Link Likes:11/11/13

I'm still getting into the swing of things on this blog, but here's a few interesting reads that caught my eye from the last two weeks.

Comparisons Kill
Some lovely, heartening imagery Ann Voskamp, with How the Hidden Dangers of Comparison are Killing Us (and Our Daughters): The Measuring Stick Principle

"The world isn’t a forest of measuring sticks. The world is a forest of burning bushes. Everything isn’t a marker to make you feel behind or ahead; everything is a flame to make you see GOD is here. That God is working through this person’s life, that God is redeeming that person’s life, that God is igniting this work, that God is present here in this mess, that God is using even this."

History of Sleep
This post from the Slumber Wise blog made me feel like my nursing momma schedule of reading or praying at 2 a.m. isn't so awful after all.  The most interesting part of this post is the comment section, where hundreds of readers confirm they still sleep like their ancestors.:
Your Ancestors Didn't Sleep Like You - from the Slumber Wise blog

We used to sleep in two shorter periods, over a longer range of night. This range was about 12 hours long, and began with a sleep of three to four hours, wakefulness of two to three hours, then sleep again until morning.

Church without God
I found the photos that accompany this article require a chilling double-take. Reading this should spur some serious reflection on the true reasons we attend church and how we "do" church:
The Rise of Atheist "Mega-Churches" - An AP article by Gillian Flaccus.

During the service, attendees stomped their feet, clapped their hands and cheered as Jones and Evans led the group through rousing renditions of "Lean on Me," ''Here Comes the Sun" and other hits that took the place of gospel songs. Congregants dissolved into laughter at a get-to-know-you game that involved clapping and slapping the hands of the person next to them and applauded as members of the audience spoke about community service projects they had started in LA.

Backpack Culture
And something lighter-hearted for my fellow late-Gen Xers/early-Millennials:
Forrest Wickman's  When Did Two-Strapping Get Cooler Than One-Strapping?
(For the record, I remember switching from one strap to two when I entered college in 1996)