Friday, March 30, 2012

online meanderings - why youth stay in church, investing in small things, doing one thing at a time, and other stuff

A new, simplified online meandering. All my favourites. There is still plenty here! (I'm not good at cutting down.) Hope you find this random list helpful.

Why youth stay in church when they grow up - A must-read for every mum, dad, pastor and youth group leader. Helpful in light of this discussion. John Nielson.

The mathematics of the soils - I needed to hear this! "When I'm in a stage of life where so much of my time is spent serving Jesus in small, unseen ways within my family it is wonderful to remember the power of God that can multiply small seeds and make a big harvest." Nicole.

The magic of doing one thing at a time - I set aside some time to read this - while doing nothing else - and found it very helpful. Tony Schwartz HT Vitamin Z

A labour of love - Carolyn McCulley is writing a new book about women and work. I can't wait!

If you were a missionary, how would you live your life differently? - You already are, so live it where you are. Erik HT Vitamin Z

Listen to a gospel all the way through - What a fantastic way to spend a couple of hours! Jess.

How to destroy your marriage - "At the end of the day, I gave heart service to my time at seminary, but only lip service to Ephesians 5, and it cost me my marriage."

Wasted depression - "Depression should not be wasted." A beautiful, helpful post. Thistletown Baptist HT Challies.

The simple message - "We who love theology, we who take joy in diving into the deep waters of the person and work of God, we need to be so careful, lest we make the message more difficult than it needs to be, lest we forget the simple word that we believed in." Challies.

What pastors do the other 167 hours of the week - "Pastors live under the whip of their flock’s expectations, their own goals of productivity, and their Lord’s standard of excellence."Spare a thought - and a prayer - for your pastor. Clint Archer.

Workaholism - Helpful stuff - though I'm not entirely convinced by the 40 hour week thing. Where does that leave pastors (even the non-workaholic kind) and the rest of us as we work hard for Jesus? Challies.

Motherhood is application - "We take what we believe about God and the gospel and faith and life, and we apply it in the places that seem too little for it." Rachel Jankovic.

Motherhood is a calling - "Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn't have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won't be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen." Rachel Jankovic (again!).

Make room for suffering - "Visit rural Uganda and tell me with straight face that God wants us to experience a life of ease and wealth, that he’s concerned about what kind of car we drive." - Joel Miller HT Vitamin Z.

Why fairies are better than goblins - Best giggle of the week. Rachael.

If you'd like to see more links, check out my Facebook page or my Twitter feed.

2 comments:

Deb said...

Oh, phew! I was worried I was going to be without weekend reading. Thanks for your hard work in digging all of this up. Rachel Jankovic has some really helpful things to say, doesn't she? Did you see her post on masking anger as justice? Really poked me in my weak spot.

Jean said...

:) Yeah, you won't notice a lot different!! (Except no introductory headings and a few less links - if I can control myself! I find it takes less time to put them in than to choose what to leave out...) But it's a much simpler process for me behind the scenes.