Stopping to Think

"Untold numbers of professing Christians waste their lives trying to escape the cost of love. They do not see that it is always worth it. There is more of God's glory to be seen through suffering than through self-serving escape." John Piper Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis My rating: 5 of 5 stars A collection of some of Lewis' greatest essays. Many of the quotes you'll see floating around the internet with Lewis' name attached come from this collection. But as wonderful, quotable, and thought-provoking as his sentences can be, Lewis shines in building an argument and making a case in which those same quotes land with significantly greater force. While The Weight of Glory remains one of the finest (or at least most significant) essays I've read, others also stood out as well. Is Theology Poetry?, Membership, and Learning in Wartime were all edifying, challenging, and superb. While I have been culling books of late, I don't foresee any circumstance under which I would remove this volume from my collection. View all my reviews

"God is not interesting. He is deeply upsetting." John Stott Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne My rating: 5 of 5 stars I just finished reading this to my children last night. It left me with one burning question: why isn't every children's book written to this level of excellence? Milne's insight into people is astounding. How we act, how we talk, how we think. He is skilled, not only at seeing and describing these things, but in displaying how frequently absurd they are. This is a fun and delightful book, which will be revisited often in the Dole home. View all my reviews

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably contain some things which even I think are crazy. Pondering Treason Originally Posted on Facebook, December 22, 2009 This is something I wrote in my journal the other night. I’ve been kind of wandering in my devotions lately, so in attempt to regain a bit of focus I pulled out an old notebook with some sermon notes from a few years ago, which proved rather fruitful in provoking thought. It’s written from the perspective of me talking to myself in the third person because, well, I think better that way…anyhow, hope it provides a little food f

I am an avid, if not particularly prolific, reader. Folks sometimes get the impression that I've read more than I have, partially because I retain fairly well, and I like to use quotations.  I suppose I could read more if I were to read faster (that seems logical enough), but I don't seem to enjoy the reading experience nearly so much when I do so, and the last thing I want is for my favorite leisure activity to become drudgery.  One thing that I have always lacked in my reading, besides speed, is any sort of tracking mechanism. I decided to change that this year, just to keep tabs on what sort of things I'm reading, if there are any books I need to focus more heavily on, and to keep track of what I've finished. I've included my first three entries for the year down below. I don't try to be weekly or anything like that with my entries, updating only when I finish a book, upon which I will leave a few thoughts. I believe the rest of it is fairly self-explanat

As most of you know, Justice Antonin Scalia died two days ago . Ross Douthat has a nice piece on him, and the impact of his death, over at the New York Times . While I have not always followed the proceedings of our nation's high court as closely as would probably be wise, I have enjoyed and appreciated nearly everything I have read from the pen of Justice Scalia. His dissent in the Obergefell was of particular brilliance (it begins on page 69 , here ), and I thought I would post a few quotes from it for your mulling, enjoyment, learning, and remembrance of perhaps the greatest Justice of my lifetime. The substance of today’s decree is not of immense personal importance to me. The law can recognize as marriage whatever sexual attachments and living arrangements it wishes, and can accord them favorable civil consequences, from tax treatment to rights of inheritance. Those civil consequences—and the public approval that conferring the name of marriage evidences—can perhaps have ad

"Life is wasted [by] waiting to make decisions." Andie Dole Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Hope you enjoyed week's installment.

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit slightly for readability and grammar, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably contain some things that even I think are crazy. Notes from Fuel 2/13/2010, with some elaboration. Originally posted on Facebook, February 14, 2010 Well, I was gonna post the notes I had for my message, but I meandered a bit from them, so I re-worked them and elaborated on them a bit. A lot a bit. In fact this is taking that message as a basis and basically going into what God has taught me in the last two days. My base text was Revelation 3:12-22 (NIV) "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of

Commonplace Monday is a series of post wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Here's this week's installment : Analyzing childhood responses remains a valuable channel toward getting a grip on the stories of the Bible.   Philip and Leland Ryken

This time four years ago my wife and I still resided in the great state of Idaho. And while I often miss mountains, trout fishing, and elk, come campaign time for the Presidential nominating process, Iowa is the place to be. You can see almost any candidate you want, up close and personal. You can shake hands, go to town hall meetings, ask questions, and expect responses. Because everyone wants to win the first-in-the-nation caucus. Well, not Jim Gilmore, but who knew he was still running until last Thursday? The first thing I want you to do is, if you are in Iowa, urge you to caucus tonight. Hopefully you have done your research on the candidates, know where they stand, and know whom you wish to support. This is such a small, yet important, part of what it means to exercise our rights as citizens. Please don't let something small like a sports event, or TV show, or the inconvenience of a few lost hours keep you from participating in this process. Second, if you don't live

Commonplace Monday is a series of post wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. If I wrote down or recall where it came from I will certainly give attribution. However, sometimes I write down things and not where they came from. So if you see anything like that here and recognize it, that's what comment sections are for. Anyhow. Here's this week's installment : Compassion trumps consumption. Unknown