Coffee Break Reading List (April 7, 2021)

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I really had wanted to be doing these round-ups of interesting tidbits every couple of weeks, or at least once a month! Life has had a way of keeping me scrambling lately, and I've not managed to be consistent with this. Will things settle down at all after this weekend? Realistically, probably not. It will just be a different kind of busy. I'll keep trying to find a good rhythm, and for today, I hope you find something of interest in some of the reading material I've gathered.

Some of the things around the web that I've been reading or exploring during recent coffee breaks: 

• The very first thing I'm sharing this time around is a documentary movie that I just reviewed and promoted over at Just A Second. It's called Colors of Character and it's about artist Steve Skipper. It's available on DVD or On Demand, and let me tell you - it is good! It is the inspiring, true story of a prolific sports artist who spent his teen years in a violent gang before returning to the Lord and to his natural talent for art. He was able to walk away from crime and addiction, and use his talent to become a successful and respected artist, giving glory to God. Scroll down just a wee bit to see the trailer.
• Do you know what the Bible writers meant when they talked about God as their "Helper" or asked God to "help"? The word translated "helper" is a little different from our modern English word. Check out this short devotional for a bit of insight: What To Do When You Need a Helper
• I've been dabbling a bit in adjusting my blogging to fit my post-homeschool life. Wondering if I should re-brand? Shut this down and start over? I found this article from Karen Del Tatto's blog helpful as I consider my options: A Note to the New Christian Blogger: 5 Key Lessons I Learned in 5 Years of Blogging. Even if you're not a new blogger, there are some words of wisdom there.
• At The Guardian - Lost touch: how a year without hugs affects our mental health. It's not a good effect. We are all in trouble, and I think most of us know it. What are we going to do about it?
• One of the weird and interesting rabbit-holes I went down a couple weeks ago eventually led me to this article at the National Archives Pieces of History blog: The World War II-Era Actress Who Invented Wifi: Hedy Lamarr and it was so intriguing that I promptly ordered the book The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict from the library. I hope to get started on it soon!

#ColorsofCharacterMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

The homeschool reading corner: 

• Let me start with a question - are any of you familiar with The Scholarship System? I'm really curious, and obviously we could really use some help from scholarships as our daughter looks to transfer to a four year school to finish her degree. Decisions, decisions. She wants to live at home or close to home, but that doesn't leave many options. And we're also concerned about committing to a school without knowing whether the classes will be in-person or not.
• If you're NOT homeschooling, and you're struggling with all the turmoil surrounding whether schools reopen and how, I encourage you to look at a couple of articles like this one at Reason - The Year Teachers Killed the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg - and ask yourself if you REALLY want to send your kid back into the public school system. Do you? If so, you may appreciate some of the guidance offered in Back to School for Parents from Family Policy Alliance. And if you think it's a good time to consider homeschooling, check out the Schoolhouse Ambassadors page and look for someone near you to help answer questions. Any homeschooling questions, even if you're not new to it! If you're in Maryland, I'd love to help you. Please connect with me!

Some fun things I've found during coffee breaks:  

• If a lot of what you know about classical music or opera comes from cartoons, you're not alone! For a fun trip down memory lane, see ClassicalFM: Cartoonist breaks down how a whole generation learned classical music from watching old cartoons. My favorites are the Bugs Bunny classics The Barber of Seville and so many others!

• That reminds me - I also loved Rowlf's recitals on The Muppet Show!

What I've been reading during longer coffee breaks: 

Patrick by Jessica Dunn

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham

I'm about to get started on several new books in the next few days. Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

And for the Online Book Club, this month I will be learning from:

Feed the Birds: Attract and Identify 196 Common North American Birds by Chris Earley

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

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