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| The Knowles family on October 15, 2011 |
It’s
about time for more Friday
Favorites! Yes, it’s
been over two months since I’ve done this, but we’ve had a wedding to plan (Just a Few
Wedding Pictures and A Country Style
Wedding Reception) and I wrote several posts in my Grace Based
Parenting series in the interim. And now I’m really having to limit blogging
time because our family is walking through a very challenging season of life. Your prayers are greatly
appreciated.
However, I did want to compile this group of links that I thought would be helpful to some of you. Most of these are in some way related to
having a true sense of identity, and I can tell you, I have been thinking
lately that “It is a good thing I know who I am.”
I
have posted brief excerpts with each link, and I would encourage you to read the
full articles for anything which piques your interest.
How To Afford
What Really Matters- Living Loved by Arabah Joy “I know this voice well.
How often it tells me that I need to teach my children a lesson; that a few
well placed, hard words will bend them to my liking and will prevent future
mishaps; that in order to get the appropriate response I want, I must listen to
my emotions, lay down the law. I surely must address this and nip it in the
bud. If not, my child will run wild and I’ll never be able to
“control” him or her again. I simply can’t afford anything other than strong-armed
parenting. Except the voice has been proven a liar. I’ve been down a parenting
road or two that I don’t ever care to visit again. This is one of them. But how to find the way
out? Because it is a dark road, not well marked, and finding your way back
isn’t easy. And just because I’ve learned that Shepherd’s staff trumps Egypt’s
whip doesn’t mean I always know what the staff looks like…how it plays
out from situation to situation. It can all be so frustratingly ambiguous. What
exactly am I supposed to do? The refrain echos from the chambers of my heart:
“Live Loved,” it says once again.
Jamie’s Biggest
Homeschooling Mistake: Failing to Be Me by Jamie
Martin at Simple Homeschooling “I began my homeschooling career like many of
you: with a whole host of stereotypes and a conveyor belt
education hangover. I believed I wasn’t fully equipped
to teach my children and that a system knew what they needed better than I did.
Even though I dared, as many of you have, to venture out on this path–I carried
my baggage with me. As a result, I wanted to homeschool the “right” way. I
desperately didn’t want to fail my children or screw up their education, their
socialization, their lives! So I read some really good books about
homeschooling, searched for the ideal curriculum, and turned down the dial on
my inner intuition. But something didn’t feel right. Me.”
What’s Happened
to Satan?
By Preston at A Deeper Story
“The boy removed his horns from his head and offered them and his pitchfork to
me, stating simply and confidently, “I don’t want to be Satan anymore.” I
received them with the same look of earnest conviction that he had offered them
to me. “Alright, what shall you be, then?”
Which personalities are the most
acceptable? by Sally
Clarkson at I Take Joy
“We live in a world that values conformity. We want to use our force, our
power, our authority to make people, and our children, fit into the box. Be
good. Be tame. Be moral. Don’t bring attention to yourself. Don’t contend
or question what the norm.” – which leads into her son’s article…
OCD, ADHD, ADD,
ODD
by Nathan Clarkson at The MOB Society (for Moms of
Boys) “I am different, sometimes crazy, I am more volatile than most, I am a
little louder at some points and much quieter than anyone at other times, I
feel things strongly, I don’t idle well, I dance and sing VERY loudly.”
Be Careful Who
You Listen To by Lizzie Julin at Submission Is Not Silence
“Through history, women have heard conflicting messages, enough to blur and
distort the truth of who they are: their importance and significance. Fear of
being controlled and fear of abuse still resonate in women. In some places
slave trafficking, domestic violence and unfair workplace policies steal their
self respect and excitement for life. Every
woman is significant by birth! Every woman can become strong and effective with
wisdom from the Bible and persistent effort. Her courageous steps toward
expressing it will work for her benefit her whole lifetime.” Also see Debating
Abigail
Two Abigails
Part 1
and Part 2
by MatthewS at Recovering Grace “The first Abigail is a wise and
beautiful hero, an inspiration to women and men everywhere. Her quick thinking,
deliberate action, and diplomatic speech saved many lives. We meet this Abigail
in a delightful story told in 1 Samuel 15. Sadly, many of us raised under the
Institute in Basic Life Principles and ATI’s teachings grew up hearing a
misleading version of this courageous person’s story.”
I Call You
Blessed
by Beverly Bradley at Out on a Limb “Then Jesus told
him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have believed.” As Reb was reading, I sensed the Lord embrace me, saying,
“You have never seen Me, and yet you believe.” My heart responded, “But I falter, and
I struggle everyday to remember and to believe.” His encouragement persisted. “You have never seen Me, and yet you believe in Me.
You don’t stop believing
in Me. You fall, but you get up, go on; you believe and won’t stop.
I
call you blessed.” I
was amazed! Here I was in the throes of my weakness, and Jesus called me
blessed! “Seriously,
Lord, You are O.K. with this…this train wreck?” “I call you blessed.”
“Well then, if I know
I am not wounding Your heart, and I have to struggle every day of my life, then
O.K., I will fight this as long as I live, and I will believe.”“I call you blessed.” Tears of relief flooded me. I could fight this
fight as long as I knew I had His smile.
And
finally, though it is not a blog post, I thought I would end this emphasis on
identity with a news story: Name changers:
285 Indian girls no longer 'unwanted'
“Hundreds of Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life. A central Indian district held a renaming ceremony it hopes will give the girls new dignity and help fight widespread gender discrimination that gives India a skewed gender ratio, with far more boys than girls.”
“Hundreds of Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life. A central Indian district held a renaming ceremony it hopes will give the girls new dignity and help fight widespread gender discrimination that gives India a skewed gender ratio, with far more boys than girls.”
Which in turn reminds me of the identity that God offers us in Jesus: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
