Name that landmark

A quiz to see if you can name the landmark with an aerial view of the location.

Scientists discover colors of ancient bird

Neat article. An excerpt:

The Science study analyzed color-imparting structures called melanosomes from an entire fossil of a single animal, a feat which enabled researchers to reveal rich color patterns of the entire animal.

In fact, the analysis of melanosomes conducted by Yale team was so precise that the team was able to assign colors to individual feathers of Anchiornis huxleyi, a four-winged troodontid dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period in China.

Read the rest here.

The conversion of Mosab Hassan Yousef

An interesting interview with the son of a Hamas leader, who converted to Christianity.

"I need to be open to lowering the bar without removing it entirely"

Some great thoughts from Tienne about faith, grace and perfectionism.

When one man's trash is another man's treasure - literally

A slap upside the head with a "perspective" bat:


via Catholic Family Vignettes

A skateboarding friar

via Da Mihi Animas

A video about Lebanon's winemaking monks

Neat!

You might have a large family if...

• You have to carry three health insurance cards in your wallet- because that's how many it takes to fit everyone's names.
  
  
• You have a laundry basket devoted entirely to lonely socks seeking their mate.
  
  
• When you can't take all of your children to the doctor's office at the same time because the waiting room has only 10 seats.
  
  
• You go shopping at Costco and the cashier asks if you're having a soccer barbecue.
  

See more in the left sidebar of this blog.

Small is the new big

Inspiring pictures from a family of three living in a 382-square-foot house.

via Owlhaven

What angels probably sound like

Some amazingly talented children:

Living on the cheap in one of the most expensive cities in the world

How one girl not only lived on a $30,000 salary in New York, but managed to save $5,000, put $1,000 in a 401K and take a couple of trips.

Like, I totally like that

Dorian Speed has an amusing reflection on Facebook (don't miss the links in there as well -- great stuff).

When the doctors say you "have to" use contraception

Theresa Thomas has a beautiful article about how she and her husband handled the situation when she was facing months of chemotherapy after a cancer diagnosis and was told she had to use contraception.

How to Pray with Small Children

Some great advice and encouragement from Abigail (who's back to blogging after a long hiatus).

Fear and grace

Mrs. Parunak has a great post about a time that one of her worst fears played out: she thought she might die and never see her children again. She explains that she was actually filled with peace in the moment, and points out:

[W]hen we are simply imagining chilling scenarios, we are facing the horrible emotions without any of God’s sustaining grace. Every time we imagine something, we put ourselves through agony of a kind we will never have to go through in real life. Because when awful things are actually happening, God walks with us through them and gives us His grace and strength. The peace of God’s presence through a trial is something I can never conjure up in my imagination, and something that only comes with real trials, not the pretend ones I make up while driving. Now I know the difference.

Read the rest here.

The conversion of Brian Welch (guitarist for Korn)

An inspiring story:

What to Plant Now

A helpful regional planting guide for gardeners.

via Ecclesiastical Hipster

Defining your blog's purpose

Excellent tips about figuring out what to write about on your blog.

15 Design Tips to Learn From Apple

A good one for fellow design nerds.

via Christpreneurs (Twitter)

What's on the other side of the world from you?

Find out on this interactive map that shows you where you'd end up if you dug a hole through the center of the earth.

How to write a best selling fantasy novel

I laughed out loud at this. Some excerpts:

4. Create a Wise but Useless Guide: The Guide is wise adviser who knows all about the Quest, but never fully reveals it. He also appears to have immense powers but will not use them when they are most required.

And:

Technology: Fantasy Worlds...are ruled by councils of venerable sages who are the guardians of the accumulated learning of thousands of years and yet have never got around to inventing anything that might actually help them against wights, trolls and orcs -- such as a .44 Magnum.

Note: Fantasy Worlds never have working economies. Very few people work, there is little agriculture and it is not clear where food comes from.

Read the rest here.

via The Writer's Hole

"I'll be happy when..."

Some great thoughts on realizing that you already have paradise.

A Tiny Pietà

A beautiful story about how the loss of an unborn child thawed the heart of a Christian theologian. An inspiring read for anyone who has suffered the pain of miscarriage.

How to fall 35,000 feet - and survive!

Wow, fascinating stuff. It includes the story of Alan Magee, who survived a four-mile fall without a parachute in World War II.

via Patrick Madrid

Fear and creativity

An inspiring post about fear and writing (though it applies to all kind of art):

When you are intensely yourself, with all your quirks--and look, we all have them, no matter how normal you think you are--and you can create something, whatever it is, that expresses that, you're speaking to someone else's quirks. And the thing is, everyone thinks they're weird and unlovable, at some level. So when you speak to that part of someone, they open up. They feel better. They bloom a little. You've just changed someone else. Think about that. Five other people might not get it, but so what? A hundred people might think you suck, but you’ve just helped one person have a better day, and how incredible is that?

Read the rest here.