Further Reflections on Mary Magdalene
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
1y ago
I recently posted a piece about Sisterhood and Mary Magdalene. If you haven’t read it, you can do so here. One aspect of Mary Magdalene and our collective healing that I didn’t go into depth about is, how the church lead millions upon millions of people to believe the only way to commune with God ..read more
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Thoughts on Motherhood and the Lost Sacredness of it.
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by Natasha Allan
1y ago
Years ago I was told “your identity is sooo wrapped up in being a Mother“. I was told that my children would one day grow up and what would I be left with if I spent these years focusing on them. This isn’t the first time I have been told something along these lines. Over ..read more
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Technology & Screen Time: Trust Over Fear.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
As I lay in bed next to my daughter I write to you with so much amazement in my heart, I need to share this joy with you. There is so much fear surrounding technology and children, aka: “screen time for kids”. Unfortunately most parents are making their decisions based on these fears. I’ve spent much time these last few years working through my thoughts around this limiting term and what it implies. I have come out the other side of fear somewhat unscathed and clear headed and choose not to use the ever frightening catch phrase “screen time’. The terms “screens and screen time” immediately con ..read more
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My Chat with Pam Laricchia
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
A few months ago I had the honor of chatting with Pam Laricchia, the wonderful creator of livingjoyfully.ca. Pam is one of the few people I look to within the Unschooling community for solid knowledge and guidance. Pam’s podcast is where I go when I am looking for encouragement and focus. Pam has also written many wonderful books about Unschooling, her latest is the incredible The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide. If you are curious about Unschooling and want to learn from a truly wonderful person, who has three now adult Unschooled kids along with the wealth of knowledge she is accumulating ..read more
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Holidays and Grief.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the waves of grief that often partner with holidays and special events. It’s inevitable. If you have experienced a deep and painful loss you’ve experienced or will experience the wave of grief that rolls in; sometimes softly, sometimes like a tidal wave. My Mother transitioned in 2011 when I was pregnant with my first child. I was only a few weeks pregnant when she passed, I didn’t know I was but I’m pretty sure my Mom somehow did. I married my husband, had my daughter, moved and lost my Mother all in less than 8 months. I then dealt with my Mother’s estat ..read more
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Year One ~ Expectations.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
What was intended to be a month long exploration easily turned into one year. Which was not what I expected. Ha! I learned a few very important things on my journey to truly understanding Expectations. One of those things was setting time limits. I was aware heading into this journey my learning did not begin here and certainly would not end after a month. What I reminded myself through this exploration was to be open to the twists and turns that come with learning. To be open to and welcoming of my journey not looking the way I thought it would. This is a huge lesson that breaks open my willi ..read more
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My Beautiful Roller Coaster of a Day.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
We had a beautiful day today. We went to The Boys & Girls Club. Playing & swimming had been planned for home schooling families who live in our area and a neighboring city. Our day was filled with fun as well as challenging moments… challenging moments that were opportunities to be gracious and kind. Turns out I’m not the only one in our family who doesn’t do well in large groups, so when we do find ourselves in that environment things come up. It’s an amazing thing though when you can look at what is happening in front of you without feeling pressure to be a certain way or worry about ..read more
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Month One ~ Expectations.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
Expectations is first in my monthly series of observations surrounding thought forms, words and beliefs that influence the way I am as a parent and partner to my children and husband. In my last post I dove into a realization I had recently: if I truly was to Follow the Joy I need to unpack and discover where certain beliefs and thoughts really come from. If they don’t serve a joyful life then I need to let them go and replace them with something that does. I’m going to spend the next year focusing monthly on different areas I find keep coming up despite having thought them through before, bel ..read more
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Evolving through Deschooling.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
This past month has been an interesting one. Things have been shifting and changing, as they always do, though this past month I’ve felt a deep cavernous yearning I hadn’t felt in a while. I wasn’t sure what that meant until a day or so ago. I had an idea pop in my head that had my heart racing, my stomach doing flips and twirls. Excitement overtook me. I began Follow the Joy almost a year ago after having gone through many, many years of deep sadness and anger. Over 6 years ago my Mother ~ and best friend ~ died after two years of chemo and radiation (twice over), surgery, hospital negligence ..read more
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Unschooling, YouTube and Drive-Thru’s.
Follow the Joy
by Natasha Allan
2y ago
My daughter loves her YouTubers, she has an array of favorites. She loves watching them create things, open things, explore things… she loves YouTube. I love it. But I didn’t always love YouTube when it came to my daughter watching it. It can be difficult to jump in and find the YouTube joy when generally shared conventional beliefs try to reinforce: “No child should have access to YouTube” “No child should be watching YouTube when they can be doing…” “You should limit your child’s access to YouTube because they’ll become…” “Children shouldn’t have access to ‘screens’ until they’re X year ..read more
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