May 30, 2026

Family, Faith, Parenting, Prayer, Wisdom

John Beeson

Back in our children’s hometown of Princeton, New Jersey, our son Soren and his girlfriend, Viki, walked hand in hand down streets he had not visited in a decade. When they first started dating, he promised her he would take her there one day. On this rainy afternoon, that promise was fulfilled.

We sipped local coffee… as we wandered through familiar streets, greeted by linen-white dogwood blossoms. We shared memories as we passed childhood homes, old landmarks, and favorite gelato shops... We pulled over at the Princeton Battlefield and let Soren and Viki walk ahead as we hung back.

May 28, 2026

Recommendations

John Beeson

This Week's Recommendations

Do Americans think spiritual revival is coming? Barna’s report says yes: especially among young people. “Nearly 3 in 10 U.S. adults (29%) say a spiritual revival could be coming, with Gen Z the most likely of any generation to anticipate such a movement (38%).”
Am I defined by who I am or what I do? Justin Poythress says, “Is your identity a deep and settled persona? Or is it what you do—the sum of your choices which you can always redirect? It’s both. The errors of these two identity convictions are self-determination and fatalism. Neither is true because internal and external identities interconnect.”

May 26, 2026

Church, Culture, Spiritual Growth

John Beeson

Diversity, Pentecost, and God’s Glory

There is a temptation for Christians to reject what the world values. Understandably, we would be suspicious of those things which secularism honors. But sometimes there is a baby in the bathwater.

There are few things more sacred in the modern West than diversity. But this is a baby worth preserving. Diversity was God’s before it was the world’s.

Let’s consider God’s glorious plan for diversity.

Ethnic diversity enters the biblical picture in a strange fashion, with the odd story of the Tower of Babel. As the descendants of Noah multiply, they form plans to protect their legacy.

May 23, 2026

Book Reviews, Culture, Identity

John Beeson

Who Am I? Contrasting the Modern and Biblical ...

Our culture is certain that its worldview bestows ultimate dignity upon the individual. After all, what could grant more dignity than one choosing one’s own identity? What more could we ask for than to declare who we are and be affirmed for that choice?

Meanwhile, our culture would have us believe that what the Bible says about who we are ought to cause us to blush.

But we need to shrink back. The Bible’s explanation of who we are grants us far more dignity than the autonomous vision of the West.

Who Am I? Contrasting the Modern and Biblical Visions of the Self

May 21, 2026

Recommendations, Forgiveness, Faith, Family, Identity, Nature, Parenting, Wisdom

John Beeson

This Week's Recommendations

When fear dresses up like help: Loads of parenting wisdom packed into this post from Stacy MacLaren, “He was not only trying to become his own person. He was also trying to do that without hurting me. And at some point, I think he realized that in order to do the next right thing, he was going to hurt me no matter what.”
Stop keeping score: Andrew Noble says, “Envy is at the root of modern comparison games. When someone does a good moral act toward us, such as paying our bill, driving our kids, or folding our laundry, we should receive and enjoy their good gifts.