Because When You Rise Doesn't Have All the Best Articles Out There... (Some Posts From Other Sites You Might Want to Check Out!)

I know that the posts found on When You Rise are not always mind-blowing or jaw dropping.  :)  I read a lot of other blogs and thoughts on parenting and often wish everyone in the world could read some of the ones I come across.  Sometimes I share them on facebook, but not all of our readers use social media and I don't like to bog the page down with lots of posts.

Well, Amanda, over at Impress Your Kids does this cool thing occasionally where she shares good posts she's found lately with her readers.  (You can go here to see her latest list.)  I've found some great stuff via her links and thought it might be fun if we started something similar on When You Rise.  (And she assured me it was okay to copy off of her and that lots of bloggers do this link sharing kind of thing... thanks, Amanda! :)

So, without further ado, here are some posts that I loved this week:

Faith Like a Child from Jon Acuff's Stuff Christians Like.  A great article about why God tells us to have "faith like a child" when he doesn't tell us to emulate other childlike qualities.  Very good.

Encouragement for Moms to Remember from Exceptionally Average.  This is a guest post written by friend Mandie on my friend Kelly's site.  The post begins with a list of some difficulties in parenting that I'm sure many of us can relate to.  But as I read, I could feel the weight lifting off my shoulders as she spoke the truth of God's Word and shifted my perspective.  Important things for us to "preach" to ourselves daily.

Raising Gospel Centered Children from Gospel Centered Discipleship.  A lengthy, but worthwhile read on the difference between child-centered discipleship and gospel-centered discipleship.  It's something I want to wrap my mind around so much better so that Christ can be more glorified in our family.  I highly recommend taking the time to read it and process it.

Summer Reading List:  Marcia Brown from melissademing.com.  My friend, Melissa, is doing a really cool series on classic children's books this summer.  She's already introduced me to a new one and reminded me of one I don't yet have.  I'm always adding books to an Amazon wishlist for the boys' Christmas and birthday list ideas.

Do You Really Need More Self-Esteem?  from Desiring Virtue.  You may have read my thoughts on why I'm trying not to instill self-esteem in my children.  Here's a great article echoing my understanding of the matter for adults.

American Girls:  Meet Rebecca from Redeemed Reader.  Don't you wish there was a website that would take normal, everyday books... you know from the American Girls' series to the Hunger Games series and give you some thoughts on how a Christian should think about it (without throwing the baby out with the bath water)?  This new site reviews children's books for all ages and gives you a "heads up" if there are some issues to talk through with your child and even gives some ideas on questions to ask and help your child think critically about how the book holds up against God's Word.  Those poor worldviews can be so subtle!  We don't necessarily need to shelter our children from them, but rather help them think through it biblically.  This site will help you do that!

Thailand Commerical on YouTube.  Okay, this one may seem weird, but if you have a smart phone, you should definitely take the 90 seconds to watch this.  I got an iPhone last month and have really enjoyed it, but one of my major concerns I had before I got it was that it would distract me from being engaged with the boys.  I watched this video just a few days after I got my new phone and have not been able to get it out of my head since.  It really puts things in perspective.  

Have a great time browsing these links and sites!  I hope you are challenged and encouraged as I was!