Weekly Hit List #22
Hey everyone! Here are some of my top recommended links of the week (from the blogs that I subscribe to):
FAITH:
- Humorous take on "unrated" movies from SCL. Jon Acuff courageously suggests the answer is more Kirk Cameron.
- As you may know John Wooden passed away a week ago. Here is a moving piece about his relationship with his wife.
- Internet Monk pushed out a powerful quote from Bonhoeffer on "cheap grace".
- Interesting discussion going on in the comments sectionof Jason Boyett's post on Ted Haggard.
- "Spiritual but not Religious" - interesting article from CNN on this modern day thought.
- Pete Wilson hit the nail on the head with his post, "Margin is Essential".
- "What are you leaning on?" from Josh Harris.
OTHER:
- As if Drew Brees and Sean Paytoncouldn't get any more likeable...
- So CEOs want creativity more than anything? Interesting read from Business Week.
- I confess. I'm guilty of being a "Twitter Dork" from time to time.
- Great post from Seth Godin, "Cheating the Clock". Reminds me of John Wooden's quote "Don't mistake activity for achievement."
- Here is a Google Map view of the oil spill, its effects, and some powerful imagery.
- Harvard Business Review posted "12 things good bosses believe". Hard to disagree with this.
I hope that you, like me, were encouraged by each of these!
Dustin
New Music: Josh Garrels
I'm all about finding new music. Love it! Seems like a lot of good stuff has been coming to the surface this year. First there was Gungor, then John Mark McMillan, then Page CXVI. Next on the list is a dude out of Portland - Josh Garrels. I'm all about some acoustic guitar, but when you throw in a unique, soulful voice - you got a deadly combination. I could listen to him sing all day long. Below is of Josh playing "SISU" and "Zion and Babylon". Enjoy!
"SISU" by Josh Garrels
"Zion and Babylon" by Josh Garrels
Some other songs/videos to check out are "The Stand", "Freedom", "The Children's Song" and "Train Song". You won't be disappointed!
Hey, Soul Sister
Last night Jen went to have dessert with a friend which meant Daddy Time for me with the girls. We decided to do a little dance-sesh cut to Train's "Hey, Soul Sister". Enjoy!
Love & War
This past Sunday our small group ("Couples with young kids") started our summer series off with a bang. From a recommendation, we decided to do John & Staci Eldredge's study called Love & War. Here is a snapshot directly from their website:
John and Stasi's new book, Love and War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of does for couples what Captivating did for women and Wild at Heartdid for men. With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they've gained from the challenges they have faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they've learned , giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic.
John and Stasi begin Love & War with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement: Marriage is fabulously hard. They believe we need to get past the shame and confusion surrounding the undertaking of marriage before we can truly deal with our day-to-day situations.
Love & Warshows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling on both men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their journey together is growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.
As a group we decided to modify our study somewhat in that we will just be watching the DVD as a group and going through the "Participant Guide" instead of the actual book. In the PG there is some weekly "pre-work" that everyone can complete prior to coming to group on Sunday afternoons.
Granted its only been one week/session, but if you're looking for an idea for a "couples" small group, I'll give my early recommendation on this one. We had to stop our discussion short yesterday! We talked about expectations vs. reality, fighting for our marriage, and our desires/dreams for our marriages. It was very engaging. I'm looking forward to our times this summer to see how God stirs things up a bit!
Have you done this study? Or have you done another one that you would recommend?
Weekly Hit List #21
Hey everyone! Here are some of my top recommended links of the week (from the blogs that I subscribe to):
FAITH:
- Ray Ortlund offers up Youtube's "most compelling video" - hard to disagree with that.
- SCL writes about "Iffy Prayer Requests" and a call for all of us to be honest.
- "Thomas Merton on Fear" from Ragamuffin Soul. Read this!
- Pete Wilson writes for Relevant Mag, "Where is God when things fall apart?". Nice complement to his recent Plan B book.
- Grant Jenkins on "What I thought I Wanted, What I Got Instead". There are some honest thoughts here!
OTHER:
- The Big Picture's Guatemala pictures are heartbreaking. If you haven't seen the "sinkhole"... wow.
- Some recent news about the oil spill in the gulf from Yahoo. Crazy that folks are saying that BP has lost $75B in market share since the spill started.
- Interesting read from the AJC on the current real estate market and how it's affecting people's ability to relocate.
- One of my favorite baseball players, Ken Griffey Jr., retired this week. Here is a read on the "enduring popularity" of his 1989 Upper Deck rookie card (which I have somewhere....).
I hope that you, like me, were encouraged by each of these!
Dustin
A little structure and accountability.
On Tuesday I started to try something different. I've had an iPhone for years, been into technology for longer than Kip it seems sometimes, but I've never used it to help me stay structured and disciplined with my readings each morning. As much as I've been committed to reading books this year, I haven't as much with my time reading the Bible. Enter Youversion.
Youversion is an online Bible community that is full of great features and functions. It was started by LifeChurch.tv as a way to connect the Bible to people's everyday lives. They also have a great App available to download for your smart phone that will give you access to the same features as their website does. One of the things that I especially like, and that I started on Tuesday, was one of their Reading Plans. You can choose from one of their default plans (which is what I did) or you can customize it to fit your situation. It's very intuitive and straightforward.
So, if you're like me... always on the go but still want to stay disciplined and accountable to spending time in God's word, I'd recommend checking out Youversion. It's only been 3 days for me, but it's been great so far.
In what ways do you stay disciplined with your personal time with God? Have you tried Youversion?
Suwanee Town Center with Lil Diva
On Saturday night we went to Suwanee Town Center with the kids so that Sophia could enjoy the fountains. It was a perfect night for some outdoor activities. Of course, we had to hit up Rita's afterwards.
Sophia (aka Lil Diva) striking her pose.
Weekly Hit List #20
Hey everyone! Here are some of my top recommended links of the week (from the blogs that I subscribe to):
FAITH:
- Tim Challies offers up some good thoughts (referencing John Piper) about the importance of memorizing schipture.
- Al Mohler on Steve Job's stance on pornography. The WSJ also had an interesting read on the issue.
- Guilt as charged - using your iPhone as your Bible during charge. SCL humorously chimes in.
- "Worship by any other name..." from Collide Magazine.
OTHER:
- New NASA pictures of the oil slick off the gulf.
- Amazing pictures/images of the Earth from Space. Apparently, it's space week.
- Interesting article about how Apple is taking the enterprise world by storm.
- Jon Dale had some challenging thoughts about our fear of sharing (in light of Facebook's recent privacy news).
- Stephen Brewster on "5 steps to creating your brand/series".
- As a Braves fan, this gets me pumped: Jason Heyward and Greatness.
I hope that you, like me, were encouraged by each of these!
Dustin