April is Almost Over

...and what have I done with the time? Mostly, I have a hard time remembering. :-) That's a hint for some of you. More to come on this mysterious portion of my blog entry next week. Like, May 2 to be exact. So, back to what I was saying. I have managed to remember that JM and I went out of town this month with our Senior Pastor and his wife. We all drove to Maryland for a week and participated in a Sovereign Grace leadership conference. It was great! The guest speaker was R.C. Sproul. I so appreciate his life, and how he has been so dedicated to exposing the truth of Scripture, and in particular his "Luther-like" clench on the Sovereignty and Holiness of God. Thank God for men like that. He spoke for two nights; the first passage was Isaiah 6 (the holiness of God) and the second was the Transfiguration (the holiness of Christ). We also heard a great message by David Powlison on the proper purpose of introspection, and the purpose of studying our sinfulness. That being that it rightfully should drive us to the cross, increase our understanding of our need for God, and repent in order to pursue holiness and overcome sin by the power of the Spirit's working within us. Stopping the process at any point prior to repentence and seeking to overcome is not the way God intended it. At least, I think that was what he was saying. JM and I had a little debate on the intent of this message. And if he (JM) had a blog, I would send you his way for further clarification. As it is, you are stuck with me and my (perhaps) misguided view of things.

I will say that of all the things that happened that week, I was perhaps most encouraged by the time JM and I had with Paul and Darby. We spent a good bit of time discussing our personal lives, specifically the weaknesses and strengths within our respective marriages and family lives. I was so envisioned by the end to persevere, particularly in parenting. It was good to have two other sets of eyes watching over our lives. Paul and Darby have such grace in their communication, so it was easy to hear areas where JM and I need improvement, or at least areas of sin that we weren't really seeing on our own. My hope is in the Lord, but part of His plan for me is to place me in the care of a local body that loves my enough to speak difficult truths and apply the gospel in places I would rather hide from. Thank God for this glorious means of His grace!