Friday Links

Happy Friday! I don't have as many links as usual, since Google Reader took all of my starred posts with it to the grave. (I've emigrated to Feedly, which, to my surprise, I LOVE.) But here are some things that have caught my interest this week.

♥ Did you miss Sharknado last night? Even worse, did you miss the Sharknado livetweeting? Don't worry, here's a quick digest of some of the best tweets. Personally, I think it deserves a place among the most hilariously awful TV movies of all time.

♥ One of my Story 101 classmates is doing a fantastic series on the dangers of "guard your heart" theology. Start here: I Guarded My Heart, and I Regret It.

♥ A fascinating article that could launch a hundred discussions: I Was A Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

♥ Word Nerd Alert: Have you ever wondered about the origin of "OK"? I've heard many different stories and was still confused, but this Mental Floss article cleared things up.

♥ Katy Perry did a cover and interview for Vogue. I just love her. My favorite quote: "At first when I met him he wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, I can’t handle the equalness."

♥ Finally, I can't stop watching this redub of the Cosby Show intro with Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." It just works.

Friday Links

Friday Links time!!!

♥ Post of the week from the always-refreshing Christa Black: Why "Loving God and Loving People" Doesn't Work. Really powerful reminder of grace.

♥ Kristen at Chasing Blue Skies salutes the late bloomers! Man, that phrase always puts the Sarah Harmer song in my head. Oh late bloomer, the rumors were true. You know I checked your ID when you left the room.

♥ Jennifer Fulwiler's tips for conquering crazy-think and making good decisions. Very helpful.

♥ Jen Hatmaker guests at A Deeper Story: Do Not Stumble On Account of Me. This piece inspired me to go to my concordance and write down everything the Bible says about God's justice. I also want to write down what it says about His love, which thankfully will be a much longer list.

♥ A valuable post for the introverts from Donald Miller: How to Avoid a People Hangover.

♥ Also from Storyline, a Shauna Niequist post: Stop Hustling and Get Your Life Back. *standing ovation*

♥ Deep thoughts from novelist Megan Crane on miracles, womanhood, and secret shames. I really related to the second half of this.

♥ It's almost two months old, but I still think about Hollywood Housewife's post about her sprained ankle.  I found it surprisingly profound in its simplicity.

♥ This anti-drug PSA LOLCat still totally cracks me up: Catnip: Not Even Once 

♥ Gretchen Rubin points out that everything is NOT "so different these days."

♥ This is slightly old news, but Spencer Hall of SB Nation wrote an AMAZING article about his experience in Memphis during the Grizzlies' NBA playoff run that I'm sure will be quoted here for decades to come. Some of his words may even make it into official promotional materials. :) "Memphis is the informal capital of the dirtiest part of the Dirty South. It's not going to be normal. It's not going to be easy."


Happy weekend!

Friday ADD

I planned to write a serious post for today, but I'm just too distracted. I've cut back on caffeine for health reasons, the result being that one cup of real coffee followed by a Coke Zero turns me all jacked-up and jittery. More notably, workers have been replacing most of the flooring in my house for the past three days, and I've been really focused on that. I also didn't consider that after the work, it would look like a dirt bomb had gone off. EVERYTHING needs to be dusted or washed. So I have a full weekend of heavy-duty cleaning ahead of me... which I'm sort of looking forward to in my weird OCD way. (I've been pinning homemade all-purpose cleaner recipes like crazy!) Once everything is back to normal, you better believe I'll be posting before and after photos. It looks like a whole new house. I'm really excited.

Meanwhile, here's a smorgasbord of my usual Fridayish topics!

♥ Kevin Ware presents the Top Ten on Letterman - about his thoughts when he broke his leg. Seriously, how awesome is this guy?

♥ From Elora of A Deeper Story: I Am Not A Robot.

♥ Another Susan Isaacs post at Storyline: Talking It All Out - How To Get Past Hurt Feelings.

♥ Justine Larbalestier reflects on ten years of writing for a living.

♥ A happy, heartwarming video about a man with Down Syndrome who owns his own restaurant.

♥ Memphians, here's the farmers' market opening schedule, the Levitt Shell concert schedule, the Peabody Rooftop party schedule, and a list of upcoming crawfish festivals. April through June is the best time to be in Memphis!!

♥ I've been wearing these Steve Madden "Heaven" flats almost every day for weeks! They're so comfortable and go with everything. I think it would behoove me to get another pair or two in one of the MANY colors and patterns available. 6pm.com has neon ones for $20 right now, but I used up my lifetime allotment of neon as a child of the 80's.

♥ Old Navy is overflowing with cute casual dresses right now. I didn't buy either of the dresses I posted about recently, but loved so many others that I now have $20 of Super Cash to spend this weekend. Well worth it.

Friday Links

Lunching at Audubon Park

Shortish list today. I blame the beautiful springlike weather! :) It's amazing the difference longer days and warmer weather can make.

♦ Your daily dose of cuteness: I Love Memphis's interview with Kid President. Also from ILM: a video collection of D.J. Stephens' greatest dunks!

♦ Sarah Bessey's latest brilliance: In Which God Does Not Want to Use Me, and In Which Art Is Like Manna. I've been pondering the latter post a lot this week.

♦ Yes, Justin Timberlake's fifth hosting of SNL was a wild success, but did you also see him repping the Tigers while closing the show? :D

♦ Carolyn Custis James expounds on one of her own passages, from When Life and Beliefs Collide, that I've posted about before:  Losing Plan A. I needed this reminder!

♦ Last week Emily Freeman publicly announced her upcoming third book, A Million Little Ways. Even if this was the longest post she's ever written, I soaked up every word of it! Can't wait for the book.

♦ Have you seen Myla Smith's video for her new single, "This Time I Mean It"? GO FORTH AND VIEW THE AWESOMENESS.

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Along with the rest of the blogosphere, I'm confused and appalled by Google's decision to kill Reader. Thankfully we have a few months to figure things out, but in the meantime, join in the emigration and please:

Follow my blog on Bloglovin'!

Thanks!

Friday Links and More

Some of these links and topics are a little old, but I still want to share them!

 

♥ The Lizzie Bennet Diaries rule. Even if you're not a huge Pride & Prejudice fan, it's worth getting into just from a modern-adaptation/interactive-story perspective. Bernie Su and co. are doing some revolutionary stuff. I only recently got up to date - it took me three or four hours to watch all the previous episodes. Worth it, though.

♥ This is a couple of weeks old, but here are the Memphis Flyer's Top 15 Memphis Tigers of All Time. The Commercial Appeal also weighed in a while back, and it was the only time I've ever been uplifted by their comments section! CA commenters are notorious for good reason. I always tell myself not to read the comments on the Tiger articles, but I do it anyway and then I have to shake the haters off and the black clouds away from my head.

♥ What's That Big Thing God Wants You To Do? (It might not be as big as you think.) I had already starred this article when I realized it was written by Susan Isaacs, author of one of my favorite recent reads, Angry Conversations With God. Kindred spirits!

♥ Beautiful Things talks about why she loves Beyonce. Preach it!

♥ Sarah Bessey wrote a heartwarming ode to her dad and other mighty men of valor: Gibor Chayil!

♥ Shauna Niequist recently posted about the evolution of her upcoming book, Bread & Wine. I'm thrilled to announce that I have an advance copy and will be posting extensively about the book in about a month. My first big-time ARC, and what a way to start! :)

♥ Honoring the Wanting, by Kristin Tennant. One of my favorite newly-discovered bloggers.

♥ Post of The Week: On His Affair Being My Fault. Before you judge a divorced Christian, or one having serious marriage problems, READ THIS. I have never related so deeply to an article on this topic.

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I've started actively praying for this blog and my writing in general, asking God to give me the words He has for me and platforms to share them on. Meanwhile, people have been encouraging me to write more openly about my experiences, and about marriage and singleness. Some of those encouragements have come out of nowhere. Despite my passion for those topics, the thought of cutting myself loose in print terrifies me. I told one friend that publicly airing my revised, informed opinions about marriage and gender roles could get me thrown out of the PCA. :\ Besides, beliefs and convictions evolve over the course of your life, and what if I'm wrong? What if I draw lines in the sand only to jump over them later, and look back and cringe at myself? What if people disapprove? Who's going to take some random divorced chick seriously anyway? Won't I look like I'm unhealthily stuck in the past (I'm not)? What if I overshare and get hit with a terrible vulnerability hangover? SCARY STUFF. But I think I'm getting ready to test the waters.

Friday Links

I painted this abstract tree "masterpiece" at Pinot's Palette last night with some co-workers. It is now brightening up my cubicle. Yay!

How about some Friday Links?

♥ Throughout November, when you bring a jar of peanut butter to Muddy's for the Mid-South Food Bank, you'll get a free Tomboy cupcake! I don't know about you, but I'm about to stock up on some peanut butter. There is a limit of one per person per day.

♥ Stories From The Brooke's diet got her out of an awkward situation. This post just made me laugh, and commiserate, as do all her posts.

♥ Native Born on not expecting everyone to like you. I go through phases of heavy struggling with this, and am currently in one, so I needed her words of freedom.

♥ If food is your love language: Theology of the Kitchen Table from Preston at A Deeper Story. (If you're not following A Deeper Story, you're missing out!)

♥ I'm still thinking about a recent post at Carolyn Custis James' blog about interpreting Ephesians 5 differently. I'm not saying I take her thoughts or those of the article under discussion as absolute gospel truth, but it's a fascinating angle on things.

♥ Some writing thoughts that resonated with me: Life. Edited. on coming out of the writer's closet, and Chasing Blue Skies on Why I Do What I Do.

♥ I recently discovered the fantastic ministry LOVE AND RESPECT (NOW). I think their stuff is interesting no matter what phase of life you're in. Well, their recent blog post It's Just Coffee gave me a (needed?) smack upside the head this week. I felt like the author had invaded my thoughts while I was asleep, Inception-style, so close was it to my own feelings. I've felt uncomfortably convicted ever since. Now if only the whole world would get on board with her conclusions.

Happy Friday!

Birthday Recap and Friday Links

Thanks for the nice birthday wishes yesterday! I had a pretty good birthday - lunch with Myla and then dinner with my parents at Bonefish Grill. When we got back to my house, my parents surprised me with an assortment of Tigers stuff, including a Tigers Snuggie, which I've secretly wanted for years. It was especially funny because Myla had given me a pair of Tigers flip-flops! I am now fully prepared for tailgating and football season.

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I read so many amazing posts this week that I have to do a Friday Links:

♥ I love everything Kelle Hampton writes, but I especially enjoyed her post about her recent writing retreat.

♥ Feelings and why they matter has been a hot topic among some of my friends lately. So these thoughts from Kari about worship and feelings are timely.

♥ This summer I've been studying Dan Allender's book To Be Told with some ladies from church. One of the key themes is allowing people you trust to "edit" your life story - i.e. living in real community. I have my own thoughts about the topic that haven't gelled yet, but this Amber Wackford post about community spoke to me.

♥ I'm excited that Justine Larbalestier is blogging again! Over the years I've appreciated her experienced advice for writers, and her recent post about the difficulty of getting started really helped me... seeing as I haven't touched my novel in over a month. :P

♥ Newly published author Lisa Burstein shares wisdom about measuring success in writing. It's much-needed confirmation for me that you can never really arrive.

♥ Ally Condie talks about being inspired by Michael Phelps. I'm also a Phelps fan, and admire him for not giving in to the tremendous pressure NOT to retire. It takes strength to walk away from something at the top of your game and start a whole new chapter of life, even when you know it's the best thing for you. I'll miss seeing him swim though!

♥ Post of the Week: Alece at Grit and Glory has a similar story to mine, and when I read her blog I feel like she's been reading my mind. This week she discussed the struggle to believe that God is both good AND sovereign, that God's favor doesn't equal a happy outcome. For whatever reason, I seem to be in the thick of that struggle these days, and she expressed it so eloquently. Go read!

Friday Links

I want to be insightful and/or entertaining today, but it's been a stressful 24 hours and my brain is fried. So how about some Friday Links?

♥ I'm the last person to hop on the What Should We Call Memphis bandwagon, but it is indeed hilarious (and accurate).

♥ Shauna Niequist's take on those famous lines from Mary Oliver.

♥ Five love stories from couples who met via the semi-annual Show Us Your Singles posts on Kelly's Korner. The last story really encouraged me, making me feel hopeful instead of like happy endings are only for other people.

♥ This sweet Kelle Hampton post made me think differently about being involved in the lives of friends' and relatives' kids.

♥ This Rainbow Ribbon Jello is beautiful to look at! I'll let someone else make it though. :)

♥ I appreciated this post from Sarah Bessey about the evolution of her blog, writing, and calling. (I've intended to go to two different writing/blogging conferences this year, and have putzed out on both due to scheduling conflicts, so it's nice to hear that going to a conference doesn't necessarily make or break your "career.")

♥ And, related: Robin Jones Gunn shares a little about the history of the Christy Miller books. I'm too rough around the edges to ever be or write like Robin Jones Gunn, but I sure do admire her.


Enjoy the Olympic opening ceremony tonight! I'll have an exciting post for you on Monday.

Friday Links

I'd hoped to have a thoughtful post for today, but it needs more time to cook. So here are some Friday Links instead!

* HopefulLeigh shares about the push and pull of singleness. (The inspiration for my aforementioned thoughtful post.)

* Gretchen Rubin asks, Have you ever been stuck in an "I'm Right, You're Wrong" conversation? Oh yes. Every day of my life.

* Good stuff from Sarah Markley: Loving Mercy and Love Assumes The Best.

* Brene Brown talks about true Defense Against the Dark Arts.

* Because I can't have a links roundup without an Emily Freeman post: Learning to Live a Good Story.

And for some levity, here's this video. It's been around for a bit, but it's still the best AutoTune since Bed Intruder.




Happy weekend!

Friday Links

This rabbit reminds me so much of my Bun! (I had a rabbit from high school until a few years after college.)

How about some Friday Links?

♥ Short but profound thoughts on the events that separate your life into "before and after," from Glorysgirl.

♥ What's saving your life? at Through a Glass Darkly.

♥ Friends who fight for you at A Deeper Story.

♥ Relationship vs. Action at Stuff Christians Like.

♥ Whenever I buy my herb plants for the year, I'm going to celebrate with this Green Couscous (aka Glenn Couscous). I just discovered the Amateur Gourmet – he's hilarious! Read the whole post about the dishes people brought to his Oscar party.

♥ My favorite local bakery, Muddy's Bake Shop, turned four this week. The owner wrote an inspiring post about how it got started.

♥ This engagement story from Whitney Darling made me laugh AND cry. And sigh.

What is everyone doing this weekend? I have NO plans and am thrilled about it. Anything could happen! And if nothing comes up, I'll be happy hanging around the house. :)

Friday Linkage

I wasn't planning to get a pumpkin this year, but when I saw them at Easy-Way, I couldn't resist! For the design, I just found a "B" font I liked, freehanded it onto the pumpkin with a Sharpie, and outlined the B with black puffy paint for extra emphasis. I love how it turned out and it makes me happy to look at it. :) At first I was afraid to put it outside lest someone smash it, but it's unscathed so far.

For your Friday, here's some random linkage (some of these are kind of old):

♥ Six awesome local Halloween costume ideas at I Love Memphis. Also: 10 Memphis locations for great photo shoots.

♥ A very honest, well-written post on men, women, and ministry from my friend Becca. I'm still figuring out what I believe about a lot of gender issues in the church, and I thought this was great.

♥ Some reflections on the Grizzlies' playoff run at Memphis Connect.

♥ Great thoughts on Sufficient Grace, from C Jane.

♥ In Defense of the Romance Novel, from Emily.

♥ Build a bench, not a platform, from Chatting at the Sky.

♥ A beautiful tribute to a great dad. Prepare to shed tears and be inspired.

♥ How Tina Fey helped me love my body, by Jonalyn Fincher. (This reminds me that I still need to read Bossypants.)

♥ Support for broken hearts from the awesome Sparkle Solo. Also: Being Enough, and Kissing (or lack thereof).

♥ For fellow Veronica Mars fans: Notes on a Veronica Mars Rewatching from Diana Peterfreund.

Links Roundup

(Because who doesn't like looking at tropical fish?)

Things are quiet on the blog due to my aforementioned extreme busy-ness. In the meantime, here are a few links for your reading pleasure. Some have been lingering in my reader for a while:

This little post about summer goals made me happy. :)

The most elaborate proposal story I've ever read, via Hollywood Housewife.

Shauna Niequist talks about the process of writing her new book, Bread and Wine. If you haven't read her other books, Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet, do it yesterday!

The Shape of Ghana: a thought-provoking guest post about beauty on C Jane Enjoy It.

Custom photobooth cardboard cutouts for your summer barbecue or kid's birthday party (I'm hoping to try this for my 4th of July party).

Life doesn't have to be easy to be joyful (or worthwhile!), from Conversion Diary.

The secret ingredient for a perfect life (hint: there isn't one) from Mother of the Munchkins.

When saying you're sorry is a bad idea, from Chatting at the Sky.

Identity theft, by Carolyn Custis James.

Rebuilding a heart, from Life in Grace.

And finally, for locals: The 7 Best Margaritas in Memphis, chosen by Kerry at I Love Memphis. :)

Random Stuff and Links

A few things I wanted to share:

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My friend Danielle is giving away a DVD based on Abby Johnson's book Unplanned. Her summary of Abby's moving story is much better than mine would be. If you want to enter the giveaway, leave a comment on the entry by Wednesday, May 11.

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Random links (some of these are pretty old!):

An inspiring, Mother's Day-appropriate story from Life Lived Fully.

The perilous world of blogging self-doubt, from Becoming Jamie. Also: On Being a Survivor.

A Great Many Things, from Enjoying the Small Things. This post puts words to why I can't settle on one thing to do for the rest of my life. And reassures me that it's okay to cast the net wide!

Of Eowyn, Dragons, and Healing, by Joy.

Searching For My Crown, from Suburban Turmoil.

Is it irresponsible to trust God too much?, from Conversion Diary. I've always struggled with this concept, and there are some great thoughts here.

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Why Amazon MP3 is awesome: I started downloading music from Amazon MP3 instead of iTunes about six months ago. The music is already in MP3 format, so you don't have to convert it (which, not long ago, meant burning it to a CD and re-ripping it to the computer). It imports straight into iTunes, so you don't have to move anything. Most importantly, Amazon's music is consistently cheaper! They frequently offer $5 MP3 albums, some of them new releases. I've been introduced to lots of great music that I wouldn't have paid full price for.

Anyway, I recently made the switch from PC to Mac, and lots of file-shuffling ensued. Despite quintuple-checking everything, I somehow lost two albums. One of them was the new Adele release. I was really upset at the thought of paying for it a second time (doing without it wasn't an option :)). I e-mailed customer service with those order numbers, explaining what had happened. I wasn't too optimistic, but they quickly refreshed the code so I could download the music again! I am now a customer for life. :)

Links Roundup

I'm emotionally worn out today, after my water heater leaked on the coldest night of the year. (Thankfully, my dad saved the day again, and is installing a new water heater this afternoon. If not for his expertise, I would probably have to move to an apartment.) So here's a contemplative photo of Peach that I took this morning, and some Friday links. (Some of these have been in my reader for months!)

♥ Vintage Postcard Calendar Journal (this could be a cute Valentine's present!)

♥ A baking soda storage tip from the geniuses at Muddy's Bake Shop (I feel a sudden need for a Grasshopper cupcake).

♥ You Are Mine - a meditation on Isaiah 43 (one of my favorite passages) from a blogger who recently lost her home in a fire.

♥ Thoughts on Christian love from Tribal Wife.

♥ Thoughts on Mother Teresa from author Jonalyn Grace Fincher.

♥ Tips on using Google Reader from my friend Jessica (this is very helpful!).

♥ Tips for Southerners on Surviving New England Winters. Well, I'm still in the South, but with the winter we're having, this cracked me up. Especially the Shaq snow-o-meter.

♥ Emily at Chatting at the Sky has been focusing on art (in the broad sense) and creativity and boldness, and I've been starring every post. Some of my recent favorites: Wake up and Dream; When They Don't Like Your Art; How to Live Big; 5 Ways to Guarantee Your Art Isn't A Waste of Time.

♥ The Net - an example of the importance of women's friendships. This post made me well up with thankfulness for my own Net. :)

Christmas Links Roundup

Baby steps for celebrating Advent from Conversion Diary.

Waiting from Boundless Line.

Custom holiday napkin rings from The Lettered Cottage.

Coffee filter wreaths and trees from Nesting Place.

Next week, I hope to have a craft link of my own to share with you! :)

Finally, I hate to post two videos in two days, but this is priceless:

Linkapalooza

I'm struggling to come up with "original" content today, so here's a fallish picture and a few good random links:

The Granularity of Prayer, from Conversion Diary.

Hopeful thoughts about Christian growth, from Ligonier Ministries.

Creamy tomato soup, from The Crepes of Wrath (I'm a big fan of all her recipes).

Not failing better, but simply failing, from Work in Progress. This one addresses things I've been seriously pondering for a while.

Carried away by grace, from Chatting at the Sky.

Oh, and The Social Network was amazing. I wished I had a big group to discuss it with afterwards. There are a few uncomfortable parts, but it's a great conversation starter about the changing natures of privacy and business, personal values, etc. It made me thankful to be (barely) a Gen Xer, to have grown up without cell phones and the internet, and graduated college before this Pandora's Box opened. Also, if Mark Zuckerberg (or at least his movie incarnation) hasn't been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, he ought to be.

Bullet Points Friday

• Monica, please comment or e-mail me to claim your Myla Smith album download code! If I don't hear from you by next Wednesday, I'll draw another winner.

• My friend Laura recently wrote about starting a kindness revolution among mothers. This post has great applications for ALL women, moms or not. I applaud her for shedding light on a really serious and under-recognized problem.

• Just in case someone still hasn't heard about it, I have to recommend Hyperbole and a Half. The woman is a genius. The first time I read her Sneaky Hate Spiral post, I laughed until I cried.

• I'm going to see The Social Network tonight! After all the hype this movie has received, I hope it won't disappoint me. I usually like anything involving Aaron Sorkin. :)