Round the Sphere Again: The Puritans

On Family Life
What did the Puritans think about family life? Kim of The Upward Call writes, “When people think of Puritans in conjunction with marriage and family, it is often assumed that they had very harsh, utilitarian ideas about marriage and family.” But that’s not quite right.

On Biblical Counseling
“The Puritans had sophisticated diagnostic casebooks containing scores and even hundreds of different personal problems and spiritual conditions. … Puritans were true physicians of the soul. Their study of the Scripture and the heart led them to make fine distinctions between conditions and to classify many types and sub-types of problems that required different treatments.” —Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling by Tim Keller. (CCEF) HT: Justin Taylor

Round the Sphere Again: Put in Writing

Message by Pigeon
“His men rapidly succumbing to the onslaught [from friendly fire] and with two birds already shot down, Major Charles Whittlesay dispatched a frantic message by way of their last surviving homing pigeon, ‘Cher Ami’.” Read the message and the rest of the story at Letters of Note.

Not-So-Frequently Asked
questions about pencils. Like what should I call the little metal band that holds the eraser? And is there a difference between an HB pencil and a #2 pencil? (mental_floss Blog)

Round the Sphere Again: Dressing for Less (and with Less)

Thrift Store Shopping
Several reasons to love it. (Nicole Starling) I’m already a regular at my local Salvation Army thrift store, so I don’t need convincing. I’m especially pleased that Nicole tackles the common misconception that those with enough ought to leave the thrift store goodies for people without anything. She explains why it’s ethical to op-shop, as she calls it.

[W]e went to a church that was involved in running an op shop (as a point of contact with locals, not as a fundraiser) and I saw things from the other side, and realised how much more stock comes in than they are ever able to sell, and how glad they are to shift it.  So now I don’t feel guilty about shopping there!

And chances are your local charity-run store makes money to fund other charity programs and if you don’t buy, there is less funding.

Ten Days of Traveling
With only a carry-on. “Heather Poole, a flight attendant from Los Angeles, [demonstrates] how to pack enough for a 10-day trip into a single standard carry-on.” (The New York Times)

I’ve read traveling-light articles, and  they always seem to require a few  well-chosen and versatile pieces purchased especially for travellng. Not so with Heather’s system. She packs “three pairs of shorts, three pairs of dress pants, one skirt, three pairs of casual pants or jeans, three nightgowns, three bathing suits, one sarong, three lightweight sweaters, four dresses, 10 casual shirts, six dress shirts, a clutch, toiletries and two pairs of shoes” in her one standard carry-on. The key is not packing fewer items, but packing those items in the right way.