Skip to content ↓

Weekend A La Carte (February 29)

Weekend A La Carte

What am I up to on this fine Saturday? A friend who is a pilot has invited me to spend a couple of hours with him in one of his airline’s flight simulators. That sounds like some next-level geekery to me. So off I go…

Today’s Kindle deals include the usual Saturday list of Christian classics, but there are some much more contemporary books there as well.

(Yesterday on the blog: On Conferences and Travel During a Pandemic)

Magical Thinking All Around Us

I always look forward to reading Janie B. Cheaney’s column at WORLD magazine. In this one she takes on the “magical thinking” that is so prevalent in the world around us (and perhaps particularly at the debate podiums of aspiring presidential candidates).

Tech Was Supposed To Fix Tipping

This article picks up on one of my pet peeves—being asked to provide a tip before a service has been completed, and often for the most mundane of tasks. As in, you’re often now prompted by a machine to tip someone for handing you a muffin before they’ve even handed you a muffin! I’m generally glad to tip, but at least let me make sure you don’t botch handing over the muffin before you ask me to give you a tip for it!

When Nobody Else Listens, God Listens

“Most of us know what it’s like to feel alone and invisible and weak. Demi Lovato is not the only one. And we know that confiding in others and journaling intimate thoughts and wounds can be quite healing, and putting our fears, doubts, and heartache into a song is powerfully therapeutic. When we give personal voice to our emotions and organize them in this way, it helps make sense of our hurt.”

‘AILA’AU: Forest Eater

This film is strangely haunting. It “takes viewers on a journey through the infamous 2018 eruption of Kilauea’s lower east rift zone on the Big Island of Hawaii.”

Brothers, Preach Your Heart Out — No Matter How Few People Are in the Room

I expect this will be both encouraging and challenging to many of those who plan to preach the Word tomorrow.

No Condemnation

Kristen Wetherell: “I can’t help but feel that all my efforts to be sufficient—to be a good wife and mother and friend and daughter and neighbor––fall incredibly flat. And as I wonder if I’m disappointing others, I can’t help but wonder, Am I disappointing God?”

Secular Monks

Here’s an interesting perspective on the rise of “secular monks.” “For a secular monk, the only knowable pursuits are human pursuits, the only genuine aims human aims. A secular monk is “secular” in the sense that his cares and his projects are delimited by his day and his world. He can conceive of nothing else.”

Flashback: Two Ways To Ruin Your Relationship with the Giver

“Attention given to creation is not stolen from its Creator. The more we enjoy God’s gifts for their own sake, the more we can appreciate him.”

In life, and certainly in the Christian life, the mark of real maturity is to escape the prison of self-absorption.

—Matt Fuller

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (May 17)

    A La Carte: Generalizations are not stereotypes / Hospitality and reaching the dechurched / Essential lessons for pastors / The rise of Islam and the resilience of the church / Gossip and godly church / Fear takes you where grace has not yet gone / and more.

  • Planted in the Word

    Planted in the Word

    There are a lot of Bible study guides out there. However, the need is not nearly saturated because there are also a lot of Bible readers, many of whom study the Word carefully and repeatedly throughout their Christian lives. For that reason, we cannot have too many guides to assist in reading, understanding, and applying…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (May 16)

    A La Carte: The role of dance in Christian worship / A community for broken homes / Our reason for missionary risk / The longings of the human heart / I’m not a handyman / Affluence, regret, identity crises / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (May 15)

    A La Carte: The clever move of Leo XIV / People expect church to be churchy / Don’t let TikTok disciple your kids / Playing God with children / Overcoming barriers to hospitality / Real men sing / and more.

  • Is This Really a Good Idea

    Is This Really a Good Idea?

    Would it be okay if we engage our imaginations a little bit today? Though it’s not the standard fare of this site, how about we try it and see how it goes?