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News

Saturday Selection – Oct 12, 2024

Click on the titles for the linked articles...

Public school vs. home school

The Babylon Bee, helping us tell the difference...

Noise cancellation: a remarkable design solution in biology

Here are some biological features that require precise design (and which therefore evidence a precise Designer) that you've probably never thought of before: "Snakes should be immune to their own poison. Electric eels should not shock themselves. And protection from self-generated noise requires a preplanned noise cancellation system."

Kevin DeYoung on making better arguments

The key here is to argue the facts of the matter – the what rather than the why. You might think you know why your opponent is taking their stand, but if they haven't stated it, then don't pretend you are a mind-reader. Address the argument they have made, rather than the secret motivations they may or may not have.

The four gifts children need from their fathers

It's not complicated. It does take effort. Here's an article every father would benefit from reading. The four gifts are:

  1. Presence
  2. Other mentors
  3. Wisdom
  4. Blessing

3 painfully obvious suggestions to reduce your child's screen time

"A major concern of paediatricians today is excessive screen time in children. Here are three (painfully obvious) suggestions for avoiding and reducing screen time. Unfortunately, these are increasingly becoming viewed as unnecessary or unreasonable by some parents:

  1. Read a lot of books
  2. Talk to your kids about normal life every day
  3. Don’t use digital devices as the default activity..."

Anne Wilson - Sunday Sermons

Catchy song, with a curious video about a helpful man who stops to help a stranded woman... but first takes time to teach a kid how to hit a baseball. Guess he knew she wasn't done singing yet.

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Politics

What is going on with Canada’s conservative leaders?

Pierre Poilievre, Danielle Smith, and John Rustad have discovered success in a “blue ocean” ***** When the leaves rustle and the winds blow in the valley that I call home, there is a good possibility that a new weather system is brewing. Over the past year, a political wind that began in Ottawa and carried on through Alberta has reached BC. Something significant is changing, and the new system is catching the old guard in Canada’s political and media landscape off guard. Under Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and now also BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad, conservative politicians are figuring out how to champion conservative principles, skirting the mainstream media gatekeepers. And they are being rewarded with a growing and energized base of support that has eluded their predecessors. Now, for something completely different The concept of “blue ocean vs. red ocean strategy” was first introduced in a 2015 bestselling business book called Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. The book explained how businesses’ traditional strategy involved them trying to outperform their rivals to capture more of the existing market – businesses succeed by taking market share away from their competitors. With this strategy the ocean is red because there is blood in the water from all the fierce competition. In contrast, those who employ a blue ocean strategy leave that contested realm altogether by creating an entirely new market space through innovation, where there is little to no competition. Now there’s no need to beat the competition, because the competition doesn’t even exist. A classic example is the introduction of the iPhone to the mobile phone market. Apple made something people didn’t even realize they wanted and had the market to themselves for years, still dominating it today. Although the blue ocean strategy is usually confined to business school, conservative politicians, and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in particular, have discovered a place for innovation in Canada’s political landscape. By championing conservative principles publicly, and communicating them directly to voters via social media (like his YouTube channel), Poilievre is making both the mainstream media and the traditional way of doing politics far less relevant. This innovation is not only translating into political success in the polls and ballot box, it is emboldening other conservatives to champion conservative principles, and to do so with a level of conviction that hasn’t been seen for many decades. Out with the old For fifteen of my past seventeen years, I devoted much of my livelihood to promoting Christian principles in Canadian law and public policy. The organization I led worked closely with MPs, MPSs and MLAs, encouraging them to advance laws that would uphold life, freedom, and flourishing. Although we developed good relationships with government officials from a variety of political parties, we worked most closely with conservative officials, since many of them shared similar principles. Some of these MPs and MLAs were champions. They were willing to devote their political career to defend the values that motivated them to run for office in the first place. But, without fail, the chief obstacle to these principled men and women was not their political adversaries inside or outside the legislature, but their own parties. The party leader, as well as a relatively small group of un-elected staffers, were convinced that their chief purpose was to form government, at which point they could really make a difference. And the only way to form government was to hide or minimize many of the principles that activated the party base. But as Reformed Perspective’s editor Jon Dykstra explained so well in a piece already back in 2016, “while power is a wonderful servant it is a terrible master. When getting elected is our first priority, then everything else – including our message – must serve that goal.” And those who wielded the sword decided that conservative principles, especially social conservative ones, were a liability. If there was even a whiff of social conservative values being promoted beyond the office walls, these MPs and MLAs were often put in their place. That meant staying in the back benches and being denied opportunities for influence. Time and again I witnessed how, after hundreds of hours of work to spearhead and build a coalition of support around a worthy initiative, such as a new bill, inevitably the MP behind it would get a call from above, scuttling the effort. “It isn’t the right time” was the most commonly used and accepted justification. “Perhaps when we form government.” Of course that would change to “when we have a majority” to “we don’t want to lose this majority.” It was never the right time. These leaders and staff were perpetually in fear of the media. Talking points were carefully crafted in a way that the media may find them worth sharing in a favorable light. Yet in spite of all their efforts, the media had its own interests and were happy to share the narrative the way they wanted. So what happens when the desire for power overrides conviction, principles, and ideology? It doesn’t take long and the party is little different than any other parties that share this same prioritization of power. It is little surprising that only about 6 in 10 eligible voters bother to vote when the parties don’t stand for much. But it isn’t just demoralizing for voters. It also takes away the motivation to volunteer for, donate to, and even care about candidates and parties. Speaking from experience, it is hard to be motivated to give my time and money to candidates who say one thing in private and something entirely different in public. What has come from the leadership of Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole (federally), Tim Hudak and Patrick Brown (Ontario), Brian Jean (Alberta), and Kevin Falcon (BC)? Have they left any legacy, either through principled policy that was advanced, or through championing conservative principles so that Canadians would at least understand the direction we could have gone? After so many years of failed ambitions, have these leaders and staffers learned their lesson? More often than not, instead they chose to blame their lack of political success on the “extreme” elements in their party who dared to speak up for principles that they believed in and were “caught” by the media. What a contrast this is to leaders from the other side of the political spectrum, who have continued to champion their “progressive” values, even back when these values were considered extreme. Pierre Poilievre finds a blue ocean Quite the change happened on the federal scene when a relatively-unknown MP, Pierre Poilievre, won the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2022, in the first ballot. Poilievre was a whole lot more than a good communicator who happened to come on the scene at the right time. That is red ocean thinking – competing in the existing market to win. Instead, Poilievre is to be credited with showing that the old way Canadian conservatives did politics is obsolete. He did this in two ways. First, unlike the leaders before him, Poilievre was willing to take a stand on conservative principles, even if it risked making him the center of fire from the political and media elites. For example, he showed up at the Trucker Convoy in Ottawa in 2022, standing with those whom all the other mainstream political leaders declared to be on the “fringe.” And although previous Conservative Party leaders were fearful about making any principled stands on social issues, he was clear and public in his opposition to providing surgery and puberty blockers to gender-confused youth. And he stood up for parental notification in cases where children want to change the name or pronouns they go by at school. He regularly challenges woke culture and says out loud that he wants to defund the CBC. But having ideological conviction isn’t itself enough to have created a whole new “ocean” of possibilities. He combined this with a new medium of communication. Instead of relying on the mainstream media to reach Canadians, he largely ignored them and spoke directly to the public through his own channels, especially YouTube. Poilievre’s videos allowed him to not only frame an issue the way he wanted, it also allowed him to explain it with a depth that the mainstream media rarely provides. For example, he produced a 15-minute documentary about housing that has been billed “the first of its kind in Canadian politics” and has garnered millions of views across platforms. It is one thing to get 30 seconds to communicate a message to distracted Canadians on TV, and another entirely to have Canadians choosing to give 15 minutes of their own time to be educated about why housing has become so expensive, and about possible policy solutions. And when the media tried to nail him with accusations of “taking a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” Poilievre responded with simple questions of his own, all while munching on an apple. That too has become a YouTube sensation, with millions of views. Yet another strike for the “legacy” media. More leaders find the blue ocean Poilievre’s approach has struck a chord with millions of Canadians who no longer trust what they are being told by the legacy media. The Conservative Party polls have climbed to levels not seen in their 21-year history. They are currently tracking twenty points beyond the next party. In the past year we have seen other conservative leaders copying these tactics by: 1) being willing to demonstrate their own convictions 2) actively circumventing the legacy media Danielle Smith is the most notable example. I followed her personal newsletter during Covid and didn’t think it was possible for someone with her strong views on the subject to be elected to office. But I was wrong. She didn’t back down from her opinions, and was rewarded with the top role in the province. And I’m seeing this play out in even more dramatic fashion in my home province of BC right now. The BC Conservative Party hasn’t held power since 1952 and didn’t elect even one MLA in the last election. They weren’t even considered a serious contender in BC politics until last year when they received official party status in the legislature after two MLAs left the BC Liberal Party to join the BC Conservatives. One of those MLAs was John Rustad, who went on to become the leader of the fledgling party. Yet within a year, he has this party neck and neck with the NDP, contending to win the upcoming provincial election in October. I first met John Rustad when he kindly agreed to join a group of local residents in a neighboring community for a dessert social, so that they could get to know their MLA. What was striking about him then hasn’t changed today – he is an ordinary guy who cares about this province. He is humble but confident about the truth. And he isn’t scared to say the truth, even if his party leadership or the mainstream media disagree. Rustad didn’t leave his former party because he was looking for better opportunities. He was kicked out, after challenging the established thinking on climate change. And then, for his very first question in the legislature as the party leader, he called on the Premier to replace the government’s sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) program in the province’s schools. SOGI, like climate change, was another sacred cow that the BC Liberals didn’t want their members to publicly talk about unless they were upholding the “progressive” consensus. Not only have the BC Conservatives exploded in popularity, the BC United Party (formerly known as the BC Liberal Party) collapsed almost overnight. Kevin Falcon, the United leader responsible for kicking Rustad out, humbly chose to not run the United party against the Conservatives. And the NDP, who were favorites to win the election, are suddenly rethinking their own progressive policies, announcing that they support getting rid of the carbon tax if allowed by the federal government and reversing their opposition to involuntary care for those with mental health and addiction issues. This is all the more remarkable when you consider BC was the first province to put a carbon tax in place. From blue oceans to blue skies We may be encouraged by, and even rejoice in, some of what these politicians and parties are now embracing. It is a welcome change from the political leadership we experienced over the past decade. But just as their new approach was unthinkable a few years ago, there are so many more principles and opportunities that are still unthinkable in today’s political climate… but which would be a great blessing to our nation and society. Imagine a country where our leaders humbled themselves under our sovereign God, acknowledging that He is Lord over all. Imagine a constitution and laws that uphold God’s unchanging will for humanity. Instead of appealing to “common sense,” our leaders would direct our eyes to God’s Word. Imagine the blessings that would flow from a nation that prioritized marriage, as God designed it, and the children that God so graciously gives to many. A nation where the rule of law is upheld and our leaders are hungry to pursue justice and uphold the fundamental freedoms that God has granted. It isn’t just the world that gets mixed up on priorities. I’m also guilty of prioritizing power over principles. If I’m in a public forum, I’m tempted to stick to values that others will share. I downplay or hide what God has made very clear in His Word, even though I confess that “I delight in your decrees” and “I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame” (Ps. 119:16, 46). Yes, we need to be prudent and not throw pearls before the swine (Matt. 7:6). But if we love our neighbors, we should want the very best for them. Cutting taxes and shrinking government is great, but it doesn’t get close to addressing the real brokenness in our culture and country. The real problem isn’t taxes or restrictions, but sin. And the amazing reality is that there is a solution! Jesus Christ offers the kind of life and freedom that can never be taken away. So while we can be grateful that some of our leaders have discovered blue oceans, and that may be as good as we get in the political realm today, let's point them and all our neighbors to blue skies. Real and lasting hope are found in Christ alone. Picture credits: Pierre Poilievre: screenshot from “How do you like them apples? Part 1”; John Rustad: screenshot of a Sept. 13 tweet; Danielle Smith: Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda / istockphoto.com...

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In a Nutshell

Tidbits – September 2024

Lord of the Rings on dating If you’re having trouble mustering the courage to ask out the girl you’re interested in, just know you aren’t alone. Dilly-dallying when it comes to dating is common to many a man… and even a hobbit or two. As a certain Jesse Cox tweeted, in the Lord of the Rings films we see: “… Samwise Gamgee traveled across the world and carried his best friend up a volcano in order to gain the courage to ask out a girl who was already interested in him.” Samwise did finally get around to it, and his Rosie said yes, and they went on to have 13 kids. But hobbits live longer than we do, so if you’re going to have 13 kids too, don’t be dithering as long as Sam! Dads rock “If masculinity were truly toxic, then kids growing up without fathers would presumably be better off than those who have them. But they’re not.” – Noelle Thea I wish this guy had won The new girls' team? This past election I recognized the gentleman at the door as a fellow youth league basketball coach. He was running for the public school board, so we got to talking about what he’d do when the transgenderism the government was pushing made an appearance in our small town. What would he do if a visiting girls' basketball team included a couple of very confused guys? His answer? He’d get the guys' team to identify as girls, just for the day, then beat the out-of-towners by a hundred or so. And, hopefully, that would put an end to that. I’ve shared his plan with friends, and the question comes up: would it be honest? I think so, and far more honest than letting the transgender lie go unopposed. After all, no one involved in this stunt – on either team or in the stands – would think our boys are really saying they are girls. These young men would be making the exact opposite point, loudly and clearly, and be protecting our girl athletes too. If we wanted to be even more up front we could have our guys explain that they “identify as girls to the same extent that #3 and #11 on the other team are girls.” No lie there. We can see this sort of thing in the Bible too – consider how the prophet Nathan used an entirely fictitious scenario to have David judge his own adultery (2 Sam. 12:4). The Bible teaches (see also 1 Kings 20:27-43, not to mention Josh. 2:1-7) that there is a time when a lie can serve the truth. In this high school setting the real deception is on the other side, and the proposed stunt would only expose their lie. Last year Canadian powerlifting coach Avi Silverberg did something like this in his sport. The bearded Silverberg showed up at a women’s event, and then, according to the New York Post, he “casually bench-pressed nearly 370 pounds,” beating the previous Alberta women’s record by almost 100 pounds. And who held that record before him? A confused guy by the name of Anne Andres. Silverberg exited without explaining himself, but his point was quite clear. Christians could do something like this and be even clearer. The problem isn’t primarily that these confused men are ruining women’s sports. The real battle is over whether God made us male and female (Gen. 1:26-27). For the sake of our confused world we need to bring them God’s clear proclamation, and not simply the half measure of someone's common sense. Darkness is an opportunity to show the way, shining the light of the Gospel – it's an opening for evangelism, if we take it. Then and now “The early church wanted to know 'What must I do to be saved?’ Today’s church is asking, 'What can I do and still be saved?’” – Paul Washer Same outfit on repeat Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal once decided to conduct a year-long experiment that involved wearing basically the same outfit every day – a solid black top and gray pants, with the occasional black dress thrown into the mix. She had several of each, enough to make laundry easy to manage. She didn’t tell anyone about her experiment except for family and a few close friends. As she described the experiment, it seems like she didn’t even know why she was doing it. A bit of it was about how it might be freeing to never have to spend time thinking about what she would wear. But it wasn’t like she spent all that much time thinking about it in the first place. After more than six months of it, she was getting tired of her limited options, and found that “getting dressed was always easy but never pleasing.” Still, she finished off the year. And, after 12 months, here was her biggest illumination: “No one noticed. Not one single person ever said to me, Amy, why are you wearing those same gray pants and black shirt every time I see you? This information is equal parts humbling, depressing, and liberating." Humbling, yes, to realize that folks aren’t paying much attention to us. But liberating, too, because it means that as embarrassed as you might have felt today, folks probably aren’t going to remember how you tripped over your own feet. Getting cut down to size can be a very good thing, so long as we remember Who really is the center of the universe, and remember too, our special status, being made in His Image (Gen 1:26-27). Down low on the Down Under Did you know that boomerangs are Australia’s biggest export? And they're also their biggest import. A poem for the upcoming election season I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. — Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias" Hasn’t he heard “Boy named Sue”? “I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down.’” – Bob Newhart Best ads from the 2024 US election Election campaign ads are too often just name-calling but every now and again they say something significant. What follows are a few of this year’s more revealing ads. A Trump campaign ad highlighted how Kamala Harris has supported taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. The ad’s tagline? “Kamala’s for they/them; Trump is for you.” In an ad for Kamala Harris, voters were urged to vote for change: “There’s promise that lies in change, and the time for change is now… it’s time for hope, for change….” The Babylon Bee spoof of the ad wasn’t all that different: “'I will fix things if you vote me into office,' says woman currently in office.” The Constitution Party ran an ad that pulled no punches: “… We’re reaping what we’ve sown. The blood of millions of babies cries for vengeance, and God hears their blood. We must repent as a nation to avoid the wrath of God for killing His children. That means we must stop voting for Democrats that murder babies by abortion." In a nostalgic turn, the Trump campaign shared Ronald Reagan’s closing comments from his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go buy things in the store than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe? That were as strong as we were four years ago? If you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.” Thermostat, not thermometer "There was a time when the Church was very powerful – in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators.' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were ‘a colony of heaven,’ called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment... By their effort and example, they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound….” – Martin Luther King Jr....

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Animated, Movie Reviews

Tangled

Animated / Family 2010 / 100 min RATING: 9/10 In the original Rapunzel tale, her hair is very long, but still just hair. In Tangled, these long tresses are used as a whip, swing, and even as rope to tie a bad guy up. But the biggest upgrade is that her hair now has the power to restore youth. It's this last addition that caught the attention of a very old witch. Our story starts with Witch Gothel whisking the baby Rapunzel away to a hidden tower deep in the woods. The magical restoration only works if it's adminstered regularly, so the witch wants to keep Rapunzel forever, so the witch can be young forever. Years later, a teenage Rapunzel is still in the tower, but not a captive exactly. As far as she knows Gothel is her mother, and if Mother says Rapunzel needs to stay in to stay safe, then that's what Rapunzel is going to do. Even if she doesn't like it. Then the roguish, handsome, thieving Flynn Ryder shows up, fleeing from this story's version of the police. He's the first man Rapunzel has ever seen, so, quite naturally, she hits him with a frying pan. Was it love at first "clunk"? Maybe not quite the first, but there were clunks to follow, so it might have been one of those. Rapunzel convinces Flynn to help her explore the outside world. Soon this becomes a chase film, with Mother Gothel, and all the King's men, trying to capture one or the other of the pair. As I reread the original Rapunzel fairytale I was struck by how it's more problematic than the Disneyfied retelling. The original has Rapunzel's mom and dad stealing a plant, rapunzel, from their neighbor. Their neighbor is a witch, but still, when did stealing become something the good guys did? In the fairytale, Rapunzel gets impregnated by the prince before they are married, though children might not even realize (parents will clue in when Rapunzel talks about how, for some reason, her clothes are getting tight). So, Disney improved on the original by cutting these elements. Cautions The weirdest parts of this movie are a couple of brief appearances of a small, old, bearded outlaw who wears nothing but a diaper and wings. He seems to be imitating a baby Cupid. Really, really odd but, thankfully, very brief. There's lots of comic violence, with people getting hit repeatedly in the head with a frying pan. No big thing, except if you have kids young enough to think this is something they can imitate. There is an element of magic, but played mostly in a negative light – the witch Mother Gothel is the villain of the piece. Conclusion A niece loves this film and introduced it to our daughters, and in the half-dozen times we've seen it since, we've all enjoyed it every time. It might be a bit too frantic and at times scary for the under-10 group, but for everyone else, this will be a very fun pick for family movie night. Check out the trailer below. ...

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Drama, Movie Reviews

Little Women (1994)

Drama 1994 / 118 min Rating: 9/10 Taking only minor liberties with Louisa May Alcott's book, Little Women tells the tale of Marmee March’s four daughters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they grow up in the shadow of the US Civil War. Each sister is quite the character, with Meg, the older sister, who dreams of marriage and starting her own family, Jo the tomboy who wants to write, the sickly but caring Beth who is always thinking of others, and the spoiled littlest sister Amy who does some growing up, becoming a lovely young lady. This is all about family, coming together in hardship when Beth gets sick, and coming together for family fun too, like when all the sisters take parts in a play written by Jo. Oh, and there's also falling in love too! Cautions Nowadays, if a film isn't made by Christians, it seems almost a given that it is going to have some sort of vulgarity, blood-splattering violence, or woke agenda. Little Women has none of it. Yay! The worst I can think of is a few strange references to Transcendentalism (an early New Age movement) but it is referred to only in passing. Conclusion This may be appreciated more by the ladies: a female friend has watched this 10 times while her husband thought once was more than enough. However, if you are a fan, you'll want to check out the 1949 version, which is both funnier and sadder, but also a bit harder to follow if you aren't already familiar with the book. A 1933 version is over the top, but the 1940 sequel of sorts, called Little Men, is another good one. Check out the trailer below. ...

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News

Saturday Selections – Sept 21, 2024

Actions speak louder than words During the COVID lockdowns political leaders were caught, with some regularity, violating their own rules, so this just-released clip might not even seem all that newsworthy. It is particularly scandalous – in this undercover video, Dr. Jay Varma, senior advisor to the New York City mayor, and, in his words, the architect of the city's COVID rules, admits to holding a sex party that violated those rules. What makes this notable is what Steven Crowder highlights: "This is a story about those in charge not fearing what it is that they demanded you fear..." The lesson here is that when something is outside our expertise and we have to trust someone else's evaluation, their actions – not their words – tell us what they really believe. What we have here is a COVID expert telling us that this virus was dangerous enough to shut down our church services but not his sex parties. And that's a bit of hindsight worth filing away. How women survive breastfeeding There is so much more going on in our bodies than anyone has ever imagined. Scientists just discovered a hormone produced when a mother is lactating that prevents her from going into a calcium dive – otherwise the baby getting calcium from mom would come at a cost to the calcium in mom's own skeletal system leading to osteoporosis. This is a longer article, and a bit technical, but the gist is amazing. Helping others trust God in the face of infertility and miscarriage (20 min) Jeremy Pray, the author of Infertility and Miscarriage: Helping Others Trust God in Every Season, discusses how to counsel couples facing infertility. How should they understand what God is doing? This podcast is intended for biblical counselors but would be a good listen for friends and family of anyone facing this struggle. Listen to this as a 20-minute podcast or, for those who prefer to read, there is also a transcript. When therapy harms instead of helps The Bible speaks to the value of wise counsel. But it shouldn't surprise us that some secular counseling makes things worse. How green energy endangers us in an emergency How far is your EV car going to get you when a storm knocks out the grid? But a truck with a full gas tank can get you out of the danger zone. And a tank of gas can get ambulances where they need to go. And power the semis bringing in emergency supplies. And etc. and etc. Gavin Newsom signed a deepfake ban so The Babylon Bee responded AI advances now allow the quick, cheap, and easy creation of "deepfake" videos that can depict people saying things they never did or would say. A fake but realistic depiction of Joe Biden could be made to say, "The nomination was stolen from me," or an indecipherable-from the-real "Donald Trump" could be shown talking about how the Russians backed him. These sorts of deepfakes could cause enormous problems. Some sort of regulation would seem a must then. However, when regulations come from unprincipled politicians we have to remember what Obama's former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said about using trouble to push an agenda: "never let a serious crisis go to waste." When California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning deep fake election ads, it would have been naieve to think it won't be weaponized against his enemies. After all, we're seeing more and more "lawfare" – lax enforcement of the rules for friends of the government, and the strictest application of the law against their enemies, So The Bablyon Bee stepped up to be the first target, creating the ad below. There is supposed to be an exception for satire, but Newsom agitated for this bill in response to a clearly sataric ad against Kamala Harris, so we will see. Got to love the very last line. ...

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News

The IVF gendercide

Critics of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) have long warned that the technology could be used to customize children, allowing parents and doctors to effectively play God. According to a recent Slate article, which sounded like a review of the movie Gattaca, those fears were well-founded. According to the article, "You can have a baby when it suits your career, thanks to egg freezing (or at least you can try). You can sequence your embryos’ genomes for $2,500 a pop and attempt to maximize your future child’s health (or intelligence, attractiveness, or height) ... you can even select eye color. There is a vast disparity between who gets to use IVF... and who is using it to create designer families." Another example is sex selection. Numbers vary from clinic to clinic, but one Los Angeles-based IVF clinic estimates that about 85% of its patients engage in sex selection. However, which sex is being selected is surprising. Historically, when parents choose between sons and daughters – think of China under its one-child policy or Romans who practiced infanticide by exposure – boys won out. Today, Americans using IVF are abandoning the sons in favor of daughters. “Abandoning” is the correct term when it comes to IVF. Standard procedure involves the creation of anywhere between five and 10 embryos that are then implanted either one at a time or in multiples. Embryos that are not implanted are frozen, donated to medical research, or worse, destroyed, a tragedy because every embryo is a whole life in its very earliest stage. Today, an estimated 1.5 million embryos are stored in freezers in the U.S. Why are Americans voluntarily abandoning these boys? According to the Slate article, “toxic masculinity” is a main concern for many women (even those who are already boy moms). Boys are, after all, more likely to be mass shooters and less likely to help break glass ceilings. Perhaps some parents think that raising daughters will be easier. While some have rightly noted that sex selection is inescapably sexist, underneath the practice is something far more insidious. Parenthood is widely seen as a consumerist activity. Children are viewed in the same way as pets or plants. They are objects to be acquired rather than persons whose intrinsic dignity must be respected. For many parents, children exist to serve their happiness, whether to be a parent’s “bestie” or to fulfill their parent’s hopes and dreams. It's difficult to imagine that some of the factors behind the dramatic increase of young females experiencing gender dysphoria are not at work here as well. Girls are thought to be more malleable, in terms of personality, appearance, and even identity. It may be consumerist parents prefer girls instead of boys for this reason. Whatever the motives, the practice of IVF is enabling a “gendercide,” a term used by The Economist in 2010 to describe why 100 million girls were missing in China, India, and elsewhere. Despite claims that IVF is all about “fertility” and bringing children into the world, the practice must be evaluated according to how it’s actually practiced – not just by what it promises. Infertility is tragic, but it does not warrant an “anything goes” kind of ethic or policy. It certainly cannot justify a push for designer babies and third-party parenting. Even the wonderful “ends” of a new life cannot justify unethical means. The lack of regulation around IVF is a recipe for disaster, a recipe already serving up more deaths than lives. This Breakpoint was co-authored by Jared Hayden. If you’re a fan of Breakpoint, leave a review on your favorite podcast app. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org. This is reprinted with permission from the Colson Center. Photo credit: IStockPhoto.com / Wirestock....

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News

Sports betting explodes across Canada

Since Canada legalized sports betting in 2021, the industry has exploded, and last week the Edmonton Oilers and the Alberta government were just the latest to cash in. On Sept. 9 the Oilers announced that they were getting sponsored by Play Alberta – the government’s own online gambling platform – to put a patch on the team’s home jerseys. Many fans weren’t impressed; an online poll by the Edmonton Journal’s hockey writer David Staples had the majority annoyed with the Oilers for degrading their uniform. But what about a government that promotes a vice that harms their own citizens? Those harms aren’t limited to Alberta. With three years of data on hand, the Christian think tank Cardus has just published an extensive report about the hidden harms of sports betting in Ontario. Their report shared that sports viewers in Ontario now get hit with 2.8 gambling references every minute of a live sports broadcast. The advertising is effective – the number of sports betting accounts is climbing quickly in Ontario, from 492,000 in the first quarter of 2023, to 1.3 million today. The average being lost by each of those 1.3 million gamblers is $283 each month. As is always the case with gambling, the biggest winner is the company, organization, or government behind the scheme. Revenue from betting increased from an already huge $368.1 million to a staggering $588 million just from 2023 to 2024. It isn’t only sports betting that has taken off. Revenue from casino gaming saw an even greater spike, doubling from $854.8 million to $1.78 billion. Gambling is bad stewardship of what God has entrusted to us, because the odds are always stacked in favor of the house. Even if you do win it is only because your neighbor has lost, and lost big. And gambling is also addictive – sadly, those who have the least to steward are often the most likely to be hurt by this addiction, adding the additional yoke of debt to their already-challenging lives....

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Family, Movie lists, Movie Reviews

A century of cinema for your family

20+ great films for you and your kids to time travel through the last 100 years ***** While most other art forms have been around for centuries and millennia, “motion pictures” have only existed for just over a century. Back in March of 1895, two Frenchmen, the Lumière brothers, had a public screening of their black and white, silent, 46-second-long film Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory. And while that was as boring as it sounds, improvements started coming fast and frequently – later that same year they showed a 40-second comedy of sorts, The Tables Turned on the Gardener. The title character is using a hose to water his plants and when the water pressure drops, he looks down his hose to find out why. And that’s when the boy who’d been stepping on his hose lets the water resume – a first go at cinematic slapstick. In the decades that followed we got plot, then color, and eventually sound. Cinema brought different art forms together – writing, acting, costuming, cinematography, music, construction, and more – and it took filmmakers about a quarter century to really figure out how to gel them all. So it isn’t until the 1920s that we get films that begin to stand the test of time, and can entertain still. Now it’s never been that easy to find quality movies for kids, and even less so when you have Christian standards for what your family watches. But if you expand your choices beyond what’s come out in the past year, it does get a little easier. And if you want to mix some education along with your entertainment, then now might be a great time to introduce your kids to great movies of the past. You can show them the ways the world has changed and the ways it hasn’t, and they can learn that newer is not always better! To make it easy to do, we’ve created a list of suggestions for you from movies we’ve previously reviewed. Travel backwards in time from today to the 1920s to see a hundred years of cinema history. And by heading backward one movie at a time, you can slowly get your children used to the very different pace and look of the older movies. All the films that follow are linked to their longer reviews, so if there are any cautions, you can see what they are by clicking the titles. 2020s Paw Patrol: the Movie Who hasn’t heard of Paw Patrol by now? But rest assured you don’t have to have watched the show to enjoy the movie. When an incompetent mayor runs amok in Adventure City, the pups have to help clean up the chaos. This film is good old-fashioned fun. The Super Mario Bros. Movie If your kids are a bit older, they might enjoy this fun romp through the world of Mario Bros. Mario and his brother Luigi get sucked into a strange and colorful land, where Mario has to rescue everyone from the dreadful Bowser. 2010s Tangled This retelling of Rapunzel is a favorite of many. Rapunzel has been told she needs to stay in the tower to stay safe, but when she meets a thief named Flynn, she gets an opportunity to leave and explore the wider world. A highlight is her versatile hair and all the ways she uses it to help her and Flynn get out of tight situations! The Peanuts Movie This movie brings in all the silly fun of the comic and leaves out some of the melancholy. Charlie Brown tries a variety of activities to impress the Little Red-Haired Girl, and is helped out by his friends. Will he succeed? 2000s Pollyanna Orphaned Pollyanna teaches her aunt and neighbors about the “Glad Game” her father taught her – this game involves striving to find something to be glad about in even the most difficult situations. Throughout the movie, things happen that make it very hard for her to stay “glad” – will Pollyanna stop playing her game? Chicken Run This one is for teens and maybe tweens but not younger – a clever claymation homage to the World War II prisoner escape genre, this takes place on a chicken farm, with the hens working together to plan a mass exodus. But they'll have to get past the Nazi guards farmer and his dogs first. This might be more for dads and their lads, but kids with an interest in World War II history should appreciate this. 1990s Little Women Four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, come together through hard times their family experiences, and do their best to grow up into good young women. Toy Story All of the Toy Story movies are worth watching, but the first one came out all the way back in 1995, making it a great fit for the 1990s. Andy’s toys – Woody, Mr. Potato Head, Little Bo Peep, and more – all come to life when no people are around. Then a new toy, Buzz Lightyear, arrives to make Woody jealous. Both adults, and children as young as 12, can really appreciate this one (a bully and his initially creepy toys might be too much for the younger crowd). 1980s An American Tail Animated films are often assumed to be “just” for children, but the best of them use the art form to showcase stories for all ages – which means this could be a great film for the whole family! An American Tail explores the story of immigration, which is something many of us are familiar with as a result of our own family histories with immigration. The Fox and the Hound A fox and a hound meet and become the best of friends... but as they grow up, will their friendship last? They’re told foxes and hounds are natural enemies. This is a classic film with strong lessons about racism contained in it. 1970s The Hobbit While the live-action Hobbit trilogy hit big screens in the 2010s, the initial animated version came out in 1977. It has a lot to offer, and is not split into three parts! The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Who doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh? This movie contains several classic Pooh stories, and is a perfect way to introduce children to Pooh and his friends. 1960s The Incredible Journey Another classic movie based on a book. In this story, two dogs and a cat have to find their way back to their family, who are over 200 miles away. Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates A movie set in the Netherlands! Young Hans has to support his family, but he struggles to afford both food for them all, and medicine for his father. So he enters a 26-mile skating race with a big prize. Will he win? 1950s Jack and the Beanstalk Abbott and Costello, the well-known comedy duo from the 40s and 50s, star in this version of Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s slapstick, so some parental explanation might be needed for kids to get the jokes and comic physical humor, but kids will surely enjoy all the zany antics. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea A mysterious “sea monster” is destroying ships in the ocean, and three men are sent out to discover what it is, and stop it. It turns out not to be a sea creature, but a submarine! The three of them are taken aboard and start to learn all about its mysterious captain... 1940s My Friend Flicka A classic story of the love between a boy and his horse – a wild colt who needs to be tamed, and a boy who daydreams his way through school. Maybe they can both help each other grow up. A few cautions: for children who love horses, the death of a horse in this movie might be a tough watch, and the pace of this movie is slower, especially by modern movie standards. Lassie Come Home A boy is forced to sell his beloved and loyal dog Lassie when his family can’t afford to feed her anymore. Lassie’s new owner takes her to Scotland, but she is determined to find her way home, and goes through some serious adventures on her long journey. 1930s The Prince and the Pauper Stories about switched identities are fun, and this is one of the classic versions. A poor boy and a prince realize they look almost identical, and after they switch clothes they’re both mistaken for the wrong boy. Will the wrong boy end up crowned king? This is a black-and-white film, and is slower paced, but many children 9 and up will enjoy it. The Adventures of Robin Hood This film is consistently mentioned as the classic version of Robin Hood on screen, which went on to influence all the others. No dark and gritty retellings of Robin here! Our review lists four reasons you’ll never find a better version than this one. 1920s Sherlock Jr. We’re getting into movies old enough that some children will find them very, very different from modern movies... that said, most children do enjoy the silent films that are jam-packed with action! This could be a great opportunity to expand their viewing – and yours. Our first recommendation for silent films is Sherlock Jr., which is also free online if you click the title. Seven Chances Another silent film! Jimmie has seven chances to find someone to marry that day, in order to fulfill the conditions to inherit his grandfather’s fortune. Conclusion And that, then, is a collection of 22 films covering just over a century of cinema. If you do end up working your way through this list with your family, please let us know your thoughts, especially on the older ones. What were your favorites? We hope you find some gems! To find even more film recommendations, including many films for younger children, be sure to check out our list of 200+ movies King David might watch....

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Dying Well

Write your own eulogy

Crystalize what’s most important in your life **** My neighbor wrote my eulogy last week, or what I hope will be at least a part of it. It was her daughter’s birthday, and I had popped over with a present. Neither mother nor daughter was surprised when it turned out to be a couple of books, and that’s what prompted the mom to say: “Jon, when you die, I think everyone at the funeral will have gotten a book from you.” I’d like that to be true. I do think birthdays and anniversaries are a wonderful excuse to pass along a good book, and while I haven’t reached near everyone yet, the Lord willing, I do still have time. So, yes, “book giver” is something I’d love to have included in my eulogy. What would you like included in yours? Eulogies are most often written for us by our family after we have passed on, but some years back Dr. Gary North challenged his readers to write their own eulogies. He first wanted them to write up a good resume to detail what they’d already done, and then they were supposed to write their eulogy to lay out what they intended to do. After both were complete, North challenged his readers to focus in on the differences. “How well does your résumé match what you would like said in your eulogy? If there is a big discrepancy, work on both…. There should be more to your life than your résumé. If there isn't, start working on improving your eulogy. Then work backward.” This talk of dying is all about bringing focus to how we can live out our purpose. God created us to glorify Him, and to best do that we need follow just two commands: to first love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and second, to love our neighbor as ourself (Matt. 22:37-39). So writing a eulogy is really just casting our eyes to the future to see how we might go about loving God and Man. Write it when you’re young While North’s proposal was an exercise aimed at everyone, there’s distinct benefits for young and old. Young people writing eulogies? Yes, because there’s benefit in asking, “How would I like to be remembered?” sooner rather than later. The earlier we get to it, the more time we’ll have to live out whatever goals we set. Like to be remembered as a generous donor to missions and Christian schooling? That might be achievable if you start charting this course in your teens. Would you love to be known as a nurturing parent? Best to write that down long before your kids move out. Want to be called a doting grandmother to dozens? It’s more realistic if you’re busy having, and loving, your own large family now. It’s a different twist on goal-setting, because eulogies don’t focus on our typical aspirations. A big house is nice, but have you ever heard that mentioned at a funeral? We’d all love to be able to explore the globe, but who’d want to be known simply as a world traveler at the end of their life? What priority do you want to give to your job? There are all sorts of careers that’d be worth a mention as your son or daughter sums up your time on earth, but only so long as they were a means of serving God, and hadn’t become a god to you. That’s how writing a eulogy early can show you what sort of goals are worth setting. Typing it out when you’re young is also a reminder to not put off what you can do today, since none of us have a promise of tomorrow. In his book Seasons of Sorrow, Reformed pastor and author Tim Challies wrote about his son Nicholas’s sudden death. The young man was just 20 when he died, and at the time was attending seminary and engaged to be married. While those plans were cut short, his father could take comfort in being able to write in his obituary: “ eventually became convinced that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that he ought to be a follower of Jesus.… All who share his faith commend him for running his short race well and anticipate the day when they will see him again.” Worth doing when you’re old There’s a different value in writing your eulogy when you’re older. It may be less about setting major new goals – limits on time and strength don’t allow a man in his sixties to take on studying to be a doctor, or starting a pig farm. But new ventures are still possible since retirement may bring time to do activities that just weren’t possible before. I know a man who took up painting and got quite good at it, leaving works that adorn the walls of family and friends. When infirmity took that away he turned to crafting poetry, glorifying his Maker in an entirely new way. But in these later years one benefit to writing a eulogy comes in the clarity it brings to revisions that should and could be made. A young man can fool himself into thinking he has all the time in the world to make amends. But once there’s no denying death’s approach, we can’t miss the need to make the most of the short time we might still have. It’s only fiction, but in Where the Blue Sky Begins, a terminal cancer diagnosis is what gives the main character her clear mission – she’s put it off for years but she’s sure God wants her to ask forgiveness of seven people she’s wronged. The very reason we might not want to write our eulogy at this age – all the regrets we don’t want to think about – is a big reason to do it. Sin has stained all our stories and what we’ve done can’t be undone. But it can be forgiven. Ships may have sailed, but course corrections are always possible because our God is merciful. Just think of the thief on the cross. We don’t know how old he was, but we know he had no strength and no time to offer – stuck as he was, he couldn’t do anything other than profess Jesus as righteous. But that was quite the plot twist, and whatever his story’s beginnings, he had such a spectacularly God-glorifying final chapter it was included in the Bible (Luke 23:39-43). Not all revisions are going to be this dramatic, but we all have sins we can flee from. Think of common examples: a stern mother can’t get back those early years, but she may now have time to craft a different entry as a grandma. Maybe you spent too much time watching hockey, or obsessing about the royals, or reading trashy fiction? Whatever our sins, so long as breath remains, we can repent. And then possibilities will exist still to glorify our Maker. For many a faithful saint these final chapters can also be about etching deeper what’s already been put down. My parents have gotten to a stage where getting out of bed has become an accomplishment, but they continue doing what they’ve always done, showing what a great marriage and sacrificial love looks like. It comes out in small ways, maybe bringing another cup of coffee, or holding hands during Jessica Fletcher but it’s more of what’s been going on for half a century now. It was also quite something to see my wife’s grandmother holding forth on her deathbed, still loving on the people gathered around her, more concerned about how they were doing than the pain she was feeling. And knowing she had just hours and not weeks, she took the opportunity to share some pointed advice because it was clear she had no time but the present. When years and maybe decades may still remain, polishing can be done. A good young elder can continue on as an older elder. Retired businessmen can burnish their legacy by mentoring younger entrepreneurs. Paul tells us that older men and women are to teach the younger generation (Titus 2), and Asaph tells us to share with our children what God has done in our own lives (Ps. 78). So long as breath remains, opportunities to honor God continue. Writing a eulogy in our later years can be about adding on an exclamation mark to what we already have down. Conclusion When I first started writing this article, I intended to share my own eulogy as an example. But if this exercise is going to be as brutally honest as it is meant to be, the results aren’t really for public consumption. I will share a couple of broader lessons learned. Like every Christian parent, I want to make it easy for my kids to say about me – to know about me – “He loved his Lord.” And I want my neighbors to know it too. There’s that old joke that goes, “if the government ever brought up charges against you for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Would your neighbors be able to join in on the prosecution side? Maybe like you, I have some work to do here. I’ve also realized, at least at this point of my life, I can most glorify God by being a patient father. There’s all sorts of other things I can work on too, and goals I should follow through on (like a book I’ve yet to start). But right now, every day again – almost moment by moment – I have repeated opportunities to help or to hurt the mood of my household. I can do so either as a harried, slightly grumpy, justice- more than mercy-minded, busy dad, or as a happier, calmer, more patient parent who better reflects his Father in Heaven. This second option is easy enough to write down, but if it’s going to be a goal and not simply a wish, steps need to be taken, and what will that look like? This eulogy-writing is only useful if it leads to concrete actions. So if I’m grumpy because I’m too busy, then I need to either take less on, or take steps to be better at organization. I know I’m a better saint when I’m well rested, so bed time needs to become a priority. If I really want to be remembered as a patient dad, what am I going to do about it, and what am I willing to give up to achieve this goal? That’s what I’ve learned, but now how about you? What are your friends and family going to say about you when you’re gone? And what can you do about it still now?...

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News

Saturday Selections – September 7, 2024

The importance of "social trust" What can we do when people stop trusting? One common approach is to outsource trust to the government. Get the government to inspect, certify, and license folks to prove they are trustworthy. The problem here is that this makes trust an expensive commodity: licenses, inspections, and certifications all cost money and time. And it also presupposes that the one entity we can trust is our government, and their competence to be able to assess everyone else. The video supposes we can turn the tide by being trustworthy ourselves. That's a start, certainly, but while that would benefit your customers, it wouldn't benefit your interactions with the rest of your untrustworthy society. What this video is calling for then (though it doesn't know it) is revival. Only God can change hearts en masse! It's a young world after all On offer here, four evidences of a young solar system. 11 things to know when Jehovah’s Witnesses are at the door They might present themselves as Christian, but they believe in a very different God. How do we give hope and help to women who struggle with postpartum depression? Two biblical counselors offer hope in this 30-minute podcast that's also available as a 15-minute read. Are the "5 Love Languages" real? Gary Chapman's 1992 bestseller The Five Love Languages proposed that there are 5 very different ways that people express love, and that we could all get along better if we understood each other's primary love language. I had a friend who benefitted from the book when she realized that while she appreciated physical affection – she was a hugger – her mom just wasn't. But, she'd often buy her daughter presents. Chapman's book helped my friend realize how often her mom was thinking of her, how much her mom did indeed love her, even though her mom never gave her an encouraging hug. So, for some the book was quite impactful. But further study finds that while we might have different tendencies, our "love languages" aren't as distinct as the book made them seem. Even my friend's dear ol' mom, who wasn't a hugger, might have appreciated a hug. Why Christians need to stop using the term "same-sex attracted" English professor and former homosexual Rosario Butterfield explains that we should not identify with our sins. She is not speaking primarily to Christians who are simply using this term for the sin they are struggling with (though she has thoughts for them too). Rather, this is directed more at Christians who, though they might be remaining chaste, are claiming same-sex attraction as a part of their identity. ...

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Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews

A Good Old Age: an A to Z of loving and following the Lord Jesus in later years

by Derek Prime 2017 / 184 pages They say not to judge a book by its cover, but how about by its title? “A Good Old Age,” written by the 86-year-old pastor and seasoned veteran, Derek Prime, reminded me of what the Bible writes about Abraham: “And Abraham died in a good old age” (Gen. 25:8). So yes, this book had me by its title. Perhaps the title also grabbed me because I’m at an age where my parents have/are close to following the Lord Jesus into glory. Witnessing their time in the “waiting room” as they prepare for the last years of their earthly life, I see both the joys and the challenges these years represent and so was keen to see what Derek Prime had to say about the A-Z’s of following Jesus in the sunset years. The book did not disappoint. But it did surprise. I soon realized I needed its wisdom in middle age as much as my parents did in their elderly age. I needed it as preparation for the last lap of my life, which the Bible tells me will come more quickly than I realize as “the grass withers, the flower fades” (Isaiah 40:8). Like Alistair Begg asserts in the foreword: “(This book) needs to be read long before we find ourselves in the senior citizen seats on the train.” So, whether you’re young and want to understand your grandparents and their behaviors more, whether you’re middle aged and giving extra time and love to your parents, or whether you’re nearing the Jordan crossing, this book is for you. In A Good Old Age, Derek Prime goes through the entire alphabet, assigning a letter with its corresponding spiritual priority to each chapter, posing insightful questions along the way for the reader to consider while providing encouraging prayers at each chapter’s conclusion. Although not a deeply theological book, it is an extremely practical one which won’t have you skim-reading over the fluff, because, quite simply, there isn’t any. While written simplistically, its truths are profound and, with the help of the Spirit and through prayer, will prove transforming. Both its content and its font size make for a highly readable book (in good light I didn’t need my reading glasses). The author points out many perils to avoid in old age: Do you tend to compare the present with the past? Do you distrust the motives of those around you? Are you pessimistic? Do you indulge in self-pity? Are you grumpy and demanding? He also points out potentials to embrace while spending time in the waiting room: Do you take the extra time you have to pray for those you love and for those in authority over you, including the minister and elders/deacons? Do you share good and wise counsel that has guided you in life? Do you encourage those around you? Do you speak to others about the hope that is within you, also as you approach the time of your death? Does your obedience to the Word of God shine from your life as a witness to your children and grandchildren? There are several recurrent themes that run through this book and pop up in various different “letters”: seeking God’s approval before man’s approval; the power and importance of prayer as one of the most important things that you can do in old age (something not hampered by physical limitations); living your days in praise and thanksgiving; being an encourager and not a critic; pressing onward toward the goal of following our Savior into glory. To give you a little bit of a taste of A Good Old Age, here are a few of my favorite “letters” (and no, I won’t tell you what “x” stands for – you’ll need to buy the book for that!): A is for Acceptance. Accept the fact that you are old. Accept the truths of aging – loss of a certain amount of independence, increased frustration, more physical ailments. Accept that your children are busy and can’t visit you as much as you would like. C is for Contentment. Be content with your health, finances, family members, friends. Be satisfied in Jesus Christ and witness this by your contentment in the everyday circumstances of your life. L is for Love. When love is in place, everything falls into place. Keep the cross in focus and everything else comes into focus. The more you realize Christ’s love for you, the more you love Him and reflect that love to one another. “Even as well-established fruit trees often provide the best fruit, so older Christians should produce the best examples of Christ’s love in a Christlike life.” Since I started with the letter A, I had better finish with Z. Z is for Zeal. Zeal for the honor of God’s name, zeal for right relationships before we die, and zeal for the coming of God’s kingdom. Derek Prime didn’t know how long he would spend in the waiting room of his sunset years before God called him Home. But God numbered his days, and the author died three years after this book was published, at A Good Old Age of 89. He left behind a legacy to his children and grandchildren of what it looked like to love and follow the Lord Jesus. May the same – by the grace of God – be said about us. This review first appeared in the May 18, 2024 issue of Una Sancta, a magazine “for the Free Reformed Churches of Australia” and it is reprinted with both their and the author’s permission....

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