Stovetop Roasting – As a coffee roaster, I’m always looking for new items and accouterments to experiment with. This stove top roaster looks pretty fun. My only reservation is that roasting produces very strong smells. I like it, but my family finds it a bit (okay, a lot) overbearing. Still, it would be fun to try.

The Legend Of Zelda Timeline Theory – My favorite video games of all time are found in the Legend of Zelda series. The seeming discontinuity always frustrated me. Here are a few ideas of how all the different games in this franchise can actually fit into a timeline. Now I have to go home and play…

Top Ten Reasons For Choosing A Paper Book Over An eBook – My brother is a diehard ebook guy. I’m a diehard print book guy. We have some interesting conversations. This inforgraphic gives several excellent reasons why I’m right. As usual.

Every Dream In The Bible – Dreams hold a prominent place in Scripture. God uses them several times to speak to his people. This is an interesting infographic that compares the 21 dreams found in the Bible.

Three Big Opportunities That Busy Pastors Miss – Our society is a culture of busy-ness. Often we are too busy. And that causes us to miss out on some pretty important things. Here are three big things that busy pastors miss.

Why Every Girl Longs For A Father’s Love – All too often, fathers don’t fulfill the role of Daddy. And a little girl (and boys, too) needs the love of a Daddy. This is a brief and excellent article that can help fathers be better Daddys.

Writing A Family Mission Statement – I’m not sure I’d ever go so far as to literally do this as described here. But the concept is pretty intriguing. A family needs a mission just like anything else, right? Have you ever done this? Would you?

There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born… When he seizes it… it is his finest hour. – Winston Churchill

Before There Was Tea, There Was Coffee – When most people think of coffee, they generally don’t think of England. But did you know that for over a hundred years, coffee was the drink of choice in England? This small bit of history is incredibly fascinating.

How Dogs Drink Water – I’ve always thought that the way a dog drinks sure does waste a lot of water. It’s not very efficient. Actually, it’s pretty cool how dogs are designed. Have you ever wondered why dogs have such big tongues? Now you know…

Get More Sleep – I’ve been saying this for years, without the scientific study to back it up. And now, there’s an infographic.

Why Writers Are The Worst Procrastinators – This is something I have to guard against very carefully. If I don’t, I procrastinate everything. So I found this interesting.

The Danger Of Forgetting How To Read The Bible – Over the course of my ministry, I’ve known dozens of men and women who destroyed their ministries because of a moral failure. It’s sad, but I think these men and women could have prevented their fall. When we forget how to read the Bible devotionally, we are in danger of seeing our spiritual growth stagnate. And that will always lead to problems.

On Humility – Humility is one of those characteristics we seem to have eliminated from our lives. But it is extremely necessary. This is a well written article describing the need and benefits of keeping this attitude forefront in our lives.

7 Habits Of A Highly Effective Date Night – My wife and I try to date at least every other week, without the kids. Here are a few good points to keep in mind as you strive to date your spouse.

The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them; a man may live long yet live very little. – Michel de Montaigne, French essayist

Busted Coffee Myths – Throughout history, coffee has been blamed for a lot of things. Not all of it is accurate though. Here are five myths that have been busted. My favorite is the idea that coffee can stunt your growth.

15 Science Experiments You Can Do With Your Kids – It’s always fun to try new things with my kids. And these science experiments are something we will have to try. All except the eggs. Not sure I can convince my wife to potentially sacrifice a couple of dozen eggs.

How To Be A Good Neighbor – Being a good neighbor seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur and the dodo. It’s hard to find a good neighbor. Maybe the best way to find a good neighbor is to be a good neighbor. Here are nine old fashioned tips for getting to know the people next door.

Dugongs: ‘Sirens’ Of The Sea – Our home in Florida wasn’t too far from Homosassa Springs, where there are dozens of manatees. On one of our trips up the river, a couple of my kids were actually able to swim with the manatees. It was pretty amazing. This article, although mainly about the dugong, gives some insight as to just how amazing these kinds of creatures are.

12 Reasons To Pray Scripture – One of the areas I’ve been growing personally recently is the area of prayer. This is an article I found insightful. It’s kind of long, and will take some time to read carefully, but it’s worth it.

Modesty Matters – This is a topic that needs to be addressed in our culture. But it’s a difficult subject. Tim Challies has written three posts in a series called Modesty Matters: The Heart Of Modesty, Imperishable Beauty, and What Not To Wear. All of them are worth a read.

How To Be A Man At Home – As a dad, I realize just how important it is to be fully present when I’m at home. In fact, that is a role that we’ve forgotten in modern society. Here are fives ways for men of the home to man-up and put your family first when you are at home.

Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray. – Henry David Thoreau

Bulletproof Coffee – I’ve been hearing the term “bulletproof coffee” thrown around a lot recently. I decided to look around, find a recipe that I like and give it a go. This is the best taste I’ve found so far. I have several bottles of sunflower seed oil around. I wonder if that would taste any different?

Reflections – Tom Hussey has created a series of photographs of elderly people standing in front of a mirror. The reflection in the mirror, however, is of their younger selves. This is extremely creative and thought provoking.

The Search For The Lost Marines Of Tarawa – During WWII, more than 500 Marines died on the tiny Pacific island of Tarawa. Most of them are still there, buried in unidentified locations. Mark Noah has made it his life mission to find and bring home those men who gave their lives for their country so far away from home. This article is very inspiring.

When To Hold Your Tongue – Although this is found on the True Woman website, the principles here are applicable to either gender. And probably should be required reading for most of us…

Bible Translations And Bible Reading – One of the discussions I have a lot centers around how close the English Bible is to the original languages. Some are very literal (NASB), others are more of a loose paraphrase (NLT). So how do I know which one would be the best to read? This post gives some insight into that question, and provides a helpful flowchart of Bible translations.

5 Reasons We Should Preach Expositional Messages – This brief post is simply the notes from a lecture by Hershael York. While I wish the post went into more details about each point, this is good food for thought.

How To Be A Great Dad – I never expected to get fatherly advice from the Huffington Post, but this article does just that. It gives several different ways dads have been great dads, inspiring you and I to do the same for our kids.

Like farmers we need to learn that we cannot sow and reap the same day. – Anonymous

The Best Time To Drink Coffee – I posted a link to another article like this a couple of weeks ago. This one is in infographic form, and gives a nice little timeline at the end.

Where Did We Get That Word? – Ever wonder that? This series of maps shows the origin of several common words. It’s fascinating to see where our words come from. The funny thing for my family is that my wife is of Norwegian descent. Our five year old son mispronounces “church.” Guess how he says it? Look at the map and find Norway to find out.

Maps Showing Bizarre Facts Of Our World – Since we’re looking at maps, take a look at these interesting maps. The coffee consumption map is my favorite. Which one is yours?

Three Reasons To Get Some Sleep – At the risk of sounding lazy, I have to admit it: I like sleep. I try to snag a nap as often as I can. It doesn’t have to be every day, but I find that when I can take half an hour and rest, the rest of my day is more productive. For most of us, though, we simply do not get enough rest each day. This article offers some great insight into a biblical view of sleep.

Husband And Wife Relationships – Marriage is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is deceived or delusional. It’s hard, and it requires work. It’s worth it, definitely. But it’s hard. Sometimes we don’t even know what we’re doing to hurt our spouse, but we do. Ron Edmondson offers these two articles to help us be more aware of what we’re doing, both how a husband hurts his wife, and how a wife hurts her husband. Worth a look.

7 Do’s And Don’t Of Welcoming Guests To Your Congregation – As a lead minister, connecting with new faces each Sunday is a key part of my morning. And it’s key to have the right people in place to greet these new faces and show them where they need to be, or offer assistance as needed. This article is great advice to making that work every week.

Preaching Verse By Verse – Expositional preaching can be difficult. And committing to preach through a book of the Bible, verse by verse, can be daunting. This article shows several benefits of doing this, both for yourself and for your hearers. Most of them make good sense, but I disagree that this method would cut down prep time. In fact, it may increase the need for preparation in order to know the text well enough to teach it accurately. Still a good article though.

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. – Annie Dillard

5 Historical Attempts To Ban Coffee – Who would ever want to ban coffee? Why would you even think that way? But, alas, there have been periods in our history where that kind of thinking prevailed. I might not have survived long in Constantinople. And I find the last one downright funny.

Coca Cola Life – This is one of those commercials that feels like it should be on the Hallmark Channel. It’s touching.

What Sleep Loss Will Do To You – After reading this, I think I may go take a nap…

55.8 Million – With the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade last week, the Internet has been covered with comments, articles, and images. Out of everything I saw or read, I think this might be the most poignant.

America’s Most (And Least) Bible-Minded Cities – The Barna Group has released a new study showing the perceived spiritual values of 100 US cities. It’s interesting to see that my hometown of Springfield, Missouri made the top five.

7 Tips On Teaching And Preaching The Old Testament – I am teaching through the early chapters of Genesis at our church on Wednesday nights. It’s been an incredible study so far, and we’ve dug deep into the text of the Creation account. In my teaching, I try to remain as true to the text as possible, and still draw application for today. With the centuries between us and the Old Testament, this can be difficult. Here are some tips to keep in mind when teaching these passages. I found the last one to be especially thought provoking.

4 Easy Reminders To Be A Great Parent – This is a great summary of some things parents need to keep in mind at all times. I’ve written on each of these more extensively over at DeliberateDads.com, but Ron Edmondson does a great job of keeping this in front of us with this reminder.

The storms of life no more indicate the absence of God than clouds indicate the absence of the sun. – John Blanchard

Coffee Gear That Won’t Break The Bank – Making a great cup of coffee isn’t all that hard, but you do need a few things to make it happen. You need good water, at the right temperature. You need good coffee, not the poor stuff that you don’t know when it was roasted. And you need the right gear. Here is brief list of some of the things you can get to make that great tasting cup of coffee without draining your wallet.  I just can’t figure out why the Mr. Coffee drip machine made this list.

Perfect Paper Airplanes – I love paper airplanes. As a kid, I would fold fleets of them, and name after the x-wing fleet from Star Wars. I would spend hours playing with them, seeing how many new kinds I could learn how to create and how far I could throw them. So naturally, this article fascinated me. Might have to try to build this…

A Photographer Time Travels Into Her Childhood – This is an incredible idea. This photographer has inserted her adult self into photos from her childhood. I find it pretty creative.

Animals In The Womb – Ever wonder what some animals look like before they are born? Speculate no more. I found the elephant and the lion to be the most intriguing.

5 Ways To Pray For Your Pastor – Ministry can be hard. It can weigh heavily on those in leadership positions. That’s why those in ministry crave the prayers of the church. Here are five excellent ways you can pray for those you know in ministry.

Why I Reject Evolution – I believe in Biblical Creation. I believe that we can take Genesis at face value, understanding that God created this earth in six normal days, just a few thousand years ago. I see this as a foundational part of Christianity. This article makes some good points, although I wish he’d be a little more firm in his statements. He seems to waffle a bit. For the most part, he writes a good article, though.

The Distinct, Positive Impact Of A Good Dad – As a dad of six, I want to be the best dad I can be. I even write frequently, trying to help other dads do the same. This article comes as no surprise that a good dad is a necessary role in the family unit.

As by the grace of God we are what we are, so by his grace it is we are not what we are not. – Francis Burkitt