Phil Returns

We've had quite a few Phil sightings this year. I thought I'd share one with you. : )

My Neighbors, The Super Mario Brothers

They did this last year too. I just don't understand. It continues for hours. Around and around. Right outside my bedroom window. Make sure you turn up the sound to get the full effect.

The Infinite and the Eternal

“The one essential condition of human existence is that man should always be able to bow down before something infinitely great. If men are deprived of the infinitely great, they will not go on living and will die of despair. The Infinite and the Eternal are as essential for man as the little planet on which he dwells.” ~Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Possessed

I thought this quote had a lot of truth in it. I find that when I don't have sufficient reminders, either through preaching or reading, of the infinite and eternal greatness of God I begin to despair and grow weary. But when I contemplate a great, eternal, infinite, majestic God I feel my spirits lifted and my heart begins to soar. : ) I love to ponder the Infinite and the Eternal.

(HT: Already Not Yet)

Wedding Pictures of Megan and Joey!!

You can view a sampling of Megan and Joey's pictures 0n the photographer's blog here.

Ha ha ha! Putting our sin nature to practical use...

"Put ‘gently used’ stuff [out] with a sign “free” on it…no takers. Put “for sale” and it was stolen by morning."

-Derek Sanford

HT: Twenty Two Words

God himself gave himself to save us from himself

“According to the Christian revelation, God’s own great love propitiated his own holy wrath through the gift of his own dear Son, who took our place, bore our sin and died our death. Thus God himself gave himself to save us from himself.”

—John Stott, The Message of Romans (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 115

HT: Of First Importance

All Over the Blogosphere: Death is not Dying

Since everyone else is posting this to their blogs, I decided to post it to mine as well. It is a video of Rachel Barkey giving her testimony. She has terminal cancer and, barring a miracle, will not live to see her 38th birthday. She is married and has two young children.

I watched the video on Saturday. Her testimony is incredibly powerful. You can watch the video here and listen to the audio here.

Engagement Pics

Ha! Shocked you all with that title, didn't I!? These are my brother's engagement pics. : ) I don't think I shocked you anyway. We all know I am VERY single. : ) Anyway, Joey and Megan were married yesterday evening in a beautiful church with marble floors and high ceilings. It was sort of strange but at the same time totally normal to watch my brother get married. Joey told me two summers ago that he was going to graduate from school and then get a wife... and he did! He'd had his eye on Megan for a while but they started dating just this August. Then they got engaged in December and married in March. : ) Megan looked beautiful and elegant in her gown and Joey was very handsome. He sang Megan a song (that he wrote) with words from Song of Solomon. It was so beautiful and incredibly romantic. I recorded a small clip and I'll post it here soon. Today they are off to their honeymoon in Vermont. Congratulations Joey and Megan!! (Isn't the photographer amazing?!)

Gospel Motivation & Real Change

“All change comes from deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding creates in your heart. Faith in the gospel re-structures our motivations, our self-understanding, our identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting.”

- Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God (new York, NY: Dutton, 2008), 121.

(HT: Of First Importance)