• Melli has a marvelous plan for our next presidential election. (Melli for president!!)

• Having kids of dating age, a link at Amy’s Humble Musing about “only half facetious” dating rules caught my eye. Here are a couple of examples:

11. Never marry a man who lets you take the initiative in everything. You want a jellyfish, maybe? You want Burt Lancaster instead.

12. Never marry a woman who never lets you take the initiative in anything. You want a porcupine, maybe? You want Maureen O’Hara instead.

• I don’t remember where I saw the link, but I might try this idea when reading through some of the shorter epistles. In my “reading through the Bible but necessarily in a year” plan, I am in II Corinthians right now, coming to some of the shorter epistles that are all too easy to just zip through. They are so meaty, and to amble through some of them in one reading and then just go on to the next one the next day leaves me feeling like I am not getting as much as I could out of them, and I have been wanting to take more time to absorb them. (By the way, with this and the link just above it, I am only familiar with these particular posts. I haven’t read anything else so therefore I can’t endorse the entire site — it may be fine, but as with any link, use your own discernment.)

• Kim at Life In the 10/40 Window guest-posted here today about a missionary wife’s perspective in adjusting to the field. It’s an excellent article not only for a window into a missionary’s adjustment but also for dealing with any major life changes. I like this summation:

I think that we do others a disservice when we hide behind a mask and pretend that everything is o.k. We are human and we will struggle. We can help someone else through the struggle, if we are willing to humble ourselves and be transparent. God knows that we are dust (Ps. 103:14)! How marvelous that He still chooses to use us!

In the craft department:

• A spiffy redo for an oatmeal box.
• How to stain linens with tea so they’ll look antique-ish (or at least off-white). I have always wanted to know how to do that.
• Felt donuts.
• Creative gift wraps.
• Kelli at There Is No Place Like Home has been posting card-making tutorials on Thursdays and now invites other bloggers to share their links to their own home-made cards. The thing I love about Kelli’s cards is that they are relatively simple, but so creative. I hope to join in soon.

Finally, a couple of LOL Cats funnies: