Category: Potpourri

I thought I would get to this earlier… but, alas, I did not. So tonight while Samuel was playing soccer and a few of the children went to cheer, a couple of left-behind’s were here finishing up their schoolwork… ooops!

I scurried around attempting to regain a bit of order here at home. Then some time here on the computer. O, for more minutes in the hours.

For the “thinking blogger award” I’m to list five blogs that I regularly visit that make me think…

In an attempt to be concise about the five sites that are especially meaningful or thought provoking, I find that it appears I am excluding great sites. Sort of that conundrum one faces when naming meaningful friends or something—one does so at the risk of exclusion. It’s another of those unintended consequences of life. And so… I’ve decided that I’ll call the list *some* of the sites that really have me thinking and are, by no means, not the only five that do so.

First though, I want to say “thank you” to the three who’ve blessed me with their kind words, encouragement and inspiration to press on, to continue to share things the LORD is showing me and to continue to look for interesting articles, messages and links to share that will be… well, things to think about. So, to Keri Mae http://homeschoolblogger.com/AHappyHome I thank you and appreciate you, the life you’re living, the testimony of your home and family and for loving motherhood. To Cat at http://www.xanga.com/MrsCatherine I thank you and want you to know how grateful I am to you and to your husband for the challenge you have taken on to publish Making It Home magazine and for giving me the opportunity to be a columnist for you there. Thank you for the testimony of a life dedicated to the Lord and for striving for excellence. And to Kay, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/KayinMaine, I thank you for your encouragement as a younger mother who is seeking to obey, follow and trust in the LORD for your family, to bravely train them up at home and to be joyful in your high calling. Thank you all… and may the LORD bless you abundantly as you walk with Him and as other see your radiance and give Him glory.

So… thinking, thinking, thinking…

v So here’s one: http://www.carlalynne.blogspot.com/
I’m fairly certain that this blog has me thinking and thinking and thinking… how in the world could I begin to implement even a fraction of the things Carla talks about and, what’s more, could I ever make the sacrifices she makes to achieve the goals she and her husband have for their family and future? Well, if nothing ever comes of working to be more self-sufficient as far as sustainable homesteading goes, I’ll know one thing’s for sure: I love reading about it and seeing it through Carla’s eyes.

v Okay, here’s another:
And I’m gonna guess you’ll say this is a no-brainer. Of course this blog’s got me thinking and thinking and thinking – lots of the time and especially about what I need to be doing with our children, I might add. But it’s not just that and it’s not just that she’s another mother of many or that she’s not one of the “younger” bloggers… it’s more than that. So the blog? MommyLife. Yeah, yeah, but then, you knew that. Glad Barbara doesn’t critique grammar and writing style. At least not here. 😉

v How about another:
This one I love bcz I could write these things… I don’t mean I could write them as well, but many of the things she writes about, I could write, too. Her children are a bit younger and many things are really not all that similar to my life and home… but, somehow I relate. So, Melodee’s blog: http://shrinkingmom.clubmom.com/ is a favourite—I read from time to time… it’s as fun to read as it is convicting. Well, convicting, bcz you know me and my umpteenth-and-one diet. Which, by the way I still need to… ahem, but I digress.

v And then there is this one…
—far and away the least light-hearted and uplifting but probably the one I find really has me thinking – and praying not only for the specific topic being addressed, but also for “the church” in general! I have long appreciated the work and careful research of Slice of Laodicea which is now Christian Research Network. I also follow links from there and read some of those blogs fairly regularly. Those are the days I likely read up on what’s going on in the purpose driven world. (I know, that’s a registered couple of words) and those are the days I likely make a quick zip through Michelle Malkin’s blog, too.

v And then finally, but certainly not lastly, I sure like Coffee and a muffin. No… I really do. And with that coffee and a muffin, I like Coffee and a Muffin – Kim’s site that has me thinking about homey stuff, good-for-you foods, family stuff and, well… it’s inspirational, too.

For more great reads… see the dear to me blogs in the left column and the etcetera stuff, too. However, even these are not the only marvels…

I don’t get tagged for things very often and the times I have, I haven’t responded with a reply more than a couple of times. So, I’m a bit reluctant to reply or to make a list this time, but I sort of like the premise of the meme and so have decided to make a post regarding “blogs that make me think.” I received two of these Thinking Blogger awards and I do so appreciate the sweet vote of confidence by Catherine at Making it Home and then another by Kay: Bloom Where You’re Planted.

So I need to consider the five blogs that make me think or that have greatly inspired or influenced me. And it would be simple to just say the two that nominated me -and they do make me think, by the way, and so I will include them in my thanks.

Here’s the way this meme works: This, from
The Thinking Blog

The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

That was that! Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all – blogs that really get you thinking! It is the first time I am starting something with my blog so I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt me.
Happy link-love-sharing, whatever it is!

Okay… so I will work on this tomorrow.
I’m thinking, I’m thinking.
Gotta go… children and grand dears need me.
It’s time for ice cream right now—- i..i..it’s… it’s for the children, dontcha know. ;o)

Sometimes only a mama can tell when a boy’s been naughty.  And as much as I regret that females are out doing the work of police officers, this clip is priceless: here you go.

None of us think we do it, but we do do it. We keep score. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately as I’ve considered trials friends face,  many letters I receive regarding problems in families, problems with extended family and . And no matter how many times I write it: “… it doesn’t matter… no one’s keeping score.” the truth is still the same. It does matter (and, pssssst: by the way, someone is keeping score.)

I thought of that comment or bit of advice I received a number of years ago- advice I have never forgotten.

Quite a number of years ago, I was commenting about a trouble I was trying to cope with and I happened to notice I was in the company of a mom whose daughter was enduring a fatal condition and faced daily struggles to simply breathe. She responded with empathy when I said I had nothing to complain or fret over considering the life and death matters she and her daughter face and daily contended with. And she told me whatever any woman is facing at the time is big – to her at the time… and that whatever I was facing was big… for me. And she assured me that it was all okay, that no one was keeping score. I’ve never forgotten that bit of advice. So whatever you’re facing – regardless what others do or do not have to deal with – it’s big, it matters. It matters to you.

So, my friends face troubles and attempt to deflect the attention by saying something like, Well… I know I don’t have it as bad as so-n-so, or I really shouldn’t complain, after all, I do have more than I need or more than someone else, or more than I deserve or whatever other “more than” thing they come up with. We need to stop keeping score… I mean, we even keep score by not keeping score or attempting to not keep score. Those statement: “I really shouldn’t complain, but….” really are tabs in a score book.

What we really need to do is take all this stuff to the LORD and say something like, Lord, this really hurts, is hard, feels bad or whatever… and then ask His direction, protection, provision or whatever for whatever the situation is that we face. We so often discount our trouble and attempt to handle it quietly—but it’s actually not quiet at all… it cries out when we least expect it.

So whatever you’ve got going on… it’s big. And… glory be to God that the ground at the foot of the Cross is level. And spacious… go there and see if that’s not so.

Add the reason below to this site: 101 reasons to homeschool your children.  I suppose space didn’t permit the reality: ten-million-and-one reasons to homeschool… through all the school years.

The Maxwell’s baby, Susannah Joy, has passed from this life………….. and we pray into the arms of the LORD.
Our deep sympathy to the Maxwell family, especially to Nathan and Melanie… sweet parents… grieving the loss of their newborn – their firstborn child.   Please remember them in your prayers as they walk through the days ahead.  Sweet comfort is that they are trusting in the merciful grace of the LORD.