What Happens When We Deny the Laws of Economics?

Denial of the laws [of economics] by popular vote or strike or clever thought experiments does not deny the laws of economics themselves.  It just produces things like the Great Depression, or the Collapse of Communism, the Failure of Development Planning, and the fiscal crises that is plaguing the PIGS at the moment.

That's Dr. Peter Boettke explaining why we shouldn't ignore the laws of economics (which never change and can't be changed, just like the laws of nature).

Markets are amazingly resilient forces as individuals even in the worst of circumstances will attempt to realize the gains from trade and the gains from innovation.  We are constantly confronted in economic life with the counter-factual --- what would economic growth look like if the parasitic and predatory state simply wasn't in place to thwart economic progress.  If even relatively free market economies produce such amazing growth through the gains from trade and the gains from innovation, then imagine what might result under a truly free market system.  And also realize how much stupidity the gains from trade and the gains from innovation can off-set.  Adam Smith recognized the stupidity, as did Ludwig von Mises -- we have experienced tremendous progress since Adam Smith and also since Ludwig von Mises wrote, but not as much as would have been experienced had we really learned from them rather than just pay lip-service to the teachings of economics in the realm of public policy.  And the denial of the teachings of economics by politicians and policy experts has brought the economies of the western democracies to their knees in a public debt crisis.  Next up, unless we watch and heed Adam Smith's warnings, will be a monetary system crisis.  The "juggling tricks" of deficits, debt and debasement can only conceal the deleterious effects of bad policy for so long.
....

As you watch the events unfold in Europe and also right here in the US recognize that the policies that have resulted in the situation are a consequence of men (whether they "economists" or not is besides the point) denying the laws of economics.

(Bolding done by me)

Liberty Erodes Slowly, Like Embankments on the Seashore

This is from an old, but very good post over at the Imaginative Conservative, by my dear friend Brad Birzer.  Do read the whole thing.

The biggest threats to our Republic are not necessarily the ones we see, hear, or even think about daily.  But we’ve long since been at a point where it’s time for conservatives to stand up and question the growth of leviathan that began under a Republican president and with a Republican congress. 

...Are we truly safer because of the government’s measures?   At what point do we say “enough” to intrusion and surveillance?    If we don’t draw the line somewhere, what’s next?

Liberty erodes slowly, like embankments on the seashore.

Barefoot People = Healthy People

The Sock Doc recently wrote a thorough post on the benefits and how-tos of going barefoot. Well worth reading. I simply find the bio-mechanics of all this fascinating.  Barefoot is also more comfortable and fun :-)

Here are some excerpts:

Humans should be able to function barefoot from birth until death, (barring some birth defect, infection, or trauma of course), though sadly many people are unable to run, walk, or even stand for even a few minutes barefoot without discomfort, pain, or general uneasiness. Many people have essentially lost their ability to support themselves without support, (shoes or shoes with orthotics), either because of poor biomechanics or an underlying health problem.

Humans are not meant to over-stride and land on their heels when running which today’s typical shoe promotes. Even while walking, typical footwear will elicit more of a heel strike, extended stride, and an unnatural and inefficient push-off with the foot. A minimalist or barefoot walker will land softly with a shorter stride and efficiently roll off the foot.

Modern life has also changed how we move and of course, live our daily lives. In addition to the harmful influence of modern walking and running shoes, common daily stresses such as long work hours, family demands, and poor food choices have created unhealthy changes in most human feet which further contribute to gait disturbances and other body aches, pains, and ailments.

Health is not merely the absence of some pathological disease. Many people think they are healthy but often they are not as healthy as they could be. Do you sleep well throughout the night without awakening and wake up feeling good without aches and pains? If not, I’d define that as poor health. Do you take any medication – whether it’s an anti-inflammatory, hormone replacement, a drug to wake up, to go to sleep, or to have sex? Taking any medication is a sign of poor health. Do you lack energy – both physically and mentally during the day? How about your digestion? Are you one of the many women (and sometimes guys) like those I see in the office who think it’s normal to have a bowel movement just a couple of times a week? Definitely not healthy. Do you need to wear an orthotic in order to walk without pain or some type of traditional footwear with support and “cushion” so you can walk, stand, or even exercise? If you do you’re definitely not healthy from my perspective.

How do we go about presenting the message of Evangelism?

  

The past two weeks we have talked about what the message of evangelism is and how to test our message.  By way of review, the message of evangelism is: God has provided a way sinners can be reconciled to Himself; through Christ alone.

Now, how do we go about the task of presenting this message? 

         First, we must know the message ourselves.  There is a difference between knowing and knowing, a difference the English language fails to capture.  To borrow an analogy from Jonathan Edwards, think about describing the taste and other properties of honey to someone.  After you had done your utmost to describe it they may be able to say,  ”Yes, I know what honey is.”  But it would only be after you gave them a taste of pure honey that they could say, “Ah, now I know what honey is. I have seen and tasted its sweetness.”  So it is with the wonderful Spiritual truths of God.  The Devil, I imagine, is a mighty fine theologian. He certainly knows about God, far more about him than many individuals here on earth.  But God, the Gospel, and the good news of the Kingdom is not a body of doctrines or simply a set of truths one can memorize by rote as if it were a set of conjugations or a multiplication table.  Yes, we must know the message, be able to say it and explain it to someone else, but more than that, we must truly know it.  We can know this by experiencing ourselves new birth in Jesus, being reconciled to God.  And we can know this by studying the truth of the matter in the Bible, and seeing the lives of others transformed.  More is yet necessary.

         Secondly, we must be able to articulate this message with an open Bible.  Each word in the simple sentence above is fraught with meaning. The causes, reasons, and implications are tremendous.  Do we know what they are? Can we point them out in the Bible and explain them?  What does it mean that God has provided a way? Why do sinners need a way? Why was this way necessary? Why do we need to be reconciled? Why through Christ alone? How does that work? And there could be follow-up questions to even the answers of these questions.

         How do we come to this kind of thorough understanding? We know God. We learn his attributes, the nature of man, and the person and work of Christ.  We should be able to explain and show through Scripture basic, foundational doctrines such as justification by faith; imputed righteousness, substitutionary atonement for sin, etc.  We should be saturated with Scripture. In an age and culture that teems with an endless amount of diversions around every corner this is difficult.  It is far easier to become saturated with the messages of billboards, tv commercials, radio talk shows, the news, politicians, blogs, emails, financial markets, or the latest rumors floating around.  All these fly at us endlessly. One would have to be a hermit to avoid them.  So it takes a proactive attitude to saturate our minds and hearts with Scripture, committing it to memory, knowing key passages, becoming familiar with what chapters or books to turn to when need be.  One does not simply gain this saturation from listening to a sermon once a week or even a five-minute daily quiet time.  Finally, we should also become familiar with good commentaries and biographies of missionaries and other great men and women of the faith.   Do you have a trusted source when you are unsure about what a text means?  If you don’t have one, you won’t have one to go to when you need it most.  In the West, we live in an age and economy when access to such resources is profoundly abundant. 

         Why take care to do all these things?  Because we ought to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us.              

“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15) and “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

        

Finally, after all these things, remember that it does not ultimately depend on you.  Belief in Jesus depends “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13) So pray for God’s leading and trust the Holy Spirit to lead to opportunities and to provide the words when opportunities for evangelism come.  “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:19-20)

They are not common among those who are called true Christians

I recently read a sermon by J. C. Ryle, "Remember Lot!" In it, Ryle looks at Gen 19:16 where it says, "He lingered" (referring to Lot), explaining who lot was (a Christian), why he lingered, and what happened because of it. Note this portion below. It seems times haven't changed much and this same text could have been written today:

You live in days when a lingering, Lot-like religion abounds. The stream of profession is far broader than it once was, but far less deep in many places. A certain kind of Christianity is almost fashionable now. To belong to some party in the Church of England, and show a zeal for its interests,—to talk about the leading controversies of the day,—to buy popular religious books as fast as they come out, and lay them on your table,—to attend meetings,—subscribe to societies,—and discuss the merits of preachers,—all these are now comparatively easy and common attainments. They no longer make a person singular. They require little or no sacrifice. They entail no cross.

But to walk closely with God, to be really spiritually-minded,—to behave like strangers and pilgrims,—to be distinct from the world in employment of time, in conversation, in amusements, in dress,—to bear a faithful witness for Christ in all places,—to leave a savour of our Master in every society, to be prayerful, humble, unselfish, meek,—to be jealously afraid of sin, and tremblingly alive to our danger from the world,—these, these are still rare things. They are not common among those who are called true Christians, and, worst of all, the absence of them is not felt and bewailed as it should be.

Elsewhere in the sermon he says:

...eminent holiness, and eminent usefulness, are most closely connected,—that happiness and following the Lord fully go side by side,—and that if believers will linger, they must not expect to be useful in their day and generation, or to enjoy great comfort and peace in believing.

The full text can be found here.  I highly recommend reading.

Philippians: the book about putting others' interests first

    Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
(Philippians 2:4)

    But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
(Philippians 1:24-25)

    For I have no one like [Timothy], who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare...But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.
  (Philippians 2:20-22)

    I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.
(Philippians 2:25-26)

For [Christ's] sake I have suffered the loss of all things
(Philippians 3:8)

    Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
  (Philippians 4:17)

And a couple references to those who seek their own interests:

    For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
(Philippians 2:21)

    For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ...their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
(Philippians 3:18-19)

What is love? 5 word definition-

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of God's law." - Romans 13:10

Paul gives that definition some decor in I Corinthians 13.

I like Systematic Theology but all it tells me is that God is faithful and systematic

Will we be able to say at the end of our lives, “I have kept the faith”? Not just, have I held fast to a body of doctrines. That is not all that Paul meant. But more: have we lived by faith in future Grace? Not just for a moment, or year, or a decade, but all the way to the end?  -John Piper; Future Grace

 We will not say, "I have kept the doctrine", or "I have believed the confession", both important things.  So each day, as we learn the catechism, study the Confession, learn systematic theology remember that it's not for a test that will happen on an unknown date for you.  You are learning these things so that you keep the faith. 

St. Peter on "why be sober-minded"

3 reasons:

1. The inheritance promised believers (cf. I Peter 1:3-12)
2. So that you may pray, or so that your prayers are effective.
3. Because your enemy actively seeks someone to devour.    

  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(1 Peter 1:13)

    The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
(1 Peter 4:7)

    Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
(1 Peter 5:8)

What is the state of your heart?

"The condition of the heart is appraised by the kinds of desires that hold sway. Or, to put it another way, the state of the heart is shown by the things that satisfy its desires."
-John Piper; Future Grace

Are meetings killing your productivity?

A few tips I wrote to a friend who was having trouble taking care of truly important projects at work due to the many and lengthy meetings he had to be a part of:

-Try, as much as in your power, to group meetings together, next to each other on your calendar.  Better to have them all on Tuesday, for instance, than spread throughout the week.  You may know from experience that one meeting or even an interruption in the middle of block of time can kill the productivity during that time, making a three hour block of time about as good as one hour, in terms of creative energy and productivity.  So plan your time intentionally.  Don't fall victim to a schedule that has random holes in it decreasing your productivity by orders of magnitude.

-Try to determine when you are most mentally energetic during the day (it's probably the morning) and don't have meetings or check e-mail during that time. That way you are devoting the most "fertile" hours of your day to work where it can have the most pay off ("creative work" as it's called").  Then try to be involved in meetings during times that are lower energy for you - perhaps afternoons - because you likely don't need as much energy for a meeting as you do to get some real solid work done on a project.  Getting quality work done needs quality and undivided time.  Answering quick e-mails or voicemails can be done (usually) with very little stress or thought, thus there is little reason to take care of such when your mind is primed for pumping out high quality work.  When I write, or study the Bible, want to take care of the day's most important project, all these happen first thing each day and are usually done by 11am, giving a hearty sense of accomplishment and momentum by lunchtime.

-If you do calendar sharing at work, intentionally block off parts of your schedule a week or two in advance such that you are scheduling an appointment "with yourself", basically time devoted to a particular task or project and you will let nothing get in the way.  On other people's calendars it will just show up as busy and they will know that that is off limits for scheduling a meeting or appointment.  This can also help for self-accountability. For instance, tomorrow I've blocked off all day to devote to preparing a talk I'm to deliver the following week.  It's a meeting with myself when other things, be it phone calls, emails, other work, etc. will not be allowed to invade.  The emails can wait and if someone absolutely needs me tomorrow they will call twice or text.

For more on how to make the most of meetings, I recommend this book:
Read This Before Our Next Meeting


Hope these are helpful for you. I'd love to hear some of your ideas for increasing your productivity at work and not falling victim to meetings or the tyranny of the urgent.

The Rock Solid Promise of Romans 8:28

    And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 ESV)

"Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28. Outside Romans 8:28 all is confusion and anxiety and fear and uncertainty. Outside this promise of all-encompassing future Grace there are straw houses of drugs and alcohol and numbing TV and dozens of feudal diversions there are slat walls and tin roofs of fragile investment strategies and fleeting insurance coverage and trivial retirement plans. There are cardboard fortifications of deadbolt locks and alarm systems and anti-ballistic missiles outside our thousand substitutes for Romans 8:28. Once you walk through the door of love and the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28 everything changes."

-John Piper; Future Grace

Salvation - a home with no mortgage payments

"Picture salvation as a house you live in. It provides you with protection. It is stocked with food and drink that will last forever. It never decays or crumbles. Its windows open onto vistas of glory. God built at great cost to himself and to his Son, and he gave it to you. The “purchase” agreement is called a “new covenant.” The terms read: “this house shall become and remain yours if you will receive as a gift and take delight in the Father and the Son as they inhabit the house with you. You shall not profane the house of God by sheltering other gods, or turn your heart away after other treasures.” Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts. You would be treating the house no longer is a gift, but a purchase. God would no longer be the free benefactor. And you would be enslaved to a new set of demands that he never dreamed putting on you. If grace is to be free–which is the very meaning of grace–we can have you as something to be repaid."

-John Piper; Future Grace

The Five Love Languages Singles Edition - Book Review

Until now I have known about the five love languages but didn’t truly know them.  We’ve talked about them a handful of times in our Sunday School class, “The Call of Husbands” at church and I’ve known about them before then. They always seemed like a good idea and I had a decent sense of what my language was.  I wish I had read this book 10 years ago and taken it to hear then. 

This book helped to open my eyes much more to the dialects of the languages and why they are so important to learn and speak in all relationships, be it marriage, dating, work, friends, etc.  Gary Chapman outlines the importance of the love languages, especially by showing how relationships can fall apart without noting them and speaking the ones most needed. He also details what each language looks like and then talks about how we can apply them in our different spheres of life.

The book was not as deep as I was hoping but it was decent and I am glad I bought and read it.  With story after story I was led to wonder if Chapman was just filling up space with ease and not really being as meaty as he could be.  That said, each chapter ends with some good questions to go over and at the end of the book is a valuable section of questions that are matched to each chapter, put together for small group study, though still worthwhile for an individual.

The Five Love Languages Singles Edition

Sin & Faith

"Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it holds out some promise of happiness that promise enslaves us until we believe in God is more to be desired than life itself."

"Faith focuses on the freedom of God to dispense grace to the unworthy.  It banks on the bounty of God."

-John Piper; Future Grace

There are 24 steps to cheating on your wife

Which one are you on?

Sin is progressive.  When one cheats on a wife (for example), or does anything else rather extreme, it does not happen over night. It isn't just one step to walk into the wrong joint at night, or one step to point the browser in the wrong direction.  That's just the last step in a long series that were headed in the wrong direction.

    But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
(James 1:14-15 ESV)

 King David, before he killed Uriah slept with Bathsheba, and before he did that he invited her over and before that he looked to see her in the evening, and before he went on his rooftop, and before that he made the decision to stay home when his army went out for war.  Imagine all that could have been avoided had David simply gone to battle with his men as was tradition. 

So pondering each and every one of our steps is important.  Each step is likely a step in the right or in the wrong direction. There is little if any neutral ground for the Saint.  Our every thought is a step; everything we say, and everything we do, no matter how inconsequential an action seems.  Habits don't need proactive, conscious thought to form. And the reason you delayed on delivering a major project, for instance, was not because you lazily procrastinated on it but because you proactively did lots of other little things that really were less important.

Prov. 14:15

The simple believes everything,

but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

Prov 4:26

Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

Prov 19:2

Desire without knowledge is not good,

and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

Derek Kidner on Words at their Best in Proverbs

Kidner's commentaries are a consistent go-to source for me.  In his Proverbs commentaries he writes about the power and weakness of words, and words at their best.  Here is what he had to say about the marks of good words (full references added to allow you to take advantage of mouse-over feature on this site):

1.  They will be honest. 'Righteous lips are the delight of kings' (Prov 16:13) - one of the good things which the great can neither buy nor afford to be without.  cf. Prov 24:24-26, where a 'right' answers (Prov 24:26) is literally a 'straight' or 'straightforward one. cf. also Prov 25:12; 27:5,6; 28:23.

2. They will be few. This point is made with iron in Prov 17:28 ('Even a fool may pass for wise, if he says nothing', Moffatt); but there are solid enough grounds for it elsewhere. In one's own interest, the less said, the less ammunition there is for ill-wishers (Prov 10:14; 13:3); for one's neighbour's good, reticence may save a friendship (Prov 11:12,13); and in relation to God, when words run away with a man they run him into folly and arrogance: 'When words are many, transgression is not lacking' (Prov 10:19).

 3. They will be calm. A link with the previous paragraph is found in Prov 17:27, where a sparing use of words is commended as the mark of 'a cool spirit', which denotes 'a man of understanding'. Three reasons can be found for this praise of calmness: first, it allows time for a fair hearing (Prov 18:13; cf. verse 17); second, it allows tempers to cool (Prov 15:1 : 'a soft answer...'); and third, its influence is potent: 'a soft tongue breaketh the bone' (Prov 25:25).

4. They will be apt.  A truth that makes no impression as a generalization may be indelibly fixed in the mind when it is matched to its occasion and shaped to its task. There is a craftsman's as well as a recipient's delight glimpsed in Prov 15:23 : 'To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!' The same aesthetic pleasure glows in the language of 10:20 ('The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver') and Prov 25:11 ('like apples of gold in a setting of silver'); cf also Prov 25:12; 22:11; 10:32.

What is the message of Evangelism?

In our present study we have discussed the priority of evangelism and the motives for evangelism, all without getting down to the brass tacks of what evangelism is.  So without further ado…
But first, lets look at what the message of evangelism is not. It is not:

• A message of goodwill; nor exhortation to live good/better life.
• An attempt to raise morale of people at difficult times.
• A protest against social sins and social institutions.

These things may come as a result of preaching the gospel, but they are not the essence of the message.
The main fundamental message of evangelism is:  God has provided a way sinners can be reconciled to Himself; through Christ alone.

Note that the message contains four key elements:

• Message about God
• Message about sinful man
• Message about Christ, his Person and Work
• Message about the call to response; i.e. call to faith and repentance

Next week we will look at how to test our message of evangelism.

            For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
            For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
            “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
            Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, (1 Corinthians 1:17-23 ESV)

Resolutions for the Tongue Based on James

I've put consistent, daily blogging on the back burner since there are simply other priorities to attend to right now.  This morning while praying I realized my readers may be interested in the below - a series of resolutions for the tongue based on the book of James. This is not original to me. If I recall, I may have found it via Justin Taylor's blog.

I trust you find it useful. Note that in parenthesis is the reference where the resolution is drawn from.

1. I resolve to ask God for wisdom to speak out of a single-minded devotion to him. (1:5)

2. I resolve to boast only in the exultation I receive in Jesus Christ and also in the humiliation I receive for Jesus Christ. (1:9-10)

3. I resolve to set a watch over my mouth. (1:13)

4. I resolve to be constantly quick to hear and slow to speak. (1:19)

5. I resolve to learn the gospel way of speaking to both rich and poor. (2:1-4)

6. I resolve to speak in the present consciousness of my final judgment. (2:12)

7. I resolve never to stand on anyone's face with the words I employ. (2:16)

8. I resolve never to claim as reality in my life what I do not truly experience. (3:14)

9. I resolve to resist quarrelsome words as evidence of a bad heart that needs to be mortified. (4:1)

10. I resolve never to speak decided evil against another out of a heart of antagonism. (4:11)

11. I resolve never to boast in anything but what I will accomplish. (4:13)

12. I resolve to speak as one subject to the providences of God. (4:15)

13. I resolve never to grumble. The judge is at the door. (5:9)

14. I resolve never to allow anything but total integrity in everything I say. (5:12)

15. I resolve to speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer. (5:13)

16. I resolve to sing praises to God whenever I'm cheerful. (5:14)

17. I resolve to ask for the prayers of others when I'm in need. (5:14)

18. I resolve to confess it whenever I have failed. (5:15)

19. I resolve to pray with others for one another whenever I am together with them. (5:15)

20. I resolve to speak words of restoration when I see another wander. (5:19) 

The Butter Battle Book book review, or: why restricting immigration makes no sense

It's been awhile since I've read a Dr. Seuss book. Too long probably.  A couple weeks go Abi invited me to come to the library with the fam. Sure! Cracks me up, at just 4 years old she is such a first born.

Off to the kids section we go. Hmm, hadn't seen this one before, "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss. 
By page 3, I was hooked.

"On the last day of summer, ten hours before fall… my grandfather took me out to the Wall.  For a while he stood silent. Then finally he said, with a very sad shake of his very old head, "as you know, on this die of the Wall we are Yooks. On the far other side of this Wall live the Zooks.  Then my grandfather said, It's high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that zooms do. In every Zook house and in very Zook town every Zook eats his bread with the butter side down!" (italics his)

So begins the story. The story continues on til the very end with the two sides constantly one-upping the other with weapons until…  Well, that's the end.  Dr. Seuss really made this one anti-climactic.

The key elements here that got me thinking were: The relatively minor difference between people groups, the militant force or nationalism one will use to protect his own way of life, and the wall.

It only took the wall to remind of the current immigration debate in the States.  There are some who would like a wall built on the border of Mexico to keep people from getting in. 

The brilliance of Dr. Seuss is that he shows how the differences are so petty - in the book nothing more than butter being the other side of the bread.  But how much different is it in reality?  So others might speak a different language, they may have an accent, their skin may be a different color, they may have different food preferences, and so on. But in the grand scheme of things aren't those minor differences.  How often we lit petty differences get between us.

Yes, definitely read this book if you can. You may see through this parable parallels to your own life or country.

The Butter Battle Book: (New York Times Notable Book of the Year) (Classic Seuss)

Future Grace: Book Review

This is the first John Piper book I have read in a long time.  Like his other larger books, this one is heavy sledding.  And like his other books, the rewards are tremendous for working through it. 

The book is about why and how to have faith in future grace from God.  He applies this to various temptations and sins as well such as anxiety and lust such that an alternate title for the book could be something like, "How to fight sin".

I found myself spiritually strengthened each time I read this book.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with sin.  Piper clearly lays out why the struggle exists and how to biblically fight it. 

The only problem I had with the book is how big it was compared to how simple it's message is. The book weighs in at 400 pages and I imagine it could be cut down to around 350 pages for a bit more brevity.  A nice addition to the book, perhaps in appendix form would be a comprehensive list of the promises of God for his children.  Piper so many times in the book talks about how we need to rely on these promises but very rarely mentions what they are. 

Future Grace

Be Present - Ignore Electronics

Many of the readers here know I try to live a Paleo lifestyle (as much as one can in the modern world anyway), not for it's own sake but for a better quality of life.  The results have been incredible and I have no good reason to go back to the way I used to eat/sleep/exercise. 

I've been working on my sleep a lot lately, namely, getting enough and making sure it's quality.  One of the benefits of that is more energy, better memory, and clearer thinking. Today, for instance, I've been going strong  for over 6 hours and plan on 9 more yet (post written noon of the 27th).  Getting quality sleep has been yet another change in my life recently where I've seen dramatic improvements from a simple switch.

One of the ways to get quality sleep is to avoid looking at electronic light before bedtime.  Electronics are things like tv, computer screen, phone, etc.  They emit blue light and that stuff just ain't good for the brain prior to shut-eye.  I used to aim for turning off all electronics an hour before bed.  I recently learned though that I should be doing more than that, something around 2 hours, and more than that, the electromagnetic waves have a negative affect on the brain for sleep. 

That's the sciency stuff but then there's the whole element of just being present. being where you are, with what you have and who you have.  Does your quality of life truly increase substantially by scrolling up and down your Facebook newsfeed on your phone or computer?  I'm really thankful for Dallas Hartwig at The Whole9 for encouraging me to shut my electronics off two hours before bedtime for this reason.  Now I know that however busy or stressful my days are they are going to end with 2 hours of "peace", away from email, phone, alerts, whatever. They'll end with books, conversations, hand writing, prayer and silence. 

So from now on, for the most part, my electronics go on off or "airplane mode" at 7pm every night, and will be off til I wake up around 5am. 

I won't hold to this rule as if my life depended on it. Last week someone pointed out to me I broke the rule. "Yes, I realize that. Thank you for pointing out that I'm not perfectly consistent in everything I do."  Sometimes I will make evening phone calls for appointments, and to call friends. And sometimes I will get on Skype to hold a meeting with a team of teachers about to head to the other side of the world.   But in general, I am aiming to be more present and thoughtful in my evenings prior to rest, saving things that can be done without an electronic til that time, and making use of that time to be present with others, and "be still and know that [He] is God."

I encourage you to do something similar.  Some (I think of my parents generation) have little problem with these things at all. They never let electronics control them, but instead lived such as to control their electronics.  Others do have to be much more conscious about being present in the particular moment and in their particular place.

Blessings to you,
Ben