I offer two brief reminders today: first, much of the daily content of this site is available in Spanish at es.challies.com; second, the quotes I share every day are available to download for free at SquareQuotes.

Westminster Books has the excellent Gospel-Centered Life Bible study series on sale.
Today’s Kindle deals feature some excellent books by J.I. Packer.
The God Who Has Been My Shepherd All My Life Long
Sometimes the simplest observations are the most encouraging, and that’s the case with this one from Paul Tautges.
On Epic Stands, Great Men, and the Church Catholic
Michael Haykin makes a very interesting claim here, and one he has come to after a lifetime of studying church history: “God never does a great work in the history of the Church except through a band of brothers and sisters. This is true of the Ancient Church, the Celtic Church and its powerful missions, the Reformation, the Puritans, and the Evangelical Revivals of the 18th century.”
Imagining Your “Well Done”
You may have heard about the idea of writing your own eulogy, then living in such a way as to make it true. Reagan Rose offers what may be a better alternative.
Holy Distractions
And while we are in the realm of productivity, here’s an article from Jon Bloom: “The ever-growing body of literature on productivity overwhelmingly agrees with what we all know by experience: interruptions reduce our productivity. So naturally, most of the literature focuses on ways we can reduce our interruptions because they distract us from productive work.”
Bible Study is Hard Work (And That is OK).
Bible study is hard work and Craig Thompson explains why that’s not a bad thing.
Good Medicine
Kristin shares a funny story and tells why such memories matter.
Flashback: God Hates Pride
Is there any trait more deceptive? Is there any vice easier to see in others, but harder to see in ourselves? We despise its presence in them, but defend its presence in us.

We think of suffering or feebleness as a misfortune. It is not altogether so, however, if it makes us dearer and brings us nearer to the heart of Christ. —J.R. Miller

As I share this update I am just setting off to begin the project I have titled Worship Round the World. The premise of Worship Round the World is that I will visit 12 different churches in 12 very different places to get to know those congregations and to join them for a Sunday service. Each of these churches will worship in a way that is consistent with Scripture, yet also faithful to the local language, customs, and culture. In this way each worship service will be unique yet distinctly biblical. I will be making the journey with my friend Tim Keesee.

This was a project I dreamed up a few years ago and fundraised for in 2019. I had intended to set out in 2020, but then the world slammed shut because of the pandemic and is only now getting back anywhere near to normal. If all goes well, the great majority of the travel will take place by the end of this year. In 2024 we will produce a book and video series based on all we saw and experienced. Our great hope is that it will encourage us all to praise God for what he is doing each and every Sunday as his people gather together to join in a worldwide chorus of praise to his name.
While we very nearly reached our fundraising goal in 2019, travel costs have increased substantially since then and we know we will fall short. If that sounds like something that would interest you, you can make a tax-deductible donation to the project through Frontline Missions. (Click and then scroll to the bottom of that page.)
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In other news, I have a new site design that will be launching in the days ahead. This is a huge project that has been underway for some time now. When it launches you will quickly see that things look a lot different, but I hope you’ll also find that things function better. I’m sure there will be some initial bugs and errors, so please just bear with me through those. I’ll have more to say about this project soon.
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Last month I undertook what I think may prove one of the most difficult things I have ever done: I changed my keyboard layout. I learned to type, as you did, on a keyboard with a standard QWERTY layout. In fact, I learned on an actual manual typewriter back in ninth grade, the teacher tapping a yardstick while together we rhythmically chanted (and typed) “A … S … D … F … G … H … J … K … L … semi.” I learned well and have been able to type at nearly 100 words per minute ever since with almost perfect accuracy. Yet it is now well-known that while the QWERTY layout may have made sense for typewriters it doesn’t make as much sense for computers. And it has the unfortunate problem of putting the most-used keys in some of the most awkward spots—spots that often require stretching the weakest fingers. I deal with significant pain when typing and, having exhausted most other solutions, decided it was time to take this radical step. 
I researched the different options and landed on Colemak (in the “DH” variant for those who follow such things). It has been extremely difficult to overcome 30+ years of muscle memory but bit-by-bit I am getting it and my typing speed and accuracy are slowly recovering. I expect it will be ages before I am back to my old speeds, but I am, at least, getting closer to being able to type at the speed of my thoughts. I am also correcting some bad typing habits and forcing myself to strike the right keys with the right fingers.
I probably didn’t help my cause a lot by also changing to a new keyboard at the same time. I picked up the strangely-named and strangely-shaped Moonlander which offers some very helpful functions, such as a way to eliminate the shift keys (thus mitigating a lot of wear and tear on pinky fingers). Anyway, the whole process has been extremely difficult and frustrating, but I am hopeful the results will be good in the end—and that eventually my brain will clue in to where the “d” key now is, since that’s the one that continues to torment me the most.
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As for the family, all is well, I think. Abby is into the second semester of her junior year at Boyce College while her husband Nate is working full time and taking classes online through The Master’s University as he works toward finishing up his degree in business. Michaela is pressing on in her final year of high school and looking forward to beginning at Boyce in August. Ryn is working full time at a coffee shop in Louisville while also auditing some classes at Southern Seminary. Aileen is still enjoying her job as a personal assistant for a neighbor who works in real estate. The Lord continues to bless us in so many ways and we continue to wish only that we might honor and serve him.

I am convinced it is appropriate to acknowledge those who bear with chronic pain and illness and that it is especially fitting to give special honor to do those who do so with a deep sense of submission to God’s mysterious purposes in their suffering. But if that’s true, I believe it is also appropriate to give honor to those who walk with them and care for them.

Disrupted Journey

As much as we acknowledge the difficulties inherent in chronic pain and long illnesses, we also need to acknowledge that suffering is never only personal. Rather, suffering extends outward to spouses, family members, and other caretakers. They, too, deserve recognition and they, too, need support. It is for these carers that Nate Brooks has written Disrupted Journey: Walking with Your Loved One Through Chronic Pain and Illness (which I thought was releasing this week but have since learned will remain on pre-order until mid-month). “This book is a meditation on trying to faithfully live out [the Bible’s] oh-so-simple-sounding commands [about loving others] when life veers far away from being the best of times. How do we love God when he in his providence has allowed life-altering pain and illness into our loved one’s life? And how do we love our loved one well when they are wrestling with their whole world being turned upside down?” This book is meant to offer hope, instruction, and encouragement.

While Brooks is appropriately discrete when it comes to details, he reveals that his wife has long suffered from chronic pain and that he has been her primary carer for more than 10 years. This means he is all too familiar with medical conundrums, with rewriting every category of life as chronic issues manifest themselves, and with dark nights of the soul as he and his wife have been forced to reconsider what they thought they knew about themselves and God. “Chronic pain and illness are the backdrop for the movie of our life. They were there when we were newlyweds trying to figure out how to take two lives and blend them into one. They were there as we welcomed three kids into the world and lived in four states. They were there as we watched God take Kate’s father home to be with him. They have wound their way through every event, every milestone, every day of our existence. And barring something unexpected, we have about forty-five more years to go.”

With such experience in the background, Brooks writes about those situations in which suffering isn’t merely a season but an ongoing reality. He expresses the despair that comes when a carer realizes that he or she didn’t sign up for this. He considers how those whose life is framed by chronic pain and illness almost become strangers to the society around them as it presses on while they are forced to slow down or even stop. He reflects on the nature of God and humanity and takes the time to describe the lives of three historical figures who also cared for suffering loved ones. In other words, he writes a book from one carer to another, from someone who is familiar with the joys and difficulties of being called to the special task of walking with a loved one through the most difficult of times.

Appropriately, Brooks closes his work with a statement of confidence that in the end, God will make all things right. Both the pain of the one suffering the chronic illness and the pain of the one who cares for them will be swept away in a great tide of healing and joy when Christ returns. That confidence and the hope that comes with it is meant to encourage any carer to press on through every difficulty and every trial. His book is both comforting and encouraging and I gladly recommend it to anyone who knows what it is to have their journey through this life disrupted by chronic pain, long illness, and other such trials.