If God gives you time

I think this may be the start of a weekly Friday posting called, "If God gives you time". Here I'll point out sermons that I've loved recently, books I've read, blog postings that I think are worth reading, news worth hearing...you get the picture. I hate having to sort through everything to get to the good stuff. I love it when people I know or at least trust from past readings give me a clue to things that have benefited them. You'll notice that I've given you a listing of who I go to most often on the right side of this blog, but they are a prolific bunch! There's too much here for one sitting, but maybe you'll come back a few times to catch up!

Here's my start this week! Let me know if you find this helpful.

Matt Chandler is a guy that even Brennan will listen to everyday. The pastor at the Village Church in the Dallas area, he's energetic, funny and sound doctrinally. He did a sermon series in 2007 called "The Cross". I would highly recommend listening to all 6 messages which you can get to by clicking his name on the right side of this post and then clicking the 2007 tab. You'll see the listing by title. But here's the first one for you to try out called "Glory Thieves". (You can right click on it and then click "Open Link in New Tab" if you want to listen while you continue reading here.)


C. J. Mahaney has a book coming out September 2008 called Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (Crossway). He's giving us a preview over at his blog by looking at a chapter on modesty. Good for all of us and our daughters!


Newest web toy...for those of us who walk, jog or even occasionally run (like from rabid dogs or small children) the website Map My Run is a pretty neat tool. You can enter your starting address and then click on the map that comes up to mark out a route for you to take. It will not only calculate mileage (Much better than driving around like before, esp. with gas here at $3.57 a gallon!) but there is also a calorie counter, other people's maps and much more.


In the time-saver category, I love that I can now view all the blogs I enjoy with my RSS Reader. Your what?? Exactly. Which is why you need to click here and get on board! (Yep. The same Piper family. Abraham is John's son.)



Can't let you miss Cassie's new blog (my oldest daughter), "Let Love Be Genuine" which is from Romans 12:9. She's a good friend to have and truly sets herself to love others without asking for a return. I'm so proud of her. They're testing at school so posts may be slow at first, but you can click here to see what she's up to and give her some feedback! (Picture is from prom night... sigh...yes, she's really that old now.)



And in the "grab a tissue" column comes this great video which reminds me why I love sports...




One of my favorite blogs is Between Two Worlds. Justin Taylor gives a great daily roundup of what's going on out there in the Christian world. You'll get updates on conferences, great messages to listen to, great new books to read (he works for Crossway) as well as discovering what controversy is brewing! One great link today from him tells us about a book series for kids entitled "Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers". It sounds like an amazing set of books for kids ages 4-8. Click the link above to read his post.

And finally, I read this Spurgeon quote also at Between Two Worlds...here's something for us all to think on...

"Would it not be a great degradation of your office if you were to keep an army of spies in your pay to collect information as to all that your people said of you? And yet it amounts to this if you allow certain busybodies to bring you all the gossip of the place. Drive the creatures away. Abhor those mischief-making, tattling handmaidens to strife. Those who will fetch will carry, and no doubt the gossips go from your house and report every observation which falls from your lips, with plenty of garnishing of their own. Remember that, as the receiver is as bad as the thief, so the hearer of scandal is a sharer in the guilt of it. If there were no listening ears there would be no talebearing tongues. While you are a buyer of ill wares the demand will create the supply, and the factories of falsehoood will be working full time. No one wishes to become a creator of lies, and yet he who hears slanders with pleasure and believes them with readiness will hatch many a brood into active life" (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 328).

Happy Weekend!