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Making Choices

Why We Changed Our Mind About Celebrating Halloween – Twice (Updated January 2022)

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Update January 2022 I've decided not to write an additional post about why we are no longer celebrating Halloween, but I am going to push this out as a "new" post. I'm going to add a bit to what I originally wrote below, including the quick November 2021 update most people probably never saw. If I had it to do over again, I would make the …

Recommended Video: Stop Trying To Convince People and Get To Work

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This video was made in July and I found it last month. There is a great deal of truth in it and I've enjoyed watching some of Patara's other videos. She has an extensive CensorTube channel called Appalachia's Homestead With Patara that goes back for years. She is correct that you can share truth and observations with people for only so long. …

Choosing Joy in the Midst of Change

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We are surrounded by change we cannot control. Whether it is the seasons, our children, our bodies, or the culture, everything around us is constantly changing. Learning how to thoughtfully and prayerfully adapt and deal with those changes is an important part of the Christian life. Like many of you, I'm going through a season of adjusting to …

When You’ve Lost Faith In The System

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This post was first published January 13, 2009. For reference, Caroline was 27 months old when I originally wrote this. I am republishing it with only a few little edits for readability and updated commentary indicated in italics. I encourage you to take the link to the post "When Belief in the System Fades" that I link to in the body of the post. …

Children Understanding the Time-Money Tradeoff

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If I had to sum up our summer on this last day of August, this is it: You can have time or money, but rarely both. This was the summer when Caroline really understood for the first time what it means to have more money and less Daddy. David and I made the decision long ago that time and relationships were more important than money. We've had …

Bucking Up For The Sake Of Your Loved Ones

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This was a long week for everyone for various reasons. It was a long week at the end of a long month in the midst of a long year. Giving up, throwing up our hands, or giving into depression isn't an option. As women, we set the tone in the home more than anyone. I'm writing this today to encourage each one of us to buck up for the sake of our …

Speak the Truth Boldly and Stop Apologizing

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I recently watched a lovely video by a young woman. She was explaining how she lives, the location, and why she made the somewhat less conventional choices she did. Her reasoning was sound and she brought up some profound insights related to her choice. (This was a secular video, not Christian.) What made me sad is that she apparently felt …

5 Simple Steps To Replace Holiday Stress With Joy

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Beginning November 1 and on throughout the month of December, reminders of the holiday season are everywhere. Magazines, displays, catalogs, decorations, advertisements, and books all offer endless tips for the most perfect, peaceful, joyous holiday ever. But the pressure to create the ideal holiday can be incredible, often leading to anxiety, …

O’Sullivan’s First Law Applied to the Christian Life

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David and I spent a number of years studying in-depth the issue of women in the church. If you've been around here for some time, you know I had another (now closed) website where I shared my research. There are a few posts on this site related to it including Why I'm Not a Christian Feminist (and What I Am). It was a big part of my life for a …

Living As Called-Out Pilgrims In The Online World

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On November 14, 2019, I published a post that was originally titled "I Don't Know What To Say." I eventually changed it to "How Soulless Bureaucrats Make Owning an Online Business a Nightmare." I recently shared it in a group in reference to what we've observed with online businesses being deplatformed and demonetized at an ever-increasing and …

The 5% Rule for Retirement (It’s Not What You Think)

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Most people who are behind on retirement planning feel overwhelmed. They have no idea where to start. The "experts" throw around numbers like saving 15% of your income and saving $1,000,000 (now recently updated in places to numbers approaching $2,000,000) if you want to retire and not end up on the streets. This is especially true for those of us …

Simple Living This Week No. 41 – Schoolhouse Teachers, Homeschool Reading, Preparing For Autumn

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It's the last day of August. Where did the summer go? I know we always ask that question each year, but this year I'm asking it in a different way as I'm sure you are as well. This will be our fourth week of homeschooling. We are off to a good start and I'm thankful. We're still adding subjects in, but we're solidly into most of them. I'm going …

A Year After Deleting Facebook, I Continue the Social Media Purge With Twitter

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I passed my one year anniversary of leaving Facebook a few weeks ago after having thought about it for quite some time. I proved to myself that I don't need it. I've had a few moments when I've wondered if I should go back, especially after I had been off it for so long. I do miss interacting with some online friends and extended family that I …

The Freedom Of Learning To Say “No”

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I believe we are each created by God with gifts, responsibilities, and circles of influence. We can only be effective in each area of our life when we carefully consider what is truly important and make decisions accordingly. Sometimes those decisions necessitate that we clearly say "no." Do you already know and exercise the freedom of saying …

Being a Berean – Using Wisdom and Discernment Online

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The other day our seven year old daughter, Caroline, was watching something on the Kindle while I was sitting nearby. The video stated something as fact that isn't a fact. I asked her to pause it and I said, "We don't believe that is true. We think (enter short explanation)." She said, "But it is true. They just said it." Ah, perfect teachable …

Why We Decided To Stop Eating Together As A Family

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One of the oft-cited cardinal rules of having a strong family is eating together as a family. I agree with this in theory. I do think a lack of regular and meaningful family time is a significant problem in our culture. In our case, because we work from home and homeschool, we have the opportunity to basically eat three meals a day together, seven …

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