Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (June 21)

monday

Good morning. May grace and peace be with you on this day and through the week ahead.

Today’s Kindle deals are a bit of a hodgepodge, but there are lots of options.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Children’s Hour)

When I Discovered I Had 3 Fathers

This is quite an article by Blair Line. “When my grandmother died in the summer of 2019, my family bought our black suits and dresses and packed our bags. After the service, a family member commented about a poem I recited during the service, ‘Lil Man’s daughter is so talented.’ The comment caught me by surprise. It wasn’t because of the grief we shared, nor because of the generous compliment he had given. It was because Lil Man is not my father’s nickname. Dee is.”

Jen Hatmaker Quits “church” and Invites You to Join Her

Joshua Rogers: “I quit being part of a church for a few months when I was in my mid-twenties. I had been a regular churchgoer my whole life, so it wasn’t something I (or those who knew me) expected.”

The Power of Reviling and the Response of the Gospel

“I am convinced that the single biggest thing that keeps Christians in the West from being open about their faith is the specter of being reviled.” I’d tend to agree.

Why Do You Want to Be Happy?

We take it as a given that we all want to be happy. But have we considered why we want to be happy?

What Meek Family Leadership Looks Like

Justin Huffman offers some thoughts on what it looks like to lead your family while displaying meekness.

The Ordinary War with Irritability

Bobby Scott: “If your consistent response to testing circumstances or challenging people is to become annoyed or angry, then you are irritable. But I have good news for you. Because of Jesus, believers can have godly attitudes even when our patience is tried, and we don’t have to make self-justifying excuses when we don’t. We can confess our failure as sin, knowing Jesus forgives.”

7 Ways Not To Provoke Your Children

This article by Oyewole Akande was written specifically for an African context, but applies far beyond.

Flashback: God Does Not Owe Us a Happy Ending

There is danger in our dedication to happy endings. We may come to believe that God extends his goodness and grace only in those situations that end happily.

…what is the best means of cheerfulness in such a world as this? How shall we get through this valley of tears with least pain? I know no better means than the regular, habitual practice of taking everything to God in prayer.

—J.C. Ryle

  • An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    There is a lot I miss from the days when our children were young. High on the list is family devotions. Nick once described our family as having a “Spartan-like commitment” to them, though I remember as much failure as success and as many misses as hits. Still, there’s no doubt that over the 26…

  • A La Carte (June 12)

    The curious case of extra resurrections / Are kids too expensive? / Why hot takes are the enemy of conviction / Piper on preaching outrage / A daily rhythm of prayer / Forgetting and pursuing / A La Quiz / The funnies / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 11)

    We lost the baby / The Bible is cessationist (and wondrous!) / Thinking about Eastern Orthodoxy: a primer for evangelicals / Virtue signalling in the church / What is God’s providence? / Restlessness / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Conform

    You Can Conform to Christ Even if You Don’t Conform to Me

    One of the aspects of the Christian faith that I find particularly perplexing is the freedom God gives his people to obey him in different or even opposite ways, so that one person’s obedience is another person’s disobedience. Even as two people take the same action, one might be obeying him and the other disobeying…

  • A La Carte (June 10)

    Does prayer make a difference? / Portrait of an abortionist / Pushing back against the black tax / Bring your whole self to work / Blessed are the weak / When service isn’t a transaction / A pastoral analogy / Bill C-9 will soon be law in Canada / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 9)

    Thawed embryos, reproductive rights, and the grey marshlands of ethical ennui / 14 World Cup stars who follow Jesus / The God of small churches / How a critical theorist influenced the sexualization of everything / When culture trumps strategy / Fasting and feasting / Kindle deals / and more.