abortion debate | Stray Thoughts

For the first time in several weeks, I am caught up with my blog reading! Here are some posts that stood out to me:

Portrait of an Abortionist, HT to Challies. “Dr. Bernard Nathanson was one of the extraordinary few who, upon encountering the truth, decided to defect from the abortion movement that he had helped to found and spend his life defending the pre-born.”

How to Respond When Your Routine Is Disrupted. “When we’re waiting for life to return to some semblance of normalcy, what practical steps can we take to make our days a little easier (or perhaps a bit more bearable)? Although I don’t have many answers, here are a few suggestions drawn from my own experience.”

Hope When You’re Scorching Under Life’s Trials. “The refreshing and restorative power of shade isn’t new. David the psalmist/shepherd wrote about it in Psalm 121. He knew what it was like to sit for hours in the Judean sun, watching his sheep graze. He also knew the value of a well-placed shade tree or drifting cloud. Perhaps this is why he described God as ‘the shade at your right hand.'”

The Aroma of Christ in the Mundane. “Maybe, if you’re like me, it’s easy to understand how Christ’s life and death were a fragrant offering to God. God was pleased with His Son’s perfect life and sacrificial death. What is harder to grasp is that because I am united to Christ by grace through faith, God sees me clothed in Christ’s righteousness and is pleased with me. He not only accepts me because of Christ, but joyfully receives me as His daughter! Furthermore, God uses broken vessels like me to spread the knowledge of Christ to others.”

Virtue Signalling in the Church, HT to Challies. “Is it possible for a Christian to be more concerned about the appearance of godliness in their own lives, rather than the existence of it? To sound like they love God, but deep down actually fear man? To talk of virtuous deeds yet be substantially empty of them? I am living proof that the answer to those questions is yes.”

Nine Marks of a Healthy Paragraph: Suggestions for Improving a Pastor’s Writing, HT to Challies. And not just pastors! “We traffic in words because God has chosen to work through words. From creation to salvation, from his perfect Word to our fallible ones, God loves to turn the lights on through written truth. That’s why we care about words: because we care about souls.”

Discipline is choosing between what you want now,
and what you want most. Abraham Lincoln

I don’t want to “laud” my own link, but I wanted to share once again a post from a few years ago about grieving over Christmas. My mother, father, and grandmother (as well as a family friend and our only family pet) all died in December, though in different years. The first few years after my mom passed away were the hardest, especially with how much she loved the season. It seems like every year, someone I know is facing their first Christmas without a certain loved one. So I hope these thoughts will be helpful: Christmas Grief, Christmas Hope, Christmas Joy.

Now, on to some good online reading and listening found recently:

Losses of a Prayerless Christian, HT to Challies. “Though God is sovereign over all things, He ordains the means of prayer. There are some things He will not do unless we pray, though He always does all He purposes (Psalm 135:6). The mystery does not change this truth: You do not have because you do not ask (James 4:2).”

Gentleness Is a Christian Virtue, HT to Challies. ‘Christians should be the absolute opposite of mean and angry. Jesus’s people are to be kind, gentle, joyful, patient, peaceful, good, and self-controlled. None of these character traits define American culture today, but they must define Christ’s church.”

Must You Remain Silent on Abortion Unless You Adopt a Baby? HT to Challies. Perhaps you’ve heard the argument that unless a pro-life person is willing to adopt babies (supposedly babies that would be saved from abortion), then that person has no voice in the abortion debate. This article explains what’s wrong with that reasoning.

Gospel Parenting During the Little Years with Melissa Kruger and Jen Wilkin (one of my favorite authors). This is an almost 50-minute video, but well worth a listen. I wish I had had this when mine were little, though I think I came to many of the same conclusions over time.

Jen Wilkin on Women in the Church with the Gift of Leadership. Jen speaks from a complementarian background, but encourages that there is a place for women to exercise their gifts. Different ones of us will fall on different places in the spectrum of this discussion, but the issues are worth contemplating.

People’s Choice; Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021, HT to Laura. These are always so fascinating.

If you need a good laugh this morning, try this “12 Days of Christmas” skit, HT to The Story Warren.

This is as good a time as any for my occasional reminder that linking doesn’t always indicate 100% endorsement with everything and everyone linked to. But the links contain food for thought.

Happy Saturday!