Beginning Free Motion Quilting. I’ve been intrigued by this since discovering blog friend Wendy, who is a master at it — such beautiful stuff! But this post by Vanilla Joy is her first attempt and it gave the courage to think about trying it some day….when I have some other projects finished!
San Fransisco Treat: “Artist Scott Weaver has constructed a new interactive tour of San Francisco hotspots — using 100,000 toothpicks collected over the past 35 years.”
It’s been a while since I posted a round-up of interesting reads on the web. Hope you find some of these useful.
Marriage:
Whose Wife Are You? Tim Challies discusses two different blog posts on what it means to be submissive to one’s own husband. Both original posts are linked there, but Tim does a nice job in pulling out the main elements and pointing out that there is much in marriage and home life which is not delineated in Scripture, so each may not follow exactly a particular book’s view of what the marriage relationship “should” look like.
What’s Wrong With Seniors Clinging to Their Memories? I’ve wrestled with how much to try to bring seniors focus back to the present, and this has some good thoughts. Of course, those who are saved have a glorious future to look forward to, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with walking down memory lane with someone who has more past than future on this earth. Might learn some things!
We have had none of the predicted snow yet at our house as of 11 p.m. Friday night, though some friends have reported some via Facebook. We’re supposed to get together with some of our oldest and dearest friends Saturday night — we’ll have to see what happens with the weather. But otherwise we’re all set for bad weather for a couple of days.
Some interesting and edifying things seen round the Web lately:
The basis of Project 1189 is a plan to read all 1,189 chapters of the Bible within a two year period, not, as is said here, to “[conquer] the Word, merely circumnavigating the biblical globe so we can say, ‘I’ve done it!'” but rather “to encounter Him.” Or, as he says in explaining the challenge, “This is not so much a challenge to a journey through the Word, as if we were the knife and it the meat to be carved. It’s the journey of the Word through us. It is allowing ourselves to be taken where the Story would take us, to be shaped, to be remade, to be changed.” Different helps or thoughts or encouragements are posted along the way. One I found of particular help was On spiritual reading.
Wendy at Practical Theology for Women reminds us in Impulse Control that even with medical conditions that make make us more prone to certain sins, “In Christ, I am supernaturally equipped to obey even in the midst of the struggle” and “God does understand how our bodies and minds function both when healthy and when ill. And in Christ, He has made a way for us to deal with that intense temptation to sin that accompanies hormonal peaks and valleys.” Very convicting and yet reassuring.
Many of us start to think about dieting and weight loss after the feasting of the holiday season and the fresh start of a New Year. Conversion Diary shares some thoughts on food and sin from her own experience.
Elisabeth Elliot shares the story behind the writing of one of my favorite poems, “Afraid? Of What?”
And that leads me to my question. From time to time I think about splitting off into another blog, perhaps a separate book blog, or perhaps separating the “fun” stuff from the “serious” stuff (I did actually start a new one once dealing with attempts at weight-loss, which, sadly, I’ve not kept up with). I know some of my readers are interested in one area but not the others, and that’s ok: I am grateful (and amazed) that anyone reads here for any reason, and I certainly don’t expect anyone to hang on my every word. My blog has always been a “hodgepodge,” and while I do read and like certain blogs with a single purpose, I also enjoy the general ones where you see different sides of the whole person. Plus I have really disliked it when other blogger friends have started new blogs, and their first blog contains constant links that say, “Go read what I wrote over here.” Plus, to build up readership of a blog you have to “get out and meet the neighbors” under the auspices of that blog, and I have enough to do just keeping up with blogging friends I already read. So for all those reasons I talk myself out of it and just post everything here, even if it sometimes means I post more than once a day, which I don’t like to do because most people only read what’s on top. But I wanted to get your thoughts and opinions. Do you like blogs focused on a main purpose or “hodgepodge” blogs? Is there any value in dividing blogging material up into separate blogs?
Finally: my boys loved launching model rockets and got a kick out of this:
It’s been a while since I shared with you some of the interesting things I’ve seen around the Internet lately. I keep thinking I need to do this more often so as to have a shorter list. I enjoy these kinds of posts on others’ sites, though of course I don’t click on every link. I don’t expect anyone to do that here, either, but I just wanted to share some good things you may not have seen.
Nancy Wilson’s post on taking offense was convicting. We often focus on not giving offense, and we need to do that, but sometimes we take offense too easily. I Corinthians 13:5 says love “is not easily provoked.” There are Biblical ways of dealing with a legitimate offense, but I know I can all too easily take offense where none was meant.
David Hosaflook at MissioMishMash shared some great thoughts in Let the Singles Singly Serve concerning awkward things we sometimes say to single people. I asked and received his permission to share this in our ladies’ ministry newsletter booklet, and my oldest son, who normally only reads the funny section, saw this and thanked me for it. One quote:
Married folks, don’t look at the singles like the undergrads of the church, just hoping that they will “graduate” to marriage. Don’t treat them as if there’s something “incomplete” about them. If they continually get that impression at church, how will they ever learn that we are complete in Christ? How will they ever not appear “desperate” to would-be suitors who are not “in” to the desperate type?
Challies has had a series going on Sexual Detox. All of the posts are good, but if you can only read one, read A Theology of Sex.
I think the rest of these I am just going to list instead of saying, “So-and-so had a great post…” Obviously I think they are all great or else I wouldn’t be listing them. 🙂
I don’t remember where I first found a link to the ElderCare site, but I’ve been encouraged and helped by much there since I discovered it. Two articles especially helpful were Caregivers Listen Up about how to listen to people with dementia and Straight talk about sibling help.
Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home is hosting a “Giving Thanks” event this week with “sharing decorating ideas, crafts, poems, songs, prayers, ‘after dinner’ games, table settings, activities for children, and a daily cleaning schedule (with before and after pictures!)” and a Mr. Linky so others can join in. And prizes!
Stray Thoughts 