Friday links.

This week's link-up is a little different since I didn't really have any new articles to share so I thought I'd show you what I've been up to lately instead! 

What I'm reading:

I got The Quiet Place by Nancy Leigh DeMoss for Christmas. It's a daily devotional and I'm loving it! Nancy is someone who grew up in a Christian home and has so much to offer in the way of insight. While I love to read stories and testimonies of people who have found God in the deepest and darkest of broken places, it is also lovely to hear about someone who has found God even in a more sheltered life. I realize that Nancy, as a human being, is as 'broken' as the next person, but her upbringing being what it was, she has a unique perspective. In a lot of ways, she reminds me of a younger Elisabeth Elliot.

What I've found online:

On a completely different note, I recently found a new-to-me blog by the Hollywood Housewife. I love, love, love it. She is real, relate-able, and funny. She has depth and honesty going for her but mostly it's a light-hearted, fun blog. She's also an avid reader and I love reading her book reviews! She's married to a Hollywood director, who directs movies that I'd never see because of the raunch-factor, but her blog is about her, and her little family and I love how it feels like I'm having a little peek into a life that is so far removed from what I know.

What I'm doing:

Surviving winter is pretty much it. Getting through the school day. Planning next year's curriculum. Trying my best to be a good mom and trying to let go of the guilt. Planning fun things to do so that I don't go nuts from all the snow and cold. Knitting. Reading. Cooking and baking.

What I'm listening to:

Found this gem recently. I like a lot of different music and my taste varies depending on my mood. But I must admit that there is nothing in this world quite like a hymn. An old hymn feeds my soul in a way most modern hymns and songs can't. Now, I realize that this is not an old hymn, but it gives me the same soul-satisfying, calming feeling that I get when I hear or sing hymns. So I love it and listen to it over and over.

Book review: The War of Art.

I've been talking about this book in my last two posts now and I finally finished reading it, so I think it's time to review!

Okay, so yes, the book's premise I found to be totally fascinating. In all, I enjoyed reading it and found it to be very eye-opening. That being said, there was a lot in it that I either didn't necessarily agree with, or that I just found a little bit far-fetched. The author, Steven Pressfield, tended to over-spiritualize some concepts and I thought it was a little bit tedious at times.

But the main premise of the book is this: All of us having something that we are meant to do, a talent that we know we possess, but more often than not, we do nothing about it because of - what he terms - Resistance. Resistance, he says, is the single enemy to us moving forward in our 'art', whether that be writing (in his case and mine), painting, cooking, or any other thing that human beings take an interest in. According to Steven, Resistance keeps us from being our true selves; it's the thing that holds us back. He goes even further by saying that this Resistance not only holds back our talent, but also things like dieting, discipline, exercise, etc. I found this to be so interesting. Because honestly? When I get up in the morning, and think that I should really eat more healthy, or exercise a bit that day, all I feel is a wall. And I think he's right: it's a wall of Resistance. He goes so far as to claim that there would be no need for prisons, nor would there be any crime if human beings were able to overcome this Resistance. By giving in to Resistance and not overcoming it, we then turn to any number of vices: alcohol, drugs, food, etc. These vices are the easy way out rather than working hard at what it is we are called to do.

I love this concept. I'd never thought of it that way before but I feel like he's right. I haven't completely sorted out yet how this fits in with my Christian perspective, but I think it all fits together. Although, maybe what he terms 'Resistance', I would just term 'sin nature'. But regardless, I found it a great read and highly recommend if you are struggling in what you consider your 'art'.

I feel the need to give a fair warning that from time to time he throws in a 'bad word' if that's the kind of thing that bothers you.

Pretty much nothing.

So here I am, the day before another post is due on my blog and I got nothin'. My plan was to write lots of posts in advance and kind of keep ahead of myself so that I don't run into this problem of no-post-ready on Sunday afternoon. I mean, it could possibly have to do with the fact that I'm a busy mom of three, plus we homeschool, plus normal household chores, plus everytime I sit down I just want to read a book or surf the internet. Or watch Youtube videos. You know, productive stuff.

Speaking of which, I deleted my Facebook account a few weeks ago. If you know me at all, you know this is huge. But it was time. I've been fake-friends with people for about eight years now and I just got so, so tired of it. The endless posting, and refreshing to see if others posted, and having no discipline in how much time I spent on it. And then the whole politics of it: Having to 'like' certain people's stuff just to keep them from getting offended or from feeling left out which led to me feeling dishonest because I only like 'liking' stuff I want to 'like'. So, so dumb. Also, I have NO self-discipline when it comes to posting things and commenting on things. So I always ended up regretting so many things and I started to realize how foolish it all is. For me, anyway. I'm not here to judge. Anyway, time will tell whether I've stopped it for good or if I am just taking a much-needed break from it.

And then there was the whole breaking-out-into-a-cold-sweat-at-the-mere-thought-of-deleting-my-account thing. That was rather disturbing. If nothing else, it showed how desperately I needed to get rid of it. It is not normal to be so attached to a website. And you know what? I don't miss it. At all. So if you're feeling like a Facebookaholic, then I highly recommend going cold-turkey.

Anyway, back to the other topic: It's working out for me nonetheless to give myself a deadline. So here I am, blathering into the cyberspace so that I can fulfil my promise to myself. I'm reading a great little book which I mentioned in my Friday links post, which I plan to do a review of soon. In it, the author discusses how if you feel it's your calling in life to be a writer then you must just start writing. He claims you will never become a pro if you don't set up writing as your job. For instance, making yourself start writing at 9am every morning for three hours. If you don't work and slave away at it, it will never become your profession. Now, writing one or two blog posts a week can hardly be called work, but it does require a measure of discipline on my part and in this season of life, with three kids still very much in demand of my time, this is probably a good start. At least I am writing with regularity.

And that is all I have for now. Happy Monday!

Friday links.

Onto another Friday!

I don't have a ton to share this week, but here goes:

This article articulated something that I've been thinking about for a long time but could never quite put into words.

I came across this this week and although I haven't tried anything from her list yet, I plan to.

Emily shares some words of wisdom on marriage and a wife's role. I always love this girl's perspective.

I'm reading this book and am fascinated. I will be sharing a review soon.

Happy weekend!

The missing element.

As parents we are constantly second-guessing our choices. Do we breastfeed or bottlefeed? And if we use formula does that mean our kids will have low immune systems? Do we co-sleep or not? If we do will our kids turn out co-dependent and if we don't will our kids turn out unable to bond? Homeschool? We might run the risk of raising hermits. Public school? We run the risk of losing our kids to peer pressure and conformity. There are so many, many choices on the parenting spectrum. Every single day we are making one choice or another. Parenting means making choices for our kids that we don't really, at the heart of it, know if any of it is going to work or is ultimately the right thing. We can do textbook parenting and still have our kids rebel. We could do everything wrong and have our kid turn out to be the next prime minister. I don't want to say it's a crapshoot. As a Christian parent, I know that it's not, and that God will work it all out for good. But in a general, human sense, it is somewhat of a crapshoot, simply because we cannot see the end of the road. We have to make choices today that will affect our kids' tomorrows, but we're flying blind a bit because we simply can't see the future.

For the most part, when we make a decision about what road we're going to take, it's with a lot of blood, sweat and tears and lots of thought and prayer. When I started breastfeeding my first it wasn't the blissful experience I expected so I formula fed him when he turned six months old. That was not an easy choice since it was all I could do to keep the guilty feelings away. We made the choice to homeschool our kids because we feel like it's the best thing for our family right now, but it doesn't mean it's easy or that I know without a doubt that it's going to guarantee non-rebellious kids, or even a great education for them.

Where am I going with all of this?

There is the mom who scours the internet, talks to friends and to her husband and any other sources she feels are necessary. She spends lots of time thinking about whether to vaccinate her children or not and comes to the conclusion that she won't.

There is the mom who scours the internet, talks to friends and to her husband and any other sources she feels are necessary. She spends lots of time thinking about whether to vaccinate her children or not and comes to the conclusion that she will.

I am not going to pretend to know all the ins and outs of vaccinating. Neither do I know the ins and outs of the debates that are going on. Pro-vaxxers are thinking the worst of anti-vaxxers and vice versa, is the gist I'm getting from a lot of the talk out there. I vaccinate my kids, because I feel that it's the best thing for them. The next mom chooses not to vaccinate her kids because she thinks that's the best thing for them. If I turn around and call her out on that, what is that saying? That somehow I am better than she because we've made a different choice? I, for one, don't want to be called out for my choices and think I should extend the same respect to others.

However uninformed I feel anti-vaxxers are, I can't jump to the conclusion that they don't care. They are being accused of not caring about the rest of society, but when it comes right down to it, even as a person who vaccinates her kids, I wasn't thinking about the rest of society when I made my choice. All I thought was, let's make sure my kids don't get any deadly diseases. Maybe that is naive of me, who knows? I think that herd immunity is an amazing side benefit to vaccinating the majority of kids. But let's be honest, I did not really factor low-immune children into my decision to get my kids' shots. By the same token, I don't think it's fair to say that those opposed to vaccines are not caring about the rest of society. All they are thinking is what is the best for their child. Like the rest of us.

The bottom line that I think we're all forgetting this: we all love our kids. We all want the best for them. Whether we choose to vaccinate our kids or not, that decision comes from a place of thought and care. It's not something any of us takes lightly. And frankly, I'm sick and tired of the backlash and fear-mongering from both sides of the issue. I admit I've been a part of it. The criticizing and misunderstanding has come from my lips too. It's a struggle to remain level-headed towards someone when they are making a choice you wholeheartedly don't agree with.

However, let's all try to be grown-ups, shall we?

Friday links.

Here is my first Friday links post!!

I hope you find something encouraging to read in this list.

I only pick the best of what's inspired me.

Enjoy :)

If you need to be reminded about how precious and fragile life is...

INSPIRATION

If you are feeling discouraged in your homeschool life...

HOMESCHOOLING

I love cake. I especially love pound cake. But without lemon flavouring as most seem to have. I found *the* perfect pound cake recipe. It is beyond delish...

CAKE

Excellent post on becoming a writer. It's definitely inspired me to learn how to write better and more...

WRITING

I've been looking more into what makes a good blogger and I found this post by the Hollywood Housewife to be informative...

BLOGGING

What is social media doing to our writing? I shared this in Monday's blog post, but here it is again. Very worth the read if this is your thing...

Social Media

I had a difficult week. But mostly because sometimes I can't face my life. This article totally hit home and reminded me to find the joy in the life I've chosen...

MOTHERHOOD

Happy reading! Happy weekend!

Me n' writing.

I feel like I put myself in a box by saying that I would post every Monday and Friday. As you can see, I didn't post any links on Friday but I am collecting a bunch of ones that have caught my interest so I will share this Friday. I feel the pressure after mentioning a specific day and I've wondered if it's the right thing to do. When I was in school though, the pressure of a due date for a project was what got me motivated to get it done. I am a procrastinator by nature and having that deadline looming definitely helps me to focus. So I think it'll be good to have some accountability.

The thing is, I want to write. I want to find out what my voice is and I want people to read what I have to say. Sometimes it feels scary though. Kind of like walking into a classroom full of people and I've only got my underwear on. Writing what is on my heart and my mind feels like I'm exposing a piece of myself, like I'm showing the most vulnerable bits of myself. Yet I feel the urge to do so anyway. Which is weird because why inflict such pain on oneself? But maybe that is what being a writer is. You kind of put yourself out there and open yourself up to critique.

I've been reading lots of great articles lately on blogging and how to get started on it, as well as articles about writing in general. I also put a ton of books on hold at the library about writing and being creative. I think it's time for me to grow up and find out who I am as a writer. Maybe teach myself something along the way. But this is what I want to do: Write. And write and write.

I have lots to say but I think it's about teaching myself how to say it and evolve my thought process. I read a blog post the other day about how our writing is affected by social media and how our lives are thought out in small, catchy sound bites. You know, the short, cute little status or tweet that people will like and favourite. It's quite an enlightening read if you have the time and if that's your thing.

So this is my challenge to myself: To become the kind of writer I have always wanted to become. Words are my love language and since I can't have my dream job of editing in a New York publishing company, I will write on this here small blog.

One more thing. As weird as this sounds, this blog is a tribute to myself. It's a way of letting myself know that it's okay to be me. It's okay to have my own voice and not somebody else's. That might sound odd to some people, but I always find myself feeling insecure about my own writing. I always look at what others are doing or saying and how they're doing or saying it and judge myself against them. Wrong as that may be, it is what it is. But I am here to tell myself that it's okay to be Laura, to have Laura's voice. Not my sister's. Not the all the bloggers whose writing I am in awe of. But mine. And here I am.

A fresh new start.

Hi Everyone!!

I am starting a new phase of my life called Consistent Blogger. It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time for so many reasons. One being that I love to write. I am not sure why I feel anyone is interested in what I have to say, but I like my voice to be heard nonetheless. Maybe it is Oldest Child Syndrome. Who knows? But yes, this writing thing has been haunting me for a long time. I need to do it and I want to do it but making the time hasn't always been a priority. Thus, the scattered and random posts of my old blog.

I am on the road to changing that. So to start my journey, I have compiled a small list of what I enjoy about blogs. Blog reading is one of my hobbies but I am very picky about what I read. If I am going to read a blog it has to do one or more of the following things:

The writer has to be honest. Being authentic and real is huge for me. If I'm reading a blog I don't want the writer to appear to be perfect. I don't want to know that she never does anything wrong and has a pinterest-worthy home. That being said, if you are a pinterest-worthy person, and that is your true self, then I will most likely read you. For instance, I follow a blogger who continuously crafts with her children and plans elaborate parties and just in general is awesome in the arts department. Anyone who knows me, knows this is so far from who I am. But I love her blog because she is real. She genuinely finds joy in her crafting and it shines through, so I find her awe-inspiring and just really fun to read. I have come across blogs which make me gag because they are so shiny-perfect without an ounce of real life to them. So then I also like to read about the mom who is more like me and can't do a craft to save her life. And yet I've also read blogs where even their non-craftiness doesn't ring true and their not-togetherness doesn't ring true either. Does that make sense? Bottom line: I love an honest and real blogger even if she has different interests than I do.

The blog has to be about topics that interest me. If you are an arts/crafts person and your blog is a how-to tutorial, I probably won't read you. But if you are an arts/crafts person who also discusses things that are on your heart, I will most likely be interested. If you discuss parenting/marriage and offer sage wisdom, I will probably read you. If you discuss parenting/marriage but offer a list of rules and show me how I've failed, I will say see ya later. If you harp constantly about how you're right in your decisions to homeschool/co-sleep/eat organically, I will most assuredly not be interested. But if you have a really fun, honest blog and you also happen to offer info about homeschooling/co-sleep/organic eating, then I will be all up in your business. Which leads me to...

...if I feel nosy enough and invested enough in the life of the blogger I will read it. Sometimes, I read a blog because I am just flat-out nosy. I love reading about people's lives and hearing what they have to say about myriads of topics. For example, I have been known to find a new blog and spend hours reading archived posts just to find out how she met her husband or when exactly it was she strayed from the faith of her youth or finding her first child's birth story. I am just like that. Nosy. It's more than nosiness though, I think. In reading how people feel about their husbands, their labours, or their faith, you get to know the person.

I want to make my blog a place where I would enjoy visiting. If I aspire to be myself, I hope others also find it a place they enjoy reading.

So in order to get some consistency going on my blog, I have decided to post a blog on Mondays, which will be about any topic that has been brewing in my mind, and Fridays, which will for now be a "Link Love" post where I share other articles/blogs that have interested me lately. Eventually I would like to also add in a book-review day as well since I love to read and love to share my opinions on what I read.

So there you have it! The beginning of the new me. Let's see where this thing goes.