For about 15 years I have faithfully kept track of the books I have finished. For some, I make a brief note of its value. At the end of the year, I like to try to identify my “top 5” favorite reads. I usually add to my to-do list the desire to write a short… Read More »
Whenever I finish a book, I write it down on a list. On average, I read or listen to about 30-40 books a year. In recent years, I have made a list of my favorite books of the year, but I never seem to make it to writing a short summary for the blog. But… Read More »
When the present crisis began, and all outside activities were cancelled, I set up a weekly schedule for evening events for our family. It’s flexible, but it gives us a guide. Monday evening is “educational movie” night, though we are still working to find our groove on it. Tonight we watched a few short videos,… Read More »
I spend more time on my computer(s) than anywhere else, and I have found some very useful tools that I thought I’d tell you about. All of them are free or have free versions, and all of them work in Windows. Everything – I am starting with this one because it’s both my newest discovery… Read More »
I wish I had read this book twenty years ago. It existed, but I was unaware of it. There may be others equally good or better, but I don’t know of them. I do know that if I had read it twenty years ago, I would have read it several times since, and my writing… Read More »
I’m leading a fantastic group of people from our church on a two-week trip to Israel from April 21 to May 4. We ‘ve had a number of late dropouts and we now have 4 open spots. The trip will be mentally and physically demanding. A free 10-week course will precede the trip but is… Read More »
I can’t remember too many books where I was only partly in when I realized that this was going to be one of my favorite books. Usually one comes to that conclusion near the end or maybe months or years later. But when I was reading Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl, I knew that I was… Read More »
Recently my friend Paul Mitchell sent me the following notice: https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=b184a0bba346006d&sc=documents&uc=31&id=B184A0BBA346006D%21148 Recently I came across some fabulous congregational acapella singing at an "east Texas" church, and broadcast the above link to the some-43 songs. (I edited out songleader talking and dead space, etc). Others then broadcasted my broadcast. One person down the chain, who identified … Read More »
I recommend to all the brief but helpful work by John Piper, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God. As a lifelong student, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking but not much time thinking about thinking. This book is easily accessible and should be read by many, including all college… Read More »
I ‘ll always remember this Christmas season as the one in which I learned Handel’s Messiah. By that I don’t mean that I sang it in a choir. I do mean that this was the first time I sat down and listened carefully to it in order to understand it. If you ‘re interested in… Read More »