Another Week Begins

So all the spring breaks are done. The Easter festivities have come to culmination. There are a couple things I still have to look forward to in the not-too-distant future. The first is the Desiring God regional conference! This Friday and Saturday, my husband and I (and maybe my mother-in-law as well) will make our way to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest to attend the Desiring God regional conference. Any opinions of Rick Warren aside (either negative or positive - I'm not getting into that right now), I am greatly (GREATLY) looking forward to listening to John Piper. Prepare for a deluge of opinions of John Piper.

I first heard John Piper back in 2007 at the Resolved Conference. From that point on, I have had an insatiable thirst for his books, blogs, sermons, video clips, etc. There are many reasons for this. I'll begin with the most important. I think everyone can have a favorite preacher without taking glory away from the God about whom and scripture from which they preach. This is so with John Piper. It is primarily because I feel that the Lord has equipped him so tremendously to relate profound truths to my own heart that it's through him that I feel God most strikes my soul. Since I have listened to/read his works/publications, I have experienced significant spiritual growth. God is the master craftsman and when it comes to me, John Piper is his favorite tool.

There are a few reasons I believe God uses John Piper more so than other preachers for myself. And these go into the other less-important reasons I like John Piper so much. We have a mutual affection for C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis' writings have influenced me more than any one else. (Clarification: Piper's ministry as a whole has influenced my spiritual walk more than anyone else). Piper often refers to Lewis in books, sermons, blogs, etc. which I truly appreciate.
Another reason is that Piper and I are both Lit nerds. (Literature majors). Gotta represent. :)

I'm also greatly encouraged by his wife, Noel's blog which can be found on my blog list to the right of this --->
I'd encourage you to take a look.

Anyway, this Friday and Saturday are going to be (Lord willing) nothing short of Christ exalting excellence!
http://www.desiringgod.org/events/regional-conferences/2011-lake-forest

Of the other things I have to look forward to with eagerness (which I will write blogs about later, I'm sure):
End of the school semester
The Resolved Conference
More free time this summer!


On another note, a class assignment took Sergio and me to Red White and Bluezz in Pasadena last night. It turned out to be sort of an unplanned date. (Which was really nice!) I purchased a groupon to Red White and Bluezz that we needed to redeem, and I also have to write a concert report for my jazz class this Friday. So, Sergio and I had dinner before hand ($40 doesn't get you very much at RWB, so we had to make sure we had eaten a bit) and drove down to Pasadena to enjoy a romantic evening with live music. Most of my pictures didn't come out at all. And only two came out somewhat not-horrible. My phone's camera is pretty terrible to begin with and on top of that, I forgot to turn on the flash :( I have to learn to start bringing my camera along to things like this.



This was the cheese plate that we had. It was superb! Red White and Bluezz is technically a wine bar and they have an EXCELLENT selection of cheese and wine flights. Not super extensive wine list per se, but everything is good - if you're into that sort of thing. We are. :)




I'm very picky about crab cakes. It's almost to the point that I cringe when I order them because they're almost never up to par. The best crab cakes I've ever had were at the Mustard Grill in Napa. These crab cakes were pretty darn good. No where close to to Mustard Grill crab cakes, but that's a really tall order. These were very tasty. I was pleased :)

I love spending time with my husband. It's really nice to go out once in a while. We don't get that opportunity too much as school and money usually restrict us. But the times that we do are always so sweet. We reminisced about our early dating relationship, and talked about how we fell in love with each other. You could almost see the blue birds landing on our shoulders. It was a nice break from our usual nights in in our semi-messy apartment, both of us with school work on our minds. (Even though I treasure those times as well)!