Back to GCA

Well, Tim and I started back to GCA on the 21st of August for inservice. We spent a week getting our rooms and curriculum together and then on the 28th the kids came back to school. We really only had a four day week the first week because we got Friday off for Hurricane Ernesto, and then we had a four day week the next week as we had Monday off for Labor day. We both really loved having four days of work, then a four day weekend, the four days of work again :o) I wouln't mind if every week was like that!

Tim is teaching Theology, Greek and History this year. He really seems to be ejoying his group of students . I have 19 fourth graders that seem like a really great group of kids as well. I have 7 boys and 12 girls! This is quite the classroom change as last year I had mostly boys. Let's just say it's a whole lot calmer in the classroom... and I get a lot more hugs. I would include a picture of my students, but our digital camera is at Canon right now being fixed, oh well! That's about all that has been going on for right now. I will try to do better at keeping the blog updated :O)

Sin, the Wrath of God and the Gospel

The cross cannot be understood by itself – it has to be understood in context of its need. Understood by itself, the cross is just a brutal beating; but understood in its context, the cross becomes a statement of God’s love. So before we can rightly understand the cross, we must first understand our need of the cross –

Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (NASB).

The Bible teaches that we needed the death of Christ, and that it was demanded by our sin. This is what Romans 5 means when it says that Christ died for the ungodly. It means that the sin of man made Christ’s death necessary. In the Bible, Sin is anything which dishonors or displeases God. Sin always angers God, it always separates Him from man, and worst of all it always demands His punishment and wrath upon the person who commits it:

Psalm 5:4-5 4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. 5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil (NLT).

Romans 1:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people . . . (NLT).

Colossians 3:5-6 Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming [upon those who are disobedient] (NLT).

We should not overlook that the God of the Bible is not just a God of love; he is also a holy God who hates sin – and his wrath is something to be feared. It would be a mistake for someone to assume that if God is love, then he will not punish sinners. We are repeatedly told that God’s wrath against sinners is frighteningly intense, and that he will show them no mercy in the judgment.
Rev. 14:10 presents a particularly graphic picture of God’s wrath. Those who worship a false messiah, according to this text, will experience God’s wrath at its worst – John compares it to drinking unmixed wine:

Revelation 14:9-10 Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, 10 they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

In cultures of the day wine was stored in wine skins, and when poured was generally cut with water by a 1:1 ratio so as to prevent those from drinking the wine from becoming drunk. To drink wine “full strength” meant that the wine was not cut with water at all – those who drank in this fashion desired to get drunk. The imagery here is that God will not “cut” the wine of his wrath with the water of mercy; those who are disobedient will be forced to drink God’s wrath at full strength!
Though this aspect of God might not be the most enjoyable for us to think about, it is essential to the gospel. The gospel is about salvation from something – if God does not punish sinners, if he has no wrath for the ungodly then there is nothing to be saved from.

The Meaning of the Gospel

As many of you know, I have been writing a curriculum for the school that I teach at which will instruct new believers in the basics of the Christian faith. I am currently writing on the meaning and importance of the Gospel, and I thought to myself, what better way to create fodder for writing than tossing them onto the blog for friends and family to interact with. So, over the next few weeks, I will be doing a series of posts on the Meaning of the Gospel. I would encourage you to make any comments or especially ask questions about the posts. My hope is to turn the series into an applicational section at the end of the curriculum so, as you participate in these posts, you participate in building this tool for discipleship. Thanks.

Our Visit to Pennsylvania

We recently returned from a trip to PA. Everyone was there! My parents, His parents, His siblings, my siblings and nieces and nephews. It was so fun! We went to Hershey park one day and had the best time! The roller coasters were amazing!

Then we went State College and to Bellefonte to spend some more time with family at our "Home Bases"

I used a new slide show program, so just click on "VIEW" To see the pictures :o)


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Family in town

This weekend my brother Tim, his wife Shannon, and my twin sister Rachael ( the one next to me :o) came to visit! So do you think my twin and I look alike?

We went to a GREAT restaurant along the boardwalk. It's called "Watermans" They have the best crabcake sandwhiches around!

We had a great time on the beach with them. We walked along the boardwalk, checked out the massive statue of Neptune and caught up on things.

That night we went to Bravo for dinner. We had the hook -up too! My sister rachael, works at Bravo part time as she is starting her sewing busines. Well she had been working there for years now and she gets a 70% discount! So we went all out... appetizers, drinks, great meals, and dessert! It was amazing. For the five of us the bill should have been $135, but instead it was only $60! Talk about a deal! --Ohh yea, that's my brother, Tim making that great face at the camera--he cracks me up!

Tomorrow mornng we are all heading up to Hershey's Park to meet my older sister, her husband and three girls. After that we'll all head to State College, PA where the rest of my family and tim's family lives. We'll be there until Monday :o) Everyone have a great weekend!

Out of town friends

A bunch of friends came into town from Colorado and Wisconsin. We spent this past weekend together catching up on things.
In this slidesow are Amanda and Garrett Lee, Tim and I, Renee and Andrew Newland adn their little boy Ashton,Sarah Dawn and Tim St.Clair, Beth and Jeremy Wickert, and Don and Katrina Hines.
We enjoyed food and felowship at local houses, and went to the beach and on a dolphin cruise.

Graduate School

Well. I have finally started my master's degree. I am talking the Reading Specialist degree through ODU. GCA actually offered two Reading courses on their campus through Missouri State University. I took both of those and last night I FINALLY completed all of the work for the two classes. I have to say, I'm not sure how the guys do it.... classes and work every day and homework every night. I certainly have a new appreciation for my husband after finishing these classes. I am planning on taking maybe just one to two courses a semester, hoping to finish before we leave. That's the "Plan" anyways :o) We'll see....

The Beauty of the Gospel: Reflection on the Death of a Friend

Yesterday, Julie and I recieved news that a very close personal friend of ours, Matt Wigfield, was found dead in his apartment.

It so strange to hear about the death of a friend. Matt and I knew each other for almost 10 years, and spent a ton of time together. Those of you who know me best could probably recite by heart many of the stories that I shared with you regarding Matt, the One-eyed-wonder, and myself. Throughout High-School and College, Matt, One-Eye, and myself were frequently together doing something stupid. In fact, Tim Jordan's (Julie's brother) first run in with the law was at my house with Wigfield. I remember sitting next to Matt on the night he first professed Christ, and then praying with him, and discussing the Bible with him in the weeks after his profession. I loved Matt like a brother.

When I heard the news on my way to church Sunday morning, I was in total shock. You don't expect friends to die. But then again, you don't expect friends to struggle with addiction either. In High School, Matt had an on-again-off-again battle with addiction to Marijuana. But once Matt was in college, addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs began to take hold. Matt was in and out of jail, in and out of rehab, and in and out of discipleship repeatedly during that time. My father-in-law welcomed Matt into their home and loved him like a Son, and preached the Scripture to him daily -- but the addiction never let go. Over the last two years, Matt's spiritual status became more and more ambiguous . . . and fruit of conversion less and less obvious. On numerous occasions Tim and I confronted and prayed for Matt . . . his repeated struggles never changed our love for him.

As I worshipped Sunday morning, I was overwhelmed by a flurry of thoughts, as I still am: the helpless feeling of not knowing the spiritual condition of one of my closest High-School friends, the hope that Matt was in heaven, the desire to pray for grace, but knowing that it was too late for that now. I felt guilty for not praying more when he was alive, and I hated myself for not keeping in touch.

In the middle of all of my tears and confusion there was one thought that was crystal clear: "Thank You God, for the gospel! Thank You Lord for saving me!" The gospel is all that matters in times like these, because it is the only thing that offers hope. It offers hope because the gospel is about God's ability to satisfy what Matt could not. Matt's performance as a Christian was, at best, lackluster. But if Matt had faith, however weak, the gospel made him righteous! As Alexander Maclaren said, "If I trust to him, and am thereby holding firmly by him my union with Him is so real, that . . . His fulness passes over into my emptiness, His righteousness into my sinfulness, His life into my death." It is the power of the cross alone which can take an addict, and make him a saint, celebrated by God himself.

But perhaps more poignently for me this Sunday as I wept, was an extreme thanksgiving that God would save me . . . that God would open my eyes . . . that he would call me. I rejoiced in the gracious statement of Paul, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the worst," because it made sense to me. I wept as I thought of how arrogant and self-righteous I had been when Matt slipped into addiction. I thought I was so much different than Matt was, so much better; and then I remembered 1 Cor. 1:21-31: "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those whom God has called . . . Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God."

Why is the gospel beautiful? Because through the gospel, God lays hold of those too weak to lay hold of him.

Our Third Anniversary- Part 2

There were plenty of used book stores in Charlottsville. This one was the most impressive.


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Tim insisted on taking this Next picture on our trip, claiming it was Noonan's new restaraunt...yikes!!

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On a more serious note, we visited the campus of U.V.A. while we were in town. What a beautiful shcool! We were so impressed!

One of the most enjoyable parts was staying at the Laffayette Inn.

Our room was so comfortable and quaint. We loved it! We would HIGHLY recommend it!

We also ate two meals there. We had dinner that night and breakfast the next morning. The food was absoulutely amazing!

After breakfast, we drove the Skyline Drive to see the scenery. We some some gorgeous views!

The LAST thing that we did (I know this has been so long!) was we went to Monticello. We both enjoy Historical things, so we really did enjoy learning about Thomas Jefferson, seeing his house, and walking through his vinyards and gardens.

And that ENDS the story of the Baylor family vacation...thanks so much for tuning in :o)

Caleb John Heckathorne

Julie and I want to welcome one of our favorite new people into the world, the new son of my sister Suzanne, Caleb John Hecathorne. What an honorable name he has inherited! Caleb was a man of faith and courage, and there are so many men named 'John' worthy of honor (John Baylor, John Calvin, John Murray, John Edwards, John Starks). Welcome to the family Caleb! May the Lord create in you a courageous heart filled with faith which fearlessly pursues God's pleasure in all things and in all things finds the pleasure that comes from God.

Our Third Anniversary- Part 1

Our Anniversary was May 24th. We went away for the weekend togther : first to Williamsburg and then to Charlotssville.

We stopped on a bench beside the Governor's Palace to get a picture together.

We spent that first day in Williamsburg shopping and seeing the sights. That night we stayed at a hotel that I booked for us.... let me tell you ... it was SKANKY! Tim had gotten kind of expensive reservations for the next night, so he told me to get a cheap hotel for the first night... well let's just say it was VERY cheap. I don't think we touched anything while we were there....BUT the ONE redeeming factor was that they had an outdoor pool, so Sunday morning when we woke, we laid out in the sun and read our Bibles.

Sunday we drove to Charlottsville. The first thing we did was go to luch in the Hisoric Distric of town. It was gorgeous!

More on our trip to Charlottsville later...

Choices

For my end of the year gift, my students so graciously gave me a KITCHENAID mixer!
I am so pumped. I can't wait to use it. The only problem is that I am still deciding on a color. Those of you who know my kitchen know that it is brown and green, so should I go with , white, black, or gray? Oh yea, my other appliances out are black and my dishwasher and fridge are off-white. I'd love to hear what you think:o)

Back on Track...

Well, I am finally back to blogging... needless to say it has been unbelievably busy! But I will try ot catch you all up as to what has been happening in our lives :o)

First, the School year ended May 31st, last wednesday!!!! Now we are in teacher training until the 16th. The picture on the top is of my sweet 4th grade children :o) I'm just now starting to miss them... hee hee .


The picture below it is of the teacher's I work with: Jessica Palmer, Lacie, Melissa, Laura, Danielle, and Katie. They are sweet blessings from the Lord!

Yahoo! Summer begins in a week and a half!


I will be working at Shoneys' Friday and Saturday (daytime) and working tutoring Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Hopefully, I will end up with Sunday and Monday off :o)
So I can go do some FUN stuff :o)

Mothers Day, Veitnam Tom, and a Graduation Party

This past sunday was busy for us. After church Julie and I drove up to Hampton to have lunch and see Nana and Papa Knerr who were in town visiting. It was great to see them again and in such good spirits!




















Of course, Julie and I had to stop at the Bass Pro shop and get our picture taken, calling Tim Jordan to remind him that the last time I was in a Bass Pro shop, he was getting married . . . did that sound right?





















Many thanks to the bears at Bass Pro, they were surprisingly congenial.




















Call me "Veitnam Tom" . . . I never thought I would be wearing one of these again so soon after that fateful day when Suin Pea ratted out our detail.


Any way, after the Bass Pro, Julie and I were plumb tuckered out, so we went home to prepare for the graduation party we were hosting for Dawn and Nate Mihelis and Scott Logan. Nate graduated this spring with his MDiv; he won the Greek Award for highest cumulative GPA in that lanuage and he won the Servant Leadership award. Congratulations Nate! Dawn was graduating from a job she has hated for the past 4 years to being a stay at home mom of their son, Noah. Scott stopped off on his way to getting his MDiv to get an MBS, with honors. He is going to complete the full MDiv, but having this degree will give him more credibility in the mean time, and ultimately more earning power in the ministry . . . yeah right. Congratulations to the graduates, we all look forward to seeing God's grace use you to further the Kingdom.