Saturday blog-sweep

Fascinating piece by the comedian Russell Brand in the Spectator.

'I looked to drugs and booze to fill up a hole in me. Unchecked, the call of the wild is too strong. I still survey streets for signs of the subterranean escapes that used to provide my sanctuary. I still eye the shuffling subclass of junkies and dealers, invisibly gliding between doorways through the gutters. I see the abundantly wealthy with destitution in their stare. I have a friend so beautiful, so haunted by talent that you can barely look away from her, whose smile is such a treasure that I have often squandered my sanity for a moment in its glow. Her story is so galling that no one would condemn her for her dependency on illegal anaesthesia, but now, even though her life is trying to turn around despite her, even though she has genuine opportunities for a new start, the gutter will not release its prey. The gutter is within.'

What's God will for my life by David Platt

We find ourselves buried under questions and decisions, and in the middle of it all we keep coming back to one question: What is God’s will for my life? What does God want me to do? How do I find God’s will for my life?

How to get along for 500 days together from BBC News

The search is on for a couple to train as astronauts, for a privately funded mission to Mars. But wouldn't any couple squabble if cooped up together for 18 months? Explorer Deborah Shapiro, who spent more than a year with her husband in the Antarctic, provides some marital survival tips.

What your people need from you most via Dash House

Above all else, what your family and church need is for you to be captured and captivated by the King of Kings. You should probably read that again. I need to and I wrote it. 

Seven ways to pray for your children from Desiring God

So pray for your children. Jesus promises us that if we ask, seek, and knock the Father will give us good in return (Luke 11:9-13), even if the good isn't apparent for 40 years. And because Jesus regularly asked those who came to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51), we know that he wants us to be specific with our requests.