Ligonier Follow-Up

We came back from the Ligonier Conference over a month ago, and I can hardly believe it.  The day after we returned, we jumped straight into our church's VBS, and Bobby went off to Boy Scout Camp.  Right after that week, we had a nice week of "staycation" while Eric took a week off work, and we went only 45 minutes from home, over to his parents' condo.  We enjoyed the beach and the pool as well as the peace and quiet.  For the past nine days Eric and Mary have been gone on a mission trip to Rochester, N.Y.  They should be home tomorrow afternoon.  And finally, three days ago Eric's parents came home from spending eleven months in Kenya, teaching at Rift Valley Academy.


The conference itself was intense.  From Thursday evening through Saturday morning we listened to nine speakers address a variety of tough questions that Christians face.  We skipped three of the sessions--one to go to bed at a decent hour Thursday night, one Friday afternoon so we could enjoy the pool at the enormous World Marriott where the conference was held, and one to be able to leave at a decent time Saturday afternoon.  If you're interested in listening to these speakers, you can do it here under the Video Archives section.  I'm going to list the sessions here by speaker and topic, and Scripture reference if they used one main passage.  If anyone is interested in reading my notes on any of these I would be happy to type them up and e-mail them to you.  Just ask.


John MacArthur--Why Did Jesus Have to Die?  2 Corinthians 5:18-21
Michael Horton--Is the Doctrine of Inerrancy Defensible?  2 Timothy 3:14-17
R.C. Sproul--What is Evil and Where Did It Come From? 
Derek Thomas--How do We Know Which Interpretation is Right? 2 Peter 1:16-21
Steven Lawson--Is the Bible Just Another Book?  2 Timothy3:16-17
Alistair Begg--Is the Exclusivity of Christ Unjust?  John 3:16-21; 7:37-44, Acts 4:8-13
Al Mohler--Why Does the Universe Look So Old?  Genesis 1:1-2:3
Burk Parsons--Is Calvinism Good for the Church?  Ephesians 4:1
Derek Thomas--If God is Good, how Could He Command Holy War?  Joshua 6:1-21


If someone asked me who my favorite speaker is out of this group, I would be hard-pressed to pick one.  MacArthur, Sproul, Thomas, Lawson, Begg, and Mohler were all phenomenal.  I had a much harder time following and staying focused while listening to Horton and Parsons, but they were okay, too.  Al Mohler's session on creation was absolutely amazing, as was R.C.'s talk on the nature of Evil.


It was a blessing for our family to be able to all go together to this conference.  I thank God for it.

Tough Questions

This week we're going to the Ligonier national conference in Orlando, Florida.  I'm excited to once again hear great teaching and wonderful music.  This year's topic is "Tough Questions Christians Face."  A few of the questions they are tackling:

Why did Jesus have to die?
What is evil and where did it come from?
Why do Christians still sin?
Is the Bible just another book?
Is the exclusivity of Christ unjust?
Why does the universe look so old?
Can we enjoy heaven knowing of loved ones who went to hell?

It will be interesting to hear the various speakers address these questions, some of which I have actually been asked by non-Christians or by recently saved Christians.  I hope that they do point out, collectively, that the answers to some of these questions are based on faith, which is itself a gift from God.

We May Actually Get Snow....

here in Savannah tonight!  Weird.  The weather guys are predicting we could have a whopping 1-3 inches of snow accumulation.  (smile)  That may not seem like much to anyone living in the north, but down here it's a nasty business.  Consider:  no salt or sand for the roads, no snow plows, and most people have no idea how to drive in snow or on ice.  Most of us are just going to stay inside until it all melts off, which should be tomorrow by about noon, I guess.  If it does snow we'll take pictures.....

Once again...

we are at my favorite place on earth, Seneca Lake. One reason why I love it here:

My older daughter took that picture last night as we sat around the fire talking, toasting marshmellows, eating s'mores, and drinking coffee.

Some scenes from our trip so far....

We've been at the lake for almost a week now, enjoying the water and the beautiful relaxing scenery. The kids have gone tubing, we've had campfires and s'mores, and we went to see the movie "Wall-E." It's been fun so far--and here are some of the pictures we've taken:




On Tuesday we traveled to the Corning Museum of Glass to see the collections there and play in the Innovations exhibit:


These glass fruit are much bigger than they appear--the pear in the middle is about three feet tall:







This was the first reflector cast for the Palomar Observatory. It cracked, and they had to make a new one:
You can take your own picture upside down with the magic of mirrors!
The kids inside the large, black, glass egg at the museum:
Beautiful sky over the lake:

Traveling Mercies...

Last week my son asked me what the phrase "traveling mercies" means. He heard someone use it in a prayer. I explained that we sometimes ask God to extend special grace and mercy over somebody as they take a trip, keeping them safe and making the trip go smoothly. Today we experienced such mercies. My mother-in-law and I, along with my three children, drove from Savannah, GA to Chambersburg, PA in about twelve hours, with absolutely no problems at all. We thank God for His "traveling mercies."

Tomorrow we are driving another six or so hours to Seneca Lake, about which I have written before. Then after a week there we'll go on up to see my parents...YAY!!!

Meanwhile, back at home in GA, Eric is throwing himself into the task of pastoring at Chevis Oaks Baptist Church, our new church home. We love the people there and are really excited about serving alongside them and ministering to them. I know Eric will be lonely for us, but he's got plenty of people looking out for him!