May 28, 2016

Letting People Help You and other Off-site Highlights

Compiled by Anna



1. "Asking favors can be a way to give a gift." The Washington Post's advice columnist Carolyn Hax writes with far more nuance than anything you'd find in the columns of "Dear Abby" or the like. Ms. Hax's outlook is decidedly progressive--existential, even--but she is often refreshingly sensible. As a Lutheran, I liked this quote from a recent online chat she gave, in response to someone who feels that she cannot ask any of her friends for all-day medical help:
"...people often have a backward understanding of asking favors. . . We look at asking a favor as an imposition, but sometimes, especially when it's rare and comes from someone who prefers to stand alone, asking is actually a gift. Have you ever had a friend trust you with something big, and felt flattered to be asked? And/or grateful for the chance to show this person you care? That could be what you offer here. Trusting someone with your vulnerability can help can bring the friend you choose (carefully, of course) a notch closer to you--especially if you're able to return this level of favor for him or her." Carolyn Hax.

2. "Love is Work" from Lydia J. Will really nails what I often feel as a mother. I adore my children, and that feeling can bubble joyfully. Yet the desire for time to do my own thing also wells up unbidden.

3. "On Respecting Children When They Make Mistakes" by Maura Roan McKeegan is a great read, especially for fans of the Little House books. The older I get, the more I appreciate the wisdom of Ma and Pa Ingalls.

4 & 5. Go to Sisters of Katie Luther to read a review of Mothering Many, a book compiled by Marie McPherson (who has also written for SDMW). Speaking of reviews, you can find one from Marie about another parenting-related, Lutheran book: Eternal Treasures.

6. "Why It Can Be So Hard to Choose Adoption Over Abortion" by Emily Carrington is a helpful read.

7. Nature is Trying to Kill You by Rev. Tim Pauls. It's funny, it's true, and it's good.


Need more? From our archives:

Infiltrating the Arts: A Subtler Form of Apologetics

Order, Beauty, and the Urge to Create


Happy Saturday!

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