A La Carte (May 24)

Good morning from beautiful Albania. I am here to speak at an event for pastors (today and tomorrow) and to participate in a joint worship service (on Sunday). I am very much looking forward to it!

Westminster Books is offering a free micro course for pastors. It’s worth a look!

To Sit in the Threat of Loss

“There is a sanctifying characteristic of foreseen grief. It is that way in which even the threat of loss discolours everything; the way in which foreseen grief seems to threaten not just a joy, but all joys, to undermine not just one aspect of life but the ground on which life is set.”

Trevin Wax: “One of the strange ironies of our times: a significant segment of the left pushes back forcefully against the idea of ‘color blindness’ regarding race but demands what amounts to ‘gender blindness’ regarding sex. We’re supposed to assume racial distinctions are inevitable and enduring in most, if not all, interactions in society, while in debates over marriage, relationships, sports, bathrooms, or medicine, justice demands we ignore or minimize the real and meaningful differences between men and women.”

The Missing Years

Mary Nolte considers a phenomenon we all may experience: missing years. “We were preparing for our daughter’s wedding when she called me one day in a slight panic, ‘Mom, I have no pictures of myself from 2009-2011! What happened?’”

Too Much Times

And just as many have missing years, many also have “too much times.” “Too Much Times are days, weeks, or whole years marked by too many demands, responsibilities, and burdens and not enough internal and external resources to keep all the balls in the air. They often develop in times of sorrow or sickness.”