Hmmmmmmmmmmmm … that Tim Challies knows what he is doing!! His current “King for a Day/Month/Whatever it ends up being” blog (Take Your Vitamin Z) is definitely going on my “check it out” list. I’ve already clicked through to like five articles–and that hardly EVER happens when I read a new blog. But wouldn’t you want to read these too? – Reasons People Choose a Church (look at the high incidence of RELATIONSHIPS–can we all say PEACEMAKING/LIVING THE GOSPEL? Ranked 1, 2 & 4!) – You Have Your Clique–But Do You Have the Gospel? “Many of us are extremely biblical and God-centered in our creeds, but regrettably exude a rank…

Oh! Some of the emails I receive (and blog comments too–but they don’t remain long). Accusatory. Questioning my motives–if not downright DECLARING the blackness of my heart. (And on and on.) (Of course, as my pastor’s article on The Cross and Criticism reminds us all–whatever their accusation, they don’t know the half of it when it comes to the depths of my sin!) Anyway … I was thinking about all of this when I read a stellar (and brief) entry at the 9 Marks blog so I wanted to share it with you: Adversarial Blogging What a good reminder of how easy it is to judge and accuse in our…

Doesn’t peacemaking always sound a lot better in the hypothetical or academic realm? I mean, wouldn’t you rather read a nice book on the doctrine of sin or practice a nice “Seven A’s of Confession” at a practicum or conference … rather than, you know, having to call someone at 3:00 on a Tuesday and actually CONFESS your sin to them? (And then have to write a bog post on it too because the offense was public so the confession needs to be public too.) Ahhhh–but such is life in a fallen world. The Old Man resides with us. Satan rears his ugly head. The world batters us around ……

I craved a giggle this morning, so I opened up the cartoons that Craig Faust (brilliantly) drew after one of my events years ago. (Thanks again, Craig, for drawing this, sharing it with me, and allowing me to post it too!) (Don’t you just love the dog’s eyes??) I’m off to teach now! Slept fitfully and woke up sick. Hmmmmmm … maybe I’ve been pushing a little too hard. Oh well, it’s only two eight-hour days of teaching ahead of me, how bad can it be? 😉   Have a lovely Friday! Yours, Tara B.  

Fred just posted some of the Peacemaker Conference Videos over at Route 5:9. ‘Course, I never like to hear or see myself … but if you’d like to see my efforts to describe the “Peacemaking Women / Living the Gospel in Relationships” track, click on over. (My video is over a bit to the right.) (I should’ve worn a different necklace. 😉 ) Hope your Thursday went well! I’m ZONKED and eager to hit the hay tonight.   Blessings and joy, Tara B.  

Wow. I just read an amazing post about a resolution that passed at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) this week in Indianapolis. It has to do with “regenerate church membership and church member restoration” and I am SO excited for how God is working in the SBC! You can read a great explanation here: SBC-Indianapolis #3 – The Resolution passes But for those of you with a heart for biblical peacemaking who KNOW that the encouragement, accountability, and discipline of the local church is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for our efforts to “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3), I bet some of the wording will…

I have been plowing through emails and trying to catch up on my reading as I’ve flown from Montana to Florida all day today. Some things I skim and some things I don’t even glance at (delete-o-rama!). But a recent “Slice of Infinity” written by J.M. Njoroge (associate apologist at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries) stopped me in my tracks. I had to slow down and really read it. And then read it again. And then pray. I thought it might challenge some of you, too, so here is a brief excerpt to tempt you (emphasis added): ‘When our pursuit for success is severed from a healthy sense of our chronic…

Don’t miss this post from Carolyn McCulley’s RadicalWomanhood: Wounded at the Hands of Men “This kind of forgiveness is completely impossible without the gospel.”   Amen, Carolyn! Amen and thank you for your ministry to us all.  

Recently, at one of my booktables, a woman asked me about a certain ministry. Apparently, she had met some people who were affiliated with this organization and they just despised it. They thought it was a “cult” and “intrusive” and boy! They just didn’t have anything good to say about it. The woman was careful in her speech and seemed very winsome and genuine in simply seeking to be wise re: seeking my opinion and thoughts about this organization. I told her my best understanding of the people leading it; the theology that it espouses; and my experience of the resources that it produces. But I also told her this:…

Wow. There is just SO much I don’t even know ANYTHING about! Do you know of this great man: Henry Alford? I sure didn’t. But I want to learn more about him. Apparently he was brilliant–but listen to just one paragraph describing him (emphasis added): “Nor was he merely an arid academic. When he was sixteen, Alford wrote in his Bible, “I do this day, as in the presence of God and my own soul, renew my covenant with God, and solemnly determine henceforth to become His, and to do His work as far as in me lies.” He was known for his consistent and holy life, as well as…