Who knew God's children could be so creative, so funny, so inspiring, so curious, so zestful, so boundlessly enthusiastic? We've always believed the world is full of wonder, and the culture is well worth exploring. Gathered here below are some of the best of some of our daily discoveries, and some of the best of the reader-sent connections, too. Got a favorite website, topic, video, idea, project, picture? Send them to CuriousChristian@madetomatter.org. We'll share the best of them in our Chambers Project daily blogs.
Updated every Monday morning with the best finds from last week. (Updated daily in the Chambers' Project blog).
Best blogs
--Driving Around the World. I stumbled across this website about a man trying to drive his car around the world, literally. He's a former Associated Press worker, and he's done his homework for the trek. It's an interesting idea and one sure to encounter unexpected turns. (In fact, more than he thought already.) I'm posting the link for two reasons: First, it's a great tale; but second, with our readers coming literally from all corners of the globe, I'm hoping some of you will be on the lookout for Nicholas and will help him see the compassionate side of our faith. You can find the start of his journey here, then click on days on the calendar to catch up with him: http://transworldexpedition.com/?m=200909
--UNSPOILED by television appearances! If you're a fan of the television series "Little People, Big World", you know the daughter Molly and the paternal grandparents have a visible and vibrant Christian faith. While fishing for more information on the grandparents, I discovered their blog. It's a wonderfully refreshing site that reinforces the faith we see in them on television. Their cross-country trailer tour is a captivating journey for anyone who loves Middle America and family connections, but it's their mission trip that will make you fall in love with them. Pop over and read about real faith here: http://www.peggyroloff.com/ronpeg/ If you sign up for their blog, be sure to let them know we sent you!
--Here's a blogger well worth heeding; when he writes or speaks or teaches, it's because he's carefully, carefully, carefully considered the matter from a Biblical perspective. Because he's human, it's supposed to be true that he's wrong sometimes, but I find it hard to believe he's ever wrong...he's that good! He won't tell you what you want to hear, but he'll tell you what you need to hear.
Real faith, real-time. I'm always interested in what these guys put up at http://redletterbelievers.blogspot.com/
Best videos
--If this doesn't make you cry, you're not human. One of the most uplifting and encouraging celebrations of life I've ever seen. What joy! What sorrow! What faith! From IgniterMedia's website: 99 Ballons: The story of Eliot's life: http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/570/99-Balloons
--Here's the ad everybody's talking about today. And here's the place to go to see the whole story. Better still, visit the Tebow family sites direct! Here's the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association, and here's the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Best research tools
--The United States Library of Congress has incredible research tools, AND it has a wealth of public domain photographs and illustrations useful to anyone with a blog or a website. I love it most, though, for it's history and the chance I have to explore things and places I'll never get to see in person.
-- Then there's always the National Archives; my, oh my!
-- When we want to read the Bible in almost any imaginable translation or version, we use Biblegateway. It's a wonderful tool, with gateways to other Bible study tools as well.
--Ever wondered where the bodies are buried? No, not Jimmy Hoffa or the second shooter in Dallas (the one everybody knows was there but isn't willing to admit!). Your ancestors! That's right; here's a website that collects information, locations and even pictures of the grave markers of millions and millions of family members. It's the most exciting and useful tool to come along for genealogists in a long time, and it's more useful than you might imagine. Check it out by typing in the last name of your great-grandparents, and then watch what happens.
-- Want to know how to find out the story of your grandparent's role in the military, but they're no longer living? Here's where you can get the forms to write to find their military records. Be respectful, though. If your grandparents are still living, ask their permission! Some stories are left the way they're told, and it's the privilege of the living to determine what parts of their lives get explored by others.
-- Here at Madetomatter, we swear by Dictionary.com. Many's the time a quick check on what a word really means (versus the myths we've created in our heads around a word) have saved us from embarrassing ourselves. Every writer, manager, or air-breather will find this site helpful; and a quick tab-bump to the right on the menu and you've got a thesaurus, encyclopedia and translator.
-- Want to know what "cyberdisinhibition", "email apnea", or "eco-bling" mean? Looking for a place to help you understand words that haven't yet made into Webster's? Try Word Spy. Even just checking out the new postings can be entertaining. But we use it to help us weave our way through the mine field of modern cultural lingo.
-- Just about every reference tool you'll ever need can be found right here. Great for your kids' homework, too!
--Ever wished you could go back and recapture some information you saw on a website several months or years back? Or, if you own a website, have you ever wished you could go back and see how you used to do it "in the old days?" Well, you can; and I've got to admit, it's a little spooky. Every day, this website takes millions of snapshots of websites and webpages and stores them. At this site, you can type in the web address of any site on the Internet and see its' web pages from the very first day it launched. It means, of course, that all our mistakes are up there for everyone to see forever. It also means, of course, that we can often find that story we read that we were sure we'd never forget but did. That's not all, either, as there are many other cool aspects to the Waybackmachine, also known as The Archive.
--Anyone who wants to understand American culture should examine the new Pew Charitable Trust "Religious Landscape Survey." Some powerful new pictures of the progress "unbelief" and "atheism" are making in a culture looking for hope. Every pastor, chaplain and pro-active follower of Jesus will want to understand what makes up the religious nature of our culture today. Only by understanding it can we introduce the people in it to the redemption of Jesus Christ.
For history buffs...
--I told you about the National Archives research site; but today I want to show you this; a history lovers' dream.
-- If someone told me I had one day to fully explore any place I wanted to without restraint, I'd pick the White House, and I'd go looking for the tunnels that supposedly link the White House to secret exits around Washington. I know, I know, the Secret Service has all of them covered, but I can't help believing the search would be fun, and we might even discover there's one hollow wall someplace down there where we'd find a treasure trove of previously unknown documents from the Founding Fathers. In the meantime, I have to content myself with the next best thing, this website of White House history.
-- ...and for our British friends, here's a place to learn more about that giant on the earth, Winston Churchill.
-- And many of you have asked where you can find more information on one of the more popular devotionals at Madetomatter.org, Ten-Minute Christians. Here's a link to that very North Platte Canteen.
--Greatest take-me-along-with-you historians/storytellers? Easy, that's Doris Kearns Goodwin, Michael Wood, and Stephen Ambrose.
Military history...
-- Want to know how to find out the story of your grandparent's role in the military, but they're no longer living? Here's where you can get the forms to write to find their military records. Be respectful, though. If your grandparents are still living, ask their permission! Some stories are left the way they're told, and it's the privilege of the living to determine what parts of their lives get explored by others.
For armchair travelers...
--See the world, even if you can't travel: I'm constantly moved by the places God created; like the Grand Canyon in the United States, or Victoria's Falls in Kenya. I'm equally moved by the majesty of human creation, at places like Hadrian's Wall in England, or the Great Wall in China, and even Mt. Rushmore in the United States. Especially now, when it seems clear I'm not likely to visit those places, I marvel at how close I can get to them via HD television shows or tapes and webshots. One of the more fun ways to visit those places is via webcams, and here's a place that gathers many of the best and most interesting webcam addresses in one place.
-- Before it disappears some day, you should explore the photos being sent back by the Hubble telescope. Only God can create this kind of beauty, and it's an offense to the beauty itself to suggest something so magnificent was an accidental creation. No serious thoughtful philosopher believes in accidents.
--When I'm troubled, I like to be reminded of two things: (1) That God is bigger than all the problems of the world; and (2) that humans are able to be lifted from the morass and empowered to do majestic things. One of the places I can go to get a great helping of both truths is a Space Shuttle launch. Click here to catch up with Endeavor as it blasts into space, and see both the beauty of God's extraterrestrial creation, and the majesty of human invention.
--Have you heard the story of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic journey aboard the Endurance? It's an amazing tale of courage, miracles and exploration, complete with "Who's that fourth man with us" mystery sure to warm the hearts of every "God walks with us" readers. Here's three sites sure to please even the hardest-core fan...the ones of us who trudged through not just the romantic tales written by gifted writers, but also Shackleton's journal/diary notes, too. First, amazing photographs by Frank Hurley can be found here. Then, go here for Kodak's multimedia version. And don't miss NOVA's PBS site on their report on the adventure.
How to...
--Ever wondered how to survive a grizzle bear attack? Want tips on how to buy a car? Need to know how to fix that thingie on your laptop? Rules for playing cricket? What the Enlightenment did? Here's one of those websites that teaches you practically everything about practically everything, often in (you guessed it!) practical terms.
