Mark Driscoll on Serving Your Spouse

I'm in Dallas at the Song of Solomon Conference. Last night, Mark Driscoll talked about how he prays that he will outlive his wife. This sounded really weird at first, but then he began to explain. He said that he wants to grow old with his wife, serve her until she dies and then preach her funeral so that he will have the privilege to say wonderful things about his wife in front of their church. He quoted Ecclesiastes when it says that "the end of a thing is better than it's beginning" and asked us what our funeral would be like because that is what we are preparing for.

I had the privilege to be a part of Jill's funeral, and it was not sad, because Jill had been such a servant. We didn't have to search very hard at all to find good things to say about Jill. Seeing Scott's joy in talking about how wonderful his wife was, is one of the most encouraging things I have the privilege to hear.

I have a question for you. Do you serve your spouse in such a way that your funeral will not be sad, but will reflect the great joy that you gave your spouse and those around you?

Update on Scott

I just talked to him on the phone and he is doing well. He went to a Hogs basketball game last night and had a good time. He will be going to Lufkin this afternoon and spend some time with Jill's family. He will be coming back to El Dorado on Sunday and will be there all next week.

It was good to hear from him. I think it does me much more good than him to talk with him.

The Role of Scripture in the Grieving Process

At Wyatt Baptist Church a couple weeks ago Clif Johnson talked about how we can use Scripture in times like these.
Here is what he said:

"In the book Pilgrim's Progress, Christian is on his way to the celestial city and he encounters an evil monster named Apollyon. They begin to fight a ferocious battle. During the fight Apollyon lays a blow so forceful on Christian that it knocks Christian's sword (the word of God) out of his hand and out of reach, and puts Christian on his back. Apollyon walks over to Christian, stands over him and mutters, "I am sure of thee now," meaning, without your sword the victory is easily mine. Without scripture to fight with, we will be defeated in our thoughts, and then our actions. There will not be a time where we walk away from a sermon and say, "That did it for me. I won't have any more doubts, any more questions, any more battles." We will fight every day of our lives to plant the right thoughts and take captive the evil ones. And what we must remind ourselves is that scripture is ultimate reality and truth. Our emotions are not ultimate truth, and they do not need to inform our idea of truth. We must let scripture, ultimate truth, inform our emotions."

This is excellent counsel from a very wise man. The role of the Word in the fight of faith is crucial. Without a strong grounding in that reality, you will be tossed about by emotions, the culture, your sinful desires, your confused-ness about reality, and will be easily led astray by human wisdom and philosophies. I am not telling you not to listen to the world, just get a grip on ultimate reality before you go looking for answers in the world. We all must trust in something before we make any decisions about what is true and what is not. The Bible is trustworthy and will not lead you astray.

God, Don’t give me peace…

This has been a weird week as I have settled back into my job and home life. It is difficult to carry on the routines of normal life when it feels like a big part of my life has been stripped away and my thoughts are constantly with Scott and Bryce. However, this is the way it has to be. Diapers must be changed, meals must be cooked, and paychecks must be earned. However, as I operate my life with a knife stuck in my heart in many ways I am thankful for the blade. My wound keeps sending me to Christ. I don’t want things to get back to the way they were. I want to love my wife and kids more than ever. I want to watch TV less and seek God more. I want to serve my wonderful church more faithfully. Most of all I want more of Christ. I do not want time to heal this wound. Nor do I want to dull the ache with the TV or Internet. I don’t even want to find refuge by just busying myself with family time. I want my refuge to be in Christ and Christ alone. If he does not give me peace, then I don’t want peace.

Don't Just Do Something Stand There...

This was the title to Dr. Albert Mohler's first sermon in chapel at Southern Seminary (the seminary I attended in Louisville, Kentucky)Sometimes we need people to just stand, and not just do.

I wanted to point out that a number of people have just "stood there" with Scott. There have been many people who have just been around Scott during this time, and I appreciate them, I know he does as well.

I didn't realize that Scott was going to publish something at the same time I posted so be sure and go down a couple posts and read his note.

Fight FOCA!

For those who don't know the Freedom of Choice Act is a piece of legislation that will undo years of "pro-life" legislation.

Copied from Between Two Worlds Blog:
FOCA will eradicate state and federal laws that the majority of Americans support, such as:

* Bans on Partial Birth Abortion
* Requirements that women be given information about the risks of getting an abortion
* Only licensed physicians can perform abortions
* Parents must be informed and give consent to their minor daughter's abortion

FOCA would erase these laws and prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.

To sign the petition go here.

Thank You by Scott

I want to thank everyone for the love that has been shown to my family over the past two weeks. God has poured out his grace on us through our friends. I especially want to thank Wyatt Baptist Church for being the hands and feet of God throughout this process. They have reached out to us through prayers, phone calls, visits, food, housework, and so many other ways.

I also want to thank Jonathan for setting up and maintaining this blog. So many people from other states (and nations) have told me that they have been able to keep up with everything because of his hard work. Thank you Jonathan!

I can't say enough about how wonderful Jill was. She was the greatest minister I have ever known. I always loved to watch her pour into other young ladies. She had a passion for helping others grow in Christ because she had a passion for growing in Christ herself. Her greatest joy was truly in her Savior and Lord.

Beyond ministering to others, she constantly ministered to me. She was always there to keep me organized, help me with church projects, plan mission trips, communicate with people on my behalf, tend to my diabetes, organize information, and give me feedback on my ministry.

And at the end of the day, she loved me in spite of myself. I was truly blessed with the most wonderful, beautiful, gracious wife! She was a godly woman in every way.

One of my favorite memories of Jill is watching her take care of Bryce. She found great fulfillment in being a mom. After so many years of praying for a baby, God blessed us with an sweet little boy.

I loved watching her talk to him, recite scripture to him, read books to him, snuggle with him, take a million pictures of him, and make plans for him. Every night before we would put him to bed, Jill would swaddle him and lay him down between us. We would all snuggle together and talk about how we were a "snuggling family." Those were some of the best "family moments" I have ever had.

There are a million other things I could say about Jill. It has been encouraging over the past two weeks to learn of all the people she ministered to that I never knew about. I think it is safe to say that she did 100 years of ministry in her 34 years on earth! I love her and miss her greatly.

To everyone who has sent emails and posted on this blog -thank you for sharing your memories and feelings for Jill. It means so much to me.

New Features on the Blog

I wish this would have been on here before, but I just put a counter on the blog and an analytics code so that I can see where people are accessing the blog from. I also added an RSS feed activator on the right to make it easier for those of you savvy enough to get our blog that way.

By the way, I have my personal journal within the same blogger account so if I ever post one of my personal journals on here I cannot be held ultimately responsible for the content, because I have no filter when writing in it. It is a very unrestricted and free form, kind of like how you can't be held responsible for the content of your dreams. Whatever flows into my head gets written down.

You'll know immediately if I accidentally post one on here though.

Don't Waste Your Life...

Jill did not waste hers. I really need to go back and count up all the women who have emailed or commented about how Jill discipled or otherwise poured her life into them. There have been dozens. Oh to leave a legacy like she has in her short life! She may have had only one biological son, but she has a quiver full of spiritual daughters.

I want to speak to older women reading this: what will your legacy be? For some of you, it may seem too late to leave a legacy like Jill, and you may be right. But it is never too late to begin to leave a legacy. Perhaps you yourself need to be discipled, seek out another lady to disciple you so that you can disciple others.

Young ladies: What will your legacy be? You have youth on your side, but as we have seen, youth is no guarantee of longevity. You may think you have time to build a legacy later, but you may not. If you need discipling find an older lady who can pour her life into you, and then seek to disciple others.

Jill lived like eternity was just around the corner, may we all live like that and not waste our lives.

The book at the top of the screen is a book about not wasting your life by John Piper.
You can buy it here.

Job... Again

I will be preaching Job 1:1-2:10 on Sunday night at Wyatt.

For a good sermon on this text go here.