Book Review

I usually don't do book reviews; there are many others who are gifted at that. However, I couldn't resist talking about this one. Recently, my Bible study went through a book called Battling Unbelief written by John Piper.

This little book only has 8 chapters (it's actually a portion of the book Future Grace), which was perfect for my attention span. It deals with battling sin by battling unbelief. Namely, believing what God says in His Word and using His Word to fight sin.

Someone might ask, "But do you really struggle with believing God?" Well, it is easy to tell that I do because I sin. When I sin, I am believing the tempters Words over the Truth of the Bible. This book has helped me in a very practicle way in battling sin and I would love to recommend it to you. I hope to read it again soon.

Here is a review from Justin Taylor who writes for the Between Two Worlds blog:

I've been looking forward to the appearance of this book for years. Multnomah has now published John Piper's book Battling Unbelief. Though I recommend lots of books on this blog, I try not to overuse the term "must have" or "must read." Well this is not one of those times! Quite simply, I think this is some of the best material we have today on sanctification--putting sin to death and trusting in the promises of God in Christ through the power of the Spirit.Future Grace was first published in 1995. It's a thick book (both in terms of content and pages). But sprinkled throughout the book are "application" chapters that take the concept of future grace and apply them to eight broad categories of unbelief: (1) anxiety, (2) pride, (3) misplaced shame, (4) impatience, (5) covetousness, (6) bitterness, (7) despondency, and (8) lust.These chapters are now lightly revised and collected in Battling Unbelief, along with a new introduction. If you can't afford it, skip a meal, shovel someone's driveway--do what you need to do to get your hands on this book.

Weekend Visit and a Race

This weekend Rocky's Dad came up for a visit. He was very sweet to come and see us all the way from Mississippi. It's a long way here from central Mississippi even by plane. We had a great time hanging out with him and taking him to a few of our favorite restaurants. Rocky's dad is always so kind to us and the visit seemed so short. We look forward to seeing him again hopefully in October. Above is a picture of the three of us. I meant to have a waiter take one of us at the restaurant, but I forgot so I had to set the timer on my camera at home. I think it turned out okay. Below is a picture of Rocky and his dad at Lynn's Paradise Cafe. This restaurant is super yummy and has even been featured on the Food Network. It's a little crazy inside and out, but that's what makes it so fun.

Rocky and I were in a 4 mile race this weekend that started at Slugger Field. We were presently surprised to get a visit from the Bat's mascot, Buddy the bat. This picture was made after the race. We were lucky enough to have cool weather and an overcast sky. It was also a flat course which made it easier. It was a lot of fun and went to support Kiwanis Kids.

Mother Daugher Trip

This past week I took a vacation to the beach. Pictured above are my 2 best friends, their moms, and my mom. (Left to right, Pam, Rachel, Linda, Karen, me, and my mom Joyce). Karen and I have been best friends since the seventh grade and started the mother daughter trip tradition our freshmen year of college when our moms came and stayed in the dorm with us. Needless to say, it was a tight squeeze! Karen and I met Rachel through our sorority our sophomore year of college. We quickly became friends and were excited to have her and her mom on this trip.

Rachel recently got engaged so we threw her a "mini" shower with a few things for her honeymoon. Karen and her mom got her a few books, my mom got her some flip-flops, and Rachel's mom got her a beach towel. I made her a beach bag in my sewing class (pictured below). I wish we had more pictures from the weekend. Overall, it was great to just relax and I always love to spend time at the beach. We did all the things girls should do, lay out, swim, eat out, and talk for hours. I stayed an extra day with my mom and it was great to spend time with her.

Rachel with her new bag

Rachel gives me a squeeze!