How I was called to give up that which I did not have.. by Arietty In the years before the internet I relied on printed publications to nurture and sustain my life as a quiverfull homeschooling mom. It was within these publications that I found my own community in the Christian world, something which had eluded me before that. I read Family LIfe, Above Rubies, The Teaching Home, Gentle Spirit and a variety of photocopied newsletters from families who had ministries of sending out newsletters. It was often frustrating to me that 3 weeks would Full post …
Archive for December, 2009
From the Library of Martyrdom ~ Part 1
How I was called to give up that which I did not have.. by Arietty I began my journey into fundamentalism and a radical understanding of what it meant to be a mother via Above Rubies magazines. I was young, with an infant and toddler and my life was very lonely and isolated, made more so by my increasingly hostile husband. One day my family and a few of my husband’s friends took a long drive to the docks to see a visiting missionary ship. This ship sailed all over the world handing out free Full post …
An NLQ Christmas ‹(ô¿ô)›
by Vyckie Christmas used to be a super big deal at our house. I always went all out with way too many Christmas decorations, we baked cookies and made candy, we visited nursing homes, we went caroling… Oh, and the traditions ~ I incorporated every tradition I ever heard of into our Christmas celebration, and even invented a unique, and very touching tradition of my own. Each year, we bought a nativity set and mailed out one piece per day to a specially-chosen family along with carols, coloring pages, and Christmas devotions related to the Full post …
Why Quiverfull Moms Do Not and Cannot Love Their Bodies
by Vyckie I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1) For the past week and a half, NLQ has been presenting the excellent material in Tapati’s Body Image Workshop. As I’ve read through the posts and all the related comments on the NLQ forum, I’ve been thinking about how the Body Image issue is incredibly relevant to No Longer Quivering and the stories here of women who’ve left the Quiverfull philosophy and lifestyle. In Full post …
Tapati’s Body Image Workshop: Lines
by Tapati I remember the lines. You remember the lines. Team captains dividing us into the more or less worthy as we stood waiting for our doom. Nervous laughter accompanying some of the choices. The smell of perspiration pervading the gym as tension mounted and fewer of us remained to be chosen. No one wanted to be last. It was embarrassing enough to be among the last few. We would sell out our best friend rather than be chosen last. We promised God anything if only we would not be last. Sometimes the worst happened, Full post …
Tapati’s Body Image Workshop: The View From Both Sides Of The Easel
by Tapati The Model: Five years ago I would have laughed at the suggestion I might be doing nude modeling for an artist. Nothing could have been further from my mind. I was only beginning to work on changing my body image. I was just beginning to appreciate my wide hips, powerful buttocks, smallish breasts, and round belly with its network of stretch marks like ribbons of fine silk. The only parts of my body I had always liked were my blue-green eyes and my soft, thick brown hair. It was a major step just Full post …
Tapati’s Body Image Workshop: Day Four Assignment
by Tapati This assignment is meant to be interactive. It is a guided visualization followed by discussion or journal writing. You can handle this either by having someone read it to you, going slowly enough for you to visualize, or you can record it and then play it back for yourself. Before you do the visualization exercise, please start by getting into a comfortable position and relaxing with some slow, deep breaths. The concept for this exercise originated with Marcia Hutchinson although I am writing this version myself. You should check out her book, Transforming Full post …
Tapati’s Body Image Workshop: Taking Care of Ourselves
by Tapati 1) Make a list of ten things you would do if you really loved your body. Pick one and start doing it now. As you progress you can choose other things from the list. This is an especially powerful exercise for those women who have been waiting to do nearly everything “until I lose those pounds.” 2) Create a support system of friends who support you in loving the body you have now. You may find that your circle of friends shifts as you seek out people who are supportive and leave behind Full post …
Michelle says, Never enough babies!
