Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (August 13)

monday

Today’s Kindle deals include a handful of titles you will probably want to take a look at.

(Yesterday on the blog: An Update, a Journey, and a Vacation)

How (What) to Pray for Your Grandchildren

“Just a few years ago I remember praying that my husband and I would be grandparents one day. Within five years of that prayer we were blessed with five children that would call us grandpa and grandma. Each child is a unique and special gift from God and we not only have the joy of having them as part of our lives, we also have the privilege and responsibility of praying for them.”

Why the Left Is So Afraid of Jordan Peterson

I was surprised to read this in The Atlantic. It’s rather insightful. “There is no coherent reason for the left’s obliterating and irrational hatred of Jordan Peterson. What, then, accounts for it? It is because the left, while it currently seems ascendant in our houses of culture and art, has in fact entered its decadent late phase, and it is deeply vulnerable.”

Are We All ‘Harmless Torturers’ Now?

This is worth thinking about. “When we think of the savagery of social media, we often think of awful individual behavior — death threats and rape threats; the release of personal information, including home addresses and the locations of the victim’s children; vicious lies; and the like. Harmless Torturers never go that far; we just like, retweet and add the occasional clever remark. But there are millions of us, and we’re all turning the dial.”

Bathsua Makin and the Education of Women

I enjoyed this brief biography of a woman I hadn’t heard of until now. “As the news challenge us to think biblically about the place of women in today’s world, it might be useful to remember there was a time when women were discouraged from reading, studying, and thinking independently. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to the translation of Scriptures in local languages was often reinforced by an apparently appalling thought, ‘Even women will read them!’”

4 Truths I Learned From Brain Surgery

“Each of these truths I learned were only possible because they were connected to a providence that oversees and sustains my life. God is always in control. God is always good. He is for me and not against me. For that reason and many others here are four truths I learned (and continue to learn) from my brain surgery.”

Bill Hybels and the Future of the Church After #ChurchToo

This one is worth reading and then pondering. “Revelations of scandal and coverup in the Catholic church have been trickling out for years. Televangelists have been exposed as counterfeits. And megachurch and movement leaders in the evangelical church like Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, and Tullian Tchividjian have experienced their own reckonings for abuses of power. But these were not enough to shake us, evidenced in remarkably quick restorations inspired by a cheap form of grace.”

He Has Done All Things Well

You will enjoy this theological reflection from Jared Wilson.

Flashback: Why We Love to Read

Sometimes you need to do a lot of reading to come away with one really good idea. Some books yield nothing but nonsense; some yield nothing but ideas you have come across a thousands times before. But then, at last, you find that one that delivers. There is such joy in it. Such reward.

The purpose of confessing our sins is not to render us miserable by simply reminding us what great sinners we are. It is to remind us of what a great Savior we have.

—Iain Duguid

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 8)

    I’ll start with me / Once a promiscuous woman, always a promiscuous woman / 1,000 people got baptized on Easter Sunday / The authenticity trap / Advice for new elders / Book reviews / Sales and deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 7)

    The secular hole in Christian thought / Sex is worship / Christian movie characters who act like Christians / The usefulness of public debates / Wear your own armor / New book releases / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Do Extroverts Make Better Pastors

    Do Extroverts Make Better Pastors?

    Do extroverts really make better pastors? Explore how God uses both introverted and extroverted men in ministry and why personality must never excuse duty.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 6)

    Love the body God gave you / Navigate the slippery slope / How do we fence the table? / When the call comes late / What will AI undo? / The greatest invitation / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.

  • Works & Wonders

    Works & Wonders (April 5)

    In my weekly Works & Wonders article, I combine a brief devotional with other interesting and uplifting bits and pieces I gleaned throughout the week. There’s a strong collection this week, I think!