Good morning, my friends. I expect many of you will be scaling back your internet use during the holidays. Just so you know, I intend to keep up with articles except between Christmas and New Years when I’ll probably post only the daily A La Carte articles.
Christianbook.com has a number of items deeply discounted: ESV Study Bible in burgundy leather, What Is Saving Faith? by John Piper, In Search of Ancient Roots by Kenneth Stewart, Blind Spots by Collin Hansen, and so on.
It’s a good idea to keep tabs on the Kindle deals page since deals often come and go in 24 hours. I usually update in the evenings and then again at around 7 AM.
Fight the Christmas Letdown
Kati Lynn Davis considers the letdown that can follow the Christmas season (or any other season in life). “The hard truth is that even the best things in this life are temporary. We wait months or even years for moments that pass in the blink of an eye. And no matter how wonderful that moment is—whether it’s the first kiss as husband and wife, the first look into a newborn’s eyes, or a childhood Christmas that feels like magic—it won’t put our insatiable hearts at rest.”
Finding Romance in Your Marriage
“So, what about that little thing called romance? Where does it go after many years in a relationship have transpired?” Erica Chase writes very honestly about romance in a marriage that is no longer in its earliest years.
Practicing Faith in a Post-Faith World
“Some observers remain optimistic and argue that things are not as bad as they seem; others think they are a good deal worse. Some argue the church needs a radical change in strategy; others claim the challenge is not really a methodological one at all, and the church should essentially hunker down, get used to life on the margins, prepare to suffer for what she believes, pray, and trust that the God who brings life to the dead will do something new.” Andrew Wilson writes about practicing our faith in a very different world than the one we may be accustomed to.
You Are Not Your Accomplishments
“There are some areas where we feel pretty great about ourselves. There are also some where we are consumed with how far we fell short. And for most of us, that latter group can become all-consuming.” Aaron wants to remind you that you are not your accomplishments (or lack thereof).
Don’t Ruin Good Content: Proficient Pulpit Rhetoric
Preachers or anyone else involved in public speaking will benefit from this look at six Ps for proficient vocal delivery.
Christmas Songs: The Angel’s Song
“It seems God gets particular satisfaction in pouring out his breathtaking beauty in the unlikeliest places. Consider the absurd beauty of the Aurora Borealis, which only a tiny fraction of the world’s population has ever beheld. Consider places of remote and stunning beauty that only a few humans have ever witnessed: caves, Antarctica, the Amazon rainforest, and the ocean.”
Flashback: Christmas Bitter and Christmas Sweet
There is no grief where there has not been love and no love that comes without risk of grief. They weep because they have loved and because they love still.
Better is that sin which humbles me, than that duty which makes me proud.
—Thomas Watson
