An Evening at The Cove

As I mentioned in my last post, Drew surprised me with a date starting Saturday afternoon and ending late Saturday night. We left here around 2 and headed to Asheville to the Billy Graham Training Center for dinner and an Andrew Peterson concert. The ride down was great and we really had a chance to talk and connect more than we do at home. It is so nice to have some time together every now and again to talk about where we feel God has our family headed and what He's doing in each of our hearts. I really cherished that time in the car on the way down and back.

Anywho, neither one of us had been to The Cove before but Daphne had told us it is beautiful and the food was out of the world (she had been several times while working for BGEA). Well, she was right. The setting is absolutely beautiful and we had a gorgeous, although cool, day to enjoy it.

We arrived a little after 4 and dinner wasn't to be served until 6, so we toured the buildings. The chapel is set back up in the woods to give you a real feeling of being "away." Downstairs they had pictures and captions from Billy Graham's life along with his wife and children. We then went back up to the Training Center (where dinner and the concert were) and toured the downstairs which contained more pictures and biographical information on Billy Graham as well as "Ruth's Attic Bookstore."

Six o'clock rolled around (after some delicious hot chocolate from the complimentary beverage center :)) and we went in to eat. The food, oh, was heavenly! We were served (buffet style so we could get seconds) a fresh green salad with homemade dressings, stone ground wheat rolls, goat cheese polenta, southern style green beans (all you need to know is that bacon was rendered down at one point in making them), prime rib with au jous, pecan encrusted trout, and key lime pie. Not only was the food magnificent, we sat with a couple in their 60's probably who are from Concord. They were delightful to talk to and we even found out that the wife, Inna, was a first generation immigrant from the Ukraine. Her mom had survived Auschwitz as a teenager and Inna was born in a refugee camp in the Ukraine. They immigrated to the United States, worked hard, made more sacrifices than we could imagine, learned the English language, got their citizenship, and never once faltered from calling America "home" after moving here. It was an inspiring and sobering story.

The concert followed and it was unbelievable. On stage were Andrew Peterson, Andy Gullahorn, and Ben Shive. In the audience was a cozy crowd of 100-125 people. It was perfect. As usual, the music was incredible and the story-telling real and humorous. I was challenged and encouraged at more than one point but those will be revealed in later posts. Drew and I left that night both rejuvenated and encouraged in our personal walks with Christ, the direction He has set for us, and in our own marriage relationship. It was a wonderful evening and I appreciate so much my husband taking the time and effort to make it happen.

One of the things that has been pressing on my heart lately is what I believe and why. The Lord has prompted my heart on this on more than one occasion as I grow deeper with Him. I have never really had a hard time believing the Bible is what it says it is or that God is who He says He is and I have so wanted to put it into words but I struggle there. This past Saturday I could finally seem to do that. Here's what I mean:

As I read through the captions detailing Mr. Graham's life I was struck again at his humility and unwavering faith. There was a story told of how in college (or soon thereafter) he was talking with some colleagues who were struggling with whether the Bible was truly the infallible Word of God. After this conversation, he went for a walk on a nearby golf course and on the 18th hole stopped, opened his Bible, and declared (something to the effect of), "Lord, I don't know or understand all that is in this book but I do accept that it is from You - by faith and faith alone." That's it. By faith I believe that the Bible is Truth, Absolute Truth. I accept it by faith and I know it without a doubt. He has set it in my heart.

One of my favorite songs off of Andrew's Peterson's last album, Resurrection Letters Volume 2, is "The Good Confession." The chorus sums up everything I want to say...

"I believe. He is the Christ. Son of the Living God."

Nothing more, nothing less. I believe. And that is enough.