Today’s Kindle deals include my favorite pre-marriage resource (Catching Foxes) as well as a few other choice picks like a book by Jerry Bridges and another by Wayne Mack. Brian Hedges’ Watchfulness is worth a look as well.
(Yesterday on the blog: Why Euthanasia Feels Intuitive)
The Spiritual Discipline of Sleep
“Perhaps you, like me, struggle with sleep. Sixty percent of Americans report insufficient sleep, which has been linked to difficulties in maintaining healthy relationships, low mood, and trouble focusing. I didn’t realize how my poor sleep habits were affecting me until I tore my meniscus after running my second marathon.” This may be helpful to those who, like me, struggle with sleep.
Holy Leisure in an Age of Hollow Rest
Closely associated with sleep, of course, are rest and leisure. “The problem is that we enjoy the little hits of dopamine our phones provide, while the algorithmic undertow sucks us in with a constant diet of both trivial and critical content. The system is designed to capture our attention and affection, but by the time we put the phone away, we often feel more anxious, unsatisfied, and disgusted. This hollow form of leisure promises one thing but delivers another, leaving us to wonder if there’s a better, more satisfying way to find the rest our hearts long for.”
It’s Impossible to Outgive God
“Our Father in heaven is not like a worker at the typical ice cream shop, setting just one scoop atop an obviously empty cone. He heaps on his grace. He presses it down to make room for even more. He piles it high and we smile. And he keeps piling on till the tower topples into our lap and we laugh with joy.”
My Generation Loves ‘Processing.’ That’s Not Always a Good Thing.
Taylor Combs writes about “processing” and how to do it well rather than poorly. “I’m part of a generation of processors. We ‘process’ everything: Suffering. Grief. Hardship. Loss. Confusing circumstances. Arguments. Hurt feelings. Good dates. Bad dates. Neutral dates. Movies. Books. TV shows. Throwaway comments. Advice. Sermons. Worship services. Meetings. Feedback from bosses. Feedback from coworkers. Feedback from subordinates. Elections.”
Who I Was Waiting For
Andrea: “I was waiting for a better version of me. Thinner, more accomplished, minus the hundred tiny shards of awkwardness crowding my chest every time I entered a room. I was waiting for her for half my life, but she never arrived.”
Preaching That Connects: Why Delivery Matters More Than You Think
This is a helpful article on why it is not just what we preach that matters, but also how.
Flashback: What Grieves the Heart of God?
God delights in a word that is well-spoken, a word that encourages, a word that builds up, a word that gives grace. It delights the Spirit when we allow life-giving words to flow out of our mouths to be a blessing to others.
God never intended his children to become intimate with evil in order to communicate the gospel to those in its grasp.
—Robert Mounce
