Good Reads 06.03.15 (on: race, marriage, parenting, and more)

Good reads collected over this last week from various sites and blogs…

On parenting, especially being a mother: Mom, Are You Doing it Right? by Ashley Haupt (click here)

Mom-judging is inevitable.  It will always happen, even in the best of scenarios and the best of friends and the best of hearts.  But it doesn’t mean we need to get stuck in a quagmire of doubt over the question, “Am I doing it right?” Every mother wonders this. Am I doing it right?  But the problem with this question is that at all times and all places and all seasons, the answer is both yes and no.

On the goal and purpose of marriage: My Grandpa’s Marriage Advice by Darrin Patrick (click here)

Regardless of the exact content or situation, this type of advice boils down to one question: Is this person helpful to me as I achieve my goals? And this type of thinking is contrary to the gospel.

On the ability to change the direction of one’s life: Can a Person Ever Really Change? by Riley Adam Voth (click here)

Jesus looked at us in our mess, and loved us. He gave himself up for us, so that we could be joined again to God. Now his Spirit lives in us and we armed with two things: (1) The knowledge of Christ’s love and actions for us. (2) The Spirit of this love within us, perfecting what he began.

On race and our culture: Let the Race Discussion Come Home by Kim Ranselben (click here)

I’ve never been pulled over to be asked whose car I’m driving. Nor have I been stopped and questioned about what I’m doing in a certain neighborhood. I’ve never had to walk in another culture just by going to the mall. I’ve always assumed that strangers will see me as an individual. It’s never crossed my mind that I’d be viewed in terms of “my people.” But this is what minority kids face nearly every day. They aren’t taken for who they are as individuals. They’re not judged on their own merits.

On sharing about Jesus with others: We Talk about What We Love by Rico Tice (click here)

I’ve often wondered why lovely, compassionate, committed Christians simply don’t do evangelism — and why, at times, I didn’t either. For years, I couldn’t understand why so many well-taught, and in many ways mature, believers were just apathetic about sharing the gospel. They knew about the new creation; they believed in the reality of hell; they confessed Jesus as their King and Savior. But they were half-hearted at best about telling others about him.