Prata Potpourri: The Mind, the Sneakers, The Spirit, The Botanical Garden... more

By Elizabeth Prata

@PreachersNSneakers is a hilarious new Instagram account that reposts photos of preachers' selfies, focusing on their sneakers and apparel. Apparently it is possible to purchase sneakers that cost upwards of $1000 to even $4000 dollars. The site features the online picture with price of the sneaker/footwear, along with a funny comment. Here is one example featuring Steven Furtick

Reactions in the comments range from complaining to approving-

--What's the point of this account?
--Why are they all so rich? Don't answer, I already know.
--I bet lots of traditional churches pastors wear $1000 suits...

Preachers from Levi Lusko, Louis Giglio, Furtick, Judah Smith, Chad Veach, Erwin McManus and others are, ahem, 'featured' on the page. Ladies, it's not only doctrine that sheds light on who may be a false teacher, it's their lifestyle too. Not that one pair of sneakers makes a false teacher, but it's a piece of evdence to be taken into consideration. Doctrine AND life, as Paul said to Timothy in 1 Tinothy 4:16...

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I love art and I love to make art. However the chasm between seeing good art and making my own is a gulf that is fixed, wide and not overcomeable, if that is a word. I started The Sketchbook Challenge in January and didn't last a week. I've been trying on and off for 40 years to draw, or at least make some recognizable art, but I am simply no good at it. My brain and my hands have a disconnect.

However here is My Modern Met's recommendations on the Ten Best How to Draw Books.

There are countless publications that say they’ll teach you to draw, so how do you choose? We’ve done the hard work for you and sifted through many of the best sellers. Some of the books on our list are decades old—one is even from the 1950s—but are still regarded as fantastic resources. It’s a reminder that the fundamentals of drawing will never change, and that owning one (or more) of these books will prove useful months and years down the road.

Sketch on, ladies, do it for me...

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Speaking of ten best, here is Travel Channel's picks for Ten Best Botanical Gardens in the US. It's spring, that time of year where our eyes want to see green, vivid color, and maybe some bees.

Entries include desert gardens, many in the midwest, also the north and the south are represented. Maybe one of these will be in your area. I personally also like the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota FL, and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a part of the University of Georgia in Athens.

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Delivered By Grace reminds us that The Holy Spirit is Not Casper the Friendly Ghost.

When we hear people talking about the Holy Spirit, it’s not uncommon to hear people talking about the Holy Spirit in terms of an evangelical version of Casper the Friendly Ghost. At other points, evangelicals derail by putting all of their focus upon the Holy Spirit to the marginalization of Christ. When the Holy Spirit is cartoonized or overly emphasized and brought to the forefront of our worship—we grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

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Justin Bullington at Things Above Us shares Three Attributes of God to Fight Deptression, part 2

If you find yourself in a battle with depression today, understanding God’s sovereignty is critical. If God is sovereign, there are no limits to God’s rule. This is part of what it means to be God. He is sovereign over the whole world, and everything that happens in it. He is never helpless, never frustrated, never at a loss. And in Christ, God’s awesome, sovereign providence is the place we feel most joyful, most secure, most free.

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Samuel D. James at Mere Orthodoxy reviews The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, with a reminder that The Public Square Is about Parenting.

Parenting is arguably one of the last remaining cultural institutions in which we are constantly invited to feel worse about ourselves and yet better than other people. Everyone acknowledges that parenting is difficult, yet many today cannot shake the nagging suspicion that it hasn’t always been this difficult.

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DB Harrison of Just Thinking with a piece on the raging Battlefield of the Mind.

"If I were to ask you where does Jesus rank among your daily priorities, how would you respond? Would your first impulse be to give a "spiritual" answer—that is, to say what you think you’re supposed to say as a Christian—or would you reply with what you know in your heart to be true? These questions aren’t in any way meant to be presumptive or accusatory. Not at all..."

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Well, those were a few items that I hope catch your fancy, stir your affections for Christ, or simply challenge your thinking. I hope you enjoy your spring wherever you are, and enjoy your days here on earth. It is not our home. Let's long for our permanent and eternal abode, together-

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)