HARMLESS THOUGHTS

Temptation: Applying Radical Amputation to Life's Sinful Patterns  by Jay Adams is a short book, only about 32 pages in length, and is part of a series of books providing Resources for Biblical Living. Facing ongoing sin in one's life can be a troubling and frustrating part of Christian Living. I would doubt that there is a Christian out there that would honestly say that they haven't had struggles, or battles, with sin. In this book, Jay Adams begins by inviting the reader to consider sins in their own life that they may be struggling with, then he describes the two main tendencies offered in Christian circles on how to face sin.  These two options are: "(1) inaction on your part in lieu of contemplation and prayer; or (2) obedience to biblical commands that leads to growth." Both of these methods, though often set as opposing methods, are actually missing the correct approach.  In other words, there are aspects of both that are true, but they must be taken ...

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/good-news-of-great-joy-daily-readings-for-advent Desiring God is offering their Advent Ebook for free again this year.  The title of the book is Good News of Great Joy.  According to the Desiring God website: A year ago, the team here at Desiring God did a deep dive into our thirty-plus-year reservoir of sermons and articles, and selected brief devotional readings for each day of Advent. Now we’ve slightly revised the ebook to have it optimized for 2013. Our hope is that God would use these readings to deepen and sweeten your adoration of Jesus this Advent. It goes on to say: Many contacted last year to ask for permission to print these devotionals not only for private use, but to share with friends and family — even their whole local congregation. We love that impulse to spread the joy, and gladly encourage you do so. Also, to serve as many as we can, we’ve worked with Amazon to make available a quality paperback version at low ...

I wanted to listen to I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference by Thomas Rainer, because I was looking for a book that might be of assistance to those people that are new to our Church, but also new to church in-general.  I thought about picking up the Kindle Version, but when I saw this book on Christian Audio, I decided to go ahead and pick it up.  Listening to audiobooks on my ride to work and while I am working out, has been very beneficial. Basically this book breaks down a few basic elements of Biblical Church membership. The author speaks as a Pastor (and the member of a church). He shares different stories with each chapter, and then builds a Biblical basis for the point of understanding Biblical Church Membership. I appreciate that the points, though they include the stories and personal experiences, are not built on these accounts. The principles are built on scripture, the other elements are just there to assist in illustrating dif...

I try to update my desktop background on my Chromebook every so often.  One of my favorite things is to try to find a piece of art that matches the current "feel" of my life.  For this winter, I think I found a great piece.  I just google "famous winter paintings" and found this one by some Serbian artist names Sava Šumanović.  I love the fact that it is a winter painting with a snowy landscape, yet if still feels warm.

There is going to be a Doctor Who Google Doodle!  You can see it now on Google New Zealand , though I am sure it will go live on the main Google page some time today.

On November 21st, at 7pm, in the Georgetown Ridge Farm High School Cafeteria, there will be the first meeting of the GRF Coalition for Community Involvement.  This event is open to anyone in the Georgetown Ridge Farm Community. Tonight I will be sharing the vision of the Coalition, with a key aspect on emphasizing Open Doors.  Even though this is not geared toward Churches or Christian Organizations, it is an amazing opportunity for Pastors and other Church Members to get involved in kids lives. If you know anyone in the Georgetown Ridge Farm Community, or just someone who cares about this community (they don't have to have children in the school or even live in this community) then please pass this along.  This includes Pastors, Church leaders, Church members, Business owners, Law Enforcement, City Leaders, Public officials, Family members, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and any other Concerned citizens. Please Pray that this meeting goes well and load...

Originally a radio broadcast, eventually a book... Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (I've probably posted this qu...

Offworld (Dangerous Times Collection Book #1) by Robin Parrish was an interesting story with an interesting catch (on the plot). Set slightly in the future, the premise of this book involves a crew returning from the first manned mission to Mars, only to find the planet uninhabited by man or animal. I found this book to continue at a good pace.  I was never bored with the story-line, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down on several occasions.  There was good character development, causing me to get attached to more than one of the main characters. The suspense in the book built at a good pace.  Even when the premise was explained, about three quarters of the way through the book, there was an appropriate level of intrigue remaining to keep me turning the pages until the end. I also appreciated the cleanliness of this book. So often, anymore, science fiction authors are tending to believe that nobody will read their books unless they are raw and filled ...

The Christianaudio.com free book of the month for October was A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards by George M. Marsden. I really enjoyed listening to this book. I didn't really know anything about the life of Jonathan Edwards before this book. I knew the name, I knew that he had a major impact in the evangelical world, and I knew that there were several of his works that were on my list of "to read" at some point in the future, but frankly, I was fairly ignorant as to why his name was "known." From what I understand, this book was meant to be an abbreviated version of a larger book by George M. Marsden. I haven't attempted to verify that, but I think this book mentions that in the introduction or the appendix.  I am sure that a longer work would be of great value, but if you are seeking to find the reasons why Jonathan Edwards has become an influential name in the realm of Christianity, then I would highly suggest this book.  It gives all of the basic inf...

One of the lessons that I have learned about listening to non-fiction audio books is that I will always be distracted, no matter how good the book. It could be the most fascinating book that I have ever listened to, or it could be the most boring monotonous book in existence, but I will be distracted. At some point while listening, I will catch myself thinking about something other than what this audio book is saying to me. With some books this happens more often than with others. But I have found that one of the most telling attributes of an audio book is the form of my distraction, not just how often I am distracted. With some audio books I find myself contemplating supper or a test that I need to grade, but with other audio books, I find that my mind has latched onto a thought or concept that is being discussed in the book and my brain must travel down that path, even though the voice talent has continued reading. With Christian Audio 's version of  A Call to Resurgence: Wil...

When I first started teaching, I began to encounter the "I'm just bad at math..." comment from a variety of students. I didn't find it helpful to the situation, but what was I to do?  I wasn't in their head... maybe they really did have math deficit disorder, but it sure seemed like the large part of my students who would use this phrase, seemed to connect it with their inability to get their homework completed. The longer I taught, the more I began to see a connection.  I even noticed that those students who were typically labeled the "math people" were also very diligent in their work. Now, I know that we live in a society that isn't allowed to make a judgment call on anybody for any reason, so even talking this way tends to ruffle some feathers.  My response is that you should stop judging me by calling me judgmental!  But that is a different blog post, I just want to share an article about this myth of "bad at math" that is plaguing...

Might we consider going the path of the early Christians?  What was their method for winning the Roman Empire? According to Mark Driscoll, we should consider the words of Douglas Wilson: It will be a great reformation and revival — it will happen the same way the early Christians conquered Rome. Their program of conquest consisted largely of two elements — gospel preaching and being eaten by lions — a strategy that has not yet captured the imagination of the the contemporary church. ~Douglas Wilson, as quoted by Mark Driscoll in his new book, A Call to Resurgence: Will Christianity Have a Funeral or a Future?  

Whene'er I take my pipe and stuff it And smoke to pass the time away, My thoughts, as I sit and puff it, Dwell on a picture sad and grey. It teaches me that very like Am I myself unto my pipe.  Like me, this pipe so fragrant burning Is made of naught but earth and clay; To earth I too shall be returning, It falls and, ere I'd think to say, It breaks in two before my eyes, In store for me a like fate lies.  No stain the pipe's hue yet doth darken; It remains white. Thus do I know That when to death's call I must hearken My body, too, all pale wilt grow. To black beneath the sod 'twill turn, Likewise, the pipe, if oft it burn. Or when the pipe is fairly glowing, Behold then instantaneously, The smoke off into thin air going, Till naught but ash is left to see. Man's frame likewise will burn And unto dust his body turn.  How oft it happens when one's smoking: The stopper's missing from its shelf, And one goes with one's finger poking Into the bow...

Basic Christianity  by John Stott has been an amazing book. I have heard of John Stott. I have seen other others mention him and quote him from time to time.  I have even seen a few of his books, but until now, I had never had the opportunity to read (or to listen to in this case) anything from this author. I am so glad that I have finally had that opportunity. While listening to this book, with each successive chapter that I completed, he continued to move up my personal ranks of influential authors. This book is exactly what the title suggests, it is all about Basic Christianity. But what I really loved is that the majority of the topics that this book covers would not have made it into my own book on basic Christianity... But here is the thing: After listening to Stott's explanations and reasons for each of his topics, I began to see how important each of these subjects are. If I had written a book on Basic Christianity, I would have thrown it away in favor of this book...

This life which we live here has its own allurements, which, from its own particular mode of beauty and its agreement with all these lower beauties... With regard to all these things, and others of like nature, sins are committed when, out of an immoderate liking for them, since they are the least goods, we desert the best and highest goods, which are you, O Lord our God, and your truth and your law. These lower goods have their delights, but none such as my God, who has made all things, for in him the just man finds delight, and he is the joy of the upright of heart. ~St. Augustine

I knew something was up yesterday... I just couldn't get anyone to spill the beans.

"Worshipping in spirit is the opposite of worshipping in merely external ways. It is the opposite of empty formalism and traditionalism. Worshipping in truth is the opposite of worship based on an inadequate view of God. Worship must have hear and head. Worship must engage emotions and thought."  "Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship." ~ John Piper, Desiring God

I just finished reading Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder  by Edward M. Hallowell M.D. and John J. Ratey M.D. a couple of days ago. I wanted to write a review of this book, not only because I enjoy writing reviews, but also because I was going to use this as an opportunity to talk about Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. Growing up in a Christian, Regular-Church-Attending Culture, different psychological challenges like Attention Deficit Disorder or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, have tended to all fall into one category: The category of excuses.  For many in this culture, the attempt to label and understand these issues looks like an excuse for bad behavior. They might say that hyperactive kids or distracted kids are just in need of stricter discipline.  According to some, they haven't been properly trained, and when these kids get into high school, they are told that they just need to try harder. Some people on this...

I was too busy to read Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung.  The full title of the book is Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem . It was produced by Christian Audio . I didn't actually read the book, I listened to the book thanks to Christian Audio. This book was read by Adam Verner.  He does a great job of capturing the feel of the book he is reading.  I always feel like I am actually listening to the author of the book when he is reading. This book deals with the problem of business. ...and it is a problem.  We are too busy, or at least it feels that way.  This book seeks to first address the reasons why we are busy or feel busy. As he attempts to diagnose the problem of busyness, Kevin DeYoung freely acknowledges the reality that he does not stand above the problem, but is right in the middle of the problem. In so many ways, he hits the nail on the head as he describes the different realities of "why" we are busy. Near the end of ...

I felt a Cleaving in my Mind -- As if my Brain had split -- I tried to match it -- Seam by Seam -- But could not make them fit.  The thought behind, I strove to join Unto the thought before -- But Sequence ravelled out of Sound -- Like Balls -- upon a Floor Emily Dickinson (1864) These words ring true of my ADD mind.

education EDUCA'TION, n. [L. educatio.] The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. with proper citation this time... "education." Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. 2013. http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/education (20 September 2013).

“If the study of the Bible is to be excluded from all state schools; if the inculcation of the principles of Christianity is to have no place in the daily program; if the worship of God is to form no part of the general exercises of these public elementary schools; then the good of the state would be better served by restoring all schools to church control.”   Oh... did I fail to mention that this statement was made in 1892?

Somehow I have managed to maintain this blog for 10 full years.

Four Views of the End Times  is a rather short book.  It is meant to be a quick overview of the four predominant Biblical views of the End Times.  These four views center on the Biblical understanding of the Millenium and other apocalyptic prophecies normally found in the final book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation. These four views are Dispensational Premillennialism, Historic Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism. I know that the majority of people that I am acquainted with would be slightly surprised that there is more than one Christian view of the End Times. The view that is most popular today, in American culture is the view called, Dispensational Premillennialism. Most think that real Christian scholars are in agreement over this view, but they just don't know the timing of when these things will come to pass. End Times discussions that I overhear or are involved in tend to focus on this pervading thought that the rapture is going to...

I have heard that I should read some G.K. Chesterton.  So I did.  I read Manalive and The Man Who Was Thursday .  I also read another one of his fictitious works, it might have been Lilith. But I have heard that I shouldn't just read his fiction, but one of his other works.  Recently I saw on a blog an encouragement to read Orthodoxy with a link to a free version on Amazon. Orthodoxy is almost autobiographical, but not really.  It is a collection of thoughts that tell the story of Chesterton's journey away from Orthodox Christianity into truth, only to find that at the center of truth was Orthodox Christianity. His writing style is fairly unique, and reminds me of C. S. Lewis.  There are references to names and ideas that are time-period specific, quaint little comments that I didn't understand, but gathered that his audience would have understood completely what he was talking about.  There is a whimsical edge to his words, but there is also a...

I found  Man of God by Charles Stanley to be a little lacking... Ok.  I know that all of those Charles Stanley fans out there are probably trying to figure out my address so they can go throw eggs at my house.  Please don't misunderstand me.  I love Charles Stanley as well.  I first began to understand many of the things to do with God while listening to his voice on cassette while I was working third shift janitorial at a mall.  I got a glimpse at what a good television preacher could be like while watching him wave that giant, floppy, heavily used Bible.  I could tell there was a passion for this Great God that we serve when I heard his voice.  This isn't an anti-Charles Stanley sort of review.  All I am saying is that I found it a bit lacking. Now, it was full, chock-full of excellent, godly advice. Bits of wisdom from years in the ministry.  Every bit of it was definitely valuable, and I wouldn't have a problem recommending it to...

Easily one of the top books I have read in 2013,  Love Into Light: The Gospel, the Homosexual and the Church  by Peter Hubbard addresses a topic that is both highly relevant in our society and yet inadequately (and often inappropriately) taught in our churches.  If you are seeking guidance on how a Biblically grounded, Gospel oriented Christian ought to understand and interact with homosexuality, then this is the book for you. Near the beginning of the book, Peter Hubbard addresses what I feel can be one of the most challenging problems with how the church has interacted with this topic.  He puts it this way: I have spoken to scores of men and women who have spent years worshipping in church while battling alone with SSA (Same Sex Attraction). They were terrified to tell anyone, and convinced that if other Christians knew their secret, they would be tagged and discarded. Imagine the trauma of believing that your struggle is unlike any other sin. The preacher make...

A couple of weeks ago a lady in my church, who has been at the church since I was about five years old, told me she was reading a book that she thought I might enjoy.  A couple of days later she handed me the book and told me that I could borrow it if I wanted.  The book was called, Who Stole My Church?  by Gordon MacDonald.  The subtitle is, What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century .  It was feeling a bit too close to home, needless to say, I was a tad nervous. But then I started reading the book. Here is the premise of the book:  Gordon MacDonald, a real-life Pastor and the author of this book, decided to tackle the challenging topic of Church Change and Church Reinvention by writing a story.  He uses himself and his wife as real characters in the book, but the church and the other characters are all fictional.  He then begins to break down the different topics commonly associated with change through the form of di...

The challenge of preaching from the Gospels is, in part the challenge of preaching from narrative.  The best of Western seminaries and theological colleges reinforce the cultural bent toward the abstract, and fill students' heads with the importance of grammatical, lexicographical exegesis. Such exegesis is, of course, of enormous importance. But in students who do not have a feel for literature, it can have the unwitting effect of so focusing on the tree, indeed on the third knot of the fourth branch from the bottom of the sixth tree from the left, that the entire forest remains unseen, except perhaps as a vague and ominous challenge. I am so glad that I have been reading this commentary by Carson.  I absolutely know that I could easily miss the forest for the trees, so to speak. My tendency is to drill deep on each verse and attempt to figure out what that verse is about.  I love the wealth of information that can be found in each individual sentence.  I don't w...

I have been trying to think of some commentary to add to this clip, but I just don't think I can do better than the video's description from YouTube: "Don't try to fix it. I just need you to listen." Every man has heard these words. And they are the law of the land. No matter what. I will say that I am almost positive that I have had this exact conversation, except without the nail.   HT: 22 Words

Yesterday I read through the entire Gospel According to John.  I did this, and will hopefully do this several more times, as preparation for our upcoming study on this Gospel.  I also started blogging my way, verse by verse, through this book.  I am up to John 1:12 as of this morning.  To cap it off, I started reading some commentaries on John, to get a better feel for the book.  It has been very interesting and enlightening, after only a few days, but it has also had a negative effect on me: I am starting to feel overwhelmed by this task. I am starting to realize that this Gospel account, even though the simplest of people can read it and find encouragement and insight, it is also very, very deep. It's uniqueness was my first clue.  Now, I have known for quite a long time that John was different than the other three gospel accounts, but I didn't realize how unique it actually was. It omits so many things that [the other gospel accounts] include. ...

Right now the ebook versions of the Crucial Questions series by R.C. Sproul is free. The announcement on the Ligonier Ministries website reads: To further help Christians know what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it, and how to share it, from today the eBook editions of R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series will be free forever. So, there is no rush to go grab these. (Although I went immediately and grabbed all of them.) They have epub format available, but they also have links to the Kindle version and the iTunes version. Check it out now and go get some questions answered. http://www.ligonier.org/blog/rc-sprouls-crucial-questions-ebooks-now-free/

William Lane Craig speaking on why actual infinities cannot exist, meaning that there is a beginning to the universe. I love this stuff.

After the last sermon I preached, someone that visited our church thought I was preaching a works-based salvation. Now, honestly, I don't believe in a works-based salvation.  But, after I thought about it, I have been accused of that before.  I'm telling you though, I believe that salvation comes by God's grace alone, and it is worked through God-gifted faith. (Eph. 2:8-9) I am not upset at all about the question, I am a school teacher... I love being questioned!  But I do want to mention this because there seems to be some confusion among many Christians that I know when it comes to the relationship between faith and works. Another example of this happened a few weeks ago.  There was a prominent Pastor in the area that did some teaching on the topic of eternal security. He taught that you cannot lose your salvation, so to speak, but that you can walk away from the faith. Now, I don't want to put words in the mouth of this Pastor, and I believe him to be a godly ma...

my mom is better than yours. gentle, sweet and kind, and prettier too.

Lord Jesus, I am blind, be thou my light,    ignorant, be thou my wisdom,    self-willed, be thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit's voice,    and delightfully run after his beckoning hand; Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,    make it alive to evil's slightest touch; When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,    and there cease to tremble at all alarms. Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word,    and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts. Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales    may ruffle the calm surface of my soul. Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge, Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean, Thy death occurred to give me a surety, Thy name is my property to save me, By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,    but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love. I was a stranger, an outcast, a sla...

Sometimes when I read a blog or an article, it strikes a real chord in my heart.  The other day my wife pointed me to this post on the Desiring God blog that did just that.  I think it struck a chord in her heart on my behalf as well.  I believe that was because it put to words what I experience in my own life. The blog was about a discussion with John Piper reflecting his 33 years in ministry.  The sentences that caught my attention were: “It’s amazing how many introverts go into ministry,” Pastor John said of himself and others. But it’s true. For many pastors, hanging out with people is physically draining. “A lot of people would say that’s a bad thing; you should repent of that and turn around and either do something else, or start loving to hang out with people.”  Or, he said, introverted pastors can use their strengths to intentionally love people. Extroverted pastors and introverted pastors, if they’re born again, both love people, but there remain...

I think that  +Ashley Harmless  and myself could have this rap battle... specially since we share a mama... !

If you have never been to NoiseTrade.com , now would be a good time to visit them. Noise Trade has free music. Yeah sure, there is the option of leaving the artist a tip, but sometimes I don't really know the artist that well.  There have been a couple of times that I have left a tip for an artist that I knew and I believed in supporting their work (or ministry in some cases).  But sometimes I just download something that sounds interesting, but I have never heard of it before. If you haven't been there before, you should swing by and pick up Andrew Peterson's The Lost Boy Sampler .  So far I have loved all of Andrew Peterson's work, and this one doesn't seem to be a disappointment. I also downloaded two albums from The Vespers .  I have never heard of this group, but so far I have really enjoyed what I've heard so far.  In fact, I am listening to them right now. Here is a video of them live in New York.

Taking God Seriously by J. I. Packer was not at all what I expected it to be. I have read a couple of other Packer books.  I have thoroughly enjoyed everything that I have read from him in the past, so when this new book became available through Christian Audio, I was happy to listen to it in order to write a review. Having read these other books by Packer, I was expecting this book to deal with big thoughts of how we need to take God seriously.  I was ready to soak in some over-arching themes on the importance of really listening to God and doing what He says. My first surprise came when he started talking extensively about issues in the Anglican church.  Not only did I not know that Packer was Anglican, I had also never seen him refer to any current denominational issues.  This book contains numerous references to current issues that are plaguing the Anglican church and many other churches in the world today.  Much of this book felt like an address to ot...

The church where I am the pastor has seen some growth lately.  On Easter Sunday we had 4 baptisms, there have been others wanting to join the church, and several others who have been attending on a regular basis for a couple of months now. I am struggling for the words to try to explain how exciting this has been for us.  You need to understand that we were averaging about 25 people, 3 months ago.  Lately it has been closer to 50 on several Sundays.  Then, this Easter we had 75 people in our building, when the previous Easter we had 15.  On a personal note, before the four baptisms that I performed on Easter Sunday, I had only performed three other baptisms total... in my whole life!  It has been very exciting. To top everything else off, the people that are coming are the exact sort of people that I had been hoping for.  Nearly everyone that is new is someone who has either never been to church, or has not been to church in countless years.  ...

I just found an article by David Powlison, a well-known Biblical Counselor.  The article deals with introducing Biblical Counseling in the local church.  He says he comes at it by adjusting how we take prayer requests in the church.  Though this article is about Counseling, I felt that the comments made about Biblical prayer were worth reading and sharing. Here is a snippet of that blog post: ... the Bible’s prayers are rarely about health, travel mercies, finances, doing well on a test, finding a job, or the salvation of unsaved relatives. Of course, these are legitimate things to pray for, but they are a minor emphasis in Scripture. Even so, these topics typically dominate most church and small group prayer requests. They easily miss the real action of God’s dealings with his beloved people.  In contrast, the driving focus of biblical prayer asks God to show himself, asks that we will know him, asks that we will love others. It names our troubles. It names ...

Page CXVI Hymns is giving away their entire music catalog... 74 songs... for free! According to their website: To celebrate our 7-year anniversary of making music, we're giving away our entire catalog of music for the month of March, including our original music from The Autumn Film! They are celebrating their own "Jubilee" for 7 years of making music. I have listened to most of their music over the past couple of years.  What I have listened to, I have really enjoyed.  As far as I can tell, they work hard at creating God-honoring, Christ-exalting music. If you would like to download this music, just head on over to their website: http://www.pagecxvi.com/jubilee/ If you download it, let me know in the comments.  I would like to hear what you think about their music.

My new favorite thing to eat... Peanut Butter / Biscoff sandwiches! I first tried this with a product called  Speculoos Cookie Butter . My wife bought a jar of it at Trader Joe's .  Since she hadn't been back, I've been doing without... until I found the original at Wal-Mart!  It is called Lotus Biscoff Spread .  I am sure it is not all that healthy.  It is made from cookies, but it has no nuts in it (for those with allergies). If you check out the official website, you will see it's history and they will also point out that it is Vegan.  :)

I don't read nearly as much fiction as I used to, but occasionally I will see a book on Amazon for free that I think to myself, "hmm.  That sounds interesting."   Minder was one of those books. I was drawn into this book for a few reasons:  One, it was free.  It is no longer free, but it was listed with the free books for a short time.  That can easily draw me in. A second reason I was drawn into this book was the basic premise, as shared through the book's description on Amazon.  It reads: Oh, Parents. If you knew what was inside that security blanket, you'd never throw it away. Childhood is governed from a sacred place within the trees, lit by fireflies, and overseen by ancient souls devoted to the sanctity of youth. Some kids are lucky enough to visit this place, but mortal danger arises for Sophia, who arrives uninvited. Readers are carried through a whimsical, often nail-biting adventure as brother and sister confront every parent's...