- Lunch at Bilbo Baggin's ("One Cafe to Rule Them All!")
- Inside Bilbo's
- The Christmas Attic; a year round Christmas shop (they didn't have the one snow-globe I'm hunting for)
- Pregnant Jenny, taking a breather
- Christ Church, where George Washington and Robert E. Lee once worshiped (we sat in Washington's pew)
- Inside Christ Church (what a pulpit!)
- A huge monument to George Washington
- Surprise!!! (I totally caught Jenny off guard with this shot!)
Friday, September 11, 2009
A date to Old City Arlington
Last week, Jenny and I made our way down to Arlington, VA to visit their Old City district. It was beautiful and a wonderful day! Here are a few highlight pictures.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Let us wonder...
Let us wonder; grace and justice join and point to mercy's store;
When through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more!
- John Newton 1774
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
PC Class of 2010
This past Sunday, our PC class was introduced at Covenant Life Church. This church is absolutely amazing! We have been so warmly received. They go out of their way to make us feel at home and to demonstrate their support. I don't know what this year would be like if all these saints were not fiercely committed to praying for us.
Jenny and I are just so grateful.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Why did God give us the Bible?
With the Bible, God has spoken to us, and done so in a personal, understandable way.But why? What is his purpose in speaking to us? Dr. J. I. Packer:
"The truly staggering answer which the Bible gives to this question is that God's purpose in revelation is to make friends with us. It was to this end that he created us rational beings, bearing his image, able to think and hear and speak and love; he wanted there to be genuine personal affection and friendship, two-sided, between himself and us—a relationship not like that between a man and his dog, but like that of a father to his son, or a husband to his wife. Loving friendship between two persons has no ulterior motive; it is an end in itself. And this is God's end in revelation. He speaks to us simply to fulfill the purpose for which we were made; that is, to bring into being a relationship in which he is a friend to us, and we to him, he finding his joy in giving us gifts and we finding ours in giving him thanks."
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Psalm 119:130
"The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."
"The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple - even Jace."
* Simple (Heb. peti) is not merely one who lacks inability, but one who lacks sound judgment, who is prone to making mistakes, and who is easily led astray.
"The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple - even Jace."
Thursday, August 27, 2009
PC Orientation
We were so blessed by this meeting. Not only did they encourage us and feed us... they also washed our car - inside and out!!
PC Tidbits
"God does not speak to us in broad generalities – He speaks to us in details, in specifics, in nuances. There is no power in mundane generalities; there is power when you penetrate the precision of Scripture."
- Jeff Purswell
- Jeff Purswell
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Humility is the gift that receives all things as gifts
John Piper:
"Humility is the gift that receives all things as gift. It is the fruit not of our achievement but of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is the fruit of the gospel—knowing and feeling that we are desperate sinners and that Christ is a great and undeserved Savior."
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
PC Tidbits
We are about "theological ministry." That is, every expression of ministry is to be theologically informed.
- Jeff Purswell
- Jeff Purswell
Monday, August 24, 2009
Conflict's Slippery Slope
While recently reading Peacemaking for Families, I was reminded of Ken Sande's insightful Slippery Slope of Conflict. Sande points out three ways people basically respond (or react) to conflict. "These responses may be arranged on a curve or slippery slope that resembles an icy hill with two rapidly declining sides. One the left side of the hill are escape responses, on the right side are attack responses, and holding the high ground are peacemaking responses." (This material can also be found in Sande's original Peacemaking book.)
Escape Responses"The escape responses to conflict are favored by those who are more interested in avoiding a conflict than resolving it. Escape responses are generally directed inward; they are usually all about me. Escapers are looking for what is easy, convenient, or nonthreatening for themselves." [pg. 8]
Attack Responses
"These responses are employed by those more interested in wining a fight than preserving a relationship. Conflict for these folks is an opportunity to assert their rights, to control others, or to take advantage of their situation... Attackers are not focused on me as escapers are, but on you - they blame... Attackers are [often willing] to sacrifice relationships and domestic harmony to get what they want." [pg. 9]
So, in the midst of conflict, to which side do you find yourself most often* slipping - to the left (escaping) or to the right (attacking)? [*Sande notes that in most prolonged conflicts, people frequently alternate between the escape and attack response.]
New Church / New School
Pictures of our new church, Covenant Life Church - as well as pictures of my new school, Sovereign Grace Ministries' Pastors College.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
PC Wives' Luncheon
All the PC wives and some of the ladies involved with the administration and leadership of the PC.
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