These are in no particular order:

• Eric Geiger – Eric is the Vice President of the Church Resource Division for Lifeway Christian Resources. He combines a heart for the church, her mission, and strategy.  http://ericgeiger.com/
• theResurgence – this is a resource every Christian should read every day. They provide a lot of helpful material every single day. http://theresurgence.com/
• Crossway Blog – They tend to provide updates on new releases, along with video interviews of (you guessed it) authors. http://www.crossway.org/blog/
• Gospel eBooks – Speaking of books, if you own a kindle and are looking for cheap or FREE gospel books, they help you know what’s out there. http://gospelebooks.net/
• Abraham Piper – He is the son of John Piper, and runs http://twentytwowords.com/ – but you can find more on the personal side at http://www.abrahampiper.com/
• Daring Fireball – I don’t always agree with his language, or his views, but if you’re an Apple Fanboy, you need to read this guy to stay on top of technology. (NERD ALERT) http://daringfireball.net/
• Brad Lomenick – He heads up Cataylist, which is for young leaders. He has great insights into mine and the coming generations. http://www.bradlomenick.com/
• Kevin DeYoung – This dude is a power blogger. Kevin is always thoughtful and measured in his approach to what he writes. If there is something on his mind, he will let you know… with more information than what you thought you needed. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/
• Ed Stetzer – This would be my “company line” blog that I read. He works for Lifeway with the Research team, so if you like stats… and the mission of God, this is your guy. http://edstetzer.com/
• Tullian Tchividjian – author and Pastor, this guy constantly challenges what I thought I knew about God’s grace.  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/
• Bob Kauflin – He is a worship leader who consistently challenges me to think much of God in everything. http://www.worshipmatters.com/
• Desiring God Blog – Love the resources. The posts are short. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog

What are some of your you are looking forward to reading this year?

In the mean time, here is a video of two squirrels fighting:

1. It’s an OT book and often times the OT is largely ignored by teachers despite it being larger than the NT.
2. I want you to see Jesus in the OT… since He is The Revelation for us. What I mean by this is that we have the gift of grace and understanding because of Him. We have application and implications of Scriptures because of Jesus. So, while we have things that we learn and hear from the Holy Spirit, they will in the end bear witness about Jesus.
3. It’s a longer book, and it’s difficult in my estimation to truck through a lengthy book and maintain your attention during the school year, so we’ll bore you over the summer instead.
4. The application is fitting. There is something about learning from others mistakes that help us make the most of our time here on tins side of eternity.. I’m not saying that we can read of these stories and avoid any hardships, but I am saying that we can learn from these men and women.

So join us this Sunday as we begin our series in the book of Judges: the tragedy of our hearts. (in another post, I’ll explain the subtitle to the series)

It is nice to live in the same neighborhood with friends that an unscheduled meeting can take place and it’s not a big deal. We’re thankful for our friends! During our time together, we took a second and Abby took a picture of me holding Adele. Here it is!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwFFcWZS8xA]

hey criner, im thinking about getting an iPad…i have an iPhone, so do i really need an iPad?

Honestly, there are a lot of people thinking about ditching their iPhones in preference for the iPad…. I’ve actually contemplated it. But while the iPhone and iPad do similar things, they really serve two different purposes. One is a phone; one is device designed for productivity on the go. This is also true despite the fact that they run the same operating system.

As I said in this blog post, if you don’t have laptop, the iPad is a beautiful machine. I’ve used it to type several papers, blog posts, taken notes for meetings, then able to watch a movie. I couldn’t do those things on an iPhone… nor would I want to. The point is that it’s proving over and over how it is a great tool, and one I find using throughout the day.

This being said, if you already have a laptop, then you don’t “need” an iPad. But, it does make a great compliment to your desktop PC. I have found it to be a great piece of technology and not just for consumption. In fact, if you think the iPad is only for consuming media, you’re mistaken. That would be just like saying the iPhone is only for making phone calls. Hope that helps!

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

You know those moments that you reread a few verses that as a young man you read and they carry just as much weight in your heart now as the did then? The verses above are that for me. These verses take me back to me being in high school and really trying to figure out who I was and who I wanted to be. These verses gave me the place to set my life on… a bedrock if you will.

It’s amazing how these verses creep back into my life at just the right time. It’s amazing that they mean just as much to me today as they did then. So many of us become caught up with wanting new revelations of what God is doing; of where the Holy Spirit is leading; of how Jesus is going to be exalted. When maybe, just maybe we need to be reminded of old ones. You know, the ones that are our bedrock.

These are some of those verses for me. Really. In those hours of struggling for purity, this passage was spoken over me, “…by guarding it according to your word…” That’s rich friend. This is a passage of hope for me. It’s a call to hold onto what God has said in His word to me, to us, and for us.

So, this passage is filled with a challenge to action, but filled with promise and hope. It’s a glorious reminder to me, and maybe it will be for you.

What are some bedrock passages for you? Share in the comments section.

[BTW - this post was entirely typed on my iPad... ha!]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwZFXiFLj3k]

Well, I got this note and thought I would invite you guys in on the praying for me friend. Will you interceded for him? Will you pray for Jana & Jaxon as the walk through this difficult season? Please read the note and let me know in the comments section if you’ll be praying.

Hi gentlemen -

This is Kyle Lent, from The Justin Cofield Band. I’m writing on behalf of myself and Aaron Cauble, our drummer, to ask you guys to be in prayer for Justin. If you don’t know the whole story, I’ll give you the short version: he hurt his back pretty badly in February and has been lying on the couch for the past month with two herniated discs. A steroid injection about 2 weeks ago has not helped much and he will be visiting a neurosurgeon on Thursday, April 8th, to see what the next step will be.

I (and Aaron) write to all of you guys because we know you are men of God whom we have worked with and would love to have your help and support on this. In short, we are fasting for Justin on Thursday, and would be honored if anyone who wants to join in will. Many of you travel, either in a speaking or worship role, and you know the terrible consequences that could potentially come from this. Justin provides for his family by traveling and standing in front of a lot of people.

No need to respond to this unless you want to (we will be happy to answer any questions). We are just asking for urgent prayer and petition for Justin this week as we figure out the next step. If any of you who are pastors/youth pastors/etc. would feel comfortable asking others to join us, we would love that.

We also know the power of social media. Please feel free to forward this, tweet this, blog this, Facebook this as much as you want, and direct people to our website: thejcb.com, where you can find more information about this.

Aaron and I thank you guys for your support of our ministry over the years, and you receive this message because we trust you and love you. What a great week, just after Easter, to see resurrection.

Thanks again,

Kyle Lent

Please visit their website and buy every CD they’ve every made. Follow them on Twitter. Email the band at community@thejustincofieldband.com so they know you’ll be praying too. Pray.

pray for healing. thanks.

2. Adele Lynn Criner – this is the first pictures of Adele posted on the ole’ internet!
4. Abigail singing first song to Adele [Video] – probably one of my favorite moments in the hospital.
6. Adele is sleeping! – a picture of our sweet girl resting in the hospital
8. We are home and happy! (and a video to boot!) – a crying baby is fun to video.
10. Adele in her take home outfit – this is one of my favorite family pictures right before we left the hospital.

Can you see a theme? Yes – it’s Adele, and more Adele… it’s been a furious month and she’s about to be a month old soon!! Can’t believe it. We are thankful for the (literally) 4,000+ views of the website this past month. We are blessed indeed.