The Simple List is my way of pointing you to something redeeming on the webs, something thought provoking or eye-catching or soul-refreshing. I can't keep up with all the good words out there but I try to curate a few things every now and then that might be of help. I hope these links are reminders of the simplest things that make a good life: truth, goodness, beauty.
Truth ||
When the Spirit Convicts by Shannon Martin @ (in)Courage
I am not an Airplane @ Amongst Lovely Things
I love/need this reminder that the sky is not really the limit unless you are, indeed, an airplane. I'm not the go-getter that Sarah is, but that's also kinda the point: I am not made to do everything I want to do, everything someone else is doing, or everything I think everyone else wants me to do.
Goodness ||
Two big-picture concepts that help me plan my days/weeks/months @ Modern Mrs. Darcy
The Benefits of Being an Introverted Parent by Kristen Howerton @ Queit Rev
"I wasn’t always cool with being an introverted parent. I wanted to be one of those moms who thrived among children—the mom who’s always on, always available emotionally; the mom who invites all the neighborhood kids over for snacks every day. But that’s just not me. I love my kids, but there’s a reason I’m always suggesting we play hide-and-seek. (There’s something about a dark closet…)"
Beauty ||
I go back and forth with blogging. Enamored. Annoyed. Energized. Compelled. None of it's necessary and all of it could take a flying leap most days and I'd live just fine, like we did pre-1999. We lived, remember? We put our pictures in albums and our words in journals and the world spun, just the same. Or better?
Still, I love words and the stretch that comes with their writing and reading. This week a friend linked to a blog that refreshed me and reminded me that we can do this thing in whatever way we choose. It doesn't have to be short and pithy and fragmented for the sake of readers' attention-less spans. Words formed the world through the power of Christ and they still form worlds in us, through Him. I want to be that kind of person - one whose words explore unknown frontiers and also reveal the ground right at your feet, however long that takes.
I want to be like Rebecca Reynolds when I grow up, basically. I've read her words before and knew her name was familiar from the Rabbit Room and Story Warren sites, but now I've found her blog, thanks to a friend, and I hope you like it there too. I like what she has to say, even if it takes me two or three sittings to digest it all.
Sunday, Late July @ Thistle and Toad
"Every penny in my pocket says “In God We Trust,” but the older I get, the more I see how often we don’t, neither the atheists nor the religious people like me who freak out and yell that everybody needs to trust Jesus and stop ruining my country. I need to learn to believe more, fight smarter, and fear less.
Besides all this, my oldest son is leaving for college in a few weeks, and the countdown makes every word we speak in our house feel so strange. I keep waking up at night with a feeling like he's two-years-old and lost in a department store. He's tall, muscular, wise. He's ready, but I'm not sure I am. Like everything with the first kid, I’m letting this become too big of a deal. He told me a few days ago, “Mom, do you realize you are bringing every conversation back to the dangers of substance abuse?”