Stuff I Like Saturdays: June 2, 2018 Edition
In Stuff I Like Saturdays, I share some great articles and resources I recently found across the internet. There's a whole lot of stuff out there - good and bad - and this is my attempt to highlight a few standouts. In this post I'll share some articles and a few books I'm reading. Enjoy!
A Quick Personal Update and Lesson Learned:
The past three months have been the hardest three months I've had in a long time. I'm doing well and my close friends and family are well, but we live in a fallen world and sometimes we pay the price/consequences for the sins of others. I wouldn't say I'm suffering, but this passage from Romans 5 has encouraged me in the midst of trials. Paul writes,
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
I'm so grateful for the ways the Lord works even in the middle of trials. I've watched him produce greater character and hope in my life even when circumstances are far from ideal.
Blog Articles:
The Best "Going Off to College" Counsel I Have Heard, by Eric Geiger. I have several friends who have students headed off to college in a few months, so this counsel was timely. My twins will start high school in the fall, so we have a few years, but I'll file this one away for the future. I wish I had this counsel before my freshman year, and I especially agree with numbers 3 and 5.
7 Warning Signs of an Emotional Affair, by my friend Dave Willis. I'd read through this one, share it with my spouse, and share it with my friends. Emotional affairs are way too common and hurt marriages and families all around us. A few of these are so subtle but often move relationships from a friendship to affair partner.
Let Your Kids Experience Failure, by Todd DeKruyter on the Eternal Perspective Ministries page. Failure is a great teacher, and we (I) so often swoop in and protect my kids from failing. Sometimes failure can be one of life's greatest teachers.
What I Learned About Marriage by Losing my Husband, on the True Women site. I've never read anything on this site before, but I'm so glad someone else referred me to this post. A sweet tribute a woman writes about her now deceased husband.
Books I'm Reading:
The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery, by Patrick Lencioni. One of my co-workers recommended this one to me (not because I'm miserable in my job!), but as an encouragement on how I can be a better employee and boss.
Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul, by Gary Thomas. This is now the fifth time I'm reading it, but it's even better on round five. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to rightly view exercise, eating, and wellness.
Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People, by Bob Goff. Everybody always (pun intended) talks about this book, so I thought I'd check it out. I'm about to start this one and hope it's as good as his first book, Love Does.
Recent Posts on my site:
Ok... so not much new on the site (due the crazy of life because of the personal update above).
Pursuing Your Spouse in the Midst of a Full Life - The importance of continuing to date and pursue your spouse in the middle of everything we all have going on in our lives. Five practical suggestions to help you pursue your spouse.
Two posts on the importance of empathy: How My New Braces are Helping Me Be More Empathetic and How You Can Be More Empathetic With Others.
How to Strengthen Your Marriage with a Fierce Tenacity. A review of the new marriage book, Fierce Marriage, by Ryan & Selena Frederick of Fierce Marriage.
And, coming soon: WellnessWeek 2018 Version.
Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash