My Daily Dozen: Prioritizing Ideas

I am continuing my blog posts on my "daily dozen": the twelve habits that I use as the scaffolding or my life during this season.

The first four habits I use as the scaffolding for my days in this season of life are physical: rest, eating well, exercise, and fresh air.  

Now I'm talking about prioritizing relationships. I wrote about Bible reading and prayer, spending time with my children, and prioritizing my marriage.  

The fourth relationship I prioritize is my relationship with ideas.

What?  Ideas? 

Now we're getting a little metaphysical!

Leave it to a student of philosophy to put ideas up there with a husband and children.  But our ideas matter.  What we read matters.  What we think matters.  The things upon which we reflect, the narratives we allow to play in our mind, the way we view our life and problems, and the worldview to which we subscribe all matter with (I believe) a life-or-death urgency.  So yes, prioritizing ideas is essential to me.

Ideas shape us.  Our ideas will ultimately lead to how to live our life.  So much depends on this: do we wallow in self-pity or do we get on with things?  Do we believe in positive change or get stuck in a destructive mindset?  Do we believe in forgiveness or do we entertain bitterness?  And so on.

Ideas matter, so I spend time each day on ideas.  However, I usually don't have hours to spend on ideas, because each day I stay busy with homeschooling, housekeeping, exercise, laundry, cooking, music practice, taking care of my children, et cetera.  So in this season of life I find pockets of time for engaging with ideas by:

Reading 

Of course I try to prioritize Bible reading time. I also love to read other books. Right now I primarily read non-fiction books, and I generally read after my children are in bed at night. In some seasons I read a lot more than others.  For instance, right now I'm barely reading much at all because our spring schedule is quite full and I am working so hard, but when summer comes and we start going to the pool, I'll read during daylight hours for at least an hour or so every day!

Books are a huge subject--sometime I will do a blog post on the books that have influenced me the most in recent years. There's no room here for that--but stay tuned.

Listening 

I like to listen to sermons online, or to interviews between interesting people on YouTube.  Sometimes I will watch/listen to a Youtube video while I fold laundry or cook dinner. Sometimes I'll find a podcast and listen to it via my laptop, because my low-budget phone doesn't handle things like that.  When I was painting the beadboard in our laundry room I remember listening to hours of sermons. I don't listen to anything regularly, but a few things I've enjoyed are:

*The Read-Aloud Revival Podcast (I've listened to a few of these, my favorite is probably Sarah Clarkson)
*The Daily Connoisseur on YouTube (I've been following Jennifer since before she became a bestselling author, and I feel we are kindred spirits, particularly in the realm of prioritizing home life)
*Any talk or interview with Rosaria Butterfield--she's so grounded and has a fascinating story (Google her or search on YouTube for more information)
*Revive our Hearts Radio (a handful of these each year, but I enjoy them)
*Bravewriter on YouTube (every so often, for homeschooling inspiration)
*NT Wright talks on YouTube (I heard him speak years and years ago in person and I really enjoy his lectures)
*Lydia Sherman on YouTube (I love her focus on domesticity--inspiring)
*Socrates in the City (fascinating talks and interviews)
*John Piper sermons and talks
*Tim Keller sermons and talks

It probably goes without saying, but I don't agree with every single thing every person says on these channels!  Engaging with ideas also means being smart enough to reject what you believe is untrue or off-base. :)  That's my disclaimer.

What do I avoid?  I will listen to people with whom I disagree, but I will not listen to anyone who uses foul language or is crude, insulting, or demoralizing.  (Remember Philippians 4:8!)

Occasionally Reviewing the News

I barely pay attention to the news.  In general I don't think dwelling on the news--which changes constantly, is often negative, frequently involves fear-mongering--is healthy. Some of the unhappiest and/or most anxious people I know are the ones who watch the news all day long. We are saturated with news right now in a way that is unprecedented in the history of humanity, and I don't think this is a good thing.

 In any case, I'll just say that it's not for me.  What I do is scan the national and local headlines a couple of times a week online, read our local weekly newspaper each week, and listen to NPR on occasion in the car. If an election is coming up I do pay closer attention to the news and my husband and I talk about the candidates because I think it's so important to vote intelligently. 

Intermittent Online Reading 

Last but not least, I do like to read some non-news sites, like blogs.  I tend to focus on sites that inspire me in the life I am leading right now: that is, a life of taking care of my family and my home. I don't have time to read blogs every day and sometimes I go weeks without reading them, but I do have a handful of favorites! I will try to do a separate blog post on those sometime in the coming weeks.

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These are the primary ways I prioritize engagement with ideas at this stage of my life: reading books, listening to inspiring talks and sermons, judicious engagement with the news, and some occasional online blog reading.  I love to learn and think, and although I could happily while my days away in a university library somewhere, that's not practical for me as a wife and mother, so I engage with ideas in little bits and pieces of time here and there throughout the day, and it works very well for me in this season of life.