Clearspace. I used to check my Gmail app multiple times a day on my phone. I did it so often my kids noticed and gave me a hard time about it. I tried iPhone’s screentime feature, but I always just ignored its “you’ve reached your limit” notifications. The thing that finally got me to quit the habit was the Clearspace app. It adds a brief delay between when you tap an app icon and when it opens. That little pause has been transformative in curbing my phone use. My iPhone screentime has plummeted. It’s amazing what adding just a bit of friction to our digital habits can do. The delay gives you just enough space to ask yourself, “Do I really need to check my email right now?” Usually, the answer is no. Clearspace recently added a “Push-Up Mode” where you have to do push-ups before the app opens — it uses your phone’s camera and AI to verify you’ve actually done them. Pretty cool! (summary from Art of Manliness but I can confirm that it is an amazing app!)

Warning: The Bible Is Not Just a Book by Alastair Roberts "Holy Scripture is not written as a text to be swiftly consumed and digested; you cannot “have read” Holy Scripture, but must always be in the process of reading, rereading, and chewing it over. The skills and habits this reading requires might not only be unfamiliar to many of us, but might often run against the grain of habits that have become second nature to us."

Jesus the Temple by Bill Smith "John’s Gospel is a literary trek through the new Tabernacle or Temple that is Jesus’ body. His allusions to Jesus as the new Temple are evident from the beginning. “The Word” calls up the construction of Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings. What is translated as “the inner sanctuary” by the ESV is a Hebrew word that seems to be associated with the word “to speak” or its noun form, “word” (1 Kg 6:5, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 31; 7:49). This is another name for the Holy of Holies. In John 1:14, the Word becomes flesh and “dwells” among us. The verb “dwells” speaks of pitching a tent or dwelling in a tent. Some have translated it, “tabernacled.” Seeing his glory, the glory that dwells in the Holy of Holies, only fortifies the image..."

Praying into God's Will "What is prayer? Mighty theologian and simple peasant alike have pondered that question. Regardless of station in life, it is the act of praying itself, not thinking or theologizing about praying, that teaches prayer: “Lord. teach us to pray” is answered with “when you pray, say . . .” Even if unarticulated, anyone who has ever uttered an “Our Father” has a theology of prayer."