Weekend linkage

"People at work ask me if you're a gourmet chef or something, because I'm always bringing such amazing things in for lunch."
-Jared

Just to prove that he's capable of more than penguin-belly comments, annoying questions, and general ridicule. I promise, he is actually very nice.

---

Pregnancy happenings: I made it to church for the first time in a month, so you know things are looking up. I still feel sick, some days more than others, but I got a sudden shot of energy this week (very welcome). I also had to resort to ye olde hair-tie trick to get my jeans to fit. The tadpole is only the size of a lime, but obviously it's staking a claim. (Though oddly, I have actually lost weight in the past several weeks. How does that happen?!)

---

You guys! Jasper Fforde has a new book coming out! Pretty excited over here.

Do any of these grammar/usage mistakes trip you up? I know I misuse "moot." And I vote to erase "impactful" from the English language.

And now, articles for your spare (?) time:

Albert Mohler: Christian values don't save anyone. "Human beings are natural-born moralists, and moralism is the most potent of all the false gospels."

Sarah Clarkson: the importance of beautiful places. "I think that’s one of the gifts of great beauty. It allows us a concentrated taste of the Goodness that makes it what it is. We reach through the beauty of physical creation into the heart of its Creator. And when we encounter Beauty himself through a particular place, it becomes a sacred space and memory, a vibrant presence within our souls . . . I hope that one of the main things God allows me to do is offer such times to other people. To somehow make a home and life (preferably in some lovely corner of the earth) that offers the people who seek its shelter a taste of beauty that bears a promise, a whisper, of all the beauty that is to come."

Ann-Marie Slaughter: why women still can't have it all. "I am all for encouraging young women to reach for the stars. But I fear that the obstacles that keep women from reaching the top are rather more prosaic than the scope of their ambition."

Personally, I have many thoughts on this (I HAVE THOUGHTS!!!). Still thinking, in fact. Womanhood and feminity have been on my mind frequently, and they're tough to hash out in this society-- not that I think it's ever been easy. I have a different moral and philosophical background than does Ms. Slaughter; for example, I believe that trying to create a world where top government leadership has a 50/50 gender split is futile (furthermore, that this futility is no great tragedy). It's just never going to happen, if only for the simple reason that women--Christians or not-- tend to have an incredibly strong pull towards nurturing their children, which is a full career in itself, thanks. A very rewarding one, if the mothers I know are to be believed.

And besides, nobody can "have it all." Not men, not women, not singles, not married couples. You can only fit so much into your one narrow life, and you've got to choose wisely.

So, since I don't share the author's guiding principles, you can imagine that I'm not cheering a lot of her conclusions. But she raises a lot of provoking questions, excellent food for thought no matter your beliefs on manhood and womanhood. Go ye and read.