Remy the Cuddliest Puppy

Glimmer from Seminary- The Beauty of the Exclusivity of the Gospel

“Of course it should be pointed out that, though all salvation is through Jesus, we need not conclude that He cannot save those who have not explicitly accepted Him in this life. And it should (at least in my judgment) be made clear that we are not pronouncing all other religions to be totally false, but rather saying that in Christ whatever is true in all religions is consummated and perfected” (C. S. Lewis, God In The Dock, ed. Walter Hooper (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), 102),

This quotation from C.S. Lewis seems to try to make the gospel relevant and approachable toward unbelievers and seekers. However, the very beauty of the gospel lies within its exclusivity. The gospel loses its truth if it is compromised or persuaded by the thoughts and preferences of man. Christ’s death and resurrection as a free gift and the only means in which man can be saved demonstrates the holiness and unfathomable love of God, which is truly beautiful. C.S. Lewis’ first sentence states that, “we need not conclude that He cannot save those who have not explicitly accepted Him in this life.” This statement, while it upholds the vastness of God’s mercy and grace, brushes against the blurry lines of inclusivism. Personally, it seems like the easy solution and an easy answer to agree that in order to be saved someone can just trust in the mercy of God alone, something inside me wants to agree with that, but the alternative suggests that Christ’s death was meaningless. The King who became man and God incarnate came to earth for no other reason than to suffer miserably? Rather, Christ came to suffer and take man’s place sealing Himself as the perfect sacrifice, the mediator between God and man forever.
C.S. Lewis continues by stating, “We are not pronouncing all other religions to be totally false, but rather saying that in Christ… all religions is consummated and perfected.” This statement seems to suggest that there is a glimmer of truth within all of the world’s religions, suggesting the pluralistic view that there are many roads to salvation. Christ’s life and sacrifice testifies against the very things that man has resorted to for salvation. (Col. 2:11-12) Furthermore, other religions and “roads to salvation” were created by the deceiver himself (2 John 1:7). The gospel is the good news because it eradicates the sufficiency of man, points to the perfection of Christ and provides acceptance forever to the living God. Sometimes, the simplicity of the exclusivity of the gospel is the reason why it is dismissed. It seems that even though there is nothing man can do to work for his salvation, man has perverted this gift and has deceived man, convincing man to exchange the gift of grace through Christ for man’s fleeting merit.

Trip to Utah

We took Michael's nice camera from work and really captured some great pictures from ESPN's Gameday and of our sweet nephews. Here are just a few we took from my camera. We had a great visit to Utah and enjoyed family, great food, Sundance, and TCU's huge win over BYU! Thank you to Jim and Kristen!

Gameday! Superfrog looked good on Corso!

Us outside of Sundance

Thomas and Michael

Jack learning the contentment of Sunday afternoon football

Little Update

There are several things I've been wanting to update lately but I just have a few minutes so I will just give some tidbits!

- I registered for my last semester of school EVER!!! (Lord willing!) I can't believe that 21 years of my life have been spent in school... to think of life after school brings a great big smile to my face! Can't wait!

- We started the fall campaign at CCBC and it is going through the religious lies we fall into as believers. The videos this year are really, really great. They are testimonials and they serve as a means to really get engaged and start thinking about how their story may relate to your own. Michael worked super hard on them... a 6+ month process!

- Looks like I am on the brink of finishing mid-terms. Only one presentation to go!

- TCU football is #8 in the BCS poll!!! Michael and I are going to Orem, Utah for a getaway this weekend and get to go to the BYU vs. TCU game.... if you know me, you can only imagine what a wreck I am going to be at the game! Agghhh!! My pulse just started to race typing about it... haha. While we are in Utah we also get to spend some time with Michael's sister and her family! Can't wait to see our nephews!

Well, that's it for now. Time to catch my carpool and head home from school! Will post pictures of our weekend vacation soon!

Confession

There are a lot of you out there that are naturally thrifty. I wish I could enthusiastically include myself in this category. However, cutting out coupons and searching through the sale racks (at some stores) really makes me want to ... well let's put it this way, I get extremely exhausted and irritated just thinking about it. For those of you who know Michael and I well, you know that our income as two students and only one full-time employee mandates good budgeting and taking advantage of discounts. Knowing this information, please allow me to go on a slight tangent.

Michael and I do not have a lot of channels on our television, but our satelite package includes DVR (for the excellent shows like Lost, 24, The Office, and of course the occassional opportunity that TCU football is being played on one of our 20 channels). During my lunch break at work I come home, make lunch, sit on my comfy sofa and then select a show from the DVR to watch for 25 minutes or so. Well, few channels = few options. So, for about a year I have been recording the Rachael Ray show and it has become the perfect show to watch in the allotted 25 minute period.

Well, today my friends, the episode's main topic was about saving money at the grocery store and naturally, I was intrigued. Turns out, it was quite the "kick in my pants" to hear how much one particular lady would save if she were to incorporate coupons into her shopping (something like $6,500!). During the show, they shared a website called www.alice.com. The website has a pluthera of dry goods, everything from laundry detergent to postage stamps (the very things that escalate your grocery bill to sky high) and the best thing is ... no clipping involved! They automatically discount items at the coupon's rate and will ship the items to your doorstep for free. So, go ahead, stop reading this blog, select your products and most importantly, begin saving!

P.S. I would love to hear your feedback on the website... especially all of you naturally thrifty people out there :)

A week of Celebrations Continued

September 13th- Remy's 2nd Birthday

Year One:

Year Two:

September 14th- Michael's 27th Birthday!

Unfortunately, Michael's birthday fell on a Monday and Mondays happen to be my busiest day of the week. So in order to begin the birthday cheer I made him a big breakfast and had to wake him up early so we could enjoy it together (for about 15 minutes haha). Here are some pics from the day!

Checking out his new bag for Seminary!

A Week of Celebrations

September 12th- Mama Mil's Birthday!

This past Saturday was my grandmother's birthday. We call her Mama Mil (her first name is Mildred) and she turned 87 on this birthday. I am overwhelmingly thankful for my grandmother. She is truly one of my very best friends. We talk about once a week and usually our conversations last about an hour. We talk about the wonderful things of life such as gardening, flowers, the weather, and of course what we've been cooking and eating this week. You might be thinking how it is possible to spend an hour on such topics? Well, Mama Mil is quite the conversationalist and is great at elaborating. While I do a lot of listening, I very much enjoy her witty comments and it is guaranteed that we will share a few laughs before we end our conversation. Below are a few pictures of her and my grandfather Tuck who passed away last November. I'm sure I will share more on him later.

This last picture is from my graduation at TCU and I love it because you can tell that Mama Mil is saying something that is cracking me up. True insight into our relationship.

One Year Ago Today

It's hard to look at this picture and not get emotional. For those of you who do not know my parents are beginning their fifth year in Galveston. My dad is the senior pastor at Moody Memorial United Methodist Church and my mom teaches first grade at Parker Elementary. Personally, and even as a couple, we have grown to love the community of Galveston greatly. While this past year has been incredibly hard for my family, I am extremely proud of my mom and dad and how they have given their lives and whole heart to the people of Galveston. God is moving and doing great work on the island and we celebrate and claim His goodness as He continues to restore the land and the hearts of Galvestonians!

My Kind of Getaway!

My wonderful friend Emily got married on March 21st in Fredericksburg, TX. This destination just so happens to be one of the Bagleys favorite places to visit for a short getaway. (Disclaimer: when I was younger I hated all of the shopping and german food, but now I love it!) My parent's have stayed at a wonderful B&B the Hoffman Haus for years and on this special occasion we were able to stay in the Farm House as a family! Here are some great pics of the simplistic, shabby, and vintage-inspired decor. Enjoy!

Love the rustic pine table with mismatched french ladderback chairs!

Rumply linen slipcovered upholstery :sigh:

Great color of what looks to be an antique chair... not very comfortable but very very pretty

beadboard... everywhere!

I love this color combo: sea foam green and muted coral

Project from Summer School

These photos were taken earlier this summer and were used for a creative project in my Angelology, Anthropology, and Hamartiology Class. Michael was a great model! (Oh the joys of being married in seminary... volunteers for any project!)

Interpretive Note:

My photography project portrays the contrast between an accurate reflection of the image of God versus a distorted reflection of the image of God. The first photograph is a man standing in almost complete darkness. The focus on the picture is the individual and his face is somber. The verse I chose that captured the essence of the photograph is 2 Corinthians 4:4 which says that Satan has deceived mankind from recognizing the glory of Christ who is the image of God. The final thought that I wanted to capture with the first photograph was that the deceiver will darken the minds of man to focus only on oneself which in turn is a distorted picture of what man was created to reflect. The second photograph is a man standing outside with his face turned toward the heavens. The focus of this picture is the beauty of God’s creation through the sunlight that is coming through the clouds. The verse I chose for this photograph was 2 Corinthians 4:6 which says that God has defeated the darkness with light and this light is the knowledge of who He is through the person of Christ. My goal with this photograph was to emphasize that Christ is the light of God’s glory and man can only reflect the image of God through the person of Christ.

Almost a year... yikes!

Recently, I have noticed that our blog is listed as a link on two very sweet friend's blogs. Unfortunately, I haven't given any new information about the Burr's life in forever! I wish I could promise to update this blog once a week but I know that isn't likely. However, it is my goal to get on here more and share tidbits about Michael, Remy, and I. I'm guessing I'm only writing to a few sweet friends or family members out there, but keep checking back and I will work on posting more!