insomnia | Stray Thoughts

I got caught up on some blog reading this week, so I have quite a few good articles to share:

Am I Good Enough? HT to Challies. “No matter what stage I was in or how much effort I put in, the feeling was always the same at the end of the day: it still wasn’t enough. There was always something more I should have done or done better. Maybe your story looks different from mine, but I imagine you’ve felt like you’re falling short of expectations—from the people around you, from your own inner voice, or even from what you think God expects of you.”

You Must Go On. You Can’t Go On. You Will Go On. HT to Challies. “God brings His people to do what they do not have the power to do themselves (walk on water, Peter) and God’s people choose to respond, knowing they can’t, but trusting that somehow—in some way—God will meet them with the power they need.”

A Three-Read Method for Understanding Scripture. HT to Challies. “A single pass over a passage, followed by a sprint towards meaning and application, will tend to produce either cold, informed Christians who never really worship, or busy and obedient Christians who never learn to delight. Our study needs to affect our whole being. It needs to impact our minds, affections, and will. There are methods that are close to what I do, but they mainly focus on the mind and will, while skipping the affections. The Beholding Method is my approach to improving this.”

Watered Women of the Word. “As rainwater replenishes gardens, we see the whole garden grow and each drop of rain is needed to bring forth the harvest. So it is with the Body of Christ. As we drink in Christ’s living water, it soaks into our hearts and replenishes us with His soul quenching love. Over the course of a fruitful season in the Word, I had the privilege to watch one woman water the seeds of faith in two precious beloveds, drop by drop of kindness, care, attentiveness, and love.”

On Women Who Think They Regret Motherhood. “A mother loves without condition, without reservation, without regret. I’ve seen podcasters frame this trend as women revealing that they hate their children. I disagree. These women love their children. But their love for their kids is being overshadowed by what I’m convinced is Satan’s most effective strategy to keep humans from flourishing, doing good, experiencing joy, or seeking God.”

Are You a Contentious Wife? HT to Challies. “This past Sunday I preached a sermon that contrasts two types of wives. One is a crown (Proverbs 12:4), and the other is contentious (Proverbs 19:13). One builds her home, while the other tears it down. One strengthens her husband, while the other slowly crushes him. One makes home a place of peace, while the other turns it into a war zone.”

2 Ways to Fail Your Child, HT to Challies. “There are two ways to fail your child, and they move in opposite directions. You can fail by keeping too much out. . . . You can also fail by letting too much in. . . . Both are failures of love. Most of us are guilty of one of them, and probably both at some point.”

Where Is God When Sleep Won’t Come? HT to Challies. “It’s difficult to overstate just how desperate I felt when I’d still be awake at 4:00am, 5:00am, and then 6:00am when the alarm would sound and the day would officially begin. Many nights I despaired. But then slowly, over time, a surprising thing happened: God trained me, as he has countless others of his children, to ‘kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.'”

When People Say Things About You. “So how should a Christian respond when people talk about us? I don’t think the answer is to believe everything people say about us. But neither is the answer to dismiss everything people say about us. Scripture calls us to respond with both humility and discernment. Here are four principles that have helped me think through this.”

How to Have a Soft Heart. “As women, we work hard to hide the visible marks of wear. We’re encouraged to roll ice over tired eyes and add concealer to circles revealing sleepless nights. But it isn’t just our bodies that carry evidence of hard days. Our hearts can weather too.”

10 Reasons Marxism Is Bad for Humanity, HT to Challies. “This type of message may be popular. But is it true? Hardly. Beginning with God’s Word as our standard for truth, let’s look at 10 reasons why Marxism is bad news for humanity.”

Your Social Media Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story. “Rage-stoking flaws and failures in churches move to the top of our news feed. But far more common is the care and generosity that takes place among Christians. As a pastor, I have a front-row seat in this theater of love.”

Don’t let me ever think, dear God, that I was anything but the instrument for Your story.
–Flannery O’Connor

Here’s another list of good reads found this week:

We Need More Holy Fools: How God Awakened Me to Eternity, HT to The Story Warren. “A man is trapped in a car, rushing down a hill toward a cliff. The doors are locked. The brakes are out. The steering barely works. Far ahead, he can see other cars hurtling into the abyss. How far they fall, he does not know. What they find at the bottom, he cannot imagine. But he does not seek to know; he does not try to imagine. Instead, he paints the windshield, climbs into the back seat, and puts in his headphones.”

God Will Turn You Every Which Way But Loose. HT to Challies. “Do not believe the lies that say God wants your life to be as smooth as possible. That he desires for you to have a problem-free existence if only you would have enough faith.”

Being Domineering as a Pastor Doesn’t Require Skill, HT to Challies. Though this is written to pastors, it’s good advice for anyone in any leadership role.

3 Myths of the Good Old Days. “I’m guessing every generation has uttered this phrase, which makes me question: If my good old days were the previous generation’s not-so-good days, and on and on backwards, then when were the real good old days?”

The Indispensable Ministry of Disability, HT to Challies. “Our more recent experiences with Ben have opened my eyes to the realization that people with disabilities in our congregations are not just objects of ministry. They are gifted just like the rest of us, though often in ways that we haven’t realized.”

Rolls and Circles in Women’s Ministry: Why You Need Both. “When you think of discipleship in your church, women’s ministry, or small group, how do you picture the chairs being arranged? Do you picture the chairs in rows, facing a teacher in the front? Do you picture the chairs in circles, where small groups of women gather? Or do you think of discipleship as a single chair, where a woman opens her Bible and hears from God directly?”

When You’ve Given Your Troubles to God—But Still Can’t Sleep. “Insomnia is horrible. It is a form of suffering that lays us utterly bare before the Lord. We completely depend on him to show up. Sometimes he shows up by letting us fall asleep; sometimes he shows up by stripping us of self-sufficiency, making us see that he takes weary people and sustains them even when all earthly things fail them.”

Take the Chance. “It seemed like the ideal opportunity. Crouching in the darkness of the cave, David saw his enemy alone and vulnerable. It looked like the chance he had been waiting for.”