Sunday Stories

I'll start with my own. 

Jack played in the dirt for the first time yesterday morning. Before, he's inspected grass and leaves but has never just dug in. 

I guess watching the guys re-level the house inspired him. So anywho, yesterday, he kept leaning off the porch to dig, and I felt that was slightly unsafe. So, I plopped him down on this piece of rectangular concrete just off the porch and told him to sit there and not get off. He went to town digging through the dead leaves and grass. He yanked up roots and inspected them. He pulled up handfuls of dirt and put them in his bowl. He stayed there for over 30 minutes enjoying every second. After lunch and his nap, we headed back outside to soak up more of the gorgeous weather, and he immediately requested (lots of grunts and pointing and signing "help") to get down to that spot. I gave him a spoon and fork (super appropriate digging tools, I know) and his bowl, and he sat there investigating and pretending to stir up his "soup."  Then, he put some of the grass/dirt/root/leaf mixture on his spoon and pretended to eat. Well, I thought he was pretending. Instead, my boy took a bite of that nature-y goodness and smiled. Dirt covered his mouth and he smacked his lips. I calmly (maybe with a hint of disgust) told him we don't eat that stuff. He smiled and shook his head.  We went inside, and then he took a long bath.

Gross. 

Earlier in the week, I was in the bathroom straightening my hair while Jack had room time. He normally listens to nursery rhyme CDs while he plays, and that morning, as I worked on my hair, I heard "London Bridge is Falling Down" begin to play. In the back of my mind, I remembered hearing that there was an actual reason the song was written, so I did what I normally do when I'm curious: I googled. 

This is what I found. 

Disturbing. 

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely heard all the controversy surrounding the newly released movie 50 Shades of Grey based on the same-titled book.  I've read many articles about it (although surprisingly, none have truly focused on the horrendous writing). This one (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/fifty-shades-grey-and-abuse) is the best one I've read, and I feel like it states the case well based on truth, facts, statistics, and comments. A companion (though, admittedly longish) read would be this one http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/consent-isnt-enough-in-fifty-shades-of-grey/385267/.

Last one:  last night I read a post about music in worship services. I was raised on hymns, and although many hymns are beautiful and stir my soul, most don't resonate with me. So, this article (http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/what-happens-when-we-sing-in-worship-11627945.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fbpage&utm_campaign=cwupdate) was a refreshing read and helped me feel less guilty about that. 

Have you read any good articles or blog posts or books lately? Post them in the comments below, if so!