It’s a beautiful Saturday morning here in eastern TN! Hope it is where you are, too.

Here are a few things that were interesting to me over the last couple of weeks:

Nine Potential Pitfalls of Ministry. Very good, very convicting.

The Lost Art of Meeting a Spouse, HT to Challies. Most single people I know don’t like being “set up,” but there is some good advice here.

Dude, Where’s Your Bride? Good article on the availability of good, godly single women and the seeming lack of corresponding available men.

Idealized Domesticity, especially the paragraph on holiness.

Getting Grace, written in the context of homeschooling but applicable to all parents.

Two Ways the Enemy Attacks Authors, HT to Robin Lee Hatcher. I think the principles apply to others as well. I think whatever we do, we’re prone to crises in confidence on the one hand or “believing our own press” on the other.

Make Your Own Canvas Portrait.

White Monogram Canvas, HT to Lizzie.

This made me smile:

I have just a few links to share of interesting reads from around the Web this week:

Watch, Read, and Imagine. Chris Anderson shares a video of a woman hearing for the first time and encourages us to imagine the reactions of healing in Biblical narratives and the joy in heaven when all disabilities are gone.

Couple Married 72 Years Dies Holding Hands. Sad but sweet.

The Teen Boy Eye-roll.

Middle-Age Temptations.

Beautiful Button Trees. I love buttons — I might have to try one of these.

Robin Lee Hatcher is offering free books just for the price of shipping via Paypal.

Dinner For Six. Carrie asked me to write up how our church’s Dinner For Six program works. If you’d like to know more about it than what I’ve already mentioned, you can find it there.

Ninjabread Men Cookie Cutters From ThinkGeek.

They just struck me funny. 🙂

The next few were seen around Facebook.

My husband would agree. 🙂

This cracked me up:

So did this, seen at ivman:

Very true! There is nothing like unexpectedly stepping on one of those.

And this is just sweet:

And I saw this at Challies. Pretty funny, especially the unexpected parts.

Well, I ended up with more there than I thought I had! Enjoy!

This week seems like it was short somehow! Here are a few things that stood out to me along the way:

Distant or Engaged? Making Your Home a Haven.

The Foundation of Mortification. Very helpful thoughts on what the Bible means when it tells us to “mortify” the deeds of the flesh.

How S. O. A. P. Changed My Life. No, not bath soap or laundry detergent, but a method of Bible study.

The Manly Virtues: What do Noblesse Oblige and Condescension Have in Common?

Women’s Ministry Fall Ideas.

From More Funny and Maybe Not So Funny Signs, one of my favorites:

Craftiness:

Lovely Spaces: Craft Room. I love seeing how other people organize their craft stuff. The first two especially are really cute.

Laminating Love. Neat things to do with a laminator. I got one one sale months ago but haven’t used it yet — this has me itching to get it out.

Foodie stuff:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. These look luscious!

Applesauce Spice Cake — only 90 calories a serving, and it sounds really good.

This is so cute. It was going around Facebook with the title “May You Always Sing Like No One is Listening.”

Using a plastic bottle as a light bulb. I wouldn’t want to convert my house to this, but it’s a neat idea.

It’s a nice cool morning here in TN. Unfortunately I woke up at my usual time when I could have slept in another hour. Oh well — at least I can get ready for the day at a more leisurely pace.

Here are a few good reads I noted this past week:

More on Spiritual Abuse and the right way to respond to it.

How to Live in This Economy. “It’s only the field that has had a rest that can yield above the rest.”

How Should We Talk in the Virtual Community?

A Comment Ministry.

Ungraceful Parenting.

Books Every Guy Should Read, Part 3.

If You Want to Write a Book…

Cutlery Tray for Jewelry. Love this idea except I’d want a door on it to keep dust out.

And a couple of fun pictures seen around Facebook:

Hope you have a great Saturday!

Here are a few of the good reads I discovered around the Web this week:

Gender Inclusive Bible: A Good Idea? No, for several good reasons listed here.

“Poor People.” Lizzie shares several thoughtless and insensitive remarks people tend to make about “the poor.”

Spiritual Abuse.

How to Glorify God at Work. First and foremost, by doing your best at your job. If you’re a slacker, no one will respect your message.

Mothering in Hostile Territory.

What Would Pat Robertson Have Done With My Dad?

Divorce Because of Alzheimer’s? This and the above are poignant testimonies against doing such, testimonies of laying down’s one’s life to care for another.

Twelve Essential Films for the Moral Formation of Boys.

Books Every Guy Should Read, Part 1 and Part 2.

Karla Dornacher is offering a free download of “Prayer Changes Things” artwork through today.

A Holiday Craft Along. Neat ideas and tutorials to get ready for Christmas.

Seen around Facebook:

Too cute: two seniors trying to figure out their computer:

Here’s some great reading from the Web this week:

Homeschooling Blindspots is applicable to parents generally, not just homeschoolers. A great, convicting article.

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters. Sweet, touching post. Some of it good for either parent of any child.

The Manly Virtues: Courage. Again, though specifically and needfully applied to raising boys, girls need courage, too, and some of this applies to them as well.

Building Strong Foundations.

Do you know the bones of your Bible? Good to have a grasp of these things even with all the electronic aids we have these days.

The Six Ugly Sisters in the Kingdom of Error. Creative explanation of writing errors and ways to deal with them.

Pretty Organized: Hair Accessories. A neat and pretty way to store them.

Fall Apple Cake from a sweet young wife and mom I know in real life.

Really neat conversion story of a 78 year old Jewish man.

Have a great weekend! It’s been a fun but busy week and I’m looking forward to a pretty low-key day today.

I found a lot of great reading this week. Here’s some of it:

How to Get the Most Out of Your Pastor’s Preaching. One quote: “If your heart is humble, your focus won’t be on evaluating the message or how it’s delivered; you will let the message evaluate you.” Ouch.

Discernment and Sexual Predators. Sad that this is even needed, but this is highly valuable advice for young girls and women to watch our for sexual predators, even in the church. Quote: “[We] puff up the minds of girls with princess mythologies but we don’t (often) equip them to recognize that Prince Charming needs to have some character, not just sweet talk.”

Help for Fighting Lust: Recognizing Flattery.

There Never Was Such Another. “Touching description of Charles Hodge with his fifty-one year-old dying wife Sarah.”

Janet shared a video of a chrysalis forming. Fascinating! Her family has quite the monarch butterfly nursery going, especially nice since the area where she got the caterpillars has been flooded recently.

Is Living With Illness Choosing to Give In? Excellent article about living with chronic illness.

Projecting Poverty Where It Doesn’t Exist by Steve Saint. Wise and balanced presentation.

The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the World is on sale in mp3 format for 99 cents, but I don’t know for how long, HT to Lisa.

The Mystery of Motivation.

Actor Peter Jacobson lends his aid in raising money for Transverse Myelitis, specifically for the James T. Lubin Fellowship Fund.

On the crafty side of things:

Button Art on the Cheap.

Button Heart Canvas. Love it!

Penn Gillette of Penn and Teller tells how, as an atheist, he once received a Bible portion from an apparently very gracious man. Thought this was a great example of how to engage someone, especially someone whom you think will disagree with you. But I also though some of Gillette’s observations were interesting, especially as an atheist: “If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and that people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward…how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them about it?” HT to Stuff Christians Like.

Testimony of a pilot who was scheduled to fly Flight 11 on 9/11 but was bumped:

I was so sorry to have missed the Friday’s Fave Five yesterday! There were some things that *had* to get done yesterday, so I figured I’d better do those first…and it is a good thing I did! Instead of writing a very late FFF post, I decided just to wait til next week.

But I wanted to share a few interesting links from this week’s web perusal and one very special video.

Thoughts on Proverbs 27:2, HT to Diane.

A Holy Moment realizing the weight of online words.

Are You Frustrated With Your Local Church?

Retreat Planning Ideas, HT to Lizzie.

I Spy Something Lovely.

A Mother Hears Her Daughter’s Heart Beat One Last Time. A transplant patient who received the heart of a teen-ager offers to let the girl’s mother hear her heart beat. Very touching, very moving story, for both moms. Get the tissues out.

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning here in TN. I’d never know there was a hurricane heading for the East coast if not for the news. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who may be affected.

Here are a few things that stood out to me in this week’s reading:

The Freshman 15. Advice for those starting college.

Where’s My Older Woman?, HT to Chrysalis.

Motherhood Is Application. Excellent.

Parenting by Prayer, HT to Challies. Quote: “One of the main lessons that the Lord has been teaching me especially with the older three is the need to parent them first by prayer, and then by persuasion. As they have gotten older, I’ve come to believe that I spent too much time talking to them about them and too little time talking to God about them.”

Peach Cobbler For Two. With the kids in the process of leaving the nest, I love finding recipes for two.

How to Make a Monogram Magnet. Cute!

Three Keys to Marketing Fiction in the Current Environment.

I saw this at Nikki‘s yesterday, and at first I balked at the length of it, but, oh, my, it was so sweet. Not only the nostalgia it brought in remembering boys playing with boxes, but the creativity and unexpected twist at the end. Almost made me cry.

(Unfortunately sometimes the video seems to get a little hung up. I don’t know why. But other times it plays just fine. If it’s not working, maybe trying it again later will help, unless you know of some other trick to make it play smoothly. If you do, please share!)

I saw this going around Facebook: I know some drivers would love to have these posted at regular intervals. 🙂

And I know people who would love this. I miss caffeine sometimes!

Have a great weekend!

Here are some of the interesting reads that stood out to me this week:

10 Ways Writers Lose Blog Traffic and Alienate Readers. I can add an 11th: too many ads or ads that are annoying.

37 Ways to Love One Another, HT to Challies.

When You Feel Inadequate. Revive Our Hearts has had Sharon Jaymes on this week for a series on lies women tell themselves.

She Will Come – For the Single Missionary. Sweet, poignant poem about finding contentment in Christ alone written by missionary Dave Hosaflook in his single days. Good for non-missionaries as well. 🙂

As You Leave the Field For Furlough, a note from a veteran missionary to a coworker.

Life Beyond the Empty Nest, HT to Chrysalis.

Book Filtering. I haven’t read the book this is promoting, but I love the introductory thoughts, pertinent to anyone who has lamented over “too many books, not enough time.”

Speaking of books, e-Mom is selling some.

Women’s Ministry ideas, HT to Creative Ladies’ Ministry Facebook page.

How to Make Cake Stands — that hold multitudes of things beyond cakes. Really neat idea for receptions, luncheons, etc. More are here (giveaway is closed, I am just linking for the photos and ideas).

Some of you might have been following and praying for Amy Bixby‘s battle with cancer. She just went Home to heaven yesterday, and a friend posted this rendition of the precious promise of No More Night. I hope you’ll pray for the family left behind, a father and seven children, plus the father’s father just had a heart attack a few days ago.