In A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle wrote:During the long drag of years before our youngest child went to school, my love for my family and my need to write were in acute conflict. The problem was really that I put two things first. My husband and children came first. So did my writing. Bump.The conflict—or collision—of work and family summed up in a word: Bump.Ouch. … [Read more...]
40 Days of Rest?
Is it possible for the 40 days of Lent to become an extended rest?And what does that have to do with an obscure place in Australia called "Nelligen"?Read about it at Not So Fast today.Photo © 2010 by Zoe Sandvig of A Sideways Glance. Used with permission.It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s … [Read more...]
MMM Jan 2010 Progress Report #3
Progress Report #3Mega Memory Month January 2010 is over halfway through. Are you halfway through your project?Leave a note on your progress at the Facebook Event page I set up for Mega Memory Month (write your comments on the wall!) HERE. You can also summarize your progress in the comments of this post and/or link your own Progress Report post here via Mr. Linky.Mr. … [Read more...]
Listen in on my chat with L.L. Barkat
L.L. Barkat of Seedlings in Stone and Green Inventions Central interviewed me about Not So Fast.It's appropriate that the title of this post rhymes, as L.L. is a poet. A book of her poetry, entitled Inside Out, was recently published and she hosts the poetry posts (ha! more rhyme!) at HighCallingBlogs.com and Random Acts of Poetry/Poetry Friday at her Seedlings in Stone … [Read more...]
MMM Jan 2010 Progress Report #1
Progress Report #1We're only four days into Mega Memory Month January 2010, so progress will be minimal. Still, you may have something to say about it.If so, leave a note in the comments and/or link your own Progress Report post here via MckLinky. I'll come back later in the day and embed the pop-up links into the text itself for easy access.Powered by MckLinkyClick here … [Read more...]
Food on Fridays: Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce
(alternative button below)Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can describe your Christmas menu. I actually would be interested to know what you have for breakfast and the main meal.Anyway, my point is that the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in … [Read more...]
Big Books and Mega Memory: The Stuff of Lifelong Learning
"Absent"? "Irreverent"? "Indifferent"?Found it!So that's what they mean!We hope to inspire lifelong learning with plenty of resources on hand like maps and dictionaries to help our kids figure things out.But that's not the only way. We also encourage lifelong learning by modeling it ourselves, demonstrating an interest in ideas, critical thinking, reading, and … [Read more...]
Food on Fridays: Favorite Fondue
(alternative button below)Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply tell us how many dozen cookies you agreed to donate to the neighborhood cookie exchange or reveal how many bags of flour you have in the pantry for Christmas baking projects.In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are … [Read more...]
The Season of Getting, er, Giving
Well, it's starting: The season of getting—I mean, giving.I think it's hard to help our kids focus on giving when they're bombarded by commercials, window displays, newspaper inserts, catalogs and radio spots whose sole purpose is to awaken a desire to get.It's hard for us as adults to focus on giving, too, because we're bombarded with all those same enticing messages to … [Read more...]
Explore the Classics: The Scarlet Letter
This school year, I'm immersed in some classics of American literature, like: The Scarlet Letter Billy Budd The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Uncle Tom's Cabin The Red Badge of Courage ...just to name a few from this semester. Once a week I meet with a class of ten students, leading them through discussions about American books, stories, and the … [Read more...]
From the Rush to a Hush
Shhhh...People are quieting down all over the place.They're discovering how to be still ... or, at least, they're trying to.They're stopping. Pausing. Praying.People are enjoying silence.Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience is taking us by the hand this week and leading us to quiet places with her primer on slowing down and how to seek. She invites others to post on intentional … [Read more...]
Only One Car?
As I continue to explore ways that families (and individuals) can slow down in our fast-paced world, certain topics pop up from time to time. One of those is transportation. How does the way we move from point A to point B affect our pace of life? Are there choices that could support and encourage a slower lifestyle?My friends the Southards have been making-do with only … [Read more...]
Meet Another "Seeing" Mentor
I'm continuing my series on "Seeing Lessons" over at NotSoFastBook.com. You can meet another "mentor," a blogger/author/friend who reminds me to look a little closer:If you haven't already discovered her, allow me to introduce to you, L.L. Barkat.Don’t miss a word: It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more … [Read more...]
Learning to See
In our fast-paced world, our days speeding past in a blur, we're in danger of losing the ability to truly see.I don't want to lose that skill, that gift.Or if I have temporarily lost it because I have instead trained my eye on the time or the speedometer or the packed pages of my daily planner, I want to regain it.In spite of having physical eyes that function quite well, … [Read more...]
Not So Fast in the Wall Street Journal
What's this?Not So Fast is in The Wall Street Journal? Really?Unfortunately, my book Not So Fast was not highlighted on page W3 in the Wall Street Journal.But an article that happened to be entitled "Not So Fast" got a huge spread, and the author, John Freeman, wrote about the speed of communication in our fast-paced world.So it's related.And I couldn't resist sharing … [Read more...]