Blogs
Teens Who Choose Life in Unplanned Pregnancies Need Support
Commentary on the Christian school student who got pregnant, decided to keep her baby, and then was stopped from participating in the graduation.
Isn’t there a way for us to show both grace and truth, to be clear that promiscuity is against God’s revealed will and therefore our own happiness, but also to honor a girl’s courageous choice to give her child life? Isn’t there a way to uphold rules, but still value relationship?
How Much Sleep Is Too Much Sleep?
A few good podcasts out there today. First there’s Ask Pastor John on how much to sleep:
So, the question always will be: Am I getting less sleep because I am truly being led by the Lord and sustained by the Lord in humble faith, or am I presumptuously jumping off the temple and testing the Lord to see if he will catch me and keep me from getting a heart attack?
Then there’s Flippin’ with Aaron a discussion about “flipping the Classroom” with Aaron Sams, author of Flipped Learning.
As an author and popular speaker on the flipped classroom, Aaron describes this concept and its potential uses from homeschooling to grad school to seminary.
And if you’re in the mood for some theological meat, here’s Dr. Bill Vandoodewaard and Dr. Jonathan Master discussing the marrow controversy.
Columns from Tabletalk Magazine
The July issue of Tabletalk considers entertainment and its role in the Christian life. Here are some of its monthly articles.
A Checkpoint for Your Ambition
How do we know when we’ve fallen into sinful ambition?
The minute we stop being happy for the successes and victories of others, especially when those successes and victories come in an area of life in which we are ambitious, we know there’s a problem brewing if not already boiling.
Six Reasons We Must Seek Solitude
“Jesus tirelessly made Himself approachable and available. Yet, what impresses me even more about Christ was the time He spent alone. Before He launched out into public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days and nights by Himself in the wilderness…Note these six reasons that we, like Jesus, must seek solitude.”
From What Got Done to What God Did
This is excellent counsel and, if implemented, would radically alter the quality of our sleep and the state of our souls:
Whether our day is filled with the dramatic or the ordinary, or our labors lack any visible reward, asking ourselves what God did orients our hearts away from discouragement over our lack of accomplishments, and toward the goodness of God. Consider your day and ask yourself God-focused questions. Here are a few to get you started:
Why Your Smartphone Is a Direct Threat to Your Friendships
Jasmine Holmes warns that “the obsession with our smartphones is so often an obsession for power.”
We have become increasingly uncomfortable with awkward silences, quiet moments, and thoughtful conversation. Smartphones are an easy way to dull the pain of difficult circumstances, stay removed from the messiness of confrontation, ignore tough realities we would rather not face, and expend as little effort as possible to stay connected with other people. To use my iPhone as a haven from the messiness of face-to-face friendship is the enemy of authentic intimacy.”
The “Other” 10 Second Rule
Affairs do not begin over a long period of time but often in a few short seconds that change the whole trajectory of many lives:
Over the years, I’ve talked with many men and women who have been involved in affairs. One of the most salutary things is to realize that with many of them, they didn’t intend to be unfaithful to their partners. They sometimes blurt out, “It just happened.” They will normally go on to talk about some innocent event in which they were involved (often a genuine desire to help the other person in some way), and then go on to say, “It suddenly got out of hand.”
When is the battle won or lost in the affair? Is it decided at the bedroom door? No. The battle is so often decided when somebody smiles at you across a room and you have ten seconds to decide whether you will walk those twenty feet or keep talking to the boring colleague next to you. There is, in so many affairs, a line that has to be crossed. The tragedy is that so often it is drawn very near the beginning of the relationship, but once it is crossed it is hard to go back.”
Kindle Books
Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper $3.99.
Lincoln’s Battle with God: A President’s Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America by Stephen Mansfield $2.99.
Mindscape: What to Think About Instead of Worrying by Timothy Witmer $1.59.