I certainly did not intend to take a monthlong break from this website, but y’all know how the end of the year/holiday rush goes. We got to celebrate my husband’s PhD graduation, spent lots of time with family, took a trip to the mountains, and are just now getting back into the swing of normal life. So thankful for the Advent season and the reminder that God always keeps His promises!
I’m combining the article lists for November and December. In addition to the general busyness of the holiday season, I also got sucked into some novels and didn’t read as many articles over the last couple of months. I try to save my fiction reading for the end of the year and stick to one or two novels, but several of the novels I had on hold at the library became available all at the same time, so I took advantage of it and just read them all!
47 Fun Facts About the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Erin McCarthy and Stacy Conradt
Mental Floss
I probably should have known this long before, but I long held suspicions that celebrities lip-sync their parade performances, and was grateful for the confirmation in this article. I love both behind-the-scenes information about pretty much anything entertainment-related, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, so this was a fun read for me.
4 Emotions That Are Hidden Beneath Your Anger
Christopher Ash and Steve Midgley
Crossway
Anger is a complex emotion and anyone who struggles with it would do well to read this article. I’m so thankful that the gospel speaks to all of our emotions and helps us find truth amid the feelings that so often lie to us.
Beware the Reflexive Gospel
Missy Speir
TGC
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t burr up at this article a little bit, but I think that’s what makes it a good article. Not because it provokes the reader with an unnecessarily holier-than-thou, sarcastic, or biting tone. Rather, I think it’s a needed corrective to what has become common vernacular even in Christian counsel and challenges my own beliefs about what the gospel says about my sinful condition.
Consider this quote: The true gospel teaches us that God became human to do what no human being could do for herself. The true gospel teaches us that “his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” and we receive this sacred endowment “through the knowledge of him” alone (2 Pet. 1:3, emphasis added). True Christianity is meant to be reflective, not reflexive.
How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?
John Piper
Desiring God
Talk about a kick in the pants!
The West Texas Road Trip You Didn’t Know You Were Missing
Sarah Theeboom
Afar
This is a bit of a random choice, but at the end of 2020, my husband, daughter, and I (seven months pregnant) took a very similar roadtrip to the one described here. To date it remains probably my favorite vacation of all time.
Teach Your Teen About Christian Freedom
Jared Kennedy
TGC
I really appreciate this treatment of the subject of Christian freedom. While much discourse surrounding Christian freedom trends towards self-service, Kennedy rightly points out that Christian freedom does not mean that we can just do whatever we want. There are bounds to Christian freedom that should cause us to consider how we might serve others from within our “rights.”
Two Articles on Kids and Sports
My Parents Put Worship Above Sports. I’m Thankful. (Luke Engstrom)
Why We Pulled Our Kids from Club Sports (Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra and Ross Douma)
TGC
I put these two articles together because I think it’s helpful to read from both a child’s perspective and a parent/coach’s perspective. Our son begins soccer this spring, and it’s a reminder that our kids are rapidly reaching the age where extracurriculars could take over our lives if we aren’t thoughtful and purposeful in how we approach them–sports in particular. Priorities can slip so easily and I appreciate the perspectives in both of these articles that encourage parents to keep their kids in church, even if it feels like it costs something in the short-term.
