1. 6 Ways Christians Can Respond to Our Strange New World: Carl Trueman begins, “The world has shifted under our feet. New notions about selfhood challenge Christians’ views, and we’ve found ourselves in a hostile place where it’s dangerous to challenge the new status quo. To object to same-sex marriage, for example, is in the moral register of the day not substantially different from being a racist.”

2. Four Questions to Help You Examine Unwanted Thoughts: Esther Smith asks, “Do you experience thoughts you don’t want? Do you ruminate on beliefs about yourself, the world, or God that feel true even though you know they are not? Do you feel tormented by depressed, anxious, or intrusive thinking? Are you uncertain about what to do with some of the thoughts that enter your mind?”

3. The Difference Between Repentance and Self-Hate: Lara D’Entremont starts, “If self-hate could change a person, I would have reached perfection by now—at least, that’s what my therapist told me.

4. When It Seems the Lord is Sleeping: James Williams concludes, “When the wind is howling, and the waves are overbearing, remember our Lord promised he would always be with us, even if it seems he’s asleep on the boat. He doesn’t always work according to our timing, but he is always at work. Our trust is not in ourselves or the circumstances we see around us, but rather in the one whom even the wind and sea obey.”

5. Comedy Pet Photography Awards: Sure to make you smile.

Photo courtesy Comedy Pet Photography Contest