Here is a collection of good reads gathered from the internet this past week. Enjoy!
On doing family devotions in 2017: 10 Ideas and 10 Tips for Family Devotions by Tim Challies
Sometimes it’s best for mom and dad to do the reading from their own Bible, and especially so when children are young. But as children get older and more adept at reading, it may be best to get each child a Bible so they can follow along. When you do this, you can have each person take a turn reading aloud. It may be too clunky to read one verse per person, but perhaps each person can read a few verses at a time. Or perhaps you can have one person read each day’s entire passage. This gets children comfortable with reading (and perhaps praying) in front of others while also pushing for deeper engagement with the text. (click here to read more)
On facing infertility: Infertility in the Arms of the Church by Liz Wann
While barren women bearing children is a cause for rejoicing, long-term or permanent infertility is also a cause for grieving. These are the stories that we don’t like to tell. They bear the marks of hard truths about God. It is good to rejoice in answered prayer, but how do we rejoice when prayers go unanswered? We can trust the God who calms our storms, but can we trust the God who sends them to us?
Those struggling with infertility are like the saints of old who didn’t see the immediate earthly fruits of their faith, but who clung to the promises of God regardless of earthly circumstances (Hebrews 11:39). Our hope is not in the happy ending of a miracle baby, but in the eternal happy ending of all God’s children when they are fully and finally united as one with Christ. (click here to read more)
On family: Do Something Awesome and Build a Family by Owen Strachan
The common life-script among a good number of my peers (both Christian and non-Christian, surprisingly) is basically this:
Have fun now (20s and 30s).
Have as many relationships as you want; keep them as minimally defined as possible.
Make lots of money, pursue your career with super-intensity; alternately, goof off and avoid pursuing anything hard.
Eventually, in your late 30s and 40s, think about settling down. Then, maybe have a few children.From my little pocket of the Internet, I would like to register a different opinion: Building a family is awesome. Besides the gift of a husband or wife, children are a great gift of God to humanity. Like Adam shouting for joy over the discovery of Eve, the Psalmist shouts praise to God for the blessing of little ones… (click here to read more)
On prayer: Does God Get Your Leftovers? by Bonnie McKernan
Does prayer require so little of us that we’re content to give God our careless leftovers, when there’s nothing particularly pressing at work or interesting on Facebook? If we want to revive our families, and our church, and our nation, then we must revive prayer — and it must begin with us. (click here to read more)
First Baptist Church 