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avatar by on May 18, 2013   •   3 Comments Links

Weekend links

The readers who’ve won a copy of Freefall to Fly are: Kristi, Kelli, Catherine, Christina, Kristi, Dawn, Kristin, Laura, Christie, and Katie. Congrats to the ten of you! Look for an email and get back to us as soon as you can.

 

“We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.” -Bill Watterson

kat-post-kids-history
avatar by on May 17, 2013   •   31 Comments Personal Growth You

Harness the power of your personal history

Would you send your kids to a school that didn’t teach history?

Is history necessary? I mean, it’s called history…it already happened. We can’t change anything about it. Shouldn’t our kids focus on subjects like math and science to get them ready for the future, instead of reliving the past?

Whoa…keep your tar and feathers in your hands and hear me out for a second.

This isn’t actually a post about school, education, or history. It’s a post about you. And me. And the power of our personal history.
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nyc
avatar by on May 16, 2013   •   Books You

Freefall to Fly

If it were possible to feel an emotion when I went through depression several years ago, that emotion would have been surprised. I never pegged myself as someone prone to depression, and besides, I always thought depression meant crying, walking around feeling sad all the time, and triggered by something traumatic or heartbreaking.

But since my typical depressive state was feeling…. nothing, I wasn’t surprised, because “surprise” is a feeling, isn’t it? And so I went through about two years, off and on, feeling nothing more than something, waiting for something or someone to pull me out of my cloud and make to my usual self.

It’s now been about three years since I was in the thick throes of depression, though I remember the odd, in between-like state as though it were yesterday, and I’m fully aware that those who’ve been depressed before have a higher chance of becoming depressed again—meaning, it’s fully part of my life in some way. And because those dealing with depression are dear to my heart, I love reading words from someone who “gets” what it feels like. If she packages it in a beautiful book that’s perfect for giving to those who need a dose of encouragement? Even better.

Rebekah Lyons’ first book, Freefall to Fly, isn’t only about depression, but it’s a very real part of her story. And because this book is about her story, her words are a gift of comfort to those who’ve had that freefall feeling, not knowing what’s up.

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Rebekah tells her tale of moving from the suburban south to the heart of New York City, and what it feels like to be yanked out of everything normal and comfortable and into constant newness and culture shock.

It forced her to answer big questions about her life, like Why was I put on earth?, How do I turn suffering into something beautiful and useful?, and Is this really the way God intended life to be? And in finding answers to her questions, she found healing.

The book is about finding meaning by taking risks, whatever those risks may look like for you.

The end of the book provides space and open-ended questions for the reader to think through her own life as well, making Rebekah’s personal story an application for anybody. Why are you on earth?

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Giveaway

Rebekah is giving TEN Simple Mom readers a copy of Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning. To enter, simply leave any comment on this post! (If you’re reading this via email, hop over to the site to leave a comment there.)

Something Fun

art-print-popIf you buy Rebekah’s book, you can enter your information here (scroll down), and you’ll receive three additional gifts: an original chalk art print by artist Dana Tanamachi, a TOMS $5 gift card, and a Freefall to Fly digital soundtrack. Pretty cool!

This giveaway is now closed. Check back on Saturday, May 18 – we’ll announce the winners then.

brusselssprouts
avatar by on May 15, 2013   •   12 Comments Self-Care You

Which is the best springtime cleanse for you?

My husband and I recently began monthly “healthy habit” challenges to establish certain wellness practices that we wanted a more regular part of our lives.  Each month, we decide on a practice, set up a simple daily habit and hold each other accountable to do it every day for a full month.

Earlier this month, we were both getting the springtime itch to do a whole-foods cleanse.  But since we were having such success with the month-long model, we decided to weave cleansing into our healthy habit for May.  I reflected on these two models of cleansing and thought I’d share a little insight as to why you may choose one over the other.
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subscribe
avatar by 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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