Category Archives: Laudable Linkage

Laudable Linkage

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There has been a lot of good reading on the Web this week. Here are some posts and articles that stood out to me:

Worship with our lives, not just while singing on Sunday morning. Good exposition of what worship actually is.

Bible Study: Working With God on Your Goal, HT to my friend Kim,  who, by the way, is doing a 31 Day series on Scripture memory.

It’s Not Just a Guy Thing. Sometimes “the second glance has often already been decided long before the first.”

What If Knowing Your Spiritual Gift Doesn’t Matter? Sometimes we need to just step in to meet a need.

How do you train your children to manage their feelings? I think this is an sometimes an overlooked area of parenting.

When Your Friend Hurts. We need to weep with those who weep, not condemn them for hurting.

You can imagine that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood would be at odds with  A Year of Biblical Womanhood, but I thought this review was balanced and gracious, at least as far as the concerns I’ve had with the book just in the reviews I’ve read. I have it in my Kindle app to read myself some day.

Teaching Boys to Be Respectful.

The Philanthropists: John D. Rockefeller. Sometimes the rich are vilified just by virtue of being rich, but the Bible does not condemn riches: it does instruct us not to trust in them and how to use them. I found this short biography very interesting.

Put the book down. Much as I love books, some times they do get in the way.

The Ultimate Secret to Effective Writing and Preaching.

A Case For Cessationism. I’ve been enjoying Tim Challies’ live-blogging of the “Strange Fire” Conference John MacArthur is having concerning the charismatic movement.

Weight Loss Bible Study.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are a few noteworthy reads from the last week or two:

20 Tips for Personal devotions in the Digital Age, HT to Challies. I don’t agree entirely with #5 about not sharing what you’ve read on social media. Sometimes that’s a blessing to read, but I agree you shouldn’t have devotions with that in mind.

Do Not Depart has a series this month on Nameless Women in the Gospels. I especially enjoyed this one from Lisa: Gifts from a personal God.

Evangelism in the Workplace, especially as the culture becomes more hostile to Christianity, HT to Challies. A quote from it I especially liked: “While the Lord used Hunter to pursue me, I never felt like a project, just a friend.”

Jim Elliot’s Brother Bert: The Hero You Don’t Know, HT to Ann. Neat comparison of his being an everyday faithful star as opposed to Jim’s being a meteor. Neither is better or worse and God has places and purposes for both, and we can learn from and be inspired by both, but probably most Christians are more like Bert than Jim.

Flawed Heroes and Virtuous Villains. Even the best of men have flaws.

How the Christian Orphan Care Movement May Be Enabling Child Abandonment and alleviate both have some good thoughts about orphan care that may be more harmful than helpful.

National No Bra Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Month — OR — Please Put That Pink Can of Soup Down & Put Your Bra Back On. How breast cancer survivors really feel about some of the silly breast cancer “awareness” campaigns. (Warning: a little more explicit than what I usually post, but she makes excellent points.)

Julia is offering readers a cute free Thanksgiving Subway Art Printable.

And, though the government shutdown really is not funny – I know people personally who have been laid off or furloughed until the government gets its act together – I have to admit this did make me smile:

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Hopefully something will work soon!

Happy Saturday!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some good reads from the last week:

On Homosexuality: It’s OK to Fight. Quote: “I had to believe either my feelings were lying to me or God was.”

She Yelled and Called Me Names. Neat story of one woman’s reaction to such a scenario.

Serving in Church: When Your Spiritual Gift Isn’t Changing Diapers.

A Beautiful Mess. God can use us despite our imperfections.

Caring For the Caregiver. All of these will not be needed by every caregiver, and definitely ask before jumping in, but there are some good ideas here.

The Case For Good Taste in Children’s Books.

She Chose Grace when a potential daughter-in-law wasn’t what she was expecting.

Pharisees and Fundamentalists. Are they the same? No, and Layton Talbert, whose books I have reviewed here, and whose scholarship, tact, and balance I greatly respect, points out the differences and the main problems of Phariseeism.

And a few on writing:

Be You.

Nurture the Heart of Your Story.

Squelch the Naysayers.

This is a neat story about someone who did the right thing when he didn’t realize anyone was watching:

And, for a couple of “Awwww” moments:

From the aptly named Cute Overload site, a baby panda meets its mom for the first time. The photos below the video of the baby panda are adorable.

And I saw this at Susanne‘s: a fireman rescues a kitten.

A news clip about it is here.

Happy Saturday!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some great reads discovered in the last week or so:

Advice For Those Burned By the Church.

When Christians Mock Christians. Respectfully discussing issues where we differ is one thing, but unfortunately people on both sides of an issue can degenerate into mocking each other.

Putting an End to Spiritual Envy. I like this post not just for what it says, but how it is done: a wonderful example of Biblical exposition.

An Open Letter to an Older Woman. Sometimes it is hard to know how to be a Titus 2 older woman when younger women don’t seem to want our company and everyone wants things new and young and fresh. This is an encouragement to older women from a younger one along with some subtle, gentle suggestions as to the best ways to be a help.

Impatient With Grief.

A few posts on unanswered prayer for healing: Together Is A Beautiful Word, We Didn’t Get Healed…or Did We? and What If Your Healing Doesn’t Come? The last two are from a paralyzed wife and her husband.

10 Questions for Better Bible Study. Love this: simple and direct and unfluffy.

The Introverted Mother. Someone who recharges by time alone has a hard time when she’s never alone. Here is some encouragement.

The Science of What Makes an Introvert and an Extrovert.

The Holy Longings of Happily Ever After. Is a fairy-tale ending unrealistic or a beacon towards the ultimate best ending?

This Three Minute Commercial Puts Full Length Hollywood Films to Shame. I don’t know what country has three minute commercials – but this is a sweet short story in film. You could say it is about grace.

Hope you have a great weekend!

 

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some noteworthy reads from the last couple of weeks:

Two pieces on the historicity of the first Adam, a current hot topic: Our Make-Believe Parents: When Adam Becomes More Fiction Than Fact and 19 Resources on the Historicity of Adam.

Grace Incognito. “I may like the idea of portraying the strong Christian woman weathering adversity with a brave face, but I don’t get to choose the scene of my martyrdom that will show off my good side. But what if the point isn’t sprinting across the finish line in record time, but knowing God in every halting, baby step along the way?”

One Step. “One step — one cross-shaped, trusting step of faith in a loving, good, and sovereign God — gives purpose to pain, turns mourning into dancing, and transforms everything (yes, everything) into a gift…And I have a visual of grace that I will never, ever forget.”

Savor “Every” Moment? This humorous piece reminds us that young moms in the trenches need more from us than the admonition to savor every moment because it all passes so quickly. They need to know we remember the trenches and survived them.

How to Criticize a Preacher.

Distinguishing Between Truth and the Bearer of Truth. This kind of goes along with the one above. I’ve had a possible blog post percolating in the back of my mind along these lines, but no time to write it out.

A Concerned Mother’s Letter to Teen-age Girls.

Thinking Evangelically About Tim Tebow. “I fear that the Tebow-mania is just another manifestation of the way evangelicals think cultural cache and celebrity influence is vital to the cause of Christ. When I read the Bible, I see the opposite, actually, how God uses the low, the weak, the despised, the cultural cast-offs to further his kingdom. I am not against Christians in the entertainment or athletic spotlights, of course, but I am against the idolization of these people, which I think much of our fandom becomes. To be clear: The cause of Christ is not dependent on Tim Tebow’s success in the NFL. And, by the way, neither is his witness!”

Can Oyster, the “Netflix For Books,” Be Successful?

Hope you have a great Saturday!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some noteworthy reads from the last week:

I Weep for Miley and some follow-up thoughts on comments and criticisms of the post.

What Would Jesus Say to Miley Cyrus? I don’t agree with every little point here, but the majority of it is very good.

Make the Bible Your Native Tongue.

Mom vs. Mom: The War I didn’t See Coming. Excellent post.

I have been very happy to see a number of posts lately on preaching and teaching relative to how to do one’s secular work as unto the Lord and to find value in in for His sake. For years the only thing I heard about vocation in church was the urge to surrender to “full-time Christian service,” and that is indeed a noble calling, but it is not everyone’s calling, though we are all called into full-time Christian service in a sense. Anyway – off the soapbox for now. 🙂 Here are a couple of posts along these lines. The second one was especially good I thought.

5 Ways Pastors Can Affirm Faith, Calling, and Vocation.

You Do Not Labor in Vain.

Oh Sweet Lorraine and Missing Hope. A man in his 90s wrote a song for his wife, who had passed away, and sent it into a song contest. It didn’t fit the parameters of the contest, but the company involved had the song professionally recorded for him. So sweet to see his reaction to hearing it. But Challies points out that, touching as it it, there is no mention of the hope that can comfort and sustain us in our losses, and I hope this dear man finds that.

Knowing vs Feeling in Worship.

Cultivating the Habit of Prayer. Great tips.

When You Feel Resentful About Homemaking.

Compelling Conversion, thoughts on the book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. I reviewed it here, but he includes some points that also spoke to me but I didn’t articulate.

School Is No Place For a Reader. If this kind of thing is going on nation-wide, it’s really sad and doesn’t bode well for our country.

And for a smile, or several: 19 Photos of Hilarious Home Improvement Fails.

Have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some noteworthy reads from the last few weeks:

Why You Can Trust Your Bible despite differences in texts.

The Amalekite Genocide. God’s command to wipe out the Amalekites is used as ammunition against Christianity by atheists and is troublesome to Christians. Here is a thoughtful article about God’s possible reasons for it.

Where does brokenness drive you? I pondered this for a long time after reading it. It’s kind of popular in blogging right now to expose our failings in the name of transparency and lean heavily on grace, and that’s not wrong. I think perhaps it started as a reaction against appearing to have too picture-perfect a life to readers. But do we sometimes wallow in our failures and presume upon grace? We are all broken in some respects, and grace provides for blessed forgiveness, but it doesn’t stop there.

Indispensable. No one is. Beautiful.

21 Spiritual Things to Pray for Other Christians. It’s easy to pray for physical needs, but we sometimes neglect these spiritual needs.

Dear Disillusioned Christian Girl.

Stories That Lead By Example. Sometimes a story explains things better than an explanation. “I believe stories can broaden our empathy, helping us to love. They tell us we’re not alone. But they can also give us something to live up to, whetting our appetite for virtues we don’t yet have.”

To Moms of One or Two Children. Feeling overwhelmed and finding God’s grace sufficient no matter how many you have.

Richard Baxter on Educating Children.

Three Things You Don’t Know About Your Children and Sex. They probably know more than you think they do, and from dangerous sources. This is not a new problem, but the Internet exponentially increases the availability of unwholesome sources of information.

Are we doing the Lord’s work? Questions for web sites set up specifically to expose a leader’s sins.

The 5 Worst Books For Your Children. Interesting thoughts.

23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert.

18 Fun Things To Do Before Going Back to School. I think most students have already, but these are still fun ideas.

And something to bring you a smile:

Have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage and Quotes

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Here are a few noteworthy reads from the last week:

How to keep Millennials in the church? Let’s keep church un-cool, written by a Millenial. “What I need is something bigger than me, older than me, bound by a truth that transcends me and a story that will outlast me; basically, something that doesn’t change to fit me and my whims, but changes me to be the Christ-like person I was created to be.”

Is Glory God’s Only Goal?

When you think your love story is boring. It’s not like in the movies: it’s better.

The Courage to Keep Going. Another benefit of stories. Especially like the third paragraph from the bottom.

A Fleshy Assessment: Ten Questions to Ask Yourself. Convicting.

And a couple of quotes that have inspired me:

Every new duty calls for more grace than I now possess, but not more than is found in Thee, the divine treasury in whom all fullness dwells. To Thee I repair for grace upon grace, until every void made by sin be replenished and I am filled with all Thy fullness. ~Valley of Vision

“If, thinking of your frailty, you hold yourselves cheap, value yourselves by the price that was paid for you.” ~ Augustine

“Sometimes God doesn’t change your situation because He’s trying to change your heart.” Unknown

Have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some thought-provoking reads from the last couple of weeks:

Just Obey. Why grace-focused, gospel-centered churches and individuals don’t need to shy away from the word or the concept.

On Loneliness: A Letter to My Children. Poignant.

Ordinary Christians and a Great Commission. “So many of today’s bestselling Christian books…tell us we ought to live extraordinary lives, crazy and above-and-beyond lives. Some of these authors tacitly (or even blatantly) suggest that ordinary must be synonymous with apathetic and that all these comparative and superlative terms–this-er, that-er–are synonymous with godly. But when I look to the Bible I just don’t see it.”

Embrace Sufferer’s For the Things They Offer You rather than avoiding them in fear.

Faith in Fiction – the need for it, and for current examples of it.

Why Story Warren. “This feeling of –incredibly, out of nowhere– finding an ally in the struggle of our lives, is unforgettable. Even in a tale…How sweet it is when we discover a story, a record, a movie, or a play where our kids are seeing the very best of truth, beauty, and goodness. We see the truth we are longing for them to latch on to neither subverted, nor sanitized to death, but upheld. We feel there is someone on our side. It’s not a minefield; it’s the cavalry!” Just discovered this site yesterday and have had fun poking around. Janet, I think you’d like it.

Why I Don’t Drink.

Fruit of the Spirit Resources for Children’s Ministry, HT to Annette, who created a resource of her own as well. I’ve started studying the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians and want to look into some of these for my own information.

Looking Forward to the Reward. We can feel it is not quite right to serve God with thought of reward, but God tells us about rewards for a reason.

8 Ways to Just Keep Writing.

A Daily Dose of Faith for Writers. Love the opening quote about Jan Karon’s portrayal of Father Tim’s “everyday faith.”

And my book-loving friends will agree with this, HT to Carrie:

Books

Hope you have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some interesting reads from the last couple of weeks:

8 Evangelism Lessons From an Unlikely Convert.

Gospel-Centered Counsel For Moms. “So often, in our sincere desire to be gospel-centered, we skip over a biblical diagnosis and assume we know what the problem is.” Excellent post.

When Your Friend Is Paralyzed With Fear.

How Cancer Changed Me For Good.

When You’ve Lost Your Joy in the Midst of Marriage and Motherhood.

Help for the Blindsided, when a past sin blindsides you with shame and sorrow.

Sanctification In the Season of Singleness.

Bosses Don’t Give Gold Stars — and Other Career Advice.

DOMA and the Rock.

Hope you have a great weekend!