We've enjoyed getting settled here in Little Rock and finally feel like we have some time to actually think, plan, and relax. After a wonderful three-day weekend, it was back to reality today and with it came a new development with our church plant...we have a Facebook page! When you are in the beginning stages all developments are a big deal.
Happy Two-Year Anniversary!
Wow. It's hard to believe it's been two years already. For those who have been married a long time, two years probably seems really small. And it is considering our hope that God will give us many, many years together. But for us it's just gone by so fast that it's hard to believe that two years ago I was all dressed up ready to walk down the aisle to join in marriage to my best friend.
Count It All Future Joy
I’ve thought a lot about the experience of suffering and the Bible’s response to our suffering this past year. Before our miscarriage and infertility I quickly passed over passages on suffering, not because I didn’t see them as important, but I just didn’t relate to them. I had faced trials before, but nothing that really made me wrestle with God’s good plan for my life in the way I have recently. I don’t doubt his goodness; I just need to understand it more than ever before. While difficult, that is a good result of our suffering. It causes us to lean hard into him and desperately seek his face because without his presence in our lives we are hopeless.
Piper on Romans 8:28
"If you live inside this massive promise [Romans 8:28], your life is more solid and stable than Mount Everest. Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28. Outside Romans 8:28 all is confusion and anxiety and fear and uncertainty. Outside the promise of all-encompassing future grace there are straw houses of drugs and alcohol and numbing TV and dozens of futile diversions. There are slat walls and tin roofs of fragile investment strategies and fleeting insurance coverage and trivial retirement plans. There are cardboard fortifications of deadbolt locks and alarm systems and antiballistic missiles. Outside are a thousand substitutes for Romans 8:28.
Friday is for Fotos: Graduation Day!
After three and a half years of studying, papers, tests, and hard work, Daniel walked across the stage this morning at Southern Seminary to receive a Master of Divinity degree. I could not be more proud of him today, and every day, really. He worked tirelessly to complete the program while working part time as a shift manager at McDonald's and as a youth pastor. His efforts to complete the program quickly and with excellence is evidence of his Christ-like leadership and provision for us. He started seminary as a single man and came out a married man (not uncommon around here). I love you, Daniel and I am so proud of you!
We Have Moved!
So You're Married, Now What? Use Your Gifts
No blushing bride goes into marriage thinking that it’s going to be hard, or even that sin will rear its ugly head shortly after she says “I do”. But the unfortunate reality is that it does. Sometimes right away. But sometimes a few moments of bliss is enjoyed before real life sets in. Either way, there will come a point where the “honeymoon phase” is over. Two sinners living under the same roof is a hard adjustment. For many it’s the first time they have ever been hit head on with the sinfulness of their condition. And it’s painful. It’s crucial that the church and godly families help young brides-to-be prepare for what to expect, and how to respond.
Letter from a Grieving Mother
My Sweet Baby,
This is not how I thought my first Mother’s Day would be. I had hoped to be holding you and dressing you for church this morning. But I'm not. Instead my arms ache to hold you this side of heaven. I know you don’t weep for me. You are with our Savior, King Jesus. I can’t help but smile thinking that when I worship the Savior this morning at church, I’m joining in a heavenly song already going on. One that you are a part of.
Finding Your Home on Mother's Day
In all of your pain and sorrow you desperately want God to hear your prayer and comfort you in this dark season. Mother’s Day can be a stark reminder that there is a deep longing in your soul for a baby you long to hold, either in heaven or yet to be formed. And when you cry out to the Lord it seems like he isn’t there either.
What I Learned Watching the Royal Wedding
Like so many other women (and some men) in the world, I set my alarm a little early this past Friday. With an extra cup of coffee in hand I settled on our couch to watch the long anticipated Royal Wedding. Sure I was a little more tired at work on Friday, but it was worth it to watch a historical moment while texting about all of the details with my mom hundreds of miles away.