Fallen and Flawed

Link Happy [I Came. I Saw. I Wrote.]

God bless people who open up their blogs to me. Who allow me to write. To taunt. Ridicule. Mock. Tease…

And hopefully, in the long run, to teach.

Here are five posts I wrote for some good blogs in the last month. [Thank you Joseph, Kathy, Daniel and Joseph!]

John Wycliffe’s 9-Point Guide to Reading the Bible
John Wycliffe, the first man to translate the Bible into English, gave us a simple rule to Bible reading. This is what it looks like.

Top 10 Worst Creativity Tips of All Time
Relying on opium-induced dreams for creativity is a terrible idea. And there are nine more really bad ideas on how to jolt your creativity. Take a look.

Daniel Wilson Reviews The Messiah
This is not so much a shameless plug for my book as it is a hardy appreciation for Daniel’s pronounced ability to write very, very well.

What to Say When You Only Have 30-Seconds to Share the Gospel
With such a short period of time, it’s obvious you need an elevator pitch–a ridiculously short summary of what you believe. Here’s how to craft one.

Why Are Some Genuine Christians Gun Shy about Church?
It’s a strange phenomenon: Bible-believing Christians refusing a blood-bought gift of God’s grace. A phenomenon rooted in something marginally sinister.

By the way, what have you been reading lately? Got any new blogs you want to share? A juicy piece of secular news? A sacred, heart-churning yarn? A deviant, under-handed stretch of research that will change the way we look at the world forever? Please share.

Tags: Blogs, Writing

5 Posts You Might’ve Missed [Plus, Blogger for Hire]

Some of you might have seen my tweet this weekend where I said I’d be happy to write a guest post for you.

Yes. It’s true. I’m for hire.

But hire is such a strong word. [In truth, I don't charge a dime. Actually, I should be paying you. But that's another story.]

Anyway, I’m available. Email me if you are interested.

Why am I doing this? I like to write. I like the challenge. More importantly, I want to promote my blog so I can elevate Christ and be that little footnote in your personal history.

So far I’ve got seven people in line. There’s no limit, so shoot me an email anytime.

I’d like to say I’d write for any topic. But, alas, I’m not sure I could pull it off. I have to keep it narrow.

But if  you’ve got a blog that deals with creativity, writing, leadership or Christianity, I’m game.

In the meantime enjoy the latest installments of guest posts I’ve written for some outstanding blogs.

Simple, Bare-Bones Purpose Behind Leadership Three non-negotiable elements every leader must incorporate to be effective leaders. [Sorting Beans]

How to Play Like a Child–Again How’s your spiritual life? Is it full of joy? Or is it dominated by frustration and anxiety? You don’t have to live like that. [Desire Spiritual Growth]

How to Read the Bible [Seven Births Method] One of the main problems we have when it comes to new believers and reading the Bible is this: Where in the world do we start? Here’s an answer. [You See Dry Bones]

How to Develop a Mature Christian Mind The amount we invest into our faith determines the amount we get out. Here’s some advice to make the most out of your faith. [Hills Bible Church Blog]

Being a Christian: It Means More Than Going to Church There are two people in the world: Those who go to church and those who don’t. Let’s talk about those who go to church. [Sorting Beans]

Do me a favor after you read these articles: Support these guys. Subscribe to their blogs. Comment on their posts. Share links via your own blog or Twitter.

Good, Christ-honoring guys to support.

Also, if I’ve written a post for you and didn’t include it here, let me know. I think I rounded up all the outstanding posts…but don’t want to assume.

Now, email me if you want a guest post. I’m waiting. Pencil in hand.

Tags: Blogs, Christ, Writing

10 Classic Fallen + Flawed Posts on Christian Blogging

While some of you have been reading Fallen and Flawed since the beginning [December 2008], many of you are new.

So, to help you understand what this blog is all about, I created a beginner’s guide…

Think of it as a historical primer on the purpose behind this blog.

More importantly, see it as a guide to help you plan, launch and grow your own Christian blog.

My hope is I can help at least one person do just that. Let me know what you think.

Here they are:

Why You Must Endure My Half-Baked Ideas What are the payoffs to working through your doubts about Christianity? One is you won’t base your faith on half-baked ideas. There are more.

Have You Read the Book Behind This Blog? It’s still shocking to me how much a few wrong turns could change my life. Read the story behind this blog. And the book that started it.

I Am Orin Scrivello, Sadistic Blogger When someone blasted me on a blog post with foul language, it triggered a rather sadistic thought.

5 Reasons Why I Waited a Year to Launch This Blog This might sound strange to you, but I waited over 365 days before launching this blog. Why did I wait so long? The answer may surprise you.

Are Public Rebukes Okay? My Advice Do the rules for church discipline apply to the impersonal, disembodied world of blogging? My answer might surprise you.

The 5 A.M. Secret: How to Balance Blog and Family How do I manage to balance job, family, friends and blog? Simple. I use the 5 A.M. secret.

Why Reformed Bloggers Wear Me Out We need more Christians bloggers who will converse and confront atheist bloggers. Here are 4 ways to do that.

Tim Keller’s Guide to Vibrant Blogging Hard to believe that a 58-year old pastor in NYC could teach you anything about blogging. But he can.

Why I Blog [It's the New M.A., Dummy] Did you know you can earn a Masters degree by blogging? Okay, you can’t really. But you can come real close. Find out how.

My Unorthodox Copyright Policy [or, Why It's Okay to Steal This Blog] The content on this blog is yours. It’s yours to use however you please. But there’s a catch.

Note: Bookmark this post so you can take your time working through this list. There’s a lot of content here. And you probably won’t be able to read it all in one day.

Also, subscribe to Fallen and Flawed if you haven’t already. That way you can get all the latests posts.

Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Writing

5 Posts to Make You Wise [A Reading Primer]

Reading is the cheapest and easiest way to grow your brain.

Cheap because you can get most books at your local library–or at Google Books.

And easy because you can learn about the history of gravity…

The political career of George Washington…

Or Augustine’s view of free will from your favorite reading chair.

That’s why I put such a high premium on reading. And spend a smidgen of time here writing about reading.

With that in mind, here are five posts on how to get the most out of your reading routine.

How to Absorb a Book into Your Bloodstream
One of the most important rules when it comes to reading.

How to Abandon a Book
You probably didn’t know this, but there’s an instinct to abandoning a book. An instinct you can develop.

How Do You Read?
Narrow, wide or something completely different? Share your reading style with me.

How to Read a 291-Page Book in 2 Hours
Want to read more books in less time–and even catch up on the classics you’ve missed? Try chapter pacing.

Drop-Dead Easy Guide on How to Journal
Twenty cool and easy tricks on how to get started with your journal. [A guide for those who don't want to spoil the pages of their books with a pencil.]

Granted, reading alone won’t make you wise. But it’s a start. By the way, do you have any reading tips? Please share.

Tags: Books, Reading, Writing

Yes, I’m THAT Girl

**Guest post by Angie Farnworth, my wonderful wife.**

My husband had some pretty amazing and kind things to say about me in his recent spiritual heroes post.

Reading it made me feel really bad for turning down his original request to write a guest post for his blog.

In fact, the very day he wrote that post was the day I was supposed to crank something out for him.

Yikes.

So why didn’t I do it? Well for one, I’m not an intellectual. Or anything even approaching a biblical expert.

Not at all. At all. Not. At. All.

Me in a Nutshell

Oh, I love the Lord Jesus. I read and study my Bible, memorize scripture, pray without ceasing.

I lay my life down for Him daily—at least as much as this fragile, weak flesh will allow. Or until the next shiny thing passes my way.

So in some regards, we are all the same. Seeking after the heart of our Savior. Failing. Seeking. Failing. Putting one foot in front of the other and hoping that we are getting closer to THE ONE in the midst of all that failing.

But if I had to make a guess, I’d say that’s about where our similarities end.

Friends, Yet Strangers

I’ve never read a single book by John MacArthur, though we have many on our bookshelves.

I don’t have fancy acronyms for my approach to Bible study. I do it more by feel, relationship, prompting.

Ugh. Yuck. “She’s one of those?” you say. Yes, I’m one of those. Hence, my hesitation to write for my dear hubby.

By the Way, Who’s My Audience Again?

To be fair, I am a writer. So it was not such a far-fetched request from him. But I write to a much different audience. An audience more like…well, me.

I am a story teller. I write fiction that is high on entertainment value with little nuggets of wisdom and spiritual truth woven throughout.

So what was I going to say to this audience? An audience that thrives on straight, lean, hard-hitting truth. Even contemplating it made me go on intellectual overload. It kind of made me think of those reluctant friendships we all find ourselves in from time to time…

You know that friend from work or church who you really do like and is a genuinely nice person, but you just can’t seem to get him or her to shut up?

You hate to get on the phone or into a conversation with the person because you know that getting out of the conversation will take an eternity. I mean they’ll turn a quick “yes” or “no” question into two hours of joy and drama at their most recent dentist appointment.

And on those rare occasions when it seems you might actually get out of the conversation in a timely manner, the so-called friend utters these fatal words:

“Just one more thing.”

And you know in your heart of hearts that “Just one more thing” is going to last until the day you die.

Well, here’s the problem: I think I’m that person.

How to Spot THAT Girl

How do I know? I can see it in your eyes. That glazed-over look that darts from side to side and silently says, “You’re sweet and all…but please let me go. Now.”

But still, I talk. And talk.

I hate to make vast assumptions, but for the sake of simplicity, I will assume that if you are a frequent reader of Fallen and Flawed, you are probably either: a.) married to the author—as far as I know I am the only one who qualifies here, b.) an intellectual, or c.) married to an intellectual who makes you read it because he/she thinks it is good exercise for your poor, neglected brain.

My second assumption, then, will be this: You are most probably not “that person.”

So in the vein of exercising brains and all, I thought I’d educate you a bit on “that friend,” seeming as though I have the inside scoop and all.

An Anatomy of THAT Girl

Let’s pretend for a moment that you and I have entered into an eternal conversation.

No, not a conversation about eternity, but one that you are convinced will not end until the second coming. Or until you begin hemorrhaging. Visibly.

While you are glancing at your watch and nodding like a Pez dispenser, here’s some insight into what I might be thinking:

I am an extrovert. I live for relationship. But God has asked me to be a stay-at-home mom (which I love). And to home school my children (which I also love).

But while you are out taking the blogosphere by storm (or whatever you do to fulfill your minuscule need for personal companionship), I am home.

I spend my days talking to dolls, building Legos, examining bugs, answering never-ending why questions, cooking, and cleaning up the same old messes over and over again. Only to wake up and do it all over the next day. And the next.

Ad nauseum.

I love the life God has called me to. I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. But right now I have the undivided attention of an adult.

And even though I can see that you are about to faint away from relationship overstimulation, I still have a couple thousand words I desperately need to get out.

So before you exit this conversation, Just. Give. Me. One. More. Minute. Of. Sane. Adult. Conversation…

Please.

See what I mean? Oh, and just one more thing….

**You can follow Angie on Twitter.**

Tags: Story, Writing