Thanksgiving - Yerk Style

[Kristie here]

Time flies. We had been looking forward to our week-long Thanksgiving vacation at the Yerk homestead in PA for quite some time. Now, it's all over! Below are a just a few photos from the fun we had with family and friends. Among many other things, we are incredibly thankful to God for the ability to enjoy laughing, eating, fellowshipping, and making memories.

Thanks to mom and dad for spoiling us this past week and for planning our fun family excursions to Shady Maple Smorgasboard and the Tabernacle Reinactment in Amish Country, Sight & Sound Theater, Red Lobster, an almost-trip to see the Philadelphia parade, and much more.

We're looking forward to a Randolph Christmas in North Carolina!

This was John's first Thanksgiving in PA.

My immediate family (minus my dad taking the photo,
plus my soon to be sister-in-law Lauren),

and grandparents...a slightly smaller crowd than normal

for a Yerk holiday, but perfect for sharing memories

and gratitude over excellent food!

Brother-in-law Brad, brothers Josh & Tyler,

John, and Uncle Rick.

Here's Tyler showing off his newly-learned piano skills
from Drexel University. The rest of the family gathered
'round to sing along with his selected arrangements,
including Kum-bay-ya and Jingle Bells.

Not to be outdone, John relived his
glory days on the trumpet.

Here we are, ready to attack the gigantic

Shady Maple Smorgasboard in Amish Country!

Thankful for Books....Again

As I have written on this most prestigious blog before, I am extremely grateful to God for the amazing gift of books. What a blessing to be able to read! My grandfather never read a book to my knowledge, and now, a big part of my life is tied up in the reading of books.

As I write this, I have just arrived at my in-law's house outside of Philly. What a great time to write a blog - after being on the road for 13 hours! One blessing of our modern day is that we can listen to books in our car. We stopped by Cracker Barrel tonight and picked up an audio book by Anderson Cooper, of CNN fame, dealing with various foreign wars he has reported on and the tumultuous nature of his personal life.....very interesting and worthwhile book. I just can't recall the title right now.

My personal vote for book(s) of the year (at least in my life) is as follows:
1. Depression, by Ed Welch - masterful work by a gifted physician of the soul; excellent for anyone, whether the struggle itself is present or not.
2. Above All Earthly Pow'rs - Christ in a Postmodern World - This is a book that was required reading for me this semester, so that means that I wasn't able to pour over it and digest it like I would have liked to. Still, it has been a very rewarding read, one I definitely plan to return to.

I've got to get some sleep....hasta luego.

Nacho Libre Turns Calvinist

Greetings to all of my 1,000+ readers. Here's what's happening.......

Nacho Libre, written by those guys from Napoleon Dynamite, turns out to be clean, mostly pointless, but redeemable due to some awesome scenes wherein Jack Black demonstrates comedic genius.....worth the rent.

Chapel at Southern Seminary has been excellent. Last Tuesday, Andy Davis, NC pastor and occasional speaker at Founders events, spoke on ten aspects of the sovereignty of God / Christ from Matt.11:20-30, one of my absolute favorite texts of Scripture (last few vv). What a great message! I am reminded of what J. MacArthur has said - something to the effect that God's sovereignty (especially in salvation) is no harder to believe or any less clear than any other doctrine in Scripture; it's just that we don't want to believe it. Concerning this very text (Matt.11:25-30), Sinclair Ferguson has said that we should point believers to these very words of Jesus when they are trying to 'swallow' the doctrine of election. Jesus gives the most wide-open invitation to come of all time, immediately preceded by one of the most clear assertions of His sovereignty in salvation.
Yesterday, Don Whitney preached on the error of Rehoboam's ways in neglecting wise counsel. Whitney, as always, was eminently pastoral and practical. Very helpful message.

The Carolina Panthers are on the prowl - watch out.