Category: Recommendations

a short list, but a good list

What’s that you say?

Christmas “spirit” got you down? Tired of overdone light displays and gaudy vests (and it’s not even December yet!)?

Here is a list for you, my friend. It’s SHORT so you are sure to make it to the end on this delightful Friday afternoon. This is about keeping the main thing the main thing (if you know what I mean).

  • You MUST pick up this Advent Jesse Tree Book! It’s free (no swiping necessary!) if you sign up to receive emails from Ann Voskamp’s site. She’s a pretty neat lady, so you should check her out even if you don’t dig the book. This resource will give you something to do with your family to prepare for the Christmas season and to remember well the glorious arrival of our Savior!
  • I know I talk about these guys a lot, but I really appreciate their music! If you are of the “Christmas music whenever you feel like it” camp, jump on the Sojourn Music bandwagon with me!
  • If you are all about a good deal (but would rather it be something to read then something to wear) then check out what Tim Challies is gathering for you at his blog. Leading up to Thanksgiving, he will post Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals for stuff you might actually buy! Check it out at his blog here.
  • I’m pretty excited at the challenge of making this another Advent Conspiracy Christmas at our house. There are some Ah-mazing ideas at their website about how to make it happen with you and yours! Here’s the video:
  • If you live anywhere near, around, close to, next to, or in the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa – LISTEN UP. There is an AMAZING ministry that you might not know about called Freedom for Youth. You can support them by doing some Christmas shopping at their location (2301 Hickman Road, Des Moines, IA 50310) on December 3 and 10. Here’s a snippet from their website,
    “This holiday season, Freedom for Youth Ministries is hosting a Christmas Village at the Freedom Center. We will be featuring the teens & young adults handcrafted items such as art, woodworking, food and more! Come for a soup lunch or Christmas shop for unique and handmade gifts for family and friends! Freedom Blend Coffee is on sale during these 2 days!”

That’s the list, as promised, and still no overdone light displays or gaudy vests. #winning

let LOVE fly like crazy

Posted on by Caroline 0

thoughts on the Tree of Life

I’m here and there today, working on the marvelous pile of “Christmas gift could-be’s” I found in my parents’ storage room. Turns out, after living in Honduras for three years and Austin for one and four years of college in Michigan before that, I let quite a few things pile up there. Old corkboards, frames, half-finished canvas paintings, sketches, journals (that’s a two hour sidetrack right there!), and other knick knacks. Nothing like some good handsaw therapy – throw in a screwdriver and a pair of pliers and you’ve got a world of “what could this be?” waiting for you!

I’m taking a break to return to a topic I promised to write about awhile ago.

The film Tree of Life by Terrence Malick stands out from the cinematic crowd for loads of reasons. The first is filmmaker Terrence Malick. All Movie Guide at the New York Times says, “Terrence Malick is one of the great enigmas of contemporary filmmaking, a shadowy figure whose towering reputation rests largely on a very small body of work,” which is why you’ve probably never heard of him. My intrigue started because I follow Brett McCracken at his blog The Search. I am always impressed with McCracken’s assessment of culture and film, so I thought I would trust his strong support of Malick’s work.

Fast forward to last week when I watched Tree of Life with my good friends in their living room, cradling a hot cup of spice tea. Sometimes (all the time), I get nervous watching films I’ve suggested. I have a complex because in high school I was notorious for picking out lame movies. So, I was almost sweating I was so nervous and hopeful my friends would like/and understand the film. We had heard it was very slow and very deep, so the living room was the perfect set-up. I had my journal handy to write down common symbols, metaphor, and anything that came to mind.

Now, I’m looking at those journal pages going, “Whoa. Linear thinking isn’t anywhere in my vocabulary, that’s for sure!”

I know I’ll be processing this film and it’s meaning for a while (which is something I love about what Malick did). Today, I just want to tackle the (maybe) obvious overarching theme in the film of nature vs. grace. Malick pulled us in and then stretched us apart with his shots of nature’s beauty and man’s limitations. At the very beginning of the film, the narration sets up the message of the entire film.

It’s hard to get past this stunning contrast.

Before I start giving my scattered opinion, what do you think?

Watch this. (I’m sorry I canNOT find the nature vs. grace narrative anywhere on youtube)

and then this featurette where people talk through the story of the Tree of Life. (spoiler alert here!)

Here’s a write up over at White Horse Inn, if you need to hear someone’s opinion. I kind of promise I’ll chime in soon! I know, I know… I less than tackled this, but it’s SOOOO big!

Happy Friday!

Posted on by Caroline 1

misplaced humility

Maybe we just have things turned around (wouldn’t be the first time for the human race). Maybe we’ve shelved things in the wrong place and now it’s hard to find what we’re looking for.
Maybe it’s like when you are making a recipe and you know you bought cumin, but you’ve torn apart the whole kitchen and still can’t find it. Then… after admitting defeat and cranking a can of Progresso soup open in disgust, you see little Tommy flying a plane around the kitchen with little cumin as its pilot.

Maybe that’s what we’ve done with humility.

“What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be.
A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed.

Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert–himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt – the Divine Reason. . . .

The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. . . . There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it’s practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. . . .

The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. . . .

We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.”

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy [Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1957], pp. 31-32

Powerful insight once again from G.K.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, (b. 29 May 1874 – d....
Posted on by Caroline 0

this & that

I was wondering why I had so many tabs open on my browser, but then I realized it’s because I haven’t done a “this & that” post recently. So, here it is, folks. I hope you enjoy and at least click on ONE interesting thing that pops out at you.

  • If you’ve mailed something funny (or wanted to) you should check out this collection! Here is an example: this is fishing line!!
  • I thought this article over at Tim Challies blog was interesting. Taken from R.C. Sproul’s book, Now, That’s a Good Question, this excerpt brings up some things that have been the topic of several conversations lately. I like what he says here, “If a person is in Christ and Christ is in that person, it is impossible for the Christian not to move, to grow.” Read the rest here.
  • This is … interesting. It’s a video clip where author David Dark interviews musician David Bazan. My friend calls it “The Bazan Syndrome,” characterized by the obsession of asking without really wanting to arrive at any particular answer. What do you think? Watch the video (it’s short) and see if you are encouraged, frustrated, or just confused.
  •  I unintentionally got into a funny little comment war recently. One of my favorite blogs posted a link to an article about Christian singles/dating/blind dates and I wrote something in the comments about disliking what feminism did for my chances and then, “I wish I could just send a memo to theologically sound males: I’m not looking for a stay-at-home dad or someone who takes orders. I’m looking for someone who I can support as he passionately pursues the Lord.” A guy wrote back about how all girls want these days is someone with “a sense of humor” and a gal-pal type who would be a co-wife. Yeah, he said that. Anyway, I didn’t realize this was happening until I checked back and saw there were a slew of comments following mine. All of that to say, this article, “Mentoring Future Leaders: A Priority for Your To-Do List” gets EXACTLY at what I wish was happening more often. I have felt for a long time (I even spoke with my childhood pastor while I was still in college) a passion for men to rise up and lead the church. My heart is that I would be part of the encouragement to make that happen.
  • Have you heard of Adultolescence? It is as lame as it sounds. Listen to this message by John Piper that he gave to college students recently. Maybe it will, as my History teacher used to always say, “put a fire in their bellies.”
  • Last… this is a good one. I love Andreé Seu and her style of writing. Read this article from yesterday about apathy. You might relate to this scenario – there is an invitation to stay after church to hear such-and-such missionary. You decide those ham balls you made sound so much more enticing. Check it out here. Here’s a sneak peek:

But then I thought about Judges, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai. Do you know what sin God inveighs against in all these books? Yep, the sin of apathy. The sin of indifference. The sin of losing interest in God’s work, and slacking off. We are not talking about murder or adultery here, or even grumbling or complaining.

In Judges, the Israelite juggernaut that was so vital in Joshua’s day grinds to a trickle by the end of the chapter one. The various tribes assigned to take out the Canaanites on their respective parcels of land find excuses for defeat.

So, that’s about it. Let me know what you think. Meanwhile, I’ll be letting

LOVE fly like cRaZy

Posted on by Caroline 0

Love You Swore

Happy Sunday, folks!

I just wanted to post something that might hit you right in the Sabbath sweet spot. John Mark McMillan just put out a new album on November 1 and this song is on it. I think it speaks to that fearful place in us – when we can see our depravity (our hearts’ shallow grave) and our immense need for the Love of our Savior. We can be almost fearful of our great need – and what that means about God’s mighty power to overcome it. What a mighty, mighty Love God possesses to have conquered death in the cross of Jesus Christ. What a mighty, mighty Love that allows us to love Him back.

Be encouraged, this morning to let the LOVE OF CHRIST fly like cRaZy – hold on to it in the eye of storm!

Chase me down like a lion
Like a bird of prey
Lift me up from the ashes
Of my hearts own shallow grave

Cause I know that I love you
But sometimes I’m afraid

Whoa oh…

Spare my body from the wolves, God
That crouch down at my door
Lift me up above the waters
And the sharks that guard your shore
Cause I know that I need you
But sometimes I know it more

Whoa oh…

Harbor me in the eye of the storm
I’m holding on to love you swore

Posted on by Caroline 2

before the throne of God above

This song has found it’s way onto so many playlists. One of the many wise mentors in my life used to encourage me to read Scripture and then ask, “What does this say about God?” Now, I’m passing along this advice to others in need of this same reminder. When we have a right view of God, we have a right view of ourselves in relation to Him. This song, to me, is a beautiful illustration of that relationship. Just beautiful.

Here are the lyrics to the hymn, Before the Throne of God Above, written in 1863:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,

One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

I sing that middle part over and over and over again, “Because the sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied, To look on Him and pardon me.”

Amazing.

Posted on by Caroline 1

truth has no genre

It’s such a ‘hip’ thing to say, “I like all kinds of music.” I just read a great post by Brett McCracken where he explains the Coldplay Effect. Hipsters and indies liked Coldplay when they were obscure, claiming they “just liked good music.” But when Coldplay got big, they dumped them for artists less well-known. It’s just a funny little cycle and McCracken turns it inside out in a way that makes so much sense. I’m really not trying to be hip when I say I like a lot of different styles, because I’ll add that there is definitely music I don’t like. I try to be indifferent about whether it is popular or not. It just seems like once music gets popular it all starts to sound the same. (Yikes, I hope I’m not a hipster in denial!)

Today, I decided to download music from iTunes.

This is worth sharing only because I never do. I am a pretty good internet sleuth for free (legal) music. Artists are sharing their music in return for our free publicity. This situation works out well for me, unless someone asks me to make a mix for a party… I don’t have what runs on the radios these days. So, I really can’t remember the last time I used my iTunes account.

That’s the first reason I mention I downloaded music from iTunes.

The second reason is the dissimilarity in the two albums.

The first is from a rap/hip hop artist who has gained crazy popularity with people like John Piper, CJ Mahaney, and Randy Alcorn. I love what Shai Linne said about the album in an interview when asked why rap is a good platform for his message,

“In many ways, I think hip-hop is actually an ideal genre for a project like this, because the format allows for so many more words to be used than in other genres. Because of this, the potential for transfer of ideas is much greater. Hip-hop lends itself to exposition. The challenge was finding suitable musical backdrops to properly convey the emotional depth of such a glorious topic.”

I like rap. I like to rap freestyle and roll out someone else’s rhythm. This kind of rap, though, the kind expositing Truth, has got me like a cup of hot coffee on the first day of snow (today).

The second comes from the guy who wrote, “How He Loves,” which you might know from several other artists who have recorded since. I like the way this guy thinks. “Genuine” is one of those terms people like to manipulate these days, but I believe John Mark McMillan. I’m a person who likes poetry and beauty and simplicity and purpose… and revealing a stronger, redemptive thread running through the tapestry of tragedy.

I’m so glad Truth has no genre.

My heart is happy that God created us in His image with a desire to create beautiful things. My heart is even more happy when people do this and it inspires me to return to my First Love.

It is TRUTH that allows us to

let LOVE fly like cRaZy

Posted on by Caroline 2

making late night a great night

An old Diet Coke Can
oh my sweet DC why can't I resist you?

Late night in the field. I thought I would crash when I caught sight of my pillow… turns out a Diet Coke at 11 pm keeps me rocking it until right around 2 am.

I wanted to post this quote before I forgot. I think it gives us some needed perspective about hope. “Hope has to do with the knowledge of the age to come.” What, my friend, do you know of the coming age? If it gives you hope, go ahead and SHARE that with someone today!

Christian hope is not about wishing things will get better. It is not about hoping that emptiness will go away, meaning return, and life will be stripped of its uncertainties, aches, and anxieties. Nor does it have anything to do with techniques for improving fallen human life, be those therapeutic, spiritual, or even religious.

 

Hope has to do with the knowledge of ‘the age to come.’ This redemption is already penetrating ‘this age.’ The sin, death, and meaninglessness of the one age are being transformed by the righteousness, life and meaning of the other. What has emptied out life, what has scarred and blackened it, is being displaced by what is rejuvenating and transforming it.

 

More than that, hope is hope because it knows it has become part of a realm, a kingdom, that endures. It knows that evil is doomed, that it will be banished. This kind of hope has left behind it the ship of ‘this age,’ which is sinking.

– David F. Wells

What a blessed hope we have! In the moments before I slip into dreamland, I’m loving this song by Sojourn Music.

Posted on by Caroline 0

this & that

This will be a day for this equation: music+words=happy Monday! Enjoy these links and pass them along, if your little hearts desires. But most of all and as always
let LOVE fly like cRaZy
even if you aren’t dressing up or filling candy bowls for festivities tonight, there are ALL kinds of opportunities and I know you know it.
  • Are you a fan of Jars of Clay? Please check this out!
  • If Jars of Clay isn’t your cup ‘o tea, you should definitely check out Neulore. I became familiar with this band and frontman Adam Agin through Brite Revolution, in its earlier days. You’ve GOT to check out this album right now! Here’s one of the songs:
     
  •  Let’s see… something to read. Well, on a recent road trip with a very special high schooler, she asked me, “What’s this ‘Lamb of God’ stuff about? I mean I hear it a lot and it’s in songs and I’m just wondering is it a real lamb?” LOVED the question and LOVED the fact that we had several hours to sort it out. At the end, I said, “I know I’m getting worked up about this, but it’s only the beginning – there are SO many ways the Bible speaks that we gloss over! There are all sorts of prophecies in the OT that are later fulfilled in the NT that are simply MARVELOUS. Here is a great list from Peter Cockrell’s blog (he actually got it from Dane Ortlund if you want to re-trace the internet steps). CHECK IT OUT!
  • Have you ever heard of International Justice Mission? Well, you should hear about them. Here is an interview from Qideas, “An Apologetic for Justice.” That’s a good place to start.
  • And Can it Be? Truth, friends.
  • I think I’ve already posted this once, but I ALWAYS need the reminder. What is God sovereign over? A few countries? The weather? My family? Friends? Jobs? The beginning? The end? Evil? Good? Check out this post by Justin Taylor.
Okay, that’s it for now. Enjoy!
Posted on by Caroline 0

we could be…

We could be reveling
forever in the love You bring
and we could be wasted on
You and not count it loss 

Like fools in love
we’re bound to make a scene

Our hearts bleed for you, whoa

What beautiful way to usher in a Monday (fyi – John Mark McMillan comes out with a new album tomorrow).

Especially after such a blessed weekend, I love this.

Like fools in love, we’re bound to make scene. Isn’t that the truth.

Do your days feel like this? Like you can’t HELP but make a scene? If we are reveling in the love of Christ – wasting everything else and not counting a loss, then our lives will speak (maybe even shout) like crazy that there is something greater!

We might be the people that get pointed at or the people that get ignored, but the bottom line is that the scene bound to happen is for an audience of One.

The Lord welcomes His sons and daughters into worship, where our hearts bleed for the Creator of the Universe. I’m so thankful that God also knows, as we endeavor to worship with our very lives, that there are bound to be scenes.

Our love can look near foolish, but if anyone deserves a scene it is certainly our Lord and Savior!

How could you be reveling today in His love?

let LOVE fly like cRaZy!

Posted on by Caroline 0