All posts in What I’m Crunching

This is a “mini-book” I’m reading for my biblical counseling certification. From the Goodreads summary:

Everybody knows somebody who is addicted to something. But maybe addiction is more personal for you. Maybe you once had real hopes and dreams, desires and possibilities. But then you became an addict, and what started out as fun or an attempt at relief from pain and shame grew into something bigger. Here Jim Berg shows that no matter how tangled your life has become, God offers you hope and help through his word and his people.

I picked up this book again and continued reading this week. I was asked to be on our Pulpit Committee and the committee was voted in last Sunday. I’ve also been asked to be a deacon starting in 2025. I’m looking forward to these roles as I believe they align with the spiritual gifts God has given me.

This book by Matt Smethurst gives a brief, Scripture-based look at the church office of deacon.

This week I finished this book by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp who serve with the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. It was required reading for my Biblical Counseling certification through the Association of Biblical Counseling. I learned several helpful things that I was able to use in two ongoing counseling relationships I have.

This week I finished the final book in a brilliant trilogy about a phenomenal president, American, and human being. This trilogy made me wish I could forget it all so I could go back and re-read it to experience the same excitement again.

Roosevelt was larger than life, and his reputation still persists to this day.

I’ve not felt this before, but while nearing the end of the third book I found myself dreading the inevitable section on Roosevelt’s death. I knew it was coming, but wished it wouldn’t arrive. I actually felt grief. This was excellent writing about a remarkable man.

This short book has been a help to me. It’s well-formulated and sensible. Zinsser argues that the best way to learn something, anything, is to write about it.

It’s impossible to write seriously on a subject without thinking deeply about it. Zinsser delves into several examples of good writing from authors: how they assemble their arguments and information, describe the subject(s) in question, and bring the readers into a narrative through their writing.

These are skills I’m working to develop.