Is Spiritual Discipline Legalism?: Trillia Newbell clears up some common misconceptions in regard to legalism. What does it all boil down to? The heart:

“We should certainly be aware of the temptation towards legalism. But let’s remember that pursuing God, specifically through battling sin, should not be neglected because our hearts are tempted to err. How do we fight any temptation? We recall what God has done in Jesus and what he promises to do, which is all by his grace, not by our works.”

What to Do When Anxiety Strikes: Great post over at The Gospel Coalition on our need to stop, be quiet and let God speak into our anxious moments. “Truth is recognized in quietness and galvanized in prayer.”

Spiritual Cleanliness is Indeed Next to Godliness: Gloria Furman shares some excellent and encouraging truths in this post on the sanctifying and binding work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life.

Summer Reading Adventure!: Redeemed Reader invites families join them in a reading adventure that will travel around the world. This would be a really great way to keep your kid’s minds engaged and working throughout the summer!

A Book Club Update

I look forward to sharing my review and discussion post for A Meal with Jesus with you next week. It will bring the spring reading selections to a close for the year and after much thought and prayer I have decided to suspend all Book Club activity during the summer. Though I will not be hosting a book study as I did last summer, new reading selections and corresponding blog series will pick back up in September. You can expect me to share the Fall reading list toward the end of August when I will also be hosting a big Book Club giveaway. I look forward to reading with you again at that time!

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Sacrificing Our Children’s Online Identities: This is a really thought provoking post over at The Gospel Coalition on the need for parents to use wisdom in what they share about their children online. If you are on FB or Twitter, if you blog and regularly do so about your kids, I recommend you take the time to read this article and think about some of the important points Jen makes: “How many parents realize that they are the custodians of their children’s virtual identity until they are old enough to manage it on their own?”

A Mother’s Take on Gosnell: Ruth, from GraceLaced, beautifully put into words the horror that many of us who have had life growing inside us and who have held tiny, incredible creations in our arms feel for the horrors of abortion.

May We Be Known for Our Friendships: The church should not be a place where souls go unnoticed or overlooked. We must be looking out for those who need the fellowship of true friends, and reach out to others when we ourselves are the ones needing fellowship: “There are many hearts crying out in silent pain within the church. As we sit in our pews each Sunday, surrounded by painted-on smiles and neatly pressed clothes, inside many are weeping.”

Struggling with Same-sex Attraction: If you, or someone you know struggles with same-sex attraction, this “love letter” may be a helpful resource. It is written from a woman who used to identify herself (and act upon her feelings) as a lesbian, but reminds all of us that the only way to defeat sin is to love Christ.

God’s Sovereignty in the Midst of Loss: Given the horrible events which occurred yesterday in Oklahoma, these quotes from Jonathan Edwards’ family shared over at Theology for Girls seem especially poignant. Also see this post: When God Asks You for Your Isaac.

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Managing Our Time for the Glory of God: Ruth Simons shares some excellent thoughts on time and prioritizing. As the mother of six boys, she is someone whose advice on time management I respect!

“I have no more time now than I had in the past; but lately, I’m ruthlessly editing all that yields diminishing returns to make room for what is worthy of time. It continues to be true: We demonstrate what is important to us by what we make time for.”

God Provides Grace for the Worrier: My friend Christina Fox wrote his encouraging post on the temptation to worry and our need to to constantly place our trust in our heavenly Father.

“I’ve been bitten by a serpent-shaped lie that says I can orchestrate all the details of my life. That I can plan them and execute all on my own. The lie then produces fear when the reality crashes in that I actually can’t do it at all.”

Gift Ideas for Grads: Redeemed Reader shares some excellent gift ideas for the grads you know. One of my favorites, Stepping Heavenward, is recommended for the young ladies you know.

Online Life Vs. Real Life: Social media is a subject that I have been contemplating a lot lately and am thinking I might spend some time writing about it in the summer months. This post over at The Gospel Coalition is a powerful reminder to invest in the present and the real. Here is an excerpt:

It’s fun to fill your life with Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and blog readers who seem to care every time you nail a Pinterest project or your kid does something cool. Who wouldn’t love an audience to “like” all their pictures and “ooh and aah” over their craftiness?

But brothers and sisters, we must recognize this self-obsession and pride for what it is.

When I’m being encouraged primarily by online relationships, and large portions of my time are spent reading my own good press, it can get pretty comfortable on the sofa of social media. I like living in an online world where there’s no need for my community to truly bear with me. I’d rather bask in the love of my digital perfection than stumble and fall before real people who will call me out and hold me accountable.

If I’m not careful, hanging out where no one knows my dirt can easily lull me away from reality into a life of insincerity and isolation.

Disney Princess Makeovers: Over the years, the beloved Disney princesses have been drawn, redrawn, and computer animated in various ways. All of them have gotten “upgrades” as the years pass, but apparently the new Merida (the newest Disney princess from Brave) has come under fire because she has gone from being a “confident” and “spirited” young woman to being a “slender” lady with a “come hither” look. What I found interesting about this particular article was that the newer versions of the princesses (minus Merida) seem to be a little more modest in many ways than there original counterparts (note especially the cleavage and breast outlines on older versions). Pocahontas is even sporting longer hemline. You can view the other princesses before/after pictures by scrolling through the slideshow at the top of the article.