You | Simple Mom

by Tsh on May 14, 2013 • 56 Comments Productivity You

How to subscribe to blogs (Or, why you shouldn’t panic about Google Reader’s demise)

There was a season when I was too busy blogging to read blogs, but then that started feeling weird and wrong, so I started reading them again. (I learned my trick: I need to write first, producing before I consume.) So I started reading blogs again, after I’ve written my day’s personal quota, and reading them reminds me continually why I love this blogging thing in the first place. I have a carefully-curated lineup of favorites, and add more as I find them unmissable.

By far, the easiest way to keep up with blogs is to subscribe to them—it’s free, you don’t have to constantly check to see if there’s something new, and if you want to click over and read on the actual site, you can—the link comes to you, in whatever inbox you use to receive the blog’s feed. (“Feed” is fancy web talk for frequently updated content, if you were ever too afraid to ask.)

And like many of you, I used Google Reader for years, and was shocked to hear its ultimate demise by July 2013. So I started exploring, found my new favorite way to subscribe, and now I can’t imagine ever going back to Reader, even if it were sticking around.

So consider this your primer for how to subscribe to blogs—whether you’ve never subscribed to a blog before, or whether you subscribe to hundreds and are looking for a new place to do it.
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The grass is greener where you water it.

by Tsh on May 13, 2013 • 29 Comments Personal Growth You

Where you water it

As you start this week, remember to be all here, in the presence of this week, these days, this hour right now. May you remember to not see your children, your daily work, or whatever you’re called to cultivate, as interruptions to your day. May you remember that they are your day.

When life is a bit mundane, or even a bit—shall we say, character-building, resist the temptation to think things would be better if it were just next week, next year, when the kids are older, when you’re in a different city, when you graduate, when you’ve painted that room, once you’ve gotten into shape, when you’ve crossed that thing off your bucket list.

As things flow your way this week, find the courage to listen to that still small voice and learn from what life gives you. Right here, right now. Let the simple liturgies of your day teach you things. And may you be all there as you learn them.

Remember, the grass isn’t greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it.

by Sarah on May 9, 2013 • 20 Comments Inspiration You

Poem: The Birds and the Bees

Does anyone find it easy to talk about sex with their kids?

I know there’s a range of comfort levels when it comes to this topic. When I was growing up, my family avoided the subject — so I’ve got plenty of anxiety when it comes to the dreaded “sex talks.”

In today’s poem, I explore the complicated emotions that go along with this challenge.
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by Tsh on May 7, 2013 • 16 Comments Live With Purpose You

What potholders, tigers, and Ethiopia have in common

“Mom, I’d like to sell my potholders so that I can give the money away.” Tate, my 8-year-old said this rather nonchalantly as we were driving from school to gymnastics. She got one of those rite-of-passage potholder loop kits from the grandparents for Christmas, and she’s been a weaving machine this spring.

“I like that idea a lot, Tate. How much would you sell them for?” I asked. “Oh, something like twenty-five cents or maybe fifty cents or maybe a dollar,” she replied, quite the entrepreneur.

“What would you give the money to?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, I can’t decide between homeless people or tigers.” I tried not to laugh. “Tigers?” I asked.

“Yeah, there’s a certain type that’s endangered, and I’d like to give money to people who are helping stop that.” She’s always been an animal lover.

potholder

I loved her heart and her ideas, so I promised we would look in to how she could give her proceeds to organizations that helped both these efforts. And then I also remembered that we’re about to launch the second phase of fully-funding some work done in an Ethiopian village.

“Hey Tate, would you also be interested in giving some of your profits to work being done in a small village in Ethiopia? It helps lots of mamas with little babies, giving them supplies they need and teaching them how to take care of them.” One of our Compassion children lives in Ethiopia, so I knew she’d recognize the country.

“Ooh, yeah! I wanna do that, too.” Bless her.

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by Tsh on May 6, 2013 • 37 Comments Personal Growth You

You matter

As you start this week, may you find bravery to do the hard things on your list. May you recognize the clarion call in your life, and the humble realization that to do what you’re called to do well, it means rolling up your sleeves and getting your arm into it.

May you not be discouraged when this hard work goes unrecognized or slips through the cracks, as though it yielded no fruit. Remember that these small actions, done one day after another and another, give way to mountain-moving conditions. Think of the grains of sand that comprise the Sahara.

Keep your nose to the grindstone, and keep your eyes set on things above. And remember, if your kitchen counter wiping gets no “likes” or your words of wisdom espoused to your children are never retweeted, they DO matter. Their absence would leave a hole in your home. You matter.

And as you do those hard things on your list, may you find pleasure—surprising pleasure—in doing some of them. May you find a sliver of time to sit with a cup of tea and a book. And may you find the needed encouragement to wake up, once more, and do it all again.

Because you do matter.