Recap (May 30-June 5)

On bekahcubed

Book Reviews:

  • The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin

    “The 2004 tornado that destroyed the nearby village of Hallam, Nebraska is the worst storm I can remember. The tornado was 2.5 miles wide, the largest tornado on record. Thankfully, most villagers were either in town (Lincoln) working or had a chance to get to safety. While at least 95% of residences experienced some degree of damage, only one person was killed in the Hallam tornado.

    Contrast this with the “Children’s Blizzard” that swept across the Great Plains in January of 1888. Homesteaders everywhere were in schoolhouses or out working their farms, enjoying the first warm day after weeks of frigid weather, when a fast-moving blizzard accompanied by the coldest weather yet descended on the plains. The next morning, at least a hundred children across Dakota and Nebraska were dead, frozen trying to find their way home from school.”

On the web

I held off on putting together my recap until the end of the week this week instead of compiling it as I read throughout the week. Yeah. I discovered that even with my awesome Diigo account that lets me bookmark, highlight, and comment on articles as I read them (and then saves them for further perusal), I still can’t be lax on writing my recaps–especially not when I have busy weekends like this one (Debbie’s bachelorette party at my house last night, Timothy’s graduation party today–lots of prep for both, not much time for writing.)

Laugh out loud funnies:

  • On responding to iffy prayer requests:

    “If your friend says, “I need prayer about my habit of over volunteering and helping too many homeless people,” respond with your own request. Say, “I need help too, I’ve been too loving to my wife lately. I have literally lain too many of my own needs down in order to love her like Christ loved the church. It’s a problem.” It’s kind of a mutant version of what counselor’s call “reflective listening” where you reflect back what someone just said so that they can hear how they are sounding.”

Books for the TBR list:

  • Let Go and Let God? by Andrew David Naselli
    I’d never heard of Keswick theology until reading Justin Taylor’s comments on this book–but now I’m REALLY curious. I guess Keswick theology is basically summed up in the title of the book “Let go and let God.” A number of prominent Christians have been influenced by this strain of theology. This title (a really thick tome) explores the history of Keswick theology and attempts to make a case that it is NOT Biblical. I’m quite fascinated (but a little intimidated by the length of this sucker–at 459 pages, it is not for the faint at heart.)

Projects to try:

Thought-provoking posts:

  • What’s the difference between analyzing and criticizing?

    “Critical thinking helps us discern right from wrong, better from best, ways to improve, etc.

    But when does it cross over into unnecessary criticism, fault-finding, etc.?”

    Barbara H’s musings on the topic definitely made me think.

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