Impossible. It’s a word we don’t like very much. It reminds us of our limitations. But it can also point us to look beyond ourselves–to our imagination, to our communities, to our Creator. To the impossible!

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Being a Parent Is Harder Than I Expected

Over at the Kids Activities Blog, Becky Mansfield’s collected some words of encouragement from other parents for the days when the work is hard.

Yesterday, I ran into someone who followed my blog and she said, “When I had a baby, it was all that I could do to get through the day. I read your posts about When Being a Parent is Harder than You Expected. I loved it and still do, but the struggle is real — you are tired, guilt-ridden and just plain exhausted some days.”
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The Princess Bride & Impossible Challenges

Kevan Chandler knows a little something about Impossible Challenges (check out We Carry Kevan for more of his story), but here he’s pulling a lesson from another great story, The Princess Bride.

I remember the first time I read The Princess Bride. I was a senior in high school and my sister was home from college for Christmas break, brandishing a thick paperback with the familiar title. Of course, I had seen the movie a handful of times, and I always assumed there was a book to go along, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
“I’m going to read it to you,” Connie insisted, but the tables quickly turned.
She came down with a case of pneumonia and I ended up reading the whole book to her instead.
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God Gave You Your Memories

Kathryn Butler reminds us that there’s meaning in our past.

Memory binds us to places that forget us, and to moments that no one else values.
Such thoughts recently haunted me when I perused my alma mater’s magazine. A glimpse of the familiar cherry blossoms along the Hudson River unleashed memories that washed over me like surf. Again I could see the shadows from streetlamps cutting across the footpaths in Riverside Park. I could feel hopes for the future swell in my chest, as they had when I would marvel about the hundreds of people whose steps had preceded my own on those same footpaths, their stories alighting on the pavement before vanishing into tomorrow.
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Charming Children’s Books about Grandparents

It was Grandparents’ Day this week, and Erica at What Do We Do All Day has a good list of grandparenty books.

Is it me, or has there been an explosion of picture books about grandparents? Personally, I love children’s books that show loving inter-generational relationships with grandparents imparting their wisdom to the younger set. If your children have grandparents nearby, faraway, or only in their hearts grandparents play an important role in the upbringing of children. They can impart wisdom, be inspiring and offer extra support when other caregivers need a bit of a break. And most of all, they make great read aloud partners!
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Around the Warren

Portal Keepers

Gillian Adams reminds us that books are doors into other worlds.

“I’m off to Narnia!” With my own audacious words echoing in my ears, I huddled under a shelf in the bathroom closet, knees tucked under my chin, eyes clamped shut so I wouldn’t see the strip of yellow light under the door. It was so clearly artificial, so clearly from this world of electricity and cars and witless beasts and not the world of waking trees and singing streams and animals that could talk, the world I longed to visit, that I was sure one glimpse would shatter the magic and ruin my chances of traveling.
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Review: Wildflowers Magazine

Théa Rosenburg thinks back to the childhood delight of getting mail–and recommends some for your family.

When I was a child, I loved checking the mail. I hoped, with a hope that renewed every morning, that inside our mailbox I’d find an envelope addressed to me: a letter from my cousin in Iowa, perhaps, or a chain letter from a classmate. Or, better yet, a mysterious package whose contents would jump-start the adventure I knew I was destined for!
I’d settle for junk mail, if only it bore my name.
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Something to Do with Your Kids

We’re getting rolling in the school year, but it’s not too late to start some new habits with this school morning checklist–make it fun to get everything ready for the day!

Something to Watch

I love this hymn by the Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, David Zimmer, Stuart Townend, and Ed Cash. I thought you might enjoy it too. Here’s a little background about it as well.