I had something big – really big! – planned for this edition of the Christian Carnival, but something small got in my way – my patience.  So…

Welcome to the 218^th Christian Carnival – the “was going to be big” edition, where the only big things are the category headings, and even that was an accident.

But before we start, there seems to be a bit of confusion about which country this blog belongs to. Let me quickly clarify.

I am a New Zealander and my wife is an Australian. Hence the name Kiwi and an Emu. “Kiwi” is a common name for New Zealanders. “Emu” is not a common name for Australians. DO NOT CALL AN AUSTRALIAN AN EMU! Australians are “Aussies”. My wife is called an emu solely in the title of this blog.

We live in Australia.

Now, on with the Carnival!

Bible.

Richard H. Anderson presents Jealous Competition posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

ChrisB presents a short meditation on Psalm 46 called Daddy’s Here at Homeward Bound.

This week at Light Along the Journey John does an in depth study of Proverbs 3:3 and shows its application to our lives and marriages in the post Cherishing Fidelity.

Rey from the Bible Archive submits a review of The Melchizedek Tradition by Horton.

It’s something that I still can’t get my head around: Why are people so anti-1 Corinthians 14:26-33? I ask the question at Kiwi and an Emu but can’t provide any answers.

Church.

Reading the title of this next post made me consider changing my profession! FMF presents How to Increase Your Salary by 19%: Become a Pastor (Ok, Not Really) posted at Free Money Finance. Apparently there are some financial benefits to being a pastor. I wonder if that’s the same in Australia?

This one on Spiritual Leadership from Annette fits in this category here, too.

Christian Living.

Renae shares with us the fruits of working with experts in her post 7 Things I Learned in the Church Nursery at Life Nurturing Education.

Can the Mentally Retarded be Christians? (Yes, Doug is aware how un-pc that title is). Doug looks at four answers to this sensitive question and tries to sort them out in at Bounded Irrationality.

James DeLelys of healingthroughwords discusses how Christians can combat racism in ourselves in Prejudice… Look with your heart and not your eyes.

David Porter understands sanctification as the meat in the sandwich between grace and glory. Read Growing as a Disciple of Jesus Christ (Part 2) to find out how he sees this working out at A Boomer in the Pew.

“Dealing with needless suffering can be tough. Remembering that we have a sovereign, wise, and good Lord helps put it in perspective.” Ronnica presents Hope in the Lord posted at Tale of a Kansas Girl.

Lack of respect for men in the home and in the Church leads to disrespect for pastors and church leadership, and general dishonor of the Church as an institution. Not to mention the lack of honor for authority in the world. God’s desire is that we both unconditionally love and unconditionally honor Him, and when husbands are respected as much as wives are loved, we are closer to exhibiting all of Christ to the world. Yet as much as we hear from the pulpit and Christian marriage counseling today on “husbands, love your wives” we are too afraid to say with Paul that husbands must be honored by their wives. Honor is a man’s love language. What are we missing out on as couples and as a Church, and what influence do we have in the world, if we don’t get that? Don Bosch explores this home habitat issue in a post titled A Menaissance Wanted at The Evangelical Ecologist.

Heir to Life presents April Foolishness at the Spirited Ink blog. Believers are inspired to not be fooled or limited by our own human thoughts, but to rejoice in weakness, embracing God’s desire and strength to use the foolish things of the world or inside of us to fulfill our own unique, immeasurable God-sized vision for all areas of our lives!

Ministry.

John Hobbins of Ancient Hebrew Poetry takes note of George Eliot’s critique of evangelical preachers in her day. It will make your hair stand on end. (HT: Kyle Covett, whose blog, Mayfly, is worth a look).

“Today’s young activist Christans are a breath of fresh air. They bring a distinctively Christian perspective and sense of calling to causes often dominated by secular groups — human rights, the environment, global poverty, human trafficking, freedom, and democracy. But they need to be careful that their main message is not drowned out by the clatter of lesser things.” Erich Bridges sounds a warning in Activist Christians: Keep priorities straight posted at CounterCulture.

Tom Fuerst presents The Gospel According to Harley Davidson posted at Theology for the Masses.

Pete takes a quick look at how to share the gospel using four truths about Christianity in Sharing the Gospel: What do people need to know? Posted at Bible Money Matters.

Society.

What might (real) Christian healthcare look like? Mark Olson presents a sketch in Healthcare and the Church posted at Pseudo-Polymath.

Jeremy Pierce says, “In a strange twist, Hillary Clinton is now coming under fire for associating with the secret cabal of theonomists called evangelicalism.” Read Hillary the Evangelical Theonomist Conspirator? at Parableman for the details.

Andrew Tatusko presents Can a Newborn Punish You? posted at Notes From Off-Center.

John at Brain Cramps for God examines in a two part post this question about pluralistic government: “‘Divine Will’ or ‘Will of the People’?”

To all of these fine posts I decided to add Jon Birch’s cartoon commentary on the stem-cell controversy in his 427^th post over at The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus.

The end.

Thanks for dropping by. Be on the lookout for next week’s Christian Carnival at Chasing the Wind. If you want to submit your blog article to the next edition of Christian Carnival ii using the carnival submission form. Just remember, they are meant to be posts within the past week. (I let a few slip by this week). Past posts and future hosts can be found on the
blog carnival index page.