What was it that brought you to faith?

Prodigal Magazine

"I did not eventually grab the outstretched arm of God because I was so afraid of hell. No, I held onto it because I was so incredibly hungry for heaven."
http://www.prodigalmagazine.com/fear-to-faith/

quote from the post that spoke to me:

 

“Let us speak of that Love on earth.

Let us use it to erase the tracks of fear.

And as we ponder where we will go after we die, let us focus also on what Love we can spread while we live.”

technologies that allow them to pursue self-directed learning on their own terms and on their own time schedules

Project Based Homeschooling shared on Facebook:

“I think the potential is really there for us to be raising a new generation of young people who have grown up with technologies that allow them to pursue self-directed learning on their own terms and on their own time schedules.
This is very different from how kids learn in school, where they’re handed a set body of knowledge that they’re asked to master and the expertise really resides in the teacher.
When kids go online in these more informal contexts where they’re pursuing their interests, they can really go, look around, and connect with knowledge, people, online communities that really enable them to tailor and customize what they want to learn, when they want to learn it.
And that is tremendously empowering for kids and motivating for them to learn.” — Dr. Mizuko Ito

Savor the stuff that gives me joy…

I think the love we build is much more reliable than the love we feel. Feelings are weather.

Donald Miller posted on Facebook:

I think the love we build is much more reliable than the love we feel. Feelings are weather.

some comments…

Sarah -- Yep. Feelings are like internal weather patterns just passing through, neither good nor bad, and not necessarily full of meaning. Love is always available regardless of what the "feelings" radar reads.

 

Sam -- Too many of us think of love as a feeling, and feelings come and go too easily.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

 

Rhubarb Dump Cake
More like a crisp than a cake, but it doesn't get much easier or yummier than this!
Rhubarb Dump Cake
1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (between 3 and 4 cups)
1 cup white sugar
1 (3 ounce package) strawberry jell-o
1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the jell-o, and finally the cake mix. Pour the water and melted butter over the top. Do not stir. Bake for 45 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender.
for more great tips and recipes feel free to join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/weightnomorewithsara/

I don’t want to read the Bible anymore…

This author is being transparent while on his faith journey…  good stuff.  http://deeperstory.com/read-the-bible/

More by Micah:  http://deeperstory.com/author/micah/

About the author:

About Micah: Once upon a time Micah knew everything there was to know about God, the Bible, and how the universe works. Then one day he found himself admitting that, despite having all the answers, he barely believed in God anymore. With the few shreds of faith he had left, he clung to the hope that God was searching for him, and that he would someday be found. Being found is more of a journey than a destination, and this is where you’ll find Micah today. Slowly picking through all the broken pieces of failed religion, looking for Jesus in the midst of it, being found by Him more and more each day. When he’s not chasing his two small boys around the house, riding motorcycles with his wife, or overdosing on coffee, Micah attempts to scrawl out the words of this unfolding story on the pages of the internet.

Your “calling” is closer than you think…

This post is great.  http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/your-calling-closer-you-think

But this brought it all home…

“This is how I've started looking at calling.

It takes an extraordinary amount of discipline and maturity to live in today, walking step by step doing whatever I'm supposed to do today. It takes discipline to say "I don't know." It takes faith to trust in one-day-at-a-time. It requires me to lay down my desperate, freakish desire for control and trust He is at work.

He knows the reason I was made. If I walk in step with Him every day I will walk into the reason. Maybe I'm here for something big and meaningful, or maybe I'm supposed to pick up rocks so the tractors don't break.

My "calling" is every day.”

Some thoughts about walls

http://www.alanknox.net/2013/05/some-thoughts-about-walls/

“Because God loves people, and God sends us to people… whether they are inside walls or outside walls.”

What is the Story God Sees Happening in the World?

http://storylineblog.com/2013/05/28/what-is-the-story-god-sees-happening-in-the-world/

 

Liked the above post.  Go back and reread it. 

 

Liked this advice from the post:

“Here’s a way to think about it that is complicated but has helped me: The “Image of Godliness” is always Satan while “Godliness” is always Jesus. Never trust anybody projecting an image of any sort. Period. Truth projects nothing. Truth simply is. Truth has no agenda. If you sense an agenda, walk away. Somebody is manipulating you.”

People are drawn to black and white opinions because…

Donald Miller posted on Facebook:

People are drawn to black and white opinions because they are simple, not because they are true. Truth demands serious effort and thought.

The Single Defining Characteristic of a Manipulator

http://storylineblog.com/2013/05/23/the-single-defining-characteristic-of-a-manipulator/

"Okay. I have grace. What now?"

Serena Woods posted on Facebook :

I had the best time this weekend with the ladies of Northampton College Church.
Question/Answer time was my favorite. Best question was probably:

"Okay. I have grace. What now?"

My answer (roughly): "Worship. Make your life your very own expression of the overflow from what's happening in your heart. Love people out of that worship."

Because the innocent deserve better. And we, as a society, have failed them.

"I want to live in a world where you can go for a test drive with people interested in buying your truck without getting kidnapped.
I want to live in a world where a teenage girl can accept a ride from a friend’s father without winding up a captive for ten years.
I want to live in a world where you can send your children to kindergarten without worrying that they will be shot.
But we don’t live in such a world, because we are far more concerned with rights than we are with public safety."  
(read the whole article here)--- http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2013/05/public-safety-should-come-first/

Success vs Significance --- Choose Significance

“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.” – Leo Rosten

Great advice in this post –> http://www.becomingminimalist.com/stop-chasing-success-seek-significance/

Mama Rap–by Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews

A homeschooling habit.

Wonder Farm explains how they home school -- http://patriciazaballos.com/how-we-homeschool/

“I think it’s the same for my kids. Gathering in the kitchen at 9:30 or 10:00 each morning for tea and a snack is their cue to start thinking, start bouncing ideas from their heads to the ceiling to the yellow counters and back again. I’ll often throw out a few suggestions, depending on what they’re working on, but more often than not, they have their own ideas.”

Becoming a writing mentor for your child…

When it comes to your kids and writing—particularly if you homeschool—you have a choice to make: do you want to be a writing teacher to your child, or a writing mentor?

http://patriciazaballos.com/2013/02/28/become-a-writing-mentor-to-your-child-part-1-teacher-or-mentor/

You can read all posts in this series here. (http://patriciazaballos.com/become-a-writing-mentor-to-your-child/)

The Dictation Project

“One of the hardest parts of taking dictation from a kid can be getting started. If you sit down at a table with a pencil and a piece of blank paper and say, “Tell me a story and I’ll write it down,” you might get lucky, and you might [...]”

http://patriciazaballos.com/category/the-dictation-project/

“some of the best life advice we've ever come across…”

“In 2005, author David Foster Wallace was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. However, the resulting speech didn't become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death. It is, without a doubt, some of the best life advice we've ever come across, and perhaps the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of education.
We made this video, built around an abridged version of the original audio recording, with the hopes that the core message of the speech could reach a wider audience who might not have otherwise been interested. However, we encourage everyone to seek out the full speech (because, in this case, the book is definitely better than the movie).”
-The Glossary

 

I really appreciate his message…

parenting… failure was certain…

"That first long night in the darkened hospital room, my hand traced the fingers and toes of this new little person.

How could I do this?

The lump in my throat grew.

Failure was certain.

I was going to let this little boy down. Parenting is an experiment in radical grace and the work of every parent is to fully give to the child. And it’s the work of every child to fully forgive the parents.

Would he?" 

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/05/for-the-mother-who-fears-failure/

Mother's Day Video: Mighty

Estate Planning is a Gift

http://celebrateeverydaywithme.com/2013/05/a-simply-organized-life-estate-planning-is-a-gift.html

“Estate Planning is a gift to those you leave behind. It is time to get your estate in order  (<< Tweet This).  Whether we’re talking children and guardians, spouses or extended family, you can take steps now to leave less of a headache to those remaining.”

Community is irresistible

http://www.churchinacircle.com/2013/04/28/community-is-irresistible/

He invites us to live side by side as a family

http://www.alanknox.net/2013/05/he-invites-us-to-live-side-by-side-as-a-family/

WHY DON’T CHRISTIANS PLAY NICE? on learning putting our need to be right second to our call to love

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/why-dont-christians-play-nice

Love this blog title and tag line…

LIFELONG LEARNING

FOR US, IT'S A LIFE FULL OF SATURDAYS…

“And at this moment, on a warm California evening, I am reading this list and wondering . . . who do I want to be going forward?”

A Deeper Family (on Facebook)

"I want to send roots deep into the beauty of life, to stand in slack-jawed joy at the wonder of it all.
I want to be brave and kind and encouraging.
I want to admit my flaws, own up to the messiness, look in the mirror without hesitation, and tell the ugly voices within to shut the hell up — because that’s exactly where they come from.
I want to raise my hands to heaven with gratitude at least a hundred times as often as I raise my fists in frustration.
I want to lean into the future with anticipation, come what may. I want to own my wrinkles and my cellulite, to celebrate the long life that has thinned my hair and thickened my waistline, to embrace the inevitable losses because of the inestimable gains.
I want to stand there when I’m 78 or 88 or 98 (really???) and look back at 68 and say: That was a great decade, wasn’t it?
I want to live until I leave."

Read her story here -- http://deeperstory.com/11658/