Links & Quotes

When we are self-evaluating, we need to carefully guard our self-talk as well. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on The Craig and Greg Show about a leader’s honest self-assessment. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

Axis reported this in their weekly Cultural Translator newsletter. “Gallup polling data has found a huge spike in the percentage of Americans who say they get less sleep than they need. Survey results also indicate an increase in Americans’ daily stress. Why it’s news you can use: This data indicates that when you interact with anyone—in a store, on the road, at work, or in church—there’s a decent chance that particular human is feeling both exhausted and stressed out. The odds of this stress/exhaustion matrix are even higher if you are conversing with a young woman aged 18 to 29. In 2001, 42% of young women in that bracket said they get enough sleep, but that number has dropped to 27%. Younger women are also the most likely to say they experience daily stress. Stress and sleep have a symbiotic relationship, and parents should understand how both factors play a role in teens’ mental health.” I have written quite a few posts about getting enough sleep, and about taking some time for self-care.

Notice how many times David shows the closeness of God by using the personal pronoun “my”—my Rock, my Fortress, my Shield, my God, and on and on❣️

“The world and its culture will not improve unless we play an active role in trying to improve it. Beginning with ourselves, we must make sure the culture we choose honors God and spreads His grace to the people around us. From there we must become informed about the state of culture, especially that which is most potent in conveying ideas and establishing practices—law, education, entertainment, social media, and pop culture in all its forms. That’s not to say we have to participate in all these; but at the least, we need to understand the times and how they shape and are shaped by various forms of culture so that we can know what we ought to do in pursuing a culture of love (1 Chronicles 12:32).” —T.M. Moore

“A man gives little if he gives much with a frown; he gives much if he gives little with a smile.” —Talmud, Ketubot

This is a very helpful interactive map of Paul’s missionary journeys. While you are on the viz.bible website, be sure to check out all of the other amazing infographics they have. I use these quite often to help me grasp the message of Scripture visually.

Faithlife Illustrated Study Bible (book review)

If you’ve ever looked at the list of books I’ve read and reviewed at the end of each year, you will quickly discover how much I enjoy reading! I read science, biographies, theological works, philosophy, financial resources, relationship helpers, and on and on. But hands-down, not-even-close to second place, I read the Bible more than anything else. Not only do I read the Bible extensively every day, I then read all of my other books through the lens of Scripture. 

So whenever I come across a resource that helps with Bible reading and study, I’m absolutely thrilled to share it with you. One such resource I’ve been so excited about is the Faithlife Illustrated Study Bible. 

I originally purchased this study Bible because of the “illustrated” part. I glanced through it and found several things that make the biblical accounts more understandable. Things like: 

  • timelines 
  • genealogical records
  • “blueprints” of notable buildings and structures
  • infographics 
  • maps and tables 

Then I was excited to discover the wealth of articles embedded in the notes section next to the biblical texts. 

But the happiest discovery I made was the ability to combine the written text with so much additional online content. Using the Faithlife Study Bible app on my iPhone, I can access all of the content in the print version in addition to more resources that have become available since this study Bible was published. My favorite way to do this is via the “reference scanner” in the app. I use my iPhone camera to take a picture of the part of the Bible I’m studying and then the app pulls up all of the resources associated with nearly everything on that page. Amazing! 

If you already love studying the Bible, this book/app combination will take you to a whole new level. Even if you’re just getting started in a Bible study, you will love how much fullness these resources quickly bring to your fingertips.