What a week!  Lot’s going on in our world and nation. Maybe you’ve been so busy with family and/or work that the last thing on your mind has been to read an encouraging blog or Scripture or check in with the news. Never fear! We’ve got it all compiled for you! Now that your weekend is only hours away, take a few minutes, get updated and encouraged! My favorite stories, videos, blog posts and more from this week are listed below…enjoy!

Before you read anything, check out Steve Lawson’s blog this week titled ‘The Power to Persevere.’  Flag it, read it, share it with someone else, and carry on!

The top news stories this week involved the air strikes carried out by our military in Syria against ISIS. They used Tomahawk missiles and other powerful weaponry – you can see actual footage (very cool stuff) HERE.  They hit oil installations and targeted key oil production sites. In response ISIS leaders retorted that ‘You are not safe in your bedrooms’…big talk for people getting bombed into oblivion. I find that in such a situation its fun to ask: what would John Wayne say? 

And over at the “Justice” Department Eric Holder is out.  Good Riddance!  Holder is still being held in Contempt of Congress, and that’s not going away as quickly as he is...

Speaking of going away, where in the world is Kim Jong Un (not that you care)??

An eerie piece from Roger Cohen – is he describing the years pre-WWII or our current state of play? You decide…(h/t Lisa Wenzel)

Now, for some less serious stuff…

Speaking of cool videos, check out this amazing shredding machine…it devours household appliances like they were shelled peanuts at Five Guys! (h/t Marc Wilson for posting this to Facebook!)

Have you seen this website that is dedicated to democratically defining (via reader votes) “irony”?  Pretty funny stuff here. (h/t Ben Frank)

Are you a golf fanatic? Then go here to stream the Ryder Cup! 

Also, do you ever get that “Phantom Vibration” from your cell phone?  Don’t lie – you know you do!  Well Wired Mag had a neat little piece on it this week. 

And – this is almost as random – BJ Novak has a new children’s book out. Yes, BJ Novak from The Office!  I’m not endorsing this, but it is rather amusing. (h/t my Katie)

What else is going on? 

Well…How are you enjoying your iPhone 6?  What? You don’t have one yet? Why not get the new Blackberry (pause for momentary snickering). Done laughing? Okay – now watch this little video about the decline of Blackberry.

Now, to snap you out of your Blackberry depression, check out this youtube video of the Apollo 13 Soundtrack titled ‘Lift Off’.  I was led to this old score during the week because a large church in Houston used it during their 9/11 service as the opening music (Thanks Tracy Lear for sending!).

More on technology – a week or two ago Tim Challies linked to this awesome blog by an expert in the watchmaking field. He details the good and the bad about the new Apple Watch. Just hearing what he’s looking at and how he approaches the topic is fascinating.

Oh – also – good news!  Gas prices are going down…

I’m sure you’ve heard this already, but the President sustained some criticism regarding his namby-pamby salute to the marine guiding Marine One. In fact, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) even created a landing page chronicling the disaster called “Semper Latte”. 

ALSO – There were a handful of really encouraging posts in the Christian blogosphere this week, and one of the most encouraging to me was on ‘Irritability’ by Jon Bloom.  Bloom is quickly becoming one of my favorite bloggers.

Also over on Desiring God’s site is a post from Ryan Shelton which asks if we’re spiritual “leeches”…good gut check here. 

This week John Piper launched ‘Look at the Book’ which is a really cool new endeavor to give Christians a fishing pole rather than just a fish…see what I mean HERE. 

Also, I posted some notes on Luke 6, and the Beatitudes titled ‘Reorient Your Perspective’

Separately, there’s a fascinating look at how American book publishers gave away millions of books during WWII and in doing so created a nation of readers…

Speaking of reading, ChristianAudio.com has a free download – and its a good one! 

And as the culture continues to embrace homosexuality, churches are finding there is no neutral ground.  Al Mohler keeps us up to date on recent developments, and reminds us that there’s no ‘Third Way’…

Tim Keller, so helpful on writing on issues of work and faith, has a new book out on the subject and has published an article excerpt that’s worth checking out. 

For you dorks out there (like me), check out this 3/4 scale model of an X-Wing Starfighter…this thing actually exists – in Colorado, where aiming high has many connotations (h/t Alex Wenzel who visited the blessed model in person last night).

Lastly, for you baseball fans, I thought USA Today did a nice job covering Derek Jeter’s final game. Sounds like it was one for the ages!

So that’s what’s going on – hope you picked up a few interesting stories and enjoyed the links. Now go out there and conquer the yard work!  Have a great weekend!