Women in Battle? “What kind of a society puts its women on the front lines to risk what only men should be called on to risk? In countries ravaged by war, we consider it a tragedy when the battle comes to the backyards of women and children. Why would we thrust our own wives and daughters into that horror? My own instinct is to keep them as far from it as possible.”

How to Know If You Are a Christian. There are a lot of people who need to be assured of their salvation and there are also lots of people who need to be unsure of their salvation, so they can be saved for real. Articles like this are helpful to both of those ends.

The Goodness of Thoughts & Prayers. The news has been saying that they don’t want prayers, but solutions. God isn’t fixing the situation. Andy Crouch answers by showing that, even though they don’t offer immediate solutions, prayers are a good thing to be had after the wake of tragedy.

Church or Crossfit? “There is something raw and vulnerable that happens to you when you go into the CrossFit gym,” Ms. Huberlie said. “A workout can bring you to your knees, so to speak.”

The Most Essential Life Skill. I could not grant a louder amen to this. “There’s one characteristic that separates the successful from the unsuccessful in every walk of life: teachability…No matter how much talent and gifting we have, if we are, or become, unteachable, we will never reach anywhere near our full potential in our careers, our callings, or our relationships.”

Should We Only Forgive Those Who Repent? “I have heard it taught that if a person does not seek forgiveness (repent) that we are not required to forgive, do you agree with this? Can a person refuse to forgive and not harbor sinful bitterness?”

6 Principles for Youth Ministry. There is so much goodness in here it makes my stomach ache.

Bean Bag Splosion. It’s all fun and games until 1:04 guy chooses to do a flip.