Reflections on Paris: The Louvre

On our trip to Paris we visited the most impressive Louvre. I wasn't all that excited to go but once we started our 3 hour trek through just a sliver of this massive museum I was glad I went. I love art depicting Christ or Bible stories and the Louvre had many beautiful paintings of this kind. In this slide show you will see a painting of St. Sebastian, a Roman soldier who was shot through with arrows for his faith. The catacombs I visited in Rome were the St. Sebastian Catacombs. You will also see a painting of John the Baptist's head on a platter, David holding the head of Goliath, and many paintings beautiful depicting Christ. The most famous painting at the Louvre is the Mona Lisa- she was fun to see. Near the end you will see Matt standing next to his favorite painting. It cracked me up that they had this painting in a museum with such famous pieces. We only had time to go through the paintings and catch a few great sculptures on the way out. I may have to go back to Paris just to see the rest of the Louvre and to have some more croissants!

Don't Manage Your Sin

I have been listening to Mark Driscoll a lot lately. In a recent sermon he said, "Don't manage your sin." It really struck me and I have been thinking about it since. How often we as Christians do just that. When I came across this sculpture at the Louvre last week I couldn't help but think, "Don't manage your sin, PUT IT TO DEATH!"

I don't know much about this sculpture or what the artist was trying to say but it looks to me to be a perfect picture of our struggle with sin. Sin is powerful, wiley, and does not give up easily. We need to fight hard, using all our strength. We need to grab it by the throat and give it a crushing blow to the head. And if it raises back up we need to do it again. We must keep fighting.

West Coast of Ireland

While my sister and her husband were here recently we rented a car and drove straight across Ireland to the west coast to see the famous Cliffs of Moher. Here is what you will see in the slieshow: First we ran into an old castle which sat on a black rocky marshland. There was water on three sides of it that seemed to orginate right there out of the ground. Next we arrived at what is known as the Burren. The Burren is large area of limestone along the west coast that stretches on for 300 sq. km. Here we saw many sheep, stone walls, and small cliffs over the ocean. My favorite part of this trip was when Matt decided to get near the edge of one of the cliffs to photograph some sea spray. As you will see in the slideshow he snapped a shot just before the wall of water overtook him and drenched him. He was able to take the shot, turn around, and protect the camera just in time. You will then see some pics taken at a small surfing town on the coast called Lynch where we stopped for dinner at a cozy little Italian restaurant. Lastly you will see the Cliffs of Moher. This is a national park on the west coast which has a series of green rolling hills that turn into beautiful green and black jagged cliffs which drop over 600 feet into the aqua ocean. Absolutely stunning!

Serious USA Booty!

When my sister came to visit last week she brought me a whole suticase of American treats from my family and Cbass. It was like Christmas in February! Peanutbutter, salsa, chai tea, rasinets, reeces pieces, m&m's, lemonade, brownies, choc chips, flavored coffee, velveeta cheese, fritos, Modern Reformation mags, a new book, scarves knit by my mom, a new hat, Bath & Body perfume and lotions, and- drumroll please- BRUEGGERS WHOLE WHEAT BAGELS!

Thanks family and Cbass! Praise the Lord who is wildly generous!

Fish and Chips?

Congrats to my brother-in-law Steven who recently won $500 in fishing contest in Minnesota for snagging this bad boy- a 12 pound northern named "Dinner!"

2008 Ligonier Conference Draws Near!!!

I am so blessed to be able to attend the 2008 Ligonier Minstries National Conference for the 5th year in a row. This is something my mom and sister Regan began attending in 2003. We have picked up a few more ladies along the way including our friend Cbass, my mother-in-law Sandi and for the first time joining us this year my other sister Jamie! I am so excited to go with my favorite ladies and be so blessed of the Lord. The theme this year is "Evangelism According to Jesus" and here is the schedule...

Pre-Conference
The Foolishness of Preaching by Steven J. Lawson
Evangalizing Your Children by R.C. Sproul Jr.
Good News in a Fallen World by Joni Eareckson Tada
Q & A with Lawson, Sproul Jr. and Tada

Conference
The Saving Power of God by Steven J. Lawson
Who Is Jesus? by John MacArthur
Proclaiming the Gospel to All Nations by Joni Eareckson Tada
Simultaneously Righteous and a Sinner by John MacArthur
The Substitutionary Atomement of Christ by Sinclair Ferguson
The Resurrection of Jesus by C.J. Mahaney
Sola Fide by R.C. Sproul
The Nature of Saving Faith by Sinclair Ferguson
Q & A with Ferguson, Mahaney, and Sproul
Counted Righteous in Christ by R.C. Sproul

Not only is the teaching outstanding but the worship music is awesome as well. It is performed by the Westminster Brass and there is also a gigantic organ. Beautiful hymns fill the sanctuary and when they play "A Mighty Fortress" I could swear I am in the midst of the reformation! They also have a huge bookstore set up each year and it is full to the brim of the best resources you can imagine.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!

European Reading

When we moved to Ireland I brought a whole bag dedicated to just books becuase I love to read. Knowing I would only be able to bring so many due to weight restrictions I had to carefully choose. About half of the books I brought were chosen because they were biographies on the lives of amazing saints who were of Europe. I figured it would be the perfect time to read about them while I was over here since I would likely be able to visit some of the places associated with them. Over December I read what I understand to be the greatest treatment of the life of Martin Luther. It is called "Here I Stand" written by Roland Bainton. It was excellent! I came to know and love Luther in no time. I knew he was a very important figure in church history but until I read this biography I did not know that he was responsible for so many changes and developments in the church. We have so much to be thankful to him for. Praise be to God for giving the church such a gift! The book was not only on Luther the man and his theology but the author really took the time to explain Luther's Germany and what was going on in the church. Reading how he came to his understanding that the just shall live by faith was awesome. I also really enjoyed the chapter that dealt with Luther's marriage- beautiful and humerous! Reading this book while I was in Rome was priceless!

After finishing with Luther (and feeling so proud to be German) I began to read a book on Charles Spurgeon. The book I read, called "A Marvelous Ministry," was not a full treatment of Spurgeon but was a great place to start. When I first became a Christian I read a lot of Spurgeon's sermons and enjoyed them very much but it has been a while since I have read him. After reading about his life I am ready to get back into him. Two things I absolutely love about Spurgeon- how he called men most earnestly to come to Christ and how he preached most boldly the doctrines of grace. AMEN BROTHER! Sprugeon's kind of preaching is not heard today- WHAT A SHAME!!! This man was an amazing preacher with a deep love for Christ and an undying love for the lost. What a generous and loving Father to give such gifts to the church!