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Just Ordered Pastor Anyabwile’s New Book!
I am so excited that Pastor Anyabwile’s book will soon be released and is being offered now for a pre-publication (50% off!) discount: May We Meet in the Heavenly World: The Piety of Lemuel Haynes I hope that you will take advantage of this offer. I bet it will be among the best $5 you spend all year. (Can’t believe it’s only $5!) We’re off to the pool now— Blessings and joy, Tara B.
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Pastor and Mrs. Thabiti Anyabwile are watching “Living the Gospel in Relationships”
Well, this is just one of those things that makes me shake my head in wonder … One of my favorite churchmen, Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile, and his beloved wife are watching my video series (“Living the Gospel in Relationships”) and he is blogging about their discussions related to the series: The Gospel and Peacemaking Women Of course, one thing I know FOR SURE is that these two saints won’t possibly LEARN anything from the series—all I ever do is repeat back what people like them have taught me in the church over the years. But what an honor it is to benefit from their reflections and learn from them as…
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Remembering Our Fallen Men and Women in the Military
We’re heading to our Memorial Day services in a few hours and I just wanted to post our THANKS and HONORING of all of the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We could never repay the debt we owe to their families and to them. I do hope that you are praying for our troops and that you will take time today to honor them all — the living and the dead. “Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations, that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of…
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Tim Keller’s “The Prodigal God”
Yesterday I started reading Tim Keller’s, “The Prodigal God.” Before I began, I assumed it would be edifying and I would learn/grow. But having made it through just over half of the book in one long afternoon of combined childcare and reading, I have to say that I have also been tremendously blessed. And I am looking forward to finishing the rest of the book and discussing it in our women’s study that will meet this summer. (We’re having a brief women’s study May 27 – July 8 … right up until the time when Ella Marie should be, Lord willing, making her arrival. So if you’re in the Billings…
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Four Loves (CS Lewis)
Fred and I were reflecting on our (almost fourteen-year) marriage by remembering the counsel we received near our wedding. (Due to a car accident that closed down a highway, the message ended up being given at our reception, not during our actual service because our dear friend, Dr. Paul Jensen, missed the service by just a few minutes. So, yes, we had the world’s shortest wedding. But hey! We left married–which is my only standard/goal for all weddings. Everything else is nice, sure, but if you leave married? Success!) But I digress … I know it may be strange to actually remember anything from your wedding message, but we both…
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CCEF Addictions Curriculum: “Crossroads” (by Ed Welch)
Over the past few weeks, my friend and I have been going through the The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation’s (CCEF’s) Crossroads Addictions Curriculum. It has, like all CCEF resources I’ve read, been both a challenge and a blessing. As I have progressed through the curriculum, I have also gone back and re-read many of my LiveBlogs from the 2008 CCEF Conference: The Addict in Us All. (If you’re interested in this topic at all, or if your church is interested in better ministering to the addicts in your midst—and believe me, you DO have them in your church whether you admit it and help them or not!—I encourage you…
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Object – Relational – Life Meaning Lusts (HT: CCEF)
Tim Challies linked over to a great CCEF article that I encourage you to check out: When the Problem Is S*xual Sin–A Counseling Model The author, John Bettler, uses a three-tiered pyramid analogy (with “Lust Object” at the top, “Relational Lusts” in the middle and “Life-Meaning Luses” at the bottom) to illustrate his teaching points. There are many excellent points that are useful for all struggles with sin, but they are particularly helpful for this “can be hard to talk about” (but SO common!) one. If you are uncomfortable talking, encouraging, and lay-counseling about this topic (with your teenage children, adult friends, whomever), I encourage you to check it out.…
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Unlikely Smuggler
(I can’t remember if I posted this for you guys in an earlier blog post. But I was looking something up on my laptop and stumbled across the OLD OLD essay I wrote, you know, a zillion years ago and thought it might give you a chuckle or two. Can you believe I was such a little smuggler back when the USSR was still in existence? Life is so strange. And God is so good.) ———————————————————————————————- Unlikely Smuggler by Tara Klena Barthel ‘What am I doing?’ I thought as my mind swirled and my hands began to shake. ‘I’m only seventeen years old. I’m supposed to start my senior year…
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Beating Cancer
Pastor Jollyblogger linked over to this photo essay and, well, through my tears I just had to post it for you too. Hope your Thursday was a good one — I enjoyed so many blessings–but I think I may be physically pushing a little too hard this week. (I write that on my way to bring the fourth load of laundry up three flights of stairs.) But I feel no complaint! I’m just trying to figure out how high I might need to just let the piles on my dining room table grow … Joy to you, Tara B. PS Please please please use CAUTION and only poke around this…
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Take Time to be Holy
I started my day today with Joni Eareckson Tada’s Holiness in Hidden Places. (Well, actually I started my day at 4AM by comforting Sophia after a slightly troubling dream. She couldn’t get back to sleep until 5:00, so we snuggled and chatted in her room. And then I couldn’t get back to sleep until 6:30. It’s now 9AM, she’s STILL sleeping, and I’m feeling VERY strange about starting my day now–kind of like that “what time IS IT” feeling you have when you travel overseas.) ANYWAY–this hymn was included toward the end of her book and I enjoyed reflecting on the words and then looking online to hear the tune.…
