A couple of years ago the British journalist John Naish released a book titled Enough (I don’t think it ever made it in substantial numbers to this side of the Atlantic). He subtitled the book, “Breaking free from the world of more.” He uses the book to encourage people to stop when they have enough—enough…
It wouldn’t be Friday without a new edition of Free Stuff Friday, would it? This week’s sponsor is one you know well: Moody Publishers. They would like to introduce you to some of their new products and to do this they’ve put together a pretty good prize package for you. Five people will win a…
The Fate of Afghan Women – This article from TIME (this is a shortened version of the print magazine’s cover story) looks at what may be in store for women in Afghanistan after the US and other nations depart. The Spill: Not As Bad As We Feared? – And while we’re on the subject of…
When reading about Charles Spurgeon you will be drawn to the unavoidable conclusion that he was a unique individual. He was uniquely gifted by God and then raised up to a unique ministry. There can never be another Charles Spurgeon. I spent some time this morning pondering what is unique in Spurgeon’s background that would…
New Kindles – Amazon continues to innovate with the Kindle and, best of all, drive down the prices. The new “standard” Kindle will have both 3G and WiFi capabilities and cost $189 (see it here) while a new model will offer only WiFi access and cost a mere $139 (see it here). It does not…
God’s Technology – David Murray has just released a video and study guide titled God’s Technology. ” God’s Technology is ideal for families, schools, and churches that want to help their children to use God’s good gift of technology in a God-glorifying way. And although it gives parents and teachers many helpful tools, it emphasizes…
I love biography. That’s probably the tenth time I’ve begun a review with those words, yet it’s no less true now than the first time I penned them. The more I read of biography, the more I am enamored with it and the more I see just how valuable it is to my life and…
Why Does Randy Alcorn Make Minimum Wage? – Watch this interview in which Mark Driscoll talks to Randy Alcorn. Jesse Bryan – Speaking of Mark Driscoll, you may be interested in this interview with the Jesse Bryan, Creative Director at Mars Hill Church. Culture Shock – This is an interesting look at American culture through…
Centuries ago the Puritan preacher Richard Baxter penned some wisdom on the subject of reading. His concern was for people to become better, more discerning readers. His advice seems as timely today as it must have been for the men and women of the seventeenth century. It may be it is even more important today…
The Trellis and the Vine – The paperback edition of The Trellis and the Vine is now out and Westminster Books has it for sale at half price. It is an excellent book and as close to a must-read as they get. Buy one for yourself and one for your pastor! The Good Christian Girl…
During my recent vacation I came face-to-face with my own prayerlessness and, just as discouragingly, the realization that in many ways I don’t even know how to pray. One aspect of training myself to pray more and to pray better is to write out some of my prayers in a journal. It’s a tough discipline,…
While I was on vacation I did a lot of reading about Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a man I’ve long been intrigued by but one I had barely gotten to know. Having returned home, I turned to a biography of his contemporary, Robert E. Lee. In the foreword to this particular biography, author Emory Thomas has…
Due to a vaction that extended from one Friday to the next, it has been two weeks since the last edition of Free Stuff Fridays. I know that this must have been a sore trial for those of you who visit only on Fridays hoping to win some free books! Nevertheless, I’m sure you survived.…
Friday morning seems like a good time to give you a couple of personal updates and to ask you a question about this web site. But make sure that you don’t miss today’s A La Carte and Free Stuff Fridays. Quality I have been thinking a little bit lately about the quality of the content…
BP’s Photoshopping – BP has been photoshopping images of their work in the Gulf. And, not surprisingly, people have noticed and called them out on it. You can see their really bad Photoshop work at the link. Facebook’s 500 Million – Facebook recently welcomed its 500 millionth user (! – that deserves an exclamation mark).…
Today we continue reading Arnold Dallimore’s Spurgeon: A New Biography. Two weeks ago we read the first couple of chapters and, after a one-week vacation, we’re back today to look at chapters 3-6. The four chapters we read for today covered a lot of ground (which is both a benefit and a drawback of a…
Dangers Facing Over-Churched Kids – Tony Kummer has some good warnings for parents of church kids. “These are the children who attend every service, and can’t remember anytime when they didn’t come to church. In my ministry, most of these kids also attend a Christian school. They can recite the books of the Bible, they’ve…
Recent Scenes from Iraq – Another excellent photo essay from Boston.com. E-Book Sales – “Amazon.com Inc. said it reached a milestone, selling more e-books than hardbacks over the past three months. But publishers said it is still too early to gauge for the entire industry whether the growth of e-books is cannibalizing sales of paperback…
I have just one memory that involves Ted Kluck. A year ago, maybe a little bit less, he and I were together in Chicago at a small gathering of young(ish) Christian authors. Ten or fifteen of us were gathered there, sitting around a group of tables in a hotel conference room. We had the opportunity…
Adam Wainwright Looks to Christ – Tim Ellsworth writes about the faith of baseball player Adam Wainwright. “The Atlanta Braves drafted Wainwright in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft, and in rookie ball his first roommate was Blaine Boyer, now a relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In Boyer, Wainwright found someone who…