Monday good stuff

I was absent from blogging last week -- getting ready for women's retreat and trying to get a lot done at work. The retreat went well and was a testimony to God being in control. (It's a long story, but a couple of months ago, I wondered if we'd even have a retreat.) God came through, big time, and I think a lot of us were encouraged and challenged.

When I got home from retreat yesterday, I found my very own copies of Coach's Midnight Diner and Relief Issue 4 had come in the mail. Yay! These are quality publications, in spite of my own contribution to them. I started reading the Diner yesterday and was not disappointed. There are some stories I like better than others, but the writing is top-notch. If you like horror, weird fiction, crime stories, or supernatural suspense, you should check it out. You'll be challenged and you may disagree with some of them, but you'll definitely be thinking after reading the stories in the Diner.

Want some good music? I'd never heard of Tim McAllister, but Infuze pointed me to his album Strong Tower. I figured I'd check it out, since it was free. This is good music. He's got kind of a different voice -- but good. And the songs express a lot of honest emotion and Christian wondering. It's not all wrapped up neatly and tied with a bow, but it's hopeful all the same. Good stuff.

One of the new posters at The Master's Artist is Chris Fisher. He's got some good thoughts today about writing and faith.

I watched the 60 Minutes interview with Joel Osteen last night. I am even more convinced that he's preaching a very incomplete gospel and downright bad theology. But better theological minds than mine have posted about it -- check out the Internet Monk's thoughts here. Of course, Osteen isn't preaching anything new -- the prosperity gospel has been around in some form or another for a very long time. But it's still wrong.