Great classic video from R.C. Sproul: … [Read more...] about R.C. Sproul on Suffering and the Christian Life
Book Proposals That Sell
I just posted an Amazon review of this fantastic book: Who would buy a house that wasn't built according to a carefully drafted plan -- a set of blueprints? Yet MOST aspiring non-fiction authors rush to write a full manuscript without first doing the hard work of drawing up "a set of blueprints": a proposal. But here's the truth: 90% of non-fiction books are sold from a book proposal (not from a manuscript!). Writing a proposal won't just dramatically increase your chances of getting a book contract. It will help you write a better book. (That was certainly my own experience in writing … [Read more...] about Book Proposals That Sell
Eugene Sledge – With The Old Breed
In honor of Memorial Day, I'm reposting and updating a review my wife wrote of a great war memoir that we both loved, the 1981 classic With The Old Breed by Eugene B. Sledge. This book has been reprinted numerous times over the last 30 years, and was one of the key documents used for Ken Burns' excellent 2007 documentary The War (aired on PBS) and HBO's 2010 mini-series The Pacific. Sledge's story is an absolutely gripping account. Eugene B. Sledge enlisted in the Marine Corps on December 3, 1942 although he was a freshman at Marion Military Institute. He explains that he quit college … [Read more...] about Eugene Sledge – With The Old Breed
Working for God’s Praise
A great post by Hugh Whelchel on having the appropriate goal and motivation in our work--the desire to receive praise from God for the faithful stewardship of the talents, gifts and opportunities he entrusts to us. Whelchel also debunks two common cultural myths: By age 28, many face what's called a "quarter-life crisis," thanks to the two great lies our culture promotes among children in school, students in college, and professionals in the business world. The first great lie is, "If you work hard enough, you can be anything you want to be." It is often sold as the American Dream, expressed … [Read more...] about Working for God’s Praise
Fake Love, Fake War: Internet Porn and Video Games
Excellent article by Russell Moore addressing the reality that a generation of young men are increasingly addicted to video games and porn: There's a key difference between porn and gaming. Pornography can't be consumed in moderation because it is, by definition, immoral. A video game can be a harmless diversion along the lines of a low-stakes athletic competition. But the compulsive form of gaming shares a key element with porn: both are meant to simulate something, something for which men long. … [Read more...] about Fake Love, Fake War: Internet Porn and Video Games
The Unteachables: A Generation that Cannot Learn
The title is a bit pessimistic. Not all students are "unteachable," but too many are: Meetings about bad grades are uncomfortable not merely because it is unpleasant to wound feelings unaccustomed to the sting. Too often, such meetings are exercises in futility. I have spent hours explaining an essay’s grammatical, stylistic, and logical weaknesses in the wearying certainty that the student was unable, both intellectually and emotionally, to comprehend what I was saying or to act on my advice. It is rare for such students to be genuinely desirous and capable of learning how to improve. Most … [Read more...] about The Unteachables: A Generation that Cannot Learn