TulipGirl

I’ve only been online lately in fits and starts, hence the sporadic blogging. But I keep coming across really good and encouraging things online and think, oooh — I should share that! Of course, by the time I sit down to post links, I can’t remember half of them. Ah, well. . . Still, here are some things that I think are cool or worth the time to read.

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Kim explains to her son that, yup, Christians can be annoying and unlikeable. “My answer to my son was that I, too, dislike Christians at times. I followed it up with the fact that I am probably disliked by other Christians at times, and so is he. I reminded him that we are not perfect, that we make mistakes, do stupid things and are unkind. And I reminded him that all we can do is continue to make an effort to love our fellow Christians even when it is hard.”

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Camille has been reflecting on Things I Never Heard in Fundamentalism (1) (2) (3). And while our backgrounds are very different, the familiar refrains of grace, grace, God’s grace reverberate in my soul when I read of God’s comfort and faithfulness in her life.

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TAKS — easy-peasy assessment tests, online, free and instantly scored! Errr. . . easy-peasy as far as doing it online, not necessarily for the student. The boys have been worried about their “gaps.” But as my sister reminds me, “gaps are just spaces waiting to be filled.” Thanks to Jess and Bayou for directing me to the TAKS site.

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The dragon-mommy very thoughtfully reflects on The Irony of Ezzo and AP (1)) (2). It concerns me that there seems to be a resurgence of the popularity of Babywise. With a generation of moms and babies who have already been there, done that, regretted it. . . why do people not learn from the mistakes of others? I still find the Ezzo materials introduce such an antagonistic mindset to the parents who read it — as one mom said recently “Do you hate me that I am a Babywise mom?” How sad. Sure, I try to caution moms about the misinformation in Babywise, but I don’t “hate” any moms.

How firmly I believe that God gives just the right parents to each child, and just the right child to each parent. Our love, our mistakes, our triumphs, our struggles — the Lord uses those in both our lives and our children’s lives as we grow into the people He created us to be. I believe it is so important to communicate respect to other parents — and still point out the problems in basing decisions on flawed information and problematic principles.

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Some freebies, giveaways, and contests: Dada Ring Sling from Babywearing.com (deadline 4/30); Online Kitchen Garden Planner via CleverNesting, a little critter giveaway (’cause I was too late in posting about the neato mobile from royal buffet). . . ack, saw some other good ones this week and can’t find them now!

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Remember, local art and music in Sarasota / Bradenton on May 1 & 2. I read a blurb in the East County Observer, unfortunately they don’t put their articles online. (Nor the pics the publish in the paper version — which is disappointing, ’cause they had a cute one of my little protesters.) I also saw a column that mentioned the art show in the BHT. If you are local, it’s a great place for a low-key date night. Local music, local artists, good coffee. . .