered. So in short...lol...the article made me feel pretty good :)
Thanks for the link Jess - it reminds me that I should update the reading and links list at the bottom! I haven't done it in soooo long! :)
I wish I could give Voddie Bauchum a HUGE hug. There is a man speaking reason to the world. I hope more people start listening to him.
Thanks for the links. I really enjoy these posts!
ooh,,i have to come back to this one and read much more! thanks for sharing all these. very good (and you're right, well balanced) article by doug wilson re. birth control). we are not 'quiver full' so to speak, but we do so much see children as a gift from God..balance with, truly, what can I as a homeschoolin' mom 'handle' in the power of the Holy Spirit. :)
scary scary ted turner stuff..
by the way, i'd be interested if you have heard anything re. eckhardt tole(sp?) big oprah wave of craziness. i ramble on...
hope your baby is well, so so cute, your little family. :)
ADORABLE little guy! I love your show-n-tell posts.
Wanted to pass this on to you, as you get so much site traffic... I don't know if you've kept up on the FLDS compound raid and subsequent removal of children, but the Headmistress at The Common Room is doing a pretty good job of updating things that are going on. If you are inclined, perhaps you could read some of it, and post a link on your blog if it's agreeable to you? I earlier wrote a pretty scathing post about my disgust with these cults, but further research has outrage and fear (of how the state seems to be operating) trumping that disgust.
You don't have to publish this comment if you prefer.
Thanks!
Well, first of all, Silas is just aDORable! :-)
Second, I'm grinning from ear to ear that you posted a link to a Lew Rockwell article, and even moreso to Mises itself!
Third, the blog post on video games is...well, I'll just be honest...I have to roll my eyes a bit. I think there is reason to be cautious in what we allow ourselves or our children to play, and how much we allow ourselves or our children to play. I think those decisions need to be guided with discernment and a careful setting of priorities. But that is true of ALL things we set our hand to in life.
The over-the-top example of a man who has destroyed his family because he is addicted to video games is not an argument for not playing them at all. That is an extreme example of addiction and is NOT the average family's experience. Abuse of something does not negate its proper use.
Speaking as someone whose family gets a lot of enjoyment out of video games, I think it's important to not bind the consciences of people, especially with anecdotal and even extreme reasoning (such as the adrenaline rush being similar to that brought about by drug use...lots of things increase adrenaline in our systems, including exercise and sex!) that will easily trap uncertain believers in legalism on one hand, and cause more established and reasonable believers to immediately
dismiss the argument altogether.
I'll check more links tomorrow!
Keep the links coming. I love 'em.
Love your links! especially the 12 ways to improve your blog post.
You always post the best link! And thanks for including me on the list. I'm honored.
Great links.....these will keep me busy (as if I'm not busy already)! Thank you!
Thanks Jess! Your posts are always the best and full of great information!
Your little ones are just precious!
God Bless
Crystal <>< (SAHM)
Thank you for the Mars Hill outline of BC methods. I think folks should be better informed about how certain methods (the pill and IUDs) truly work. I know I will never take the pill again, for various reasons, but the moral component is by far the biggest reason.
I'll be doing a series on motherhood sometime soon, and I'll invite your comments (with all your spare time, right?)
Silas sure is cute!
I just love when you post all of your links! I have been following with interest the Ted Turner thing about not having more than two children. There have been many prominent people saying the same thing recently. What I find really funny about it all, in an ironic kind of way, is that Ted Turner has 5 children! Wow, he's contributed to global warming more than twice the amount I have so far! :)
Thankyou so much for your link about third culture kids. I only wish there had been a bit more about how to help the kids when they return 'home' for good. I grew up as a missionary kid, then came back to Australia when I was 12 and have lived here since. Still 10 years later I don't feel Aussie and I know I don't identify with the culture I was brought up in much either.
Something I think the church in the western world should be aware of.
I love the show and tell posts, thanks for all the great links!
Oh and the link about 'did Jesus go to Hell' doesn't seem to be working?
Hey Jess,
Thanks for the links about writing and blogging. I originally started my blog with the goal of writing out several parts of my testimony that friends and family had requested of me.
But it is REALLY hard to write a testimony! and I've not yet done it:( Your links, especially the CS Lewis link, was really helpful and prompted me to do a search for info on writing a testimony.
I am so pleased with the information available! Thanks for giving me a swift kick in the pants:)
*Keep and eye on my blog for an upcoming testimnony!
Hey Jess,
I haven't had time to read most of the new links but "The Poison of Computer Gaming" caught my eye. I also wanted to respond to Tamara's comment on that article:
"The over-the-top example of a man who has destroyed his family because he is addicted to video games is not an argument for not playing them at all. That is an extreme example of addiction and is NOT the average family's experience. Abuse of something does not negate its proper use."
In the environment in which I grew up in the example of the man in the article is something I have seen on a personal level. My 39 year old brother is living a small bedroom in my mom's basement now for over 4 years. His wife couldn't cope any longer with his major gaming addiction. No, he's not a believer, but the article really hit home for me. I too have had this struggle in the past and because of it I have chosen not to have any gaming systems in the house. I do allow my pre-teen boys to play games on the pc but they have a set time and if anyone shows any negative behaviors because of the games (ie, yelling, frustration, etc) it is turned off. So, for my family I guess "abuse of something" DOES "negate it's proper use". Tamara, I do totally see your point, but it is a very real and scary thing that I think is much more common than we think. I shutter everytime I see the youth room at our former church filled with kid's hovering over the controls of their gaming systems.
Just my thoughts:)
Oops! Did'nt read the rules. Mark Driscolls' worth mentioning? Not Hardly!!!!
Mrs.Ward
Hello, I came here from Amy's Humble Musings. This is a GREAT link list...I have a whole new set of reading material now! Thank you for sharing the results of your snuggle time with your baby. :)
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