Travelogue: The Pre-Travel Travel to TGC in Indy (because it deserves to be included…

…and also explains why we were already so tired before the big travels began…also known as 9/24-25…also also, how about that title :/ Welcome back, Eva.)

Firstly, I want to thank you for hanging with me in the drought of all creative Eva-juices. I simply haven’t had the wherewithal to get back into my weekly writing and Tuesday Tidbits! It’s been a difficult year, and I confess to withdrawing a bit, hoping to get my bearings. SO much more on that to come, but I do appreciate you not harboring hard feelings…and if you do, I accept forgiveness by way of tacos or gift cards. Just remember...it wasn’t you…it was me. We were, in fact…on a break. #IYKYK

 Back to my original thought…I can honestly say that I always look forward to the annual Gospel Coalition conference, hereafter to be called TGC because I’m pretty hip and all. For those that aren’t familiar, TGC alternates the programming annually between TGCW and TGC (women/coed). Both are really good, and I’d highly recommend them to all of you. There are typically 3 days of keynote speakers (all of which are many of the pastors/authors you know and love), so many breakout sessions (from which you have to choose your top faves), and more than juuuust a few vendors offering all sorts of freebies. On an unrelated note, I may have accidentally enrolled in multiple seminaries on Monday. Yea so…currently accepting ideas for masters degrees…oops. Sorry, Chris Carr.

Chris and I were so excited to be joined by our 2 girls this time (Peyton’s 1st time to TGC!) and to hear some feedback through their eyes. We pray it continues to pierce their hearts as it’s done for the 2 of us on so many occasions over the course of many years. We had a wonderful meal with friends when we arrived on Sunday night…although we should have known that nothing ever goes according to plan…as evidenced by the bnb that was…shall we say…sketchy?! :0 That’s probably not fair. It was more “odd” than sketchy. Buddha next to cows, for instance. We were…confused. And you couldn’t get to the upstairs rooms from inside the house. Obvs the owners must’ve purchased a whole house that was previously divided up, but we spent a fair amount of time searching for hidden doors/stairs…even behind the water buffalo shower curtain :/ . We finally decided to check on another outside door after having no luck searching for secret passageways. After tossing aside the 30 paint-splatter coasters, we finally found the upstairs entrance…which most notably contained more of the all of the above. If you’re feeling a tad uncomfy now, I’ve given an adequate description. If you’re still on the bubble, be checking your mail for a paint-spattered yak. I hear it’s all the rage. Eva, you were doing so well…but now the nonsense is back. 

Nevertheless, the food was amazing…Harry and Izzy’s, Yard House, and Old Spaghetti Factory…and as much DDP that I could put my hands on. Duh. The session with Ray Ortland and Sam Allberry was absolutely fantastic and centered on much of what I’ve been working on/slowly growing in the past year in emotional maturity anchoring spiritual maturity…it was pretty powerful. One line that is still flying through my mind even 5 days later is this: “The sinful nature (that’s in all of us, btw, if you’re new here) wants honor without confession.” We want others to hold us up and encourage us in our efforts…we long for our actions to be acknowledged and valued, yet we don’t want to be transparent and honest with our struggles. Ouch. Also, I enjoyed listening to John Piper as always, but more than anything this time, I was struck in a fresh way about how important it is to leave a godly legacy. You don’t have to agree on all points or take every word as gospel, but Piper is steadfast and solid and has never seemed to shy away from taking a stand. Say what you will…leaving an admirable and honorable legacy…it’s a reminder that never grows old. 

Sadly, we had to cut our time at TGC short this year…but for a suuuuuper great reason! Stay tuned for more travelogues! The wifi here has been all kinds of yikes so the posts are running super far behind, but worth it!