A Box of John Piper

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day then to read some John Piper. However, since all of my lovely John Piper books are in storage, I can't sit and read them as a Happy Valentine's Day to myself, but I can gather a bunch of quotes from the internet and share them with you. Enjoy! Enjoy them like you would a great big box of chocolates. Yeah, a great big box of John Piper quotes. Delicious!

Encouraging:

"Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ."

More encouragement:

"The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours."

Sobering:

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for
heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not
the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we
drink in every night."

One of the reasons I like him so much:

"Reading is more important to me than eating."

This one brings tears to my eyes:

"Don't follow a defeated foe. Follow Christ. It is costly. You will be an exile in this age. But you will be free."

Conviction and encouragement:

"We are not as Christ-centered and cross-cherishing as we should be, because we do not ponder the truth that everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good, was purchased by the sufferings of Christ."

A good question to ask:

"Do you feel loved by God because you believe he makes much of you, or because you believe he frees you and empowers you to enjoy making much of him?"

My favorite:

"God is not an employer looking for employees. He is an Eagle looking for people who will take refuge under his wings. He is looking for people who will leave father and mother and homeland or anything else that may hold them back from a life of love under the wings of Jesus."

Full o' Blogs

May I tell you something? I like to read blogs more than I like to actually blog. I'd rather read the blog of some obscure regular person than hear about the comings and goings of "celebs". I maintain a blog roll on this blog, but I also have a few blogs not listed that I regularly visit. I thought that since I've once again neglected this blog, you should know about the blogs with which I neglect it.

Firstly, I visit weight loss blogs. Why? Because I love them and they encourage me (usually) in my own weight loss.

I visit Fat Bridesmaid daily because I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't me, I would be her. As I said, I love reading weight loss blogs and this is far and away my favorite.

Another favorite weight loss blog is The Token Fat Girl. She's such a sweetheart.

ANOTHER weight loss blog I visit is Questions for Dessert. But I honestly like her thankful picture blog more. I like blogs with pictures.

The above three blogs form a sort of weight loss trifecta and the authors of these blogs do a podcast together as well. I'm pretty sure none of them are Christians, but I do like to read about their struggles and sometimes pray for them. We all share the same human struggles, but we don't all share a Savior. I wish we did, and maybe one day we will.

I visit two types of blogs - weight loss blogs and theology blogs. Usually in that order. Justin Taylor's blog is my favorite theology blog and he usually links to other theology blogs so you get the best bang for your web-browsing buck.

Another favorite is Rebecca Writes. I like it because she is a woman (obviously) thinking and writing about theology, deep, deep theology. Also, she kind of reminds me of one of my mentors who is also Canadian. I think we can all agree that Canadians are delightful.

Lastly, I really like the blog Pray for Ian. I think I may have mentioned it before, and it is certainly on my blog roll. This blog has a tremendous back story and, I think, a tremendous future. I think it really displays, more than anything, the counter-cultural thinking and living we Christians should be doing.

There are a few others, but these are the main ones. So, do you have any blogs you regularly read (besides mine obviously)? Please, please share!

Me and Obama

I was over at the house (the t-house to be exact) of a few of my ministry supporters the other week and I spotted my prayer card on their refrigerator.


Am I being held up by Obama? Why yes, yes I am. HIL-arious.

Well, we might not agree on everything (me and Obama, that is) but I hope when my supporters see me and Obama together they pray for us.

The Lord knows we both need it.

Tea and Sympathy

I have discovered a wonderful new tea by Twinings (well, not new, but repackaged by the company at least) and I thought I'd share the experience. I'm not the biggest fan of Chai tea, but I decided to give it a try. At the risk of sacrilege, I'll even say it's better than a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. Spicy and delicious with a little milk and brown sugar added. Perfect for a cozy evening of reading.

Bonus: Which tea suits you best? Find out at Twinings Tea Explorer.

Postscript: I know I'm a nerd. I don't care.

Book List 2010

Book List 2010! Last year I read fifty-three and this year my numbers were lower with a mere forty-eight, but I still think it's respectable. I was aiming for a book a week, missed it by four, but I still think I had a good year. Maybe this year I'll hit fifty-two, or exceed it. Whatevs.

Non-fiction Books
1. Counterfeit Gods – Timothy Keller
2. Introducing Covenant Theology – Michael Horton
3. Trusting God in a Twisted World – Elisabeth Elliot
4. The Law of Perfect Freedom – Michael S. Horton
5. The Call – Os Guinness
6. The Reason for God – Timothy Keller
7. The Cross Centered Life – C.J. Mahaney
8. In My Place Condemned He Stood – J.I. Packer & Mark Dever
9. The Making of Evangelicalism – Randall Balmer
10. Eden’s Outcasts – John Matteson
11. If – Amy Carmichael
12. Dug Down Deep – Joshua Harris
13. The Vanishing Conscience – John MacArthur
14. Hard to Believe – John MacArthur
15. Shadow of the Almighty – Elisabeth Elliot
16. The Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey
17. The Great Gain of Godliness – Thomas Watson
18. Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
19. Taste and See – John Piper
20. Singled Out for Him – Nancy Leigh DeMoss
21. Come Ye Children – C.H. Spurgeon
22. Addictions - A Banquet in the Grave – Edward T. Welch
23. All of Grace – C.H. Spurgeon
24. When People are Big and God is Small – Edward T. Welch

I make it a goal to read at least one biography a year, and this year I read "Eden's Outcast", a biography about Louisa May Alcott and her family, most notably her father, an author and thinker in his own right. I loved this biography, even though I don't like "Little Women", Alcott's most well-known book. It was fantastic! I thoroughly recommend it. It also gives a fascinating look at the beginning of the Transcendental movement and the Alcott family's involvement in it.

This year I read two books by Spurgeon. I had never read anything by Spurgeon until this year. Why? His writing is so gospel-soaked that it makes my heart sing. Spurgeon will definitely be included in next year's list!

Love me some lovely CCEF. I read two books ("Addictions - A Banquet in the Grave" and "When People are Big and God is Small") by a faculty member and they both slayed me with their gospel-centered counsel. It was hard to hear, but needful. I will be hopefully reading more from CCEF's bookshelf in the coming year.

Other notable non-fiction books: "Counterfeit Gods" by Timothy Keller (really good!) and "If" by Amy Carmichael (convicting in a great way!).

Fiction Books
1. Life among the Lutherans – Garrison Keillor
2. A Good Man is Hard to Find – Flannery O’Connor
3. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
4. Housekeeping – Marilynne Robinson
5. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
6. Arranged Marriage – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
14. A Painted House – John Grisham
15. Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
16. Gilead – Marilynne Robinson
17. One Amazing Thing - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
18. Idyll Banter – Chris Bohjahlian
19. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax – Dorothy Gilman
20. Midwives - Chris Bohjahlian
21. The Murder at the Vicarage – Agatha Christie
22. Something Special: A Story – Iris Murdoch
23. Jeeves in the Morning – P.G. Wodehouse
24. A Murder is Announced – Agatha Christie

I've been sort of an Anglophile this year, and I have discovered golden nectar in the form of Agatha Christie novels (especially any that involve Miss Marple). Seriously, those books are like candy. I used to snob mystery novels because they weren't "real" literature, and maybe they aren't, but I do love reading them.

Every year I also try to read a children's series. This year, under some protest, it was the Harry Potter series. I was hesitant to read them but after listening to a lecture by Jerram Barrs, a professor at Covenant Seminary here in St. Louis, I was persuaded to give them a try. I LOVED them. Let me repeat: I loved those books. As soon as I was finished with them I wanted to read them all again. If you want to check out the lecture I believe it can be found on Monergism under Jerram Barr's name.

Notable fiction books: "Arranged Marriage" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (but anything by Divakaruni is AMAZING. Seriously, do yourself a huge favor and read one of her books either "Arranged Marriage" or "The Unknown Errors of our Lives". Doesn't that title give you a thrill?!) and "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier.

And that's it. In 2011 I want to read the children's series "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I read it many years ago, but I don't think I finished the very last books. The series has lots of delectable words, and I love delectable words. I'm not sure what biography I want to read, but I think maybe a political figure? And my first non-fiction book of the year will be a book on celibacy. I think. If it doesn't depress me too much. And of course MORE AGATHA CHRISTIE! I love you, Agatha Christie, so much.

Well friends, any suggestions for my book list this year? I want to hear what you want to, or are planning to, read in the coming year. And as always...

Happy reading!