Keep Calm And Brew On – The perfect cup of coffee may seem to be elusive, but it’s not as difficult to achieve as most people think. In fact, if you know what to do, you can get an incredible cup of coffee almost every time you brew. This post explains several methods that can help you in your quest.

8 Brilliant Scientific Screw-ups – Have you ever wonder where certain things were discovered or invented? It seems that not everything was intentional. This post gives eight examples of things that were discovered by accident.

How The Secret Police Tracked My Childhood – Eastern Europe during much of the twentieth century was a dangerous place to live. This article from the BBC News describes the story of one family from Romania, who lived in protest of their government.

3 Ways To Recognize Bad Stats – I’ve been told that 87.3% of all statistics are completely made up. What that may be tongue in cheek, the reality is that many of the statistics that get thrown around, about almost anything, aren’t completely accurate. Ed Stetzer gives three tips on how to recognize bad stats.

When Evangelism Is Like Baseball – A lot of the Christians I know get discouraged and give up on evangelism, because they don’t seem to be effective at it. But the goal of sharing your faith may not be to hit it out of the park every time like some steroid-pumped superstar. What if it’s more like hitting a series of singles and just getting on base consistently? That wins baseball games, and it might just be an effective strategy in winning people to Christ.

7 Tips For A Happy Christian Marriage – I am always watching for ways to improve and maintain my marriage. No matter what anyone may try to tell you, developing a wonderful marriage takes effort and work. Here are seven tips from a couple who made it more than six decades so far.

Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said could not be done. – Sam Ewing

What Flavor Are You? – With all of the “quizzes” on Facebook to determine what color you are, or what time period you live in, or what character from some recent movie you would be, this post seems a bit more important. Maybe that’s because coffee is more important. I’m a mix of an Americano and a mocha. What are you?

Which Country Reads The Most? – As a reader, I found this very fascinating. The US made the list at number 22, which puts me waaaaay above average. What saddens me the most, though, are the white areas on the map, indicating either illiteracy, or a very low level of reading.

Advanced Finger Painting – I’m not too artistic. I can draw a bit, and I write, which is a form of art in itself, but not like this. I guess you could literally say this girl has more artistic talent in her finger than I have in my whole body. Literally. I kinda wish I could do this…

Prayer Is Ridiculous – Think about it. What could ever possess us to think that our prayers could actually make a difference to the Creator of the universe? But they do! It makes no sense, but is one of the basic tenets of our faith. And with good reason.

7 Thoughts On Pastors Writing Books – One of my life goals is to write a book, or maybe a few. I have a couple in the works right now. I’m praying over them as I write, hoping that they will be publishable, and helpful to others. This post by Kevin DeYoung made me stop and think about it from a different point of view.

The Grace Of Repenting To Your Kids – Most of my life as a child, I think I had the idea in my head that my parents did nothing wrong. Logically, I know that they did, but I placed them on a pedestal. Reading this article made me wonder if I’ve created the same scenario with my kids. If I am going to teach them to live a life in front of God, they will need to understand the importance of repentance. And the best way for them to learn is for me to show them.

When you approach a problem, strip yourself of preconceived opinions and prejudice, assemble and learn the facts of the situation, make the decision which seems to you to be the most honest, and then stick to it. – Chester Bowles, Former Governor, Congressman, Ambassador

How Does Caffeine Work? – Have you ever wondered just how that cup of coffee gets you going in the morning? It doesn’t do exactly what most people think it does.

If The World Were Only 100 People – This is an interesting study of percentages that puts our world into perspective a bit more clearly, especially if large numbers are vague concepts to you, like they are for a lot of people.

People Powered Front Pages – What would the paper look like if the readers got to select the news instead of the editors? This is an interesting study. It seems what we want to hear and what we are being fed are not the same thing.

The Passion Week Infographic – With Easter right around the corner, a lot of people are focused on the final days of Jesus. This infographic cross references every event of the week throughout the four gospels and gives a timeline. Pretty fascinating.

God’s Not Dead – With several new movies taking the Christian Facebook world by storm, we are left to ask a few questions: Are they really all they are cracked up to be? Here’s a review that I find to be pretty detailed and comprehensive of one recent movie.

5 Things We Teach Our Kids When We Don’t Know They’re Watching – One thing I’ve noticed as a parent: My kids are continually watching me. Sometimes that is fine. Other times, I’d prefer that they hadn’t heard that or seen that. Here are five different things our kids pick up from us when we may not even be aware that they are paying attention.

Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder. It is a howling reproach. – Ted Koppel

How To Spot A Quality Coffee Shop – There are few things worse than a coffee shop that doesn’t know how to make good coffee. A new shop opened recently in a nearby town. I was not too impressed. They can’t tell me where their beans are from, or when they were roasted, and they talk about a French roast like it’s a blend. Maybe they need to read this article…

10 Most Expensive Coins And Banknotes In The World – As a coin collection (numismatist), I found this post very interesting. I would love to have a few of these in my collection, but probably will never have that chance. And if I did, I would have no safe place to keep such an item. I can dream, though.

Moving Large Stones – When I teach Bible history, especially early Genesis, one of the topics that comes up is the way the Great Pyramids were built. You could add Stonehenge, or some of the ruins in South America and elsewhere to that list, too. This guy has figured out a way to move extremely heavy blocks of stone. Is this how the ancients did it? Who knows, but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

How To Memorize Entire Books Of The Bible – Bible memorization is one of those disciplines that we’ve seriously neglected over the past couple of decades, maybe more. I never seem to hear anyone teach on it or share about it. It’s a spiritual discipline that I think we need to cultivate more, and this article gives some practical input on how to do so.

What Is Conscience? – “Conscience is making a comeback among Christians. Over the past few years, the term conscience has been increasingly referenced in debates occurring both in our churches (e.g., appeals to conscience on moral issues) and the public square (e.g., defending the right of conscience). We hear a lot about conscience, but what exactly does it mean?”

15 Points For Preachers – As one who brings a message from the Word of God weekly, I found this to be encouraging, stimulating, and challenging.

17 Things Every Christian Parent Must Do – J.C. Ryle wrote an essay in 1887 called The Duties Of Parents. This list of seventeen duties comes straight from that essay. And it sounds like it was written for our own time.

Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. – James Allen

Inanimate Objects Comics #9 – This gave me a chuckle today. After a busy week, I needed this…

10 Stories Of Conjoined Twins – This is interesting. I’ve never met someone who was a conjoined twin, that I know of. It would be interesting to hear their take on an article such as this.

Spritz – The website says this is “reading reimagined.” While I’m intrigued, and I find I can read with this app pretty stinkin’ fast, I wonder just how useful it is when, say, you’re tired and blinking a lot. You’ll miss something. Interesting, but not sold on it yet.

10 Technological Breakthroughs Of 2014 That Could Change The World – Technology is continually advancing. Sometimes it doesn’t really feel like it. Sometimes I think, “We’ve had TVs for decades. That’s a technology that hasn’t changed.” But it has. It’s not something completely wild and new, but refined and finessed to a level far surpassing that of previous years. And there are several items in this list that have some exciting applications… even in the not-so-distant future.

Hobbies: Gift Or God? – I am that guy who has several varied and different hobbies. It’s easy to get caught up in one or another of them and lose track of time. It’s easy to allow a hobby to become an idol. So how do you prevent that and keep your hobbies in the realm of healthy diversion? This article has a few suggestions that I find helpful.

3 Forces That Shape Character – Character is a quality that is essential for believers, whether in leadership or not. However, if you are a leader, it’s even more critical that you develop excellent character. According to Michael Hyatt, there are three main sources that shape our character. So how are you cultivating your character?

5 Things We Miss If We Don’t Give – Christ told us plainly that we will always have people with needs to address. And he taught us that if we have something that can help another, we should use it to do so. But we don’t obey that teaching all the time. Here are five things we miss out on when we don’t give.

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him. – C. T. Studd

French Press Coffee – I typically use a Chemex for my coffee brewing. I enjoy the way it allows more of a taste of the bean in the coffee, and filters out most of the oils released during the roasting process. However, if you want to taste those oils, as I do occasionally, a French press or press pot is an excellent tool to keep handy. This article gives you ten steps to follow to make sure your press is creating the best coffee possible.

Who Was St. Patrick? – Today is the day we all wear green. But just who was this guy that the day was named after? This brief video by Rose Publishing gives an excellent overview.

Surreal Photoshop Masterpieces – Ionut Caras is a photoshop master! An excellent photographer in his own right, he takes his shots and makes them surreal in almost believable ways. Incredible art! Check out more on Where Cool Things Happen and ChurchMag.

It’s OK To Write In Your Books – I almost always read with a few pens handy (Pigma Microns and a Hi-Tec C Coleto) and a couple of highlighters (Avery yellow and pink). I make lots of notes in my books and refer back to them frequently. I also create my own index of pertinent notes on those blank pages found at the back of most books as well. This post on the Patheos blog gives five reasons why you should write in your books.

Pascal’s Method For Presenting The Christian Faith – I found this to be very enlightening. One of the things that I believe we fail at in the church today, at least in the US, is effective evangelism. Too many people simply don’t share their faith with others. And while Pascal’s method outlined here might not be the best approach for everyone, it’s better than no approach at all, don’t you think?

10 Reasons To Avoid Sexual Immorality – Our culture has made “loose living” an acceptable norm. From a passage from Proverbs, this article by Peter Krol identifies ten reasons to avoid immorality. This wisdom is needed now more than ever.

The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions. – Sir Antony Jay

Top 10 Coffee Drinking Countries – I found this info graphic to be quite interesting. It didn’t surprise me at all to see that the US is the top importer of coffee. But I was a bit surprised to see that the US isn’t one of the top consumers. Like I said, interesting.

Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’Mine” Retooled As 1920s New Orleans Jazz – This is just what the title says it is. And it’s awesome!

How To Speak Postmodern – Though an older post, this is still relevant, and is increasingly so. It’s a bit tongue in cheek, but carries a kernel of truth. Enjoy.

Developing Discerning Reading Skills – Just because a book has been published doesn’t mean that it should be read. There are a lot of books out there that fit that description. I answer questions all the time about “Should I read this?” or “Have you heard about this book?” This article seeks a way to equip the church to be more discerning about the books we read.

An 8 Point Interpretation Of Genesis 3:15 – We are studying through Genesis on Wednesday nights at out church. We are in Genesis three this week, so the timeliness of finding this post is convenient.

5 Tips For Teaching Your Children Self-Control – As a parent, teaching my kids to have self-control can be pretty difficult. It’s hard enough as an adult. Trying to teach a three year old, or a five year old, or even my teen or pre-teens, can be frustrating. Here are five tips to help you out with that.

He that is everywhere is nowhere. – Thomas Fuller, Chaplain to Charles II of England