potpourri – Page 4

Prata Potpourri: Sermon note-taking, hygge, Sarah Edwards doc, Diagnostic Questions, & more!

Posted on January 23, 2021 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve gathered a few items that may interest you:

Recently I went through the Ligonier series on the biography of Jonathan Edwards on Amazon Prime. (The series is included in Prime. Taught be Stephen Nichols, it’s an easy going and absorbing series on the life of the theologian acknowledged to be the most intelligent America has ever produced. President of Princeton (then called the College of New Jersey), sparker of the Great Awakening, missionary to the the Native Americans, Edwards is well known. But…His wife Sarah was his partner and supported this remarkable and sometimes difficult man in ways that are God-glorifying. Now, Media Gratiae has announced a documentary in the incomparable Sarah Edwards!

Here is the Media Gratiae blurb:

“Sarah Edwards (working title) is an upcoming feature-length documentary on the life and legacy of one of the most influential women in American history. Sarah, maybe most notably known as the wife of Jonathan Edwards, is a remarkable woman in her own right. In this 90-minute documentary we will tell her story and consider modern day applications that arise from her example of Biblical womanhood, such as:”

What is a biblical woman/wife/mom? What does it mean to be a helpmate?
How do you know whether an experience is “of God” or not?
How can you cope with the psychological pressure that comes with being the wife of a pastor, especially one considered to be “a great man”?
How does a pastor’s wife manage a large household, the trials of being married to a sometimes-controversial pastor, financial concerns, and widowhood?
Sarah’s story helps us understand the struggles, sorrows, and triumphs of Biblical womanhood, challenging modern women to consider the legacy that they themselves will leave.

“The documentary will include a free study guide that can be used in small group settings. It will be similar to this one we did for LUTHER.”

Here is a good, 3-minute read from John MacArthur at The Master’s Seminary published a few days ago, on “The Struggling Disciple” –

Anyone who has ever been to a church camp has heard someone say, “You need to recommit your life to the Lord.” We’ve all heard messages about commitment, dedication, consecration, and so on. But do we understand what that means?

At Women Encouraged, we have a short exploration of “Friendship With The World: Some Diagnostic Questions“, and it begins well- “James 4:4 packs a punch. It’s not adorable or cutesy. It’s the kind of hard word designed to shock our senses and remind us where the line is. “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” It goes on with noting how to ask one’s self questions so as not to be an adulteress with the world.

Reagan Rose at Redeeming Productivity offered a 12-minute lesson on how better to engage with your pastor’s sermon. It is full of interesting and highly applicable tips, and I mean it’s really good. REEEEEELLLLYYY good! How to Take Sermon Notes to Focus Better, learn More, and Grow Spiritually. Run don’t walk to the link.

Carrie at Carrie’s Busy Nothings has a piece on the word hygge. If you’re a watcher of design shows, you know this is a popular Danish word for an untranslatable concept most frequently identified with lifestyle comfort. Sort of. Anyway, Carrie said she enjoys the word and the concept…until…it becomes an idol. Worth reading.

What’s better than a blog essay from Reformation Heritage Books, than an essay from Reformation Heritage Books on Joy, Even When Society Disintegrates ? Biblical and helpful, I think you will find their essay edifying. –> “It is quite easy to get depressed or go around feeling dread. What does the future hold? Will I be able to support my family? What will the world be like for my kids? How much more pressure can this nation bear before splitting apart at the seams? These and other questions raise the specter of uncertainty about our safety and prosperity. We begin to fear that Misery may be approaching us like an assailant we cannot fight.“

But no, keep reading the essay!

I hope you find some hope or enjoyment from these links. As always, have a wonderful day and weekend!

theology

Prata Potpourri: Nature photography to the glory of God, Trust the Lord, One Hour of Life Remaining? Movie Review, More

Posted on October 13, 2020 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I spent an overnight in a little cabin on a working farm. I enjoyed the animals, birds, and nature so much. I’m not much of an outdoors person, but the place was so pretty I did spend time outside in the gazebo swing, on the various benches, and in the screened-in porch. There were so many birds, the animals on the farm so beautiful and entertaining, and the flowers and butterflies were charming. I often think in amazement, as I’m sure you do, that God created it all in a few days. He is endlessly fascinating to me when I admire His creation and think of how He spoke it all into existence with the power of His word.

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theology

Prata Potpourri: Spurgeon on Paul on books; MediaGratiae on Rutherford on Grace; Rose on Reading, New Blogger, Rules for Christian wives- more

Posted on October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Fall on a horse farm, north Georgia. EPrata photo

It is fall here in north Georgia, and no better place to be. New England is rightly applauded for the foliage display, but the time up there where you can see it is short. The leaves are less vibrant down south due to the milder temps, but the season is gloriously, luxuriantly long. It’s especially sweet because the break from the summer oven temperatures never gets old. Whatever season you enjoy, God is author and manager of it all-

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22).

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potpourri, theology

Prata Potpourri: The Mind, the Sneakers, The Spirit, The Botanical Garden… more

Posted on April 6, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

@PreachersNSneakers is a hilarious new Instagram account that reposts photos of preachers’ selfies, focusing on their sneakers and apparel. Apparently it is possible to purchase sneakers that cost upwards of $1000 to even $4000 dollars. The site features the online picture with price of the sneaker/footwear, along with a funny comment. Here is one example featuring Steven Furtick

Reactions in the comments range from complaining to approving-

–What’s the point of this account?
–Why are they all so rich? Don’t answer, I already know.
–I bet lots of traditional churches pastors wear $1000 suits…

Preachers from Levi Lusko, Louis Giglio, Furtick, Judah Smith, Chad Veach, Erwin McManus and others are, ahem, ‘featured’ on the page. Ladies, it’s not only doctrine that sheds light on who may be a false teacher, it’s their lifestyle too. Not that one pair of sneakers makes a false teacher, but it’s a piece of evdence to be taken into consideration. Doctrine AND life, as Paul said to Timothy in 1 Tinothy 4:16…

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I love art and I love to make art. However the chasm between seeing good art and making my own is a gulf that is fixed, wide and not overcomeable, if that is a word. I started The Sketchbook Challenge in January and didn’t last a week. I’ve been trying on and off for 40 years to draw, or at least make some recognizable art, but I am simply no good at it. My brain and my hands have a disconnect.

However here is My Modern Met’s recommendations on the Ten Best How to Draw Books.

There are countless publications that say they’ll teach you to draw, so how do you choose? We’ve done the hard work for you and sifted through many of the best sellers. Some of the books on our list are decades old—one is even from the 1950s—but are still regarded as fantastic resources. It’s a reminder that the fundamentals of drawing will never change, and that owning one (or more) of these books will prove useful months and years down the road.

Sketch on, ladies, do it for me…

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Speaking of ten best, here is Travel Channel’s picks for Ten Best Botanical Gardens in the US. It’s spring, that time of year where our eyes want to see green, vivid color, and maybe some bees.

Entries include desert gardens, many in the midwest, also the north and the south are represented. Maybe one of these will be in your area. I personally also like the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota FL, and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a part of the University of Georgia in Athens.

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Delivered By Grace reminds us that The Holy Spirit is Not Casper the Friendly Ghost.

When we hear people talking about the Holy Spirit, it’s not uncommon to hear people talking about the Holy Spirit in terms of an evangelical version of Casper the Friendly Ghost. At other points, evangelicals derail by putting all of their focus upon the Holy Spirit to the marginalization of Christ. When the Holy Spirit is cartoonized or overly emphasized and brought to the forefront of our worship—we grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

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Justin Bullington at Things Above Us shares Three Attributes of God to Fight Depression, part 2

depressed

If you find yourself in a battle with depression today, understanding God’s sovereignty is critical. If God is sovereign, there are no limits to God’s rule. This is part of what it means to be God. He is sovereign over the whole world, and everything that happens in it. He is never helpless, never frustrated, never at a loss. And in Christ, God’s awesome, sovereign providence is the place we feel most joyful, most secure, most free.

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Samuel D. James at Mere Orthodoxy reviews The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, with a reminder that The Public Square Is about Parenting.

Parenting is arguably one of the last remaining cultural institutions in which we are constantly invited to feel worse about ourselves and yet better than other people. Everyone acknowledges that parenting is difficult, yet many today cannot shake the nagging suspicion that it hasn’t always been this difficult.

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DB Harrison of Just Thinking with a piece on the raging Battlefield of the Mind.

If I were to ask you where does Jesus rank among your daily priorities, how would you respond? Would your first impulse be to give a “spiritual” answer—that is, to say what you think you’re supposed to say as a Christian—or would you reply with what you know in your heart to be true? These questions aren’t in any way meant to be presumptive or accusatory. Not at all…

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Well, those were a few items that I hope catch your fancy, stir your affections for Christ, or simply challenge your thinking. I hope you enjoy your spring wherever you are, and enjoy your days here on earth. It is not our home. Let’s long for our permanent and eternal abode, together-

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)