Happy Monday!

Well, we're back in place after a nice Spring Break. Going to Cincy was a good call... we really needed that trip. Thankful for it.

Dustin taught on Sunday night at church, and I thought it was really encouraging and great. Of course, as he says, I'm his "wiff" so, of course I say that - but I really thought he did great, not just because of my love for him. Our Gracious Lord creatively gifted Dustin with a down-to-earth-ness that is encouraging (so sincere) and a super-duper Mathematical brain (super logical) to express Biblical truths in such a clear, winsome way. It's a blessing to see him grow in knowledge and passion. He teaches me a lot at the dinner table. :) Now, I wonder how long it is before he sees this post (not a huge blog guy these days) and gets on to the "wiff" for me posting this. =) Praise the Lord for using His Word and speaking through instruments that should have been vessels of wrath, but instead were granted (bought with blood) sweet mercy and forgiveness. I love seeing God teach and grow him.

Almost done with my book. Almost done with a few other projects, too. Now that I'm back to work, I'm really hoping that I can finish those things that I started last week. We'll see!

Here is the book I referred to a few days ago...

...you should read it. Upon finishing tonight (hopefully), I plan to try to read a few classics. I want to branch out a bit in my reading for awhile. I missed out, somehow, on several GREAT books growing up. I'm starting with a girly goodie... Sense and Sensibility. Any other suggestions? Mindy? Sarah? Amy? Seriously? Send me a "You should have read this in high school or college... it was wonderful... every person should read this book before they die" classics list.

Cincy, Part 2

Last Spring Break, my hubby and I snagged a cheap (but nice!) hotel room on Priceline.com and headed to Cincinatti for a few days of relaxing and reading. Like most seminarians, he has plenty to do at this point in the semester, but the few days away provides a different venue for studying. And for me, it is so restful and I can return to teaching with new energy to carry me through until the end. The little getaway last year proved so beneficial that we made a repeat trip this year.

We have a different area and hotel, but we still used Priceline, and we are still chilling in Cincy. On Tuesday, we visited the new Creation Museum. It was really well done, and we both were encouraged by how faithful it was to the Bible and how the Gospel was faithfully shared. From what we can see, it seems very faithful to science as well... and kid-friendly, so families would really enjoy a visit. We highly recommend both Priceline.com and The Creation Museum. :)

Other than that, we have shared a yummy meal at Abeulo's, because we can never get too much real Mexican food when the occasion presents itself. We have also hit up Jungle Jim's (a wacky, huge International Market that has food from just about everywhere) and Ikea. Today was consumed largely in reading and relaxing. I am reading, "My Heart is in His Hands," a biography of Ann Judson written by Sharon James. VERY good. Dustin's reading all sorts of books and preparing for an upcoming Sunday night devotional he will give at our church.

If you know us... you know that we're also hoping to find a Panda Express or a Boba Tea place tonight. And we are out to do some clothes shopping we've had to put off for awhile now. Then, back to the hotel for more reading!

It's good to get away together and enjoy some time to do things and to not do things. :)

That's the update from the Butts!

Sinclair Ferguson on Sin and Grace

Checking in from conference day...

11 conferences down. Thank you, Lord!
Well... at this point of the day, I'm scraping off the rest of my lunch and just chilling for a few minutes.
Surfing online a little bit, I came across some wonderful words from one of my favorite preachers on another favorite preacher's website.



I have to start by saying I LOVE both of these men. Their desire for the Lord is contagious. CJ Mahaney is a huge inspiration in his JOY, and Sinclair's book, The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction, encouraged me greatly during about my sophomore year in college.



So... on that note, I do highly recommend to you CJ's latest interview with Sinclair over here at CJ's View From the Cheap Seats. It's good stuff.

For example:

I think the thing that I am trying to get at here is the correlation between my ability to grasp the grace, grace of grace and my grasping the sin, sin of sin (what Ralph Venning calls the “exceeding sinfulness of sin”). The sin is mine and therefore natural for me to see. It’s grace that isn’t natural to me and therefore difficult to see. Therefore I am going to struggle to bring the sin I am so familiar with to the grace I am unfamiliar with. And therefore I need to find ways given to me in Scripture of discovering the graciousness of God.

Go here for more.

Conference Day

It has become a tradition here at "Embrace Your Lot" to post on Conference Day.
Well... here I am, beginning my 4th Parent-Teacher Conference Day at Christian Academy. Again, I seriously ask for prayer for this day. I meet with 15 sets of parents today, basically back to back, with a few scattered breaks. My stomach is always in knots, and I'm "all out of words" by the end of the day. They take a lot of preparation, and you really need to be "on your game" to remember everything you need to say, speak the truth in love, remain upbeat, positive and professional, stay on schedule, etc. I come home and just stare at a wall for about an hour. :) Pray for wisdom, grace, stamina and anything else you can think of to pray. The Lord is always gracious, and I have always survived them so far, but prayers are invited for sure. Thanks, ya'll!