Resolved: The Long and Winding Blog
by Ted Slater on 06/15/2008 at 1:24 PM
A few things before I begin my photologue:
1) It is a tragedy that Tim Challies is not here. Nobody live blogs like he does.
2) There's nothing wrong with "mountain top experiences" like this conference. I consider them a refreshing gift from God, a place along the road of life to joyfully consider, in a concentrated way, His grace toward me. Just because I don't live on the mountain doesn't mean that it's wrong to climb it once in a while, to relish who He is and what He's done for sinners like me.
3) I thank God for C.J. Mahaney. He is a timely gift to the Church. Last night, in an effort to encourage me that, yes, God indeed does love me, he quoted Spurgeon:
- "Once I knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts and when I got to the bottom of her doubt it was this: she knew she loved Christ but she was afraid He did not love her. Oh, I said that is a doubt that will never trouble me, never by any possibility because I am sure of this: that the heart is so corrupt naturally that love to God never did get there without God putting it there. You may rest quite certain that if you love God it is a fruit and not a root. It is the fruit of God’s love to you and it did not get there by the force of any goodness in you. You may therefore conclude with absolute certainty that God loves you if you love God."
4) The guys from my adopted church, Fellowship in the Pass, are cool. Thanks, Rick, Mike, Mike, Mike, and the rest of you for inviting me to hang out with you during the conference. You still owe me coffee.
5) Palm Springs is not as hot as hell, but it is hot.
1. BDB said the following at 2:05 PM on Jun 15:
Good to meet you, Ted. Sorry it was only 104 degrees!
(That's 40 degrees Canadian)
2. Ted Slater said the following at 3:10 PM on Jun 15:
I don't know, BDB. The Weather Channel has Palm Springs at 111 degrees tomorrow. In the shade, I assume.
We're not in Colorado anymore, Toto.
Ah, but it's refreshing indoors, in more ways than one.
3. S said the following at 4:00 PM on Jun 15:
Palm Springs is the only place where I've gotten into my rental car at 6:00am and it was already 90+F. Ugh!
4. BDB said the following at 4:27 PM on Jun 15:
Well, Ted, I finally looked up the Cambodia forecast at the Weather Underground and realized it's 20 degrees cooler there than I'm used to. I guess I'll bring a jacket. Specifically, a Gore-Tex jacket, since the forecast is for rain every day. Luckily, I'm from Seattle, so I understand rain...
5. Tami said the following at 4:31 PM on Jun 15:
Cool!
I always hear good things about Resolved from the migrating pack of Reformed friends that heads from my area to the conference. Glad to (hear? see? read?) that this year is no exception.
I would love to hear Randy Alcorn's talk.
6. Rachael said the following at 10:43 PM on Jun 15:
Neat :)
I wonder about the last line of Spurgeon's quote...I guess right now my thought is that God loves people who don't love God (but I think I've heard that the "world" part of John 3:16 is debatable)...but I suppose for people who struggle with knowing whether or not God loves them it would be helpful to recognize it as a fruit of God's love for them. "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Yep.
And, wow, it's BDB :).
And, I bet it was neat singing with a ton of "random" (insert Christian equivalent for "random" here) Christians.
It'll be so neat worshipping God with the multitudes from the past, present, and future...Yay for heaven!
7. Ted Slater said the following at 11:40 PM on Jun 15:
Hey, the official Resolved photographer caught me when I first introduced myself to my new friends at Fellowship in the Pass.
There's another one of me here (I'm the blurry, non-smiling one).
8. Beth said the following at 11:54 PM on Jun 15:
What I wouldn't give to be there with you! Grace Community is my home church and Rick is my regular pastor and I miss those people desperately! Summer has me in Northern California...so enjoy it for me! I can't wait to download the audio from the conference when it's available. Hope you're refreshed while you're there!
9. Joseph said the following at 2:24 AM on Jun 16:
If it is any comfort to your enduring spirit it has only been around 100F in Baghdad this week...
10. Melissa S. said the following at 8:54 AM on Jun 16:
I'm at the Resolved conference, too! It's been an amazing time of encouragement and conviction. I can't believe that I get to learn from these great preachers in person. Some are old favorites and others are new favorites! Something that really stands out is the brotherhood between the staff and the serious reverence that characterizes the whole conference, along with some playfulness, but never stupid silliness.
11. Tami said the following at 9:41 AM on Jun 16:
Rachel (6): how about --
I bet it was neat singing with a bunch of Christians foreordained by our sovereign God to be gathered in the same place, at the same time.
:)
Back when "random" first became a sort of colloquialism, my friend used to say "that's so random!!" all. the. time. And each time she said it, I'd say, "NOTHING is random!" and she'd roll her eyes. But she did start catching herself, at least around me. :)
12. Rachael said the following at 1:28 PM on Jun 16:
Tami :)
Thanks - I like your first paragraph suggestion. As for condensing a bunch of that into one word...um...:)
I think I do like the word "random" --not sure how much I use that random word these days - perhaps just randomly at random times.
Theologically as a whole I don't really agree with the doctrine of randomness, but I'm not sure how it all works, to be honest.
Theoretically I believe in the sovereignty of God. Yet not everything that happens is things He desires. Everything is ultimately under His control, but perhaps He allows for a bit of spontaneity? And stuff that happens...sure all works for the good, ultimately, but do some seemingly random mundane choices (like what to eat for breakfast) matter? Is there a reason that you see that person walking their dog down the street? Maybe there is a reason for that person being on a walk, but maybe there isn't a deeply spiritual reason for you glancing at that person....I don't know how it all works.
I know that God's ultimately in control...but I'm not sure about how to justify my random use of "random" :)
Sorry, I'm just having fun...need to get going though... ;)
13. Elisabeth said the following at 10:30 AM on Jun 17:
I'm glad you got to make it to Resolved this year. I've been to every one of them, and each one has impacted my life in an amazing way. Great pictures! And isn't it amazing to sing praises to Jesus Christ our Savior with thousands of brothers and sisters?
14. DannieA said the following at 11:30 PM on Jun 18:
It's kinda fun to see pictures of people you see commenting on the blog....hey BDB
Hey Ted...it may be hot, but not humid...how else do you think we can survive temperatures in the 100s. LOL I hope you had fun here. Next time there's a conference in so. cal...preferrably closer to Riverside/Moreno Valley...then you'll know where I live.
15. Jo said the following at 3:02 PM on Jun 21:
BDB doesn't look like that in my head. Anyone else develop weird mental pictures of 'online people'? I used to talk to this girl who, even though I knew she was Asian, I always pictured as white with blonde hair. And sometimes people I know turn up in my dreams but look completely different... Very strange mind I have.
16. Mike Thiebaud said the following at 10:54 AM on Jul 15:
Ted, it was great to meet you there. I feel I STILL owe you coffee...except that you don't drink coffee. What kind of writer doesn't drink coffee? I've heard that C.S. Lewis drank whiskey/bourbon and smoked cigars while writing. What does the famous Ted Slater drink/do whilst he writes? (The other editors can chime in here, too, even though this blog is over a month old.)