Friday links

It's the weekend everyone! I could not be happier! It was also our last day of homeschool today and I am one happy mother! Woohoo! A break from the normal is so needed in this home. Here's to summer and not having to school for a while! 

Here is what I came across this week:

Found this helpful as someone who wants to become a writer. It's my dream!

I could not have made a better list myself! I think she totally nails what makes a great marriage.

There is so much cruelty from Christians on the internet in regards to the whole topic of transgenderism. I found this article to be very compassionate and helpful in terms of how Christians are supposed to respond to the topic.

Jess reminds us to focus on the right things in our parenting.

I don't know about you, but I struggle with doubt from time to time. I don't ever doubt God's existence, but I do doubt Him and His promises and the things He chooses to do/not do. I found this article on the topic encouraging. 

Friday links

Today on my calendar it says: First Day of Spring. I want to believe this with all my heart but when I look out my window, it tells a different story.

This is how my driveway looked as I left it this morning.

See those two wooden blocks to the right? Those?
Those are the newel posts of my front steps.

Well, here's hoping that things start to melt soon. Although at this point I cannot imagine where all that snow is going to go. It's pretty safe to say that I am utterly beyond sick of the white stuff.

Here are some links:

I love following the Pioneer Woman's blog. She also has a show on the Food Network, but being that I don't have TV, I can't watch it. Or so I thought. A couple of days ago, I realized that foodnetwork.ca has her episodes listed to watch online! If this is your kind of thing, I highly recommend. 

Speaking of the Pioneer Woman, she had someone guest post on her blog this week. The blogger shared some interesting thoughts on homeschooling. I've long thought that having a strong conviction or passion to homeschool should not translate into making others feel it's the only way.

A challenge from Nancy Leigh DeMoss on writing, blogging, ministry, and getting into God's word.

One day recently I had such a craving for a chocolate peanut butter treat. I went to my trusty Google and came up with these and YUM. Go make now. You won't regret it.

Happy weekend everyone!

Friday links

We've been fighting sickness this week at our house and the internet hasn't been overly inspiring lately. But I have a couple of recipes to share and a 'what I'm reading'. Also, it reached ten degrees Celsius this week at our place and it smelled gloriously of spring outside! Things are starting to thaw. (I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that we're supposed to get a major snowstorm over the weekend.) 

Made the yummiest chocolate chip cookies the other day! There's a secret ingredient in them that makes them so chewy and yum...

And along those same lines, I found this recipe which I plan to try this summer. I had my first frozen hot chocolate at Second Cup last year and it was delish. So here's to hoping that I can make my own version at home!

I am reading this book by Stephen King. I have never read anything by him since I am not a fan of the horror genre, but clearly he's done something right with all the bestsellers he's written over the years. I figure he's got something to say about writing and I've had this book recommended to me from various people. When I'm done reading it I will review it here!

Happy weekend!

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!

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.