Highest Good

When what my heart desires conflict with the highest good, give me peace knowing that Love "does not demand its own way;" it "rejoices whenever truth wins out." My intention is "highest good." When I am unsure what that is, strengthen my courage to be still until I know.

Little Sweet Moments

Back to Simplicity

In the last couple of months, I drank the kool-aid. Now, there is stuff in every corner of our space. It overwhelms me, and MJ ignores most of it. 

He is happiest on the floor, side-by-side. That baby boy digs his grown-up. It's mutual. We bond during our dances, storytimes, cuddles, and many little sweet moments. 

No aides are necessary. It didn't take the Lovevery play gym (though I really like it). Nothing about this journey is simple, and a Doona did not change that. (I really like it too.) 

I never wanted the culture of my home, family, or life to be about accumulation and acquisition. What I am learnING is that none of these things will make caring for a child less daunting. They will not make me everything that little boy needs and deserves. 

Frankly, being everything is beyond my ability. Everything involves a loving Creator and community. What I can and will do is to pour into, love, support, teach, cover, give, and provide.

What I will do is make sure our home and lives reflect our values. What I will do is stop looking out there for proof of life and external ways to show love. I will simply live and love and make sure MJ knows the joy and consistency of both.

Morning Thoughts

My mom's mom was il​lit​er​ate. The little schooling she had was pre Brown v. Board of Education; it was separate and unequal. She was a woman and a mother before she learned to read and write. Her introduction to literacy started and ended with the Bible. 

As a little girl, I saw Grandma rise before the sun to read the only book she has ever read. She read The Book she loved; she read It from cover to cover more than once. That Book connected her to spiritual freedom, emotional comfort, and eternal hope. Her testimony was "God taught me to read and write through His Word."

Reading is language acquisition. It's education. It's exploration and imagination. It's expansion. It's exposure. It's connection and curiosity. Reading is gateway to ideas, information, places, and freedom.

Developing healthy reading habits is as important as eating well and moving our bodies. It's one way we nurture our minds and intellect; give our inner childs (and actual children) permission to believe in the impossible; and step out of our worldviews and into others. 

And there are so many ways to do it! Physical books, audiobooks, and ebooks mean that we can each read in the way best suited to us. Public libraries are equity promoters, and reading is a necessity.

One of my most firm convictions is that there's a link between freedom and literacy. I believe that the inability to learn to read and write is not only demoralizing and stifling, it's mental captivity. That's why anti-literacy laws were enacted by Southern slave states. 

There are people who say "not voting is an insult to those who fought for that right." Honestly, I do not have that conviction, but I understand it. For me, not reading is an insult to my ancestors who lived and died on plantations and were denied even the right to take their minds elsewhere through books. 

I do not read nearly enough. I am sad to admit that I browse and scroll more than I read. Still, I press toward to the mark. For me that mark is being a well-read woman.