Ready for the long weekend...

--The longtime pastor of Steven Curtis Chapman, Scotty Smith, has been ministering to the family in the wake of the death of their 5-year-old daughter Maria.

--Fellow blogger and fellow radio personality Rodney Olsen of Australia has posted an interview he did with transplanted Australian Mike Rayson, who lives in Nashville. Rayson's 11-year-old son died a year ago, and another son almost died recently. He tells Rodney:

I've read Psalm 23 a lot this year...I've discovered a promise inside the psalm that now fits at the very core of my faith, and the core of faith of many people in many places. The writer of the psalm goes on to write: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I shall fear no evil for--and these I believe are the four most important words in the Bible--thou art with me. That's the secret of our faith, that even though sometimes we will journey deep and dark places... the promise is sure that despite what we go through,what we encounter, where we end up,what life throws at us, that we have this promise--that God will always be with us, in the bad times as well as the good times, but more importantly, I think, in the bad times. We have this promise that we'll never be left alone.

In other news...and stuff...:

--Purgatorio has another classic edition of Divine Vinyl, showcasing cheesey Christian album covers of yesteryear...

--Here's a mini Fitness Friday recap: I've exercised four times this week and am headed to the gym this afternoon. I haven't lost any significant poundage on the scale recently--just a quarter-pound last week--but I DO feel like I'm losing weight. I've recently started taking chromium picolinate every day, having heard and read that it's good for diabetics.

--You can take a 10-day tour that chronicles C.S. Lewis' Christian journey through England--spots are still available on the September 6th and October 4th departures.

--Christian Newswire reports that if elected, Barack Obama would be the abortion president.

--This husband, father, deacon and grad student confesses: he loves chick flicks. (Hat tip to semicolon)

--Remember last year's American Idol runner-up, Melinda Doolittle--she of the incredible voice, but who wasn't quite as young and gorgeous as the winner, Jordin Sparks? Well, you should soon be able to buy Melinda's album.

Everyone go out and have an amazing Memorial Day weekend...