Farkle!

I spent a summer in San Antonio, TX (and absolutly loved it!) and learned this fun dice game called Farkle. All you need are 6 traditional dice and two or more people. The rules are here. Get some people together and let me know how the game goes!

Our Nephews

Patton (2 1/2 years), Wyatt (6 years), and Trevor ( 5 1/2 weeks)

Trevor is the newest eddition to our family.

He was born on February 24.

Not Even A Hint...

Freddy T. was out of town this past weekend, so for church Sunday I was on my own. I went to Southeast Christian Church. The pastor preached on Ephesians 5:1-9. He spent a lot of time on verse 3 “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality…” You all know that there is a big problem in our society where people have lowered or eliminated completely their standard of purity. We have to go to the Bible for our standards.

Read the article below.

CLASSIFIED AD IN THE ATLANTA JOURNAL

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. Rub me the right way and watch me respond. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Kiss me and I'm yours. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy.

Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an 8-week old black Labrador retriever.

We need to pray for our spouses, men and women alike, Christian and non-Christian that God would protect us from sexual immorality and turn towards Him. That we would hold firm to the standards He has set for us.

Susan

God is Sovereign

Freddy was out of town this past weekend so I had a lot of time to myself. I started working on a new quilt. I really enjoy sewing. I’m not that great at it, but I love starting with an array of fabrics that don’t appear to be anything special and turn them into a warm, cozy, blanket. Anyway, while I was sewing Saturday I listened to a CD Freddy T. has of John Piper preaching. The title of the sermon was “To Be a Mother Is a Call to Suffer.” The title caught my attention, but the sermon is really on the sovereignty of God and seeing the suffering we go through as part of God’s sovereignty, not so much suffering as a mother. You can read the transcript online (here) . He told the story of a single lady (this is not on the transcript) who went to the doctor to have a hysterectomy. She was devastated because she knew she would never be ale to have children. Her doctor’s names was Dr. Sovereign and he said he would pray for her. The thing she felt God saying to her (and this is what struck me as I listened to the sermon) was… “Would you find fault with the plan I have for your life because you think you have a better one? Or is my design for you good?” How many times do I think I know what would be best for me and question why God is not giving it to me now? As I heard this on the CD I stopped what I was doing and thought “How do I respond to that?” Yes I believe God is sovereign. Yes I believe that his design for my life good. I’ve found myself over the past day or so praying that I would truly believe this. Praying that my faith would be strong and fueled knowing that God, who knows the hairs of my head and even knows the sparrows that fall from the sky, has my life in his hands.

Yesterday on my way home from work I listened to the CD that was recorded from my wedding and was blessed by a song Glenna Marshall sang. The lyrics* are great and remind me that God is sovereign even when it does not seem that way.

Susan

*We may not be willing to endorse everything on this website, but you can check out the lyrics to the song here.

Gender Roles

Katherine recently posed a question reguarding our recent post on 8th graders perspective on Biblical manhood and womanhood. I've been promising to answer this question and have found it challenging to get all my thoughts together with scripture and simply say what I wanted to say. Everytime I've started to answer the answer becomes real wordy and confusing to anyone but myself. So I'm going to respond to her question, but let's keep talking about this. I know some of you who read will have great wisdom to add.

Katherines question:

One of my favorite shows is 7th Heaven...on the show; Lucy is a reverend while Kevin stays at home and watches Savannah (their baby). How does this fit into the traditional roles of biblical manhood and womanhood with the husband being the head of the household and the wife being the one who keeps the house and raises the kids? Doesn't that not really follow along the traditional roles?

Generally speaking I believe that God has ordered man to be the primary provider(and leader) for his family and for woman to be a helper to her husband, oversee the home and be the care taker for their children. (Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Peter 3:1-7; Titus 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:4, 12; Genesis 1-3) This does not mean a woman does nothing outside the home. Proverbs 31 is a wonderful description of a woman who uses her time and energy wisely and invest in other activities, however, her activities are all to better her family. So two things. I know there are seasons and circumstances where a wife may be working more than her husband (ex. when a husband is in seminary and the wife has to work or if a man becomes physically incapable of working) but I don’t think that is God's original design. Secondly, I don't think God calls women to be pastors. If the Bible teaches that God wills for men alone to bear the primary teaching and governing responsibilities of the pastorate, then by implication the Bible also teaches that God does not call women to be pastors (www.cbmw.org). So from this perspective on the show I think Lucy is out of her role as well. I'm not saying women cannot serve in ministry, but I think you see my heart here that they are not to be the primary teachers.

What do you all think about this? Let's talk! I'd love more insight and wisdom to be added.

An excellent resource for this topic is Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem.

Susan

You gotta see this!

This video of is amazing! Be sure to click on play over toward the right.

Resignation to God

Southern Seminary has a few great programs aimed specifically toward seminary wives.
Seminary Wives Institute (http://www.sbts.edu/academics/swi.php) and Pendergraph (http://www.sbts.edu/campuslife/pendergraph.php). Last night I attended Pendergraph for the first time. Pendergraph is a monthly gathering for women and every meeting is different. For example, last night there was a guest speaker, but next time, March 28th, we’re having “An Old-Fashioned Tea Party” where we will learn about how to go back to our Biblical roots of femininity and what that means for us today. I think that will be a lot of fun!

Even though last nights talk was by a woman, Mrs. Caffy Whitney (her husband is Dr. Don Whitney, a professor at Southern) and the room was filled with women, her message was relevant to all of us who have been chosen to follow Christ. She spoke on suffering and resignation to God.

Resignation to God: - quiet submission to the will of Providence
- not forced, but freely and firstly acted upon
- not partially but fully
- not passive but active
- not conditional, no deals

Resignation is giving up of ourselves and being content with whatever God chooses for our lives. This is hard for me at times. Just the other night Freddy and I were talking and I found myself saying to him “but my desire is this…” and that may not match with where ever God leads us. Does anyone else ever battle with this? So how do we resign ourselves to God?

1. Know God’s Character
- He is the King of Creation; he has every right to do with us what he wishes to do.
- Isaiah 45:5-7
2. Know that God is good
- For God’s chosen, he will not waste our sorrows.
- We may not understand everything, but God’s character is unwavering. He is
perfect, just and right.
3. Know that God is omnipotent
- He has the power to change anything.
4. Know that God is omniscient
- He knows everything.

I know I was greatly encouraged last night. And I hope this is encouraging to you as well. Maybe these words don’t hit a soft spot in your heart right now, but if you are a follower of Christ then resignation to him is a must. A few last thoughts…

- Love God and his will more than anything else (a house, children, a spouse, car, job, etc.)
- Keep your eyes on the prize of Eternity.

Susan