Thank God it’s Friday
This is excerpted from my TGIF column at SOLA Network.
Articles From Around The Web
Clinton Manley: Today’s Thoughts Become Tomorrow’s Habits
“Tomorrow, you will have more thoughts like the ones you chose and approved of today.”
Rush Witt: Hope, Joy, and a Forever King
Christmas is just the beginning, for in a great and final Day, he will wipe away every tear, and death, grief, crying, and pain will be no more. New things will come, old things will pass away, and he will do it all by the beaming light of his salvation.
Michael P. Jensen: What I Learned from Bach, the Worship Director
“In Bach’s Christian music, we don’t find a denial of the crushing reality of life’s hardships and bewilderments. We don’t find an avoidance of doubt. Nor is everything neatly resolved. But we do find lines of hope and joy, and we’re drawn again and again to the cross of Jesus Christ.”
Books, Podcasts, Music, And More
Ryanne J. Molinari: We Must Reframe Our Concept of Joy in Worship
“Throughout Scripture, joy is inextricable from the grace of God. The grace of God doesn’t waver, change, or fluctuate with our feelings. So when we approach worship and we hope to experience joy, we have to reframe our concept of joy and not think of it as a feeling but as this heart posture of constantly tuning ourselves to the grace of God in Christ, constantly reminding us of the gospel story, constantly dwelling on God’s goodness to us and giving thanks.”
Tim Challies: My Top Ten Books from 2025 (+ a Bonus)
I enjoyed many of Tim’s picks, and found this to be a solid list overall!
Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book Reviews: In the Shadow of the Cross by Glenn M. Penner, Come, You Weary by Michael Reeves, Guard the Gospel by Michael Reeves, Authentic Ministry by Michael Reeves. Find me on Substack. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
Aaron Lee: Asian American Book Awards 2025
“Congrats to our winners and to all the wonderful books written and published for the glory of God! While I read many books throughout the year, I’m excited to highlight some standouts by Asian American authors!”
Esther Xiang: Joy from the Wilderness
“As a pastor of an underground church, he had endured arrests, interrogations, and the constant threat of being watched. I expected heaviness in his voice, maybe even fear. Instead, what I saw disarmed me: he laughed.”
Karis Lai: The Woman, the Wheelchair, and Wondrous Love
“If God is love, then any concept of love is unfathomable without him. Love is a uniquely active phenomenon. Study alone does no good to aid understanding. Mental assent and lived reality are worlds apart when it comes to love. We do not know love until we are loved.”
TGIF: Roundup for December 26, 2025
Jesus Showed Up: The In-Person Visit of the Incarnation / Encouragement for Moms Who Don’t Always Feel Gentle / Jesus Is Unashamed to Take Awkward Family Christmas Photos
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