I am not anti-AI, but I am opposed to using AI to write on a human’s behalf. Sadly, I’ve been finding some of the writers I have enjoyed in the past are now very obviously relying on AI to do their writing for them. In cases where there is no doubt in my mind, I have stopped following these people and will no longer link to them in A La Carte. I want A La Carte to be a truly human experience!
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include some really excellent choices like The Well-Watered Woman, No More Boring Bible Study, and Consider Your Counsel. If you’re interested in print books, Westminster Books has Beeke’s How to Lead Your Family on sale. Remember as well that Zondervan has lots of deals right now.
Trivia
Here’s a little trivia question for today: Which two Old Testament books end with a question? (Scroll down for the answer)
Recommended Reading
The Christian Business that Gives Lost Luggage an Afterlife. I enjoyed Christianity Today’s reporting on a unique business/ministry in Alabama. “Unclaimed Baggage buys literal tons of items from just about everywhere that people misplace bags: domestic airlines, buses, trains, trucks, hotels, theme parks, rental cars. Then it sells, donates, or repurposes whatever mysterious contents it finds. Bryan and Sharon Owens, the owners of the operation, consider this their biblical mission—to redeem the lost, unclaimed, and rejected for the glory of God.”
How to Have a Soft Heart. Katie Laitkep explains what it is to have a soft heart. “At first, you don’t notice the way circumstances are impacting you. You manage the initial challenge—the chronic illness, caring for your aging parent, or the difficulties at work—with grace and a determination to keep going. It feels hard but bearable. Until it doesn’t. When the season you expected to be brief stretches from months to years, layered with added pressures in other areas of your life, the weight of it all doesn’t just exhaust your body; it changes how you see the world.”
What Do Pastors Do With All Their Time? We have probably all known lazy pastors, yet the great majority labor faithfully. This article explains what they do with their time and how their productivity is not always visible. “Since the demands of even a small church far exceed what one man can do, he must treat his time like a precious, scarce resource that must be stewarded efficiently. Consequently, he deploys his time in ways that will result in the most equipping work for the most people.”
The Secret Strength in Seeing Weakness. Dave Harvey often writes about weakness, and here he explains why. “God loves us too much to indulge our delusions. He surprises us with suffering. We encounter the humiliating shock of betrayal. Our financial position declines. Relationships unravel. We fail spectacularly. Something goes sideways, and suddenly we are no longer the respected leader but the subject of suspicion. Whether the situation was self-inflicted or the result of unjust suffering, there is often one important effect: weakness returns and takes up residence again. Inadequacy reappears—and this time, it doesn’t ask permission.”
2 Ways to Fail Your Child. Michael Keller offers two ways that parents can fail their child: by keeping too much out and letting too much in. “Both are failures of love. Most of us are guilty of one of them, and probably both at some point.”
Thirty-Five Questions for Maturing a Christian Marriage. Jim Elliff shares 35 questions that are meant to help Christian couples mature their marriage. “The following questions are not intended for short answers such as a mere ‘yes’, but are a means to meaningful discussion between a man and a woman who have vowed to love each other ‘until death do us part.’ Take your time to talk them over. Let the conversation flow. You may answer these questions in any order you wish, or all at one time.”
Trivia Answer
Which two Old Testament books end with a question? The answer is Jonah and Nahum.
Jonah 4:11: “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
Nahum 3:19: “For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?”
Flashback
A Whole List of Reasons to Consider Marrying Young. I am not saying there is anything wrong with waiting to marry until you are older. Neither am I saying you should marry when you are young. Rather, I am saying that you should not exclude the possibility of it.
A man can see farther on his knees than standing on tiptoe.
—De Witt Talmage
