Link Love Friday

Back when I managed the blog for Spiritual Uprising, Molly and I would post a new batch of links to share every Friday. That's something I've been thinking about and would like to start up again. This week, I'm trying to get a wide range of links. I hope you enjoy:

Life:

  • The Life-Changing Magic of Reimagining Our Relationship With Work (Modern Mrs. Darcy) I love this reflection in part because it affirms my need to have meaningful work. I love this quote from Barry Schwartz: “Work is more often a source of frustration than one of fulfillment for nearly 90 percent of the world’s workers. Think of the social, emotional, and perhaps even economic waste that this statistic represents. Ninety percent of adults spend half their waking lives doing things they would rather not be doing at places they would rather not be.” Something to think about. 
  • This House Has a Soul (Appalachian Ink) Lately, I've been trying to explain to one of my friends why my home is so important to me. People who didn't grow up on ancestral land don't have the connection that I feel to my home and the land my family shares in Missouri. I think this expresses part of that. 
  • The Melancholy Before the Merry (The Art of Simple) For those of you who find the holidays sad, especially this year, this is a good reflection. 
  • Permanent Ink for Self-Love's Sake (Handwritten) I love this reflection on her choices to get tattoos, especially the one saying "no time."
  • Evening Lesson (Restoring Mayberry) I love this blog, shared with me long ago by my friend, Daniel. In this post, the author talks about insightful lessons he has with his daughter in the evenings. Beautiful. 
  • An Open Letter to High School Students (Blonde on a Budget) In this open letter, Cait lays out why it's so important to save money to high school kids. God, I wish she had written this and I had read it about ten years ago. 

Pens/Stationery:

  • OT: How Much Stuff is Enough?  (Peninkcillin) This one could go under both Pens and Minimalism. The author totally captures my struggle with the amount of stationery stuff I own and the balance between too much and still enjoying my hobby. 
  • The Pen Thing (Handwritten) Any pen person can surely relate to this idea of having a "my pen."

Simplicity/Minimalism:

Catholic/Christian/Spiritual:

  • No More Lying about Mary (The Bite in the Apple) I know that this might scandalize a few of my friends, but I really appreciated some of the points Nancy Rockwell made in this article. Sometimes we want Mary to be a meek little child, but that doesn't help anyone grow spiritually. Mary shouldn't be a harmful role model keeping women in abusive relationships because they're supposed to be obedient--she was brave and moved against the culture of her time. Also, I love this quote: "Her recitation of the Magnificat is a political manifesto, delivered fairly publicly, in the home of an official temple priest, who is married to her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant, with John the Baptist. In Mary’s manifesto there is evidence of deep thought, strong conviction, and a good deal of political savvy." In my own studies of Feminist Theology and Decolonial theory, I've renewed my love for the Magnificat. I hope you can, too. 

Christmas Gifts and Gift Guides (Because Christmas is less than a week away)

Random Amazingness