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A La Carte (May 10)

monday

Good morning! The Lord be with you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Mother’s Bible)

Faithful in Obscurity

I’m so thankful for all those who are willing to be faithful in obscurity (which, after all, describes the great majority of us). “You may be a busy mom of little ones, a secretary stationed at her desk, a cashier at a counter, a caregiver tucked away in a lonely room, or in any number of occupations where you feel unnoticed. Don’t be concerned if you don’t get as much attention or response as other people.”

If They Hate You

There are some helpful insights about persecution in this article. “John Stott draws a helpful distinction between what he calls spasmodic and systematic persecution. He sees spasmodic persecution as personal persecution; maybe, unwarranted opposition from family members, antagonism from work colleagues or even intellectual condescension towards us because of our ‘naïve faith’. Systematic persecution is that which is deliberately targeted at Christians for their faith.”

Why God Is Justified in Sending Sinners to Hell (Video)

Todd Friel explains why God is justified in sending sinners to hell.

God of the Garden

Pierce Taylor Hibbs: “Black earth has a sanctity to it. The color calls to us from a damp, ancient place where life comes from death. It’s the call of richness, of fertility, of potential. Black soil is the home of all things green and godly. And that makes perfect sense. All that’s green and godly comes from the soil because God is a gardener. He was the first to wet his fingers with earth, the first to plant, the first to tamp and tend. When no one was watching, God was gardening.”

Self-Denial Leads to Happiness

The link between self-denial and happiness shouldn’t surprise us, but somehow it often still does.

How to Pray for Your Teen When You’ve Run Out of Words

“For one short season of our parenting journey, my husband and I felt as if we were hanging on to the reins of a runaway horse. Daily battles over curfews and negotiations around boundary lines had taken the place of warm conversation and laughter around the table. We mourned the loss as we searched for words to pray over family life in what felt like a war zone.”

Tips for Students Facing Doubt in the Real World

Michael Kruger offers some tips for students who may have gotten out into the real world and begun to encounter some doubt.

Flashback: Success that Exceeds Sanctification

God loves me enough to not give me more than my character will allow me to handle. If he were to give me more, it might harm me and my pride and envy might just drive me away from him.

Sin will not long seem great or heavy unto any to whom temptation seem light or small.

—John Owen

  • The Art of Disagreeing

    Keep Calm and Stay Friends

    It is hard to disagree with someone you love. It is harder still to disagree well—to retain genuine respect and true friendship despite differing opinions or convictions. And, as we all know by experience, there is just so much to disagree about.

  • A La Carte Friday 2

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    A La Carte: John Piper on whether baptism saves us / The peril of “He Gets Us” / Send them to seminary / An Inside-out world / Pray for protection / Love is patient / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (February 13)

    A La Carte: The conundrum of celebrity Christians / The Luka trade / Dopamine media / The best place to hide an idol / Overcoming blind spots in parenting and leadership / and more.

  • Dreams

    What Becomes Of All Our Dreams?

    My dad loved to cook. This was a passion that began relatively late in his life after the kids had moved out. With an empty nest, my parents were able to live a slower-paced life and my dad began to dabble in cooking. He soon found that he loved it and that my mother was…

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    A La Carte (February 12)

    A La Carte: A young Christian reading John Mark Comer / Being inconvenient / Breaking gender stereotypes to the glory of God / Gluten-free and non-alcoholic / AI-Pocalypse Now / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (February 11)

    A La Carte: To those living in secret sin / The time Jesus Left the 99 / The discipline of remembrance / No-contact for toxic relationships / Relational wisdom / and more.