a few good links

read this story on forgiveness written by a woman whose husband shot several amish children, if you get a chance. her book is on my "to read" list. this is exceptional ...

"Forgiveness is a choice. I chose to forgive Charlie just as the Amish families forgave him. I knew that anger had completely overtaken his heart. I did not want to risk the same scenario for myself. Over the next few months, God spoke to me about the choice to forgive and what it would birth within me. Forgiveness was not about setting Charlie free — it was about setting myself free. The past could not control my future — I was not bound to the label, “the shooter’s wife.” 

[Marie Monville]

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jen hatmaker, if you read my blog by some miracle, can you please be my friend and mentor?! I LOVE HER. she hit it out of the park with two articles this week. the first on the BIG FEELINGS no one warns you about when you become a mom, and the whole thing is sooo good. lance and i have had almost the exact conversation she had with her husband about "turning dumb." (HUGE RELIEF when she said that will go away.)

her other article on how parenting today has become too precious, and we need to just breathe and let it happen like every generation before the most recent ones did ... is awesome. a tease:

"What did our moms do? 

They let us be kids, and we wobbled and skinned our knees and made up our own fun and enjoyed the simple pleasures of childhood without any flash and dazzle. But you know what? We knew we were loved and we knew we were safe. We never doubted the most important parts of the story. We weren’t fragile hothouse plants but dirty, rowdy, resilient kids who ate Twinkies and candy cigarettes and lived to tell. 

Mama, don’t fall for the yearly time capsules. You have everything your little ones need: kisses, Shel Silverstein books, silly songs, kitchen dance parties, a backyard, family dinner around the table, and a cozy lap. They’ll fill in the rest of the gaps and be better for it. Your kids don’t need to be entertained and they don’t need to be bubble-wrapped; they just need to be loved." 

[Jen Hatmaker]