Finley, I am.

As a Gentleman Walks By The Longhouse, Whistling

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:57:12 GMT

Greatly appreciate Pastor Doug's teaching on servant lordship here.

Lake of Fire by We the Kingdom

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:25:15 GMT

One of the things I've always loved about We the Kingdom is that they don't just play four chords in a key they can sing. This song has transition chords, diminished chords, and so much flavor.

Here by Mumford & Sons

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:25:18 GMT

I love when Mumford & Sons is clean and stripped back.

St. Patrick's Legacy

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:09:43 GMT

I count myself Irish/Scottish, of the Farquharson clan, tied to MacBeth. St. Patrick's story is important to me. The Irish and their faith is an emerald of the West. Go preach Christ crucified. Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me.

Abusing Customizable Selects

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:50:50 GMT

Great article from CSS Tricks showing the potential for the new customizable selects with CSS. We truly have the power now. Be gone all you stupid UI library dropdowns!

Salt and Light from Rend Collective

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:58:12 GMT

Ben Fuller - Black Sheep

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:19:56 GMT

Jesus loves you, black sheep.

Gangsters and Angels

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:34:13 GMT

The cross or the machine?
It's always the same chore
The best I ever met
Had nothing and gave it all away
We'd rather be ruined than change
And die in our dread
But love your crooked neighbour With your crooked heart

Beautiful song to sit in over the weekend. Raising kids is hard, y'all. God bless the grandparents that made it and are still learning, still growing, still parenting.

Momma Loves Me

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:53:09 GMT

So wrap me up in sweet forgiveness, take my wrongs (take my wrongs) and make them white
Take my scars and take my troubles and spread my ashes in the wind

Christian: It’s Time to Go on Offense in the Public Square

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:58:17 GMT

As horrible as this event was, let this be a warning to all normal churches and “everyday revolutionaries” out there, especially those who decry the culture war. The Left sees no difference between you and the charismatic megachurch that hosts political rallies for Donald Trump. You are their enemy. You may not wish it were so. You may nuance every jot and tittle of your pristine doctrine all you want. But they do not care. They will storm your church in order to strike fear into your children. This is who the Left is. They do not discriminate between the Kellerites and the MAGA Baptists.

J. Chase Davis, Christian: It’s Time to Go on Offense in the Public Square

For too long Christians have stayed out of politics. In a country that was started by Christians, for Christians. Best I can tell, my grandparent's generation retreated and bought the lie of secularism being neutral. But when you retreat, others take what you left. And what we left was academia— colleges and universities established for the Glory of God—, the arts, the sciences, and the public square. And it's all been captured not by neutrality, but by pagans.

None of that is news to anyone paying attention. The conclusion is: Christian, it's time to re-enter the public square. You need to read deeply; you need to grow substantially in logic, substance, speaking, courage, and faith.

There are so many waiting for your voice, Christian. But your voice isn't the emotional cackling of the Left. It's not the twisting of emotional sabotage, of toxic empathy, of untethered empathy, of suicidal empathy, or unjust mercy. No, men talk to the point. Your voice is the voice of reason, of grace, of justice.

Start with Slaying Leviathan by Glenn Sunshine. Move onto The White Horse King by Benjamin Merkle. Toss in some When a Nation Forgets God by Erwin W. Lutzer and The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton. There is a ton of good ones in between, but that's a start.

If we could all take 12 months off to read some books, we'd all be doing a lot better in this.

Demons by Josiah Queen

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 11:46:20 GMT

Tell those demons run and hide
They tremble at the name of Jesus
Every time
Fear ain’t gotta home here up inside my mind
Darkness has to leave up in this light

Dragons.

And I won’t buy those lies
They can’t take control over this
Life of mine

This was a long week. Churches being attacked, demons shrieking, darkness closer than I want it. My trust problems are with people, not the Creator. Nah, I trust Him. Proven over and over. There will be unpublished journal writings from this weekend. But trust me when I say, fear ain't got a home here. I don't buy your lies. And my house? It serves the Lord.

The Long Surrender

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:21:09 GMT

With Devils Filled

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:44:28 GMT

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

We have reached the "they are storming the churches" part
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) January 19, 2026

Do not be anxious. If you find yourself anxious, check your heart. You must trust God and His sovereignty. If you do, why worry?

Yesterday a church in Minneapolis was stormed by communist revolutionaries. Behind them was Satan himself. I don't say that flippantly. I don't say that lightly. I don't say that figuratively. Our fight is with him and his and we have reached the storming the churches part.

In the words of Martin Luther, "The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him."

Do not tremble for Satan. A Mighty Fortress is our God. The cruel hate of our ancient foe is unmatched but by the grace, love, and power of our God. Tremble not. Fear not. Be not anxious.

Rest in God.

And be prepared.

On Twelvetide and Feasting

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:53:11 GMT

Last summer I read a book about hospitality by Steve Wilkins called Face to Face. Heading into the end of Fall, I finished a book on the American revolution. Both books called out to me that 1) feasting in America was killed and 2) it was quintessential to the human soul. So as an introvert, I needed to revive that. I know, y'all don't think I am an introvert and neither do the 26 people I invited into my house over the course of Twelvetide.

Now, if you know much about me, come October I am itching to get all the Christmas decor out, start shifting most of my outfits towards red, Santa hats start popping up daily, and candy canes… well… I have a thing for candy canes. Large candy canes. I have always loved Christmas and everything that came with it. Growing up, that was large family parties on Christmas Eve and Day. Lots of cousins, huge Christmas trees, laughter, joy, and merriment. And then 2020 came and all of that ended.

The last four years we wandered— and wondered— our way through the holidays trying to find ourselves and our family's traditions. That's not to say that five years of Christmas were dead or forgotten. They were bright, noisy, and filled with laughter. But they were small and it never felt like Christmas. They ended before they started, the burst of Christmas— after the wait of Advent— was more a fizzle. It felt good for a short time and then we lurched back into work and onto a new year. And that wasn't Christmas.

You see, Advent is a period of waiting and anticipation. Four weeks to culminate in… something. That something wasn't supposed to be a half a day of ripping paper and eating pie. It was meant to be bigger. And longer. Not even the two very large days I grew up with, though usually followed with a week with the in-laws or a week of downtime with the kiddos as an adult. Historically that was the Twelve Days of Christmas.

I don't want to bore you with the details… those details where talked about over warm wassail and candlelight for nearly two weeks. The gist: twelve days of feasting, twelve days of Christmassing, twelve days of music, joy, laughter, merriment, and gaeity. In the words of Chesterton, the best way to shorten winter is to prolong Christmas. During the darkest of months, the shortest of days, the coldest of times, gather 'round the table and eat, drink, and celebrate the coming of Christ.

And so we did. We opened our home for seven nights— with one day break— and fed 26 people. We were going for twelve before getting sick on the 9th day and rescheduling the end of our celebration. Those seven nights were amazingly Christmas. Alive, to say the least. There were rules:

my wife wasn't the host, buzzing around and not present
this wasn't Grandma's massive Christmas feast, this was a gathering of friends new and old; big crockpot of food, sides, and desserts with fresh wassail nightly, but low key and low cost
it was a family affair for ours and theirs, this means crafts, activities, and Christmas movies for the kids while the adults roared around the table with conversations across all topics.

And so our eight foot long, hand-made table was the center of life for seven nights and we made merry our Christmastide. Our kids cackled with laughter with new and old friends in the other room, our plates flowed with great meals— cranberry BBQ pork, spaghetti, and carnita tacos— and we spread the joy of Christmas beyond our family in a way we've never been able to do. And we'll do it again. We have twelve more people coming the weekend to finish off the celebration and next year we will be filling out even more of the nights.

The thing we heard every single night— as the pot emptied with sadness— was that the wassail was the best of the night. Don't hear wrong, homemade BBQ sauces and shredded carnitas were a hit, but the wassail pot was the warm hug we all needed in the midwinter and it hit everyone just right. So I end this write up with recipe, in the internet recipe tradition of following a long post.

4 apples cut in half and cored
1 orange
1 TBSP whole cloves
2 quarts apple cider
juice 1 lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
½ cup honey
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 star anise
6 allspice berries

Preheat oven to 350.
Slice the apples in half and scoop out the core. Fill the hole with sugar and place in a 9×13 baking pan.
Poke the whole cloves into the orange and place into the baking dish with the apples.
Place 1" of water in the bottom of the pan and place the pan into the oven to roast for 40 minutes.
While the fruit is roasting, pour the apple cider into a large stock pot.
Add remaining spices, lemon juice, and the honey to the cider.
Allow to barely simmer while the fruit finishes roasting (When the fruit is done roasting, add it to the pot as well).
Keep heating on low heat to keep warm while you enjoy!

We usually transfer the wassail to a crockpot, but keeping it on a stove will fill you house with a beautiful, crisp aroma.

Christmas continues until February 2nd. It's not over. It has just begun. And this season, we began it with a loud bang.

Laughing While Hunted

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 12:36:56 GMT

We watched David on New Year’s Eve and we all thoroughly loved it. But the line that stuck out to me the loudest— enough for me to grab my phone and write it down— was the ol’ man in the cave, as the Israelites are dancing and laughing, shouting, “How can you laugh when you are hunted?!”

It took me a lot of time to laugh while being hunted. And it was in David’s songs that I found my answers.

But the long shadows danced and licked at my heels. I didn't stop this last year. I kept moving. If I hit the brakes, they seized me.

I went months without sleep, brewing fresh coffee and pouring through the Psalms each morning.

Long Winter

I have been in the valley, hiding in the caves, stalked by predators for too long over the last few years. And what became very clear, very quickly was that I had no theology for wartime. I had no theology for when God decided to keep me down for periods that I deemed long. No theology for the darkness.

When we are held to the flame, when we are in the midst of our enemies, when their mocking voices demand that we kowtow to them and deny our God, it can be hard to raise our voices. But don't hang up your lyre, oh Christian. If they demand that you worship their gods, if they demand that you forget your own:

Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.

Psalm 57:8b-9

Wake the dawn. Don't worship at their altars. Your God is not one of many, but the Only. The Name above all. Shout that.

By the Waters of Babylon

So I needed to learn that myself. I needed to seek that myself. I wasn’t at a church that could handle that, could build that, could support me in that. I was told by some that I wasn’t praying hard enough. Word of Faith folks come outta the woodworks when people are downed.

As I've said before, grabbing my instrument and going to church brings enough comfort to get me through my weeks. Go back to Psalm 57. David, holed up in a cave, surrounded by dragons, spears seeking his mortal flesh, grabbed his lyre and belted out worshipful thanksgiving in defiance of the dark.

Culture Saturday: Comfort Among Lions

And so this Christmastide I feel that G.K. Chesterton put the bow on my theology:

"Being happy is not so important as having a jolly time. Philosophers are happy; saints have a jolly time."

G.K. Chesterton

Winter Fire by Ryan Whitaker Smith

It is joy— joy not from within, but from God— that separates us from the world. The world seeks after everything to find happiness. And us? Christ puts joy and peace in us with no work needed. The saint should be jolly: full of joy. In the cave? Jolly. Under siege? Jolly. Darkened for days, months, years? Jolly! And so our house was full of laughter and joy over this Christmastide.

Saint? When you are hunted, stalked like a doe during deer season, are you filled with joy or despair? Do you have the words to speak back to the darkness? Do you have the breath for a quick prayer to make the firelight brighter? Do you have the warmth of Christ jiggling your belly to laughter?

Don’t despair. Your Lord is near.

Books in Progress

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:12:35 GMT

How many of us have a graveyard of books started and never finished? I have too many. Some of it is embarrassment. I really wanted to like the book but didn't. Some of it is distraction. I saw a better book and never came back. Some of it is that it was truly terrible and I couldn't get myself to continue. And we've all been there as avid readers.

I have added a way to show in progress books now on my Shelf.

WHY?! Hold, I know. First: intentionality. Second: tracking.

Intentionality

First and foremost, this year I am intending to read 47 books— at least— from a list I have been working on for the last month. This includes books that are part of a program at my church called HC Institute. I want to be intentional about what I read this year and I want to hold myself to those those intentions. You'll note that I have four books going. I believe this was covered well in How to Read a Book by Andy Naselli in that you should have multiple books going at any given point in time. Sometimes a good book is not good right this moment and you need something different. So I have two non-fictional and two fictional books to start my year.

Tracking

While this page is absolutely external to share good reads, this is also to track my reading progress. Now that progress is non-binary— not just completed. Part of the enhancements to the Shelf at the end of 2025 made trends clearer for me.

Fiction

Last year I read 36 books— though many in the graveyard and many that may be completed early this year. And looking through them I noticed very clearly that, in the words of Lewis, "[t]hey had a lot to say about exports and imports and governments and drains, but they were weak on dragons." Three— just three— books last year were fiction. That's less than 10% of the books I read. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with non-fiction. I love non-fiction, obviously. But I had a new friend over at the house earlier this week— Christmastiding, of course— and she asked where I err when grabbing a book: non-fiction or fiction. And, frankly, I didn't love that the only honest answer was what it was. I grew up quite the opposite. I would never have landed in the lair of a dragon and been puzzled like Eustace, but as I have gotten back into reading, I have been quite studious and not quite curious. And so, this year I adjust my reading. A rebalance.

I said that there are 47 books on my list this year but that list is not all published as in progress. I wouldn't want to do that. First, that is noisy; second, it is useless. On this list are Western classics from Dickens, Twain, Milton, Tolkien, and Lewis; and these are paired with great reading from Driscoll, Bonhoeffer, Chan, Keller, and more in the non-fiction world.

2026 is going to be a good year and I pray that everyone starts it off well. Go, read!

Trending Tags in Shelf

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:01:54 GMT

I added a small list of tags that are trending under each year on the Shelf. I do a similar thing on the Archive. This helps a guy like me see what I like and also where I can diversify. In blogging, it can help me see what I'm talking to much about, here I think it'll help me see what I like but also if I'm reading too much into an area of interest.

Highly Recommended Books 2025

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 11:53:29 GMT

Year end wrap ups aren't really my thing. I meanted yesterday in an article about Required Reading for the year that the year is "[ending] on a joyfilled note of new tradition[s]." This week and the start of next is Christmastide, also known as Twelvetide. This year we decided that we needed to feast and find the Light, so we are opening our home to friends old and new for a meal, merriment, and gaiety nightly for 12 nights. We were up way past our bedtime last night getting cleaned up before retiring for the night. And it was great and only night four.

As mentioned yesterday, flagging and tagging was added to my Shelf. Where Required Reading is foundation, Highly Recommend is solid books. I read lots of books— though a guest in my home last night was over 70 for the year and made me feel small— and not all are books I'll be referencing and recommending to friends. And as I said yesterday, ratings fail me. No book this year— aside from Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis— would receive less than a 3 star rating in my mind… which would make a rating system useless. So this year I was very selective on which books I would Highly Recommend. It's only just shy of half of what I read. That does tell me that I need to extend my reading out of my comfort zone and find books I don't end up liking more regularly.

Because this list for the year— 17 books— is so expansive, I want to just call out a few of these books.

The Screwtape Letters

Iconic, mentioned and referenced everywhere it seems, but if you haven't read it— I made it to 38 without reading this wonderful book— then you really should. As someone with experience in spiritual warfare, this is the kind of book that made me laugh because of how… ordinary and regular it felt. This will help you see many of the cases in your life when you were being spiritually beleaguered for what they really were and help you cut Satan off at the pass in the future.

Face to Face

This book drove home the need for Christian feasting and how we killed it in the West. And so we are feasting for Twelvetide. Our table was alive last night and I loved it. This is a great book on hospitality, eating with brothers and sisters in Christ, and for introverts like me it'll likely make you uncomfortable, but golly is it a good read.

Lies My Therapist Told Me

Everyone has a mental illness in 2025 and it doesn't feel right. Everyone is on some sort of drug for some sort of condition. Anxiety, stress, depression, attention. Greg provides great insight into modern counseling and traditional biblical counseling. I am not sure it will shake anyone that is set in their opinions, but I believe it does provide really good insight.

The Paideia of God

Pastor Douglas Wilson has made it into my regular reading over the last few years and this year was no different. But this book got flagged because we homeschool and it lays out what Christian education— education not just being about "exports and imports and governments and drains", but holistically with enculturation— should be doing, how it works towards building nations, and how our culture is falling apart without it. This book is why I will be going back and reading through some classic literature in 2026— some that I've never read— such as Paradise Lost, Beowulf, Treasure Island, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Giver. Our perspective of the world is shaped by our worldview. We need to cultivate a biblical worldview in our children and that comes from enculturation. A Paideia of God.

A Serrated Edge

Again a Pastor Wilson book, though much older. Honestly, if you've followed Doug much, you'll know much of this book's arguments and content. What they call the serrated edge is just biblical satire. Doug walks the reader through many passages in the Old and New Testaments and shows how and when to apply the bite of satirical attack against our foes and friends alike. Often this isn't nice, but it is kind and loving, which is what is required of us.

Onward

I have read a ton of great books this year and next year's list is already at 47 books and the year hasn't started yet. Grab a book from my Shelf and give it a read. Hopefully the new Required Reading and Highly Recommend flags will help you out.

Required Reading 2025

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 12:57:51 GMT

I haven't done a year wrap up article… in forever. And I won't start now. The gist, I started and ended the year employed, the year started on a hard note but ends on a joyfilled note of new traditions and more. That's that.

Now books.

For 2025 I am at 35 books, likely hitting 36-37 before that beautiful, All-American ball drops. I learned last year the importance of reading for reading sake, much like many of you just put random Netflix shows on "for noise." That of course means that sometimes what I'm reading I will never go back to, some was okay but just filled time that would have been worse filled with something else, and so on. And that's all a good thing. Books are a much better filler than whatever the streamers are pumping out these days. And so, with many books read this year and last, I added tagging and flagging to books last week. And the first flag: Required Reading. These are books that are "foundational [to our] worldview and paideia" and will be used in my household to establish our paideia.

So 2025 required reading.

The Abolition of Man

I ended last year reading That Hideous Strength. That book is also on the required reading list and with good reason. Abolition of Man is truly a companion book to THS, a non-fiction Christian philosophy book addressing essentially technology, magic, transhumanism and, oddly, AI. Reading this and THS just blew me away how on-the-nose C.S. Lewis addresses the advent of AI long before the advent of AI. I see, for the first time, why so many see Lewis as prophetic. The reason for it being required reading should be obvious.

The Sin of Empathy

Rigney and empathy have come up around here a lot over the years. Let the post I wrote speak for why it's on the list,

For if you read this book, you would recognize that the methods being used to drive so much discourse today are, in fact, sinful. And as a Christian, that should call you to be sober-minded and submit to the sanctification of the Holy Spirit over all emotions, including empathy.

Solid read, highly important in our current climate, and seated beautifully in C.S. Lewis' works.

The American Story: The Beginnings

To say that our history classes failed us growing up is an understatement. Narrative was given vs. biography, story, drive, purpose, and history. Over the last couple years I've been correcting that in myself by diving deep into our Western history with Slaying Leviathan (Glenn Sunshine), The White Horse King (Benjamin Merkle), and The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Carl R. Trueman). This book goes through much of what the pastors leading up to the American War for Independance were preaching, what lead to the writing of the Declaration of Independance, and so much history on how our faith— the Christian faith— was critically interwoven through it all. This book was a reset on much and a drive for much more. It made clear that feasting needs to return. Time around a table with friends new and old needs to return. The backyard BBQs need to return. This Christmastide we are bringing back feasting. And that will continue. Declaring a feast of thanksgiving is not only deeply Christian, it is deeply American.

The Mortification of Sin

This is a classic in Reformed literature and an absolute must. So much stands as quaint, but in the way that we have lost our way and forgotten much of the core arguments of our faith. Absolute must reading for all Christians, in my opinion, and certainly in my household.

Onward

May your 2026 be filled with joy, laughter, and great reading. Please, grab a book off my Shelf and enjoy. If you are a Canon+ subscriber, it is easier than ever to do so. Tap the headphones on any book and find Canon+ links where available.

Of Barbarians, Philosophers, and a Cave of Dreams

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 19:05:14 GMT

The God-breathed world we inhabit is a magical place, charged with enigmatic beauty. Behold the cave in ancient Judea-a cave found by shepherds, fresh from the hilltop and smelling of mud and grass—a cave which, for a short time, was home to the world's great. est secret. The incarnation, Chesterton suggests, was the realization of a dream-the dream of a purpose beyond the stars, of gods and demigods and magic and mystery, of sacrifice and supplication. The incarnation tells us that the universe is not a meaningless void. It tells us that hope and love are not mere abstractions. It tells us that our longing for meaning and purpose and beauty is not in vain. It tells us that, in the end, we will, somehow, live happily ever after. The myth had, as C. S. Lewis put it, somehow become a fact. It was the True Myth to end all myths. "Since that hour no mythologies have been made in the world." The question Chesterton poses is this: What is true knowledge?

Could it be that man in his most primal existence, chicken-scratching on the walls of caves and searching for pictures in the stars, was somehow closer to the "crisis of the world" than the learned and civilized could ever be? Could it be that common people, weaned on nursery tales and simple songs, possess a capacity for faith that is seldom found in the halls of the wise? After all, it was not the learmed but shepherds who first found Christ in the cave; and when the wise men of the East arrived, they came not to pontificate, but to bow. This Christmas, let us join them, as we draw near to "the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints" (Col. 1:26), in "a place of dreams come true."

We're reading through Winter Fire again this year. It's an Advent devotional centered around Chesterton's writings and has been a beautiful way to bring to light our hustle and bustle, our moments of trying to capture happiness vs. resting in joy, and more.

Could it be that common people, weaned on nursery tales and simple songs, possess a capacity for faith that is seldom found in the halls of the wise?

The wise often struggle with Christianity. Philosophy is dignified and joyless. "Religion is much nearer to riotous happiness than it is to the detached and temperate types of happiness in which gentlemen and philopsophers find their peace. [...] Riot means being a rotter; and religion means know you are a rotter."

You need less Twitter, more Chesterton. The modern slop, the modern hustle and bustle, the modern dignity is inhumane. I heard someone point out the slowness and the amount of work it use to take to publish newspapers with a printing press in comparison to the speed of news now. I couldn't help but hear C.S. Lewis:

It is one of the evils of rapid diffusion of news that the sorrows of all the world come to us every morning. I think each village was meant to feel pity for its own sick and poor whom it can help and I doubt if it is the duty of any private person to fix his mind on ills which he cannot help. […] A great many people do now seem to think that the mere state of being worried is in itself meritorious.

Do you find that being worried is itself a merit? Stop it. Cut it out. Put the screen down, grab a book, and rest. Maybe even grab a book of fairy tales and disappear from it all for a few hours this Christmas.