Mothering without fear...

Below is a great post by Elizabeth Esther. What she describes is very much our relationship with God, but especially as my children get older, it is also how I need to love them.

Mothering Without Fear

Bad Catholic

If you're not reading Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary, you ought to be. As an atheist turned Catholic, she's deep, insightful, smart, laugh out loud funny and super-duper real. She recently won a whole boat-load of awards and decided to do her own "awards" list of blogs that she really likes. I haven't checked them all out yet (I'm in the middle of several really interesting books), but the one I did read has been added to my "must read" list. He's funny. He loves God and loves the Church. He's a bit irreverent, while being really reverent. He's the Bad Catholic.

And yeah, he's 18. 18! Seriously, how does that happen? How does an 18 year old know more about how faith and life intersect than I do? And of course, not only do I love the Chesterton quote on his banner, but his quote of the week is my favorite passage of all time, which also happens to be Chesterton. I want my daughter to marry a guy like this. Even if she has to become Catholic to do it (but maybe the right girl would induce him to be Orthodox - you never know!).

I dunno, but you really should read this post: Y'all Suck at Sinning.

And check out Jen's "Awards" post while you're at it and find more blogs that may take all your free time, but may open the world to you.

Love this...

What Children Can Do? A Guide.

I love this blog. I've been reading the archives (really slowly, because most posts are long). It's written by a mother and her daughters and the mother, Leila, is the mother figure I've been needing my whole life. (I love my mother - she's amazing. But teaching me to manage a home was not her forte and I still haven't figured it out after 11 years of marriage.)

This post was another needed reminder about what my children can and should be doing. The only thing I find hard is that this is another homeschooling mom and I really need to find a guide to what kids can do when they're in school all day and have homework in the evenings. We're one of the least scheduled families I know, yet there's still such a crunch to get it all done. I'm a big believer in free play and free reading times, but that conflicts with the homework and piano practice. And the chores. But I absolutely cannot do it all by myself. I intended to teach the kids all kinds of homecare lessons this summer, but well, you know what the road to hell is paved with.

All that being said, I love the way Leila write - it's funny, honest, blunt. She's my kind of person - someone who would way rather be reading. Actually, I loved another post, too. I've kept it open in my reader and I keep reading it. You should, too.

The Reasonably Clean, Fairly Neat, and Comfortably Tidy House

Her introduction to the series (a ways down in the post) is the funniest thing I'd read in a while. Someday, I want to be this woman.

Family matters...

Learning Really is an Atmosphere...

I really like this post from a homeschooling mom who's been there and is now finished - all four of her kids are out of high school. What's nice about her post is that what she writes can be applied whether one's children are homeschooled or in school. Some of her points are things I do. Some are things I definitely need to work on. I very much appreciate the wisdom of someone who has traveled the path and come out alive on the other side.

What are we doing?

I haven't posted this because I haven't known what to say. I'm so horrified and disgusted and saddened and shocked and everything all rolled into one.

I still believe that the heart of this country is good. But a land where such things are done as take place in this article cannot stay good for long. It's part of the "slippery slope" that began so long ago. But the loss of so much life, so much innocence is staggering.

This is very hard to read. But it is important to know what the people around us are dealing with.

The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy

Lord, have mercy on us.

Irony

So I read this great article about the importance of books - real, dead tree books. Right on! Preach it! But where did I read this great article - oh yeah, on the internet. Irony at its finest.

Irony aside though, I totally agree with the article. As I have spent more time online, not only do I have a harder time reading books, I am less interested in reading books. I find I am especially not as interested in non-fiction books that require engagement and thought. For example, I've been reading G.K. Chesterton's book Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith. I think I've been reading it for at least three months and I'm still not finished. It's not long, either. I actually have about four non-fiction books that I've been reading for well over three months. Pretty embarrassing.

I love the internet. I love reading short articles, but I wonder how much retention I really have. Now, if I could get into Pinterest, I'd have a better way of keeping track of certain things. What works ok for me is to limit the number of blogs I read and the variety of subjects. I keep a pretty narrow range of blogs I read regularly. Or I try to be focused in my blog reading - reading only those blogs that are written about a particular subject, politics one day, for example, personal finance a different day, spiritual growth another day.

But regardless, it still inhibits my attention span. Partly because I do most of my reading at night, it's easier to read things that are shorter and that require less engagement. I'm tired, y'all. But there's a cost and it's one I think I need to re-evaluate.

Anyway, here's the link to the article. It's a good one - even if it is on the internet.

h/t to A Holy Experience

My favorite FB exchange ever

Someone on FB just posted an editorial by Warren Buffet about how we shouldn't "coddle the super-rich." Fab. Really.

Then there was the reply from a former resident of Russia: Yeah! Let's create another Soviet Union! Let's take everything the rich have, give it to the poor and send the unwilling to the labor camps. Been there, done that and don't miss it one bit.

Seriously, this is the best response ever. Personally, I think Warren Buffet and all those other super-rich liberals (Al Gore, are you listening?) should donate their money to reducing the federal deficit. Then we'd have something to talk about. Just don't take my money without asking. I will give to those who ask. Those who take without asking, well, that's another story.

Wherein we establish what we're here for

So I decided I needed to have a place to link all those cool things that I find online, as well as a place to share my thoughts about said links.

However, I think I should make clear who I am at the outset so that there is no confusion.

Firstly, I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Although not every link I post will be Orthodox, that is the perspective from which I analyze things.

Secondly, I am politically conservative and tend to vote Republican. I don't mind a vigorous discussion, but I don't know lots of details about particular political situations because frankly, I care more about ideas. And I don't like to argue, so be nice.

Thirdly, I'm a wife and mother. It's what I spend the majority of my time doing. So it's a big interest.

Fourthly, I really like to read. And I really like to share what I read with others. And so that's why I'm doing this - sometimes the things I read are just too interesting to not share with people I know.

Basically, this blog is for family and friends. If you happen on it, I hope you enjoy my links.

Happy reading!