My Favorite Blog Posts of the Week!

1.  Jeff Goins is a master at drawing large life lessons from seemingly small moments. "How to Put a Newborn to Sleep (Or Do Anything)" is both a great example of this...and a great reminder of what it takes to get anything done. 

2.  I love Jill Monaco's definition of "famous" and her Top 10 list of things that really famous people do in "What to Do Until You are Famous"!

3.  Over at The M.O.B. Society (Moms of Boys) Adelle Gabrielson's “Confessions from B.K. (Before Kids)” had my husband wiping away tears of laughter. (Which is a major gift to a teacher between Thanksgiving and Christmas!)

4 & 5.  I read Jon Acuff's book Quitter last weekend and subscribed to his blog. 

I LOVE his strategy for showing fear who's the boss in “How to Take Your Picture in Front of a Tornado."

And in “This Took Me 36 Years to Learn," he reveals the simple formula he finally found for figuring out his life's purpose. 


6.  Fellow The M.O.M. Initiative team member Shannon Pennington Milholland recommended the 5th link (above).

As I'm the driver of a car with a bashed-in bumper thanks to my own distracted driving, I appreciate the analogy Shannon draws in “Jesus & My Orange Juice: Distracted Driving.” 

7.  This week, I saw my counselor for the first time many months, so Heather Kopp's question “What if You’re Doing Better Than You Think?” rang especially true for me. I don't see my own daily progress, and I magnify every backward step. So it was a blessing to see the surprise and joy in Andrea's face as I caught her up...and to realize that yes, I am doing better than I think!

8.  From Bill Lokey guest post "How to Live With Regret" on Donald Miller’s Storyline blog: Having done everything right does not make your life a success. In fact there are two ways you and I can be alienated from God: One is by being very bad and the other by being extremely good (from The Prodigal God by Tim Keller.) Seeking to feel good or be good, both seek independence from God. 

9.  My father always says, “Our job is obedience. God’s is outcome.” So I appreciated this reminder from Homeschool Faith and Family Life that “The Results Belong to God.” 

10.  #9 was recommended by my SheSpeaks sister Veronica L. Herzing, whose “Freak Out Woman” had me laughing and shaking my head at how much I saw myself in her story!

11.  As a mom who often got too caught up in making my kids happy at Christmas, I see the wisdom in Judy Douglass'

 “The 3 Really Best Gifts for Your Children Part 2”

12.  #11 was recommended by my SheSpeaks sister Stephanie Raquel, who shares an excellent 2-part series on her blog called "Taking Care of the 'I' in Crisis."

13.  Michele Cushatt's timely “Why Face Time (the Real Kind) Matters” hit a nerve for this techno-geek. I love the efficiency that technology allows me, but I needed the reminder that relationships can not be multi-tasked! 

14.  #13 was recommended by my SheSpeaks sister,  Kelli Williams Wommack whose post “In God We Trust” was just what I needed to read this week, as I'd let myself get more and more knotted up over concerns about my children and some choices I need to make.

15.  I e-mailed Holley Gerth's "When You're Getting Ready to Take the Next Step" to my daughter who just made the necessary -- but difficult -- choice to end a relationship. I titled the e-mail: "God's not leaving; He's..."

16.  #15 was recommended by my SheSpeaks sister, Gindi Eckel Vincent, whose Thanks-giving focused "Five Minute Friday" was the perfect end to my week!

Your Turn:

• What blog posts have you read this week that you especially enjoyed?

• What topics tend to grab your interest? 

• Anything else on your heart!

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My Favorite Bloggers and Blog Posts This Week!

During November and December, I'll be diving into a personal Bible study of hope. I'll be sharing what I learn here, in a series called "Hope for the Holidays and Everydays."

Each week, I'll be giving away a book. This week's title is 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids by Kathi Lipp, with personality assessment and applications contributed by yours truly! 

Head to Kathi's blog for some great freebie downloads: $15 Family Fun Nights, 50 Ways to Connect With Your Son, and 50 Ways to Connect With Your Daughter. 

Oh, and if you haven't already "Liked" Kathi on Facebook, I think you'll actually LOVE her!

Enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the blog post or click to enter here.

From now on, my weekend blog post is going be an invitation to enjoy some of my favorite blog posts of the week.

I asked some of my blogger friends to to share their favorite blog posts from their blog reading this week:  

“The Meeting Place” comes recommended by Lynn H Mosher who loves the reminder that “God will meet us anywhere!”

I moseyed over to Lynn’s blog and greatly enjoyed “Do You Have an Heirloom?”  Like Lynn, I have no physical heirlooms from either grandmother. But they both left me an everlasting legacy in their love for Jesus!

“For When I Asked for It” is recommended by Jill Beran, who finds it “full of honesty and a reminder that I am not alone.”

I’m recommending Jill’s wrap-up of her October series “31 Days of Seeing God.”  All four of her summary points hit home for me and were great reminders...especially at the end of a long and tiring week when it’s so easy for me to see self rather than seek God!

Two other blog posts from Blue Cotton Memory that spoke to me today as I struggle with the choices being made by one of my children:

“A Mother and Her Masks” is a beautiful look through the eyes of the prodigal son’s mother.

“Unconditional Love Rules” challenges me with this definition of unconditional love:  “Unconditional Love is like invisible ink. While the invisible ink is made visible by heat, another chemical or ultraviolet light, unconditional love is made visible by uncomfortable situations resulting in pain, disappointment, anger from another’s behavior.”

A Flurry of Fabulous Posts:

If you’ve yet signed up to receive Karen Ehman’s 5-day series “From Chaos to Calm: The LET. IT. GO. Christmas Challenge,” I can’t recommend it enough! SO wise. SO practical. SO needed for this (recovering) control freak!

Mary from Giving Up on Perfect listed “I Hate What Pinterest Has Done to Blogging” in her round-up last weekend, and it just made me laugh and laugh and laugh!  I shared it with Kathi Lipp, and now she’s running a hilarious #notreadyforpinterest photo contest.

Love, love, LOVE my oh-so-real friend Adelle Gabrielson for “Being Real, Telling the Truth and Facing the Consequences.”  Sure wish I could be at the retreat she’s speaking for this weekend...and can’t wait to hear all about it!

I was so thrilled that e-Mom has brought back Marriage Monday and kicked it off with the topic “Gender Differences in Christian Marriage.” She is a wise Titus 2 woman with wonderful insights and humor!

I couldn’t resist Seth Godin’s title “I Know What You Should Do,” and I’m glad I read it. Great reality check...in all areas of life.

Last, but not least, two of my favorite marriage bloggers wrote on similar themes:  

Kathi Lipp’s “An Open Letter to my Friends who Talk Bad About Their Husbands: Why I Love You, But Can’t Hang Out with You Anymore” caused quite the flurry of responses when she posted it to her blog and an exponential number when MOPS International published it as part of their weekly newsletter!  

And in “The Genders Shouldn’t Be at War” Sheila Wray Gregoire challenges women to pledge not to badmouth men.

Your Turn:

• What blog posts have you read this week that you especially enjoyed?

• What topics tend to grab your interest? 

• Anything else on your heart!

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