Moms of kids ages 3-8, do you know about Starfall.com? I used this website with Ethan, back when he was learning letters, etc., and then it fell by the wayside. Someone recommended it again recently, and so I opened it back up and both my 7 year old and 5 year old are enjoying it immensely! For everything from early letter sounds to nearly-ready-for-chapter-books, it's a great tool for motivating your young learners, reinforcing phonics skills, and advancing in reading ability.- Interesting thoughts from Sheila @ To Love, Honor & Vacuum: "Sometimes when we think about all this "modesty" stuff, I think we do it without male input. We say we're trying to protect men by not being tempting, but I wonder how many of the wives have ever asked their husbands honestly if they like the "sack" look, or if they would prefer that their wives be a little more attractive? I think many women get caught up in this "modesty" movement online, and in their little cliques, and they barge right ahead without asking the guys."
There's a good discussion in the comments, too. Read more of Sheila's article: "Modesty Should Not Mean Dowdy". - "If the US Government was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, they spend $75,000 a year, & have $327,000 in credit card debt. They are currently proposing BIG spending cuts to reduce their spending to $72,000 a year. These are the actual proportions of the federal budget & debt, reduced to a level that we can understand." ~Dave Ramsey (Yikes!)
Check out this list: 25 Ways to Provoke Our Children to Anger-- the most convicting for me was "Scolding". I have a tendency to get frustrated and want to lecture. I need to keep that in check. Sometimes a discussion is in order, but sometimes I just need to quickly correct, then forgive and move on.- In evangelical circles, we don't use or hear the concept/term "spiritual director", but Jennifer's post about 6 basic questions her spiritual director often asks is very helpful. The more I'm reading and learning about personal "soul care", the more I believe that questions like these are critical for self-evaluation and truly meeting our own needs so that we're able to serve others gladly.
- On that same note, Catherine had a pithy post highlighting the idea we get from our culture that encourages us to believe that we are only "being ourselves" when we are doing things that are fun or relaxing. Sometimes "being yourself" means doing the really hard things, making the truly difficult sacrifice, or flat out not having fun. Really, it's short-- you should read it.
- I just started a counseling class this week, and am enjoying the way it's complementing the things I've been learning and reading lately. I'm excited to consider how God might be asking me to change and grow in this next season of life.
Check out more "7 Quick Takes" here.
8 comments:
Love your quick takes! I particularly enjoyed the links in this post. Thanks for sharing! Also, it's exciting that you'll be taking some counseling classes. I don't know you personally, but from your writing, I believe you'll be an awesome counselor! Hope you're well :)
On #2 - yes, we gals seem to know it all, "sisters are doin' it for themselves" without hubby's input even though it's supposedly all for him. Maybe he's not into a Jane Austin inspired burka!
Well I do it too, maybe not with modesty standards but oh how we like to be wise in our own eyes.
Love the top picture of the kiddos. So much personality reflected in that picture and such cute children!
We have used starfall a lot with my youngest. I've found it very helpful.
I've been having conversations on modesty with the leadership in our ministry- regarding personal standards and policies for others. It's been rather frustrating... off to read Sheila's article.
FYI, Anna, here's another great article on modesty, written quite recently:
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/modesty-helps-women-be-friends
(it's also written by my friend Jennifer, mentioned in #5 on this blogpost.)
Here's a link to Dave's actual article: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/federal-budget-vs-household-budget-how-do-they-compare/lifeandmoney_budgeting/ Somehow, the actual numbers seem to have gotten twisted a bit on the web...actual numbers he gives are even more startling!
And yes, scolding is a biggie for me as well. :(
Headed to read the article about modestly...thanks for the link!
Thanks for linking up to my modesty article! Your quick takes are great. I love the spiritual director idea. Accountability is so necessary, as is spurring each other on. I wonder why we don't ask each other about our spiritual life more often?
Thanks, Cat-
Here's the actual quote comparing the US gov't to a household, for anyone wondering:
"If their household income was $55,000 per year, they’d actually be spending $96,500—$41,500 more than they made! That means they’re spending 175% of their annual income! So, in 2011 they’d add $41,500 of debt to their current credit card debt of $366,000!"
He goes on to say:
"You can’t borrow your way out of debt, whether you’re a typical American family or the entire U.S. government. At some point, you’ve got to say, “Enough is enough!” and make the hard cuts necessary to win over the long haul."
Good words.
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