7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 136)
— 1 —
Please don’t tell me that July is almost over. Because that means that it’s almost August, which means that I actually have to start thinking about the Fall, the season of doing stuff. I am a little daunted about how this whole “homeschooling with a newborn” thing is going to go (read: IT HAS EPIC FAIL WRITTEN ALL OVER IT). Not to mention the fact that we’re getting the kids involved in some activities! Activities! The kids are only now getting old enough for this, so I haven’t yet had the experience of being one of those moms who’s always on the go (read: I NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE AND I LIKE IT THAT WAY). Long story short: I hear that ominous Jaws music every time I think about the Fall semester. So let’s not discuss the fact that August is almost here.
— 2 —
Can’t…type…laughing…too…hard…Okay, let me pull myself together to warn you that there is some brief profanity in this video…but you need to watch it anyway, because it is the pinnacle of human achievement.
— 3 —
You know where else it was gettin’ real this week? At my National Catholic Register blog. For those of you who missed the fun, I wrote a post about talking to atheists about faith. Professor PZ Myers responded by resigning as president of my fan club, and his commenters came to a consensus that I’m pretty much the most useless person in the world. Then I shared my thoughts on his post, but, alas, it did not change his view that I have the IQ of a bowl of oatmeal. Between the four posts there were over 1,000 comments, and my email inbox was flooded with people weighing in from both sides of the fence. (And yes, I did think of writing up a little parody to the above video involving lyrics like “It’s gettin’ reeeeal in the PZ comment box…”)
— 4 —
One amusing note is that some Trucknutz-related news broke in the middle of this, which had a hilarious effect on my email inbox. For better or worse, many people immediately think of me when they see Trucknutz (because of this post…well, I hope that’s why!), and so I got a lot of emails about this story. I wish I’d taken a screenshot of the subject lines in my inbox, because it was something like:
Your horrible Register article
Thanks for a good post
TRUCKNUTZ!!!
That garbage you wrote at NCR
Trucknutz story
UR AN IDIOT
Did you see this Trucknutz story?
Liked your post about evangelization and atheists
Trucknutz
Your post was the stupidest thing I’ve ever read
You were NEVER a real atheist
Trucknutz!
— 5 —
It’s getting kind of Lord of the Flies over here with this weather. As the days of being confined indoors have worn on, our range of activities is getting more and more limited, to the point that the kids spend most of their time hitting each other and screaming these days. It got so bad the other day that I actually suggested that we do some crafts. Not knowing how one goes about such a thing, I pulled out some artsy looking toy that one of the kids had gotten for Christmas, but that, in a moment of what would turn out to be great foresight, I had stored away. I don’t know what this thing is called, but it involves a spinning apparatus and big bottles of brightly colored paint. You know where this is going.
Based on all the crafty blogs I read, I had envisioned this to be a calm, organized activity that would lend itself to closeup pictures of smiling children leaning forward and quietly pondering the project at hand. Instead, my kids descended on this thing like piranhas. I stood there frozen as they somehow managed to pop open the paint, grab at the spinner thing, tear the special rounds of paper, shove each other out of the way, and make sounds like rabid howler monkeys, all at the same time. I’m not good at mental multitasking, so I just stood there and flapped my hands in horror, not sure which feral behavior to address first. It ended with the kids slipping around a paint-coated floor, their shirts looking like a failed modern art experiment, and me vowing to seek revenge on whichever soon-to-be-ex friend foisted this toy on us (until I remembered that, umm, I was the one who bought it).
Anyway, if anyone has ideas for indoor activities that don’t involve spinning things and paint, I’m all ears.
— 6 —
I keep pinning things to my “Fun Things to do with Kids” board on Pinterest, thinking that one of these days the time I spend on that site will pay off because I’ll actually enact some of these ideas I get from looking at pretty pictures on the internet. However, so far my ration of “doing” to “sitting on the couch and looking” is not very good.
— 7 —
I was going to write something else here, but I’m going to go watch the Whole Foods Parking Lot video again. Youtube says it has 2,414,615 views, and I’m pretty sure that 2,414,612 are from me.
Have a nice weekend!
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Wow, I get to be first this week. Just watched your interview, Jennifer, and enjoyed hearing more of your story; I honestly had no idea you were so recent a convert. I would’ve thought it was closer to 10 years now. I’m thankful to know you.
~Jess
You are classy and kind, and I think the PZ Myers followers could learn from you there. But I’m thinking that class and kindness are not things to which they aspire.
I think Trucknutz should give you a cut.
As one who does have older kids in activities, and who also does not want to leave my house, I feel ya!
Waiting for your post entitled “Stop Extravert Tyranny!” so that I can paste it far and wide…
Thanks for the Whole Foods video! It gave me a good chuckle!
#3- *sigh* What is it about online commenting that so often brings out the rude and nasty side of people? You are a major sign of contradiction to atheists, therefore, they have to marginalize you as much as possible. (If you aren’t stupid or lying, you might be right… and you can’t be right, therefore you are stupid or lying. It’s circular logic, but it is logic. Sort of.)
Take it as a sign someone’s reading it; God will find the right readers for you!
Kathy recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday: What I Did On My Summer Vacation
I actually find your back-and-forths with PZ Meyers rather fascinating and … enlightening. I hope he and his followers don’t cause you any real pain!
(I also find it confusing that so many anti-Catholics troll a Catholic blog. Don’t they have any volunteer work to do? Or do they imagine they are benefiting humanity as much by being Trolls as if they spent that time at a homeless shelter or teenage crisis center?)
*with much sarcastic humor* Don’t you know that being religious is the worst thing ever? I mean people kill people in the name of religion. Priests molest children. Religion is just bad and should be eliminated. Oh, but don’t bother noticing that some of the world’s worst leaders and atrocities came about through secularism/atheism. Yeah, more religious people do harm.
That’s the mindset for “trolling” the blogs. They want to persevere atheism and convert people.
I call those types Evangelical Atheists. Most run of the mill atheists I encounter don’t give a fig what other people believe in so long as you leave them alone. But there’s a group that apparently feels the need to try and convert everyone else to their beliefs (or lack thereof). And that’s what we got an absolute ton of on that thread. The ironic part to me was that they could probably use some lessons on evangelism from Christians. You don’t win friends and influence people by bombarding their blog to call them mindless morons.
Wow, reading the comments on that atheist’s blog was crazy. And his comments about evidence for love was nutty. How in the world can he say what love is exactly because it looks different for different people (there are supposedly 5 love languages and various dialects)? And how does he know it’s love and not something else like pity, friendship, lust, etc? But trying to reason with a militant atheist is like trying to explain to your two year old why playing with the light socket is a bad idea. Eventually they’ll have to learn the hard way. Sadly he just doesn’t understand you. His only interest is trying to “prove” that all believers are crazy or silly children who believe in “fairy stories.”
Getting Real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot was absolutely was really fun to see and hear. Thanks!
Thank you also for persevering through your spiritual and verbal battle from #3. Can’t imagine how much you must have stung someone that they are shaving you IQ points as a result. Seems very godlike of them or very much like that host from “Weakest Link” game show.
Thank you finally for describing what ‘some’ summer days are like in what I hope is more homes than just yours and mine, “Kids took to hitting and screaming”. I am also not crafty. I don’t have the patience for that stuff. I didn’t figure out what Michael’s was until I was 39.
Colleen @ inadequate disciple recently posted..Praising God in Everything?!
Hate the “A” month. Funny vid. Obnoxious atheists. Trucknutz LOL
Are atheists ever embarrassed by some of the PZ Myers and his support base? It seems at the end of the day, from the tone they choose in their writing is that they’re not that serious at all being atheists.
Renee recently posted..Get your own blog/parade….
I have succumbed, I now have pinterest:) following you too:) As we are building this is sooo handy for dh to see and to discuss ideas. Love it!!
New reader/Facebook follower here . . . my first time participating with 7QT . . . looks like I have some fun reading to do . . .
Reading #1 – about starting homeschooling – made me think of a beautiful book you might like to read – “A little way of homeschooling” by Suzie Andres.
Here’s the amazon description:
Suzie Andres and twelve other Catholic homeschoolers describe how they implement an “unschooling” style of teaching in their homes. Drawing from St. Therese, St. John Bosco, John Holt (How Children Learn and How Children Fail), and ancient philosophers, the families paint a picture of authentic education without the constraints and pitfalls of typical modern education. Andres admirably addresses the question of whether a Catholic can happily and sanely unschool by explaining it as a sensible approach to the mystery of learning, not as an ideology in competition with her faith. The heart of the book is the honest and humble description of home education by twelve homeschooling mothers who have embraced unschooling in varying degrees. Anyone interested in education and particularly home education will be inspired by their narratives. http://www.amazon.com/Little-Way-Homeschooling-Suzie-Andres/dp/0983180008/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311930542&sr=8-2
I hope that wasn’t too long to post. I recently finished this book and loved it (and no, I am not one of the families, I just like the book, and love unschooling because it makes homeschooling fun, not daunting)
Jen, one of the things that came up (at least in passing) in the great atheist debate/name-calling of #3 was a question of atheism as a religion. It seems to me that a really good case could be made that it is.
Sometime when you are trying to think of a good topic to write about, please consider that. Maybe it could be part of a broader piece on everyone having a devout religion (at least of their own crafting) and where that comes from within them?
Just a thought… thanks always for organizing 7 Quick Takes Friday.
Good luck with starting homeschooling Jen! Thanks for the opportunity to do the 7 Quick takes. This is my first time – Yay! (and Whoops, I linked to my blog, not the specific post, Sorry!)
IF you like the Whole Foods video (which I did) check out
http://www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com
Rambling Follower recently posted..Seven Not-So-Quick Takes for Friday: Surviving Terror, Reading Books and Avoiding Gardening
I, too, I nervous about August and back-to-school, and I only will have a first grader and a pre-kindergartener.
1,000 comments on the NCR, you have the hotbed of controversy.
I am with you…let’s not ta;lk about that end of July thing
Funny video!
Have a great weekend!
Michelle recently posted..The Promise Made At Baptism
One thing which stuck out to me was the subject line “You were never a TRUE atheist!”. It struck me because this is exactly what I hear from many Evangelical or Reformed Protestants when they here of a Christian “de-converting”. They say “They must not’ve been a TRUE Christian”. :/ Funny, the parallels you find between Atheism (especially New Atheism) and religion.
What many New Atheists don’t realize is that not all atheists are stringent, scientific, and rigid. Some are only “nominal” atheists and may indeed be very open to discussing religion. Also, the fact is, concession must be made by both sides in order to discuss the “issue” of God, because otherwise no one would change. Atheist can’t prove He doesn’t exist (because you can’t prove a negative) and Christians can’t directly prove He does (because you can’t prove that a being supersedes time, space, and matter exists using temporal, spacial, and material means).
I know that statement needs qualifiers, but I have get to work!
Love the gracious (and humorous tone) re: PZ Myers.
You can totally homeschool with a newborn! Especially if the newborn naps and likes the bouncy seat, or moby wrap, or whatever. (It’s way too hot here to use a moby this week….maybe by September?)
Hoping things cool off soon, for you and me both!
Anne @ Modern Mrs Darcy recently posted..Unplanned? More Like, Unplannable.
Me thinks you stepped on someones guilty conscience!! ;D …..
NO it is not August,,,yet.
What is wrong with people?! First of all, I never understood how one couldn’t be a “real” anything… atheist, christian, etc. In my book, if you believe in the tenets of that belief-system, then it’s real to you. And secondly, Trucknutz need to stop.
Can’t wait to see the video, I have to scoot to VBS.
Like others I remain somewhat shocked at how vituperative some of the atheist commenters got at NCR. They have themselves a lovely echo-chamber at the PZ Meyers site so I’m guessing they aren’t really challenged very much about the sanctity of their precious evidence. They just can’t seem to allow for a different belief system and seem to think it is their right to demand that Christians prove our faith to them. It was an enlightening exchange in many ways – not the least of which was the grace with which the more vicious of them were handled by the commenting Christians.
Kris, in New England recently posted..Quotables
I hear you about the kids going nuts indoors in the Texas summer! Here are some things that, when they work, keep them busy for awhile:
Picnic under the kitchen table. We put some blankets over the table, throw some pillows and stuffed animals underneath (along with the kids) as well as some picnic food that doesn’t make a mess (cheesesticks, etc.) They can keep at this for awhile…
Easter egg hunt. We had a basket of leftover plastic eggs from Easter (sans candy) and the kids took turns hiding them all over the house for each other. This was their idea, and yesterday, they clocked 2 hours of egg hunting. Probably anything could be substituted (i.e. plastic spoons).
Scavenger hunt. Draw (or write) a list of things for them to find either outside or in…things you don’t mind them gathering (i.e. a dust bunny, a kitchen rag, a scorpion (kidding)) This one takes a bit of prep, but you can get some mileage out of it.
Store. Gather some basics from the kitchen/pantry which you don’t mind getting knocked around (canned food, peanut butter jar) Give them some shopping bags, and let the consumerism begin (someone plays cashier, someone else the customer, etc.)
Hope at least one of these helps!!
You did a great job on your interview on EWTN … thanks for sharing your inspiring story!
A craft that is pretty contained? Paint-by-Numbers … I know you said no paint, but this is paint in very small doses AND the kids are quiet looking for the numbers.
Maria recently posted..7 Quick Takes: The Mall at Night (and I lived to tell the tale)
Hah! Thanks so much for sharing that video. And I see all you pins on Pinterest.. I may have done an entire 7QT dedicated to Pinterest. I seriously have issues.
Emily recently posted..7 Quick Takes (14) The DIY Crafty Edition
Ooh August is almost upon us! We’re sending our oldest to the parish preschool this year. I’m really excited for him. He’s really looking forward to meeting other kids his age and making friends. I just can’t believe how fast the kiddies are growing up.
Ok so it turns out that you either:
a) have a lot of Drudge readers on your site
- or -
b) have readers who have the google alert for “trucknutz” set up
Steph recently posted..Pancakes and piers on our last day
I really hope nobody ever feels irrational compared to PZ Myers. Don’t forget that he is the guy who thought it would be a positive and useful thing to do to get someone to steal a consecrated Host for him so he could publicly desecrate it.
Rational people, even haters, would consider such an act below them.
I can’t imagine ever taking an object that is sacred in ANY religious tradition, whether I thought the tradition was stupid or not, and intentionally abusing it just for the sake of abusing it.* I certainly wouldn’t consider such an action “rational.”
We always have lots of fun and minimal damage with the following:
Painting rocks.
Drawing a basic picture of a flower, butterfly, whatever..and having the kids glew elbow macaroni to the outline…for some reason, they LOVE this! You could get more elaborate with seashell pasta or those little wheel things, etc.
Toothpicks (well, that might be damaging with your boys, ha ha) and marshmallows…just put ‘em on the table and let your little architects go to work…this keeps my kids busy for hours! They have built structures that are 3 + feet tall! And, of course, they eat as they go…just make sure they are eating the mallows and not the picks, LOL
Homemade play-dough…not hard to make…lasts a long time….lots of fun.
Building with paper or plastic cups…we had always done this and then I learned that there are major national competitions for such things…who knew? Anyway, cup-building is fun for kids and not messy as long as the cups are EMPTY!
Judy recently posted..Jul 25, Prayers-for-Mothers
GLEW?????? Go figure…haven’t had my morning coffee yet….G-L-U-E…*GLUE*
Hmmmffffppphhh.
Judy recently posted..Jul 25, Prayers-for-Mothers
I love it when people reply to their own posts to correct their spelling or grammar… mostly because it makes me feel less silly when I do it myself.
Steph recently posted..Pancakes and piers on our last day
Judy, your indignation at your spelling error cracked me up too. It’s okay; we understand. =)
Lacey recently posted..Disney Adventure — Firsts, Flashmobs, and Fantasyland
You should check out the youtube video about having your minivan pimped out. I think they call it “Mom my minivan” I would look it up but the kids are already screaming and it is only 8:00! I am feeling your pain about the weather and not being able to go outside. We have major cabin fever. I have been playing lots chase with all the kiddos to get out their extra energy. Have a great weekend!
P.S. I’m a Southern Baptist convert and I really liked your article. #5 was a major reason for me to convert.
Lori Miller recently posted..Seven Quick Takes Friday Vol. 5
I was thrilled to hear that it’s Lord of the Flies there too! I hate to see summer ending but my children need some time apart before some human parts get broken! (I realize since you homeschool this doesn’t help you, I’m sorry.
( ) I love my boys but whew, it’s gettin’ real in the Carlson living room!
I have the same reaction to spring that you have to August. I am the world’s worst gardener, and so when things start growing, I start feeling guilty and overwhelmed right from the get go.
Spinning things and paint… oh my!
One of the other things that was amusing about the Great Atheist Debate was the general theme: WHY would we even CARE about what theists think? … all while descending en masse upon your comboxes to discuss what theists think.
RE: #3, I love how the Prof uses Comic Sans for the parts of your article he quotes. Comic Sans being the bane of the internet, it’s an little additional, childish (and utterly unsubtle) dig. What a maroon!
Oh gosh I didn’t even notice that at first. Too funny. “If we can’t get her with out-of-context quotes, we’ll get her with Comic Sans!”
Lacey recently posted..Disney Adventure — Firsts, Flashmobs, and Fantasyland
Jen,
I would love to hear your thoughts on atheist convert Edith Stein, St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross, whose feast day is August 9th.
dying over that video.
dying.
Grace recently posted..7 (official) Quick Takes Friday Volume XV
Woo- hoo! Welcome to the “I ticked off the dullards” club! Listen, whatever you do, don’t EVER say anything like “you know, Catholic television could use some improvement,” because- and I speak from experience– that’s what really riles Catholic blog readers!
And no, it does not matter if you are right.
I would have loved to seen pictures of the kids “painting” and “spinning”. Sounds like a riot of fun! (said from someone when doesn’t have kids)
Donna recently posted..Quick Takes (13)
Relating to so many of these this morning! I always shave off a chunk of purgatory time (I hope! LOL) when I have to take my 5 kids to Whole Foods.
Amy recently posted..Seven Quick Takes – whine with my dairy-free "cheese" edition
What a great 7 takes! The video makes me remember my 7 years in LA with… um… not exactly fondness.
But… TRUCKNUTZ! I have a story!
Even up here near the 45th parallel, I’ve seen a few vehicles sporting Trucknutz. Just weird. But when I wrote this post (http://mosaicsynapse.blogspot.com/2011/07/on-stereotypes-and-how-they-drive.html), I definitely thought of you. I don’t mention Trucknutz by name, but there’s a link in a key spot in the post. And now that I’ve said “Trucknutz” and “key spot” in the same sentence, I realize it’s probably time to wrap up this comment.
Pam Elmore recently posted..There’s always room for cello
Oh, will you PLEASE write a post called “Winning Hearts for Jesus with Shrooms and a Ball-Peen Hammer”? Because that would be so awesome. And hysterical.
I have a ball-peen hammer if you want to borrow it for inspiration. No shrooms, though.
Jennifer, hey there. I linked to your Register post today. Our Atheist and a Catholic blog ended, and I found a way to make a connection to your insightful post over there. I’d say you’re doing something right if you’re getting axed from the fan club of the atheists.
Keep going, girl. As for August, yeah, hearing you there. Trying to enjoy a few more weeks of peace while I can. Tennis starts for my oldest son August 8, I think. It’s all over after that. Good luck with that homeschooling thing. I respect those who take it on, but still can’t see myself doing it.
Roxane B. Salonen recently posted..faith fridays: breaking up is hard to do
Congratulations, you have pissed off the Science Blogs people. You are clearly capable of independent thought. (I don’t know if that guy still writes Good Math, Bad Math; or if that biologist still writes Aetiology because I have been banned from Science Blogs because they made me SO MAD. That whole franchise is obviously a mouthpiece for cookie cutter leftist agenda.)
Rebecca recently posted..spoiler: it ends in a c-section.
Thanks Jennifer, this made me laugh!! I’m glad I’m not the only one who freezes when crafts and kids are involved. LOL
I post my first 7 Quick Take Friday, ummm Yeah I have no idea what I’m doing. HA!
Leticia Adams recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday
That Whole Foods video is so creative!
Check out http://www.quirkymommasite.com for good craft ideas. There is a linkup every week (I do twitter promotion for it but don’t contribute) of play ideas and there is a wide variety of craft things to do. I loathe complicated crafts and this linkup has really simple ones to really complicated ones. Lots of good ideas though.
I both was and was not surprised at how cruel people were to you on your athiesm/Catholic article this week. I commend you for handling it so gracefully! They were a harsh crowd indeed.
wait a minute…..you homeschool? do you homeschool All your kids? That…..is…………….
…..AWESOME.
I started homeschooling my 11 yr old brother last yr due to my mom having to put too many thousands of miles on her car, not to mention gas and time in simply making the trip back and forth to pick him up from school….(an awesome Catholic school at that)….but she also has a weird muscle condition in her right calf-which is why the driving was too much for her….
…..so I offered to homeschool my little bro. I loved it and it looks like Ill be doing it again this fall. Im due to have my 4rth in a few weeks, and will be starting the homeschooling for our eldest, who is turning 5 this week. We only committed for the 1 year, just to keep ourselves in a good perspective check.
….So its a total ‘epic fail’ situation, BUT……it can be done so WELL if you do it with God’s grace! Honestly he has given us the “Recipe”. That is, prayer, devotion, and ORGANIZATION….better known as “order”. With time management, organization, you can do it. But you do also need a laid back personality too….to deal with the falls and storms along the way so you dont end up looking like a reinvention of Cruella Deville by the end of the year.
You haven’t realized yet that those crafty blogs are lying? Or, all (or most) of the children in them have reached the age of reason?
I just bought some of those foam sticker projects from Hobby Lobby for $1 each. Kids loved those as an indoor project. And they’re not messy. Could also buy foam stickers and hats/crowns/visors for the kids to decorate. Will keep them busy.
Your posts always crack me up, I love your sense of humor.
Melissa Spence recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday (volume 7)
Your summer is the equivalent of my winter! Its tough to keep them entertained and not killing each other for that long!
I posted a 7 quick takes this week too!
Christy from fountains of home recently posted..7 Quick Takes vol. 4?
I havent read any other comments…but physical activites work best for me. Throwing things (rolled up socks, stuffed animals etc.) into a basket, dancing to music, playing follow the leader, balance things on their heads…stuff like that. Anything that will wear them out!
Well I’ll confess; I have nine children (19-due in September) and I don’t do crafts OR activities. I stay home a lot and like it, too. With so many siblings they don’t need outside activities to get socilization and it would just be too much for me to keep up with.
As for homeschooling with a newborn, I have done it many times and find it incredibley easy. the baby sleeps or lays in the bouncy chair and eats their fingers. I can even nurse while teaching phonics or algebra. Now toddlers on the other hand, that gets scary. They think they should be doing what everyone else is but simply don’t have the attention span.
After our family Bible study I give little toddlers a 3×5 card to chew on and a piece of paper to wrinkle. This keeps them happy for an amazing amount of time since they seem to think they are doing the same thing everyone else is (I watch out for pieces getting soggy enough to come off and give them a new card or paper every once in a while.) As they get older I add a set or two of flash cards and dollar store color books and colored pencils (they don’t mark furniture, melt in the heat and are not edible! NO crayons or markers until the child is older and then only under strict supervision!) I spend a few minutes with the youngest first (After Bible study) so they have their mommy time and aren’t jealous. Then I work my way up the ladder with each older child doing as much independent work as possible alone. It works for us.
Sheesh! I just read the back and forths on the PZ Myers blog. You seem very fine with all of it, so I’m sure you don’t need the affirmation, but I assure you that I have always found your arguments/essays to be both profound and eminently logical. So there!
#3: It seems like such an odd thing to do – to judge a system of spiritual tenets *only* by the behavior of the most fallible and flawed of the people who claim to adhere to those tenets. I get it to a degree: in the eyes of a strict atheist there is no spiritual reality to account for, and therefore measuring religion in terms of its possible truth makes no sense. But as for the sheer number of people who don’t even look at the tenets in terms of utility – in terms of how much good a person could do *really* applying them to their own lives to be a better person, it seems like something more – like the work of intentional confusion (“War of Art” style).
What I found amusing about the P.Z. Myers commenters were the ones who kept insisting you’d always been a closet Christian and had never been a real atheist. None of them could provide proof of this assertion. So, they require Christians to “prove” God exists, but they don’t require proof for their own beliefs; instead, they put their trust in P.Z. Myers and believe his words as the gospel. Ah, irony.
I hadn’t thought of that, but you are so right! Very funny.
I love Myers’ notion that probing a hypothetical belief system for internal consistency is analagous to doing drugs.
It’s worth remembering that for every rabid combox warrior, there are many many lurkers. The lurkers are the ones who really benefit from these discussions. And the lurkers see Myers acting like a cranky dope who doesn’t know how to think, and you acting like a loving and rational person.
Keep fighting the good fight.
I refuse to look at Pineterest . . . way too many people I know LOVE it and I cannot get sucked in!
I am just like you. I like staying home. My kids are not in many activities right now. I know there will be a day that I will be driving them all over, but for now, I like that they are young enough that it does not matter.
Katie recently posted..7 Quick Takes
I love watching your Pinterest board. I probably look like a stalker, repinning all your stuff. lol. I try some of the crafts and stuff and it ends up pretty annoying and crazy like your story.I think that’s normal.
I also was curious as to why so many anti-catholic people hang out at the Register. It’s so WEIRD! I love that sight, you and Simcha crack me up, and I love your perspective.
Jen, I wanted to thank you so much for your humble words on the faith. I am amazed at how gracious you were (are) towards those that have opposed what you have said. I struggle in this area so much and love when I can see strength like yours. Even if you haven’t felt it…it is seen! Does that make sense? I’m running on nooooo sleep as well. Seriously mushy brain over here.
God bless you! Thank you for your witness!
Cynthia recently posted..7 Quick (quick) Takes
Jen, A comment about the craziness over at NCRegister.com – you have certainly generated tons of traffic to that site from catholics and non-catholics alike!!
Great job, I think the fact that so many people are hitting the site speaks volumes of your thought provoking writings!!
Have a great weekend!
On the “don’t tell me July is almost over” thing, there is a bright side. When the summer ends, we move ever nearer to sane weather conditions again–even if we have to wait until October/November for this. Psychologically speaking, those cooler days seem much nearer to August than to July.
JC recently posted..Seven Quick Takes (vol. 2): Thoughts about Nothing
Jen, I watched most of your interview on EWTN this week and it was very inspiring. I’m so glad you write and speak. Thank you! Don’t worry about homeschooling with a newborn. You’ll figure it out.
You handled yourself with such class over at the Register. A true inspiration!
Keep cool!
Louise recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday: OOPS MYBAD
I think it’s great that you posted the links to posts attacking you–humility, intellectual freedom, etc. He’s got an ax to grind and some manners to learn! However, across 4 years of reading your blog, I do wonder if you are losing your ability to recall accurately how your mind worked when you were an atheist. Some of his critiques of your NCR post seem valid to me.
I’ve always believed in God, but I was raised Unitarian and devoutly skeptical. After 24 years in The Episcopal Church, I’m beginning to find it difficult to remember what it was like to be the Unitarian me. I remember that I used to think the concepts of “sin” and “redemption” were for losers, but I no longer know why. For this reason, I would never attempt to write an article about “How to convince a Unitarian that Jesus is divine”; I’d just say, “Read Mere Christianity and see if it does anything for you, and if you ever feel like checking out my church you’re welcome to come.” That’s about as far as I can take it. My conversion was very much fueled by my WANTING to believe, and I can’t really see any other way to approach it.
‘Becca recently posted..7 Novels of Other Worlds on Earth
Jennifer, what you need re: crafts is a plastic bucket and a bunch of stuff you don’t mind getting wet. Play a guessing game about whether something will float or not. Race various objects across the water using your breath. Make paper boats and float lego men in them – whatever. When the water is just getting tiresome give them a bit of food colour and get an extra 10 minutes out of the activity. It is my fool-proof go-to Sunday School activity for any lesson about Jesus in a boat.
Just wanted to say that while I love the selection of yummy things at WF, it is ridiculous. Also, ain’t nobody gets between me and my quinoa. How true that is!
Lydia recently posted..Seven Quick Takes
No paint. No markers. Seriously. This is the law of the land and none shall cross those most sacred lines!
Colored pencils and crayons ONLY. Because I am an evil, mean mother who hates creativity and happiness and only cares about the carpet and sanity
Glue sticks are about as dangerous as it gets around here…
“It’s gettin’ REAL in the Fulwiler kitchen y’all…”
dweej @ HouseUnseen recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday: Darn It Sauce, my foot hurts
Whew, you have tougher skin than I! I doubt I could handle that kind of an inbox, eek!
As for summer activities, we also have devolved into spinning and paint here. So my 3 year olds spins in circles until we either yell at him or he hits his head on something and then he begs to paint watercolors. He did a rocking version of the creation story the other day. Apparently light is green and dark is black, so he’s like 50% an artistic genius
But you wanna know the best paint? Water on construction paper!! It shows up dark colored marks, then fades so they just keep re-painting. Kept my 8 month old busy for like 8 minutes, which is pretty darn good, then he was happy just chewing on the paintbrush for another 10 minutes at least. Unfortunately my 3 year old spent like 2 minutes on that before he insisted on ‘real paint’ lol!
I hand out crayons, colored pencils, a few sheets of white paper, a few sheets of colored paper, safety scissors, stickers, a few pieces of tape per child, some pipe cleaners and/or bendaroos, plastic stencils, short pieces of string, and other odds and ends. Then I lay out the ground rules about staying at the table and no fighting and let them do whatever they want with the supplies. It keeps them busy for about an hour.
There’s probably a very clever comment to be made comparing the “kids with spinning paint craft thing” and the “atheists in comment box” subjects.
I second others who have said their favorite was the comments trying to prove that you were never a “real” atheist. I love the guy who quoted your old conversion blog to prove that you’ve always had monotheistic tendencies. That was hysterical.
I think crafts are WAYYYYY overrated. I have two kids, and my friend has two kids (same ages) and sometimes we have a mental moment and say “won’t it be fun if we get together and do some age appropriate seasonal craft activity with the kids!!!!!!!?” and then we gather materials and prep and set it all up and every single time it ends exactly the same way. After about 5 minutes one of the kids has run off, two minutes later another kid has run off and the two other kids are eating the crafting materials or getting it all over themselves, and then me and my friend are sitting at the table alone doing the craft by ourselves while the kids chase each other around the house. it’s NEVER EVER worth it.
Somehow it doesn’t seem appropriate to treat it as a disciplinary moment. “If you won’t sit quietly and glue together your summer festival landscape out of craft paper shapes, you’re going to have to do a time out!”
Class act, lady.
I have severely limited internet access at present, so I’m going to have to wait a bit before I can laugh until I cry at the youtube video you posted and the most recent comments on your National Catholic Register article, but I’m looking forward to doing both. God bless!
Trisha Niermeyer Potter recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 9)
Hey! Ho!
I think is actually the first time I have ever commented on your blog! I am not a big commenter and you already get so many comments I am sure I would have nothing to add that others haven’t said. BUT then I was adding my link to your cool linky-thing and it told me to comment. So I obeyed. Hello Jennifer! Love your blog!
Do you actually read all of these comments!? You don’t have to answer that. (Especially if you don’t, in fact, read all the comments and never see it).
Replying quickly to say: Yes, I do read every single comment (even if it sometimes takes a few days), and I’m so sorry I’m not able to respond to most of them! Working on that.
Good luck with crafting!
Trista recently posted..Quick Takes (30): A Bibliophile in Brooklyn
I am wiping the laughing tears from my eyes after the Whole Foods video. That’s incredibly funny. I didn’t see your post at the Register yet, but I’ll go read it now!
Elizabeth @ Coppertop Kitchen recently posted..My First Guest Post!