online meanderings

Once a week might be wiser - An encouraging post about family devotions. Jodie McNeill.

Reading the Bible in chronological order - A lovely post on the benefits of reading David's story this way, maybe with your kids. Meredith.

Choose to have a baby every day and What do you do all day? - Encouragement for mums from Deb and Nicole.

He is all my righteousness - "I was reading a book about grace, and when I turned the last page and shut the book I thought to myself, "That can't be right." Lisa Spence.

Resources for battling addictions - A great list including some excellent authors like Ed Welch, compiled by Paul Tautges.

To see the rest of my links, click here (Facebook) or here (Twitter).

what I'm reading: Bonhoeffer

My calling is quite clear to me. What God will make of it I do not know...I must follow the path. Perhaps it will not be such a long one. (Phil 1:23). But it is a fine thing to have realized my calling...I believe its nobility will become plain to us in coming times and events. If only we can hold out. (123)

I've just read Bonhoeffer, a biography by Eric Metaxas. All I knew about Bonhoeffer before was that he wrote The cost of discipleship and was martyred under the Nazi regime. This book is a fascinating read. Not easy - I took a break to dip into a light novel - but good, like a hearty meal, filling and nourishing and life-giving.

I was inspired to read more biography by my friend Jenny after we both read Tony Reinke's Lit!. I started with Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, which I highly recommend, then moved on to Bonhoeffer; next, I want to read Eric Metaxas' biography of William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace. Mostly, I have to admit, I don't love reading Christian biographies - they leave me feeling inadequate - but this one informed and encouraged me.

Bonhoeffer is the kind of book that falls into your life like a (rather large) stone: I can picture ripples spreading out from it through my life for years to come. It challenged me to live more whole-heartedly for Jesus; to get more involved in the world, both in enjoying its blessings and engaging with those who suffer; and to face persecution and opposition with courage and purpose.

Above all, Bonhoeffer doesn't let us get away with playing with God's word. He said to a friend, "when you read the Bible, you must think that here and now God is speaking with me" (128). The Sermon on the Mount  gave him his "calling" and showed him what it might cost. Ultimately, it would lead him to his death. He said,

Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic. Do not defend God’s Word, but testify to it. Trust to the Word. (261)

It's a risky business opening the Bible. Who knows where reading God's word might take us?

the joy of starting school

It's a magical time, the year a child starts school. This is the last year I'll see it first-hand. I'll miss the confidence and optimism of a child this age: awards are received with pride, a teacher is beloved, friends are treasured, and one's own abilities are boundless.

At the start of the year I interviewed Andy about starting school. Here are some snapshots from the year so far.

Andy on his teacher:

"Miss M. has a beautiful name, doesn't she Grandma?"

"Miss M can see from the back of her head. She really can, Mummy!" And then, as he realised that this might not actually be true, "Well, at least her eyes see out sideways more than most people's."

Andy on humility:

"I am looking forward to the school disco 'cos I am a really good dancer!" (He took one look and decided that a disco wasn't really to his liking.)

"I am the most popular kid in the school because all the kids know me!" (A slightly inaccurate self-assessment based on the blessing of having 2 older brothers.)

Andy on his learning goals:

Term 1. "My goal is to hold my breath for longer."

Term 2. "My goal is to make new friends." (He wanted to keep his goal from term 1, but the teacher suggested this instead.)

Term 3. "My goals are to read more fluently and to learn the sounds of 'y'."


The way the goals change, from light-hearted to earnest to academic, makes me a little sad about the whole growing-up thing.

Andy on friendship:

Since his term 2 goal was "to make new friends", Andy did just that. Soon he was playing not just with Toby, his best friend from preschool, but also with Matilda and Lauren.

When asked how he was enjoying his new friendships, he answered,

"Yes, 'cos I'm achieving my goals."

Did I mention that Andy is both practical and determined? Now he's achieved that goal, he's back to playing with Toby again.

But Andy also has a soft heart. One day Lauren was feeling sad, and Andy talked with her and cheered her up. When I said it was good to see him being kind, he answered,

"O' course! 'Cos that's what friends do."

Names have been changed throughout this post.

online meanderings

Pain-filled memories - "I remember how her eyes had already begun to show a hint of distance, as she began to discern the light on other side of the veil." RC Sproul Jr. writes about his memories of a wife's struggle with cancer.

9 vital reasons for small talk in your small group - Great advice. Ben Reed HT Sandy.

A husband's sacrificial love: what does it actually look like? - A clear-sighted, wise, biblical post from Lionel Windsor.

Don't feed Cupid - Good advice for parents of teens, especially if you plan to allow them to date. Kim Shay.

Refuse to be numbed - Paul says, "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart." (Rom 9:2) But do we? Jon Bloom.

For more links, click here.

let yourself be inconvenienced by inconvenience

I was challenged and encouraged by this brilliant post from Challies. I'd love people to feel like this with me - like they can inconvenience me, drop in at a moment's notice, take up my time and my life - but I don't think they do. Something to work on!

Anything worth doing will take time and cost you something. We notice, as our attention focused more on families and children, that many people in our community protect themselves from inconvenience as though inconvenience is deadly. We decided that we are not inconvenienced by inconvenience. We are sure that the Good Samaritan had other plans that fateful day...

Your house is not your own....You have not fully reconciled yourself to the fact that it is not your house until you are willing to have others invite themselves in...

One of the highest purposes of Christians is to extend hospitality and friendship to others. In a culture where individuals are becoming ever more individualistic and families are ever-more retreating into their own lives, Christians can be known as people who graciously and cheerfully extend hospitality to others, who refuse to be inconvenienced by inconvenience. Christian houses will be known as the ones with open doors, where invitations are extended and expected...

Do people feel that they can presume upon your time?...Or do they feel that to use your time is to cause you inconvenience and that you are hesitant to make time in your schedule for them?...

Do you allow people not only past the door of your house but also in your home, into the life of your family? Do you invite people into your living room, the formal room immediately beside the front door, or do you invite them into the kitchen where you can be less formal and extend more intimate hospitality? Do people feel they can come to your home only for formal Bible studies or can they come to your home for a personal chat or simply companionship? Do people feel they can drop by at a moment’s notice or do they wait to receive a formal invitation?...

Your house, your time and your home are not yours. They belong to God and need to be fully surrendered to him and to his better, higher purposes.

You can read the rest here.

online meanderings

I'm trying something new: 5 favourite links, once or twice a week, instead of stacks every Friday. Tell me if it's helpful!

Be inconvenienced by inconvenience - A wonderful, challenging post from Challies.

On mission, changing the world, and not being able to do it all. - For those of us who feel guilty because we can't do it all. Kevin DeYoung.

On slowing down - How to slow down when you read the Bible. Meredith.

The power of a dependable father - Check out the brilliant idea for 1,2,3 prayer triplets in the second last paragraph. Phillip Jensen.

When despair is our only song and How to pray when you're depressed - two very helpful posts on praying the Psalms when you're depressed. Eric Redmond and Mark Kelly.

To see the rest of my links, click here.

what I'm reading: too much about what I ought to be doing

One thing about reading lots of Christian posts on the internet is that you start to feel bad about all the things you're not doing. Come to think of it, I'm pretty good at that already. So for all of you who beat yourselves up over the head about the many things you're not doing, here are some wise words from Kevin DeYoung:

Most days I don’t feel guilty about all the stuff I’m not doing. But that’s only because I’ve learned to ignore a lot of things well-meaning Christians say or write...I also realize that right now that my main work is to lead my family, shepherd my church, and preach faithful sermons. If I do these things, by God’s grace, and grow in one more degree of glory this week (again, by God’s grace), should I still feel guilty for all that I’m not doing in the world?...

Greater is he that is in me that he that is in the world. The most important work to be done in the world has already been accomplished...

In all our efforts to be prophetic, radical, and missional, we end up getting the story of Pilgrim’s Progress exactly backwards. “Come to the cross, Pilgrim, see the sacrifice for your sins. Isn’t that wonderful? Now bend over and let me load this burden on your back. There’s a lot of work we have to do, me and you.”...

No doubt some Christians need to be shaken out of their lethargy. I try to do that every Sunday morning and evening. But there are also a whole bunch of Christians who need to be set free from their performance-minded, law-keeping, world-changing, participate-with-God-in-recreating-the-cosmos shackles. I promise you, some of the best people in your churches are getting tired. They don’t need another rah-rah pep talk. They don’t need to hear more statistics and more stories Sunday after Sunday about how bad everything is in the world. They need to hear about Christ’s death and resurrection. They need to hear how we are justified by faith apart from works of the law. They need to hear the old, old story once more. Because the secret of the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us.

Read the rest here.

online meanderings: the struggle for purity, praying at home, women and work, and more

Quotes
It is necessary for me to live with a passage, to carry it around with me, and to marinate my soul with its nourishing and thirst-quenching waters. I simply can't do this in a couple hours. I need meditative time with the passage so the Spirit can work through it in me and through me to the people under my care. - Paul Tripp

Can you see that this death of self is not, in the final anal­ysis, something you can do? For the point is that God has once and for all reserved for himself the business of your salvation...Can you see that really the last, bitter death is there? That in that cross God has stormed the last bastion of the self, the last presumption that you really were going to do something for him?...Then perhaps you can turn away from yourself, maybe really for the first time, and look upon your neighbours...And who knows what might happen in the power of this grace? All possibilities are open...The way is open to begin, at least, perhaps in faltering ways, in countless little ways, to realize what it means to die to self. - Gerharde Forde

When everyone on Facebook seems to have a more exciting life than me, my Saviour says, "What is that to you? You follow me!" - Carolyn Mahaney

Top 5 posts
The bachelor pastor - Wise words on singleness and sexual purity from a 44 year old soon-to-be-married man who's been fighting the fight for 28 years. Steve DeWitt

Let's revise the popular phrase "in, but not of" - "For Jesus being “not of the world” isn’t the destination but the starting place. It’s not where things are moving toward, but what they’re moving from." David Mathis.

The problem with wanting to do everything well - "I want to look at the one who truly did all things well and strive to spread the fame of his name not mine." Deb.

Are you a PAHM? - How do you weave prayer into your day? For Pray At Home Mums and others. Daphne Tarango

Try it again - I'm adding this to my parenting tools. Thanks, Susie.

Best new blog
This fleeting moment - Introducing you to a great new(ish) blog by my friend Deb. I like these posts:

A big ball of anger with my name on it
Explaining the birds and the bees to children
Useful daily routines
Memory verses set to music for kids

And some more posts I liked.
Success and the single woman - On work, womanhood, success and singleness, by the ever-interesting Carolyn McCulley.

June Cleaver, Clair Huxtable or the valiant woman - How the details of femininity will look different for each of us. Trillia Newbell.

Why most pastors won't tell you everything - This confirms what I've learned about what happens when you share too much about your struggles in public. Adam McHugh.

"Mutual submission"? Scrutinizing a lazy slogan and Take care when using the word "submission" - There are some interesting posts going up at The Briefing on marriage and submission, including these ones by Lionel Windsor.

How to make the elderly feel at home in your church - Good practical suggestions.  Brian Croft.

How to confess the sin of pornography to your wife (and how not to) part 1 and part 2 - Having counselled couples with this problem, I see the value of these suggestions. Jeremy Pierre.

Busyness as moral laziness - "I would rather expend energy on some task I can handle than engage in the harder work of cultivating relationships or putting up with someone who is needy or squandering time on something that has no foreseeable payoff." Chaplain Mike.

How to help a cancer sufferer - Last week, Dave talked about what not to say to a cancer sufferer; this week, he talks about what to say and do. Helpful.

The how of hospitality - Some useful suggestions here. RVD.

Do you mean "I can't?" or "I won't?" - How our faithful God helps us when we just can't. Jani Ortlund.

Worshipping at the altar of family - When family doesn't look the way you expected it too. Kristin and Ted Kluck.

8 tips for telling a great story - Useful for preachers, writers, and communicators of all kinds. David Slagle.

For fun
Roasting vegetables - YUM! Gotta get me some.Susie.

If you just can't get enough links, or want to see my links as I read them, check out

• my Facebook page
• my Twitter feed.

learning to see God’s glories in a Melbourne spring

A week ago it came, kicking its heels like a witless lamb. Spring. Didn’t it know it wasn’t due yet?

We’ve been locked down in cold for months. We swap war-stories of coughs and runny noses, risk suffocation under layers of bedding, and shiver in the school yard as we wait for the kids to emerge from over-heated classrooms. I listen to winter complaints but secretly love it: the grim skies and the bite in the air and the frosted grass and the misty rain and the severe lines of bare trees.

Then it happens. We step into the unexpected warmth of a northerly wind, and are forced to shrug off coats and scarves and woolly knits. Grrr.

I’ve never liked spring. Forget frolicsome lambs and apple blossom. A Melbourne spring, to me, is wind and rain and the morning-breath of summer. Bees hovering above open lunch-boxes, the scourge of swooping magpies, pollen tickling the back of your nose. Cycling against a stiff head-wind. The gaudy hue of overly cheerful flowers. While others enjoy the warmth, all I feel is the early threat of summer, when you open the door and the air punches you in the face and the sun burns your skin and there is no escape.

Autumn is my favourite season. The days dream. The sun, tracing a lazy curve in the sky, draws long shadows across the grass. My skin rejoices in the paradox of warm sun and cool air. Liquid ambers glow red, oaks huddle in shaggy brown coats, and the maple next door scatters yellow stars. Our feet rustle through clinging layers of leaves. At night, a harvest moon hangs just above the trees, too swollen to lift itself. Always, there is the growing cold: good-bye to heat and welcome to the crisp air of winter.

So I was surprised, last year, when I found myself enjoying spring. I’ve just noticed that the new leaves on my neighbour’s tree aren’t garish green, as I imagined, but a rosy red. I smile at the cherry-blossom waving pink toes at the sky. The other day, I saw a wood duck gather her brood by the side of the road and look, puzzled, at the traffic. We went for a walk in the early evening – the days are growing longer – and were followed by a sliver of silver moon.

Summer: well, I haven’t learned to love it yet. Maybe I will this year. Whatever the season, it seems a pity to walk through life Grinch-like, blind to the beauty around us. God made this world, and, yes, it is fallen, sometimes horribly so; but it is still good, and it blazes with his glory (Gen 1:31; Rom 1:20). May he give us eyes to see and words to tell of his wonders.

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all…
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
(Psalm 104:24, 33)

This post first appeared at The Briefing.

image is by Pink Sherbert Photography at flickr

online meanderings: who should I marry, choosing grace, keeping vows, and more

Quotes
We love the world, and it deceives us. We depend on creatures, and they fail us, and pierce us through with many sorrows. We enter forbidden paths, and follow after our lovers; and our way is hedged up with thorns; and we then say, “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; and now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.” The enjoyment of a greater good subdues the relish of a less. What are the indulgences of sin, or the dissipations of the world to one who is abundantly satisfied with the goodness of God’s house, and is made to drink of the river of his pleasures?” - William Jay

As Christians, our Facebook wall should not be a boastful façade, but a true reflection of who we are in Christ. We should not present ourselves as “perfect all the time,” but as striving for holiness because our Savior was “perfect all the time.-  Nicole Whitacre

5 top posts
It matters whom you marry - Marry the geek who loves Jesus and serves, not the cool guy who pours juice on your top. This is worth sharing with any young women (or men) you know. RVD.

When they don't love you back -When love and ministry don't bear fruit, "I can hold on to the promise that that Word will not return empty and that it will accomplish what God purposes, which is not necessarily what I purposed for that situation." Erin Davis.

When a sermon becomes a poem - This is a beautiful poem about Scripture by John Piper.

I choose grace - When a registered sex offender moves into the neighbourhood. John Thweatt (try saying that one).

Vows, promises and the problem of love - Who can possibly fulfil their marriage vows? Only the gospel enables us to love and covers us when we don't. Justin Holcomb.

And 12 more
Before you leave your church, read this. Mark Dever via Steve McCoy.

Before you leave your church (pastors), read this. Mark Jones.

A strange urge - Gutless. why we don't share the gospel. Dave Macca.

7 people lying at the side of the road -  I've been reading Bonhoeffer, and have been convicted about how we shut our eyes like so many in Nazi Germany. This post challenged me greatly. George Verwer.

The shelf life on preaching the gospel to yourself - Keep topping up with the word of God. David Mathis.

We're not reading the Bible (and why it's a problem). HT Sandy

How they preached the gospel in Acts - I led some studies on Acts and wanted to write about this, but Kevin De Young has done it much better than I would have.

Speaking the truth in love = speaking the gospel in love. Tony Reinke.

Preventing foot in mouth disease - What not to say to a cancer sufferer. Dave Mcdonald.

A little more of Jesus today - Every day, we grow in godliness just a tiny bit more. Encouragement from John Calvin quoted by Jonathon Parnell.

Thankfulness - It's not often that someone else's list of "thank yous" makes me thankful, but this one did. Thanks, Susie!

Before you phone your preacher - Pray before you complain to your pastor. I like this. Gaye Clark.

Time management
What successful people do with the first hour of their work day - Eat the frog first. Kevin Purdy.

Disability and the church
God is up to something - "The church, with only a few exceptions, doesn't reflect the demographic reality that almost one in five...lives with a disability. Too many churches continue to see people with disabilities as problems rather than who they are — image-bearers of God. Too many families experiencing disability still report they cannot find a church home." A helpful post on disability and the church by John Knight.

My top 5 books on special needs - Amy Julia Becker.

Ministry, small groups and theology
Discipleship teams - Interesting reflections on what small groups could become. Colin Marshall and Tony Payne.

30 suggestions for young theologians - "You’ll be tempted to come up with something that sounds new...Well, do it; get it out of the way, and then come back to do some real theology." John Frame.

Three leadership traits that never go out of style - Trust, empathy, mentorship. Three principles of great leadership. Vineet Nayar HT David Murray.

10 questions to diagnose the evangelistic health of your church - Thom Rainer via Vitamin Z.

Avoiding evangelical civil war - How to do theological conflict well. Mark Thompson HT The Briefing.

A pastor's Monday - A pastor's Monday (and an encouraging post for anyone who feels weary doing their work). Jared Wilson.

Parenting
Self-denial and evangelical parenting - Teaching kids the self-denial and contentment that will help them in early adulthood (while always remembering that parents can be faithful while kids stray).

Technology
The psychology of social networking - "“Talking about ourselves activates the regions of the brain associated with the sense of satisfaction from food, money, or sex...Are we obsessed with social media, or are we obsessed with ourselves?" Marc Cortez.

Writing
25 collected insights from writers on becoming a better writer - I like the way these are all gathered in one place. Jocelyn Glei.

Fun stuff
10 things about church you should know (but no one had the guts to tell you) - Pedants unite. Useful. Kevin DeYoung HT Sandy.

That book index - "There is a pedantic, perfectionist place I can go to when I need to do tasks such as this." Me too. Ali.

Thomas Kinkade + Godzilla - They should make a jigsaw of this one.

If you just can't get enough links, or want to see my links as I read them, check out

• my Facebook page
• my Twitter feed.