Random Finds and Thoughts On Any Given Day: Can you believe it is Thursday already?

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Can you believe it is Thursday already?

1. a tip from an online friend about art:

One of my favourite art sites is www.wetcanvas.com. It is an art community. Message boards, dozens of them, ordered by medium or subject matter. There is a critique area where she could post a piece and have people comment on it's technical aspects. Many of the forums have informal "challenges", where a photo is posted and people will draw/paint their interpretation of it. There are lessons buried in the archives of some threads. Wetcanvas has thousands of artists from all over the world. I can get lost in it for hours :-)

2. PERMISSION TO BREATHE (on guilt): http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2011/01/permission-to-breathe-on-guilt/

Guilt.
It pushes hard on a spirit like a bag of bricks on a back. Guilt keeps you slow, sometimes unmoving, wrecked.
I’m talking about the guilt that says, “you are a failure; you will never get it together.”
So we move slow, aching all the way, heaped up in our “failure” for not doing all that we should be doing.

3. Testing??? - http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2011/01/testing/

One of the questions I am asked regularly is “How do you know your children are at level with other children their age in the public school system? Do they take standardized tests?”
It is a difficult question to answer because I want to be informative, but gracious. Typically this question is asked by those challenging our choice to homeschool, but occasionally it’s asked by a parent genuinely seeking answers.
My response is something like this–“I do not administer annual standardized testing so I cannot tell you whether or not my children are at level with other children their age in public schools. On the other hand, I also cannot be sure that the public school children are at the same level as my children.”
And then I explain that homeschooling gives me the opportunity to
……

4. HEAD TO HEART –> http://www.graceisforsinners.com/book/head-to-heart/

Dear Serena,
I wanted to ask you a few things. I dove into my Bible and realized that before, I only knew ABOUT Jesus, rather than KNOWING him. His grace is there, unquestionably, but I’m having a hard time getting the knowledge to my heart. Was it a process for you? And how long did it take you before you were able to shake the feelings of complete and total worthlessness? (Because that’s a struggle for me every.single.day.)

“Worthlessness is a lie. Hell is trying to isolate you so that you can be tormented easier. Call out the lie and reject it. Your failure gives Satan words to use against you, but he’s a liar. He’s a liar because Jesus took all of the accusations upon Himself and paid the penalty for them. Satan will do everything he can to get you to forget that. But, God has no recollection of your sin, so don’t live according to something that God doesn’t even consider. The Truth sets you free.
When the accusations come, know that they are against Jesus, not you. That’s why the accusations become a lie. When you are tucked away in Christ, the accusations are about Him and they hold no water. You are hidden away in Him. He took your sin (past, present, future) and nailed it all to the cross so that you could be free. It’s not a freedom so that you can live selfishly. It’s a freedom to grow and become so that you can be used to pour out His Love.”

6. Does marriage improve with age? - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/building-great-marriages/201101/does-marriage-improve-age

7. one less thing: perfume –> http://www.missminimalist.com/2011/01/one-less-thing-perfume/

8. Cute card making ideas -

Snowman

http://smallfryandco.blogspot.com/2010/11/pull-out-snowman-card.html

Cupcake Birthday Card

http://smallfryandco.blogspot.com/2011/01/birthday-card-8-mini-cupcake-and-9.html

Birthday Card - Use up scraps

http://smallfryandco.blogspot.com/2011/01/birthday-card-7-stripes-are-nice.html

9. http://www.daveblackonline.com/blog.htm

Love this quote about teaching (Donald D. Quinn):

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.

10. http://www.daveblackonline.com/blog.htm

What my trips to Ethiopia have taught me:

Practical Christian fellowship calls for help when it is needed and not merely when it is asked for.
Believers are, and always will be, saints together, regardless of race, nationality, political affiliation, or denomination. Yes, I said denomination.
If I want to serve God I must never dash ahead of Him in impetuous enthusiasm nor lag behind Him in double-minded unbelief.
Only when I apply the truth to my own life diligently can I prove my Christian discipleship to others, Ethiopians included.
I must live sacrificially for others. Only then can I can rightly reflect the one who "though He was rich yet for our sakes became poor so that we through His poverty might become rich."
Missionary work is non-stop, 24/7. To call Sunday the "Lord's Day" doesn't mean that the other days belong to me.
Spiritual warfare is never easy, and we are likely to get hurt. But the final victory is ours.