Articles to bookmark

Since this page is, apparently, becoming my place to keep track of what I read, I thought I'd save two links here for future reference.

First, an article about "What the Bible Really Says About Routine Infant Circumcision". For those who argue that they believe in circumcision "for religious reasons," here is some food for thought about how you are NOT honoring God by agreeing to this procedure. (And for what it's worth, there's no medical benefit to it, either, and doing it "to look like Daddy" is ridiculous...I think that people are going to notice things like eye color and face shape, and not whether their penises match.) http://www.udonet.com/circumcision/christian.html

The second is an article from Psychology Today called, "Believing "children are resilient" may be a fantasy". People get so hung up on the fact that "they'll get through it" that they forget to nurture their children. Now, I DO believe that children will "get through it," but HOW they get through it helps shape who they are on the other side. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201106/believing-children-are-resilient-may-be-fantasy

Shape; August 2011

I just realized something about my new goal to summarize magazine articles...it will help me keep track of where I am in the magazine!

P24--there's a half-marathon in RI where live bands play along the route. Similar events are being held in other cities. Sounds cool...too bad I don't run unless I'm being chased. (For the record, I would love to run, but my knees and feet just can't handle it.)

An article on page 32 mentions body confidence, and asks if a man thinks twice about taking off his shirt and showing his potbelly. Nope, I don't think they do think twice about showing off the potbelly...but sometimes I wish they would. Nothing wrong with putting in a little effort to look nice for your wife. Just sayin'...

The book "What I Wore" mentioned on page 40 looks good. I could use some fashion advice. I have no skill whatsoever in that area.

Breaking my habit of collecting too much stuff

I have a problem with keeping things around the house. I do this for a couple reasons...one is that I'm afraid that if I get rid of it, I'll need it. I'm surprised that after holding onto something for YEARS, I'll get rid of it and find out that I needed it within a few days of saying goodbye. It happens at home and at work. At work I'll hold onto a stack of papers from three years ago, decide it's safe to shred them because the students are entering their senior year of college...then one of them will call me asking about letters of recommendation or something like that. As much as I'd like to, there's obviously no way I can remember some of those smaller details about all of my students.

In order to tackle the problem at home, though, I've decided that I'm going to start with my magazines. I keep magazines around because they contain good articles or exercises or whatever. I know it will be time-consuming, but I think I'm going to work on summarizing articles, then after I've written my summary, the magazine can go to the recycling bin or to someone else who might want to read it. Obviously this is more for my reference than for your reading enjoyment, but if it does end up helping one person, it's worth it!

I've missed blogging

While I'm not interesting or eloquent, I do enjoy, from time to time, sharing what's on my mind. I haven't blogged in a long time, though, mostly because I have an almost-two-year-old in the house. Even when he was an almost-one-year-old, it was impossible to use my computer without "help". (Seriously, I don't know how parents have the time to blog. Even when was home for a year when Gabe was born, or this summer when I've been on break from my job, I can't find the time to blog. The only reason I'm doing it now is because Chris is working at a performance at the Opera House (a side job he does to help out a friend) and I'm an insomniac. No point in going to bed when I know I won't be sleeping!

Anyway, I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I do that when I feel like I'm a little lost, because sometimes I think blogging--getting those thoughts out of my head--helps me find the path again. I've been feeling really insecure, and I'm hoping that the process of writing will teach me more about myself and my calling.