It’s been a wonderful fall week here. With the time change it seems easier to get to sleep, the weather has been cold and gloomy and we are enjoying living in just one apartment since we turned in the keys to our old one on Sunday. Now to unpack the new one…so far we’ve been able to get the kitchen and living room and most of our bedroom set up. Yesterday the mail even began forwarding. We’ve grocery shopped and done laundry–feels like we are just about all settled in.

I’m continuing to read John MacArthur’s book Our Sufficiency in Christ, and am enjoying his usual clear profundity as he unleashes Scripture shining the light of the Word into real life. Here is a portion of what I was able to read today:

I had a thought provoking conversation with a friend over dinner last night. We discussed some things happening at our church that present various rewards or challenges. She noted that it is easy when time passes to simply ignore some problems and never deal with them. In doing this we never really grow beyond them, but simply move on in spite of them. I was convicted that I do this often in my own life. It can be easy to have those “small” sins, weakness or bad habits, and think that I can simply move on from them. That in time they will just go away.

We started talking about ways that we could live much more preemptively. By immersing ourselves in he Word, maintaining genuine fellowship with other likeminded believers and seeking the guidance of godly older women. The latter has proven to be the most difficult. I find that it is really a matter of us seeking the older women out because they seem busy, disinterested or intimidated by the idea of mentoring younger women like us. All the same, I remain hopeful because I can still learn from those who are older than me. I regularly read and glean a great deal from several blogs written by older women. I also enjoy the many conversations I have with my mom as she constantly seems to have wise, practical and Biblical thoughts on life. I hope in time to be the same as these women are for us younger women, what they say is so valuable to listen to not just because they have lived more of life than me, but because they have obviously grown increasingly throughout their life in their knowledge of and obedience to Scripture.

What a blessing that God uses people in our lives to spur us on toward Christ! I’m thankful for these godly people the Lord has put in my life. They are a great source of inspiration to focus on the Lord, stay faithful in the Word and keep me humble about my sin. These people would especially be my sweet husband and his constant encouragement, Bobby’s best friend Ty and the worshipful music they record, my dear friend Missy and the fellowship we share and my mom, what wonderfully long and uplifting conversations we have.