Tag: Christian

“This Little Prayer of Mine” (Children’s Book Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment

This Little Prayer of Mine is a great book to read your small children before bedtime.  It is short. It has great illustrations that allow for childlike speculation on what is happening in the story.  It rhymes. It contains simple childlike thoughts that kids might really have given a situation.  My daughter enjoys having me read it to her.

We have already been teaching our children to pray and have been practicing bedtime prayers, meal prayers, as well as various prayers of thanks or concern throughout our day.  This book has been good to supplement the idea that it is okay to take matters to God in prayer, but hasn’t been particularly instructional in our case.

Over all it is a good book and I would recommend it for parents with young children. This Little Prayer of Mine is a great resource. The retail price is $12.99 (Hardcover), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $9.35. I gave it four stars.

Disclaimer:  This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  There was no requirement to give the book a good review.  Just to review it and tell you what I really think.

Other Resources for Children

Sammy and His Shepherd

The Lightlings

The Prince’s Poison Cup

What’s In the Bible? with Buck Denver

The Children’s Storybook Bible

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (Book Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, student ministryLeave a comment

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are is a great book geared especially for teenagers.  Alex and Brett Harris Have done it again!  There first book Do Hard Things was an amazing book that challenged teenagers to get out of their comfort-zones and begin rebelling against low expectations that people have of teenagers and really begin to do hard things.  I read it in one sitting and was thrilled when I heard that they had another book coming out.

This book like the first challenges teenagers to step out and rebel against low expectations.  Start Here however is smaller, more concise and shares a lot of practical insight and perspective from the lives of teenagers who are “Doing Hard Things”.  It is choc full of knowledge on how to go about doing the difficult but good things.  Alex and Brett share from their own experiences as well as from many of the teenagers who have logged on to their blog and shared their insights.

Start here is a great follow up book for anyone who has read Do Hard Things.  It is also a great stand alone book for teenagers who are tired of the status quo and wanting to get out of their comfort-zones and attempt great things.  I found it highly motivational and inspirational.  My job now it to put it into as many teenager’s hands as will read it.  Thanks Alex and Brett for rebelling against low expectations and challenging our teens!

I really liked this book and highly recommend it to teenagers or anyone with teenagers in their life, including parents, teachers, and student pastors.   Start Here is an excellent resource. The retail price is $12.99 (Paperback), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $8.76. I gave it five stars.

Disclaimer:  This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  There was no requirement to give the book a good review.  Just to review it and tell you what I really think.

Girls Life Application Study Bible (NLT)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, student ministryLeave a comment

The Girls Life Application Study Bible is a great Bible for pre-teen and teenage girls.  The cover has a leathery feel and is a purple with the imprint of a pink butterfly and flowers.  It is quiet feminine in its appeal.  My wife and daughter (4 years old) were both very interested in flipping through the Bible once it arrived in the mail. The editors and artists who worked on this Bible have certainly done a great job of getting the reader from the cover into the pages of Scripture.

The Bible is full of great insights and articles that catch readers on a surface level and draw them into the text of scripture for an answer.  (Can I just say that it is refreshing to finally see a publisher put out a Bible that challenges teen and preteen girls to see what the Scripture says!).  Included all throughout the text are girl-specific applications.  The New Living Translation is a decent translation to read (especially for girls who are in the preteen age range).

I would highly recommend this Bible to teen and preteen girls who are wanting to grow in their relationship with God.  This is also a great Bible to hand to a girl who is a new believer or someone who is otherwise unfamiliar with the scriptures.  It is apparent that the Bible was designed not only to have a feminine appeal, but to be very user friendly as well.

The retail price is $29.97 (Imitation Leather) and is worth every penny. It is also available at places like Amazon.com for $19.78. I give it 5 Stars and would give it more.  It truly is a great Bible for teen and Pre-teen girls.

One Note: Amazon has it listed as Girls Life Application Study Bible NLT (Kid’s Life Application Bible: Nltse), it is not really a kids Bible, the publishers recommend it for girls age 11 and up (and I would heartily agree with that recommendation).

Disclaimer: As a blogger I received a complimentary review copy from Tyndale House Publishers through the Tyndale Blog Network program.  There was no requirement to give it a positive review, just for the reviewer to call it like they see it.

John Bunyan (Christian Encounter Series) – Book Review

On By pastorjonathanIn books1 Comment

John Bunyan (Christian Encounters Series) is a great introduction to the life and times of John Bunyan the famous author of Pilgrims Progress.  The book is quite brief, but serves as a great background study on a man who lived through an incredible time in history.  As an avid Bunyan fan I am always looking for more material to put into the hands of others to help them understand the literary genius of this ‘simple’ man who wrote one of the most widely read classics in English literature.

The book is not heavy with details, but rather takes a simple, yet scholarly approach to the life of Bunyan.  It would be a great biography for energetic middle school students to read.  I can see it as a handy companion to read along side of Pilgrim’s Progress which is Bunyan’s most famous work.

If you are looking for a complete biography of John Bunyan, this isn’t it.  But if you are looking for an introduction to the life of Bunyan, that isn’t daunting or too challenging, this is it.  I see this as being a handy reference book on the life of Bunyan.  Speaking as one who has read a few Bunyan biographies and host to a Christian Heritage Conference that centered on the life of Bunyan I wasn’t disappointed to read this book, I was excited that a biography was written on this level to introduce more young minds to the life of a great man.

John Bunyan (Christian Encounters Series) is a great introduction to the life and times of John Bunyan, I highly recommend it.  The retail price is $12.00 (paperback), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $8.65.  I gave it four stars.

Disclaimer: As a blogger I received a complimentary review copy from the Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program  (http://brb.thomasnelson.com/ ).  There was no requirement to give it a positive review, just for the reviewer to call it like they see it.

Name Your Link

Top 5 Disciple Now Themes of All Time

On By pastorjonathanIn discipleship, student ministry4 Comments

In the last decade I have been involved in well over 20 Disciple Now weekends as either the host, guest leader, or guest speaker.  Many of the Disciple Now’s we hosted in conjunction with other student ministries.  Here is a list of my favorites and a few ideas I have for the future.

Top 5 Disciple Now Themes of All time

1. Different by Design – Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

2. Pilgrim’s Progress – Introduction to the Journey

3. Authentic Faith – Show me your fruit

4. Back to the Basics – Spiritual Disciplines

5. The Body of Christ – Unity

Five Disciple Now Themes for the Future

1. Hunger for the Harvest – Longing for the World to Know

2. Resident Aliens – Following Jesus in a world that Doesn’t Follow Him

3. Kingdom Come – Until all have heard

4. Dangerous Discipleship – What following Jesus Might Cost You

5. Never Eat Undercooked Meat – How church works

4 Basic Guidelines for Facebook Etiquette

On By pastorjonathanIn Just Thinking7 Comments

I am a follower of Jesus Christ (some people call us Christians) and I also like to use the internet to chat with friends, find cool things, and write out my thoughts.  So to a lot of people I am a representation of what it looks like to follow Jesus.  However, I have several friends and acquaintances that also say they rep. Jesus, but they do some crazy things with their facebook profiles that make us wonder whats really going on.

To be fair, none of us are perfect.  Following Jesus isn’t about being perfect, its about following, and sometimes we all can get a little “off track.”  Thankfully God has provided the way for us to be forgiven and come back into a right relationship with Him.  Still we should guard our online presence in the same way we are to guard our actually words.  It amazes me that sometimes we post things on facebook that we wouldn’t say to people face to face.  So here are 4 basic guidelines for facebook etiquette.

1. Don’t rat someone out of your facebook status

So you have a disagreement with someone about something.  Don’t post, “Some people make me really angry!”  You may feel that since you didn’t mention their name that it isn’t gossip or slander.  Inevitably someone comments, “what happened?” and you are either inclined to say what happened or ignore them making the interest pique all the more.  Better to not post than to drag a disagreement in the public forum or worse cause all your friends to guess at who you could possibly make you so mad.

2. Comment on other people’s profiles like you would want other people to comment on yours

If you disagree with something I post, that is okay.  If you are really offended, tell me in private and we can seek reconciliation. Don’t comment on my post that I am a jerk, idiot, or whatever.  See Guidelines #3 and #4 for more details.  If you have a comment, but wouldn’t want someone posting the same comment on your profile, then don’t post it.  If the post can not go unanswered send a message.  It is much more private and will give you the opportunity to work things out.

3. Remember facebook is very public, not private

Ok so I post, “I like spaghetti” on my profile.  Then you remember a funny (yet embarrassing) story about me and spaghetti.  You think it will be funny to comment on my “I like spaghetti” status because we have 3 friends in common who will think of the incident and laugh.  What you failed to take into account was the fact that I have 758 other friends who have no clue who you are or know the full story behind the “spaghetti incident.” What you posted as an “inside joke” and was funny to a few people can makes you look like a jerk and damages your reputation with my other friends.

4. Befriend and de-friend for the right reasons

Don’t de-friend someone just because they made you mad.  You might eventually get over it.  Resist the urge for a few days and see if things workout.

However, sometimes people have facebook profiles and they don’t need to be your friend.  They may think they are entitled, but the are not.  You choose who your facebook friends are and are not.  A few basic guidelines that I like to follow are listed below…

  • Ex-girlfriends or boyfriends probably don’t need to be your friend on FaceBook (unless it was in the distant past).  If you just came off a bad break up, you are still going to be tempted to send harassing messages back and forth.  Cut the excess drama out of your life and cut the FB friendship.
  • People who are prone to excessive gossip and slander.  You may have been hurt by past rumors and accusations and even come to a place of forgiveness.  But just because they are forgiven doesn’t mean they deserve a spot among your facebook friends.  Why would you give them open ground and opportunity to hurt you further?
  • Toxic people.  While the two mentioned above could be considered toxic people, this guideline covers the rest.  These are the people who are out to cut you down.  We all have friends who have bad days and maybe there is a disagreement from time to time, but you do not have to invite people into your facebook world who go off on you every time they get upset.

Are you a Forward or Backward Thinker?

On By pastorjonathanIn Just Thinking, Ministry, student ministryLeave a comment

Have you ever stopped and wondered why you think the way you do on a particular issue?

In my line of work I come across lots of people who have strong opinions.  Many of them are passionate about their opinions.  Sometimes the opinions people are most passionate about are the one’s they have changed their mind on. For instance if you grew up in a republican or democrat household and change sides as an adult.  Maybe you went to church and learned about God, but when you were introduced to a college science class things changed.  Beliefs were challenged and you didn’t have a good answer to whoever was challenging your beliefs so slowly (or suddenly) you changed your opinion and grew passionate about proving people who held your former position as wrong.

Sometimes we are backed into believing something simply because we are confronted with an ideal that conflicts what we were taught growing up.  We don’t know how to answer the conflicting ideal and end up embracing it.  We didn’t search for a solution, we just embraced a competing truth claim that stood in opposition to ours because we could not defend our inherited claim.

Sometimes we move forward into a new position.  This takes place when we evaluate competing truth claims and examine the arguments that someone brings against our ideals and we scrutinize their competing claims with the same scrutiny they have shown ours.

For instance: Imagine growing up hearing and believing that all smurfs are blue.  You have never seen a smurf, but you know that they are blue.  Then someone shows you a purple smurf.  Your view of smurfs is forever changed.  However, you don’t examine the purple smurf (or asking questions like, How did the smurf become purple or are there smurfs of other colors as well?).  Instead, you reject the assumption that “all smurfs are blue” as a complete lie, you demonize the people who told you smurfs were blue, and you join a group that promotes the awareness of the purple smurf.  You have reacted to the assumed falsehood of “all smurfs are blue” and embraced a competing claim “all smurfs are purple.”  You have in effect backed into your position.  You didn’t go looking to see why you would have been told about blue smurfs, how this smurf became purple, or seek to know if there was a broader category.

Moving forward into your thinking requires examining competing truth claims and evaluating the validity of both claims. You may be actually viewing a blue smurf through rose-colored glasses. (The smurf is blue, but the red tint of your glasses causes the smurf to appear purple.)  Maybe when smurfs are sick they turn purple.  Maybe there are purple smurfs, but there are also blue smurfs.  This is searching for the truth.  This is moving forward into a position.

Now what about your thoughts on God?  Are you reacting to competing claims or are you intentionally looking for truth?

What a Father says to His Daughter on Valentines Day

On By pastorjonathanIn About Jonathan, dating, Family, Manhood, parenting, Womanhood1 Comment

I have a pretty amazing little girl.  She turns five soon.  I am anxious, yet hopeful as she grows older and approaches womanhood.  I have a huge responsibility in demonstrating the way real men are to treat women.

valentines day

I take her out for pancakes once a week.  She looks forward to it every week.  Sometimes she goes to sporting events with me, just the two of us.  We call these daddy-daughter dates. Every day she asks if its her day to have breakfast with daddy.  She loves me in a crazy four-year-old way and I love her like any father should.

So here is what I’m saying to my little girl this valentines day and will probably say almost every day of her life.

1. I love you.

Love is not an emotion, it is an act of the will.  I chose to love you and I will never stop.  I love you enough to tell you the truth, to act against your will sometimes, and to do what is best for you even when you disagree.  I love you when you cry over broken toys, scraped knees, and hurt feelings.  I love you when the world is pressing in and you need a place of refuge and strength.  I love you when you have disobeyed the rules I gave you that were to protect you from harm.  I love you when you dance and sing like they do on TV.  I love you when you dress up like a princes and we dance.   I even love you when you are mad because you didn’t get your way, when you are angry with the kid who stole your toy, and when you don’t want to share. I hope you know by now that I love you and that will not change.

2. You are Beautiful

You are beautiful.  You are beautiful not only in princess gowns, play make-up, and jewelry… your  beauty is beyond skin deep.  I am inspired by your beauty when you are kind to your brother.  Your beauty shines when you help your mom.  Your beauty is evident when you bring your bibles in for me to read.  You are beautiful when you challenge me to dance.  You are beautiful.

3. I am Proud of You

I am Proud of you for so many things.  I am proud of you for letting people know when they have hugged you for too long.  I am proud of you when you take the initiative to help others in need.  I am proud of you when you think of me or someone else and you draw them a thank you card.  I am proud of you for picking up your toys with a good attitude.  I am proud of you for wanting to teach your brother what few lessons you have already learned in life.  I am proud of you when you trust me simply because I’m your dad.  I am proud of you when you ask questions (and you ask great questions).  I am proud of you.

To Dads:

We are often good about telling our daughters about when they misbehave or things they could do better.  Somehow it is easier to notice what we don’t like or don’t value than it is to affirm the good that our children do.  It is important that we cheer them on and provide a positive aim as well. Valentines day (or any day for that matter) is a great opportunity to let your daughter know that you love her and affirm the good things you see in her character.  These 3 words of affirmation are something that all daughters need to hear from their daddy no matter what their age.

Wednesday Book Give Away (Dug Down Deep)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, spiritual disciplines3 Comments

Last month I wrote a brief book  review of Dug Down Deep, a new book written by Joshua Harris.  This month I have decided to give away a copy on the blog.  To enter for a chance to win all you need to do to briefly (100 words or less) share your story on how you became a follower of Jesus Christ  or a defining moment when you began to grow deeper in your relationship with God. You can see my examples below.  Then on  Monday (February 15th, 2010) I’ll draw a name by random and announce the winner in the comments section here.

My father was a pastor. When I was 14 my dad had a stroke and his church fired him. I hated God and the church and soon started action out in rebellion. My dad confronted my rebellion. I tried to be good enough to make up for the bad things I had done, but I still felt guilty. When I was 24 I finally trusted in Jesus Christ to remove my sin and my shame. Knowing Jesus has changed me and I want others to know about Him. He is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If you win I will also contact you via e-mail so I can make arrangements to get you the book (so make sure you fill that part out when leaving a comment).

If you are interested you can find out more about my story by clicking here which will take you to the “my story” section of this page.   You can also click here to begin with the first of five posts on how I became a follower of Jesus Christ.  I look forward to reading your story!  It always amazes me how God works in our lives.

If you have any questions, I have answered some of those on an earlier post and you can find it here.