The List of Thoughtful and/or Fascinating

I am unwell today, glued to the couch with a rug over my knees and a DVD of people with very wonderful Scottish accents playing in the background. So I have nothing remarkable of my own to say. But I've had time to skim at least a few of the over 400 posts clogging up my feed-reader. And it means I can share a little of the goods with you.

i. I didn't know that the ESV Bible had a Twitter! Each day, a fresh verse of Scripture is posted. This is a super idea.

ii. I love Batman. I've been a fan since I first heard Robin's cries of "Holy mashed banana, Batman!" on afternoon television when I was still in primary school. So when I heard there would be a sequel to Batman Begins, I was excited. But as news and reviews started to filter in nearing the film's release, I began to have my doubts. The movie sounded dark. Very dark. Did I really want to step into a theatre and soak myself in that darkness for more than two hours? Matt Kaufman talks about it better than I could.

iii. I am kind of in love with these journals and notebooks.

iv. And as if I don't already have enough, these Don't Waste Your Life journals at DesiringGod look very cool, too. Sort of Moleskine-like. And I like what DG says about journal-keeping:

"These field journals are a place to write out your thoughts as you journey toward that end. We designed them with Truth Content to be a reminder that every day of your life has great significance in Christ. Use these journals for everything, big or small, heavy or light. Meditate on the Scripture. Reflect on your day. Write a poem. Pen a song. Sketch an idea. Jot down an observation or experience that you don’t want to forget. Use these journals when you're traveling, in the office, at church, at school, in a coffee shop, at home...anywhere. Make much of Christ with your thoughts and dreams and plans, and they will not be wasted."

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conversations:

Caitlin -- amen to bringing on Spring and Summer! Well, maybe not a Queensland summer... but spring, for sure!

Suzanne -- It's a big country, that's for sure :).

Web roundup II

Good stuff on the web this week:

biblical womanhood :: In the (rather small) online circles I'm a part of, there's been some discussion lately about whether the choice to bear children at all (note here that I'm not even saying how many or when) is entirely up to us or to God. The Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood blog had something interesting to say about that, couched in a post about Rebecca Walker, daughter of The Color Purple author Alice Walker:

"When women completely deny their God-given right and ability to bear children we are seeing a complete giving over to the desires of the flesh (Romans 1). To see children as a burden to be thrown off is a reversal of the created order and a sinful repression of the desire that probably once burned bright. It should make us weep for them."

blogging :: In the current voyeuristic climate of our generation, the seedy world of reality television and the equally seedy world of reality blogging tend to make us all lust after the juicy details. In a blog post over at The Line, Thomas Jeffries discusses why too much information really is too much information.

faith :: A beautiful post about hungering after the Lord. Just read it.

media :: Ted Slater offers the best thoughts ever on why Christians should be thoughtful about the content of the movies they watch, even in spite of the necessity of "cultural relevance."

shameless plug :: Back issues of Whatsoever mag on a big sale :).

Web roundup

What's ruffling feathers, provoking thought, and making me pause this week:

relationships :: The 6th of June was the anniversary of when John Piper and his wife first met. At the Desiring God blog, John Piper shares the poem that he wrote for Noel on their 40th anniversary. It's really beautiful.

culture :: Apparently Christianity Today not only reviewed the Sex and the City movie, they also recommended it. Ted Slater of Boundless asks them: "What part of 'flee sexual immorality' didn't you understand?". Way to go, Ted!

biblical living :: Encouragement that young men and women of this generation are embracing the pattern of Biblical manhood and womanhood.

grace :: "The heart of my issue is that I am not accepting the fact that the blood of Jesus was sufficient to cover all of my sin, and when the guilt I feel over my sin paralyzes me, it is certainly not from Him. It is buying into the lie that the sacrifice Christ made was not enough." Good thoughts on grace from Ashley Wolpert at the Relevant Blog.

discipline :: Until this week, I didn't know Randy Alcorn had a blog. There's a super post about planned neglect: Saying no to good things so we can say yes to the best. This is a powerful principle that I definitely need to learn more about.

Anything super you've found on the web this week that needs sharing? Engage here.

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conversations:

Bethany -- so glad you were encouraged. It's sometimes scary to go out on a limb but I think that, as Christians, we need to be transparent (with discretion) about our own failings that we can better show His goodness. For where sin abounded, grace did that much more abound.