I mentioned in this morning’s A La Carte that my youngest daughter had learned how to sleep (or had taught herself, more properly). Last night she had a nightmare, the first in probably six months, and was wide awake in terror for a long, long time. That meant I was also wide awake (though not…
Back when I began writing my book my youngest daughter (who is 4) was simply not sleeping well. She would wake us up almost every night, crying that she was scared. Aileen and I were constantly braindead through this time, half-comatose from lack of sleep. And then one day she said, “Daddy, I’m going to…
A couple of days ago I was sorting through the bag of Halloween candy, teaching my children a little lesson about taxation. As I did so, it dawned on me how much of the candy they received is distinctly Canadian; there is a surprising amount that simply is not available south of the border. And…
Last year I posted a series of interviews under the banner of Meet the Ministries. It was a means of introducing you to some of the great ministries that serve the church today. You got to meet Grace to You, Desiring God, Acts 29, Peacemaker Ministries, CCEF and Truth for Life. I am going to…
Let me give you a really quick book update. The Next Story is just about complete; the publisher has accepted the bulk of the text, leaving me with just a few short application sections to complete, along with a conclusion. I am hoping to have all that done by this week or next. So we’re…
This morning I let you know about a new book that provides background and commentary for Handel’s Messiah. And now I want to encourage you to take in a performance of Messiah this Christmas season. And just to get you started, I’ve done some of the work, at least for those of you who live…
I always feel like a bit of a poser when I say this, but I absolutely love Handel’s Messiah. Though I appreciate small amounts of classical music (to use the term in a broad sense) I am largely a rock ‘n’ roll type. Yet there is something about Messiah that grips me. I find myself…
It’s Tuesday, and Tuesdays are a strangely busy day for me. So without further ado, let’s get to today’s A La Carte links: T4G via Hip Hop – I don’t know that anyone could have predicted the Calvinist resurgence we’ve seen in recent years. And even if someone could have predicted it, I don’t know…
The Christian world certainly suffers from no shortage of conferences. In fact, there are so many that it can be difficult to determine which, if any, to attend. I took a look ahead to 2011 to find a few that look particularly compelling. And here they are: 4 great conferences coming our way in 2011.…
Most men who are my age or older remember a day when pornography was rare and taboo. Pornography has existed as long as the camera has existed (and before that in more rudimentary forms, I’m sure) but has always been difficult to find and has always carried some kind of stigma. Today the tables have…
I used to be a bit obsessed with the NFL. Sundays were a day for church…but also a day to take in 2 or 3 football games. Then one day I got rid of cable (at least in part because it meant I couldn’t watch football). It surprised me how quickly I stopped caring about…
I recently happened across an interesting quote from John MacArthur’s book Hard to Believe. The premise of the book, which flies in the face of the church growth movement, is that it is not at all easy to be saved–it is actually very difficult. A few weeks ago I mentioned how important Ashamed of the…
At the 9Marks Ministries blog I recently came across a brief article that outlined some of the ways church members can (and should!) serve their church on a Sunday morning. These are, in turn, drawn from a Trellis & Vine conference led by Colln Marshall. Since tomorrow is Sunday, a day when the majority of…
It’s another Friday which means I’ve got another edition of Free Stuff Fridays for you. I have been giving away a lot of great stuff lately (I recently calculated that between Free Stuff Fridays and other random giveaways I’m well into the 4 digits with books I give away in a year; add in Friends…
A question I receive a lot is this one: do you prefer the Kindle or the iPad for electronic reading. That’s a tough question because I flip back and forth. In general, though, I find that I prefer the Kindle. I think it’s because the Kindle’s e-ink technology represents a kind of halfway point between…
This week’s chapter of The Holiness of God is titled “The Trauma of Holiness.” I love the title; it introduces an immediate question that just begs for an answer: If holiness is so good, how could it be in any way traumatic? It’s a clever little hook. Summary Sproul begins with the story of Jesus…
Yesterday at around noon Mark Driscoll used Twitter to link to one of my book reviews. A whole lot of his 80,000 Twitter followers immediately clicked the link, quickly brlnging my site to a grinding halt. Here’s what the load looked like: It was somewhere near the top of that spike that my web host…
Tim Keller is releasing books at a steady clip these days. 2008 saw the release of The Reason for God and The Prodigal God while Counterfeit Gods was released in 2009 and Generous Justice just days ago. Early next year we’ll see King’s Cross. While the books have been published by Dutton, several of them…
Yesterday I posted a review of Wesley Hill’s book Washed and Waiting, a book that discusses the particular challenges that come to those who are Christian and yet who struggle with same-sex attraction. Much of the discussion that followed centered on whether or not the phrase “gay Christian” is helpful. But I hope that did…
Thanks to all of those who sent emails or Facebook reminders to me, telling me that I had to get out and vote yesterday. I chose not to do so since, being Canadian, I don’t think my efforts in that regard would have been appreciated. Long Story Short – I’m hearing good things about Long…