You know the word “listicle,” right? It’s an article–or post–that’s really just a fleshed-out list. A listicle. And as you may already know, one of my very favorite kinds of listicle is one that peeks at the search terms people enter to find this site. Here are my favorites from the last 30 days: “how to respond to the human needs by umbrella” Well, there are a good number of human needs that aren’t met by an umbrella, but something... Read more
There’s a kind of a myth of the stay-at-home (homeschooling optional) mom as the perfect homemaker who more or less singlehandedly cooks, cleans, sews, bakes, knits, gardens, preserves her own food and creates beautiful, Pinterest-worthy scenes of domestic bliss. Oh, and writes her own homeschooling curriculum (or at least curates the best) and teaches the kids Latin. Also, she has many babies and fits into her jeans right away and captures everything in perfect blurry edged photographs. (She may or... Read more
In some recent posts, I’ve let slip a little bit of news that I have yet to make “Facebook public”– my family and I are moving to Malawi. Yes,Malawi–the Warm Heart of Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world. My husband, Tim, and I–along with our two sons, of course!–will leave for Malawi sometime in the next six months or so. Next month, we’ll be attending orientations and trainings with the Presbyterian Church (USA)–whose mission arm, GAMC,... Read more
People often talk about food–specifically, pleasurable, enjoyable food–as if it’s semi-sinful. As if it is wrong. As if the pleasure a food affords is unfair, because it takes us off guard, traps us, entices us, and leads us astray. I’ve heard (and read) good people who say things like why couldn’t God make carrots and broccoli taste like chocolate caramels and marshmallows? And I have wondered the same thing. I once determined not to enjoy food. To eat abstemiously, only... Read more
So this is kind of embarrassing to admit, but when I was very small I somehow thought that being a missionary meant that you had to go to another country and eat weird stuff so that people would really know that you really love them and so that they would really know that God loved them, too. The “weird stuff” I was imagining: Crispy bugs. Juicy grubs. Stew with recognizable animal part (i.e., face, included.) And I had it in... Read more
Frequently I’m asked how I manage to get my writing done with my (homeschooled) kids around most of the time. There’s no one easy answer to this, but because so many of us who spend our days with children also write (or yearn to write) I’ve decided to write some posts (which I’ll post intermittently) on how the writing life intersects with the mothering life. Here’s the first installment: In some ways, I think I’ve actually learned from my children... Read more
So the ‘thinner-and-sexier evolution’ series is kind of winding down, as there are (thankfully, I think?) only a limited number of consumer products that have been around long enough so as to be able to undergo some kind of thin-and-sexy transformation. Besides, at this point, it’s kind of ‘clicked there, browsed that,’ you know? Especially since every toy’s/image’s transformation does some basic variation on the theme of “thin down and sex up.” Call it the Barbiefication of toys for girls.... Read more
I’ve been inspired in the last week by reading about the women who are petitioning Uganda’s highest court to declare that “when women die in childbirth it is a violation of their rights.” So far, their bids in the lower courts have been unsuccessful, but they’re pressing on. $60 million. That’s what it would take to hire enough medical workers to meet Uganda’s needs–specifically, to staff village health clinics that lack people and supplies to the degree that an estimated... Read more
This week I was very much inspired by Jana Riess’ wonderful post, “Ten Best Practices for Bloggers” at her blog, Flunking Sainthood–titled after her funny, wise book (I wrote about it earlier late last year here.) Here are just the first two of her tips. If you’re a blogger, or are considering becoming one, I think you’ll find Jana’s list well worth reading in full. “1) Think of yourself as a curator of ideas. At a museum, a curator is... Read more
Why are healthy women in wealthy societies suddenly considering eating their placentas, given that the practice has been regarded with disgust for a good two to three hundred years, and that its health benefits are contested? Perhaps it’s because, in an era of medicalized childbirth, we’re regaining an awareness of–and connection to–that mysterious beret-shaped organ that sustains babies in the womb, and it no longer feels right to toss it in the trash. But there’s more to it: We’re afraid... Read more
Rachel Marie Stone
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