I wasn’t online much this week, with family visiting and spotty Internet coverage due to our provider’s work in our area. But I found a few good reads to share:

When Unhealed Illness Brings Shame, HT to Challies. “As a Christian, as one who sincerely believes that God can and does heal in miraculous ways, I know that the God who worked wonders in the past is still working wonders today. If he wills it, he can heal me (Matt. 8:1–3). Which leads to the question for those who don’t get a miracle: Why does God not will my healing?“

Put It Somewhere Visible. “In our day of prolific productivity tools, one of the biggest battles we face is resisting the urge to overcomplicate everything.”

Help! My Child Is Entering Puberty, HT to Challies. “Though we love our children deeply, many of us feel unsure about how to talk about bodies, development, privacy, safety, and growing up. We want to be honest without saying too much and clear without sounding clinical. We want to protect our children without making them afraid. And some of us are trying to offer our children something we did not receive ourselves: calm, faithful words about the body.”

When Your Child Moves Out as an Unbeliever, HT to Challies. “I had developed some ideas about what this day would look like throughout the years, but as it draws near, I have to accept that he will be moving out as an unbeliever.”

How Do I Respond to My Gay Family Member? “I gave my students the chance to ask any question, and one student basically asked, ‘What do I do at Thanksgiving if my sibling living a gay lifestyle shows up?’ I had confidently told them I would answer all their questions in class, so I was stuck. It was a hard question, and I didn’t know that I had any nice, clean, easy answer. So I did what any good assistant pastor worth his salt would do, I went to my church’s senior pastor and asked him what he would say. His advice was spot on, as is often the case for senior pastors.”

16 Stunning Animal Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, HT to Challies. This is the 62nd year of this competition, and the photos are amazing.

“Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people’s faith that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.”
— C.H. Spurgeon