tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62109136202065443832024-03-13T09:38:13.737-07:00Jessica Snell's blog - where I talk about faith, family, and fiction - Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.comBlogger1673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-29004236610837680872019-01-31T20:59:00.002-08:002019-01-31T20:59:53.013-08:00Recent Publications<span style="font-size: large;">Well, <i>sort of recent</i> publications! Sorry for being so tardy, but I thought I should at least make sure they were linked here, at the blog-of-record.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This past December, I was delighted to get to write about Advent both at <a href="https://ftc.co/">For the Church</a> and at <a href="http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/">The Advent Project</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At For the Church, I wrote an article called <a href="https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/advent-two-kinds-of-waiting-at-once">"Advent: Two Kinds of Waiting at Once."</a> Here's a snippet:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">...what if there was a judge who could mete out justice—punishment and reward alike—with no ugliness and no error? A judge who would hear the cries of the hungry, see the sorrow of the oppressed, and heed the pleas of the downtrodden? And not only heed them, but rectify them? What if there was a judge who could <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit;">make all things right</em>?<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That is what we long for; that is what we hope for. And, in Advent, that is what we affirm that we eagerly expect.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At Biola University's Advent Project, I wrote <a href="http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/#day-dec-26">a devotional about Anna and Simeon</a>. Here's a taste of it:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: adelle, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rejoice in the kindness of the Lord, who did not leave us alone in our loneliness and our damnation and our fear, but became one of us, the greatest making Himself the smallest, the Creator becoming a child who could be wrapped in blankets, who could be circumcised, who could be held in His mother’s arms, who could be delighted over by the widow, who could be seen by the prophet.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Even though it's a bit late for Advent reading, I hope you'll take a peek at these articles. It might not be Advent anymore, but it's never a bad time to revisit the wonderful news that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to earth to save us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you had a good Advent, a wonderful Christmas, and that you're enjoying a blessed Epiphany!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">-Jessica Snell </span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-6933526141969163772018-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:002018-11-13T09:53:54.289-08:00Recent Publications: "Paperback Christmas" and "The Health of the Heart"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hi folks - </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I wanted to let you know about a few recent publications of mine!</span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611599822/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1611599822&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=54929a2e8f009757718ee8e8120c8035" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1611599822&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1611599822" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The first is an essay, "Paperback Christmas," which appears in the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611599822/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1611599822&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=0dcb8d20743600966e8cae5e0ce7d4ae">The Wonder of Christmas</a>. </i>My essay is about books and family, two of my very favorite things, and so I hope you'll pick up a copy and take a look!</span><br />
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</span> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KCJDZR2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07KCJDZR2&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=d0e72e55ef3b7ce731de856a1ea69729" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=B07KCJDZR2&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B07KCJDZR2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The second is a short story, "The Health of the Heart," which appears in this month's issue of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KCJDZR2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07KCJDZR2&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=92b8148dd3f2e21116c307360ab647b5">Spark</a>. </i>I had a lot of fun with this one. It's a flash fiction romance piece about a doctor and a hospital volunteer--and one rather lovely therapy dog. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(And me being me, there is also some nerdiness in there--I was in the middle of reading <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143127748/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143127748&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=b89688222812c9ca221814ac0922a732">The Body Keeps Score</a></i> when I wrote it, and so the plot revolves around some interesting medical and psychological theories about trauma and healing.)</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Anyway, <i>Spark</i> is a great magazine chock-a-block with short, intense, uplifting fiction, so pick up a copy and let me know what you think!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Jessica Snell</span></span><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i><br />
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</iframe>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-25228781141325076022018-11-11T11:54:00.000-08:002018-11-11T11:54:13.899-08:00Sunday Reading Links!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3IpucE9jE4DFpoR2bmbnesgsRUTgekRetao8mTAkgN7ZZGxwjz77lpbK-GlWcxkrhT8KF1N7R8vpbIHvEu5Z5SKV2GKYYD7gMB1IPpjBRMDAh_FYzyLw-6-llyAchTYJFkGH1Cc7mSHL/s1600/IMG_20180715_105905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3IpucE9jE4DFpoR2bmbnesgsRUTgekRetao8mTAkgN7ZZGxwjz77lpbK-GlWcxkrhT8KF1N7R8vpbIHvEu5Z5SKV2GKYYD7gMB1IPpjBRMDAh_FYzyLw-6-llyAchTYJFkGH1Cc7mSHL/s400/IMG_20180715_105905.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Sunday to you! Here are some good links for your weekend reading pleasure:</span></b><br />
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-"<a href="https://www.challies.com/articles/think-of-the-end-to-motivate-the-action/">Think of the End to Motivate the Action</a>"--short and simple, but oh-so-good-and-true.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://mereorthodoxy.com/biola-masters-arts-classical-theology/">A New Kind of Theological Master's Degree</a>"--My reaction to this in a nutshell? <i>OhNoYouGuysIMightHaveToGoBackToSchool</i>. (Um, seriously. I'm a little disturbed at how much I want to do this.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">-"<a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/counterpoint_reading">Counterpoint Reading</a>"--a cool reading strategy.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/a_cold_take_on_the_kavanaugh_debacle">A Cold Take on the Kavanaugh Debacle"</a>--I really, really liked this.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2018/10/17/at-the-name-of-jesus-everyone-will-be-embarrassed/">At the Name of Jesus Everyone Will Be Embarrassed</a>"--and I really, really <i>loved</i> this. Anne's advice about just deciding to regularly open your mouth with a blessing, till it becomes habit and you're just regularly talking to everyone you meet about Jesus, is...quite possibly life-changing. Thanks, Anne.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/fear-tempts-quit/">When Fear Tempts You to Quit</a>"--I can't even pretend to this level of faith, but I am challenged and even encouraged by it.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/simcha-fisher-learning-to-pray-again/">Learning to Pray Again</a>"--okay, so this is very Roman Catholic, and I'd quibble with her theology of the Eucharist somewhat, but...this is so worth reading, guys. I think she's very right about bringing your actual self to the Lord in prayer, and not the self you think He wants to see. Great reminder.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(And for more links and quotations and such than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration-line: none;">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">That's it for this week! I hope you had a good weekend!</span></span><br />
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Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<br />Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-91576785668711548162018-10-15T12:24:00.001-07:002018-10-15T12:24:15.937-07:00Monday Links!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZuiR4LSOzMaJe1bR4T0HImVrUXZTlDYrm9AU1d-m2lsuyH2nEiQX14bDen-vy0qZPZ7TjhgpnoxmeNLLnBSVcQOimkfdmOxZxZsPj8rDWCzrUSF7P7xGsbH4Tv70TNMF__t71W9gO9TL/s1600/flowers+%2526+windows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1213" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZuiR4LSOzMaJe1bR4T0HImVrUXZTlDYrm9AU1d-m2lsuyH2nEiQX14bDen-vy0qZPZ7TjhgpnoxmeNLLnBSVcQOimkfdmOxZxZsPj8rDWCzrUSF7P7xGsbH4Tv70TNMF__t71W9gO9TL/s400/flowers+%2526+windows.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, I missed the weekend, so here are links to some good reading for your Monday!</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-From Anne Kennedy: <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2018/09/25/girl-go-to-church/">"Girl, Go to Church."</a></span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">-And, speaking of Anne, I love this too: "<a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2018/09/30/trading-ash-for-honey/">Trading Ash for Honey.</a>"</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">-And here is something very good, from Fred Sanders, about a sort-of oblique approach to iconography and the Trinity: <a href="http://scriptoriumdaily.com/the-prepared-throne/">"The Prepared Throne."</a></span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-This is about reading the authors that the authors you love loved to read: <a href="https://austinkleon.com/2018/10/06/climbing-your-own-family-tree/">"Climbing Your Own Family Tree."</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-Emily Hubbard, who I worked with on <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018UQNHTQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B018UQNHTQ&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=bcafa2bc0a7ed1b65e8e67915f2a95d5">Not Alone</a>,</i> wrote this piece on Medium, and I think it's worth signal-boosting: <a href="https://medium.com/@emilyjanehubb/use-accurate-language-when-you-talk-about-people-who-have-experienced-sexual-abuse-or-assault-c06384ffe35d">"Use Accurate Language When You Talk About People Who Have Experienced Sexual Abuse or Assault Please."</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-I love the college students at our parish, and so I loved this article: <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/welcome-college-join-church/">"Welcome to College. Join a Church."</a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-This is so cool: <a href="https://mymodernmet.com/st-cuthbert-gospel-oldest-book/">"Europe's Oldest Intact Book Is Discovered Inside the Coffin of a Saint."</a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-I enjoyed this article:<a href="https://christandpopculture.com/fantasy-vs-reality-through-the-lens-of-to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before/"> "Fantasy vs. Reality through the Lens of <i>To All the Boys I've Loved Before."</i></a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-Ouch: <a href="https://world.wng.org/2018/10/back_to_the_sources">"Back to the Sources: A plagiarism incident involving Ann Voskamp shows the new dynamics of Christian publishing in a digital age."</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>From the Archives</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">-<a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/2007/05/meeting-literary-heroine-robin-jones.html">That time I met one of my literary heroines, Robin Jones Gunn.</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">-<a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/2007/05/ha-it-was-good-monday.html">And the difference meeting her ended up making in my writing life</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(And for more links and quotations and such than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration-line: none;">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">That's it for this week! I hope you had a good weekend!</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Peace of Christ to you,</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jessica Snell</span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-54321892207691372002018-10-05T10:37:00.002-07:002018-10-05T10:41:51.215-07:00Book Notes: "One Beautiful Dream," by Jennifer Fulwiler <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310349745/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0310349745&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=d243fdd27df659465098b91cc37a2b1d" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0310349745&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0310349745" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, this is a book I <i>gulped </i>down. Jennifer Fulwiler’s writing voice is so good—if this was fiction, you’d call her a compelling protagonist, one you’re rooting for, and one who makes you want to know what’s going to happen next.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(On that note, may I just say, <i>Wow, I miss Jen’s blog! </i>I was a fan of it over a decade ago, and I’m sure she’s doing wonderful things on her radio show now, and she’s clearly still writing glorious books, but…I miss her blog. It just has to be said.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, what is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310349745/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0310349745&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=d5a8240259ce473b58c55f5441b381ad">One Beautiful Dream</a> about? It’s about fulfilling a creative vocation while mothering a whole passel of kids. Which totally makes it what you'd call “relevant to my interests.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In it, Jennifer tells the story of writing <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-notes-something-other-than-god-by.html?m=0">her first book</a>, while not just mothering the kids she had, but gestating and giving birth to a few more. It’s about how she learned to stop treating <u>her vocation as a mother</u> as if it were an enemy of <u>her vocation as a writer</u>—as if in order to make room for her writing, her mothering vocation had to be the lion she held back with a whip and a chair.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I really love this bit, which I think sums up a lot of what the book’s about:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There is a tendency with anyone who loves any kind of work to fantasize that if you just had endless time for it, you’d be able to achieve perfection in this field. Yet what I’d discovered is that when you put love first, not only does your life improve, but your work improves…In my case, I faced interruption after interruption in my house full of babies. And, in the process, I finally learned how to write a book.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is, like all good memoirs, a story that spends time on details that support the theme, and elides past those that don’t. For instance, from my experience as a NICU mom, I’m sure that a whole book could have been written about Jennifer’s experience of having a baby in the NICU, yet she only spends a short span of pages there.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And that’s okay, because that’s not what this particular book is about…but little spaces like that make me realize how much I’d like, someday, to read about the bits that happened in the spaces.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>If </i>she ever feels like writing those books, that is. Jennifer’s an author I’d trust to decide when and where to tell which stories--no author should feel pressure to write the things she doesn't want to write.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But all I have to say is: at this point, I’m here to read whatever books she feels like writing. I definitely recommend this book.</span></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Jessica Snell</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i></span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=homethrothe01-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0310349745&asins=0310349745&linkId=322f6cf135f827bab7eb37eb898f85f5&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"><br />
</iframe>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-33409434791982768952018-10-01T09:35:00.000-07:002018-10-01T09:41:39.696-07:00Anxiety and a Rule of Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_7Wwo0m8GCFj-g83EGCIX6f65diN4JMA7nIAzjh9ykFOPAmVRMn9IOu8fdBlQNDd81q_xOUXf8qC1DsOUudF1x9qSbYwgjAbk1_jdWzY7VVw7FZ7yy882gVDJIdRx1IukTs28fHdcOib/s1600/Anxiety+and+a+Rule+of+Life.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_7Wwo0m8GCFj-g83EGCIX6f65diN4JMA7nIAzjh9ykFOPAmVRMn9IOu8fdBlQNDd81q_xOUXf8qC1DsOUudF1x9qSbYwgjAbk1_jdWzY7VVw7FZ7yy882gVDJIdRx1IukTs28fHdcOib/s400/Anxiety+and+a+Rule+of+Life.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my second post about writing a Rule of Life, I talked about <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/2017/11/discerning-need-for-rule-of-life.html">discerning the need for a Rule</a>, and in my third, I talked about <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/2017/12/keeping-track-of-what-youre-already.html">keeping track of what I was already doing</a>. At the end of that third post, I implied that my next post was going to be about the prayer retreat where I wrote the first draft of my Rule.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I’m going to take a one-post diversion away from that sequence, because there’s something else I want to talk about first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I want to talk about how having a Rule of Life has helped me with my anxiety. *</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the best things having a Rule of Life has done for me is that it has let me make big decisions from a place of rest and peace—and that has helped me make good decisions on the smaller stuff, even when I’m in a place of worry and exhaustion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By taking the time to pray through my schedule and my responsibilities, I was able to decide what my days and my weeks should look like. What was most important? What did I want to do, for sure, every day? What came after that? When was the right time of day for each activity? And, what was my plan for days that weren’t normal—days when things went wrong? What was I going to do when someone got sick or a friend or family member needed me?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I thought through all of that, and I prayed through all of that, on my retreat. I made those decisions in a place of peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And it has made all the difference on the days when I've felt crowded and anxious and in the dark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What was the key? <b><i>Trusting </i>the decisions I made in peace.</b> On days when I'm anxious, I can tell myself, “I know you think the world is ending. I know you think this is a disaster. I know you think nothing can ever be right again. But we’re not listening to you right now”— (yes, I know, apparently when I talk to myself I either think I’m plural or I’m using the royal we) —“right now, <i>we are going to do what we already decided we’re going to do.</i> We’re not changing the plan because you feel awful. We’re just going to do the next right thing.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And—this is the brilliant part—<i>I knew what the next right thing was!!!</i> I’d already prayed about it. I’d already held my thoughts and desires before the Lord, I’d meditated on His word, I’d prayed and listened and thought it all through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I let my peaceful self make the decisions. And that kept my anxious self from having to bear that burden.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You know that old truism that you only have so much will-power during a given day? A Rule of Life means you only have one decision to make: <i>Am I going to follow my Rule or not?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Life-changing, guys. It’s been life-changing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Does that mean I never make tweaks or small adjustments? Of course not! I am still a mom, and not a monk. I can look at a given situation and say, “Yeah, the wise thing to do now is toss the plan and just sit and listen to this kid.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, honestly, even that kind of thing is something I thought about while making my Rule. My duty is first to God, and then to my husband and kids. Then other duties follow. So if my family is in need, that’s the kind of thing that takes priority. (You do have to have some kind of flexibility. I said that I’m a mom and not a monk—but even monks are monks and not robots.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still, even with the un-eveness of daily life, having a structure to my days has been life-changing, and it’s been especially life-changing on the days when I’m feeling anxious. I tend to make bad decisions when I’m anxious. I make decisions that make my world smaller and scarier and harder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, having a Rule that has already made a good deal of my daily decisions for me? Has kept my bad days from making my whole life bad. Because if I have a terrible day in which I still know what my duty is and I still do it, that means that when I start my next day—which might be a good one!—I don’t have any awful messes to clean up. I haven’t fallen horribly behind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And instead of feeling angry at my yesterday’s-self, I feel grateful to her. She had a hard time, and she kept going anyway, because she wasn’t confused about what the right thing to do was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Rule is a guide-line. Even if you’re blind-folded, you can keep your hand on it and keep walking in the right direction. You might walk more slowly, but at least you won’t be walking in circles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And when you’re able to take the blindfold off, you’ll know where you are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am so grateful for my Rule of Life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">* Important note: Clinical anxiety is something that deserves clinical treatment. I have sought help from my doctor and from a psychologist in the past, when my anxiety actually was that acute, and I’m glad that I did. I’d encourage you to do the same, if yours is serious. I’m not talking about serious, diagnosable anxiety in this post. Having a Rule is a tool that you might use in that case—as I do myself!—but I would not look to a Rule as a cure or as sufficient if you’re in the middle of, say, panic attacks. Please seek professional help if you need it—it’s there for that reason, and it’s a great blessing—much along the lines of the availability of insulin for diabetics and eye surgery for cataracts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Also, it should go without saying, but: I am not a medical professional and nothing in here is medical advice.)</span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-55640315536094976182018-09-23T15:41:00.000-07:002018-09-23T15:41:51.985-07:00Links!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrSudT7h5X79iz4I-RZssoOjCql5K7vm_lksycuK9FT0j73MltCe46d0zvOYUrvPnRCLj758xjpbHqkzCTaIuADiZcEJDBW_pZ0HxXLy6_1YHZxzKRHld03YhMxyskALgROU7uHxNVWO5/s1600/open+bloom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrSudT7h5X79iz4I-RZssoOjCql5K7vm_lksycuK9FT0j73MltCe46d0zvOYUrvPnRCLj758xjpbHqkzCTaIuADiZcEJDBW_pZ0HxXLy6_1YHZxzKRHld03YhMxyskALgROU7uHxNVWO5/s400/open+bloom.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are links to some good reading, for what's left of your weekend:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/sperm-count-zero">Sperm Count Zero</a>"--well, this is sobering.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-While we're on "sobering," here are a few recent articles about sad happenings in the Christian writing community:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> -"<a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/77877-sexual-harassment-uncovered-at-christian-writing-conferences.html">Sexual Harassment Uncovered at Christian Writing Conferences</a>"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> -"<a href="https://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/cheap-grace/">Cheap Grace</a>"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> -<a href="http://speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/twelve-responses-abuse-accusations-christian-conferences-part-1/">"Twelve Responses to Abuse Accusations in Christian Conferences, Part I"</a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-Now for something encouraging: "<a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/5-lessons-evangelism-ichabod/">5 Lessons on Evangelism from a Man Named Ichabod</a>"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">-"<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/frasier-25th-anniversary-oral-history">Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs: An Oral History of </a><i><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/frasier-25th-anniversary-oral-history">Fraiser</a>"--</i>as a fan of the show, I really enjoyed reading this.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(And for more links and quotations and such than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell" style="color: #7c93a1;">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's it for this week! I hope you had a good weekend!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Peace of Christ to you,</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-61494931850636324552018-09-03T18:43:00.000-07:002018-09-03T20:42:53.296-07:00Links for Labor Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMX4_iMupSK7ntG0bNq13ikGbyHFN0DTHucSMDYIP8ZJ_w-7bGHKzrlSNtQcnDkYlJnVIl1mklDRLWWP8gtHCMcdze1_0e01_cN5HEEUB9v0D4d-rNkzIaPJsbDzJOx8c5hJOJumZ-POhp/s1600/constable+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1214" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMX4_iMupSK7ntG0bNq13ikGbyHFN0DTHucSMDYIP8ZJ_w-7bGHKzrlSNtQcnDkYlJnVIl1mklDRLWWP8gtHCMcdze1_0e01_cN5HEEUB9v0D4d-rNkzIaPJsbDzJOx8c5hJOJumZ-POhp/s400/constable+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here are links to some good reading and listening, for what's left of your weekend:</span></b><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-<a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180822-the-birth-control-pill-can-have-male-side-effects">"The Strange Truth About the Pill"</a> - this article from the BBC has been making the rounds, and it's well-worth the read.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-<a href="http://anglicanpastor.com/i-dont-want-a-celebration-of-life-i-want-a-burial-service/">"I Don't Want a Celebration of Life, I Want a Burial Service"</a> - a friend from our parish posted this to his Facebook page, and I really liked it.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z-RtRI9FMI&t=24s">"What Should We Make of the Sign Gifts?"</a> - I loved this--so sensible, and Biblically-grounded. (And neither hard cessationist nor extreme charismatic. Very thoughtful, and worth listening to, whichever side of the debate you're on.) </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-<a href="https://www.acelamirada.org/sermons/2018/8/19/august-19-2018">And here is a very, very good sermon on wisdom, discernment, and growing in maturity.</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">-<a href="https://kellybarnhill.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/on-wildness-cracked-worlds-monsters-and-the-odd-nature-of-the-short-story/">"On Wildness, Cracked Worlds, Monsters, and the Odd Nature of the Short Story"</a> - this one is for my fellow writers out there, though I think the vibrancy of it will appeal to any reader. Also, this part seems like good advice for...many, many things:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "lato" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">“Here’s my theory on trail maintenance,” he said to us over and over again. “You take the worst stretch of trail, and you turn it into the best.” It was good advice, as it turns out.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">(And for more links than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration-line: none;">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">That's it for this week! I hope you had a good Labor Day weekend!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Jessica Snell</span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-38763080007450562772018-08-31T09:21:00.001-07:002018-09-04T10:58:52.616-07:007 Quick Takes on kids using the internet <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNo4j0V8Z7X69vjHE2uAKoRw-BH_lcCmHa0GaGWsewK4w21Thfq5tZu_Bj51bXjprTwzsszxGhEWfK4WfQBrUwGcXz2nWcHa5H4QHjlgk-dPkwzxhyphenhyphen7oZdte_Ps-v4Az80LVghyYVDm361/s1600/fountain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNo4j0V8Z7X69vjHE2uAKoRw-BH_lcCmHa0GaGWsewK4w21Thfq5tZu_Bj51bXjprTwzsszxGhEWfK4WfQBrUwGcXz2nWcHa5H4QHjlgk-dPkwzxhyphenhyphen7oZdte_Ps-v4Az80LVghyYVDm361/s400/fountain.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a cesspool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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One of my children is a teenager, and the rest of them will be soon, and so we've started dealing with introducing our kids to the email, social media, and all the rest of the internet.<br />
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But...only one of my children is a teenager, I've raised a grand total of ZERO children to adulthood, so I can't point to any success stories here--not yet, anyway.<br />
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So this blog post is very much in the vein of Some Thoughts On the Subject, and emphatically NOT in the great writerly tradition of Do As I Have Successfully Done.<br />
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Here my thoughts:<br />
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<h3>
1) <u>Proper online behavior/use of the internet IS a skill we have to teach our children.</u> </h3>
I have to start here because, well...this is a parenting task I really don't want to do! But the internet is a technology my kids are going to have to use--actually, are already required to use for school. I'm old enough that my parents didn't have to teach me about this stuff when I was a kid--I didn't even get my first email address until I was in college. So I don't have a model to look at.<br />
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But I do have to teach <i>my </i>kids about this stuff. They're going to have to use it, and would I rather have them learn about it from me or from the world? Yeah.<br />
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<h3>
2) <u>Given that you have to teach them to use it, it's worth thinking through how you're going to teach them to use it well. </u></h3>
This is likely going to look a bit different from family to family, given different personalities and resources. But, you've got to look at your kids and think, <i>If you're going to use this, how can we help you learn to use this well? if this is something you HAVE to do... who do you need to be in order to do it virtuously? how can we help you become that person?</i><br />
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</i><br />
<h3>
3) <u>Rules are necessary. </u></h3>
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I mean...there might be a sewer near your house, but you don't let your kid swim in it, right? Likewise, there are cesspools out there on the internet (and cesspools within those cesspools , and cesspools that pretend to be swimming pools, and cesspools that pride themselves in being the STINKIEST CESSPOOL EVER HAVE YOU SEEN OUR CESSPOOL PICTURES JUST CLICK HERE).<br />
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So, no. I don't think you hand your kid a computer and say, "Good luck, champ." You don't abandon them in the middle of the internet any more than you'd abandon them in the middle of a freeway.<br />
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<u>On the other hand, they're going to be adults soon, and then they WILL have to navigate online spaces on their own, so you want them to learn good habits now.</u> (They will eventually be driving on those freeways. Which is good. That's what freeways are <i>for.) </i><b>The end-game of parenting is adulthood.</b> You want to protect your kids <i>while</i> they're kids, but you don't want to protect them from growing up. You want to help them become <i>good </i>grown-ups.<br />
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And while our kids will be able to make all their own choices as adults, and it's not unlikely that they'll fall into bad habits and choices somewhere along the way, I think <b>they've got <i>much better chances</i> of finally settling into good habits and good choices if they've already got a baseline of what good habits and good choices <i>feel like.</i></b> Of what it's like to live virtuously--of the joy and the light and the peace that good habits and good choices can bring.<br />
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So, I want to help them practice good habits now, while I can enforce them. Not because I think that guarantees that they'll be perfect adults. But because I think <b>experiencing goodness is one of the best ways to learn to love goodness</b>--and, when you've fallen away from goodness, you still have that memory, that experience, that will help keep you from denying that goodness is possible.<br />
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<h3>
4) <u>Teach it like you'd teach anything else: thoughtful introduction, plenty of practice, growing freedom, and keeping the end in mind.</u> </h3>
Again, this will look a bit different for each family, and maybe even for each kid. But help them learn how to use email, search engines, social media, etc., just like you'll help them learn how to balance a checkbook. Have their passwords, not because you want to impinge on their privacy, but because they're kids, and knowing Mom and Dad are gonna do random checks to make sure everything looks okay will prompt better choices. (And because, frankly, you're still legally responsible for them, so it's just prudent.) <b>Realize you can't police everything, but don't abandon them.</b><br />
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And don't be an idiot--"screens stay in the public areas of the house" is probably the oldest parenting rule in this new online world, but it's still one of the smartest.<br />
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<h3>
5)<u> Talk to them about porn, privacy, and predators. </u></h3>
There are plenty of people who've given good advice on these things, so I won't elaborate much here--just enough to say: teaching kids basic common sense about these things is a good idea. Being a parent who they can talk with openly about these things might be an even better one.<br />
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<h3>
6) <u>Don't be a hypocrite.</u> </h3>
Use the internet wisely and virtuously yourself.<br />
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<h3>
7) <u>Slowly give more freedom. </u></h3>
This has to come as the capstone on building good habits.<br />
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Alright, so, that's about as far as I've gotten on this one. We're still definitely in the trial-and-error stage. You have to have a plan, if only so you have a place to start. The good thing about plans is that they can be adjusted as you go--most robust systems go through multiple iterations. That's fine.<br />
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But it's good to think about things like this--good to start <i>somewhere</i>.<br />
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Check out more and better Quick Takes over at <a href="https://thisaintthelyceum.org/sqt-piano-party-and-school-prep-without-pep/">This Ain't the Lyceum</a>.<br />
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Peace of Christ to you,<br />
Jessica Snell<br />
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*Note: If a technology is such that it can't be used virtuously, of course you don't teach your kids how to use it. And I'd probably argue some such technologies exist. But I'd also argue that the internet is more like the printing press--using books and computers (i.e., creating a certain sort of literate/connected society) is going to be formative in a certain way, but they're still both technologies capable of being used for both good and for evil.Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-23728574809861925972018-08-29T11:18:00.000-07:002018-08-29T11:18:30.709-07:00spreading out the bad news (Hezekiah and prayer)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3VONArWbY9t307AKZMGabrVmPENXp0zJuZr3M-1R-LmXJgKXuenmbjDvhDQ8a04ewJgCJ18urmE1b_goPGUnWJJa69NF-SDUulmFWj2RYjneFMSUVF73XOS_thW-d54xIoXSQMlNyWkP/s1600/Goliath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="841" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3VONArWbY9t307AKZMGabrVmPENXp0zJuZr3M-1R-LmXJgKXuenmbjDvhDQ8a04ewJgCJ18urmE1b_goPGUnWJJa69NF-SDUulmFWj2RYjneFMSUVF73XOS_thW-d54xIoXSQMlNyWkP/s400/Goliath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I love the Old Testament. Partly because it has such great stories about prayer. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></span><span style="background-color: white;">Here's one that struck me lately, in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah+37&version=ESV">Isaiah 37</a>.* Jerusalem is under threat from the Assyrians, who've been striking down their enemies right and left. Destroying everyone. Winning every battle. Terrifying their enemies.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;">And then Hezekiah, the king in Jerusalem, receives a letter from the Assyrians, talking about all the people they've destroyed, and about how Jerusalem is next, and so <i>don't think your God can save you.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><br />
</i></span> <span style="background-color: white;">Hezekiah, true son of David that he is, knows that the enemies of God are especially in trouble when they defy God (think Goliath). And so this is what he does:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the </span><span class="small-caps" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white;">, and spread it before the </span><span class="small-caps" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>He takes the bad news, and he spreads it out in front of God.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;">I love that.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;">Hezekiah also (again, true son of David that he is), pleads for God to help for <i>God's own great name's sake.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span> <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="text 2Kgs-19-15" id="en-ESV-10077" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">O <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, the God of Israel, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10077W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10077W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>enthroned above the cherubim, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10077X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10077X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text 2Kgs-19-16" id="en-ESV-10078" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">Incline your ear, O <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, and hear; <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10078Z" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10078Z" title="See cross-reference Z">Z</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>open your eyes, O <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10078AA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10078AA" title="See cross-reference AA">AA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>to mock the living God.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text 2Kgs-19-17" id="en-ESV-10079" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">Truly, O <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text 2Kgs-19-18" id="en-ESV-10080" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10080AB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10080AB" title="See cross-reference AB">AB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text 2Kgs-19-19" id="en-ESV-10081" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">So now, O <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> our God, save us, please, from his hand, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10081AC" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10081AC" title="See cross-reference AC">AC</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-10081AD" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-10081AD" title="See cross-reference AD">AD</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>you, O <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, are God alone.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You and I are not Hezekiah. But we do follow the even greater, even truer Son of David. And I think that when we get bad news, Hezekiah's example is not a bad one to follow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;">We are also not God, and so we don't know which outcomes will most glorify His great name--maybe what we ask for isn't what He wants. (To quote another good example, <i><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+3%3A17-18&version=ESV">"But if not..."</a></i>) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>But we <i>are</i> God's people, and so when we get bad news, we can spread it before Him, and beg Him for His help.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;">And we can trust in Him who alone can save us.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Peace of Christ to you,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="background-color: white;">*The story is also recorded in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+19&version=ESV">2 Kings 19</a>.</span></span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-82429245045788026962018-08-25T19:20:00.000-07:002018-08-25T19:20:02.556-07:00linky-linky links!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWk1IZQT3qZjnUcd-Ha1lxW8ouPAoatoTIa57kXlSmkd0wnAeGhpZHpztC-J6OFtZM2WbhpomjjOMtg_ztbPa4eDZWGB7jvtfXQCPxIexcM67cByZDSkir-WrZFP5r1UhkuSk_JJBTA09/s1600/flowers+%2526+windows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1213" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWk1IZQT3qZjnUcd-Ha1lxW8ouPAoatoTIa57kXlSmkd0wnAeGhpZHpztC-J6OFtZM2WbhpomjjOMtg_ztbPa4eDZWGB7jvtfXQCPxIexcM67cByZDSkir-WrZFP5r1UhkuSk_JJBTA09/s400/flowers+%2526+windows.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are links to some good reading and watching, for what's left of your weekend:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">-God always pouring himself out: <a href="http://scriptoriumdaily.com/well-spring-of-salvation-maclaren-on-isaiah/">"Well-Spring of Salvation."</a></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-I really enjoyed this video on <a href="https://alastairadversaria.com/2018/05/16/video-a-biblical-theology-of-the-household/">"A Biblical Theology of the Household."</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-Likewise, I enjoyed this article by a man who "eavesdropped on a saint"--i.e., learned about prayer from one of the little old ladies in his church: <a href="http://gcdiscipleship.com/2018/06/03/lessons-from-a-prayer-warrior/">"Lessons from a Prayer Warrior."</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-Nifty! <a href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/flower-arrangement-hacks-257832">"5 Hacks That Make Flowers Look More Expensive." </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">-Um, so I truly want to put at least half of these hacks into practice in my own kitchen: </span><a href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/real-life-remodel-all-the-ways-hidden-cabinet-hacks-dramatically-increased-my-kitchen-storage-234828" style="font-size: x-large;">"Here's How Hidden Cabinet Hacks Dramatically Increased My Cabinet Storage"</a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-Mmmm...sleeeeeeeeeep.... <a href="https://www.popsci.com/how-many-hours-sleep-do-you-actually-need">"How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Actually Need?"</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222325; font-family: "gotham a" , "gotham b" , , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">(And for more links than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration-line: none;">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">That's it for this week! I hope you have a restful Sunday.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
<br />Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-23964675970693042192018-08-21T11:50:00.001-07:002018-08-21T12:47:46.696-07:00"The Newest Love"--a new short story at Spark magazine<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GC4RNSF/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07GC4RNSF&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=ceba2733e9d184ada615a3a09fdbc8fb" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=B07GC4RNSF&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B07GC4RNSF" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hi folks!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">I'm happy to announce that I have a story in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GC4RNSF/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07GC4RNSF&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=e9fdfbea14e289c5bf6beeaac2486553">the latest issue of <i>Spark</i> magazine</a>! It's a flash fiction romance piece titled "The Newest Love," and it's set in a NICU. (Hey, love can happen in the stressful places as well as the relaxing places!)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And, I have to admit, as a writer, I am more than a tiny bit thrilled to see that not only did my story make the cover (!), but it also is the very first story in the magazine (!!!).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Hope you'll check it out; these days, a collection of short, cheerful love stories might be just what the doctor called for--an antidote to all the grim headlines.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Jessica Snell</span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=homethrothe01-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07GC4RNSF&asins=B07GC4RNSF&linkId=8d232d405366ccece3215a30c05b41e4&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"><br />
</iframe>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-13796750764399859042018-08-18T19:46:00.001-07:002018-08-18T19:46:41.746-07:00a few recent publications: "The Miracle of Love" and "The Life-Changing Magic of Volunteering at Church"<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611599806/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1611599806&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=30a8f9543309b50704c7be45d951fd00" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1611599806&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1611599806" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><span style="font-size: large;">Hi folks! I haven't been around here much lately (though <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell">I've been posting a fair bit on Twitter</a>), but I wanted to stop by and let you know about a few things I've written lately.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">The first is a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul's new book, <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611599806/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1611599806&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=dfeaa34169bdf2389cfbca313786b916">The Miracle of Love</a></u>. And...my story is also the <i>first story</i> in the book! It was a thrill to get my author copies, open up the book, and see my name on the first page!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">The second is a blog post: a little while ago, I got to guest-blog for the lovely and talented Anne Kennedy. You can read my essay, <i><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2018/06/17/the-life-changing-magic-of-volunteering-at-church/">The Life-Changing Magic of Volunteering at Church</a></i>, over at her blog <i><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/">Preventing Grace</a>. </i>Here's a small snippet, to whet your appetite:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s6" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "vollkorn" , "palatino" , "georgia" , serif;">Volunteering at church will change your life, but I</span><span class="s6" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "vollkorn" , "palatino" , "georgia" , serif;">’m not writing this as a how-to article. I am writing it as a testimony. What I have found in these last five years of service is precious, and I want to share it with other Christians who might be looking for what I was looking for: a way to really feel at home in the church, a way to really get to know their fellow believers. </span><span class="s6" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "vollkorn" , "palatino" , "georgia" , serif;">A way to belong.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm busy with a few other things I'm hoping to post here soon, including the continuation of <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/search/label/rhythm%20of%20our%20days">my series on writing a Rule of Life.</a> (The truth is: my own Rule has dictated that my time be spent places other than this blog for the past few months. But that looks to be changing soon!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you have a good Saturday, and an even better Sunday, full of rest and worship!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Jessica Snell</span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=homethrothe01-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1611599806&asins=1611599806&linkId=a569f925d735f3a26ac1a2db049b910f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"><br />
</iframe>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-66464952687363103122018-05-29T11:24:00.000-07:002018-05-29T11:37:33.288-07:00Regular Meals--at Home, and at Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomWK5ehjitYG3IWyuigat4d2dTk4lMXpGxZemG8nLB2-f1edCSBkJrJ1o5JeijQg2vWgOEKCPudJsF-uSOOe67O_KB2Pmw4g6OpaBD1bfQlzrPPQ4BnznW-i9dC_TCyCCCMY1KpydGIBD/s1600/promised+land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="841" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomWK5ehjitYG3IWyuigat4d2dTk4lMXpGxZemG8nLB2-f1edCSBkJrJ1o5JeijQg2vWgOEKCPudJsF-uSOOe67O_KB2Pmw4g6OpaBD1bfQlzrPPQ4BnznW-i9dC_TCyCCCMY1KpydGIBD/s400/promised+land.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">This past week, a pair of things happened that made me sit up and take notice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">They were a pair of meals: one was a family meal, and one was a meal at church.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Both meals stood out because of their delightfulness. They were both normal meals in most outward respects--normal in that they were the meals we all expected to have, with the people with whom we expected to have them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">But they both seemed to have a bit of something extra. At the family meal, everyone was just a bit happier than usual. The conversation, usually good, was even better. The food, also usually good, was amazing. The smiles and laughter, usually plentiful, seemed to overflow.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">At church, it was Trinity Sunday. The sermon, usually good, seemed to strike at the heart even more deeply. The music, also usually good, was even more moving. The eucharistic meal we shared, always a fearful joy, felt even more meaningful.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <b><span style="font-size: large;">The Normal and the Good</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Experiencing these two very good meals, the one following closely on the other, made me think: <i>The only way to have <u>very</u> good meals like this sometimes, is to have <u>normal </u>good meals all the time.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">You can't really plan for a normal, regular meal that is better than usual--a normal meal that suddenly lifts up onto a higher plane of happiness and delight. It just happens, sometimes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">But it only really happens when you have normal, regular good meals, well...regularly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Yes, there are things like wedding feasts--meals you <i>expect </i>to be extraordinary, both in fare and in delight. But...those are the exception.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">In day-to-day life, the really good meals happen <i>because </i>the sort-of-okay meals happen. <i>Because</i> you faithfully show up, and prepare food, and listen to the people you love, and clean up afterwards.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Both at home, and at church.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">If you want the extraordinary, you need to be there for the quotidian.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Show up.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Love.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Partake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And then see what happens.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<br />Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-28004207912601318942018-04-29T12:02:00.001-07:002018-04-29T12:02:11.909-07:00 linky linky links<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vttulhmv4AlzgZyC8JIQCaJpS_vO0SCO-4vh6bYSU-OcM40Q2ukvuwKmY8vIZxubL-a6Uk_chObEpdaKnnaz3fI4lDDLJ1eLu5Vt7z0tBYmT8QLXss7MgvDQos_l3FXurawuy1n95TNG/s1600/IMG_2835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vttulhmv4AlzgZyC8JIQCaJpS_vO0SCO-4vh6bYSU-OcM40Q2ukvuwKmY8vIZxubL-a6Uk_chObEpdaKnnaz3fI4lDDLJ1eLu5Vt7z0tBYmT8QLXss7MgvDQos_l3FXurawuy1n95TNG/s400/IMG_2835.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are links to some good reading, for what's left of your weekend:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Starting with this one, which is ridiculous and trainwreck-y. Um, these people are nuts. Bless them, but they're nuts: <a href="https://torontolife.com/real-estate/parkdale-reno-hell/">We Bought a Crack House</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-And this parody of the nutty situation: <a href="https://www.thebeaverton.com/2017/05/bought-3-million-bungalow-full-bats-not-happy-result/">We bought a $3 million bungalow full of bats and were not happy with the result.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-On a more serious note, I appreciated this take on children's literature: <a href="https://redeemedreader.com/welcome-lizard-motel-barbara-feinberg/">Welcome to Lizard Motel</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-The feast of Pentecost is coming up, <a href="http://michellevanloon.com/2017/05/17/shavuot-pentecost-to-learn-to-try-to-eat/">and this article from Michelle Van Loon explains what it is, why it matters, and how to celebrate it</a>!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-I continue to find Jordan Peterson--and the takes on him, pro and con--kinda fascinating. Here are two good ones from Think Theology:<br /><br /> <a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/12_rules_the_review">12 Rules: the Review</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">----and---</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/12_rules_for_jordan_peterson">12 Rules for Jordan Peterson</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(And for more links than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration-line: none;">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">That's it for this week! I hope you have a restful Sunday.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jessica Snell</span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-13255995145167926202018-04-22T13:45:00.000-07:002018-04-22T13:45:41.763-07:00Links!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-zF8DLfz6xXrfLgHdf_9mUfNJc88XgRiGXQhMMuwprcSSAFO8MEt0VuE9Ji2B8vxM7YGZEIauXX2KOTAKKYTF-ZglDKb8Tjf3AXaGQQy-TMSpJz8MIK-79nNVJkIk5yTs7NlTwtnsCm1/s1600/IMG_20180312_111018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-zF8DLfz6xXrfLgHdf_9mUfNJc88XgRiGXQhMMuwprcSSAFO8MEt0VuE9Ji2B8vxM7YGZEIauXX2KOTAKKYTF-ZglDKb8Tjf3AXaGQQy-TMSpJz8MIK-79nNVJkIk5yTs7NlTwtnsCm1/s400/IMG_20180312_111018.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's warm enough in SoCal that the hibiscuses are blooming!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Here are links to some good reading and listening, for what's left of your weekend:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-First, from Anne Kennedy, a message on <a href="https://www.stfrancisinthefields.org/The-Life-Changing-Magic-of-Not-Tidying-Up">The Life-Changing Magic of Not Tidying Up</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-And then, from Fred Sanders, an excellent sermon on <a href="http://scriptoriumdaily.com/christ-alone-sermon/">Christ Alone</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, but I like what Mike Duran has to say in this article about <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/popularity-horror-movies-might-encourage-christians/">Why the Popularity of Horror Movies Might Encourage Christians</a>, especially this bit:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">The popularity of the horror genre may be a collective subconscious affirmation that the world is not the way it's supposed to be.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-Yes, yes, yes to all this: <a href="https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/7-things-i-love-about-liturgical-protestant-worship">7 Things I Love About Liturgical Protestant Worship</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-From Randy Alcorn: <a href="http://www.epm.org/blog/2018/Jan/15/writing-process-advice">My Writing Process, Advice for Aspiring Authors, and Answers to Other Questions About Writing</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-This is deeply, truly important: <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/parents-take-note-spiritual-practices-common-kids-flourish-adults/">Parents, Take Note of the Spiritual Practices Common to Kids Who Flourish as Adults</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(And for more links than I ever manage to post here on the blog, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJessicaSnell">follow me on Twitter!</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That's it for this week! I hope you have a restful Sunday.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<br />Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-26841372950181112312018-02-20T13:18:00.002-08:002018-02-20T13:18:56.593-08:00"Turn and Be Saved": post at Biola University's LENT PROJECT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOydgo65eE9F9bpFpkRhsyvfEKdTw68hj0IWnzC0goRzGntefsIPgOLDH7dStM9VAvBD9U5DySbwiaGbGw2gaoKAB8_MBAjB6_fBRjDfXHOmMmc-l1txnUc69ukf7tkC0aojtOQGgVlwk1/s1600/Lent+Project.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="1317" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOydgo65eE9F9bpFpkRhsyvfEKdTw68hj0IWnzC0goRzGntefsIPgOLDH7dStM9VAvBD9U5DySbwiaGbGw2gaoKAB8_MBAjB6_fBRjDfXHOmMmc-l1txnUc69ukf7tkC0aojtOQGgVlwk1/s400/Lent+Project.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Today I have<a href="http://ccca.biola.edu/lent/#day-feb-20"> a post up at Biola University's LENT PROJECT</a>. Here's a snippet:</span><br />
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</span> <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "adelle" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">This is not abstract: Repent. No, really: repent. Examine yourself. Examine yourself even against the exacting and strict rule found in the scripture, not against the weak virtues of your neighbor. Confess your actual sins to the actual God, and ask for His mercy. Intend to forsake evil and do good. Forsake not just the individual acts, but forsake your </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: adelle, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">habits</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "adelle" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> of sin—that comforting sin you turn to time and again. The one you wrap yourself ‘round in like a blanket, seeking comfort from the cold. Forsake it, and turn to the Lord.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">To read the rest, head over to <a href="http://ccca.biola.edu/lent/#day-feb-20">the LENT PROJECT site</a>!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-22118251521713732862018-02-13T16:21:00.000-08:002018-02-13T16:21:25.578-08:00Book Notes: "Moments and Days" by Michelle Van Loon<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1631464639/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1631464639&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=99cb504d41ed4d5fa3d02d25070308a0" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1631464639&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1631464639" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I read this book in the fall, as the year was curving up towards Advent, but it's also a good read for this time of year, with the long season of Lent lying before us.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1631464639/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1631464639&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=9e040fcef8746260494f0d5e387d0e91">"Moments and Days: How Our Holy Celebrations Shape Our Faith,"</a> is about the Christian liturgical year (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937063828/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937063828&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=0792654054cc9bb3ab768afdf1c252f2">that's my jam!</a>), but it's also about the Jewish liturgical year--and it's about how those two calendars do (and don't) fit together.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I really enjoyed it. As Van Loon comments towards the beginning of the book, "By getting to know the Jewish feasts, we know our Jewish Savior better."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That's probably all the reason you need in order to want to read this book, but I'd add a few others: Van Loon is good at making connections (like the one between the Transfiguration and the Feast of Booths) and she's also just a good writer. I love passages like these:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Much of contemporary evangelicalism has been quick to "put the cookies on the bottom shelf," eschewing the church's history and traditions so that spiritual seekers would feel welcome in our midst. In the process, I wonder if we have gotten used to dining on crumbs. Crumbs may fill us for a moment, but we have been made for eternity; our calendar tells us so.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Or this:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">...I learned (as we all do at some point in our lives) that mourning is a core reality of our earthly existence. We live in a world shaped by the effects of humanity's disconnection from God. That disconnection manifests itself in loss, sickness, and death. Whether it is a generalized awareness of our brokenness or a specific grief after the death of a loved one, Lent interrupts our regularly scheduled lives to reconnect us with the deepest need behind our pain: communion with God.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thoughtful passages like that are interspersed throughout the book, but I don't want to obscure the fact that most of the book is dedicated to information: about the Jewish and Christian liturgical years, how they developed, what they are, and what they mean. It's an information-dense book, in a good way.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Recommended.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i><br />
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<br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=homethrothe01-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1631464639&asins=1631464639&linkId=afb5f86c8806a47fd4411aa7101360d0&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"><br />
</iframe>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-40848258592528697232018-01-13T19:34:00.001-08:002018-01-13T19:34:49.810-08:00links!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeGEr7rFPghWyk4wgmbkIR4ZeO_Jxmhf_z0Ip7NjPxP0Yx0EqqA7zwdgQP775faQYWT1hCw3XRKVHZ3HWXR3qBQl1Bgk1Go-lUeMCV2j_1qD8AkViSTnOsLX690xo-qfFMwmFFo7QtQeO/s1600/dewandrose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="839" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeGEr7rFPghWyk4wgmbkIR4ZeO_Jxmhf_z0Ip7NjPxP0Yx0EqqA7zwdgQP775faQYWT1hCw3XRKVHZ3HWXR3qBQl1Bgk1Go-lUeMCV2j_1qD8AkViSTnOsLX690xo-qfFMwmFFo7QtQeO/s320/dewandrose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Epiphany!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's been such a stupid long time since I've posted a links post--mostly because my December was taken up with a (good and welcome, but time-intensive) freelance editing project.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But--it's Epiphany! and so here's a links post. I hope you enjoy clicking through it, while enjoying a nice cup of tea or cider or coffee or whatever your favorite winter-time drink is.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-<a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2017/12/01/7-takes-nailedit/">It's the first anniversary of <i>Nailed It!</i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-It's fun to see how other people celebrate the church year. <a href="http://www.acontinualfeast.com/2017/12/reflecting-on-our-advent.html">Sarah's post, "Reflecting on Our Advent," </a>is a particularly lovely account of one family's celebration.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-A thoughtful article: <a href="https://christandpopculture.com/harvey-weinstein-and-sexualized-pop-culture-call-for-prophetic-engagement/">"Harvey Weinstein and Sexualized Pop Culture Call for Prophetic Engagement.</a>" Here's a snippet:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: "merriweather" , serif; font-size: large;">Non-Christians may be rightfully outraged at the exposure of anyone’s non-consensual harassment or assault of women. Christians can righteously join them. But we must recall that our Lord, the Creator of sex, has revealed a much higher standard.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">-<a href="https://www.gofugyourself.com/retro-royals-its-queen-elizabeth-and-prince-philips-70th-wedding-anniversary-11-2017">This retrospective on Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, on the occasion of their 70th anniversary</a>, is quite fun. Here's to long marriages!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">-Also just for fun: <a href="https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/debunking-the-myths-about-kilts/">"True Kilts: Debunking the Myths about Highlanders and Clan Tartans."</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">-And I'm a bit late <a href="https://mary-strecker.squarespace.com/journal/2017/11/28/a-resource-guide-to-advent-christmas-and-epiphany-for-anglicans-and-other-christians">linking to this guide for Advent and Christmas, but it also includes a bit of good stuff for Epiphany.</a></span><br />
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Hope you have a wonderful weekend!<br />
Peace of Christ to you,<br />
Jessica SnellJessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-55025675896672460252018-01-04T17:06:00.001-08:002018-01-04T17:18:52.306-08:00Book Notes: "No Moon To Pray To" by Jerry Guern<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1521513759/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1521513759&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=e981a50726ff2cf3017a6f3e60ca2332" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1521513759&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1521513759" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<i>(Note: I first posted this review to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6780612?shelf=currently-reading">my Goodreads account</a>.)</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">TL;DR: This is Dracula in the world of Brother Cadfael. Dark and violent and not for everyone, but I liked it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, here's the longer review:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever read a book that made you feel:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1) I need to give lots of caveats before I recommend this book because, boy! it is NOT for everyone, BUT---</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2) I really want to recommend this book, because there are some people who will LOVE it, and I don't want those people to miss it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1521513759/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1521513759&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=87904e94bd6936b8a3b7da6364791cd6">"No Moon To Pray To"</a> is that kind of book. It's not going to be right for everyone, but I sure hope it finds the audience it's right for, because that audience is going to love it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, what are my caveats?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1) The theology isn't perfect. If I hadn't read a review by a reader I trusted, I would have put it down after the prologue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2) It's violent. Like, very violent. And some of that violence involves children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, to counter those caveats, here are two corresponding notes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1) I don't think the theology is perfect, but I do appreciate that it takes theology seriously. The theology MATTERS in this book, and I love that. (Also, much of the imperfect theology is seen through the eyes of clearly biased and compromised characters. So, it doesn't actually say much, if anything, about the theology of the author.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2) The violence matters to the story, and it never feels like the author loves it or is wallowing in it. It's not voyeuristic. (I almost said it's not creepy, but...vampires are kinda necessarily creepy. "It's not TOLD creepily," might be a better and truer statement.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, with those caveats out of the way, who should read this? Who is that audience who shouldn't miss this book?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">People who love the fantasy genre. People who want to read something that could be described as "Dracula as told in the world of Brother Cadfael." People who like something a little meatier in their speculative fiction. People who like it when novelists take Christianity (or any religion, really) seriously--that is, who think that what people believe actually makes a difference in the real world. Or, better yet, that you can tell what someone believes by what that person does. (At least sometimes. At least a little.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">People who want to read a page-turner. Because, if nothing else, "No Moon To Pray To" is definitely that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I really liked it. I had trouble falling asleep the night I finished it because all the shadows seemed darker and scarier, true, but...I really liked it. Looking forward to seeing what Jerry Guern writes next.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span></div>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i></div>
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Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-57801312623638986902017-12-07T11:25:00.002-08:002017-12-07T11:25:50.742-08:00Keeping Track of What You're Already Doing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwN24zq0CzI1UIZUpbJvyL7yfGYYzaFx73LJM2bbiD3BR1lq2c0JWbWeq82eIQvRJU7X4-yTDS5SB1sYk-ZRq5YJOwJrUlIMwRoyh2A1VpKRfxCgTUMdMKwBXWvON22fOxY7B5KD306FpX/s1600/Keeping+Track.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwN24zq0CzI1UIZUpbJvyL7yfGYYzaFx73LJM2bbiD3BR1lq2c0JWbWeq82eIQvRJU7X4-yTDS5SB1sYk-ZRq5YJOwJrUlIMwRoyh2A1VpKRfxCgTUMdMKwBXWvON22fOxY7B5KD306FpX/s400/Keeping+Track.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><i>This is the third in a series about my experience of writing a Rule of Life. You can read the first two posts in the series <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/search/label/rhythm%20of%20our%20days">here</a>. </i></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Before actually sitting down and writing my Rule of Life, I had to do one thing: I had to figure out what I was already doing with my time. What was the structure of my days currently? How did I spend my hours and weeks now? In other words, I had to know where I was starting before I could figure out where I was going.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Because the truth is: we all already have a Rule of Life.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">We just don’t call it that.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">But we are all living our lives, which means that we are already making decisions about how we use our time and our other resources. Just because you haven’t consciously decided how you’re going to make your decisions doesn’t mean you’re not making decisions. Of course you are—you have to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You’re just not necessarily making the decisions you want to be making.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">So I started tracking my hours.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And here’s where I admit that I cheated. See, I had an advantage when it came to figuring out how to do all this: I know someone who actually teaches about this stuff at a seminary. So I told her what I was doing, and she cheerfully loaded me down with things to read.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Here’s where I have to admit something else. I don’t know if you always read the forwards or dedications or afterwords in the books you pick up, but I do. And there I’ll invariably find a few lines like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to George Eightarms of the Cephalopod Institute for his insights on the mating habits of the octopus. If my undersea zombie apocalypse romance gets anything right, it’s because of his help. However, <b>all mistakes are my own. </b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">My friend was kind enough to point me towards the starting line. However, she is an expert and I am not. As I pointed out at the beginning of this blog series: <i>This is just an accounting of my own experience.</i> I’m just a layperson here. I’m writing this series both for the selfish reason that I find it interesting and also for the more charitable reason that I hope my experience might help or encourage someone else. But…all the mistakes herein are my own.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Anyway. One of the things my friend has her students do is to track their hours for a while. I used a chart she gave me, but I also went online and found <a href="http://lauravanderkam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/168-hours-v2.pdf">this version</a>, which I used to chart out some theoretical weeks, as I was thinking through the changes I wanted to make. (It’s from Laura Vanderkam’s site. I read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591846692/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1591846692&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=96d46479e3d294e1d1c57305feecdff4">a couple of her books</a> this last year. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143109723/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143109723&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=456e670590dbfa7ff25cc8b34eb3ab71">She’s done a ton of original research on how successful women spend their time</a>; it was really quite interesting.) </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">I took a couple of copies of the charts, and set to work. I assigned a color to each kind of activity I did throughout my week: things like housework/childcare, writing, editing, devotional stuff, etc. I also had categories for rest, differentiated between (for lack of better terms) <i>good rest </i>and <i>bad rest</i>—mostly because I wanted to see how much time I was throwing away on TV and social media (versus actually restorative stuff like reading for pleasure).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's one of my theoretical weeks. The real thing ended up being much messier.</td></tr>
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">The point here wasn’t to change anything right away—although I’m sure the mere act of observation <i>did </i>change things—but simply to gather information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After two weeks, I had a lot of good data about how I was spending my days. The various colored sections really do jump out at you.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Now I had what I needed in order to go on my short, one-day retreat, and to pray through how I was spending my time. I had a record of what I was already doing, and I had a bunch of notes in my journal, and I had the questions that had prompted me to start this process of self-examination. I also reread sections of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1928832415/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1928832415&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=76ef547ba5c7a10787dfc34de431afd0">Holly Pierlot’s book</a>, in order to fill in any gaps I might be forgetting to notice—to remind myself of other areas of my life that I ought to prayerfully examine.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And I also had a place to retreat to: I had been told of a small convent of Roman Catholic sisters in a neighboring city. (And, given that I live in the Los Angeles area, the “neighboring city” was only about a ten minute drive away. We pack ‘em close here.) For a small fee (just enough to cover their costs, I think), they’d provide you with a room and a meal for the day, and access to their chapel and garden, so that those who wished for a day of silence and prayer could have it.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">My husband was happy to be parent-in-charge for the day while I went and prayed.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">So I made my appointment, and I went.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i><br />
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</iframe>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-89973916229527298592017-12-05T11:44:00.000-08:002017-12-05T11:44:49.811-08:00Advent Project Devotion up today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm happy to have a devotion up at Biola's Advent Project today: <b><a href="http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/#day-dec-5">Our Trudging is a Triumph</a></b>.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">The Advent Project is a wonderful devotional Advent calendar (actually, more than Advent--it goes all the way through the 12 days of Christmas!) that includes a scripture reading, a poem, a piece of visual art, a piece of music, and a devotion that ties them all together, every day. I got to write today's devotion. Here's a snippet:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "adelle" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There was no way through death until He burst death open from the inside. Death swallowed Him, but it was like swallowing the sun: He was a burning light that </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: adelle, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">could</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "adelle" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> not stay obscured. Not even by the darkest thing we know.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Head on over to The Advent Project to read the rest!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And, if you are looking for simple ways to bring the seasons of Advent and Christmas into your home, pick up a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937063658/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937063658&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=0ee9ab77d818cb91c4eebb8f95f297da" style="font-weight: bold;">Let Us Keep the Feast: Living the Church Year at Home</a>:</span><b> </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937063658/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937063658&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=6aa547091d78f06d3d7e1381998584e9" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1937063658&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1937063658" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">There's even <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937063860/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937063860&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=c7f330c51aa14c2d566cfdeced524834">a slim little volume that includes <i>just </i>Advent and Christmas</a>:</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937063860/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937063860&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=2b46afd6c1de598d1b4df3c4995488d5" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1937063860&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=homethrothe01-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=homethrothe01-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1937063860" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you all are enjoying a peaceful and good start to the Advent season!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-71032993513745230252017-11-13T14:24:00.001-08:002017-11-13T14:24:23.576-08:00A Links Post! (and a small update)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCf4DRgrSJXkesZ85kWCy37w2xOKgg1w1mnTOcTCe2z8WNNP78w27U4S_n2X_vCR6fmiU0bIeDqcCFvtnoEjEO6DpgRtAWE8g-km98BfpfP4UDu-K8bC1xoqSStepYMgsu6NeEB6wbamrv/s1600/1flowersmissiontile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCf4DRgrSJXkesZ85kWCy37w2xOKgg1w1mnTOcTCe2z8WNNP78w27U4S_n2X_vCR6fmiU0bIeDqcCFvtnoEjEO6DpgRtAWE8g-km98BfpfP4UDu-K8bC1xoqSStepYMgsu6NeEB6wbamrv/s400/1flowersmissiontile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Hi folks! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Below, you can find a regular links post (I usually call them weekly links, but let's be honest: they're more like <i>biweekly </i>links). But quickly, before getting to that, I just wanted to apologize about not having another entry in my blog series on writing a rule of life, <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/search/label/rhythm%20of%20our%20days">The Rhythm of Our Days</a>. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">The truth about having a rule of life is that it gives me guidance about what to say "yes" to each day, but it also gives me boundaries for my work. It tells me, "Do this first and then,<i> if you have time,</i> do that."</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Everyone knows that there isn't enough time in a day to do <i>everything</i>. <b>My rule just helps me to be honest about that.</b> It tells me when to work, and when to stop working.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">And this last week, there was time to do a lot, but there wasn't time to work on this series. I hope there will be time this week (there might be), but if not this week, there will almost certainly be time next week, during Thanksgiving break.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for hanging in there with me while I work on this! Now, onto the links!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-<a href="http://kathyide.com/6th-annual-promising-beginnings-christian-writers-contest/"><b>This looks like an excellent writing contes</b>t.</a> (Free entry, and a great prize!)</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-I don't know about you, but there are a lot of people in my life right now going through loss. Here's something helpful: <a href="http://www.thegoodbookblog.com/2017/oct/24/grieving-like-god/"><b>Grieving Like God</b></a>.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-If you are a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0135P6PZA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0135P6PZA&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=70cdd6fd1452ae3454b9889bb95b04eb">Hamilton </a>fan, you'll probably enjoy <b><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-46-songs-from-the-hamilton-soundtrack-are-now-illustrated_us_5759dc1be4b00f97fba7c919">this collection of <i>excellent </i>fan-art--one drawing for each song of the musical</a></b>.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-Ah, <b><a href="https://www.tor.com/2017/10/26/the-little-series-that-could-agent-of-change-by-sharon-lee-and-steve-miller/">a properly admiring article about a book series I love</a></b>. More people should read Lee and Miller. (Their books are kinda like Georgette Heyer in space.)</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-<a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/keller-wants-to-help-you-become-wise/"><b>Tim Keller on the book of Proverbs</b></a>. I loved this quotation in particular:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">-<a href="https://mereorthodoxy.com/sex-in-movies/"><b>Sex in Movies. Was John Piper Right All Along?</b></a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">-And, finally, an appreciation of an excellent actor, who played a vital role in one of my favorite TV series ever: <b><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2017/10/24/559877433/when-robert-guillaume-played-aaron-sorkins-first-great-leader">When Robert Guillaume Played Aaron Sorkin's First Great Leader.</a></b></span><br />
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I hope you have a great week, folks!<br />
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Peace of Christ to you,<br />
Jessica Snell<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i>Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-48988040730319721182017-11-04T17:18:00.000-07:002017-11-04T17:18:23.168-07:00Discerning the Need for a Rule of Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMGDWhLOHvDs38gSI2WOYYD1B4WwwpUqQyzNSs47YfIQUC5-KCuKlqp1WzIZAHilpT_ASxQ-tf4v6J0YrLJ5nW9rj2xNQg763x-LgFGySVvSl8w5Kk5MnxyEgx_ifssHE10P28j5yp7Xz/s1600/rhythm-discerning.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMGDWhLOHvDs38gSI2WOYYD1B4WwwpUqQyzNSs47YfIQUC5-KCuKlqp1WzIZAHilpT_ASxQ-tf4v6J0YrLJ5nW9rj2xNQg763x-LgFGySVvSl8w5Kk5MnxyEgx_ifssHE10P28j5yp7Xz/s400/rhythm-discerning.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wrote my first Rule of Life about a year ago, but my journey towards a Rule really began long before that.* </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In preparation for <a href="http://churchyear.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-rhythms-of-our-days-announcing-new.html">this blog series</a>, I’ve been going back over my journal entries from 2016. And I’m finding that my path toward writing a Rule was even more rocky and twisty than I remember it being—and I remember it being a pretty rocky and twisty path!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like many big changes, this one was prompted by what initially seem like <b>negative things</b>. Things like: </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">dissatisfaction</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">a lack of peace</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">an inability to get everything done</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, as I started paying attention to <i>what </i>I was doing each day and <i>how </i>I was doing it and—maybe most importantly—<i>why </i>I was doing it, it became clear that what was really driving me was my desire for <b>good things</b>. Things like:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">time with the Lord everyday (both quality and quantity)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">time with my husband and kids everyday (both quality and quantity)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">a desire to write good things (i.e., fulfill my vocation)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">a desire for a peaceful home</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">a desire for health (mental and physical)</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t think the “dissatisfaction” would have felt so much like starter’s pistol if I’d felt it several years earlier. In fact, I <i>know </i>I felt it several years earlier, and it didn’t have the same jump-starting result back then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But several years ago, I was in the middle of a “survival” season. I had lots and lots and lots and lots and lots (okay, maybe not that many—but still LOTS) of little kids, and I was their full-time caregiver. Yeah, there were things in my life that made me dissatisfied, but I knew I didn’t have room to arrange them in any super-ideal fashion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Not that that stopped me from trying.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then we went through some family health crises</span><span style="font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-size: large;">one of them mine</span><span style="font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-size: large;">that took up almost all our extra time and energy and attention. I just did not have the wherewhithal to make any big changes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But then the kids got older</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The kids eventually all grew up to be school-aged children. Their needs changed. Other things changed. Various energy-sucking situations changed and resolved. And now, I <i>did </i>have room to make some changes. I did have the time. I did have the physical energy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were ongoing things to be dealt with, sure. But the crises were over, at least for a bit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was time to figure out how to handle this <i><b>glorious, energy-rich, potential-full time of life called middle-age.</b>**</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was a new time of life. And I wasn’t living it well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I really, really wanted to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>So I started experimenting.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next week’s blog post will be about those first few experiments, and about the way they prompted me to start keeping track of my days. (Because eventually I learned that, if I wanted to change my life, I first had to have an accurate idea of what my life <i>was</i>. That is, I needed data. That is, I needed to observe and record.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But before I finish off this blog post, I need to be honest, and share the one realization that really, really started me on this journey. It's particular to me, and if you take a similar journey, your final straw will probably be a different one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But here's mine. I found myself writing these few paragraphs (edited for clarity), right after I reread my journal entries from the time when the children were all still babies and toddlers:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">…I'm realizing that back then, <b>I just longed for an hour or two to write, </b>and <b>it was absolutely life-giving it was when I was given those hours. </b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, it feels like I long for just an hour or two to write, but other, lesser things stop me.</span></blockquote>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">I think this means I’ve made a mistake, somewhere.</span></i></b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was that last bit that finally started me on my journey: the realization that I could now—if I really wanted to—do the things I’d been telling myself for years that I wanted to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are lots of times in life where you can't do what you want. I know that. I've lived that. I'm sure I'll live it again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, writing out those journal paragraphs above made me realize: <i>I'm actually facing a real choice here. Those things I wanted to do? I could really do them now.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I wasn’t.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That meant I’d gone wrong somewhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I was determined to</span><span style="font-size: large;"> change direction. I was determined to make it right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span></div>
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*To be completely honest, I can find journal entries about a “Rule of Life” at least as far back as 2010. And I know I’d been introduced to the concept well before that—probably at least as early as 2006 or so, which was about when I first read Holly Pierlot’s book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1928832415/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1928832415&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=2334a00bc9e44ac8906a626584baf23b">A Mother’s Rule of Life</a></i>. </div>
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But this blog series is about the Rule that stuck.</div>
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**No, really. I’m convinced we don’t value the potential of middle age nearly enough in our culture. It’s all made clear in the middle stanza of <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/122/24.html">this Gerard Manley Hopkins poem</a>, if you want to see what I’m getting at. </div>
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(Bonus! That poem also contains one of the answers to the always-fun “Where-Did-C.-S.-Lewis-Steal-THAT-Narnia-Line-Or-Concept-From?” game.)</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i></div>
Jessica Snellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17185831697537364088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210913620206544383.post-71692760650694577002017-10-25T15:15:00.001-07:002017-11-13T14:04:28.095-08:00the rhythms of our days - announcing a new series<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKSur-62JbDRaoU5SgZBSNgsJ5IvTbLmd57zeCz49oFpv_rdqVpKOvpLJ1hbkz0xdAx1lAVIpKUgBjzu42zDiXAiySmLRDwkMQjfM9JgK0Z138l8VXyrrUxRVsrED5jvkprzIOWwfb1cD/s1600/continual+feast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="472" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKSur-62JbDRaoU5SgZBSNgsJ5IvTbLmd57zeCz49oFpv_rdqVpKOvpLJ1hbkz0xdAx1lAVIpKUgBjzu42zDiXAiySmLRDwkMQjfM9JgK0Z138l8VXyrrUxRVsrED5jvkprzIOWwfb1cD/s400/continual+feast.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a fascinating book brought by an attendee!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This last Saturday, I got to give a talk to a local church group about celebrating the Christian year at home. It was lovely, and one of the wonderful people who came brought along the recipe book up in the header,<b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898703840/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0898703840&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=0e2054d42ca9bc70a76baa20d1bb12dd">A Continual Feast</a></b>. I looked through it with her before the talk started, and it's now definitely on my list of things to buy. It's full of seasonal recipes, interspersed with lots of commentary on actually celebrating the church year. Once I get it, I see many new delicious traditions in my future...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, the talk itself was really fun. The group was interested, and asked great questions, and talking with them reminded (again, some more) just how much I love this stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I love <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937063658/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1937063658&linkCode=as2&tag=homethrothe01-20&linkId=f51223e81a0fa9a16cc53be15f475a75">the rhythm of the church year.</a> </b>I love ordering my life around the church's annual retelling of the life of Christ. I love ordering my smaller story around that bigger, truer, better story. I love the reminder that, as one of God's people, my small story is a <i>part </i>of that big, true, good story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Orderly Days: on Writing a Rule of Life</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Following the Christian calendar reminds me that time is part of God's good creation. And during this past year, I've been concentrating pretty hard on the order of my <i>days</i>. Almost exactly a year ago, after months of preparation, I took a one-day retreat in order to pray through a <u>Rule of Life</u> for myself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so now I've had almost a whole year of practicing my Rule. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Which means that I'm just about ready to start blogging about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, coming up on this blog, starting next week (I hope!), you'll find a new series about writing (and keeping, and living) a Rule of Life. I'll talk about how I'm ordering my days so that I have space for all the good things. And also about how adding in good things helps to crowd out the bad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll talk about searching for a peaceful rhythm, and what that looks like, and how to make it work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And also I'll talk about what to do when it doesn't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you'll come back and join me next week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peace of Christ to you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Snell</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.5px; text-align: justify;">This post contains Amazon affiliate links; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. <b>I will probably use it to buy more books.</b> (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)</i><br />
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