Welcome to our first monthly “links review.” If you are new to our blog, for several years we had a “Friday Links Roundup” each week. However, I recently realized that I was doing more reading only to find posts for the roundup, instead of reading for my own growth and information. So, we have decided to do this only monthly.

The results have been fantastic. I was able to add feeds to my rss reader, and feel as if I could read them whenever I wished. Currently, there are exactly 100 feeds in my rss reader, and I have read at least 95% of all the words published on all of them this month.

So, here is our plan. Each month, we are going to present 10 links, but also a “month in review” of fun stuff for you to enjoy. We want these Links Review posts to be a combination of information and fun. Are you ready?

Let’s go.

Welcome to the June 2011 Links Review

QUOTE OF JUNE

Turner, aged four, had to have the most insightful quote of the month. One morning, he looked up at me and stated, “Dad, if you had three eyes, you couldn’t see so well.” Hard to argue with that.

DECISION OF JUNE

This one comes from last night’s NBA draft. Late in the draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Andrew Goudelock, a guard from the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (no, I’m not kidding about the mascot). While it may seem like a no-brainer to play in LA, Goudelock had already been drafted. Earlier in the week, the Harlem Globetrotters selected him!

OKAY, OKAY…LET’S SEE SOME LINKS

Here are the first 5 links from June:

1. We Christians love to talk about being unified, but sometimes we “default” to the exact opposite. Chris Gallagher brings a great perspective to this problem in a brilliantly worded post. Take the words of “Autoimmune Christian Disunity” to heart.

2. In recent years, we have seen a growth in a type of literature known as “Young Adult Fiction,” but have we ever truly considered the content of some of these volumes? The Wall Street Journal recently published a good, albeit somewhat terse, piece on this genre of books. Parents, youth ministers, and elders need to read this post very closely. It is called “Darkness Too Visible.”

3. In recent days, Michael Whitworth has been publishing daily posts from the book of Psalms. These have all been great articles, well-grounded in the text, and emotionally moving. My favorite, though, was his post from day 5 on Psalm 28. Enjoy it here.

4. I honestly can’t tell you how Cindy Colley’s post “Why Me?” made me think. She reflects emotions and thoughts that I have had countless times. It also caused me to say a short prayer, filled with tears, of gratitude to God for what He has given me, though I deserve none of it. Here is this amazing article.

5. One of the more interesting feeds I’ve added to my blog reader is Dear Photograph. The premise is simple: people take a new picture and then put an old picture from the same location over it, adding a personal note. These are often funny, but sometimes they tug at your heartstrings. Here is my favorite so far.

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FIVE DOWN…NOW FOR A BREAK

VIDEO OF A SONG YOU WOULD NEVER THINK I LIKE, BUT I DO, FOR JUNE

FUN PODCAST OF JUNE

Dale Jenkins and I got to interview Jon Acuff of the “Stuff Christians Like” blog on the June Pages Podcast. It was a blast! Here is the link to the 30-minute program.

FATHER’S DAY WRAP UP

Father’s Day was great! Leah went all out, and got me three presents. The one from her was a movie that I really enjoy, but it was the gifts from the kids that were truly special. From Mary Carol, I got the book Daddy Dates, and some cards with pictures. The pictures are of a restaurant, a donut, a park, and other simple places that Mary Carol can choose for her “dates” with me. From Tuner, I got a new Yankees cap, but he got one, too! So, now when we go out and play T-ball, we can be The Bronx Bombers. I sent my dad a text of the picture, signed “From Tex and Mo.” It was a great day, and I’m thankful for my family.

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ALRIGHT, LET’S FINISH UP THE LINKS

6. Michael Hyatt wrote a great piece that should cause us all to think recently. This one obviously came from his heart. Consider his words in “The Difference Between a Sin and a Mistake.”

7. I always grow spiritually when I read my brother-in-law, Jeremiah Tatum’s, blog. Sometimes, though, he writes a post that I think is a masterpiece. His recent work, “The Unfinished Symphony,” fits that description in my mind. You’ll grow from this one.

8. Daniel Howell, on The Christian Practice, writes a great piece about how we often poke fun at people who believe bizarre things, but we often don’t really follow the whole counsel of God ourselves. Enjoy “Flat-Faith Christians.”

9. You knew there would be some financial post in the Roundup, right? Christian Personal Finance wrote a short, but very thought-provoking article that I think you will enjoy. It’s called “3 Unconventional Ways to Save Money.”

10. Technology is everywhere. Even in worship. At Lebanon Road, we’ve had people use their iPhone for their pitch pipe, read Scripture from both a cell phone and a Kindle, and use their Blackberry for their notes to their public prayer. But is all this bad? Nope. Steve Higginbotham writes about a similar instance in “People of the ‘Nook’.”

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SO….WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you like the new format for the roundup? Let us know your thoughts. We want this blog to be from us, but for you.

We’ll post regularly next week, and we’ll have our next Monthly Review on July 29.

A JUNE PRAYER

Lord,

We thank you for this month. Though the temperatures have been high, we are grateful for every opportunity you have given us to see Your handiwork. We thank you for all the good that has been done in your Kingdom so far this summer, and we pray for further great events throughout the remainder of the summer months. May doors be open to hearing Your Word and learning of Your Son.

Be with every worker in Your kingdom, and bless them with strength, especially those who are laboring in the heat this time of year. Be with our families that are taking vacation. Even there, may You be front-and-center in their lives.

Most of all, Father, thank you for each blessing, especially our Savior.

Through Him we pray,

Amen.