together for the Gospel and the. best. news. ever.

This past week Jonny attended Together for the Gospel, 

a conference held here in Louisville.

It's primary audience is pastors or those in training to become pastors. 

(the latter of which, Jonny would be)

I however, was thankfully able to attend two evening sessions.

If you're reading this and don't know what the Gospel is, 

you most likely can't understand why nearly 8,000 people would want to come "together" for it.

You should know, it is the best news you'll ever hear.

...

The truth is, you and I,

we are sinners.

Whether you want to admit it or not, you certainly can't deny that you fall grievously short of being perfect.

 Many people believe a god who is loving could not be cruel and judge us for our sins - that kind of god is not the God of Christianity as explained in the Bible.

Because the God of the Bible is the perfect Creator, he must judge sin, and consequently, sinners (us).

What is the good news then?

The God of the Bible is also amazingly gracious.

This God sent his son, Jesus to ransom sinners like you and me.

He suffered and died on a cross in our place, bearing our deserved punishment, so that we might be forgiven, seen as blameless, 

just as Christ.

Colossians 1:13-14 "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins.

It must be understood that

"the state of man before God apart from Christ is utterly hopeless."

We will all stand before the supremely Holy God one day, 

and an account must be given for our sins. 

If you trust in Christ alone for your salvation, you can know that the punishment you rightly deserved for your sins, has been fully paid by Jesus, in your place, on the cross.  

If not, you will be the one on whom the blame falls.

what's cookin'?

This week, 

I've spent more time in the kitchen

probably more than any other week of our marriage, 

or even in my life.

It's really no big accomplishment when you consider

how little I was in the kitchen before marriage.

But nonetheless, I see it as a grace from God that

he is growing me in this area and I'm sure Jonny does too!

I've never been a great organizer...

and I always seem to mess something up big time.

But this week, no huge disaster.

There was lasagna, salad, roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, yorkshire puddings, 

a pavlova, two pizzas, ham and beans and a new cornbread bake recipe, broccoli-cheddar soup, 

pig cake, and chocolate chip cookies 

(the last two were for a church function).

And you'd probably think Jonny and I gained 10 pounds by reading that

but trust me, it was not just for us!

We were delighted to host one of Jonny's friends from N. Ireland this past week

for the Together for the Gospel conference.

That's him above about to eat the pavlova.

Going directly from the lack of sleep we got over Easter weekend in Missouri, 

to a jam-packed week of Together for the Gospel.

I. am. exhausted.

I'm sure Jonny is too.

Although, he says we should be back to normal now after two good sleeps.

Well, maybe he is, but I certainly am not!

Eight straight days of going to bed around 1AM  and early rising really wears on you, 

I have no idea how I did that nearly every night of college.

fishing, camping, coffee.

This weekend we made the trek to the southwest corner of Missouri.

We left Louisville at 5pm,

gaining an extra hour we arrived in Pulaskifield around midnight.

We decided to go fishing and camping the next day.

Cast after cast and the fish just weren't biting.

Guess they don't like those Canadian nightcrawlers? 

We ended the fishing with the one and only big catch of the day.

Then we headed to Roaring River to camp for the night. 

We finally put our tent to use for the first time. 

It was freezing, we can't wait to do it again with summer evening temperatures!

Camping just wouldn't be camping without grilling on the fire pit. 

Dad cooked bratwurst and warmed beans in the can.

After we all froze through the night. 

(FYI-mom and dad were sleeping on an air mattress in the open air and woke up around 5am to a layer of dew on their blankets.)

We packed up early and headed home for Easter festivities.

On the way home, mom tried brewing coffee in this vintage coffee-to-go kit that I have kept from my great-grandmother. It's been in my trunk for over a year.

It comes with mugs, spoons, containers for milk and sugar, and the maker itself.

It has a regular plug-in and an adapter for the car's lighter outlet. 

We had it plugged into the outlet the entire drive home 

but the coffee never brewed. 

When we got home mom plugged into the wall and wouldn't ya know, it worked!

I think it's the coolest thing ever, not exactly functional without the working adapter, but oh well!

We left Sunday after lunch at my grandma's house. 

With a record time of 7hrs 55mins, we got home at 1am.

A weekend of hardly any sleep... very much worth it.

march madness.

This month has flown by.

I should probably just come to terms with the fact that every month flies by

and stop saying it again and again.

Here in Kentucky, March means one thing...basketball.

That's all good and fine, but this year 

the University of Louisville and 

the University of Kentucky

both made it to the final four of NCAA tournament.

Which really means nothing to Jonny or I.

But people around here have gone crazy. 

Violent even. 

Two old men at a dialysis appointment got in a fist fight over the rivalry. 

(reported the paper)

You even have to be careful what colors you wear 

so that no one will associate 

your outfit for loyalties.

Thankfully, the civil war ended Saturday when Kentucky beat Louisville. 

And last night, Kentucky beat Kansas for the title.

Not sure if we could handle anymore of the "madness"

...

However, our life has been quite simple.

Our routine is still much the same. 

Jonny has classes twice a week,

he's made it over the "hump" of the semester.

Soon he will have finished two years of seminary!

I work Monday-Friday, and look forward to the weekend
 when I can cook, clean, craft, bake, garden etc.

We have a green card interview at the end of the month to validate that our marriage is legitimate and not for convenience. 

Thursday we are leaving for...

We are going to visit my family for Easter.

Can't wait to see the little munchkin cousins,

possibly go camping, 

definitely go fishing, 

and visit with family that we haven't seen since Christmas.

Hopefully I'll take lots of pictures to share. 

I've been pretty bad at blogging lately.

Whoops.