The Village Blog This week's news included Muhammad Ali's death, a new team at the Olympics and zoo safety. Keep Reading Last weekend, a toddler climbed over a barricade at the Cincinnati Zoo, tumbled over a cliff into the moat, and was carried away by a male gorilla. To save the boy, the gorilla was killed. It was a sad turn of events that could have turned out far worse. Keep Reading Have you observed in wonder the rise of adult coloring books? Keep Reading Storytelling features prominently in Culture Matters this week, along with technology & the sanctity of human life. Keep Reading Life is busy, and it’s easier to dream of escape than to face the reason we stay busy: We crave distraction to avoid feeling things at a heart level. Keep Reading We explore Pixar's storytelling, Texan identity and the feeling of busyness. Keep Reading We take a look at Radiohead, liberals, conservatives and the 2016 Tony Award nominees. Keep Reading Every year, May 15 passes by just as any other day for most people. Keep Reading
Your Family and Time Management "Mom, will your read to me now?" four-year-old Peter pleaded as he held up his favorite storybook. "OK," Sally responded, looking around the kitchen with mounting dismay. It's not easy for us to sort out priorities as parents. Practical Solutions: Four Simple Principles Each of us has all the time there is. Manage Your Priorities: Understand the Relationship of Time and Goals Decide what is important. Prayerfully setting your priorities, then, is the first step toward setting appropriate goals and discerning which tasks are more important and which tasks can be done less frequently, done less thoroughly, or eliminated altogether. Manage Yourself: Set Limits and Boundaries After setting your priorities, do your best to focus on those priorities by setting limits in advance. Decide what can be delegated or shared. Manage Potential Problems: Practice Creative Problem Solving Decide how to minimize conflicts. Manage the Available Time: Get the Most from Every Minute Everyday Timesavers
Calvary Bible Church: Burbank, CA > The Gospel The Good News of Jesus Christ Who is God? The Bible tells us that God is our Creator (Gen 1:1; Neh 9:6). Thus, He owns and rules everything (Ps 24:1; Ps 50:10-12). God is holy, which means that no one compares to Him, and that He is completely set apart from all evil, uncleanness, and impurity (Ps 18:30; Matt 5:48). He is also perfectly righteous and good – His judgments are always right and without error, and He only does what is good (Psalm 7:11). What is Man’s Problem? Here is the problem. Is There Hope? Because of His great love and mercy, God has provided a solution to the problem of our sin and hopeless predicament. How Should You Respond? You must repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation from your sins is a free gift of God, found only in Christ Jesus.
The Definitive List of Modern Catholic & Protestant Novels This is a reading list of the best modern novels that deal with Catholic of Protestant themes. I’d call it Christian Literary Fiction, but the more common term is probably Modern Christian Literature. A definition: By “Christian Literature” I mean the broad Christian faith, including Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. If you’re a reader, feel free to treat this list like a pick-and-choose resource—read the summaries and reviews of selected books and read the ones that tickle your interest. With this list I’m trying to find books that engage in faith in meaningful, complex ways. I don’t like all the books on this list, which will become increasingly clear by my commentary. Godspeed with reading. Shusako Endo Let’s start with Shusako Endo, because I love him. Most people stop with Silence. Wonderful Fool belongs to the “Holy Fool” category of Christian Fiction, which is probably my favorite sub-genre and includes G.K. Graham Greene Shusako Endo and Graham Greene were friends. Walker Percy
When You Don't Love the Church I remember telling an old pastor that if I just lived a certain way on the outside, conforming my behavior to the accepted Christian norms of that local church, then no one within the church would ever ask me about my walk with God. They would assume—from what they observed externally—that I was walking in faithful obedience to God. These common external practices shared by the members in my church were all good things. The problem came when, at a certain point, some of the members had twisted the gospel, equating some specific practices with godliness and placing matters of personal preference on the same level as the Word of God. It didn’t seem to matter what was going on in the heart of those who lived in a certain way, they were automatically considered godly as long as they followed the accepted practices. This was a difficult season for me, wrestling with and trying to discern what is true godliness and what is living fueled by culture and legalism. He Loves the Church