Few gifts are more meaningful than a thoughtfully chosen book. It’s a gift that can offer hope, wisdom, and even fun. As you consider your Christmas gift, here are a few books you might want to consider for loved ones.
Christian Living, Family, Parenting
Our son Soren is twenty years old. And he doesn’t know how to ride his bike.
I share this as a confession. Soren, on the other hand, is totally comfortable with this reality.
As parents, we feel responsible for equipping our kids for the world. But what does it mean to prepare our children for life? What does it mean to be a successful parent?
The demands of parenting can feel overwhelming. We want to teach our children to be thoughtful stewards by caring for their things and cleaning the house. We want them to learn how to make meals and do their own laundry.
Christian Living, Counseling, Identity, Spiritual Growth, Suffering, Wisdom
I have the opportunity of sharing this space with my friend and mentor, Glen Elliott (you find out more about Glen here). I’m sure you will be blessed by his wealth of wisdom. –John
Last winter I learned something from a dying tree.
There’s a tree outside our bedroom window that provides beautiful shade in the summer. A while back I noticed the leaves were dying—brown, brittle, hanging lifelessly from the branches. So I did what most of us do when something looks unhealthy: I trimmed the visible problems.
I cut off dead branches. Then more branches. I fertilized. I watered. Nothing worked.
Recommendations, Culture, Family, Forgiveness, Marriage, Parenting, Suffering
When a crack becomes a chasm: Dave Almack says, “In years past, family disagreements often resulted in an uneasy detente and shallow conversations at gathering times. Today, in more and more cases, these disconnects have turned into outright hostility and accusations of wrongdoing by parents who have diligently tried to raise their kids to love and honor the Lord. It is a painful and almost unbearable experience to endure and far more common than many might know.”
Alysa Liu inspired an exhausted world: Brianna Lambert begins, "Last week, one of the most memorable moments of the Olympics occurred
Nature, Science, Theology
While the influence of the so-called new atheists, led by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins, has waned in recent years, the fog of their critiques against Christianity has not altogether disappeared. Comedian Ricky Gervais has leveled one of the most compelling arguments against Christianity. He argues that if you destroyed all holy books and all science books, “in a thousand years they'd all be back, because all the same tests would be the same result.” In other words, the science books would return exactly as they were because experiments would return the same results while the religious texts would not.
Culture, Hell, Identity, Relationships, Sexuality, Worship
Sexuality saturates our culture. The human heart, already an engine inclined toward malformed desires, has plenty of fuel available via the internet alone to propel it toward disaster. How can we remain pure in a world bent on dragging us into impurity?
Indeed, the world is partial. The battle against lust is a three-pronged battle against our flesh, the world, and Satan. Paul warns us to “not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16) by later specifying some of those desires: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality” (Galatians 5:19). Our flesh lures us into believing that we can take a shortcut to joy and intimacy.
