--- title: Favorite Finds Friday 1/22/16 canonical: "https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/melissa-kruger/favorite-find-friday-12216-2/" pubDate: "2016-01-22T00:00:00.000Z" updatedDate: "2016-01-22T00:00:00.000Z" author: Melissa Kruger description: "A few articles for your weekend reading and a book coming out this month that I highly recommend. Freedom in Grief, Not Freedom From Grief Jason Tippetts shares out his own experience of loss, helping others to walk alongside those who grieve. He wisely notes, \"Don’t be afraid to bring up their loss. A loss is inescapable and constantly on their mind, so give them the opportunity to talk or not talk. Don’t fear making them sad: they are sad already. Acknowledging their loss is better than ignoring it and hoping they will bring it up.\" For the Struggling Church Planting Wife Christine Hoover…" tags: [Recommended Reading] --- A few articles for your weekend reading and a book coming out this month that I highly recommend. [![favorite finds friday 2](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2015/09/favorite-finds-friday-22.jpg)](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2015/09/favorite-finds-friday-22.jpg) [Freedom in Grief, Not Freedom From Grief](http://www.mundanefaithfulness.com/home/2016/1/20/freedom-in-grief-not-freedom-from-grief) Jason Tippetts shares out his own experience of loss, helping others to walk alongside those who grieve. He wisely notes, “Don’t be afraid to bring up their loss. A loss is inescapable and constantly on their mind, so give them the opportunity to talk or not talk. Don’t fear making them sad: they are sad already. Acknowledging their loss is better than ignoring it and hoping they will bring it up.” [For the Struggling Church Planting Wife](http://www.gracecoversme.com/2016/01/for-struggling-church-planting-wife.html) Christine Hoover shares helpful wisdom for women who are in the midst of church planting with their husbands. She explains, “Church planting is like taking the leap into marriage or becoming a first-time parent. As much as others tried to prepare you, as much as you and your husband read and conferenced and created strategies, nothing could have truly prepared you for the high-highs and the low-lows of church planting.” [On Losing Grandmothers and the Sanctity of Life](http://www.cathparks.com/blog/2016/1/20/4xqzzy1drz2rg8jpheupzd4llxwrzy) Cathrine Parks shares from her painful experience of losing two grandmothers this year, explaining the value of caring for life in all seasons of life: “They lay in their hospital beds, their bodies literally broken, unable to speak. And yet they had dignity and value, given to them by their Creator. And I watched my father and his family sacrifice around the clock to affirm that dignity.” [Advice from a College Admissions Consultant](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-chen/im-a-college-admissions-c_b_8631900.html) I found this advice from Melissa Chen to be helpful sanity in the midst of a culture that’s obsessed with scores and grades. She writes, “Thousands of elite high school students are sacrificing their teenage years and working themselves into depression because they think their hard work will get them into Harvard or Stanford. But for most of them, it won’t, because all of their peers are doing the exact same thing. The college admissions process becomes like a stampede, where hundreds of thousands of students try to fit through a bottleneck. Some are crushed.” [How to Make Accountability Work](http://www.challies.com/articles/how-to-make-accountability-work) Tim Challies gives practical advice on making accountability work in a culture where, “Often [accountability groups] end up being a means of commiseration more than challenge, a time when Christians sit around feeling sorry for one another rather than full-on battling against sin.” [On Missing Texas and Elect Exiles](http://sayable.net/2016/01/on-missing-texas-and-elect-exiles/) My husband and I moved every year for the first five years of our marriage. It left me worn and weary, missing friends and family. Lore Wilbert speaks truth into the painful places of our relational longings, “You can be chosen by God for a purpose and a plan, even one that doesn’t makes sense and keeps you far from “your people” and feels uncomfortable. You can chew the bread of adversity and sit in a circle of strangers—and still be loved and known and chosen by God for that purpose.” **Book Recommendation:** [The Whole Christ](http://amzn.to/1ZF6Wi3) ![whole-christ-square](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2016/01/whole-christ-square-1024x1024.jpg)Writing with a pastoral heart and scholarly mind, Sinclair Ferguson provides a biblical understanding of grace that sets a solid foundation for life, ministry, and worship. Using the backdrop of the Marrow Controversy, Ferguson exposes the subtle hues of legalism and antinomianism that continue to permeate the church today. I found *[The Whole Christ](http://amzn.to/1ZF6Wi3)*personally convicting, theologically challenging, and Christ exalting. I highly recommend this book. **Here are a couple of quotes:** [![whole-christ-quote04](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2016/01/whole-christ-quote04-1024x1024.jpg)](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2016/01/whole-christ-quote04.jpg) [![whole-christ-quote11](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2016/01/whole-christ-quote11-1024x1024.jpg)](http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/melissakruger/files/2016/01/whole-christ-quote11.jpg)