A Few Good Reads

“30 Life Skills Every Functioning Adult Should Master”

Unfortunately, I disregarded the advice of my parents when I was growing up and refused to listen to most of what they tried to teach me. My adult years have been marked by a struggle to catch up with the things I should have learned in the early 1990’s, so I appreciated this list of things an adult should be able to do.  “We can’t promise we’ve outlined every skill you might need, but if you’ve mastered these, you’re off to a good start.”

“12 Questions to Ask Before You Post Something Online”
Many of us know the pain of posting something rash or foolish online. Whether we said something harsh about another person or voiced a strong opinion without all the facts, every one of us needs a refresher in thinking about what we say online. Mark Dever gives us some helpful questions to ask. “Is what you’re about to communicate going to help or hinder those you’re evangelizing? Is it likely to diminish the significance (to them) of your commitment to the gospel, or enhance it?”

“You Could’ve Been Something”
I loved this post from Andrea Burke on our desire to find our identity in what we do rather than in Christ. “This same haunting voice is the one that visits me still. When I’m standing in the kitchen, scrubbing day-old chicken grease off of a frying pan and my daughter insists I’m failing her in one way or another, that little voice whispers ‘You could’ve been something. Now you’re just a mom.’”

“20 Quick Tips to Improve Your Productivity”
Few people get as much done as Tim Challies. Here he shares 20 practical tips that will help you be more productive. (For more, check out his book Do More Better.) “Be careful of tasks that are dauntingly huge. “Write: A Great Novel” is so giant a task you may never begin, and even if you do, you will be unable to track your progress. Break giant tasks into a series of smaller tasks and work through them progressively.”

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
Few people can write history as compellingly as Candice Millard. In the last year I read her books The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic, so I was excited to see her new book on Winston Churchill. For those who enjoy reading history, this promises to be a gripping narrative. “Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, there to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels. But just two weeks after his arrival, the soldiers he was accompanying on an armored train were ambushed, and Churchill was taken prisoner.  Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape–but then had to traverse hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him.”