I just have to highlight two women who's blogs are well worth reading.

MotherMary is a pastor's wife in Minnesota who recently endured the year-long treatment for Hep-C. Her blog is a great mix of random personal stuff and really-basic-but-profound truth that God is teaching her. The style can be a little jittery but I am continually challenged by her humble heart. Recent fantastic posts include thoughts on Psalm 142:5 and a tribute to Ruth Bell Graham.

You know when the title of her blog is "And I shall yet praise Him" that there is a depth of faith in Carol Feistel's soul. She and her husband Malcom were missionaries for some time in Taiwan. I stumbled across their blog just as Malcom was entering his last days on earth before passing into the presence of his Lord Jesus Christ June 22, 2006. Her writing since that time has been a tremendous example of fidelity of faith ("faith toughened by testing"). I am at a loss to express how much her faith has challenged my heart. Recent fantastic posts include Submission and Words of song to fill my heart.

It's so easy to get sucked into the zillion interesting (and gazillion worthless) blogs out there. It has been good for me to pare down the material I read. These two heroes of the faith are going to be staying on my permanent blogroll.

May I follow in their faithful footsteps.

One of my favorite bloggers is an acquaintance who lives in Amsterdam. I say acquaintance because we've probably only met once or twice. But there are some similarities, and reading someone's blog can make you feel like you really know them. For instance, we're the same age and each have a firstborn son and a #2 daughter. Our father's have pastored churches and church planting is in our blood. All that aside, the thing I have appreciated most about Eric's writing is how graciously and frequently he shares Truth: uncompromising truth from the God's Word in accessible, compassionate language for the world I live in.

Most recently he dove into a sticky subject with a series titled Sexuality and Spirituality. I urge you to take some time to read through the seven posts and digest what he brings to light. In someway, nothing new, but something about the way he put it all together made me want shout out 'This is it!' Read his closing challenge:

"When the people of Communist countries renounce the god of their culture -- namely, the government -- in favor of the true God of the Bible, we cheer them on.  Even in the eyes of the secular West, these people who are willing to go against the flow are appreciated.  We cast them as heroes, freedom fighters, and martyrs... When the people of Muslim countries renounce the god of their culture -- namely, Allah -- in favor of the true God of the Bible, we cheer them on.  Perhaps it's not quite as politically-correct to pit Islam against the other major faith systems of the world.  But again, even in the eyes of the secular West, there is an implicit affirmation and appreciation of those willing to diffuse dogma and swim upstream against their culture.  We cast them as free-thinkers, true seekers, and martyrs... So why should it be any different for people in the West who renounce the god of our culture -- namely, love, sex, and romance -- in favor of the true God of the Bible?"

I would love to hear what you think about Eric's series.