Link Love--May 23

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="276">…

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

My Writing

One Year Ago: Unbreakable Willy Women: With Love to our Littlest on your Graduation (Popery, Pens, and Paperbacks): I wrote this almost a year ago for my little cousin on her graduation. It's so good to be part of a long line of strong women. 

Two Years Ago: My Thoughts on the UD Commencement Speaker (PPP): As we go through yet another hullabaloo at UD, it's good to remember that we have often made asses of ourselves before the world... 

Three Years Ago:

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

Life in General:

Money:

 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

Parenting and Kiddos:

Animals

Link Love: A Little Reading for Finals Week

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="276">…

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

So, this week I thought I'd start the week with some link love for my friends who need something to distract them from finals. 

What I read last week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

Life in General:

Money:

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

  • Clutter Blindness and How Doing This One Thing Can Make all the Difference (Organizing Junkie): I definitely suffer from clutter blindness, but I have noticed lately how when everything is picked up and put away that my small space seems so much larger. I have been thinking about getting rid of more tchotchkes, but I haven't acted on it because most of the tchotchkes that I have were gifts with sentimental value (I don't buy those kinds of things myself). Some good thoughts here. 

Environmentalism, Farming, Food, Health, and Nutrition:

The Three Types of People

Image by Timothy Muza

Image by Timothy Muza

On Sunday at Mass, I started thinking about the same thing that has been on my mind for months now: how could people who I loved so much and who said they loved me treat me the way that they did? Even though I know the answer is simple (they were using me), I am still stumped at the thought of what would lead someone to treat another person like this. I mean, it was serious stuff. They encouraged me to kill myself. Humans don’t do that.

But I’m trying not to be angry—or at least not to be bitter. I’ve forgiven them, I’m praying for them.

But such brokenness—how do we get so broken?

Well, I started thinking about something that my good friend and mentor, Mike Brooks, always said when I was in high school. He phrased it as a lesson (or a warning) about boys for us girls in youth group, but in all honesty I think we all know it’s true about all humans. And certainly I have learned that we sometimes need to be warned (or at least reminded) about other humans.

So, Mike would tell us that there are three types of people. And in order to understand the three types, there’s something you need to know about humans (or, as he would say, boys): we’re all defective. Call it broken, sinful, fallen, human, etc., but it all comes down to the fact that we’re defective. Mike used to talk about the “defective male chromosome,” but in reality it’s the defective human tendency to sin, to harm others or ourselves or to act against the greater good in our own selfishness. It’s that darn original sin getting to us, and there’s no way to escape it. We’re just defective. As we grow in life, we can choose to become more like Christ, but we’ll never escape our humanity.

So, of us defective humans, there are three different types. Mike refers to them simply as the ones, the twos, and the threes.

Ones are the people who are defective but they don’t know they’re defective. A one can become a two or a three or just stay a one for life. These are the emotionally immature people who are like a bull in a china shop with other people’s emotions without even realizing it. We’ve all met a one. Heck, we’ve all been a one. As Mike used to say, “You can date a one, but you can’t marry them.” A one is never going to be mature enough to make commitments or to be a good partner or friend. They have to grow up first.

Ones are like the classic C. S. Lewis example in Mere Christianity where he talks about the child who plays in the mud, making mud pies, not knowing that there is a feast set for him by a king. They don’t know. This means that there’s always hope that they will someday leave the mud pies behind and sit in their rightful place at the feast.

This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:11-12: “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.” There is the opportunity still to know fully the goodness of God.

Then, there are twos. Twos, unlike ones, know they are defective. They relish their defectiveness, enjoying every minute. Now, here’s the thing: a two will never become anything other than a two. You can’t change them. This was something Mike used to stress (as a high school teacher, principal, and youth minister, he saw a lot of this): “Girls, you can’t save a two and make him a three. You can’t stay in a relationship hoping to change them.” As obvious as it sounds, I had the same conversation with a 29 year old maybe three days ago. We want to believe that we can change people. We see their potential. But we can’t. That’s not in our power.

Twos are like a child making mud pies knowing that there’s a feast and preferring the mud. Even a pig will choose to be clean over lying in the mud, but a two will stay defiantly (even happily) in the mire.

I’m sure we’ve all met people like this. There are the gossipy girls whose greatest pleasure is in tearing down another—not because of insecurity (a one), but because they really think it’s fun. They’re the people who plot and scheme for no real personal benefit other than the satisfaction of hurting another person. I think some people want to see the good in them, want to believe that these people aren’t really a two. How many times have I heard someone say, “Maybe they’re just a one and they’re insecure and I can fix them.”?

No, you can’t. You can’t fix a two. They are happy broken. They do not want to be whole. Maybe the Lord can heal them, but remember: they know the Lord. They just don’t want him. They have already turned against Him. And while it’s easy to see twos as being these evil archetypes and scary monsters, the best image is probably Satan in Dante—perpetually frozen in tears being turned to ice by the beating of his own wings.

Twos are the kind of people who others will make excuses about them being “only human,” but in reality they are the least human people you will meet. To be human is to be what we were meant to be—to go against that humanity, that’s what makes us broken. Twos are happy to go against their humanity. They’re pitiable, but you shouldn’t waste your time trying to change them or endanger yourself trying to love them. I made that mistake.

Lastly, there are the threes. I think we all want to be a three, but I wonder sometimes if people who think they’re threes are really just ones. It’s a solid question, but I’m afraid I’ll have to be enjoying the beatific vision to find the answer. Then I might not care.

A three is someone who, like the two, knows they are defective, but a three will spend the rest of their life trying to overcome their defectiveness. Whether they realize it or not, they are seeking to become fully human, fully like God, fully in imitation of Christ. A three can never become perfect or overcome their defectiveness, so sometimes they will sin. But they will try, each and every day, to get as close to perfection as they can.

Now, Mike never told me this, but as I was thinking about this on Sunday it occurred to me that it’s sort of like a spectrum. I think threes sometimes forget and slide back towards being a one. That's sin. But the farther you go on the spectrum towards being a two, the more lost you are and the less able to approach the three end. It’s like there’s a point of no return. I even drew a picture to show what I mean. 

Three types of people_edited-1.jpg

So, those are the three types of people. And I think that, as much as I feel anger towards the people who hurt me, only one was a two. She took pleasure in it. The others are all ones. They’re just too easily manipulated. Maybe it’s the aspie in me or maybe it’s because my primary strength is context, but being able to label it, being able to classify the difference, it helps. I hope it helps you. 

Image by Suhyeon Choi

Image by Suhyeon Choi

##KaitReadsForComps Mini-Review #1: Dust Bowl Fiction and Drought Narratives

About #KaitReadsForComps: I'm trying to blog about every section on my reading list to help me process through what I've read. I'm going slowly, but running out of time. I hope this is interesting to you! 

Texts included:

Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown (1933).

Johnson, Josephine. Now in November (1934).

Babb, Sanora. Whose Names are Unknown (pub. 2004, written 1938).

Steinbeck, John. Grapes of Wrath (1939).

Before reading: I’ve always been interested in the Dust Bowl and my interests were renewed when researching for a paper on the movie Interstellar. I’m fascinated by the intersection between science fiction and food sourcing and the movie felt particularly meaningful in light of the current monoculture epidemic in the U.S.

Warning: spoilers ahead. If you want to read these texts on your own, don’t keep reading. Honestly, though, these are things you can just read my summaries of and not ever waste time reading!

 

To a God Unknown

My Summary: Six years before he wrote Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck wrote this narrative about the Wayne family who leave their homes in the east to go to California and establish a homestead. Like most of the literature of this era, the main character, Joseph, and his brothers, Thomas, Benjy, and Burton experience calamity after calamity. Their farm is successful at first, but as the rains stop and the soil dries up, they are incapable of making a living. Beset by disease, addiction, poverty, and hunger, slowly every family member leaves until Joseph is alone.

My thoughts: The title comes from the story’s one truly unique quality: whereas most of the novels, stories, and legends coming out of the Dust Bowl era are definitively Christian, this narrative allows for native deities (unspecified beyond there being a “spirit” or something that the more devout brother curses) to play a role in the life on the farm. Believing the spirit of the ancient tree on the property to be his father, Joseph becomes enamored with the tree, making offerings to it and spending time speaking with it. When Burton realizes exactly what is happening, he eventually cuts the tree at the roots, effectively killing the tree and causing the drought. The drought is only ended when Joseph offers himself to the rock in the middle of the grove, which his wife had fell to her death on years before. A weird novel, I can’t imagine doing much with it in terms of research or teaching, but it’s definitely an alternate drought narrative.

 

Now In November

My Summary: Yet another truly depressing Dust Bowl narrative, Now in November is uniquely told entirely from a woman’s perspective (at least, for novels actually published at the time). This is a story of a family that moves to the Midwest to live on land after they have problems “in town” (unspecified). While he tells his wife that they own the land outright, it is actually mortgaged land, meaning that they are chained by debt and will have to make a real profit (unlikely) to get free.

The parents and the oldest child, Kerrin, feel no attachment to the land, but the narrator, Margaret, and the youngest, Merle, love it. They start out with a hired hand, but when he moves to town, Father hires Grant. Margaret quickly falls in love with him, but he falls first for the eldest and then for the youngest. This group of five makes up the main cast of characters for this short and depressing story.

Kerrin is a deeply melancholic character and suffers from an “illness” which can only be depression. She works at first as a teacher, but is fired when her illness becomes more unmanageable.

With the drought, it becomes hard to pay rent and neighbor after neighbor lose their farms. The family hangs on, although it becomes much harder after the loss of Kerrin’s pay from teaching, but one day there is a fire and Mother gets burned. Kerrin commits suicide with Grant’s knife, mother dies the next day, and Grant leaves the farm. Margaret is convinced that she and Merle will somehow continue on and keep the farm.

My Thoughts: As you can see, this is a fine, uplifting text (not really) with a complex plot (nope) and is likely to be very helpful for my research (probably not). But I’m glad I read it. It just frustrates me that the only one of these narratives published at the time by a woman is basically plot-less and involves zero character development on the part of the characters. Father stays angry, Mother kind, Grant generous, Kerrin selfish and increasingly depressed, Margaret quiet and unwilling to stand up for herself, and Merle the baby. There’s a lot left to be desired.

 

Whose Names Are Unknown

About this Book: So, you know how I kept talking about Now in November as being the only narrative by a woman published at the time? Yeah, that’s because Sanora Babb wrote this novel and was all set to have it published when Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath was released (seriously, like days before her book was to be printed). The publisher pulled the book because they thought another book about so similar a story wouldn’t sell. Unfortunately, it probably should have been the other way around. Babb lived as a farmer in the Dust Bowl and combined her own experiences with research. In fact, this novel is a story meant to be a narrative companion to Arthur Rothstein's photo, "Fleeing a Dust Storm." Babb combines her correspondence, memories, and historical documents found during her research to tell a story about the Dunne family, living in a one-room hovel when the rains failed to come. With a plot very similar to Grapes of Wrath, Babb tells the stories of families fleeing Oklahoma for the California working camps. Of course, it’s a Dust Bowl narrative, so nothing can go right (because at the time, nothing did).

My thoughts: I enjoyed this book and the narrative style. I’m not sure I would say the actual writing is better than Steinbeck, but I think the story and the craft of the writer in basing her text in real-life experience deserves an equal space in our canon with Steinbeck’s absurdly long tome.

 

Grapes of Wrath

Overall Assessment: What Whose Names Are Unknown lacks in written elegance, Steinbeck’s great novel possesses in droves. However, unlike Babb, Steinbeck is giving into the popularized narrative of the Dust Bowl, ignoring several facts and scientific research as he tells about the Joads and their problems. The oversymbolism isn’t really my style.  

 

Dust Bowl Narratives, Conclusion: I really enjoyed the first of the Steinbeck novels and Babbs, but could have done without the others. 

Link Love: The last week before school begins

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="276">…

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

This is the last Friday before school starts up again. I'm in the midst of so many projects that I wanted to have done before school began. Alas. How is your back to school time going?

My Writing

Two years ago: Wild and Precious (Spiritual Uprising Blog)

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

  • Jane Austen Films and Onion Headlines: A Perfect Match (Flavorwire): My favorite? "Woman A Leading Authority on What Shouldn't be in Poor People's Grocery Carts." Lady Catherine would be that person if she were alive today (and, you know, real). 

    • There is no Secret to Writing About People who do not Look Like You (Literary Hub): This article is interesting and engages a problem evident in the book world. I love the last two paragraphs, excerpted here: "When a story does harm by presenting a limited view of a group of people, then the author’s craft has failed them in some crucial way. It isn’t that every character belonging to every marginalized group must be perfect and without conflict. It isn’t that an author must present an example every kind of person. Rather, it’s because you present only one side to that person’s life, a side that has often been fabricated and perpetuated by the larger public. It’s because your character doesn’t ring true, has none of the mess that makes a person real on the page. A writer’s work begins and ends with empathy. Without it, there can be no writing, at least not good writing, and if the author cannot enter into the lives of those unlike himself, then he must, I think, hold the work about himself up for closer scrutiny. The distance between the self and the other is never as great as we imagine it to be—the two are often twinned, and it’s this relationship that empathy reveals. The best writing, the writing most alive with possibilities, is the writing that at once familiarizes and estranges; it’s writing that divorces us from our same-old contexts and shifts our thinking about ourselves and the world around us." As a scholar of literature that is not from my own culture, I recognize the difficulties in writing about people who do not look like you. I think that this article is really helpful in engaging this. 

Life in General:

  • You're Not Responsible for Other People's Feelings (Introvert, Dear): Oh my gosh, this is so me: "I was stunned, and speechless. That was allowed? I could ask other people to modify something because it was causing me a problem? Rationally, I understood this concept. But emotionally, it felt like my entire world had shifted." I struggle to speak up for myself. I also appreciate the author's affirmation of communicating via writing. It is SO hard for me to do in person confrontations. I think so slowly that I can't process one thing before the person I'm talking to has moved onto the next. It makes it easy to be taken advantage of. 

  • Why I won’t buy a Fitbit (The Art of the Simple): While I love my fitbit, I really enjoyed this reflection from Art of the Simple. I think we are too numbers based these days. 

  • Why Representation Matters (Edutopia): I think it's really easy for people to roll their eyes when they hear about groups of persons being underrepresented. I know that as a kid, I struggled to find female characters to relate with. This article is really good for addressing the problem with potential answers. 

Environmentalism, Farming, Food, Health, and Nutrition:

  • Don't you dare teach my daughter to fear the forest (Woman Running with Wolves): I love this: "If the time ever comes when my daughter should feel that life has worn her down, I will show her that in the soul-forest, there is always life teeming under the surface. Like an owl stalking a mouse in the moonlight, some part of her somewhere is always awake and bustling peacefully in the silence; alert, watching, waiting.So, don't you dare teach my daughter to fear the forest. You know those stories that speak of the wolf in the wood? I will teach my daughter that she is the wolf – free, primal, and connected to the moon." I never thought about how the stories about kids getting attacked in the woods teach us to fear the forest. I'm so glad it didn't work on me. 

  • These 5 Museums Put the “Culture” in “Agriculture” (Modern Farmer): I would love to visit some of these. 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

  • Creating an Ecology of Wonder (Edutopia): I don't think it's any secret that I love being a teacher. Even though things like this are harder to accomplish at the University level, I consider my vocation to be no less creative than that of a kindergarten teacher. I love this quote: "Our job as educators is to make our primary resource -- wonder -- the essential learning incentive and outcome. This precious resource of wonder will feed our students, and in turn, our students will enrich their communities when they graduate with future public projects, businesses, cultural opportunities, and the exchange of ideas that in turn will foster wonder and curiosity for future generations. Our students and communities will pass on wonder in much the same way oxygen, water, and nutrients cycle through a well-balanced ecosystem." I think this is a great way to put the job of an educator. 

  • With Dartmouth professor's push, NH veterans finding that 'Homer gets it. Homer knows' (New Hampshire Union Leader): I love this article. Sometimes the Classics seem so far away for my students. They feel like what happened in Ancient Greece cannot possibly impact them. But reading Homer helps us to realize that more than anything, the human is human. The same pains we experience today were experienced then. That gives a certain amount of humanity to suffering, doesn't it?

Parenting: 

  • When satan steals your motherhood (Letters from the Nest): I have to admit that I know some people might not trust parenthood posts that I share, given that I'm not a mom. But, I love this post and I think all my mom friends should read it. I'm like this with other things, and I can only imagine that I would be like this as a mother. It's so easy to lose the joy of the thing that you "must" do (that really, you have chosen to do) and to let that joy be stolen in exchange for anger, frustration, and self deprecation. 

Link Love: Getting Back in the Groove

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

 So, I just want to give you guys some insight into how I do this piece every week. Throughout the week, I save any articles that seem interesting, that I read and liked, or that I want to read. I save them in this folder on my bookmarks called "Reading List" and then I write this post usually on Thursday or Friday. 

Except that I haven't done a post in almost three months. 

Basically, my reading list folder is huge. Like, overflowing. Like, I'm not sure I could ever actually post them all. 

So, to fix this problem I'm going to dump a lot of them, but I'm also going to have a few weeks where the options are robust and some of the articles are a few months old. It's tough to keep up with all this with everything that I have going on in my PhD program (more about that later). I hope it's still enjoyable. 

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

Movies and TV:

Life in General:

Race and Class Issues:

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

To Make You Laugh:

Parenting: 

What I Read this Week

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy

My Writing

One year ago: I want Stan Lee to be My Adopted Grandpa and other musings on Dallas Comic Con 2015 (Popery, Pens, and Paperbacks): This was such a fun weekend. So good to remember it!

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

Social Justice: 

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

  • Love for Traveler's Notebook with Patrick Ng (5/19/16) (Baum Kitchen): Patrick Ng, a traveler's notebook connoisseur, is pretty cool. Wish I could have been there!

  • April in the Midori Travelers Notebook (Fountain Pen Physicist): I love my Midori, but because I use my Field Notes for everything, I haven't really used it. I'm reading up on other people using theirs for research. Maybe I'll crack mine open this summer. 

  • A Micro Review: On The Fly with a Fisher Space Pen (From the Pen Cup): I got one of these pens a little while back and have barely used it. It lives in my purse for events such as this, though!

  • The Write Tools (From the Pen Cup): I'm falling in love with this company. The Lenore series? To die for! 

  • The Lure of the Limited Edition (The Finer Point): This is something I struggle with for sure. As I've mentioned a hundred times, I come from a family background of collectors/hoarders and so the limited edition thing pulls at my strings, no matter how hard I try to ignore it. I have resisted several of the things Jenny mentions, though. Every time I encounter the Lamy Dark Lilac, I am grateful that I resisted purchasing it. It's just not as pretty in person and I DON'T need another Lamy!

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

Life in General:

  • 22 things every woman needs in her life (The Art of Simple): Usually, I roll my eyes at lists like this, but this one is different. I think every women needs a lot of these things and some might identify with all of them? My favorite--a signature pen. I immediately thought of my Pilot Vanishing Point (in white and rodium) with Waterman Inspired Blue inside. <3

  • Boring Conference (All Things Stationery): Isn't this super cool? I would be so good at leading things at a boring conference. 

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

  • The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries (NY Times): I think that this article has a good balance of factual evidence and emotional appeal. I particularly enjoy references to the treatment of teachers in other countries: "The study compared the treatment of teachers here and in the three countries that perform best on standardized tests: Finland, Singapore and South Korea. Turns out these countries have an entirely different approach to the profession. First, the governments in these countries recruit top graduates to the profession. (We don’t.) In Finland and Singapore they pay for training. (We don’t.) In terms of purchasing power, South Korea pays teachers on average 250 percent of what we do." Imagine what would happen if we did these things. 

  • Why do so few tenured professors get fired? Because it is really hard to get tenure. (Isthmus): A lot of my friends don't get what the whole tenure-ing process looks like. It's hard. It's hell. It is an extraordinary task. This article helps explain what the process entails and why it means you can't be fired (or, usually means that). 

  • Who Is Your Warm Demander Role Model? (EduTopia): I think that this is a really great explanation of being a good teacher and leader. 

  • 7 Reasons You Might Not Want to Teach Anymore (Huffington Post): I don't necessarily relate to this because I'm in a University setting, but absolutely this connects with what my friends tell me about their lives. 

  • Teaching kids philosophy makes them smarter in math and English (Quartz): I was talking yesterday with the young woman who works for the graduate program about the need for an ethics course in the core. I think this goes alongside that. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

  • Decluttering clothes, beauty stuff, & books (The Art of the Simple): As I'm moving, I'm reading more decluttering and minimalism articles, trying to clear out my belongings instead of taking excess crap into the new apartment. What do you need to get rid of?

Parenting: 

What I read this week and some other things

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Things are finally starting to calm down around here. I spent the last couple days with Andrew and Anna, which was really great. Hope you all are enjoying this last week of May!

My Writing

Two years ago: Retreat, A Rule of Life, and Letting Go (Spiritual Uprising)

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

  • A Letter from Fr. Richard Rohr: Although this letter is inviting us to a conference, I think that reading the way Fr. Rohr talks about the election is important. "If we do not own our fears, they will continue to manipulate our politics, culture, and religion, reinforcing a polarized and divided society. Time is much too precious—for each individual life and for our planet as a whole. We must bring as much passion to our cause as do those who call for building walls. But our job is to tear down walls." I invite you to read the rest. 

  • The Catholic Church’s Drinking Problem (Millenial): Reading this article reminds me of a man who came to speak at UD Campus Ministry's Dinner and Discourse and talked about how alcohol can be sacramental, but it can also be addicting and damaging. In the Catholic Church, we have a definite drinking problem. I'm interested in what you, my friends and readers, think. 

  • Dorothy Day: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History (Ignatian Solidarity Network): I love Dorothy Day. "The prospect of Day as a modern-day saint would give young Catholic women many things to chew on. In a world focused on telling young girls to look pretty in Photoshop selfies or that their self-worth is measured by internet followers, it is important for young women to have a role model who is hard-working, smart, and selfless. Day is a fantastic role model because she was marked by the virtues of Christ—justice, mercy, compassion, and love. When I think of what kind of woman I want to be, Dorothy Day comes to mind. In deed and word, she illustrated that Catholic leadership is not limited to men, but open for all. Canonizing Day would also show women and men that sainthood is an attainable feat for all, not reserved for some. Through her conversion story, Day represents all of us as sinners in need of grace." I hope they do canonize her. 

  • Vatican PR aide warns Catholic blogs create ‘cesspool of hatred’ (Crux Now): An interesting point. I think that a lot of the time I'm easily angered by the things that Catholic Bloggers write and this is why--“Often times the obsessed, scrupulous, self-appointed, nostalgia-hankering virtual guardians of faith or of liturgical practices are very disturbed, broken and angry individuals, who never found a platform or pulpit in real life and so resort to the Internet and become trolling pontiffs and holy executioners!” I hope that I am never accused of this, but God knows I've been attacked for enough of the orthodox, yet "liberal" things that I post. Ugh.  

  • Dear Church (A Frank Letter From A Queer Christian) (Nomad): This is beautiful, familiar, heart-wrenching. 

  • Pope Francis might jettison idea of a ‘just war’ (Crux Now): About time. 

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

Life in General:

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

  • We Weren’t That Resilient (Maureen O'Leary): This is an important reminder for people who complain about "young people these days" and how weak or sensitive they are. We really weren't that resilient. I think about this a lot, working with my students I see a lot of brokenness. They're no more broken than we were, though, and they have a hell of a lot more hope and desire to change the world. 

  • Banging on the doors of bigotry (Socialist Worker): I don't know very much about DePaul, other than that I have former students who considered going there. However, I think that what's happening there is a microcosm for what's happening in the larger political arena. Something to consider. Note: This is not an objective source. Do your own research, too. 

  • Let's Talk About the Toxic Way South Korea Is Handling its Rape Problem (Vice): Trigger warning. 

To Make You Smile:

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

Parenting: 

  • 4th Grader Comes Home With Disturbing News—Then Mom Realizes Her “Worst Nightmare” Is Coming True (Faith It): I think this is an important. "It’s simply not enough to instruct your children to “Be Nice!” You’ve got to be more specific than that. Kids think if they aren’t being outright unkind, they are being nice. We know better." There are a lot of "good" kids growing up to be bullies because no one teaches them compassion. We say "be nice," but nice isn't real. Teach kids to be kind. 

  • What I Teach My Teenage Daughter In Response To Her School’s Sexist Dress Code (Patheos): This is important. Teaching kids that they have control over their bodies and that they cannot cause someone else to be distracted (sin) is crucial to creating a world where rape-culture isn't a thing. 

  • I Don’t Want Obedient Children (Love, Joy, Feminism): This article is great in pointing out that the tradition of children being ever-obedient, unquestioning, seen and not heard, is detrimental to the adults that the children grow up to be. I appreciated this quote: "My husband often says that he’s not raising children, he’s raising adults. After all, our job as parents is to prepare our children for adulthood, not simply to mitigate the challenges of raising children in the here and now." And I appreciate this one: "In the end, I don’t want obedient children. I want children who are curious, confident, and compassionate, children who know how to communicate effectively and value cooperation and compromise."All parents should so discern. 

Unbreakable Willy Women: With Love to our Littlest on your Graduation

It’s finals week and I have a paper due tomorrow (tonight?) that I should be writing, but I’m tired and fried and needing sleep. So, while I wait for the coffee to wear off, I’m reflecting and writing this. And, because it’s late and I’m tired and I’m writing about my family, I’m writing in my own, real, Missouri voice. Read with accent, more as you go along. Last weekend I went home to Missouri for my mom’s graduation. It was an awesome trip and I loved it, even if I did have to drive 24 hours in three days and then come home to research and write 40 pages (still in progress)...

Read more

Announcement: No link love tomorrow

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy

This week is the last week of classes. I'm all done with mine and now I have to really dig deeply into writing my term papers. Every semester, I say that I'll have the bulk of the work done before finals week, but every semester here I am, hopelessly anxious about papers and research and having to grade my students' work at the same time. 

Tomorrow, I am driving to Missouri where my Mom will get her Associate's degree on Saturday. Then, I'm driving back and writing like crazy. I'm totally overwhelmed and so I won't be creating a link love list this week. 

See you all on the other side of finals!

What I Read This Week: Arbor Day Edition

I didn't acutally realize it was arbor day until about thirty minutes ago. I'm glad, though, because I really love trees and I've had a really crappy week. But I'm continuing to learn to be grateful for the good stuff and enjoy the abundance of blessings given to me. I'm practicing counting blessings, so I'll share a few of this week's good parts with you....

Read more

What I Read This Week: Earth Day Edition

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy!

Because it's Earth Day and because I have a lot on my plate, I'm going to keep this week's link love really short. Instead of reading on your computer, go outside! ENJOY EARTH!

Have a great weekend!

My Writing

Two years ago:

  • Finding Community (Spiritual Uprising Blog): This piece reflects over my life with the Sisters of Providence. Although I'm far away now, they are still in my heart and mind daily. 
  • Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry (Popery, Pens, and Paperbacks): I can't believe it's been only two years since I first read Jayber Crow. It's like a prayer, a retreat, a meditation. I love Wendell Berry. 

What I read this week:

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

Life in General:

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

To Make You Laugh:

Parenting: 

What I Read This Week: Friday Link Love for April 15, 2016

Hey, friends! I'm so tired this week, as I'm sure you can understand. I have piles upon piles of work to grade and do and I've been in and out of meetings all week, which means I haven't done it! But even with all the work and things on my to-do list, this week I am so grateful for a wonderful group of friends and a great administration here at the UNT English Department. Last night, I was really blessed to spend some time with old friends from college at the Galbraith Lecture at UD. That was a nice break from the crazy. 

Read more