Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (12/27)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Waking Up Fragile – John Piper: “There are mornings when I wake up feeling fragile. Vulnerable. It’s often vague. No single threat. No one weakness. Just an amorphous sense that something is going to go wrong and I will be responsible. It’s usually after a lot of criticism. Lots of expectations that have deadlines and that seem too big and too many.”

New Species in 2011 – Here is a roundup of some new species discovered in 2011. They range from the world’s tiniest frog to a kind of orchid that only blooms at night.

Hobbit Hints – WORLD looks at the first trailer for The Hobbit movie (due in December of 2012) and speculates on plot changes.

5 Kinds of Books to Read – “There are a few reasons you may be wondering what sort of book you should invest your time into over the next week. Perhaps you have received a gift card or some cash for books. Maybe you have the rest of the week off work and you want to spend it well. It might be that you are feeling the post-Christmas blahs and realize you need to fight for joy. Here are a few recommendations in case you fall into any or all of these categories.”

Book Carvings – I think I’ve linked to these before. This is exceptional art work. If I were a rich man… (HT)

Re-Claiming the Bible – This is an interesting review of a new book by John Shelby Spong. It’s a positive review of what sounds like a wretched book, but I found it interesting to see how Spong, even near the end of his life and career, continues to express his hatred toward God by denying the Bible’s claims.

The most tremendous judgment of God in this world is the hardening of the hearts of men.

—John Owen

  • The Pursuit of Virtue

    God’s character is the essence of virtue. The heart of virtue is to know the Lord and to become like him, as a child resembles her father. That is the goal, privilege, and destiny of the redeemed. #Sponsored

  • When God Plants an Acorn

    When God Plants an Acorn, He Means an Oak

    We stood together on the crest of a hill, a gentle breeze rustling the meadow around our feet. The fields ran gently downward until they met a creek that gurgled happily in its course. A few years prior, an acorn had somehow made its way to the highest point of this hill, carelessly dropped there…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 28)

    A La Carte: Protestantism’s Catholic converts / How healthy is your pursuit of health? / God’s special calling on your life / Considering a Christian university? / Testing the teachings of Catholicism / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable

    New and Notable Christian Books for April 2025

    It is surprisingly difficult to find a list of Christian books that have been released in any given month—especially if you want that list to be filtered by books released through particular publishers. That’s one of the reasons why I close each month by coming up with my list of New and Notable books. I…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 26)

    A La Carte: Every pinch of pain has purpose / China closed Christian bookstores / Watch for the thing after the thing / For everything there is a time / Showers of blessing / What Pope Francis can teach us about preaching / and more.