A La Carte (July 9)

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some titles for kids like The Man in the Tree and the Brand New Start and Life with Jesus: A Discipleship Course for Teens. For grownups, there’s Ruth for You and some other good options that I haven’t seen on the sale list before today.

Recommended Reading

Should Your Children Read Books With Magic? Most parents need help with this question at some point in the process of raising their children. Korrie Johnson has a thorough answer you should find helpful. “My goal here is to provide you with an introduction to this topic, and to equip you with perspectives to approach it biblically and practically. Although I love literature, I love the word of God far more. I know I will have to give an account to the Lord for everything, and I deeply desire to represent his word well, despite my fallibility. Having said this, I realize you may come to different conclusions than I have.”

‘I’m Not Feeling It Today’. David Mathis offers counsel for those times when you just don’t feel like reading your Bible. “Here’s the hard truth for those of us who love spontaneity: We will experience very few, if any, precious moments of spontaneity with our children or spouse if we have not made a habit of being together. These special, unplanned quality moments emerge in the space of planned, arranged-for quantity time together. The same is true with colleagues at work and fellow Christians in our church. If we don’t have planned, scheduled times of being together, we will not experience the joys of deep communion.”

A Word Like Rain. Reuben Bredenhof: “Like rain and snow are received on the earth, so is God’s Word. His Word is received each time we open the Scriptures. God’s Word is received each time someone enters the pulpit and preaches the gospel. There are so many occasions when the Word is received: think of being at Bible study, poring over a passage; or around the table with your family, reading the Bible together; or in your personal devotions, thinking deeply about a text.”

When You’re Not Supposed to Feel Like This. “Sometimes, our struggles with grief and depression are made worse by feelings of guilt. As Christopher Williams put it, ‘It is bad enough that I feel low or anxious. But on top of that I feel guilty: for I ought not to feel low, as a Christian. I feel that I ought to be able to cast my cares upon him, for he cares for me. And yet somehow I can’t.’ Many Christians have heard the message of Philippians but not the message of Job, and so they’re unprepared when the pain of profound grief hits. There are three things I’d want people to remember when their grief is compounded with guilt.” Paul Sadler offers some comfort to those who are struggling with guilt and grief.

‘Speed-Friending’ Is Now a Thing. Try Church Fellowship Instead. Ed Stych read about the new phenomenon of “speed-friending” and realized that the church should be able to do it better. “The Washington Post published a story on Sunday about middle-aged adults, especially men, trying to make friends. The article follows a 58-year-old divorced father in Oregon who attends ‘speed-friending’ events in hopes of finding male friends for ordinary activities such as pickleball, paddleboarding or games.”

Loving the Church in Her Brokenness. “To see and experience the brokenness of the church is also to see and experience the redeeming work of Christ as He makes all things new. As we navigate failed leadership structures, misaligned purposes, and wrong motives within her, we are also seeing the gospel of grace and mercy at work in real time as God withholds the judgment we deserve in Christ. He can deal gently with her because His wrath fell on Christ, whose righteousness now covers her.”

Reviews

I write plenty of my own book reviews, but also like to read other people’s. Here are a few I found this week:

• Barbara Harper reviews the unexpected phenomenon Theo of Golden. “Sometimes after I finish a book, I’ll look back at the first pages in light of what I know from the ending. I was astonished to find all sorts of little clues about what would come later. Some scenes were so much more poignant now. I decided to get the audiobook and listen through the whole book. I am so glad I did. It’s nicely read by David Morse. One thing I like about audiobooks is that I don’t usually think in the accents of the characters as I read, but hearing them greatly enhances the story.”
• Megan Saben reviews Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey. “Written for 1st-3rd grade and fully illustrated, the chapters in Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey are a good length for one sitting with helpful definitions, summaries, and discussion questions at the end of each to help parents enrich their children’s understanding and appreciation.”
• Zach Carter reviews 40 Questions About Mormonism. “Christians, especially pastors, need thoughtful resources to equip themselves to reach Latter-day Saints with the gospel. Beshears provides just such a resource, written with the charitable tone he hopes evangelicals will adopt when engaging Latter-day Saints.”

Flashback

Use the Rod, Lose the Child? The decision to refrain from spanking our children in order to protect them from an overreaching government may not be our preference, but we shouldn’t fear that God’s blessings over us and our children will cease because of it. He is for us, so we have nothing to fear.