A few changes

Some of the more observant readers of the blog may have noticed I removed the blog lists from the side bar. This was intentional and for the time being this seems a permanent deletion. Most of my friends are like me -- we love these blog lists. It lets us learn about our friends' friends; for many it offers entertainment that doesn't seem to pull us beyond the boundary of acceptable; for voracious readers like myself it offers a quick read when that's all life seems to want to allow. All acceptable reasons in my opinion. However, I worry that by placing certain blogs on the list it may be construed as a silent approval on my part regarding the content found therein. This is entirely not true -- but I can't and don't want to post every time a blog that I frequent posts something that I disagree with.


Additionally, and this is more the issue than anything else. We had a very candid discussion Sunday in Bible Study about temptation and the discussion began with a communal listing of the temptations faced by each gender. Obvious answers were given -- the ones you expect to find -- sex for men, gossip for women and so on and so forth. But something that was not said but that I have a sneaking suspicion is truer for most women than we care to admit is that a huge temptation for us to be Super-Mom. We have a deep desire to know that we are doing THE perfect things for our children. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing. It is when this desire also makes us seek out other moms who may not be doing it correctly so as to artificially build ourselves up or when this desire pushes us to seek affirmation in our choices from others rather than from God, our spouses, our children that it becomes so completely destructive. I know that I do it all the time -- organic or not, vaccinate or not, baby sign or not, which preschool, which swim instructor and on and on it goes.

My logic on the very minute change is more extensive -- things like popularity, permissions, etc all crossed my mind -- it just seemed like these two reasons were primary. This diatribe if you will is not a indictment of anyone with a blog list -- more of an explanation why mine was removed (and perhaps a little candor in a world so lacking). With that said, of course I will still check blogs; I hope you continue to read mine; if you have blog lists please keep them -- that after all is the point of this post -- to do what you have been called to do regardless of others.