Suffering and the Sovereignty of God -- a Good Christmas present

I know, I know, you missed me!! Well, I'm back!!

First, let me just tell you, Ryan and I had the most wonderful thanksgiving ever! We had all the goodies to eat, we had a house full of Ryan's family for four nights straight, and two kiddos (Jacob and the Ty-man) ready to play at the first signs of life in the morning. I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving. And I love the Bebee family that is now my own. We had a time of really just sharing what we were thankful for, and praying for one another. It was encouraging!!

FRIDAY! And for those of you girls that love to shop, Friday was IT! Shea, Cara and I woke up a little before 3:00, and were shopping at the Roundrock outlet mall directly after. There were SWEET deals, and for those of you saying "is it REALLY worth it"??? I have to respond with a resounding YES!!! I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping, and man, there were some great gifts.

Other than that, Ryan and I have been super busy with school and camp. I'm in the middle of Junior Counselor applications/interviews which has been a blessing to me. And Ryan has been jumping in the deer blind every opportunity he can (PS. my sister and her husband are coming down next weekend to hunt -- boys hunting, girls shopping and well, being girls!! LOVE IT).

For those of you looking for a good book to give for Christmas, I ran across a Piper book on his website. When my dad died, I read almost everything I could get my hands on regarding this subject, but as I went through some of the pages online again this morning, it was so heart warming and comforting to see GOD for the sovereign ruler that He is. So check out, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, by John Piper. It's only 7.00 bucks on his website. And here's a little snippit of the good stuff.

"The impetus for this books comes from the ultimate reality of God as the supreme value in and above the universe. God is absolute and eternal and infinite. Everything else and everybody else is dependent and finite and contingent. God himself is the great supreme value. Everything else that has any value has it by connection to God. God is supreme in all things. He has all authority, all power, all wisdom -- and he is all good "to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him" (Lam. 3:25). And his name, as Creator and Redeemer and Ruler of all, is Jesus Christ." (Chapter 1, pg. 17)

"And what I mean in this chapter when I say that God is sovereign is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things, but that he does govern all things, for his own wise and holy purposes." (Piper, 19)

We all of those people in our lives, or ourselves, who are going through hard times, suffering, or have experienced great loss. May we point them to Christ. And may we know that "our comfort is abundant through Christ." (2 Cor 1:5).

Ohh yeaaaah, I have a blog...

Well, I guess I should post something every now and then.

 

-- Sarah and I met with our pastor last week to discuss the call to ministry. We had a wonderful time discussing the hardships that a pastor faces and the calling that the Lord has placed on mine and Sarah's life. It was extrememly encouraging as well as enlightening to the daily life of a pastor. There is a lot more to it than studying and preaching the word! The first thing that he wanted me to do was read chapter 6 of Preaching and Preachers by Martin Loyd Jones (sound familiar Eron?). I did, wow, and it too was encouraging and confirming of the call to the pastoral ministry. I will be preaching at Dayspring (our church) on a Sunday night sometime in January.

-- I got to explain The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to about 6 teachers today in the teachers lounge. It really paint a great picture of the gospel and sharing it was easy. I think that tomorrow I will explain the Lord's redemptive work using some other movie. How about Bull Durham.

-- My shoulder is getting much better, I don't think I am going to have surgery until I let it heal and see what I can and can't do. It feels pretty good, and although Sarah might not be to thrilled to hear this, I might even hunt with my bow during the Thanksgiving break.

Note: Sarah and I will discuss this long before it ever happens. I am not encouraging that husbands do anything that their wives wouldn't encourage them in (especially in non-spiritual matters such as bow-hunting).

-- Life is good. I don't have any crazy stories to tell you about school (at least none come to mind), but if anything happens I will let you know.

-- Sarah is still the most wonderful girl in the whole world. She is recruiting in Abilene today (HSU) and will be back late tonight. This also means that I will be hunting this afternoon (always a good time).

-- I still get sick to my stomach when I think about the Texas - K-State game.

 

I hope that you all have a great thanksgiving.

 

Sola Deo Gratia,

   Ryan

AC Joints Part II

Update on Ryan: Our first orthopedic guy, Dr. Hurt saw Ryan on Tuesday. He did some extras, and did some measurements. Turns out Ryan is officially a Grade Five AC joint injury. Meaning, the separation between the clavicle and the scapula is larger than 200% of the other side. Pretty major, and it also means that he has torn all of the ligaments in between. The surgery for reparing this is rather major, so we were advised to let it heal for 4 weeks and come back and see the progress. Then we will do physical therapy if needed for 4 weeks, and then will look at surgery as the last result. Most AC injuries heal on their own, but the shoulder will not pull back up to the clavicle, but he would gain all motor and physical skills back. We are going to another guy in Fredericksburg on Wednesday (the best in the area we hear) to get a second opinion, and make sure we can't do anything else to help the healing. We may even travel down to San ANtonio due to the Patyraks (some best friends of mine, who are also in the medical field) recommendation. We love you guys and thank you for the prayers.

Other than injuries ect...we have been having a great time reading! Ryan is obsessed with some real documentary style hunting books about Africa, and he has had a lot more time to delve into his theology books, and I've been reading some classics!

For those of you in the area too...we are still looking at the Jingle Bell 5K in Zilker Park on Dec. 17th (Sunday night). We'd love for you to join us! :o)

Flag Football Injury

Last night the thundercats lost their last game of the pre-tournament season. However, they put up a good fight, taking the team into overtime. They now, I believe are fourth in the tournament. Unfortunately, one of the first plays of the game injured Mr. Ryan Bebee. Ryan laid out to catch a low pass and landed on his left shoulder as his arms were extended out. Ryan finished out the drive (even scoring on the two point conversion), and then came out of the game. A trip to the ER, some MAJOR pain killers through and IV, and a few hours later we were headed home with X-rays and a name of an orthopedic surgeon. Ryan has separated his shoulder, (not to be confused with dislocating a shoulder, which can be realigned into place). It is where your acromioclavical joint is seperated -- the joint between your acromion (the little nob off of your scapula) and your clavical (collarbone). He has a bump on his shoulder where the clavical is not aligned correctly, and the injury causes some immense pain. Ryan is a grade III of IV. Not the worst, but we have to see the orthopedic next week to see if he might need surgery, or if it will heal on its own. (Just for your amusement, the doctor we have an appointment with is appropriately name Dr. Hurt. We found this rather comical last night!)

Here's a healthy shoulder:



Here is what is going on in Ryan's shoulder (x-ray and then a picture):



and...



Please be in prayer that the Lord will heal Ryan quickly, and that he will be able to return to physical activity (and hunting) soon. We are not sure how much or what is torn in the joints, but this could determine the invasiveness of the procedure. Thank you for your prayers, and we will keep you updated!

Animal Kingdom

A little late, but here is a slide show mostly of our safari ride. So if you want to go to the zoo today, jump on board! By far our favorite ride at Animal Kingdom was Mount Everest. If you ever visit, it is a must!!! (Click on the Animal Kingdom to go to the slide show.)

Happy Belated Haloween/Reformation Day to all of you as well!