Happy new year! May 2023 bring you many of God’s richest blessings. My sincere gratitude goes to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors for naming Seasons of Sorrow their counseling book of the year. There’s quite a large bundle of Kindle deals to go through today. (Yesterday on the blog: All Is Shadow Here Below!) Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022): His Life and Legacy Leonardo De Chirico is perhaps the foremost Evangelical scholar of Roman Catholicism, so he’s just the man to reflect on the life, death, and legacy of Pope Benedict XVI. Signs of Life “Here’s an encouragement for your new year: yours and my inefficient, unremarkable, non-streamable existences are not problems to be fixed. The things that make us late, or bored, or stressed are often the signs of life. Even our pain and suffering are, in their way, reminders that the valley of the shadow of death is not the only thing that’s real. So are his rod and his staff.” The Turning of the Calendar Doug Eaton: “God’s mercies are new every morning, and they are also new every year. However, sometimes, we can expect too much from the turning of the calendar.” Good News for 2023: It’s Not About You Chris Hutchison offers up a couple of important lessons from the life of Elijah, one of which is for everyone and the other of which is geared toward parents. God’s Faithfulness in the Past Assures Our Happy Future Randy Alcorn: “The human race is homesick for Eden, which only two humans … Continue reading A La Carte (January 2)