Jonathan Shradar

2019 has just a few hours left in it. What a year it has been. There is much to reflect on but this morning as I catch up on the tasks of the day and think of what is next, I have a thankful sense of joy for what I have experienced in 2019 with my family and our church. Hopefully joy found you this year as well. Family time has been a rich treasure for me this year. While we still have the chaotic sports schedules, school activities, therapy sessions, and so on we have had tremendously valuable time together. The kids are growing in personality and character. Each expressing love uniquely and being excited about different things. Iona (10), loves to bake and create. Ewen (7) has sparked a love for reading; he is now the only in the house with more books in progress than me! Adia (5) has gained mobility and loves to savor every bite of food! We traveled to Nebraska for an epic dance party at my niece's quinceanera. Smiling from our time with family there and hoping for Thunderstorms

The end of the year is here. I didn't quite reach my reading goal. My weight isn't what I would prefer. I haven't scaled unconquerable mountains. But we persist. Trusting in Jesus. His purpose prevails. A couple of reminders of that truth for your weekend reading. First up the real abundant life. Rankin Wilbourne wrote for TGC on suffering as an experience of abundant life. It is quite the opposite of what you might here from many religious leaders, but I think he is right. "Jesus, the perfect image of God and the perfect human being, shows us that a fully human life must include suffering, and that we can only become the man or woman God intends us to be  through  suffering. Jesus, who was without sin and never did anything to deserve his Father’s displeasure, was made “perfect through suffering” ( Heb. 2:10 ). The author of Hebrews dares to say that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered” ( Heb. 5:8 ), and that this is part of what makes him our compassio

Oh my you can almost taste it. Christmas is so close. The presents round the tree. The warm family time together. The singing. The laughing. May it be so. Tomorrow I have the pleasure of adding another year under my belt, 42 I shall be. Let's begin celebrating now shall we?! A couple of items today since I know your weekend is busy... First up is the ruckus coming from our friends in Northern California at a little church named Bethel. You may not be aware, but this last week the daughter of a worship-leading couple passed away unexpectedly. In light of this the church has been holding several days of resurrection meetings calling on little Olive to wake up. Erik Reed, whose son recently passed away, has a pastoral response to the events. "The pain this family and church feel over the loss of Olive punches you in the stomach and leaves you cleaving for air. The death of a child hurts. It shatters your heart in a million pieces and prompts your mind to replay endless scenes of

It's Friday the thirteenth. Don't freak out. And if you are already freaking out, chill. Here we are, so close to Christmas. Eagerness is wearing our waiting muscles thin but just around the corner we shall celebrate. Eleven days. We can make it. Worthwhile this week some good news for the anxious, a new approach to life for success, and singing loud at church. Get some. Nick Davis has a vital piece on Advent and anxiety. The San Diego pastor is a friend and is acquainted with anxiety. I trust him and the help he provides here is key. He finishes with this prayer: " Father, give us lives that live and breath and move in constant conversation with you. Prayer is the antidote to anxiety. Prayer is Your prescription for a life that lacks trust. Prayer is medicine and balm for a worrisome life. " Help us to trust and rest confidently each day in you. Let us find peace and all security in you, and in you alone. And help us to see that your drawing near to us means all our

We are toward the end aren't we? Another year wraps up, a decade comes to and end. And we have more than enough opportunities to read, hear, and see what everyone has done, enjoyed, or transformed from over the last years, or ten as it might be. I should probably get to work on my year fine' manifesto... maybe later. Today I want to share two such lists, and a great article about Keller. May your calendar be full of healthy reflection and significant anticipation of what is to come! Jared Wilson is a great dude. He writes a ton and has strong opinions. All gospel rich. He has shared his top ten books of 2019 (ones he has read this year.) It's a worthwhile list. Of the books on his list, I read Virgil Wander earlier this year and immensely enjoyed it and really want to read On the Road With Augustine by Smith. Check his list here . In the same vane. Andrew Wilson is an avid (if that is even the right word) reader and he has formed his best books of 2019 list as well. His l

Okay, perfect might be a stretch, but if you are wanting to close out your Christmas shopping and are looking for that last gift, might I recommend Depths , a daily devotional rich with gospel goodness. I am biased of course as the author. But this really is the gift that keeps giving, 366 days of Scripture and reflection that mine the depths of the fullness of Christ. You can grab your copy on Amazon , and download one for yourself on the Kindle. To give you a flavor of the devotional, here is today's entry: December 3 Studying the works of the Lord " Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. " -Psalm 111:2–3 There is so much noise in our lives. The schedules, the responsibilities, the people we love, the people we are required to interact with… It can all add up to some hefty distraction and lead us to miss some important things, specifically the great works God h

While on vacation (eight days long to get the maximal refreshment) I finished the latest Christian craze that is John Mark Comer's new book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry . It is a good book. There is vitally important exhortation to be counter-cultural for spiritual, psychological, and physical health. It is well researched and winsomely written. But what nags at me as I have some space from it is wondering if everything presented is actually accessible. Now don't get me wrong, this book still keeps its four-star rating on GoodReads, but I think so much of what is suggested is really only available to the affluent. Comer covers this in the book, he knows the tension and realizes if you can spend $20 on a book you have some level of affluence and we should be okay with that and go on living simple. But I have been mentally wrestling with that as I don't even think some of the practices are accessible to people in my neighborhood much less the resort town where I vacatio