My little man tonight before bed. Maggie gave him these pj pants. He looks like such a big boy. I asked him if he wanted to wear his choo choos or handy mannys and he saw these and said baseball. I was so shocked. Might be a little influenced tonight by his t-ball set he got for his birthday from uncle Andy and aunt Caitlin. Big thanks again he loves it.

Here is the start of hopefully many updates to come on our city. Today I drove home from the dr in the city and decided to take pictures of our street. You have probably heard me say we live in a hundred year old home, but not really one of those cool ones. Remember it is a rental. But our street is full of them, not to mention our neighborhood. We are definitely probably one of the sore spots. Apologies to the neighbors. So, if you ever come to visit you'll start to enter our neighborhood and be like wow this is really nice till you get to our address. Now all that to say we are super thankful for our little house because it was the only way to afford living this close to where our life takes place. This really is an amazing area of the suburbs to live. So far we are settling in great thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Stringers help the first week we got here. All we did was work. We are still trying to get a few decor details underway, but we'll see how long they take. So stay posted as I attempt to post more o. Our town, church, and house here in Wheaton. 

This Monday Josh did an outdoor project. He had a really good time doing it too. He went to the home store a couple times, rented a truck to haul it all, and then came home to build. He did a great job. As always Truett was very eager to help daddy work. I sure hope this boy keeps this work ethic because as soon as he is able I will put him to work.I still have some flowers to plant and then it will be done. Final pick coming soon.

Imagination stage today pretty good. 

10 Lists of 10

When my time at seminary was drawing to an end I thought I should do something in the way of reflecting over the past three years. As a family we experienced quite a bit. We moved to a brand new city, had our first child, I studied... a lot. Now that I'm done and living in Wheaton, I've decided to do several Top Ten lists - 10 Lists of 10 to be exact. These aren't in any particular order and the items on the list aren't really in a "Top 10" order. So #1 isn't necessarily the best and #10 isn't the worst. You follow? Ok, 10 Lists of 10....

Things We Liked to Do in Louisville
1. Lynn's Paradise Cafe and Wild Eggs for breakfast
2. Thunder Over Louisville (although I never really got to go thanks to The Fresh Market)
3. Churchill Downs
4. Louisville Slugger Museum
5. Louisville Zoo
6. Cherokee Park
7. Grater's Ice Cream
8. Going down to the River
9. $5 Tuesdays at Tinseltown Movie Theater
10. Family Nights at Chick-Fil-A

Books I Read
1. Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns
2. When People Are Big and God Is Small by Ed Welch
3. Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
4. The Reason for God by Tim Keller
5. The Gospel Centered Life by CJ Mahaney
6. Tell The Truth by Will Metzger
7. A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent
8. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
9. The Institutes of Christian Religion by John Calvin
10. The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott

Professors
1. Hershael York
2. Russell Moore
3. Stuart Scott
4. Tom Nettles
5. Jonathan Pennington
6. Shawn Wright
7. Bruce Ware
8. Tim Beougher
9. Jim Hamilton
10. Randy Stinson

Things I'll Miss
1. Grinstead Neighbors/Community
2. Fresh Market Friends
3. SBTS Library
4. SBTS Lifeway Bookstore
5. My Professors
6. The sidewalks in our town
7. The Elders at Crossing (Dustin Neely, Heath Lambert, Dave Northrup, and non-elder but might as well be Steve Hudson)
8. The Reason for God Louisville group - Matt Riddle, Tony Loseto, Ryan Dischinger, Jessica Trevino, Jackie Wagner, Sarah Hyman, Melissa Northrup, and several others.
9. The guys I shared class with, particularly my Preaching Practicum class
10. The "Golden Age" of our small group at church. This group included The Falls, The Bailies, The Peavyhouses, The Rothwells, and Kim Davidson.

Classes
1. Systematic Theology (I-III) with Dr. Wellum and Moore
2. Christian Ethics with Dr. Moore
3. Preaching Practicum with Dr. York
4. Pastoral Ministry with Dr. York
5. Typical Problem in Biblical Counseling with Dr. Scott
6. Calvin with Dr. Wright
7. Marriage and Family counseling with Dr. Scott
8. Personal Evangelism with Dr. Beougher (biggest surprise class for me, I thought I'd hate it)
9. Church History I with Dr. Nettles
10. Hermeneutics with Dr. Hamilton

Things I'd Do Differently
1. Start taking languages my first semester so I'm not left doing them on my last
2. (If it would have been possible) I would have worked less so I could build better relationships with other seminary guys and been home more
3. Invest more in relationships at church
4. Know my professors better
5. Preached more
6. Read a little slower
7. Shared the Gospel more boldly
8. Memorized more Scripture
9. Spent more time with my wife and son
10. Saved more money

Truths I Learned
1. The Gospel has bearing on EVERY aspect of life.
2. Everyone has a story, so listen more than you speak.
3. It is better to really read and understand one book than to skim 10.
4. The Bible will never get old.
5. My wife and family will the be one's that matter most in 50 years so invest more in them than in others.
6. But invest in others too.
7. People are more willing to talk about God and the gospel than you think they are.
8. The best counseling happens in the context of discipleship and becoming more like Christ.
9. There is great value in the past and there is great hope for the future.
10. Debates over some things are entirely fruitless and debating parenting styles can be as controversial as Calvinism vs. Arminianism.

Things You Should Know When Shopping for Meat (this could have been titled "Questions I Was Asked At The Fresh Market)
1. Don't talk on your cell phone and try to order meat.
2. Lean ground beef makes a terrible burger - get ground chuck
3. Lean steaks should NEVER be cooked over medium. They will be dry and gross.
4. Dry rubs and seasoning are better than marinade for beef.
5. Kabobs are a waste of time. Just grill the meat whole and do the veggies separate.
6. You should really learn to cut up your own chicken or cut your own steak in half.
7. A tenth of a pound of ground beef extra will NOT ruin your recipe. If you asked for 1 pound and the scale says 1.12, relax, you'll be fine.
8. Standing away from the meat case, pointing to your steak and saying "I'll have that one" does not help get your meat quicker. Your meat guy has no idea what you're pointing at.
9. Different beef roasts respond differently to different types of cooking. A chuck roast is going to fall apart when its done and is best done in a crock pot all day with veggies. Most other roasts should be done in the oven and the temperature should be monitored so you don't over cook it.
10. ALWAYS say please and thank you.

Why You Should Go To Seminary (if you're considering ministry)
1. You will be a better reader.
2. You will benefit from simply being in the classroom.
3. You will make life-long ministry friends.
4. You will find out how little you know.
5. You will be a better learner.
6. You will find ministry and theological resources you never knew existed.
7. You will be challenged to grow.
8. You will find amazing professors who care about you and your family.
9. You will learn Greek and Hebrew better in class.
10. You will know the Word better.

Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Doing ministry at College Church in Wheaton, IL.
2. Having baby #2.
3. Having a regular schedule where I don't have to work Saturdays or nights.
4. Having more time with my family.
5. Getting to practice what I've been studying for the past 3 years.
6. Not working at Fresh Market.
7. Enjoying reading what I want to read at my own pace.
8. Having friends and family come visit.
9. Making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends.
10. Experiencing the Chicago spring, summer, and fall (keep the winter comments to yourself...I've heard them all)

I think that about covers it. I could have added a few more to each list, but these are some of the things that I have experienced in Louisville and Southern Seminary.