This and That

Things you might enjoy from around the web...

The Rebirth of Wonder from Ben Witherington.
At the movies in Saudi Arabia.
Happy birthday...to Mark Roberts' blog. Mark writes great stuff!
A great church leader passes. I met Marshall once. We were on an elevator in Kansas City back in 1993. He was gracious and kind.
What hath Muntadar al-Zaidi wrought? Business for a Turkish shoe manufacturer, that's what.
Thomas Fleming, historian and a man with an interesting past, explains why he's not worried that Barack Obama cut his political eyeteeth in Chicago politics.
Craig Williams presents a poem on the nativity by C.S. Lewis.
Chris Duckworth (AKA: The Lutheran Zephyr) was ordained this past Saturday. God's blessings!

Added: Gretchen Rubin has twelve good tips for making and keeping New Year's resolutions. While we have to recognize the role that sin plays in preventing us from keeping our good resolves, I think that they can be good things.

I wrote a comment at Gretchen's blog, indicating that I would add one more tip: Prayer! Even those who don't believe that there's Someone listening at the other end of our prayers will benefit from articulating and repeating their resolutions.

An additional comment I should have made there is to point to the observation made by the late Norwegian Lutheran theologian Ole Hallesby. Those who dare to pray, making themselves available for belief in God, even though skeptical, often will find God creating faith in them despite their skepticism. So, if you're a skeptic who decides to add prayer to your arsenal for keeping your New Year's resolutions, watch out!