Some Fabulous Reads

Recently I have come across a couple of really good articles, and I wanted to share them with you here. 

:: How Should Christians Comment Online?

I do not regularly read Desiring God, but this link was shared in my Bible Study group as we studied James 3 and the destructive power of the tongue.  I found this article to be very succint and well stated, especially regarding some "pet peeves" I often encounter when surfing social media.  

The author of the article gives some guidelines for how often and how quickly we should respond to someone else online, as well as some guidelines for the content of our comments.  It bothers me greatly when professing Christians "like", comment on, and share items which have crass, vulgar language or cursing on it.  If you have to qualify your share with "please excuse the language" then you probably shouldn't be sharing it!  I also try to be careful to look at the name of the page or group from which the post or picture originated.  If the name of the group is also crass or includes cursing, then I don't click "like", even the picture or post itself is completely fine.  I don't want to support groups that are going to identify themselves with something which is not in line with God's character.

:: The One Life Dream That Makes a Girl Blush

I found this to be an excellent contradiction to the feminist thought that marriage and child-bearing are not important life goals.  I have sometimes felt insignificant because I don't have a title or a string of accomplishments outside of my home.  And yet most times I realize that my life is very fulfilling in my support role to my husband, and the rearing of my children to be able to serve God with their lives.  I want to quote the whole article here because it is just that good.  It brought affirmation to what I am doing at home.

Being a stay at home mom is learning to give up what you want in order to serve others.  I struggle with it too, sometimes.  I want "me time" or to be noticed or recognized.  I don't want to always serve in the shadows of the kitchen.  But it is learning to die to myself, and it is good for me. 

"I wish we loved the strength it takes for a woman to become a wife and a mother. We marvel at her physical strength when she births a child. But we forget what invisible strength she shows when she lays down her life for her home every day after that. Social media spends all of its energy telling women to remember who they are, to fight for their sacred spaces, to become the woman they want to be...  Everyone in their 30s is talking about a rebirth and I’m still learning how to die."

:: The Church Planter's Wife by Christine Hoover 

I had picked this up at a seminar before deputation was finished.  It got buried on the bookshelf and forgotten until a fellow church planter's wife recommended it as vital reading.  So I found it, and started reading.  I'm not done yet.  But Christine Hoover has walked in my shoes and so accurately articulates the feelings and process of supporting my husband in a difficult and daring venture like starting a church from scratch.  If you are called to this, or considering it with your husband, I challenge you to read this book.  If you have a close friend who is a church planting wife, this may help you to understand her calling and struggles and joys that you might pray for her even more effectively, for she is fighting on the front lines with her husband.