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Updated: My links page for Alan Strange’s commentary on the OPC’s Book of Church Order. The hits keep coming.

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Tonight’s sunset.

Tucson sunset.
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Review: "The OC — A New Burned Over District” – the Context for “The Jesus Revolution”

From the 1960s to the 1990s, a Christian scene in Orange County, CA created an enormous amount of influence and buzz. This was particularly true for those there, but many others have also felt the water from this California wave. One important happening during this time, the birth of Calvary Chapel, is captured in the recent movie Jesus Revolution, which was released this week on Netflix. But this wasn’t the only thing happening in the OC during this time.

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🔗 Soft tech by Helena Jaramillo.

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Monsoon-wise, Tucson photographer Ray Cleveland is having a very good season. [via] 📷

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Paul and Timothy tell the Christians in Corinth that they must work with them in their ministry of the word, even though they are hundreds of miles apart. Learn how and why this was possible without the internet in my sermon last Sunday on 2 Corinthians 1:11-14.

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A picture of Mo’s. We try to go whenever we visit Oregon.

2012 Chevy Express under the starry, starry skies.

And yet, just outside the restaurant was this sign pointing us the way home to Arizona.

a sign pointing the way to various cities named Florence
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If you don’t know the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, get yourself some headphones and 30 minutes of headspace to listen to this beautiful piece. There are so many wonderful versions! Here’s a great one. And there is something magical about the violin cello duets in this one. 🎵

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Nursery Care at Covenant

We recently started a nursery at Covenant for 0-3 year olds. We found loving volunteers, updated our child protection policy, provided training, etc. It took some time but it was worth it. Lara d’Entremont explains why by showing the kind of blessing it can be. She starts like this: Dear Nursery Worker, I came into your nursery with a lot of baggage. Not just a heavy diaper bag slung over my shoulder and a toddler clinging to my side.

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Now is a good time to build yourself your own little internet homestead. It’s so fun. I use Micro.blog, which is offering a summer special right now, $1/mo for 4 months.

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If you need some comfort and encouragement, listen to the sermon I preached last Sunday morning. If you want to hear about how foolish it is to think you can control people, even if you have more power than anyone else, listen to my sermon from the evening.

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Here's a godly way to pray for rain.

I know it’s hot right now and easy to complain. But what would happen if we replaced complaining with praying? Like this from the Book of Common Prayer: O God, heavenly Father, who by thy Son Jesus Christ hast promised to all those who seek thy kingdom, and the righteousness thereof, all things necessary to their bodily sustenance; Send us, we beseech thee, in this our necessity, such moderate rain and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and to thy honour; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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The Golden Nugget reached 225,000 miles this summer. I’m thankful for all the adventures our family has had in this van.

2012 Chevy Express under the starry, starry skies.
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The Lord of the Rain

Exodus 9:33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. Job 5:8 “As for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause. Job 5:10 He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; Psalm 65:9-10 You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.

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Russ Roca’s paintings are an inspiring reminder that many things are best enjoyed at a slower pace. Bicyclists will especially enjoy them. 🎨 🚲

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Memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism is one of the best things you can do. Read this article in New Horizons to get some inspiration and see how one of our families at Covenant is getting after it. Way to go!

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I took one of the dogs for a late night walk to enjoy the quiet and the smell of rain.

A wall bathed in the green of a traffic light with the shadow of a man walking his dog
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We got to watch Sound of Freedom tonight. Go see this movie! Generous people have even provided free tickets.

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Do We Actually ‘Hear’ Silence? | Scientific American

Does the brain actually “hear” silence as an input processed by its auditory system in the same way it does a car horn? Or does the organ instead infer these empty spaces by inserting place markers between sounds that are then perceived as the silent bits?

One time I was in an informal class with Yo-Yo Ma. He told us to “play the rests.”

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If you like J. C. Ryle’s writing, you will want to read his recommendation of the puritan Thomas Manton. As Ryle explains his admiration for Manton, you also get a sense of what makes Ryle tick, and what he thinks makes a good man, writer, theologian, and preacher. It’s an inspiring portrait.