James K. A. Smith's Desiring the Kingdom, is a very thought provoking work. The main message of the book is that our philosophical anthropology, especially post-Enlightenment, is too reductionistic, focusing our educational efforts on informing the mind while neglecting the more foundational work of forming the heart and affections. Contra Cartesian thought, we are more than just thinkers. And, contra Augustinian thought, we are more than mere believers. Smith argues with needed repetition that we are, at the most fundamental level, lovers who are pulled through life (rather than pushed) by our imaginative affections (rather than our minds) toward the telos of the good life. While this book is more philosophically than biblically referenced, I appreciate Smith's recognition that we are more than just minds in a body. Humans are so much more than thinkers...we are first and foremost worshipers.
I wanted so much to like reading The Trustworthiness of God: Perspectives on the Nature of Scripture, edited by Carl Trueman and Paul Helm. But I found it to be far more academic than the title let on. It should rather have been entitled something like The Trustworthiness of God: Authority Preserved Despite Historical and Biblical Criticisms of the Last Half Century. With all due respect for the authors and contributors, this book is not for the layperson. It is a compilation of articles by seminary professors and theologians whose goal is to confront and correct the critics of the nature and authority of Scripture. Don't get me wrong, this is a much needed and very informative book. It is better suited however, for the seminary syllabus than the Amazon Wish List.
Miscellaneous
This is a very insightful article by Carl Trueman entitled Is the Reformation Nearly Over? In it Trueman reminds us that the Reformation was not just about theology, but also about ecclesiology. Communities under the dominion of Medieval Catholicism were plagued with pastoral absence as well as ministerial fetishism. Ironically, the priests, bishops and popes, while highly neglectful of their pastoral duties, where, by the very people they neglected, worshipped. Dr. Trueman points out that modern evangelicalism, with its praise of and tendency toward the multi-site mega church model, is falling into the same deadly patterns. The pastors of these churches are, for the most part and for most people, absent. The shepherds, while highly esteemed, don't know their flocks. Because they are celebrities, they are untouchable - and this is antithetical to how things should be.
This article discusses the gospel-centered truth that Christ paid for our sins and how this protects and guards us from desiring that the people we love (namely, our spouses) pay for their own.
Here is a must read for both men and women about backward porn addiction. It discusses the temptation that women have to "capture the gaze of men." The question at the end of the article should stick with us all while we shop and chose clothing to wear.
Music
Here is Lecrae's testimony on I Am Second. This is well done.
Cool Stuff
Google makes the Dead Sea Scrolls available online. I don't think I can ever forgive myself for not visiting the DSS exhibit that came to Mobile. But now, thanks to Google, I can view the documents in high digital resolution on the web.
Take a look at these phenomenal pictures of eyes. While you look, think "random molecular activity" and "by chance" and "without design." After those thoughts strike you as absurd, worship the Creator, Jesus Christ for His excellency and wonderful creation.
Good Quote
Nothing makes a man more unpopular in the controversies of the present day than an insistence upon definition of terms. J. Gresham Machen
Ranting
Can I just vent for a second? I hate - yes, hate - front loader washing machines! For some reason all of the clothes decide while they are being washed that they want to tangle themselves together. Then! when I go to pull them out, about four or five articles of wet clothing fall on the ground (doesn't this defeat the purpose?)! This may be no big deal to those of you who are shorter than 6'9", but when I have to constantly bend down and pick up clothes off of the floor, I feel more like I'm doing squats for Sean T than laundry for my home!
. This is well worth the time it takes to read it. I would highly suggest that we all gain a deep understanding of the message so that we can communicate it to those in our immediate contexts.
, by Ed Moll and Tim Chester, is a decent read. If you have read other books on gospel-centered parenting like 
, this book will not really give you any new information. After the first chapter or so, I began to skim. For the price, however, it is a good, manageable resource to hand out to families who have never been introduced to such material.
, by Francis Schaeffer, for me, was extremely informative, relevant and thought provoking. He discusses how rationalistic autonomy, that he argues, began with Aquinas, has affected culture from the Renaissance to modern times. Schaeffer has such a deep grasp of the gospel that he could identify (and even predict) the effects of fallenness in culture. One thread-like concept that runs throughout the entire book is that, when reason becomes detached from God, it immediately tries to "eat up" grace. When we seek autonomy we find to place in our lives for divinity. Get this book.
, by Phillip Johnson, approaches the subject of Darwinian Evolution in a very interesting way. It is as if he is trying to communicate to both the academy and the lay person. In a very presuppositional way, he exposes the unavoidable faith commitments of the Darwinian worldview. In a word, this book seeks to (and succeeds!) demote Darwinism from fact based to faith based. Once we see it clearly, we can expose its intrinsic flaws.
is another great resource that makes family worship easy, significant, informative and Christ-centered. Each devotional, which are less than ten minutes, contain a review, a passage of Scripture, questions regarding the passage, as well as instructions for the parents. There is also a section that serves as a guide for prayer. 
. I have not read this book, but have ordered it and am very interested in the Prichard's point of view. I do think this will be a great resource for those families who have a strong desire to educate their children in a way that honors the Lord, and who choose to do so in public schools.
is now available! I was going to list all of the songs that I thought were really good; but after listening to the whole album for a few days now, I'd have to list every single song. PRo is rough, doctrinally sound, real, transparent, honest and gospel-centered. I recommend it highly.