If you have read my post about the Luddite Experiment, you know that I have pressed pause this month on my social media use. After half a month of being away from Facebook and Instagram, I must say that it truly has been good. Before this break, I was feeling frenetic, always afraid I was missing out on something. I sensed a pressure to be and to know and to have things that were not mine. I just had to take a step away and see what would happen. I feel like this time away is refining me. It is…
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Not a day goes by that I don’t pray several times for help from God. Most of the time, it’s a quick prayer in the midst of sibling conflict between my two children. But in the morning, I usually do have time for more focussed, less desperate prayers. However, I have found that those short send-ups for patience, wisdom and grace in moments of desperation are still meaningful. I am learning these days that I cannot control my children or the outcome of my parenting. I can only do what I think is best at the time and pray for…
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In the early days of motherhood, I quickly realized how lost I was in the duties of housekeeping and homemaking. I had had all sorts of free time before having children, and I didn’t realize how much I would need to organize my days once children entered the picture. It was a steep learning curve, but I eventually got a handle on some sort of routine. I at least knew when I needed to do certain tasks to keep the house running somewhat smoothly. Now that my children are entering more independent elementary and preschool ages, I find myself with…
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I’m playing catch-up again tonight! Here’s a late post with the prompt from yesterday… The act of asking questions is the beginning of contemplation. When I contemplate, I ask questions of myself, of the world and of God. . . Questions that don’t always have to have an answer. . . Questions that make me think beyond my daily concerns. Contemplation is my soul searching, my mind seeking, my heart longing for something beyond myself. I ask life’s philosophical questions. I ask practical and pragmatic questions. I sit and think and wonder and listen. Contemplation requires asking. It also requires silence and time…
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I’m a day late posting this free-write because I just desperately needed a day off from pretty much everything yesterday! But here it is, regardless… This week my son and I were reading a passage in John Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim’s Progress for his school lessons. The part we were reading a conversation between the characters named “Talkative” and “Faithful.” We learned that Talkative liked to discuss ideas of faith and Christianity, but that in his hometown he was known as a hypocrite, doing all sorts of things that were definitely un-Christian. When Faithful confronted him with the truth of his actions as…