online meanderings - tiredness in motherhood, disciplining daughters, tweeting for God's glory and other stuff

This week, my top picks were

Spent, but gladly spent - "The difference between [bitterly, resignedly, self-pityingly] 'spent' and 'gladly spent' is at least partly the difference between being 'eaten alive' by your children and pouring out your life for them." How I needed this! Nicole.

Mothering styles - How to make mothering - or life - work for your personality type. Fantastic ideas for re-energising so you can go back to serving. Love it! Thank, Rachel.

On misreading daughters - The importance of really listening when it comes to disciplining girls. "You cannot fire off an answer to whatever seems to be happening...without seeing where they feel threatened...And to do that, you need to find out first." Lizzie Jank.

I was encouraged by

On parenting a pre-teen and the survival thereof - Yeah, I didn't believe it either - until I had a pre-teen. A brief, tough stage. "It is for us to hang on, to stand strong, to remain firm, and to love our kids as they make the hard transition from child to teenager." Lisa.

What I noticed while watching my friend - "She uses Mondays as a "reset" day" - just like me! The rest isn't much like me at all. Some helpful ideas for being "busy around the home". Jess.

Forgiveness for mums who fail - 'Nuff said. Robert Jones.

I loved

Earth's crammed with heaven - Ali helps me to fall in love with Christian poetry - like this stunning poem by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning.

Dads, sing like you mean it because your kids are watching you - "My father was a wonderfully eccentric man...When he would catch me looking at him he would simply 'lock-eyes' with me and sing all the louder while he broadened his grin to match proportion with his pleasure." Keith McCracken.

Hanging in the balance - The difficulty of balancing life and commitments as a mum. Sounds uncomfortably familiar. Thanks for the honesty, Bek!

I enjoyed

Just how big is God and just how small are we? - "Once upon a time a very young angel was being shown round the splendours and glories of the universes by a senior and experienced angel..." Justin Taylor quotes from JB Phillips.

Be a real husband and dad (while you're studying theology) - "Way too much is at stake with our families right now to just go through the motions while we prepare ourselves for some future ministry." Jonathon Parnell.

Serving up Tweets - "What I aim at...is another person being able to click in and click out quickly, with maximum benefit to their souls....I want to ask little of them, and add much to them." Tony Reinke interviews Ray Ortland.

I appreciated

Confessions from a recovering pride addict - "Cancer chewed her up and spit her out right there on the hospital bed...She was dying — really dying — and I’m worried about looking stupid and thinking of ways to not cry...Compassion is always the right thing to do, even if you fumble when you do it." Amy.

There is hope - "Parents of kids with autism are under a terrific amount of stress. Many of these children don't sleep at night. They wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, and one of the parents has to get up, because they need constant supervision." God's hope in a hopeless situation. Greg Lucas HT Challies

Contentment - "From this distance, all the annoying bits have fallen away like dross...I think contentment is the art of looking at the present the way you look at the past and the future." Rebekah.

I was informed by

The mistakes of Phillip Jensen - A fantastic interview, especially the last paragraph. "Ministry...is no career move...for someone who wants an easy life or a nice life...You are following the crucified one."

Preaching: to Tweet or not to Tweet - Should we tweet during sermons? An interesting post by Sandy, and an interesting discussion in the comments, contributed to somewhat inanely by moi (knitting, anyone?).

Is it God-centred to praise people?; Moving from fuzzy platitudes to concrete praise; Praising others is not optional - The when, why and how of praising people. Sam Crabtree.

I'd now like to read

Isaiah by the day: A new devotional translation by Alec Motyer - I'm reading Isaiah at the moment, and this looks good. HT Challies.

Sex, dating and relationships: A fresh approach by Gerald Hiestand and Jay S. Thomas - Looks like it would be a promising addition to books about this subject on my shelf. HT Challies.

and this made me giggle.

15 grammar goofs that make you look silly - Grammar the easy way. You know you need it. CopyBlogger HT Vitamin Z.