Dads, Five Ways to Make Your Words Count

From Desiring God's Blog:

Dads, Five Ways to Make Your Words Count

Crawford Loritts reflects on five lessons he learned from his father on how to speak so that your children take your words seriously:

1. Don't waste words. Don't add a lot of apologies or unnecessary detail that make you look timid.
2. Don't threaten.
3. Be clear about expectations. When you tell someone, especially a child, how to behave or what to do, make sure you both are very clear about what you expect.
4. Be clear about consequences, particularly if your expectations involve an area with which that child has struggled in the past.
5. Take clear, decisive action. . . .

Say what you mean and back up your words with action. It's a testimony to your integrity and an example your children will carry with them throughout their lives.

You Export What You Are Manufacturing

You Export What You Are Manufacturing

How Mature Should New Members Be?

How Mature Should New Members Be?

Five Ways to Make God Known at Work

Five Ways to Make God Known at Work

Funny Cartoon

This is perfect.

A True Friend

A true friend...biblical thoughts comments and reflection....

Kevin DeYoung has done a great job breaking down how what a True Friend is...and how we should act.

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 1)

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 2)

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 3)

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 4)

Seven Thoughts on Time Management

Pass through from Between Two Worlds...

Wise thoughts from Doug Wilson.

The outline:

1. The point is fruitfulness, not efficiency.
2. Build a fence around your life, and keep that fence tended.
3. Perfectionism paralyzes.
4. Fill in the corners.
5. Plod. Keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race.
6. Take in more than you give out.
7. Use and reuse. State and restate. Learn and relearn. Develop what you know. Cultivate what you have.

Read the whole thing to see each point expanded and explained.

Money and Possessions in Proverbs

Money and Possessions in Proverbs

This is a great post by Kevin DeYoung...he does a great job of breaking these down into ten solid take aways.

Ten Principles on Money and Possessions from Proverbs

1. There are extremes of wealth and poverty that provide unique temptations to those who live in them (Prov. 30:7-9).

2. Don’t worry about keeping up with the Jones’ (Prov. 12:9; 13:7).

3. The rich and poor are more alike than they think (Prov. 22:2; 29:13).

4. You can’t out give God (Prov. 3:9-10; 11:24; 22:9).

5. Poverty is not pretty (Prov. 10:15; 14:20; 19:4).

6. Money cannot give you ultimate security (Prov. 11:7; 11:28; 13:8).

7. The Lord hates those who get rich by injustice (Prov. 21:6; 22:16, 22-23).

8. The Lord loves those who are generous to the poor (Prov. 14:21, 31; 19:7; 28:21)

9. Hard work and good decision-making usually lead to increased prosperity (Prov. 6:6-11; 10:4; 13:11; 14:24; 21:17, 20; 22:4, 13; 27:23-27; 28:20

10. Money isn’t everything. It does not satisfy (Prov. 23:4-5). It is inferior to wisdom (Prov. 8:10-11, 18-19; 24:3-4). It is inferior to righteousness (10:2; 11:4; 13:25; 16:8; 19:22; 20:17; 28:6). It is inferior to the fear of the Lord (Prov. 15:16). It is inferior to humility (Prov. 16:19). It is inferior to good relationships (Prov. 15:17; 17:1).

Rob Bell: Universalist?

Justin Taylor post - Rob Bell: Universalist?

This post has caused quite the uproar...it is worth catching up on what is going on here.

Update:

Announcement from The Gospel Coalition:

Rob Bell’s forthcoming book Love Wins has already raised perennial questions about universalism, exclusivism, the love of God, and heaven and hell. So what does the Bible say about these weighty matters? What did Jesus himself say? And what’s the best way to relate this teaching to a skeptical culture?

Don Carson and others will address these questions in a special session just added to The Gospel Coalition’s national conference in Chicago, April 12 to 14. A panel that follows Carson’s address will field questions from the audience.

Update:

- Posting by Tim Challies: At the Speed of the Web

- Follow Up Post by Kevin DeYoung: Two Thoughts on the Rob Bell Brouhaha

8 Tips for Talking to Your Kids about the Sermon

8 Tips for Talking to Your Kids about the Sermon

Husbands: Headship Means Taking the Lead in Reconciliation

Husbands: Headship Means Taking the Lead in Reconciliation

John Piper:

Leadership means we must take the lead in reconciliation.

I don’t mean that wives should never say they are sorry.

But in the relation between Christ and his church, who took the initiative to make all things new?

Who left the comfort and security of his throne of justice to put mercy to work at Calvary?

Who came back to Peter first after three denials?

Who has returned to you again and again forgiving you and offering his fellowship afresh?

So husbands, your headship means: Go ahead. Take the lead. It does not matter if it is her fault. That didn’t stop Christ.

Who will break the icy silence first?

Who will choke out the words, “I’m sorry, I want it to be better”?

Or: “Can we talk? I’d like things to be better.”

She might beat you to it. That’s okay. But woe to you if you think that, since it’s her fault, she’s obliged to say the first reconciling word.

Headship is not easy. It is the hardest, most humbling work in the world.

Protect your family. Strive, as much as it lies within you, to make peace before the sun goes down.

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This was originally posted on Between Two Worlds but thought it was worthy to push this along. This is so true, push aside the pride, be humble and know that this is part of being a man/husband.

Most of you know I am a huge Twins fan...

As most of you know I am a huge Twins fan. Check out Joe Mauer on the Jimmy Fallon show.

The Difference Between Puritans and Evangelicals on Communion with God

Terrific Blog Post by Justin Taylor (Between Two Worlds)

A convicting quote I return to again and again:

Whereas to the Puritans communion with God was a great thing, to evangelicals today it is a comparatively small thing.

The Puritans were concerned about communion with God in a way that we are not.

The measure of our unconcern is the little that we say about it.

When Christians meet, they talk to each other about their Christian work and Christian interests, their Christian acquaintances, the state of the churches, and the problems of theology—but rarely of their daily experience of God.

Modern Christian books and magazines contain much about Christian doctrine, Christian standards, problems of Christian conduct, techniques of Christian service—but little about the inner realities of fellowship with God. Our sermons contain much sound doctrine—but little relating to the converse between the soul and the Saviour.

We do not spend much time, alone or together, in dwelling on the wonder of the fact that God and sinners have communion at all; no, we just take that for granted, and give our minds to other matters.

Thus we make it plain that communion with God is a small thing to us.

But how different were the Puritans! The whole aim of their ‘practical and experimental’ preaching and writing was to explore the reaches of the doctrine and practice of man’s communion with God.

—J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Crossway, 1994), p. 215 (chapter 12).

Why Facebook (and Your Church) Might Be Making You Sad

This is a good and interesting perspective on FB...as many of you know I am not a big fan.

Thank you Russel Moore...

Why Facebook (and Your Church) Might Be Making You Sad