Week 17 (2023)
broken minds & the shadow of death, rules for passivists, gardens of hope & dignity, tech problems, creative homeschool & parenting boys
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reading: books
Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years, Elizabeth Wayland Barber — audio — This one goes out to Other Feminisms.
Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect Of The Holy Spirit, Francis Chan — audio — Helpful in tandem: Phylicia Masonheimer on The Holy Spirit For Dummies and How To Walk By The Spirit.
reading: essays, articles, newsletters
Slippery Reality — Leah Regester, Ekstasis — “Did God owe me a mind that performed as I wanted? Did I do well to rage against him for withholding this from me? I did not believe so.”
We Lie To Ourselves Using Images — William Collen, RUINS — “One of the most intriguing, and powerful, ways that images can communicate to us is by representing an example of something that we wish for or desire, thereby inciting us to desire it more…”
(related: The Age Of Average, Under The Influence, and Modern Mothers, shared previously)
Why The Mental Health Of Liberal Girls Sank First And Fastest — Jonathan Haidt, After Babel — Finally got to the social psychologist’s post after seeing it referred to, linked, shared, and referenced over the past few weeks.
(related: his book The Coddling Of The American Mind, which is fantastically intriguing, and Reclaiming Relationship In A Technological World (w/ Andy Crouch), shared previously)
Should We Be More Skeptical Of The ‘Digital Future’ After The COVID Experience? — Addison Del Mastro, The Bulwark — “Because we can all agree that living through them sucked, and that while the convenience of doing many things on screens is worth appreciating, doing everything on a screen creates all kinds of misery. In the long run, life is better lived in the physical, analog world.”
Dixie Dillon Lane On Parenting, Homeschooling, And Writing While Juggling — Dixie Dillon Lane, Current — “In our public discourse, even including conversations between moms at the park, the loudest voices often drown out a more civil, thoughtful, and humble majority, which then leaves many individuals feeling isolated and inadequate because they think their experiences or opinions are unusual or invalid. I seek to counter this trend in my essays by putting into words experiences that are rarely spoken but I suspect are widely shared…”
Homeschooling Boys — Ivana Greco, Institute For Family Studies — “Still, to what extent are so many little boys struggling in traditional schools because they’re cut off from their natural need to run around outside playing tag, and instead forced to sit for hours at desks doing worksheets?”
(related: Schools Are The Wrong Shape For Boys, shared previously)
I Tried To Do Everything Right — E. Sherene Joseph, Fathom — “Some might say I did my best with what I knew, and they might be correct. But I had an idea in my head from the moment my son was born, and with or without my awareness, I spent years following the masses—the culture I knew—doing what my world expected of me…
As humans, we crave control and often do an excellent job of masking it as “doing the right things” or “doing our duty.” Our culture even encourages it. But giving up control takes faith in a God who has promised to meet our needs—faith in surrendering to him completely.”
In The Valley — Leslie Gelzer-Govatos — “But recently it struck me that all of life is lived in the valley of the shadow of death because we’re all going to die, and we know it, all the time.”
A Detour Towards Hope — Gina Sutpin, The Rabbit Room — “And if you do have a moment of weakness and shuck responsibility for the day, you can count on one of us other gardeners to help cover your rubber-laid, tire tracks. After all, we know you weren’t being irresponsible. You were just being Hopeful. And that’s exactly what true Living and Breathing feel like.”
Learning To Care — Amy Curran, Plough — “The farm team has learned how to seed and plant and weed and mulch with the best of them. They know their work matters, just as they know they are capable of it.”
Rules For Passivists — Jeff Reimer, Comment — “Even if you give changing the world the old college try, the likely outcome is that you’re going to get steamrolled by the inexorable force of history and have to accept a world you did not choose or want.”
watching/listening
Continuing On:
Verity with Phylicia Masonheimer — Episodes 72-74 — Five Views Of Creation, Five Views Of Communion, Q&A.
100 Days Of Dante — Cantos 9-15
using: product, tip, resource
Low Tech Institute — A friend here told me about this neat series of workshops her husband is attending, where they learn the steps to build their own home in a low-tech, locally sourced way. So fascinating. I wonder if anyone’s heard of similar programs where they live?
Lip Products — I’ve mostly switched over the little makeup I wear to Beauty Counter, and was due for a restock of lip colors!
remembering
One Year Ago:
Two Years Ago:
This Week:
I loved Women’s Work when I read it last year! Gave me some fresh inspiration and motivation for my mending and such. I think I get emails from the Low Tech Institute but haven’t done any of their workshops yet...maybe someday! And that Passivist piece was good.
Love the picture of your table with plants, books, notebook, and leftover plates....similar to mine right now:) Thanks also for the link to the Low Tech Institute - I have not come across anything quite like this, although we are trying to put together something along those lines for the fall, sourcing talent and expertise from local homeschooling families.