Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. Precious Memories Collection by Alan Jackson
I am not what most people would consider nostalgic, but I do hold dear things from my childhood. Old hymns are one of those things. The older I get the more I appreciate the simple clarity and poetic beauty of them. This collection is from my favorite country artist, Alan Jackson, and he’s singing the songs he grew up on in church in Central Georgia. As it happens, I grew up attending church many summers in central Georgia while visiting my grandparents. I didn’t love these songs at the time, but the seeds were planted. And I love them now. Jackson’s renditions are simple and clean with minimal instrumentation. They are the rich in nostalgia and tradition.
2. Hughes: Everyman Pocket Poets by Langston Hughes
Poetry is intended to evoke more than describe, to move more than argue, and to paint a picture without clean lines. And Langston Hughes did it as well or better than anyone. He wrote throughout the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement, and his poems reflect the full cultural reality of the time. They are powerful and poignant and painful. I especially love the tactile, sensory aspects of his poems, drawing readers into lives and times and places and experiences. I have yet to read a poet who I appreciate or enjoy more than Hughes.
3. ESV.org Annual Membership
Most, if not all, of my readers are familiar with the ESV Bible translation. But did you know that you can get digital access to all Crossway’s commentaries and study Bible notes along side the text for only $39.99 a year? This includes the ESV Expository Commentary, the Preaching the Word commentary series, and the Crossway Classic Commentaries alongside multiple Study Bibles. It is an absolutely incredible set of resources for anyone seeking to study the Bible better. These resources have been invaluable to me in both seminary work and in sermon or teaching preparation. And they would be equally as valuable in devotional use or personal study. It is amazing that the folks at Crossway have made this wealth of Biblical study materials available at such an accessible price.
