Show & Tell: September Highlights

Here are some great links on a wide range of topics that I've found over the last month. Have fun perusing and picking out a few to read/chew on/enjoy!

Children/Pregnancy

• How to Pray For Our Children- Amy wrote an article FULL of biblical passages we can use to pray for the children God gives to us
• Pregnancy, Cancer, and God's Perfect Design- Why our bodies function better when we buck societal norms (as we recently discussed here @ Making Home).
• Sallie Field doesn't speak for all moms- You may have heard about Field's crude remark at a recent awards show that if moms "ruled the world" there would be no ******* wars. This is an informed and interesting response to the thoughtless spewage that comes out of Hollywood in forms like the comment from Ms. Field.
• New Mom Denied Extra Time in Medical Licensing Exam: She asked, and was denied, the option to have special accommodations to pump breastmilk for her infant in the middle of a medical licensing exam. There are so many subtleties and issues to examine in this one; I don't know where to start. (1) Couldn't she have postponed her taking of the test until she didn't need to pump as often?, (2) Is this discrimination against women or would it truly be unfair for her to take regular, 40-minute breaks to pump throughout the testing period?, (3) does anyone else find it ironic that, in this situation, the MEDICAL community is making it more difficult for a woman to breastfeed? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this article in the comments!
  
• Children Are Bad For the Planet- The article begins: "HAVING large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour..." and on it goes. (Please note: I will now happily accept all frowns that anyone wants to send our way for our misdemeanor of loving and receiving children into our family... I'd rather have a few frowns than to disregard my own conscience as informed by the Word of God.)
  
• Marketing PG/PG-13 Movies to Children- Christine presents a compelling case that reveals how the movie industry aims to draw children into higher ratings through series, trilogies, and careful target marketing.
• Education As Discipleship- Voddie Bauchum (This is one incredible man- I had the privilege of hearing him preach in person in 1999, and have enjoyed learning from him ever since) has written a treatise for why to homeschool, particularly in the early years... here's an excerpt:

"Let me be clear; I applaud men and women whom God has called to teach in government schools. These people are front-line warriors and many of them need to be right where they are. However, there is a big difference between sending “fully trained” disciples into enemy territory and sending our recruits to our enemy’s training camp. If we do the latter, we shouldn’t be surprised when our children come home wearing the enemy’s uniform and charging the hill of our home while waving an enemy flag."

• Meaning of Life: Monty Python's hilarious look at labor/delivery in a hospital! (Thankfully, none of my experiences have been anywhere CLOSE to this... but it is SO good for a laugh!)

Family Life

• Christian Family Embraces Organic Farming- I had to highlight this, because we actually bought meat and cheeses from this family for the entirety of our time in America at the beginning of this year. We also got to meet them, visit with them over a potluck meal, and take a hayride tour of their farm... they're a really neat family with a great vision for how to "do" family in a totally different way than many Americans do these days.
• How I Do It With Kids- Causabon's book (a GREAT thought-provoking resource for simplifying your life) provides a funny look at REAL life with kids vs. the perfection that's often presented online! :)
• You CAN Stay Home! - Kelly has written a great several-part series for motivation and ideas about how you can stay at home with your children.

Food for Thought

• Chapter One of "Jim and Caspar Go To Church"- You may find yourself buying the book once you read this online... it's a book written by a Christian and an atheist who attended a variety of denominations and kinds of churches across America and the conversations and insights they gained from each experience. An insightful look at Christianity in America.
• Embryo Adoption: There are an estimated unwanted 100,000 babies in cold storage in deep freeze units around America. Hundreds of these babies have been adopted and born (even after being frozen as a 6-celled blastocyst for FOURTEEN years--imagine asking that kid how old he is... "well, uh, that's an interesting question..."). Seriously, though: GO and read about it. You'll be amazed, as I've been, the more I've looked into this issue. While there are over 400,000 babies currently frozen for these treatments, about 75% of those are still possibly going to be "used" by their parents in hopes of having a baby, leaving approximately 100,000 unwanted babies that will not be used and will otherwise be discarded. But some couples are electing to adopt these embryos... it's an absolutely eye-opening look into ethical issues surrounding IVF and embryo creation for fertility issues.
  
• Vaccines and their ingredients: You may be surprised (as I was!) to learn that aborted human fetal tissue is an ingredient in many mainstream vaccines. Take a look and make an informed choice about these issues from now on.
• Enamored With Skirts- Interesting ideas about not only the wearing of skirts, but the "WHY"s of dressing the way we dress as women!
• A funny video/song about the 2008 Election
• CLICK ON THIS ONE: Randy Alcorn on Faith in Generation X
  

Actual Food, for Eating

• Twice-Baked Potatoes- YUM! I made a big batch of these and froze more than twenty of them (as she points out, no chives if you freeze em!) to have for future meals!
• Make Your Own Spice Rub- for great grilling flavor; sounds delicious!

A final fun link, just because I like it so much:

CHECK OUT THIS FABRIC. IS IT NOT BEAUTIFUL?!?! I can just see it as the lining, collar, and trim on a cute little girl's dress, or as detailing on a beautiful purse. Or to sew into the most happy, fun skirt for Maranatha to twirl and twirl in. Ooh... if only I had tons of money to buy fun fabrics and have them shipped here! :)


And, like always, a final laugh: Mrs. Brigham originally shared this cartoon (at right) about "udderfeeding in public"!