Daily Links 3-6-14

In today's edition: Wasting time on Pinterest, the spouse checklist, the making of a bestseller, spiritual schizophrenia, and more.

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Top 10 Pinterest time wasters - tips that don't work. Good to know that these have already been tested. I can safely disregard them.

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This is fun: 16 signs your sidekick material.

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The Spouse Checklist:

It dawned on me a few years later when I heard a wise man mention a spouse checklist (hey, I know what that is!), but not one that I'd made for my spouse (oh, guess not), one that I would create for myself (all right, now I'm listening). He suggested a list of requirements to prepare myself to be the person I knew my spouse would need. As I listened to him explain, I felt a small pressure in my chest. Yes, this would have helped me earlier.

So I've begun a different list. This is by no means exhaustive! There's still plenty of room to add more ways to grow as a spouse. Also, for any given couple, some things will come easily in the relationship, and some will feel unnatural or even impossible. I'll share my own spouse checklist along with updates on how things are going — all the while fully acknowledging that no line-item will ever be perfectly complete in this lifetime.

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The dark underbelly of marketing of Christian books: how a marketing company turned a Mark Driscoll book into a New York Times bestseller. Whatever you may think of Driscoll these tactics give one cause for concern.

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Are those Star Trek Federation symbols I see? Maybe.

Hat tip: Neatorama

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Paul David Tripp on the problem of Spiritual Schizophrenia:

I want to write today about something that I call Spiritual Schizophrenia. I can summarize it with a question: does the public persona of your faith live in harmony with the private realities of your life?

Hat tip: Challies

Daily Links 2-10-14

Good morning. Here's a collection of links to start your week off right. In today's edition: is Pinterest like porn, must-see bookstores, why go to church, and more.

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Here's an amazing collection of bookstores that are must-see destinations for book lovers. (Hat tip: Book Riot). I could easily see planning a number of trips around being able to visit these stores.

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Two Men Who Marked My Life is a great testimony of two older men who intentionally invested themselves into the life of a younger man. I have been blessed by knowing a handful of such men and hope that one day I might have the opportunity to do the same for someone else. (Hat tip: Challies)

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Over at Acculturated, Chelsea Samelson asks Is Pinterest Like Porn (For Women)? Some very interesting insight into the appeal of one of the hottest social media sites around. I would be curious to hear what other women in particular think about this article.

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Over the course of one's Christian walk there are inevitably going to be some seasons of spiritual dryness. How do  you work through those times in the desert? Here are a few simple suggestions. 

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Why we should be involved in church. As someone who has struggled periodically with finding the right church I can say that it's much  more difficult being without a church than being in church.

Related: Why I still go to church.

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9 lessons in entrepreneurship from Shark Tank. I don't get to see this show often but when I do I have really enjoyed it. If you are thinking of starting your own business it's a good show to watch as there is much to learn.

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Baseball will be back soon (but not soon enough). Here's a handy guide to Opening Day for every team in the Major  Leagues.

Daily Links 8-28-13

Good morning. Here are a few links to help start your day. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.
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Healthy Churches are Messy

The healthiest churches are inevitably messy. The church that is bearing fruit will have many new believers, which means an ongoing struggle to disciple them. This discipleship, however, cannot happen in a vacuum, and it certainly doesn’t happen instantaneously.

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Via Book Riot, 15 Fabulous Bookish Pinterest Boards.

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One of C. S. Lewis' previously unpublished letters is published revealing the respect he had for the children that wrote to him. 


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Which store brands are as good as or better than store brands? (hat tip: Lifehacker)