Brian Boone

Denise and I recently watched a mini-series called The Chosen. You can find it on multiple platforms like YouTube, apple store, and Google play. They also have their own website.

The whole first season is about Jesus choosing his disciples. It begins with the gripping story of Mary Magdalene who is a woman with emotional and demonic issues that makes her a write-off in society. Even the high priest, Nicodemus, tries to help her but cannot. Needless to say, Jesus does free Mary Magdalene, and well, it is beautiful. It even brought tears to my eyes.

Episodes follow the story of Jesus calling Peter. And honestly they take a few liberties not covered in the Biblical gospels, but it does help to develop context. Bottom line, the Romans were oppressive and the Jews hated them!

Jesus is tender with children. I love the episode of him playing with them and tenderly teaching them He also has quite a moment with his first miracle at Cana.

I recommend this series highly – even if you don’t know much about Jesus. It is engaging and moving. But it is also uplifting. It is the great reminder to me about just how special Jesus truly is. And that’s worth watching and remembering.

One thing that the COVID pandemic has taught us is that we don’t have nearly as much control in life as we imagine.

Over dinner recently with friends, we were talking about what the pandemic has taught us.  There were all kinds of good lessons being learned.  A big one for me comes from the book of James.

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

How easy it has been for decades to say, this is what we are doing in business.  Of course, this has even been the case in the church.  We called it our ministry plan.

Now hear me, I’m not down on planning, or having a plan.  I like them and they are often needed in life.  However, the pandemic has taught us these important words, “If it is the Lord’s will.”

One of our friends from Cuba visited us a few months back before the COVID pandemic.  He would regularly say, “If the Lord wills.”  Are you going to Seattle tomorrow?  Yes, if the Lord wills.  We thought it was a bit funny that he would preface everything this way.  Wow, our Cuban brother had much to teach us.

Our plans are but a mist.  May we love our Lord even more than our plans.

A few years ago, I posted a link to a cool plant finder.  You know, the kind that you use to locate that perfect plant for the shady part of your yard.  Or the kind of heather you want for a border plant.  Well that link went dark, so here’s a new one.

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-finder

and another one

https://garden.org/plants/search/advanced.php

Let’s get those hands dirty this summer and make our landscapes beautiful.

In light of a global pandemic, it is a small thing.  No Tour de France this July.  It appears that they will try to run it in September, but no July joy!

My summers in the past decade have been filled with elite riders climbing the Alps and charging to the finish line on the Champs-Élysées.  It is a tradition.  I eat strawberries from my garden and tune in early mornings to le Tour.

Perhaps all these changes in rhythms and traditions will have the ultimate effect of making us appreciate them even more?  I hope so!

ad hominem: An attack on your opponent’s character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument.

I’m convinced that far too much of our politics today takes the form of ad hominem attacks.  This is a cheap form of rebuttal, and actually no rebuttal at all.

Listen over the next week.  Listen to tweets and quotes.  You will find lots of ad hominem cheating.  Learn to call it out!  Learn to say, that’s just tearing down their appearance not their argument.  It is taking a cheap shot about their upbringing, not their ideas!

The result of an ad hom attack can be to undermine someone’s case without actually having to engage with it.

Learn to spot it.  And call it out as the gutter slander that it is.

There is a very significant news story that has gotten almost no press.  Documents were recently smuggled out of China demonstrating that they are systematically oppressing the religious minority group called the Uihgurs.

This was article with  excellent journalism from the New York Times.  And for those who would like to listen to a podcast, I found this one super helpful.

The Chinese government has ruthlessly killed and jailed dissidents from the Muslim Uighurs.  Tens of thousands have been placed in re-education camps in an effort to intimidate and force them to change their thoughts and religious affiliations.  Of course, China would say that this is all in an attempt to control terrorism.  But the documents coming our of China show a far more sinister series of events.

Uigher women grieving for their men who they claim were taken away by the Chinese authorities after Sunday’s protest in Urumqi, China, Tuesday, July 7 , 2009. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

As a Christian, I am well aware of the persecution of people for their religious beliefs.  Here’s an article on the top 50 countries where it is dangerous to follow Jesus.

I stand with Uighurs to oppose this violence and oppression.  China seems bent on harshly punishing dissent.

Inspired by the “favorite books” list from Bill Gates, the CCF ministry staff have come together again to release our favorite reads of the year. In our case, some are new and some are old, but all of them have moved us in some profound ways. Here’s our lists with the hope of inspiring some reading in the church.

Brian
Prayer for Beginners by Peter Kreeft – Since this is the year of the Devotional Life at CCF, I’m reading all I can on prayer. This little gem from Peter Kreeft stands out. He gets simple – really simple. No chapter is more than 10 pages and he covers simple topics. Kreeft says that if you know how to talk to a friend, then you know how to talk with God. “Prayer keeps your soul alive,” he reminds us.

The Coddling of the American Mind by Lukianoff and Haidt – These guys are sociologists at heart and are astute at noticing trends. They argue that we have moved at warp speed into a culture in which we are excessively overprotecting our kids, and especially their minds. They focus on three “untruths” that have overtaken us. Although the authors don’t write from a Christian worldview, I found myself agreeing with them page after page.

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan – What a classic written in 1678. I try to read this book every five years or so. It is such a rich allegory, and this year I enjoyed it in modern English. All of us can associate with Christian who walks through so many valleys and obstacles on his way to the Celestial City.

Bonus: PrayerMate – If I got a bonus, I would push my favorite new app called PrayerMate. https://www.prayermate.net/. Simply the best app I have ever used for prayer. So simple and yet powerful.

Eric
12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You by Tony Reinke – Have you checked your screen time lately? Are you in control of your phone or is it in control of you (and if you feel partially naked when you forget your phone somewhere, I would argue the latter)? Tony Reinke does a fantastic job painting a theology of technology. In other words, he has comprehensively tied the physical, emotional and spiritual impact of today’s technology to the truth about the human heart and God found through scripture. He recognizes the good and bad in our technology and challenges us to “wisely wield the most powerful gadget of human connection ever unleashed

Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin – This book brings together a beautiful tapestry of solid biblical insights, research and powerful testimonies of the author to confront the perception that Christianity is harmful towards humanity. In the end, McLaughlin makes the point that, “… the reality of suffering, the complexity of sexuality, the desire for diversity, the success of science, and other seeming roadblocks to faith become signposts.”

Raising Disciples: How to Make Faith Matter for Our Kids by Natalie Frisk – In this book, the author makes the principles of raising disciples in the home a practical thing. Whether you’re a parent of children, youth, a grandparent, volunteer in children’s ministry or simply want a healthy church in the years to come, this book shows how we can all be intentional in helping children instill spiritual practices that help them become more like Jesus. Who doesn’t want that?!

Bonus: Praying Through the Bible With Your Kids by Nancy Guthrie – Every parent needs to have this book. There are a lot of things we cannot control in our children’s lives. However, the most influential tool we can use that we do have complete control over is prayer. Parents, if you’re looking for a fresh way to pray over your children using scripture through the year, this is it. As we pray for our children by using the scriptures, we will find that our desires for our kids begin to align with the desires of our Heavenly Father. Isn’t that what we want for our children in the end after all?

Nick
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris – In for a ride through the life of one of the largest and most influential Americans ever? Then pick this book up and be amazed at the proficiency, the imperfections, the genius, and the work ethic of the Theodore Roosevelt. Morris is a fantastic writer who takes you through the details, but never bores you with them. I came away having learned much about American history, too.

Them by Ben Sasse – Ben Sasse is a Republican senator from Nebraska who has a lot of great things to say. He is a fantastically solid Christian, too. He dives into the several reasons he thinks that we are a divided nation, one reason being the loneliness epidemic. He doesn’t just tell us what’s wrong, though. He gives solid ways forward to help us heal as a nation by calling us to our founding principles, being rooted where we are, and setting limits on our tech. Pick this book up and be encouraged that this man is on the Hill.

The Narnian by Alan Jacobs – Another biography on C.S. Lewis? Can I say wow and yes?! I read a lot of biographies, but this may be one of the best I have read that isn’t truly a biography as we may know it. Jacobs focuses on the thought life and imagination of C.S. Lewis by tracing his life’s passions and themes within his books. Jacobs, an incredible writer, will have you longing to know more about Lewis and to read more of his books (both Lewis and Jacobs)!

Bonus: How to Pray by Pete Grieg – I think this is one of the best books on prayer that I have ever read. Grieg is honest, hilarious, concise, and practical. He’s a fantastic writer to boot. Come away with some life-changing practices for your prayer life and a ton of online material that he guides you through in each chapter.

I’m always want to go deeper in prayer. Prayer is food for the soul. And when my prayer life is shallow, my soul withers.

I have felt for a long time that a cell phone app related to prayer could be helpful. I have looked at the app store many times, and honestly everything seemed pretty shallow. You could find prayer apps that would let you keep a few prayer requests. Or ones that would remind you to pray. But nothing very robust.

A few weeks ago, I found an app that is a game changer! This app is incredible and has helped me immensely already. Introducing PrayerMate. As a qualifier, I don’t know the developers and I’m not paid to promote the app. I just think it is cool and hope others will also find it helpful too.

What makes PrayerMate so incredible is its ability to allow personal input while also drawing active and dynamic content into the app. Let me explain. First, the app is built on a series of lists. You get to create whatever lists are important for you. One of my lists is for my family. It allows me to enter their names, photos, and things I’m praying for them. That’s the part of lists I build.

There are other lists that are completely built for me and are updated daily. I end my prayer time by praying for a country of the world. It draws dynamic content from Operation World to give me the country of the day. Today I prayed for South Africa. And the developers are working with dozens of mission agencies for them to add live content. You simply subscribe to that feed.

It is hard for me to explain all the benefits and potentials of this app. You gotta try it for yourself to really appreciate it.

Try the app, and if you agree with me, let’s support the developers ($10.99/yr). I long developers like these young Brits who do more truly meaningful apps like this one!

A few weeks ago, I put my garden to bed. I had a moment of worship. Let me explain.

Part of the rhythm of getting my garden ready for winter is clearing out my compost tumbler. It is a black plastic barrel that takes all my summer melon rinds and wilted lettuce. It all goes into the black hole! I clear that out before winter and load it afresh with fall leaves!

Something wonderful happened as I tilted the barrel. I stuck my shovel into the black soil at the bottom of the barrel and it moved. In a word, it writhed. Pink creatures began writhing everywhere. Earth worms! Those beautiful pink friends had been working all summer and changing rotted rinds into rich compost. And what a job they do!

This is a process called vermiculture. I’m convinced that this is even more effective in Seattle than traditional heat composting.

Okay, on to my moment of worship. The worms were not the aim of my worship. I paused to just be utterly amazed at the Creator God who put all this together. How intricate. How utterly robust. How foolproof. Banana peels and old bread become life sustaining soil.
The earth declares the glory of God (Hab. 2:14). And yes, worms and compost do too.

Time for my favorite sport of summer, the Tour de France.  It dominates July for me!  And it is laced with tradition.  Megan and I eat strawberry pancakes at the Grand Départ, the first stage of the race.  This year it begins in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday, July 6.

176 riders will begin this grueling 21-day race.  Likely about 40 of these riders will crash out, get sick, or fall short of making a time restriction to continue.  This sporting event is like none other.  I told a friend recently that I appreciate a professional golfer who must have nerves of steel to sink a put on 18.  Tour riders must be tough as nails.  The last week of the race, their bodies are so depleted that they begin to consume themselves.  These riders are able to take pain and put it in a little box way outside themselves!

I have written about this before, but the Tour is also a race in which you must have a team.  There are eight riders on a team.  Eight of those riders spend themselves to help the one rider win!  Literally impossible to do it without the support of the team.

I love the Tour so much that I run a little fantasy league.  Check it out here.

Vive le Tour!