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Mommy-y-y-y! Dad can't find his keys again and Judson is eating crayons and Norah didn't make it to the potty and I need help with my homework and someone rang the doorbell and now Dad really needs his keys and Mommy, why are you closing your eyes like that are you tired?

If this scenario sounds familiar, then this article is for you. Yes, you with the peanut butter handprints on your blouse and 14 sticky notes on your refrigerator.

I suspected that I could relate to you when I saw you drinking room temperature coffee leftover from yesterd—

Oh, hang on—-I hear a baby waking up. . . . False alarm. Poor guy—-he's teething. I started to tell you something. Hold on, it will come back . . . ah, yes!

Did you hear about The Gospel Coalition women's conference in Orlando this summer?

If you frequent the TGC site then you might have read about the conference. Perhaps you dismissed it as something you couldn't possibly attend because of your responsibilities at home.

Or maybe when you read about the conference the most pressing thing on your mind was multitasking your email and laundry at the end of a long day. I'm right there with you.

So while you're multitasking your email and laundry, I want to take a minute to encourage you to consider attending the conference in June.

Maybe the best way for me to do that is to tell you why I'm excited about going.

Behold Your God

My life is mundane. I don't say mundane in a negative way, but with a sense of hopefulness for holiness because of what Christ has done on the cross. The “whatever you do” in 1 Corinthians 10:31 includes all the little mundane moments like graciously finding my husband's lost keys (minus any sarcastic remarks), humbly cleaning up the mess on the bathroom floor, and cheerfully extending hospitality to those the Lord sends my way.

The theme of the conference is “Here Is Our God: God's Revelation of Himself in Scripture.” To quote the conference overview:

It's a time to learn more of what Scripture says to us—-and to say it to each other. A time to dig deeper into the character of God and his purpose for his people.

The subject matter of this conference is acutely relevant to my image-of-God-bearing, one-flesh-mystery-living, soul-shepherding, casserole-cooking, and Olympic shirt-ironing. 

I can't think of anything that makes a more significant effect on my mundane life than the good news, “Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9)

Take a minute to read over the conference schedule—-even the message titles are edifying! Women from various backgrounds—-single and married, young and old, no children and grown children—-should enjoy the teaching and fellowship.

But What About ___?

Maybe you thought about going and ran into these obstacles:

Life is too complicated.

You have responsibilities at home—-you are the Manager, after all. Plus, your husband may not be available to take care of the kids. I hear you. We have three kids younger than five, and my husband's job (which is a blessing) keeps him very busy. Plus he has chronic nerve pain in his arms that prevents him from physically helping with the children. Every single day I pray that God would give me extra arms to help around the house—-so how could I even dream about going to the conference?

When I realized that God faithfully provides everything I need for life and godliness, I thought, Well, why wouldn't I ask him to provide the simple resources I need for this special occasion?

So we prayed. Then we did some budget shuffling and calendar adjusting to make the conference part of our family vacation. Then God raised up some friends to help my husband with the kids during the sessions!

The Lord provides—-ask him to provide for you if similar circumstances are holding you back from attending this conference.

It's too far away.

You might have to drive long distances or fly—-and perhaps with a baby in tow or in utero. I can sympathize with you. Something I've learned from taking innumerable road trips and 57 flights with our kids is to never forget to pack three things—-tenacity, a sense of humor, and earplugs.

I hope it encourages you to hear that a group of us from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are planning to attend. You'll recognize us right away. We'll be the jet-lagged ladies carrying bags of American candy to pack in between all the awesome books we plan to buy.

Whether you're half an hour or 24 hours away, it could be a logistical challenge to get there. The Lord generously gives wisdom to those who ask, so ask him for wisdom as you consider making this trip.

God's Delight in His Gracious Providence

I'm excited to meet many of you in Florida this June! But I know that for every woman I meet at the conference, there are hundreds more who just aren't able to go.

And that's okay! God has determined the duration, intensity, and every other circumstance of this season according to his sovereign goodness.

Whatever season we're in we have reason to rejoice because . . .

  • God the Holy Spirit illumines God's Word for us (1 Corinthians 2:10-13).
  • God the Son is the living Word who became a human being and lived among us so we could behold God's glory (John 1:14).
  • God the Father purposed since before time began to bring us near to himself through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

Rejoice that the Holy Trinity is working to ensure that you behold the beauty of your God and enjoy him forever!

Now go to the conference website to read more details about “Here Is Our God: God's Revelation of Himself in Scripture” and prayerfully consider if you should join us in Orlando from June 22 to 24.

Oh, and don't forget to take your clean clothes out of the dryer before you go to bed.

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.
To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

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