Articles of the Week
This week, some of the most thought-provoking and faith-inspiring articles I read were on extraterrestrial life, failure, gentle parenting, and raising readers.
Ah, the existential extraterrestrial question. "Are we alone in the universe?"
Stand to Reason explains we are statistically and positionally the only intelligent life in the universe. We were designed for this galaxy, at this time, in this exact place. Here are at least 400 more reasons to praise Jesus for making everything universe-y.
But much more than water is required for life. At least eleven known habitability zones must overlap in order for a planet to be hospitable to advanced life: the liquid water, ultraviolet, photosynthetic, ozone, planetary rotation rate, planetary rotation axis tilt, tidal, astrosphere, atmospheric electric field, Milankovitch cycles, and stellar magnetic wind habitable zones. No planet other than Earth is known to possess all these habitable zones. Astronomer Hugh Ross has concluded that “when one takes into account that the existence of aerobic complex life requires a planet that simultaneously resides in all eleven habitable zones, the number of planets in the universe capable of sustaining such life most probably is just one.” The degree of fine-tuning required for this overlap of habitable zones that permits the possibility of life is indicative of design, not “cosmic accident.”’
Over 400 parameters of a planetary system and its galaxy must fall within a narrow range to permit the existence of complex life.
https://www.str.org/w/are-we-alone-in-the-universe-
Author Katie Hulse Published on
01/30/2025
This article hit me where my emotions are sitting sometimes.
I feel the weight of my failures some days more than others. Our hearts can be quick to notice the outside pressure to consistently succeed, knowing we don’t always measure up to the expectations.
God's grace is powerful in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:19)
An unexpected battle cry in our modern world has become, “Do better!” Better technology to improve our lives. More institutional accountability and corporate responsibility. A relentless pursuit of self-improvement. Excellence, success, and constant progress have become the holy trinity of high achievers.
But what happens when we don’t measure up? What if I flat-out fail? What if I disappoint myself and fall short of even adequate? What then?
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/god-forms-us-through-failure
Steven Lee
“Gentle parenting” often assumes incorrectly that children are inherently and naturally good.
As a teacher, I pray parents increasingly step in to help their children navigate these difficult digital times. The last thing kids need is growing up under poorly implemented discipline.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/opportunity-gentle-parenting-crashes/
Melissa Kruger
This write-up about raising young readers is an imposing set of 35 points. Rest assured, they are proper points.
As a fan of my Kindle (and saving space in living-room-limited Japan), it helped me again appreciate the need for physical books. Especially for kids. Reading in this day and age (a meaningful way to disconnect from the algorithm) is becoming a lowkey superpower.
After a brief conversation with Jess on the topic, we need to pray for wisdom on raising multilingual kids in Japan. Raising readers is massively easier in a monolingual English-speaking household living in an English-speaking nation.
Looks like I might need to start picking up Japanese children’s books at the library to keep up and engage with my, Lord willing, future kids. I can’t say I don’t have a head start.
https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2025/01/how-to-raise-readers-in-thirty-five-steps/
Did any of these articles resonate with you?