The Best in: Internet Articles

I'm not usually terribly tempted to open links on the internet and/or social media. To be honest I take a little bit of pride in how good I am at resisting flash sale ads (don't quote me on that though, I slip up every now and then!). But if there's one thing I do have trouble resisting, it's good articles. I'm always looking for pieces of writing that will add value to my life because 1) we constantly get bombarded with information so we might as well take advantage of the good stuff and 2) I'm also a writer so if all else fails at least I'll get some inspiration out of it.

So today I thought I'd share some of my favorite articles that I've come across lately to spare you the trouble of hunting for good online reading material. (You're welcome ;) Here are some of my favorite pieces on a few different topics:

On Self-Development

Five Ways to Make Your Summer Count. What I love about this article is that it goes beyond summer hairstyle/fashion tips. This is about ways to develop your mind and your spirit during a time when we can get so easily distracted by beach parties, barbecues, and finding the perfect summer outfit. There's nothing wrong with those things of course, but I want my summer to be about more than that. I want to use whatever season I'm in to grow spiritually, and this article provides some great tips to help with that goal. It's definitely worth checking out!

On Reading

Contemporary Authors Every Christian Should Read. As much as I love wandering in bookstores, when it comes down to choosing a book to buy I always want to make sure I'm investing my time and money into a story that's worthwhile. This article gives great suggestions of contemporary reading for Christians, and I love that they're all fiction pieces. Self-help books and nonfiction Christian books are great and all, but there's something wonderful about what fiction does to the soul. It opens our minds, invites us into a story, and in the case of these books, leaves us with lessons that will stay with us even after we've turned the last page. I haven't read any of these books yet, but you can bet I'm adding several to my reading list!

On Self-Image

The Pressure to Look Good. This article touches on the realities of being a woman in today's social media-obsessed world. We're so swamped with "perfect" Instagram pictures from our friends, bloggers, and even celebrities, and I like that this article is honest about those things. But the writer also addresses our own desire to look good. How much of it comes from all the outside pressure, and how much from the fact that we just like to look nice? This is the kind of real-talk I value because the truth is self-image is a complicated thing. The first step to figuring it out is to talk about it honestly.

On Encouragement

Use Your Words Wisely. This is an article from one of my favorite writers at the moment, Shauna Niequist, and it talks about the importance of giving encouragement with our words, even when we might not think it matters all that much. I was so inspired after I read this to speak up more, to compliment people even when my mind says, "oh I don't need to say that, they know that already." You never know how much people need to hear your words of encouragement. You never know how much it can help them. Shauna does a great job of showing that in this article.

On Travel

How to Travel as a Young Adult. I'm a fan of the young lady who wrote this article. She's currently traveling the country in a camper with her husband, and she co-founded an awesome fair-trade organization that I look up to. In this article she talks about how young people can find ways to travel by making it a priority. Obviously this is a topic that's very close to my heart, and I think her tips are very useful. Check it out if you've been thinking of traveling more (young adult or not ;) It's not as difficult as we sometimes believe it is.

Let me know if you check out any of these articles, and what you thought about them! :)

#2015 #favorites #life