Curated content for Christians
I was out of town for most of the weekend, away on the elder retreat I mentioned last week. When I returned I had hundreds and hundreds of blog posts all queued up in my RSS reader. I hit the “Mark All As Read” button. I just didn’t have time to read through hundreds of…
Every Wednesday evening we drive to church to particpate in the mid-week service. And every Wednesday we drive past a little mall where, in the parking lot, a big group of car enthusiasts meet (at least they meet in spring, summer and fall). They all park their classic cars or their sports cars in big…
Yesterday Aileen and I went to the funeral of our young neighbor. It was at a United Church, a Canadian denomination that has long since abandoned the truth. One of the song selections was “Amazing Grace” and this was the first time I’ve seen a hymn book with the alternate lyric “that saved and strengthened…
There was a time in my life that I played a lot of computer games, but hen real life came along and I found that I just didn’t have time or interest anymore. Sid Meier’s Civilization was my favorite childhood game and it’s the only one I’ve kept up with over the years. Today marks…
It’s generally not difficult to tell when I haven’t spent a lot of time online over the course of a weekend–the Monday morning A La Carte tends to be a little bit on the skimpy side. And I guess that must have been the case this weekend. Good for me. Nevertheless, here are a few…
Over the past few days I’ve logged into Google Reader to find a strangely large number of unread articles. As I’ve flipped through I’ve found that in each case a certain site is at fault and that this site has refreshed their entire RSS feed. First it was the Sovereign Grace Ministries blog, then Desiring…
I’m off to Toronto Pastors Fellowship (a ministry of my church) to hear Alistair Begg address a collection of local pastors. If you’re in the Toronto area, it’s not too late. Just head on over to the church; it’s a free event and promises to be worthwhile. The Reason for God – Next month will…
Aileen and I were in Costco the other day (for the first time in years) and found several aisles stuffed full of Christmas trees, bows, wreaths, wrapping paper and all the other trappings of Christmas. Already. Mid-September and already the stores are preparing for the Christmas rush. Unbelievable. Parenting by the Book – I’m hearing…
It’s a good thing that I’m a morning person, or this 6:30 meeting would be downright painful. Ah, the things we do to serve our churches. The Secret of Rhonda’s Success – As I was writing a review of Rhonda Byrne’s new book The Power (check back shortly for that review) I came across this…
My children are going to French Immersion school, which means that they spend half a day learning in English and half a day learning in French. Generally we are really glad to have them learning a second language. Where I don’t like it so much is where they are now starting to realize that the…
Football season began yesterday. This is really the only time of the year that I miss having cable television. I know that I’m far better off not having it, but still, there’s something about football in the fall that calls to me. The only time I catch a game these days is when I happen…
I refuse to write an article about burning the Koran. One weird little church decides to burn a few Korans (which is a stupid and ignorant thing to do) and the whole world of media (new and old) goes completely haywire. I think these people are getting far more attention than they deserve! “Behold the…
It’s an early morning today as I head for a meeting. And now that it’s September I have to leave early so as to contend with traffic. Bummer. CVBBS Sale – Today and tomorrow Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service is offering great deals on their books. I believe you’ll get a blanket 10% off your…
Labor Day has passed and today our children return to school after a long summer break. They headed off just a few minutes ago with their new backpacks and binders and pencils and bottles of hand sanitizer (how come I didn’t have hand sanitizer when I was in school?). This year our youngest begins her…
Sometimes people ask me what A La Carte really is. The truth is pretty simple: it’s a round-up of things I noticed the day before (or sometimes that morning). It represents those few things that caught my eye as I went about my day. Sometimes they are profound things, sometimes they are funny things and…
It was interesting to watch the big Apple event yesterday (where they unveiled new iPods, a new AppleTV and a new iTunes). It seemed to me that if you didn’t know the context of the event, it would be very difficult to distinguish it from religion. Steve Jobs has done an amazing job of building…
Happy September, blog readers. If anyone can explain to me how it got to be September so quickly, I’d love to hear an explanation. We’re six days away from my kids heading back to school (including my youngest who begins this year!). And it seems like it was just yesterday that the last school year…
How Netflix Pays Its Employees – This is an interesting article. It details the ways in which Netflix pays its employees and assigns their vacation. It’s fun to see clever innovation in this way. Caring for Widows – Brian Croft (whose blog really is becoming a must-read for pastors) has some good words about training…
God, the Gospel and Glenn Beck – Russell Moore looks at this weekend’s happenings is Washington and is not thrilled. “A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves…
Biblia – From the folks at Logos: “Introducing the Biblia.com beta release: a super-simple Bible for the web that’s backed up by the incredible technology (and massive library!) of Logos Bible Software. What makes Biblia.com so cool?” You’ll have to read the post to find out… A Good Monkey – I found this review of…