Saturday 22 September 2012

Weekend Reading

Yes and No @ Momastery
Audrey - say yes to people and trips and activities and books and dreams and plans and conversations that feed you, that fill you up, that make you feel like Audrey. You need no other reason or excuse or explanation for your yeses. You are like a scrapbook right now. Instead of cutting yourself, cut and save and paste experiences and poetry and people that feel like Audrey. After awhile, you will know who you are by looking at all the things and people you say YES to.

Say No to everything else.

Eyes Open Prayers @ Kristin Lucas Writes
The first day we met in the small, tucked away room at our church and brought our spouses and kids and bagged lunches and toys and diapers, and we sat with the guitar among encircled chairs to pray, it was a challenge.

My eyes were open the whole time. I cannot tell you the last time I kept my eyes open for worship, let alone prayer, and it was different. I never realized how much being in the dark, quiet recesses of my own mind had become necessary when approaching the throne of grace. But I had no choice. If I’d closed my eyes, I would’ve missed my daughter following her little friend around with a hairbrush and bow, attempting a ponytail on a reluctant customer. I wouldn’t have seen her grasp her friend’s head with both hands, just trying to keep her still for goodness sake, and I wouldn’t have noticed that she was on the verge of completely strangling the poor girl in time to stop her. I also wouldn’t have seen them uprooting the potted plants in time to save the plant, the carpet, and the girls’ dresses. And I would have missed my sweet daughter going up to the tiny baby and rubbing her chubby cheek gently, oh so gently, and the beautiful exchange of smiles that passed between the two of them. All the while, we circled ones leaned in and strained toward heaven, words bubbling up and floating away toward the skies.

The High Cost of “Accident Free” @ Abundant Life Children
Young children need lots of practice learning to manage risks when the actual risk of injury is very low.

When children don’t get lots of practice learning to trust their physical bodies, they are actually at greater risk of injury! The more they learn when they are small, the safer they will be in the long run, because they learn to negotiate situations that carry risk.

The Pleasure of Not Wanting and a Case for Random Plastic Things @ Cat's Meow
What struck me and my aesthetic eye, were the several mismatched plastic bins, the cooking utensils, the stuff on the shelves, everything in plain sight, in all it's utilitarian, plasticky, random glory. There is nothing in the way of decoration here. Yet I find it oddly beautiful. Me, who has a longstanding dislike of anything plastic and/or ugly.

This image stopped me in my tracks.

Nothing is inherently ugly or beautiful, it's just the way we have been conditioned to see it.

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Also, the giveaway! Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a quilted Bible from Zondervan's new Style Line series. Not your style? No problem! The Style Line Bibles would make a perfect gift for the upcoming holidays. Entries close Sunday at 11:59pm PST, so head over to the post to enter.

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