The irony of Walking Through Twilight is not lost on its author. Douglas Groothuis is a philosopher who has often taught and written on suffering. Here he offers a lament about the suffering he and his wife have been going through over many years as she slowly, so agonizingly slowly, deteriorates from a rare form of dementia.
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Category: Life
A Missing Element in Knowing God
One of the most significant passages in one of the most significant books for the church in the last fifty years is this:
What were we made for? To know God.
What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God
What is the “eternal life” that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. “This is eternal
life: that they may know you, the only true god, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).
What is the best thing in life bringing more joy, delight and contentment than
anything else? Knowledge of God. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise
man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me’ ” (Jer 9:23-24).*
Getting Mad at God
I told them it was okay to be mad at God. Afterward I got a phone call.
I spoke to over a hundred college students about the book of Ruth. After Naomi’s husband and two sons died in Moab, she told her daughters-in-law (Ruth and Orpah) not go back to Israel with her “because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!” On her return Namoi told the women in her hometown, “Don’t call me Naomi. . . . Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter” (Ruth 1:13, 20).
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The Vaccine Hero
My sister died because of a vaccine . . . a vaccine she never received. On a September morning in 1952, at the age of seven, Lucy Rae Le Peau contracted polio and died that afternoon. The vaccine that would have saved her life would not be developed for another year.
It was a vaccine my grieving mother prayed for desperately, especially because her three other children, including me, were still vulnerable to the terrifying disease. Every year thousands of children across the United States were struck with it, peaking the year my sister died with over 57,000 cases, of whom 3,145 died.
The Future of Editing 3: Flexibility
Tech savvy, design savvy, globally savvy, multiethnically savvy, networking savvy and professionally savvy–in my previous post that’s what I said editors will need to be in the future.
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True Hypocrisy
“But,” said Chris, “if I felt one way and acted another, I’d be a hypocrite.” You’ve probably heard from others what I heard from my friend. In our therapeutic society, feelings are thought to be the most essential, most authentic aspect of who we are.
If I’m upset and don’t express it, I’m a phony. I’m sugar coating reality. I’m not being true to myself. If I stuff my true feelings, I’m engaging in unhealthy suppression.
Luckily, George immediately saw through to the core of the issue.
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Remembering Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard went to be with his Lord this morning. Many people will miss his strong, gentle wisdom, remembering him as someone who was soaked in the presence of Christ. He was a beloved friend and writer to many. We enjoyed publishing a number of titles by Dallas (1935-2013), especially one of his signature books, Hearing God.
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The Sparrow Again
I can’t remember the last time I read a book a second time–except perhaps for Goodnight Moon.
But when our neighborhood book club decided to discuss The Sparrow, I was delighted to read it again.
Slide Rules and Blank Stares
“We used to do that with a slide rule.”
Blank stare. “What’s a slide rule?”
“It’s a device they used before calculators to do division, multiplication, square roots, squares and trig functions.”
Blank stare.
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Following the Wise Men
Gift giving at Christmas is a wonderful tradition which comes to us from the wise men. They visited Jesus, and gave him gifts that honored and recognized him as king. When we give gifts to show our love and respect for each other, we follow their path.
Yet gift giving can be difficult–and not necessarily because we lack generosity. Sometimes it’s simply hard to know what to give. When so many of us are awash in material goods, it is a challenge because it seems everyone has everything.
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