A Few Good Reads

Thinking Theologically about Islam
Unfortunately many Christians only think about Islam from an outlook which emphasizes politics and security. We must learn to think about Islam from a theological and missional point of view. Kevin DeYoung shares several important thoughts on how Christians view Islam and our Muslim neighbors. “From jihad abroad to terrorism at home to questions surrounding refugees and immigration, there is no shortage of stories about Islam. Depending on who you listen to, you may think that most Muslims are out to kill you or that Muslims are among the most oppressed and ostracized people on the planet. Like almost every other controversial subject in our day, sizing up Islam has become a proxy for where one stands in the culture wars. Either America’s problem is that her leaders are weak, PC, and too afraid to tell the truth about Islam, or the problem is that vast swaths of flyover country are intolerant, prejudiced, and trigger-happy.”

The Top Ten Best (And Worst) Communicators of 2015
Many best and worst of 2015 lists will come out over the next few weeks and I found this one to be engaging and instructive. We communicate all the time and need to know how to do so with effectiveness. The short paragraph after each person contains a nugget about how to or not to communicate. “From the power of care and rapport to the sexy baby voice, what can we learn from the new breed leadership sweeping through business, pop culture, politics and sports? Each of the people on the 20th annual list of Top Ten Best and Worst Communicators of 2015 can teach us a lesson.”

How and Why to Improve Your Cursive Penmanship
Recently I have been reading Presidential biographies and noticed we know most of what we know about our early Presidents because of their letters. We may think letters are pasee because sending a text is so much easier, but receiving a letter means so much more to me because the author took the time to sit down and write. Unfortunately many of us have let our penmanship go in the digital age and The Art of Manliess has some great thoughts on recovering your penmanship. “Whatever the reason, I know a common refrain we hear with these posts is that many people feel their cursive handwriting is atrocious, to the point that it’s illegible. And when we get letters in the mail from readers, many of them begin with, ‘Sorry for my bad handwriting. This is the first time I’ve written in cursive since second grade.’”

The Songs of Jesus
If you are looking for a devotional book to work through in 2016, think about this new book from Tim and Kathy Keller. Every day opens with a few verses and a short devotion on the Psalms. “Two decades ago, Tim Keller began reading the entire Book of Psalms every month. The Songs of Jesus is based on his accumulated years of study, insight, and inspiration recorded in his prayer journals. Kathy Keller came to reading the psalms as a support during an extended illness. Together they have distilled the meaning of each verse, inviting readers into the vast wisdom of the psalms.”