the gospel

I don't normally post videos, for various reasons, but I came upon this video today on someone else's blog. I wanted to share this because I was confronted by God today (once again) and reminded of how much I had been hiding from him, in little ways, in my heart. As I struggle against my own fearful and perfectionistic nature, it is a huge idea for me to fathom that God favors me eternally....that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...that God has me in a process, a very beautiful process...that he will complete the work he began...that he gives grace to me...that he knows my frame and remembers that I am dust. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. My life is hidden with Christ in God. He is my righteousness.

I guess the truth is that I want so much for my heart to understand the gospel more every day. I don't think that as people who are in redeemed relationship with God we can ever move past the gospel. Absolutely, there is growth and maturity, and a progression of faith from struggling with simple doctrine to a deep, unwavering, God-shaped reservoir of hope... but I think that the gospel is everything, it is his story that has become our story. It is through the gospel that we are both saved and sanctified. Trevor and I listened to this series of classes while students at Multnomah and it helped me understand the relationship between my walk with Jesus and the gospel, post-conversion. It really just helped me understand the gospel. In these classes, Tim Keller talks about Martin Luther's understanding of the link between salvation and justification, which is that Christ himself is not only our salvation, but our sanctification as well. " And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption..." (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Having dinner the other night with some friends, we talked about the tendencies of the human heart, and that some people's hearts tend toward righteousness (really self-righteousness) while other's tend toward unrighteousness. Both are tragically wrong, and both equally alienate us from our Creator. I definitely have a heart that tends toward self-righteousness. It's like I cling hard to the shreds of self-respect that I have because I know inside who I really am-- a great sinner. I know that I am selfish, prideful, vain, conceited....the list could go on. So I try to make up for it by earning approval and employing other tactics. Yet in the gospels, Jesus always cuts to the heart in his encounters with people. I guess that is why I am posting this...to prompt you to examine the things you are leaning on, consider their true worth, and consider the much greater, beautiful worth of being God's child forever. This is something even Christians need to hear... maybe something especially Christians need to hear.

new developments

Hi blog readers :)

I thought it would be nice to include some little bits of information about our life these days. And some pictures, which are fun.

Trevor was awarded the Diakona externship at Georgia Law for his 2L year. This means he will be working closely with an attorney providing legal council on civil matters for low income people in Athens. He will be getting a ton of experience with real clients and dealing with the Law in a professional way. God is so good to provide this for us. God keeps moving Trevor in this direction of helping broken people, being an advocate for those who have no voice, and this places him in a unique position to communicate God's nature and the gospel to these people. We have seen God tenderly and graciously lead us into the life he wants us to have, despite our sin and unwillingness. We enjoy this kindness and blessing because of Jesus Christ and his finished work. The goodness of God in the gospel is clearly on display in the life of our family. Trevor's last day of class is on Tuesday. His exams are coming up-- they will be on the 27th, 29th, 4th and 6th. Then his first year of law school will be over! Wow, it passed by so quickly.

Piper has been super sick. I feel really bad for her. She has been sick for about a week. She is rounding the corner, I think. She has eight teeth now and is getting a ninth. Her favorite thing to say is 'Yeah?' sort of as a question. She says this in response to everything we say to her. She also does this babbling thing that sounds like she is saying 'Golly golly golly golly' over and over again. It's weird. When she is tired, she will repeatedly say 'Night night' back to back until we get into her crib. Sometimes she does this as a crescendo, getting louder and louder. She is on the verge of walking. She's a joy to have around, and a wonderful partner in all our adventures. She has a beautiful sense of humor. I love being her mama!

I have been really enjoying my camera. I am still taking snapshots of our life (instead of posed portraits or anything like that). There is so much one can do with a little bit of knowledge! But I want to learn a lot more. I am eager to see what happens with this, as well as my other creative pursuits. It seems like there are so many things that I want to do with my sewing, photography, and everything else. I love creating. It brings me so much joy. The weather is warm and sunny, so Piper and I hang out downstairs with the back door open and listen to music while I sew and she plays with toys. There is a lot of natural light in my house, which I love. We spend our days playing, sewing, cooking, listening to fun music, dancing, reading the Bible, reading stories, running errands, taking family trips, teasing daddy while he tries to study, and just enjoying being together.

Camden High School's production of Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by my mom, will be opening this Friday night. Piper will even be in the play! We are so pumped to see the fruit of all my mom's hard work. She is very gifted in theater, and has truly labored to make this a good show (really, that is an understatement. Words don't do justice to all the time and effort she has put into this show). Congratulations, mom! It's going to be an amazing show!

My sister's pregnancy is going well. They're not divulging any information about names, so I guess we'll just have to wait. The boys are well adjusted to Little Rock and the new house, and they love the park across the street (Anne lives in a really cute neighborhood).

We had another gathering as a group for the church plant. Here are some images from the meeting.

I'll be back soon with more new developments. We are still waiting to hear about Trevor's summer employment, Piper's latest shenanigans, and my creative pursuits. I am thinking about doing a series of posts on decorating on a shoestring, because I have come across some really good thrift store finds and DIY projects that might be fun to share (not that a ton of people read my blog, but hey, you never know. I might try to generate some more traffic. But then again maybe not. It's kinda nice having a small readership.) Talk to you again soon!

family visit

Mamaw and Papaw are my dad's parents, and are amazing people. I am so thankful to be a part of the family they have built, and for the effort my parents spent making sure that I could be around them growing up. I am especially thankful that they are not only my grandparents by birth, but we are also children in the family of God. They were driving up from Florida and stopped by. Mom and Dad came too. I will do an extended post on them after our trip to Gatlinburg this summer when I am hoping to take some portraits of them. For now, here are some snapshots from our time together. We ate at Harry's Pig Shop. If you live in Athens, you must go eat there. They have awesome barbecue. We visited the law school and walked around campus. Then we came home, talked and fellowshipped for a while, and shared a rousing game of Mexican Train. Our time went by too fast. You may be able to tell from the pictures that Papaw, my dad, and Trevor kinda all go together. They are all three a piece of work. I only got one good shot of Nonna, because she was taking some pictures of her own. I did get a good one of Piper in her Nonna's lap.

a great source for all things Tim Keller

This guy has one of the best compilations of Tim Keller sermons, videos, and articles that I have been able to find. Trevor and I have been listening to a message from the 2006 Resurgence conference on being the Church in our culture. It's really good. You can find this talk, along with the other two Keller talks from the conference, on the site I linked to above, but also here. Here are some of the points from this talk that have been on my mind.

Keller gives 6 points on how we, as the Church, should relate to our culture. He says that we need:

1. More Christians living in cities long term...

2. with a better grasp of the gospel...

3. who are creating dynamic counter-cultures inside the city...

4. integrating faith with work...

5. pouring themselves out sacrificially for the good of the whole city...

6. and contextualizing.

He goes into detail on each of those points in the message. Though it is a long message, it is totally worth the time. We have been thinking through these things as we are seeing our new church begin to take shape. The idea of being part of something from the beginning, committed to giving our hearts and time and energy, committed to people and their growth, serving our city and building a presence here just by doing life... these things are very exciting for us. We are so hopeful that the end result of all of this would be that the gospel would bring healing to many in this city.

more piper pictures

I took some pictures of Piper as she was eating in her high chair. She turned 10 months old last month. Her favorite things to do right now are wave at people, eat cheese, sleep, and practice her walking skills while holding onto furniture, as well as performing impromptu headstands (with her legs still on the ground, of course). She also loves when Daddy calls on the phone. Occasionally she will lift one leg in an arabesque while holding onto her favorite shelf in the kitchen. Oh, and she loves to play in the dishwasher. She is a very whimsical little girl.

visit from Gran and Grandaddy

Gran and Grandaddy came to visit Piper over Easter weekend. We spent some time at the Botanical Gardens, which were beautiful. We had a great visit from them. We really enjoyed our time talking together. Here are some pictures from the Gardens.

Easter thoughts from Trevor and Paige

This is an update from Trevor:

"Yesterday was the best Easter I’ve ever had. The Lord has been doing a work in our family, and I feel like things really came to a head yesterday, when, in the midst of all the circumstances and burdens of life, I was confronted with the reality that God has placed his blood on the doorpost of my heart, and that his judgment passes over me.

I’ve lately felt like the waves of life, the bills, the schoolwork, the time away from my family, were sweeping over me…I think Paige and I both have been really discouraged with all the practicalities. But our God is merciful to not give us more than we can bear, and to constantly encourage and provide for us! Paige and I have decided to fully commit to a new church plant affiliated with Redeemer Pres. here in Athens. On Good Friday, we went to meet with brothers and sisters of like mind to discuss some of the work ahead and to enjoy fellowship with one another. As Paige and I left the barbecue, we both commented that our time there just felt so comfortable. We felt completely at home with the people there. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t any tension, or worries, or fears about these people and what this community holds for us (after all, who doesn’t have those things with their family?), but I think the Lord was giving us a peace about our decision to commit to the work of His Church in helping plant this local church.

The Eastern Church calls the Saturday before Easter the “Great Sabbath” because it’s the day on which Christ “rested” in the tomb. Catholic tradition dictates that at dusk the Easter vigil begins, as the Church awaits the resurrection of Christ. Looking back over the past few days, I feel like God through His Spirit has really put to death in me some desires and motivations that had been too long allowed to live. I’ve been so apathetic about my own sin lately, and I haven’t been preaching to myself or my family the Gospel in the midst of our discouragement. I felt like Saturday night, as I reflected on the coming Sunday, that the Lord was beginning to awaken in me new life in my relationship with Him, and I am sure that this will begin to affect our family! I am very hopeful for that!

Easter morning we heard the Gospel preached. We basked in the Georgia sun and the sweet warmth of His light in our hearts. We cherished one another and put aside the cares of this world…if only for a day. It was wonderful.

And now it’s Monday (again, our Eastern brothers and sisters have a cool name for it: “Bright Monday.” They seem to have this day-naming thing down pat) and I’m back at school with a mile-long to-do list, FINALS approaching in a couple of weeks, the bills haven’t disappeared, I miss my family after spending three unadulterated days with them, and on and on and on…

But that’s what Easter (and especially for me, this Easter) is all about. Christ has given us the ability to live beyond our circumstances. He Has Died, and Risen, and Ascended, and taken with Him the effectual burden of sin in this world. I am losing perspective if I allow myself to be more worried or discouraged about my sin or life’s burdens more than I am hopeful or encouraged that this life doesn’t hold my joy or my hope. It’s in Him alone. I pray that moving forward, the Lord continues to sanctify and remind me of what He taught me this Easter, and that it bears much fruit in the life of His Church, and our little family."

Together, we're seeing the Lord increasingly re-orient our hearts toward grace, peace, and life. Thank you, Lord, for Easter and all that you accomplished for us in the gospel. Thank you that every day is Easter-- that every day we experience the blessing of being dead to sin and death but alive to you. Thank you that you are alive and that we commune with you in unbroken relationship because of the life you lived, the death you died, and the resurrection that you accomplished on our behalf.

"We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4

I want to live every day as though it is Easter-- with the resurrection this central to my thinking and affections.