Hannah Farver's Blog, page 2

“I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to...

“I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I learned anything useful from, except, of course, that some very tedious gentlemen have written books.” - Marilynne Robinson in her book, Gilead

Unlearning the Art of Hospitality

Unlearning the Art of Hospitality:

“Are we living our lives authentically all the way through or are we jumping in and out of small performances for a public we hope to dazzle?”

tastefullyoffensive:Farmer keeps his calf warm with a hoodie.

tastefullyoffensive:

Farmer keeps his calf warm with a hoodie.

Courage as an anti-bully

I was fourteen when I started to blog. The venture was just popular enough to merit a few fans…and a long list of critics.

Fast forward a few months, and I’d received vicious emails from both feminists and fundamentalists. I remember some of the emails left me depressed for days. I’d critique my writing relentlessly, with logic so undeniable that no one would argue. It never worked.

(I received a note shortly after my book’s publication, which said my author’s photo was too revealing, immodest, and I should be ashamed. The photo was a headshot. That one was almost too bizarre to believe.)

That said, I get anti-bullying campaigns. I really get them. Those experiences taught me that words can have a profound effect—even when they come from faceless strangers.

It is sick and wrong to physically and verbally tear down a child.

Abuse of children should never be tolerated.

But I wonder if the Anti-Bully Awareness Campaign-approach needs tweaking. Because tragically, bullying happens. While we can create a culture where bullying is taboo, we will never make it cease altogether.

Underdogs will be trod upon. In the schoolyard, there will be victims, even if the weapon is made of only words. There are always, always Goliaths.

We can teach kids to report this activity (and this is so important). We can tell them they’re not alone. But we must also teach them strength.

I read some quotes recently from Booker T. Washington that inspired me. He said, “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

He added, “Character, not circumstance, makes the person.”

I suspect that we tend to absorb hate into our souls. We accept the worst criticism of ourselves, allowing it to make a home under our skin.

We care far too much what others think.

And so, we become victims, rather than conquerors.

If I ever have a child who blogs, like I did, and receives hate mail, like I did, I wish them well. I won’t censor their emails to filter out the hurt. Instead, I want to be there with them. To teach them that there are some voices worth hearing. And then there are others who give us something to overcome.

"The way we interact with the challenges of earthbound existence has to be an evidence of what we..."

“"The way we interact with the challenges of earthbound existence has to be an evidence of what we believe to be beyond it."”

- Stephen Gibbs

A photo I took in the ice storm this week. #nofilter #virginia

A photo I took in the ice storm this week. #nofilter #virginia

If you get up early, you’ll probably stumble out of bed to get some coffee. If you stumble...

If you get up early, you’ll probably stumble out of bed to get some coffee.
If you stumble out of bed, you might knock over a houseplant.
If you knock over a houseplant, you might be reminded it’s a cactus.
When you’re reminded it’s a cactus, you might also be the girl who’s pulling cactus needles from her foot at 7am.
Don’t be that girl.
Don’t get up early.

If you get up early, you’ll probably stumble out of bed to get some coffee. If you stumble...

If you get up early, you’ll probably stumble out of bed to get some coffee.
If you stumble out of bed, you might knock over a houseplant.
If you knock over a houseplant, you might be reminded it’s a cactus.
When you’re reminded it’s a cactus, you might also be the girl who’s pulling cactus needles from her foot at 7am.
Don’t be that girl.
Don’t get up early.

"Don’t be a self promoter. Be a lover of people and of partnering with them. There’s a..."

“Don’t be a self promoter. Be a lover of people and of partnering with them. There’s a difference.”

What if America's cities are destined to become Detroit?

Hollowed-out, abandoned cities while suburbia keeps duplicating itself across the country. We lament the modern cut-off between people, and how we no longer have real neighbors…

"Everyone has a different pet theory: the automobile, government corruption and/or incompetence; corporate greed; personal irresponsibility; race and class-based social tensions, etc…

But this is irrelevant right now. What I want to do is to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem that we are facing…”

From a fascinating article on this, at Rust Wire.

This is an issue for the Church in ministry, as members of the body sprawl farther away from each other.

This is an issue for compassionate people, as those who remain in the cities are doomed to leave or suffer while the situation worsens.