Dear Friends,
Welcome to the weekly digest for July 9, 2022! We are getting ready to go spend the afternoon on a short hike - it’s absolutely gorgeous in Michigan today. Wherever you are, I hope you can catch a moment of rest and that this short newsletter adds some value to your weekend.
If you’re a new reader of Think Twice, the weekend roundup is a short digest of the curated content and resources I share from the week to sharpen our minds, open our hearts, and strengthen our homes. All of it to help us to live everyday life with a Gospel perspective.
quote(s)
“The Word of God I think of as a straight edge, which shows up our own crookedness. We can’t really tell how crooked our thinking is until we line it up with the straight edge of Scripture.” — Elisabeth Elliot
sharpen your mind
Politics After Dobbs: “So thorough was the Warren Court’s quiet revolution that it has somehow become commonplace for Christians of many stripes to believe it is a deeply American truism that we cannot legislate morality. As many articles in American Reformers’ pages will attest, nothing could be further from the truth. From its very beginning, the American colonies and then the states have necessarily depended upon substantive commitments to what is just.”
Canada to Texas: “On our first Independence Day in a little rural Texas town, it feels a little like we’re on the West side of the wall, hoping for the opportunity to reunite with our loved ones soon, who, through no fault of their own, are stuck on the other side.” -From the Northern Nester
engage your world
At The End of the Ages Is a Song: “To sing as a Christian isn’t to deny or avoid the fallen realities of the world in some sort of escapism; rather, it is to enter into the midst of them, and to declare that though the darkness may seem strong, a light shines in the darkness which the darkness cannot comprehend (John 1:5), and which, in the fullness of time, will banish the darkness for good. In song, the signs of Christ’s coming continue to shine brightly for those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and lungs to sing.” From the Plough Quarterly.
strengthen your home
“A mother’s embrace gives comfort. A father’s embrace gives confidence. A child will always need both.” -@SaveYourSons
Book Suggestions: Darryl has been looking for a book to work through with some of our teens. Here are the top two he’s found:
The New Man: Becoming A Man After God’s Heart by Dan Doriani. The book provides a gospel framework that focuses on character rather than checklists and techniques. More than ever, our teen boys need to have the mud of cultural confusion on gender cleared away to present the compelling call of God to reflect Christ in all of a man’s life: marriage, friendship, work, and more.
The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men by Richard D. Phillips. This speaks directly to current cultural confusion by highlighting God’s mandate for men and encouraging readers to join him on a journey of repentance and renewal
Talking It Over with the Kids: This is an excellent article that gives seven principles for Cultivating a Christian Posture Towards the World. My kids have shared their concerns about what life will be like as they grow up in a negative world. Do they conform? Do they isolate? How should they respond? Make a dessert, start the fire around the patio, and read and discuss with your kids. That’s my plan as food seems to be a vital part of discipling teens. :)
Until next week, my friends!
Kara Dedert