“Making the Church A Safe Place for Mental Illness“ This is a helpful article on many levels, although incomplete and perhaps confusing at some points. But this is a message that needs to be heard in both our local churches and the American church at large. “Church can be a tough place for people who struggle with depression, anxiety, bipolar, or any other mental disorder. Not because church members don’t care about those who struggle with mental illness, but because most church members don’t really know how to care for those struggle. Those who struggle can feel lonely, hopeless, and ashamed. I don’t say this in a critical way. Trust me, I get it: mental stuff is really hard to understand. Depression doesn’t make sense if you’ve never experienced it. Chronic physical anxiety almost sounds like worry, even though the two are drastically different.” “In some churches, there’s this weird taboo surrounding mental illness. Nobody ever talks about it or acknowledges that it’s real. If a guy is sunk into depression, we say he’s, “Going through a rough patch,” or, “Having a tough time,” or we don’t say anything at all. If someone has cancer, we pray that God will heal her. If someone has back surgery, we make meals for him. But when it comes to mental illness, we don’t know what to say or do. Everyone knows something is wrong but nobody actually talks about it. If we’re going to really serve those who struggle, we need to readily acknowledge that mental disorders are real, and that they can really mess a person up. We need to come to terms with the reality that our outer selves, including our brains, are “wasting away” (2 Corinthians 4:16). We need to affirm that all of creation, including our bodies and brains, have been “subjected to futility” (Romans 8:20). Mental illness is a result of the fall. We are totally depraved, which means that the totality of our being, including our minds, have been broken. When we acknowledge that mental illness is a real category of suffering, it allows those who are suffering to open up to others. It also allows other Christians to pray for and serve those who are suffering. The Bible has so many words of encouragement for those who are suffering, but we won’t be able to encourage others unless we first recognize that they really are suffering. As one who has dealt with chronic…

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“Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School“ This is a helpful article examining how our push for earlier and earlier academics may actually backfire. “Ours is an age of pedagogy. Anxious parents instruct their children more and more, at younger and younger ages, until they’re reading books to babies in the womb. They pressure teachers to make kindergartens and nurseries more like schools. So does the law—the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act explicitly urged more direct instruction in federally funded preschools.

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“Long Range Writing“ I greatly appreciate this December article from Hannah Anderson, and like some commenters on the post noted, the application extends far beyond writing, and even beyond women. For me, it’s in my still-new-to-me days of motherhood x4 where I’m really needing to hear this. I love having four kids, and the load isn’t heavy because I’m raising minuscule miscreants, but because being the primary nurturer to four kids at these ages (who are not away at school or daycare) simply requires a lot of work. But my dreams to write and to flourish elsewhere have not died; rather, they’ve mostly expanded and grown even as I’ve grown in my understanding of Imago dei. And, so for this season, holding on to those dreams mostly means “taking a long-range vision.” ‘“People—particularly women—need to hear that you can start late.” –Ursula K. Le Guin’

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Cutting the Chaos After reading several books on productivity and saying no, I’m reminded again of how easy it has been for me to fall into the trap of equating busyness with productivity or a measure of my spirituality. So, I’m thankful for Sally Clarkson’s wise words in this post. “Busyness falsely promises productivity. Studies show that 88% of mothers feel severely stressed and overcome with anxiety due to poor time management and difficulty prioritizing. In a hectic world that is over-stimulated, constantly on our phones, computers, social media, rushing here and there, never stopping, we are we losing sight of what is truly important in the midst of the balancing act just to stay alive in the game. My mind ponders the fact that we were simply not designed to multitask to this extent. We often try so hard to juggle one million ideals, and once we drop one, then another, we feel defeated.

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January came fast and furious for our family, and I’m easing myself back into life for 2015. I considered January my “new December” (the month I use for planning and prepping), so February is my new January. Here’s a happy collection of “links to think.” “My slightly-outside-the-box educational philosophy“ My friend Johanna has children in similar stages/ages as ours (but with one more coming), and we also happen to share a lot of similar philosophies on parenting and education. I frequently get asked about what we’re doing for our kids homeschool, and words like unschooling, delayed formal education, or free play can be confusing descriptors if I lack time or opportunity to give further explanation. So, from now on, I’m point people to Johanna’s post! 🙂  (Although our specific focuses and weight we place on certain areas will probably differ, and even change ourselves as we go through different seasons of parenting and life.) “Now to a philosophy… I feel like when the question of educational philosophy comes up, you are almost expected to pick one. Not only do I find it hard to box myself in that much, but I also feel like that sometimes lends itself toward accepting one philosophy as being the absolutebest. That’s always a bit dangerous because every child, family, and situation is different. I’ve found a lot of valuable input from every end of the educational spectrum (Unschooling, Leadership Education, Charlotte Mason, Classical, etc). So rather than choose a single philosophy, I’m going to share a few ideas that influence how we learn in the day to day. Delayed formal academics. Based on a lot of reading, I have come to the conclusion that, in general, we are pushing kids too young. There is a lot of emphasis in the preschool and early elementary years to push kids to read earlier, know more facts, and in the process they lose a lot of free time just playing and exploring the world. Some kids are ready for this, but many aren’t. While we do a lot of learning every day (including daily reading practice) we had decided to not do “formal” academics until sometime in the year that Stefan turned 7 (based on my reading on child development and a shift that seems to takes place around that age). I planned to follow Stefan’s natural shift, and interestingly enough almost to the date of turning 7, I watched it happening…

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