A former limousine truck painted with the American flag design is parked and decaying in a desert landscape. A cutoff telephone poll stands nearby.
From a few different categories, here are the best books I read in 2024.

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Beautiful tomatoes.

A variety of colorful tomatoes at the grocery store.

If you have some downtime and would like to listen to an interesting podcast, in this one, Shane Rosenthal does man on the street interviews asking people what they think about Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Jesus—legend or history?

www.humbleskeptic.com/p/christm…

The responses are interesting to listen to, and he compares them to how early Christian apologists like Justin Martyr spoke about the Christian Faith. Whereas modern people tend talk about their upbringing or personal sense of truth as reasons for believing, Justin Martyr talked about history and prophesy.

Check out the episode. You might gain a helpful way to bring up Jesus with your friends. And there’s lots of great links attached as well.

Watch this more than once. You’ll catch more each time.

Out in beautiful Avra Valley.

A dirt road leads into a desert landscape with a full moon in the sky and mountains in the background with a pink and blue sky.

There is a lot to love about the Mushroom Color Atlas and it’s website.

A Dyslexia-friendly edition of the ESV is coming this January. I just pre-ordered it. This will be a blessing to one of our kids and many others who struggle with Dyslexia. Thank you, @crosswaybooks.

Tucson Louie

A large statue of a lumberjack holding an axe stands on a street corner at night.

I didn’t win, but one of my photos was chosen as a finalist entry for the new Pima County Library cards!

Reformation Day Symphony

In God Calls Samuel, I preach on communion and communication. We long for communion with God; we find it when we attune to his word in Christ—listening and responding. Matt 4v4: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Currently reading: Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law by Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze 📚

A big gopher snake getting warm.

A gopher snake warms itself on the street.

“for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8)

🚲 If you loved riding a bike as a kid but now find it intimidating, you need to meet Grant Petersen.

Sometimes in the Bible, the narrator of a story will include some poetry that might surprise you. Often it’s in the form of heightened speech like a prayer, a blessing, or a song. Tomorrow I’m preaching on such a passage in 1 Samuel 2:1-11—Hannah’s prayer. How are we supposed to read passages like these?

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Feeling trapped by your circumstances? Depressed, anxious, not eating…that’s how the book of 1 Samuel begins. Listen to Hannah’s story and the hope it reveals in my recent sermon, Hannah’s Rising. I pray and read the scripture first. Sermon starts @ 7:27.