Touche, Sully... Touche

The Sullivans are dear friends of ours who literally sold everything (seriously-- we have a rocking chair of theirs to prove it) and moved to East Asia for the sake of the spread of the Gospel. I received the following email from him in response to my post concerning the immensely challenging sermon preached by David Platt (you can find the original post here, and David Platt's sermon here):

For some reason I couldn’t post to your blog. Maybe, only the elect can
comment. Either way, here is my entry…

Just a thought...maybe you could hash these thoughts out on an excursion to East
Asia. Pondering these deep truths and how they affect your life don't always come clear on that dimly lit wooden table. Sometimes you need to "catch" the movement of the Sovereign God on the field. The teaching only pushes the envelope, but the "going" seals the deal. We love you guys! We are asking on your behalf as you wrestle with these core truths!

FGGAAN,Sully

Old Spice High Endurance Hair and Body Wash

If this is for real, I'm bumping up my alarm clock from 6:30 to 6:31 and 7 seconds.

Simplicity

It amazes me how fast children grow, and I am continually reminded by others who have been there before me that before I know it they will be graduating from high school. Well, until then, it is great to see them doing all the new and great things God has designed and given them the ability to do. While it seems like I am about to explain how they have done something so profound, no, it is the simple things in life that I write about. For the last several weeks we have been celebrating over Elmo panties, smiles, 5 straight hours of sleep, getting shoes on even the wrong feet, family time, and the alphabet (English or Hebrew).

Abigail gets herself dressed, even if it's in Daddy's clothes.

Smiles, smiles, and more smiles.

Southern...

Though a friend has already beaten me to the punch on this one, there is no way I can let such a significant moment pass by without at least a quick reference here. Make sure you drop by his family's blog for a more detailed and better written recollection.

As Dr. Moore began our preaching class this morning, he advised that yesterday's sermon by David Platt had him "openly weeping" in the front row of the chapel. Since the sermon, I've found myself wishing that everyone I know could have been present to listen to Platt's exposition of Hebrews 13. His message was simple, but passionate and penetrating, as he pleaded a room full of seminary students whose career goals ranged anywhere from youth ministry to teaching, to pursue Christ to the ends of the earth, risking it all for the sake of the Gospel.

The impact for me spilled over into the library, where three of us sat discussing our own fears and concerns. We agreed the question of foreign missions must be answered by each of us, yes or no. As Christians, there is no mere dismissing of the question as irrelevant simply because our own ambitions are centered elsewhere. This is most definitely one I am going to have to labor over for a while. In the mean time... I'm looking forward to hashing these things out around an old table, underneath the florescent lights of Boyce Library where perhaps the same conversation has been had a countless number of times throughout the history of the seminary.

Listen to the sermon here.

And consider... “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” (Jim Elliot).

tdg

Abigail's First Sleep-over

We had the joy of having one of Abigail's good friends over to our house this week for the night. Knowing that we wanted to try the "sleep-over" thing soon, a perfect opportunity came up this week with the Willem family having to move into their new house by Saturday and needing some help with childcare. Karis was able to come stay with us on Wednesday night and of course the girls had a blast. Getting to have a play-date is great in Abigail's mind, but to spend the night is the high of all highs. We were able to get a quick picture for the baby book before we had to seperate into different rooms...I'm sure you see where things were going.