Weekend Links - August 23, 2014

We've had a full week here and several more things to do today, so let's get on to the links:

Spiritual / Inner Life

• Rightly Dividing: 12 Do's and Don'ts for Effective Bible Study by Michelle at Satisfaction Through Christ. Helpful reminders.
• Look Up (Why I Hated Women's Ministry) by Kate Conner. This is one of those posts that I wish I had written (but she did it better than I could, anyway, so I guess it's just as well I didn't).
• Twitter Grief is Real Grief: There's Nothing Wrong with Mourning Celebrities Online by Meghan O'Rourke in New Republic.
• Not Another Celebrity Death Post by Kenneth R. Morefield in CT.
• My Life Issues are Just Not as Big as They Seem by Sally Clarkson at I Take Joy. (I know, I link to Sally every week. Her blog is fantastic!)
• The Spirit is Willing but the Schedule is Tight by Garrett Kell at TGC.
• When Your Father Tells You To Walk: Engaging the Sanctification Debate Through the Lens of Adoption by Trevin Wax.

Marriage / Parenting

• Couples With Bigger Weddings Have Long-Term Happier Marriages, Study Finds by Cheryl Wetzstein. Guess this we can mark this down as one reason why Philip and I have been so happily married. (We had people at our wedding that NEITHER of us knew.)
• What You Do Before You Say "I Do" Matters for Marriage Happiness by Mollie Hemingway. And here are some more reasons.
• Have Babies, Just Not Yet by Courtney Reissig. Loved this one (not because I had our first baby when I was 20). 
• Giving Thanks for the Space You Call Your Home by Elisa at The Better Mom.
• When Motherhood Isn't What You Imagined by Becky Kopitzke for The Better Mom.
• When Our Kids Have a Bad Day by Christin at The Better Mom. 
• A Letter to My Boys (The Real Reason I Say No to Electronics) by Renee Robinson.

Homeschooling / Education

• Why I Choose to School My Children at Home and Why I Think You Should Too by Jenni White at EAG News. This is a former public school mom. Definitely worth a read, even if you think, "I will never do that."
• Mother Sentenced to 12 Years for "Stealing" Son's Education by Kira Davis for Watchdog Wire. Turns out calling the U.S. school system "public" education is quite a misnomer. Shouldn't public mean "open to anyone"?
• Don't Teach Math, Coach It by Jordan Ellenberg in The New York Times.
• High-Tech Schools with Low-Tech Problems by Allison Kieselowsky for The Federalist. The point seems to be that cyber school choices would best be considered "supported homeschooling" (which I thought most parents did, but apparently not).
• 4 Truths About Homeschooling by Kris Bales at Simple Homeschool.
• 10 Things Homeschoolers Think During Back to School Season by Joy Pullman. OK, this one made me laugh.

Writing

• What Writers Can Learn from "Goodnight Moon" by Aimee Bender in The New York Times.
• 3 Essential Questions for Better Backstory by Emily Wenstrom at The Write Practice.
• Avoiding the Rory Gilmore Syndrome by Rachel Hauck for Novel Rocket.
• This Writing Exercise Will Get You Unstuck Every Time by Joe Bunting for The Write Practice.

In the News

• Deliver Us From Wimpiness by Heather Wilhelm for Real Clear Politics.
• Emotional Storms are No Response for Disasters by Amity Shlaes in National Review. (Amity Shlaes is one of my newest favorite writers. Have you read her biography of Coolidgeyet? My Goodreads review is here.) 
• The Problem with Christian Films by Andrew Barber at TGC. Yes. (And bonus points for bringing C.S. Lews into the issue.)

Just for Fun

• Kids Weigh in on Fall 2014 Ad Campaigns from The Fashion Spot. Maybe I should have been saving some of my fashion magazines as creative writing assignments for my kids?

What caught your eye this week?

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Don't forget the offer on this new course, good until September 2 (see this post: Learning to Love What Must Be Done, for more about that)

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