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A La Carte (12/7)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Yesterday we went out and put ourselves through the yearly ritual of buying a Christmas tree. Those things aren’t getting any cheaper, are they? The local place had really nice trees but wanted $55 for them. After seeing how nice they were (and comparing gas prices to the distance we’d have to drive to get one for a lot cheaper) we caved. Sigh.

Liam Neeson and Aslan – Liam Neeson recently said some interesting things about portraying (the voice of) Aslan in the Narnia movies. STR comments: “Poor Liam Neeson. He can’t win. He probably feels like he has to distance himself from the narrow, Christian message of The Chronicles of Narnia by recreating Aslan for himself in a more palatable, relativistic form to avoid upsetting the culture at large. And why not, if all that matters is what a text means to us, rather than what the author intended that text to mean?”

The Deadly Fruit of Gender Selection – CBMW writes about a sad case. “What happens when a left-wing academic persuades parents to ‘reassign’ the gender of one of their children? A recent story out of the United Kingdom tragically illustrates the answer. It also displays with stunning clarity the infinite chasm between God’s unfathomable wisdom and the utter foolishness of what the apostle Paul calls the wisdom of this age.”

A Must-Read – Aaron Armstrong recently reviewed Cruciform’s book Servanthood as Worship and declares that it is a must-read.

Like Monopoly in the Depression – This article in the Washington Post says that Settlers of Catan is the great boardgame of this generation. Which makes me wish I’d actually played it. We own it, but haven’t ever gotten 3 people who wanted to play it at the same time.

Books vs E-Books – This is an interesting infographic from Newsweek. It does some comparing and contrasting between books and e-books.

Food-Court Messiah – I posted this once before, but people keep sending it to me, telling me I need to put it in A La Carte. So I’ll do so again. And gladly, because it’s really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE?fs=1&hl=en_US

Glory follows afflictions, not as the day follows the night but as the spring follows the winter; for the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.

—Richard Sibbes

  • Weekend A La Carte (June 6)

    There’s a playbook for college, there should be one for marriage / Ben Sasse is teaching us how to die—and live—well / The biggest tell that something was written by AI / Why China got rich and India didn’t / AI slop is coming for your playlists / The blood cancer that became solvable /…

  • Davy and Natalie Lloyd

    Strong to the End

    You have probably heard of Davy and Natalie Lloyd, even if the names aren’t immediately familiar. In May 2024, you most likely heard the news about two young American missionaries to Haiti who, along with one of their Haitian colleagues, were brutally murdered by one of the many gangs that dominate the country.

  • A La Carte (June 5)

    Can Jesus really sympathize with my specific struggles? / View your past through the lens of God’s faithfulness / Nine marks of a healthy paragraph / When you have nothing left to give / The treasure chest at the train station / When you’re too weird to lead / Headlines / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 4)

    The pastor as anti-professional / On grieving when your loved one’s faith was ambiguous / God’s mercy in withholding wealth / Not mere memories: God’s sovereign purposes in every season / 10 theses on intercession / Bargatze’s ‘Breadwinner’ should be funnier / Podcasts / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 3)

    Ben Sasse’s theology of suffering for a death-phobic culture / You don’t need testosterone therapy / While I was busy helping save the free world / The discipline of joy / Stop believing your best years are behind you / We are not alone? No, we never were / Medical evacuation / The SBC /…