Those pornography pieces are so real - as someone who has both dated men who turned out to be active porn users and seen friends' marriages fall apart because of it. It's extremely disheartening, to say the least.
On a lighter note - my mom regularly put us in the Y's childcare when we were growing up and my sister now uses it for her kids occasionally. Definitely a great resource!
I so appreciated the pieces on mirth (thank you for combining with the also-needed real-talk on pornography, whew). My tendency is to be WAY too serious. John Heaton's piece reminded me of a recent Sunday. During Holy Communion, my pastor accidentally tipped the chalice of Christ's blood too generously toward my lips -- I gulped in surprise but the wine dribbled over onto my chin, my shirt, even the baby's head. Since he's also my husband, I wasn't embarrassed, but more thinking, Whoa, guess he thinks his wife needs a hefty dose of grace this week. I started giggling as I tried to contain the little holy spill at the front of the sanctuary, and felt compelled to suppress it. But, why? Isn't this the foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb?
Also, I hope you find the Core Corrective helpful! I had a chiropractor lead me through most of those exercises after my third. My fourth pregnancy was far more comfortable! When a friend shared the online program, I was really happy to have a more accessible option.
What a beautiful gift this is when it lands in my inbox every week (even if I can't always make the time to open it, to my disappointment)! I especially appreciate your balancing of perspectives around male-female relationships--you do such a lovely job of bringing forward the complexities and challenges faced by both sexes, and the areas of blindness towards which each is inclined. Thank you for your consistent, quiet work!
I've been on the fence about signing up for a Y membership but Meredith's post is pushing me over the edge. Why did I never consider swimming dates? I also bought trident tropical twist gum on her recommendation for an upcoming road trip. I have been influenced haha
We have zero childcare other than an occasional babysitter (who is a godsend!) so I feel your pain. Another thing to look into is any parents' night outs? Our local Y does one very reasonably. Parenting burnout is REAL.
My husband and I read Augustine's Confessions around the same time (we hadn't met each other at that point), and I'm thinking next year may be time for a re-read!
Best wishes on the postpartum core program--my background is in physical therapy (geriatric, not pelvic health), and even with that it's been a learning curve figuring out dosage and exercise progression after my first gave me a large diastasis recti and the second a smaller one.
Thanks, Jim — Also, I saw a recent piece of yours shared, and I thought “huh, why didn’t I see that one?” and then I looked and saw somehow I had accidentally unsubscribed?? Whew, absolutely didn’t mean to, now off to read what I missed.
haha, yeah there are times when I'm like, "why haven't I seen X writer in a while?" and then it's usually something I did like that! Fwiw, though, I force myself not to look at my stats or even my subscriber list most of the time, lest I become obsessed and it take over my life, so I did not know you had unsubscribed :)
On the mirth and joy conversation - have you seen the movie Belfast? It’s about a sad time in history but is one of the most abundantly joyful movies I’ve seen. Holds that tension of living in a bitter world and keeping joy in your heart well. Though not necessarily from a believer’s perspective.
Curious to see how that postpartum workout class goes. I’m thinking of doing something similar. I don’t want my back to give out before 30 haha.
Gah! John Heaton’s Front Porch Republic essay was exceptional but frustrating because my next essay is all about humor and faith and I interact with Niebuhr as well. There is nothing new under the sun!
(but exceptional curation per usual; your repertoire of footnotes grows stronger by the week)
haha I feel ya - I recently worked for too long than I'd like to admit on an essay (which I'm now trying to get published) and for some reason was upset when I saw Mary Harrington say it better in a phenomenal piece that was published during that time. lol
Those pornography pieces are so real - as someone who has both dated men who turned out to be active porn users and seen friends' marriages fall apart because of it. It's extremely disheartening, to say the least.
On a lighter note - my mom regularly put us in the Y's childcare when we were growing up and my sister now uses it for her kids occasionally. Definitely a great resource!
I so appreciated the pieces on mirth (thank you for combining with the also-needed real-talk on pornography, whew). My tendency is to be WAY too serious. John Heaton's piece reminded me of a recent Sunday. During Holy Communion, my pastor accidentally tipped the chalice of Christ's blood too generously toward my lips -- I gulped in surprise but the wine dribbled over onto my chin, my shirt, even the baby's head. Since he's also my husband, I wasn't embarrassed, but more thinking, Whoa, guess he thinks his wife needs a hefty dose of grace this week. I started giggling as I tried to contain the little holy spill at the front of the sanctuary, and felt compelled to suppress it. But, why? Isn't this the foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb?
Also, I hope you find the Core Corrective helpful! I had a chiropractor lead me through most of those exercises after my third. My fourth pregnancy was far more comfortable! When a friend shared the online program, I was really happy to have a more accessible option.
What a beautiful gift this is when it lands in my inbox every week (even if I can't always make the time to open it, to my disappointment)! I especially appreciate your balancing of perspectives around male-female relationships--you do such a lovely job of bringing forward the complexities and challenges faced by both sexes, and the areas of blindness towards which each is inclined. Thank you for your consistent, quiet work!
I've been on the fence about signing up for a Y membership but Meredith's post is pushing me over the edge. Why did I never consider swimming dates? I also bought trident tropical twist gum on her recommendation for an upcoming road trip. I have been influenced haha
We have zero childcare other than an occasional babysitter (who is a godsend!) so I feel your pain. Another thing to look into is any parents' night outs? Our local Y does one very reasonably. Parenting burnout is REAL.
So many great links as ever! Looking forward to exploring more about merriment :)
My husband and I read Augustine's Confessions around the same time (we hadn't met each other at that point), and I'm thinking next year may be time for a re-read!
Best wishes on the postpartum core program--my background is in physical therapy (geriatric, not pelvic health), and even with that it's been a learning curve figuring out dosage and exercise progression after my first gave me a large diastasis recti and the second a smaller one.
Great round up!!
Thanks, Jim — Also, I saw a recent piece of yours shared, and I thought “huh, why didn’t I see that one?” and then I looked and saw somehow I had accidentally unsubscribed?? Whew, absolutely didn’t mean to, now off to read what I missed.
haha, yeah there are times when I'm like, "why haven't I seen X writer in a while?" and then it's usually something I did like that! Fwiw, though, I force myself not to look at my stats or even my subscriber list most of the time, lest I become obsessed and it take over my life, so I did not know you had unsubscribed :)
On the mirth and joy conversation - have you seen the movie Belfast? It’s about a sad time in history but is one of the most abundantly joyful movies I’ve seen. Holds that tension of living in a bitter world and keeping joy in your heart well. Though not necessarily from a believer’s perspective.
Curious to see how that postpartum workout class goes. I’m thinking of doing something similar. I don’t want my back to give out before 30 haha.
I have not seen Belfast - Thanks for the tip
Thanks for the shoutout! As always, fantastic collection.
Gah! John Heaton’s Front Porch Republic essay was exceptional but frustrating because my next essay is all about humor and faith and I interact with Niebuhr as well. There is nothing new under the sun!
(but exceptional curation per usual; your repertoire of footnotes grows stronger by the week)
haha I feel ya - I recently worked for too long than I'd like to admit on an essay (which I'm now trying to get published) and for some reason was upset when I saw Mary Harrington say it better in a phenomenal piece that was published during that time. lol
Please do get it published. I will make sure to review it and make several explicit “Mary Harrington who?” type comments.