1) I’m truly humbled by this post over at Lisa Writes.  She says:

I long to have a heart so enthralled with Jesus, so full of passion for
His glory and His renown, that I cannot help speaking of that which
I’ve seen and heard.

That
could have been written from the depths of my own heart, although I
would have never come up with words quite so eloquent. 

Why is it that the posts that are the most thoughtful and meaningful
are the ones that I find the hardest to write?  Shouldn’t every one of my posts
just be overflowing with the goodness and richness of Christ’s love and
how He is working in my life? 

Instead, I often get frustrated when I try to write about such
things and quickly revert back to blah blah blah potty training, blah blah blah yet another meme, blah
blah blah new Vera Bradley fall colors!

I couldn’t agree with this statement more:

I think one of the great problems of modern Christianity is we look
just like the world. We live the same, we talk the same, we want the
same.

And this, I fear, is a very dangerous pitfall, one in which I find
myself often ensnared, both in my everyday life, and here on my blog.

I don’t want my spiritual life to be confined to my morning
prayer time.  It should permeate my thoughts, my words, my desires, my life.
I want to honor Christ in all that I do and say.  And I want this blog
to honor Christ as well.  But I fear that my life and this blog all too
often brings disappointment rather than glory to Him.

So anyway, go read her post.  You will be blessed and challenged and encouraged.

2) For some great tips on teaching your daughters manners, see this post at the Pinks and Blues Girls Blog.  One of her tips that is very close to my own heart is teaching your girls (and boys!) to write thank you notes PROMPTLY.  She says:

As early as your daughter can hold a crayon and make a mark or two, teach her the courtesy of the Thank You note.

This is something I always did (unfortunately I was more punctual with my thank you notes as a child than I am today, although I do try to always send one) and people were always so appreciative of this.  It goes a long way to making a good impression.

And also this one:

Teach your daughter to be agreeable. <snip> A daughter must learn at an early age that people who have no control
over her unhappiness at the moment also have no desire to suffer her
wrath.

For more great advice, click on over and check out the whole article.

3) Good for a laugh or ten, check out this post by Jaime at Fully Operational Battle Station.  But read with caution.  With paragraphs like this, you are sure snort your coffee out your nose. 

This is when he starts spewing off craziness. He ACTUALLY tells me “You
girls go then, I am staying here to KILL ALL THE EARWIGS. They are
nocturnal, I can kill them throughout the night” like we are living in
some sort of medieval fairytale in which Knight Michael will stay and
sacrifice his life for the love of his land and defend our freedom by
battling the earwig militia throughout the remainder of the fortnight.

(Her home was infested with a certain bothersome insect, and her
husband gets a little, um, irrational trying to defend hearth and home,
or rather his right to "hanky-pank".)

4) And finally, my heart was saddened as I read this post by someone who has become a dear friend, Clemntine at What’s Up Buttercup?  I can totally relate to her angst, and I respect her decision, but she will be sorely missed.  Clem, I definitely will be keeping my "eyes peeled" for your "glamorous profile photo".

Alrighty then.  I’m off to spend some quality Skip-Bo time with my son!  I have a championship to win.