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A La Carte (11/9)

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It’s Tuesday, and Tuesdays are a strangely busy day for me. So without further ado, let’s get to today’s A La Carte links:

T4G via Hip Hop – I don’t know that anyone could have predicted the Calvinist resurgence we’ve seen in recent years. And even if someone could have predicted it, I don’t know that he would have foreseen the accompanying movement within the world of Christian hip hop. Erik Raymond writes about a recent show he took in and the ways in which it encouraged him.

Be Rare – Part one of this series has drawn my attention. Parts 2 and 3 will follow today and tomorrow. “While I was out running (er, jogging leisurely) this afternoon, two words popped into my mind. They were (you guessed it) ‘be rare.’ Shortly after I moved to California, a friend spoke those words to me over the phone. She said, ‘Leanne, be rare.’ I don’t remember much of anything else that we talked about those six-ish years ago, but those two words stayed with me. Today, they returned to the forefront of my mind and I wanted to share some thoughts with you.”

Interview with Ken & Joni – I don’t often listen to audio interviews, but I enjoyed this one with Ken and Joni Tada. It’s great to hear of their great love for one another and the way that God has sustained them through her fight with cancer.

1 Timothy 2:12 – Denny Burk takes a look at the rendering of 1 Timothy 2:12 in the new NIV (2011). “There is a reason why countless articles and even an entire book have been written on the interpretation of this single verse. In many ways, this verse is the most disputed text in the debate. It is clear that Paul is prohibiting something, but just what he prohibits has been fiercely contested.”

An Average Family’s Gas Prices – There’s probably something a little bit obsessive in a guy who tracks the price his family pays at the pump over a long period of time. Nevertheless, here it is. It’s amazing to see how the prices fluctuate. I remember those carefree days in the fall of 2008!

Twenty Untranslatable Words – Here’s a list of twenty words from around the world that just don’t lend themselves to easy translation. Like Jayus, an Indonesian word that refers to “a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh.” I could use that word sometimes…

A letter may be written, when it is not sealed; so grace may be written in the heart, and the Spirit may not set the seal of assurance to it.

—Thomas Watson

  • New and Notable Christian Books for January 2025

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of books in January and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I have…

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    A La Carte (January 30)

    A La Carte: Small injustices / Is it necessary to be a church member? / How to make friends at college / My letter about a transgender teacher / Prayerless theologians / Deepening fellowship / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Throw Out the Buoys

    Throw Out the Buoys!

    When I was young, my family owned a cottage on a lake. From a young age, I loved to head out in our little motorboat so I could explore that lake and the others that were connected to it. I could easily make a day out of slipping into little inlets to see where they…

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    A La Carte (January 29)

    A La Carte: Your phone habits / A guide for single women / JFK, conspiracy theories, and the Deep State / So what if you’re bored? / God’s a writer / Hard relationships / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Happy Lies

    Happy Lies

    I’m quite certain you have heard of the New Age movement. Though its popularity seems to have crested and begun to wane some time ago, it continues to wield a good bit of influence. But I wonder if you’ve heard of another similarly-named but quite different movement called New Thought.

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    A La Carte (January 28)

    A La Carte: Parenting is hard / The wildness of orthodoxy / Rubbing shoulders throughout eternity / Glorifying ourselves / The middle of somewhere / Is Roman Catholic baptism valid? / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.