Caring for the Souls of Children, on sale this week at Westminster Books, seems like an important and long-awaited title.
There’s an eclectic little mix of Kindle deals there today.
(Yesterday on the blog: 7 Books To Help You Understand the Times)
A Parent’s Cry
Sometimes we need the simplest reminders. “My husband and I started a practice to ease the tension. Check our words. Take a deep breath. He would look at me. Or I would look at him. And say, ‘Children are a blessing from the Lord.’ In sing-song rhythm. With feeling. We’d come late to this role of parenting. And had a lot to learn. They taught us well.”
When Your Mother Grows Old
I think you’ll appreciate this article by Kathleen Nielson. “Both men and women struggle with this process of aging, even if the struggles are sometimes differently experienced. But we do well to consider this unique call in regard to a mother: not to despise her when she is old. We could go many different directions in thinking about this call, but here are three.”
Do You Care About the Widows?
This article, an oldie but goodie from R.C. Sproul that Ligonier just shared, seems a fitting follow-up to Nielson’s. “Widows and their care figure prominently in the agenda that God has set for His church. One of the earliest problems that arose in the Apostolic church was that the widows were being neglected. And if that was a problem in the first-century church, how much more likely is it that we, twenty centuries later, would be guilty of neglecting the widows in our midst?”
On My Failing Flesh (and the Flesh of Jesus)
And then, on a slightly different but still-related theme, here’s Harold Senkbeil with one on aging and the wonder of Jesus taking on real flesh.
A Brief Theology of Human Origins
William VanDoodewaard goes over some of the basics when it comes to our theology of human origins. “Scripture presents us with a rich and clear theology of human origins. God, our Creator, describes our beginning, fall, and the hope of redemption in Christ to us in his Word, showing us our identity and purpose as his image-bearers. Understanding human origins according to God’s revelation is essential for a healthy Christian life and a right understanding of the gospel—and as such is essential to our gospel witness to a pagan world.”
An Embarrassing Example of Why We Need to Keep Learning Culture
This amusing anecdote may apply first to missionaries heading to cultures that are entirely foreign to them, but since we all inhabit our own changing cultures, it applies to each of us as well.
How to Run a Good Meeting–And Why it Matters More than You Think
There are some great tips here on running a good meeting. I love Kruger’s willingness to question everything, including a sacred cow like beginning every meeting with a devotional.
Flashback: Is Your Church Messy Enough?
If our churches reflect God’s heart for the lost, they will be full of people with problems, full of people showing the consequences of a lifetime of wandering. And this means that church may not be a safe and easy place. It may not be a place full of people who have it all together. It may be messy. It should be messy. Thank God if it is messy.
Sometimes, chasing your dreams can be “easier” than just being who we are, where God has placed you, with the gifts he has given to you.
—Michael Horton
