Here are a few interesting reads from the last couple of weeks:

When Your Faith Community Fails You.

When You’re Spiritually Numb.

The Word-less “Church”.

7 Ways to Do a Bad Word Study.

How It Felt Watching Season 3 of “Downton Abbey” as told by “Downton Abbey”. If you watch the show and have seen all of the third season, this is hilarious. I have mixed emotions about DA — have thought about doing a post on it some time.

Canyon Jump Not Exactly a Lover’s Leap. This guy may never get another date. Deservedly.

And a few about writing:

Encouragement For Writers. “I am not called to write. I am called to intimacy with Him. It is about letting your dreams die and being willing to live out His dreams for you.”

My Secrets: How I Became a Prolific Writer and Learned to Get Beyond School Essays.

Some writing opportunities, HT to Kindred Heart Writers.

This is a cute short video of a father dancing in front of his babies, and the babies mimic him and stop when he does. If that link doesn’t work, the same video is here, but someone added music on top of it that takes away from it, in my opinion. It’s funnier when it’s just the dad singing.

This is touching. And I love the tiara on her helmet. 🙂

Craig Courtney is one of my favorite modern composers and arrangers. This is a video of snippets taken from a longer concert, and I enjoyed hearing him discuss aspects of some of his works.

Here are a few worthwhile reads from around the Web this week:

As It Gets Worse, It Cannot Get Desperate.

Cold-Case Christianity, a review of a book examining the claims of Christianity as a cold case detective. “The answers are available; you don’t have to turn off your brain to be a believer. Yes, it is possible to become a Christian because of the evidence rather than in spite of the evidence.”

6 Steps to Aging Well.

The Parenting Pause (And Why You Don’t Want to Miss It).

This is a funny one, especially if you’ve ever had a preschooler: 46 Reasons Why My Three Year Old Might Be Freaking Out.

I don’t watch Jimmy Kimmel, but someone shared this funny clip of CA newscasters’ reactions to their “cold snap” in the 50s. 🙂

And someone shared this on Facebook, true of many of us in the South. 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Here are a few interesting things seen around the Web this week:

Why We Read the Bible. “I have a burden for my people right now, just like I do for myself, that we get beyond propositions and Bible verses to Christ. I do not mean “get around” Bible verses, but “through” Bible verses to Christ, to the person, the living person, to know Him, cherish Him, treasure Him, enjoy Him, trust Him, be at home with Him.”

Ashamed of the Gospel, HT to Challies. I think most Christians have probably all had similar experiences.

A Kind Wife.

Why Don’t You Just Apologize? The last few paragraphs are especially good.

How Is Obedience a Gateway to Understanding the Gospel? I haven’t read of the gospel-centered-parenting type books, but the posts I have seen on the subject seem to downplay the need to teach and train children to obey. But this post shows how it actually goes hand-in-hand with teaching the gospel. Girltalk has been doing a series on gospel-centered parenting that has been refreshing.

Parenting as Storytelling. I enjoyed the video with Sally Lloyd Jones about stories in children’s lives. I’d disagree a bit with the comparison with video games: I’ve raised three boys who play them, and though sometimes they’ve spent more time with them than I have thought beneficial, they don’t come out of playing them as she describes.  But I would rather see them reading than playing them.

18 Ribbon and Fabric Storage Ideas.

This has got to be one of the cutest videos ever:

One of mine was drawn to puddles like that. Such pure joy!

My son shared these on Facebook: One dog teaching another how to go down the stairs.

And this is how cats do it…

Ha! And finally, a friend shared this on Facebook.

Rather amazing, isn’t it?

Happy Saturday!

I haven’t done a round-of of interesting links in a while: I didn’t have time over the holidays, and you likely didn’t have time to read them then, either. 🙂 But here are a few things that especially caught my eye:

How Not To Read Your Bible in 2013. I’d disagree with the part of not reading it alone: I get much more out of it that way, but for some reading it with others might be helpful.

The 1 Person You Need to Unfriend in 2013.

Be Strong and Courageous (and Not a Boy-Man). Along that same theme, From Boy to Man: The Marks of Manhood, Part One and Part Two. Good things to keep in mind while raising sons.

Why Some Books Made It Into the New Testament and Others Didn’t. This is a topic I’ve wondered about occasionally, and this was helpful.

Keller and Carson: Greco-Roman Slavery ≠ Race-Based Slavery. This helps explain why the Bible tells people how to live and act within the economic part of slavery but doesn’t advocate doing away with it outright, something that has puzzled me from time to time. Even the book Roots said there was an economic-based slavery even in Africa, and it was among Christians that race-based slavery in more modern times was condemned and fought against.

Relationship Advice From Twilight, an unlikely source.

10 Great Writing Quotes to Start the Year.

And an interesting video:

A surprise Les Miserables-inspired flash mob at a wedding reception for a couple who likes musicals. Good if you have guests who can sing!

Have a great weekend!

It has been a while since I’ve shared links of interest. Here are some I’ve found profitable the last few weeks:

Rachel Weeping For Her Children — The Massacre in Connecticut.

The tension of “God is good” and “It shouldn’t be this way.” I saw this the day before the tragedy in CT, but it is certainly apropos.

Newsweek vs. the New Testament. “So, in the waning days of Newsweek as a print magazine, the editors decided to take on the New Testament. Readers should note carefully that it is Newsweek, and not the New Testament, that is going out of print.”

10 Holiday Survival Tips for 2012 if you holidays are much less than merry.

Five Habits for Holiday Happiness.

How to Help the Hurting.

Misused Reasons to Abandon Christmas: #3 God Didn’t Command It, HT to Diane. Deftly answers the charge that “if God didn’t command it we shouldn’t do it” in regards to Christmas but could well be applied to many areas. Others in the series have to do with the supposed pagan origins of Christmas and “It’s the wrong date.” He’s not saying anyone should or should not celebrate, just pointing out the flaws in these arguments.

Obedience and Gospel-centered Mothering. The two are not antithetical.

What Do Men Really Want in a Wife?

The Best Christmas DIYs and Crafts Ever.

And finally, this is just too cute: a kid’s gospel quartet. I couldn’t get the video to embed here and it doesn’t seem to be on YouTube, but hopefully you can see it on Facebook here.

Here’s my regular round-up of rousing reads from the past week. 🙂

Redeemed Reader is hosting a read-along of The Hobbit leading up to the release of the first installment of Peter Jackson’s much-anticipated movie version of The Hobbit in December. She has some fun activities, giveaways, and guests scheduled. HT to Challies.

Several Christian Fiction authors are hosting a Scavenger Hunt beginning here, through tomorrow. Prizes are a Kindle Fire, 31 Christian fiction books, and several gift certificates.

12 Things to Do When You’re Criticized.

The Struggles and Hopes of a Disabled Dad.

Empty Nest or Open Nest?

Dee Henderson’s writing tips.

This video was made in response to a pro-abortion video of Hollywood actresses:

And this made me smile. I’ve never heard anyone, straight or curly, talk about how much they love their hair or how manageable it is. Well, except maybe on commercials.

Have a great weekend!

Here are just a few interesting reads from the Internet this week:

Of Babies and Beans? A Frightening Denial of Human Dignity.

10 Survival Tactics for Rescuing a Bad Day, HT to Lizzie.

Do Faithful Christians Take the Bible Literally?

What’s a Christian Business Owner Supposed to Do? “I’ve always thought—in a theoretical way—that I might someday face a situation where the government was asking or telling me to do something that was counter to God’s law as I understood it. If such a situation arose, I hoped I would have the backbone to stand tall and disobey the government mandate. Well, that day seems to have come.”

How to Retrieve What You’ve Read — Almost Instantly, HT to Robin Lee Hatcher’s Facebook page.

Some of the “Hey, Girl” pictures and captions on Pinterest are pretty funny, but I especially liked this one:

Hope you have a great Saturday!