VA Beach

We're mid-way through our week with Gramps and Gram. It has been a good but unusual visit. Grace is in a block class at the seminary each morning; on Tuesday night, Katherine had a sudden onset of a mysterious respiratory illness/allergy that even the doctors today couldn't diagnose; yesterday, Gramps had a second cauterization of his colon to try to fix some post-radiation damage; and last night, Gram developed a severe urinary tract infection. So far, Mom, Buddy, Grace, and I are fine! Dad couldn't join us for this trip, but he is also doing well (he has recovered from the calf muscle spasms that our running brought on :).

But that's all about health--we have had much more rewarding subjects of which to write about. I've had some time to sit both with Gramps and Gram and benefit from their fellowship. Gramps and I had some good discussion on Milton Vincent's book The Gospel Primer. The discipline of preaching the gospel to myself every day is something I want to cultivate. And to hear of practical out-workings from a godly man I respect so highly was very encouraging.

I am currently sitting near Gram who is resting on the family room couch. Her infection has wiped her physically, but her first comment after waking was, "I am so thankful for the hope of a new body." Only a Spirit-filled mind responds that way to such difficulties. We are listening to hymns--right now "Now Thank We All our God."

"The more we abide in the Lord on the other side, the less disappointed we will be here, for when we are there we import new joys and new hopes into this old world, from an entirely new one, and we therefore in every way surpass the inhabitants of this lost world." -J.B.S.

"Stand fast in the Lord" (Phil 4:7).

(I can't take credit for the incredible sky picture. Thanks, David Broughton.)

From MI to KY

Fall of 2005 I traveled with Northland's ministry team. One of our Sunday evening services was in the small town of Coral, MI. Neither the size of the town nor the church attendance reflected the warmth with which we were welcomed. Andrea and I (the two girls on the team) stayed with Val Gates (the pastor's daughter) and her family. She and her husband have 7 children, one of whom came to Northland the following year. The 4 boys on the team stayed with the pastor and his dying wife. Despite this incredibly hard time for their families, a mutual heart-to-heart ministering took place during our short stay.
I have kept in touch with them and recently found out they would be in Emmalena, KY at Camp Nathanael for a missions trip/work week. Being only 2.5 hours from my house, I was able to drive up and spend the day working alongside them. We painted 138 fence sections! The work was enjoyable, the camp was beautiful (mountains, rivers, and even a 4-foot snake!), and the fellowship was a blessing. I didn't know if or when I would see them again, but I am grateful to the Lord for His allowing it today.

Into May

Last weekend, we celebrated my cousin's graduation from JMU, another cousin's outstanding role as "Annie" in her community musical, my Dad's 52nd birthday, and my brother's 13th. Having all of my dad's family together for the events was wonderful. My family also got to visit the church I have been attending in Harrisonburg, which was a blessing.
Now, we're back home and Katie and Buddy are in the final stretch of their school years. My days have been the good kind of full-- researching/ordering/practicing my new repertoire for next year's graduate recital, one-by-one crossing off of the 3-page "Home projects" list for the summer, catching up with a few friends, and having some extra time to read and do Sudoku puzzles. :)

The Cross

I recently finished John Piper's book The Roots of Endurance. It explores the lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce in light of their individual struggles through which they displayed unequaled perseverance. Being a runner as well as a natural "driver," the concept of endurance has challenged and invigorated me both in my physical as well as spiritual life. Since high school, I have seen God's grace in allowing me to come to know this endurance experientially. How thankful I am for the growth, even when it hurts!
The overriding thrust of Piper's book was not simply to endure, but to know why we can and should endure. We have a hope that we press toward with assurance--the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14)--we run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2). Christ is the reason we have hope, which is the reason we can and should endure. Whether suffering or not, our hope can remain intact, undefiled. But all this is possible only because of the Cross. Christ's death, burial, and resurrection make this a living hope (I Pet. 1:3). The Gospel should be as real and important and fresh in my mind today as the day I first accepted its truth. The Cross provides the hope which leads of joyful endurance. I am not able nor responsible for conjuring up enough "energy" to sustain my level of endurance. My energy is sourced in the living reality of Christ's cross.
"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of out Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Gal. 6:14