So many good books!

I spent much of this day reading book reviews at Discerning Reader, and emerged with several books to add to my ever-lengthening wishlist (Wish I could/will read these):

• Who's driving the purpose-driven church? by James Sundquist
• What is Reformed Theology? by R.C. Sproul
• Heaven on earth by Stephen Nichols
• Who are you to judge? by David Swavely
• Divine Sovereignity and Human Responsibility by D.A. Carson (fast becoming a favorite because of "Basics for Believers" and "The difficult doctrine of the love of God")
• With reverence and awe
• Singing and making music by Paul Jones
• Worship by the Book by D.A. Carson

My top two priorities in this list would be "Divine Sovereignity..." and "What is reformed theology?". Hopefully, I can find them in local bookstores... otherwise... hello CBD! Or I could just read my other books for the meantime. :)

for parents!

I found an excellent article by Abraham Piper called "12 ways to love your wayward child". I'm NOT a parent (;p), but I loved Piper's treatment of the subject. I like this short article far better than the ~30-hour seminar on basic life principles I'm currently attending, but that's another story. Though no one will understand this comment, I'm learning to appreciate people like Pastor Gary Gilley a lot better because of the seminar. (Thank You, God.)

Back to the article, its best feature is its blatant God-centeredness, for which I greatly rejoice! This is characteristic of most, if not all, Piper resources, and is the reason why I visit desiringgod.org regularly and love John Piper so much. Oops, I forgot to mention, Abraham is John Piper's son. :)

I especially liked insight #4 "Don't expect them to be Christ-like". Quote: " If your son is not a Christian, he’s not going to act like one." So true -not only of non-Christian sons and daughters, but also of non-Christian parents, friends, colleagues and so on.

I've printed out copies of this article to give to Christian parents I know. It presents a very timely reminder about the whole point of reaching out to your wayward child:

"It’s not so that they will be good kids again; it’s not so that they’ll get their hair cut and start taking showers; it’s not so that they’ll like classical music instead of deathcore; it’s not so that you can stop being embarrassed at your weekly Bible study; it’s not so that they’ll vote conservative again by the next election; it’s not even so that you can sleep at night, knowing they’re not going to hell.

The only ultimate reason to pray for them, welcome them, plead with them, email them, eat with them, or take an interest in their interests is so that their eyes will be opened to Christ.

And not only is He the only point—He’s the only hope. When they see the wonder of Jesus, satisfaction will be redefined. He will replace the pathetic vanity of money, or the praise of man, or the high, or the orgasm that they are staking their eternities on right now. Only His grace can draw them from their perilous pursuits and bind them safely to Himself—captive, but satisfied."