Weekend Links - July 19, 2014

We hit a few yard sales this morning (not too many, but I did find some things for our homeschool supplies - two USA puzzles, a Melissa & Doug magnetic calendar, a Think Fun chess game, & an anatomy coloring book, among a few other things). The big girls are off blueberry picking with their Gram, Philip & Miss Lili went to visitation, and I get to put this links post together in a quiet house while the iBoy takes his morning nap - what luxury.

Spiritual / Inner Life

• How the Church Became our Family by Courtney Reissig at In View of God's Mercy. What I love about this is not just how her church rallied around her when she needed them, but how she accepted what they offered. If she had spent her time comparing the women who reached out to help to her own mother, they would have constantly come up short. But she appreciated them for who they were and what they were doing, instead of comparing them to what they were not. [stepping off soap box now]
• Want to Love Your Job? Church Can Help, Study Says by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra for Christianity Today. This doesn't surprise me at all, but it's nice to have it confirmed.
• When Loving Someone is Hard! No One Sees Me, I Am Lost by Sally Clarkson at I Take Joy.
• When Our Desires Disorient Us by Jen Pollock Michel for Christianity Today.
• From Hider to Reveler by Shannon McKee at The Better Mom.
• God Can Restore Your Lost Years by Colin Smith at TGC. Such an encouraging post!
• Are You Prepared to Trust in God? Well, Are You? from Tressays. My Twitter friend wrote this great reminder. 

Marriage / Parenting

• Help Your Kids Say 'No' to Porn by Jen Wilkin at TGC. This is SO very important. We had this point driven home just this week. I followed a link on Pinterest and it ended up at a site that had been hacked. I saw things I would much rather not and things I DEFINITELY do not want my kids to see. It was a good reminder though: sin doesn't just sit around and wait for us. The devil is seeking to devour. Sin finds you, and you need to be prepared and your children need you to prepare them.
• How Generous Are You, Really? by Lisa Byrne at The Art of Simple.
• Jesus Centered Parenting in a Child Centered World an interview with J.D and Veronica Greear by Trevin Wax.
• The Power of the Written Word by Angie Warren at The Art of Simple.
• Four Ways Three Children are Better Than Two by Leslie Loftis for The Federalist. Great points in this post, although I have to admit the addition of our third child was kind of hard (suddenly kids outnumbered adults). What's strange is that adding our fourth and fifth didn't seem that difficult. We'd already crossed the line into "those people" and there was no looking back.

Education / Homeschooling

• The Little Way to Success by Cindy at Ordo Amoris. Cindy is wise and her reminder is timely for those of us gearing up for another school year.
• How Family Game Night Makes Kids Into Better Students by Jessica Lahey for The Atlantic. Philip has always suspected this. (Our kids, living with a game designer, don't just have "family game night." There's a game with dad nearly every night at our house, and that doesn't count the games they play during the day.)

Writing / Creativity

• Create More Than You Consume by Mikael Cho.
• Unlocking the Story Box by Sophie Masson at Writer UnBoxed.
• A Guide to Networking for People Who Suck at Networking by Andrea Ayres. Introverts, unite! (Separately)
• Bill Murray, Tom Cruise, and You by Allen Arnold at Novel Rocket.

In the News

• Vox's Motto Should Be 'Explaining the News, Incorrectly, Repeatedly' by Mollie Hemingway for The Federalist
• The Crime of Letting an Eleven Year Old Who Wanted to Wait in the Car Wait in the Car by Amy Alkon at Advice Goddess Blog.
• Parenting in an Age of Bad Samaritans by Gracy Olmstead for The American Conservative.
• Mommy Police With Real Handcuffs by Megan McArdle at Bloomberg View.
• Food Prices are Soaring and Washington Doesn't Care by Ben Domenech for The Federalist. It's so aggravating to be told by the news that inflation is nonexistent when I do the grocery shopping and can see the packaging getting smaller while the prices just go up.

What caught your eye this week?

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