Walks and Floods

As soon as the weather started to warm up, we decided to enjoy some outdoors.  Two weeks ago, we went for a walk in one of our frequented Forest Preserves.  It was a nice change from the usual days of studying for Tim and working for me.  

 We saw a blue jay on our walk, so cute! It was my first time seeing one.  

First signs of Spring, makes me so happy :) I am sooo eager for Spring to be officially here! Mainly because my family is coming to visit in a couple of weeks, and I really want them to see the beautiful cherry blossoms and pretty flowers.  

 Goodbye snowman, we call this little guy the stick man :)

Not too long after our first walk, we decided to go on another.  This time we weren't able to travel too far because of the flood that occurred last week.  Tim and I decided to explore the aftermath of the crazy rain.  Fortunately the Trinity campus was not affected, but some of our professors, church family members and co-workers are still cleaning up their homes.  

This is at Half Day Forest Preserve, we normally walk on this trail.  

This is at another forest preserve nearby.  

Driving by the front of someone's home entrance.  

 This is a street close to our church.  

If you look closely, you can see the top of the trash can.  

 We weren't the only curious ones, this kid decided to bring his bike and fishing pole.

This is what happens when you live in a flat state.  

I couldn't help but think of the flood back in Noah's time, what a horrible time that must have been.  Fortunately, we haven't heard of any death or injuries caused by the flood, praise God!

No apology for theology!

I don't blog...

"Wait a minute," you're thinking, "you just blogged now."

I know, I know, but really, I don't want to blog.  In other words, this isn't my idea of a good time.  You can tell if you're a writer.  If so, this saying would ring true, "I think with my pen."  However, the words swirling in this brain of mine find themselves bottlenecked awaiting dictation by my slow mistyping fingers.  So it's more like torture at times.  I love the dynamics of give and take, speaking and listening.  Some have said, the closest thing for a man to give birth is writing a book, but I say it can even be a blog.  Being too dramatic, you think?  Possibly.  But, I really see this as an opportunity to put out what is going on in my brain.  Seminary is constantly pumping me with new ideas, and some of them need to be put down on paper (Retention isn't my strong suit either).  Besides, this might be interesting and engaging for you to begin to process as well.  So, my hope is that you will permit me to unload my weekly musings for you to then pick up and investigate for yourself.  Of course, not everyone will be interested in superlapsarianism, dynamic omniscience, meta-narratives, adumbrations, speech act theory, economic trinitarianism, passe no pecarre, but everyone I'm sure everyone if they are honest want to know:

What is my purpose in life?
How we know the Bible/Christianity is true?
How can we make sense of it, it's so complicated?
How much of the Law do I need to follow today?
How do I grow/stop sin in our life?
How I know I'm saved?
If men and women are equal, why should women submit?
Why doesn't God speak to me?
Does the presence of evil refute God's strength or his love?
What should the church think about homosexuality?
Trini-what? Trin-who? (borrowed from Jay-Z, ha)
How do I forgive?
What is theology and why is it important?
James says works, Paul says faith - who's right?
Why should I go to church?
Why are there so many denominations?

Every Christ follower at heart should be a theologian.  That is, you are a theologian if you simply engage in the study and thought about God and how he relates to us.  I hope life has not relegated God to last place, quarantined him to Sunday, or reduced him to a kind of cosmic ATM or some kind of seasoning to spice life up.  He is deserving of so much more, He is deserving of our all.  Let us press into the eternal God and see how knowing him better breathes new life into our soul!

To Have and to Hold

Wow! I am so touched by the video below and by this couple's example of what marriage is all about, I just had to share it!  Marriage is such a wonderful gift from God, and I am beyond blessed to have received such a gift.  Today, before coming across this video, I was sitting in my office thinking of how much better my life is because of my husband, and I couldn't help but smile as I reflected upon the little things Tim does that make a big difference in my life.  Those little things bring such happiness, laughter, peace, delight, and contentment into my life; I know that they are gifts from God.  Today I encourage you to reflect upon those little things that your spouse does which bring great joy into your life, and be grateful!

Ian and Larissa's love for each other is such a great reflection of God's love :) and a wonderful example to follow.  Here is the link in case you can't see the video below.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1XA59JkzWg

"to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better for worse, for richer for poorer, 

in sickness and in health, 

to love, cherish, and to obey, till death do us part, 

according to God's holy ordinance; 

and thereto I pledge you my love and faithfulness." 

A Couple of Resources

Hi family and friends,

I wanted to share a couple of resources with you that have been very beneficial for me on my journey with Christ.

1) Moody Radio http://www.moodyradio.org/internetstations/
I have been blessed by this radio station in many ways.  I listen to Moody on my way to and from work, and then when I'm at work I tune in to listen to the different programs, sermons, and talk shows.  I particularly enjoy listening to the sermons on Today in the Word, and Running To Win.  I also like This is the Day with Nancy Turner, and In the Market with Janet Parshall.  There are many other programs and stations within the Moody network, I invite you to check it out.  If all you listen to is christian music, this will be a nice change and I know that you will be challenged, blessed, and encouraged.  Plus, you can listen online for free if there is not a radio station where you live :)  

2) Desiring God http://www.desiringgod.org/ with John Piper.  So much to check out in this website, I particularly like to read the blog entries.

3) Revive our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss https://www.reviveourhearts.com/, I hear her program on the radio, but you can also check out her website, and listen to past programs online.

4) The Gospel Coalition http://thegospelcoalition.org/.  There are so many good resources within this website alone, such as sermons, conferences, blogs, book review, etc.  But I wanted to point out one in particular -- the Gospel Coalition 2013 National Conference.  This conference is happening from April 6 (today) to April 10, and you can watch the free livestreaming video feed, how cool is that! Just click on the link and enjoy :)

There are so many more resources I can share, but I think this will be plenty for now.  Now I leave you with one of the songs that Tim and I lead this past Easter Sunday at our church.