Recently I had the opportunity to be baptized. After 10 years of being a Christian, fighting many battles over the scriptural basis for baptism I finally hit a spot of submission. God lead me into this decision and disposed of all my reasons against it. So finally it happened. I want to thank each and every person who has played a role in this happening. There are so many people and I can barely thank all of them. So below is a link to a video of my baptism (thanks to Ryan for taping it) and the guy in purple behind me represents all those who have played a role along the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNS8SZDw-aI
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Dear Cardinal Nation ...
Dear Cardinal Nation,
For those who witnessed the mishap that was the 8th inning tonight against the Phillies at home, be glad that you did not witness something much worse. As I sat in my own seat with disappointment painted all over my face I was astounded to hear the shouts of BOOO at our own relief pitchers. I looked up from my mortified head in hands position, thinking I must be wrong, but all I saw was people actually cupping their own hands around their mouths to boo and geer one of the multiple relievers that destroyed the gem of a game that Kyle McClellan started.
I couldn't believe my eyes or ears to see/hear such a disgrace fall upon Cardinal country. I grew up watching and loving this team, even in bad times and I refuse to believe that it has ever been acceptable to treat our own team this way. I will admit that there have been certain players and coaches over the years that I will be critical of, but never would I be negative toward them or the team during a game. We are here to support our team and we have to do that to consider ourselves fans at all.
So to all of you who have booed, shut up or leave. We neither want nor need you in the stands if you are not going turn on the team at any point in time. So don't come. Leave seats open for the true fans. And while we are at it, the obnoxious drunk thing goes against being a true fan too, but I guess I can't help idiocy. So please remember, if you get the thought of putting down our team, just go ahead and leave because you are useless to the rest of us who actually care about the Cards.
For those who witnessed the mishap that was the 8th inning tonight against the Phillies at home, be glad that you did not witness something much worse. As I sat in my own seat with disappointment painted all over my face I was astounded to hear the shouts of BOOO at our own relief pitchers. I looked up from my mortified head in hands position, thinking I must be wrong, but all I saw was people actually cupping their own hands around their mouths to boo and geer one of the multiple relievers that destroyed the gem of a game that Kyle McClellan started.
I couldn't believe my eyes or ears to see/hear such a disgrace fall upon Cardinal country. I grew up watching and loving this team, even in bad times and I refuse to believe that it has ever been acceptable to treat our own team this way. I will admit that there have been certain players and coaches over the years that I will be critical of, but never would I be negative toward them or the team during a game. We are here to support our team and we have to do that to consider ourselves fans at all.
So to all of you who have booed, shut up or leave. We neither want nor need you in the stands if you are not going turn on the team at any point in time. So don't come. Leave seats open for the true fans. And while we are at it, the obnoxious drunk thing goes against being a true fan too, but I guess I can't help idiocy. So please remember, if you get the thought of putting down our team, just go ahead and leave because you are useless to the rest of us who actually care about the Cards.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A night of worship
I have noticed throughout the routine and rhythm of life that from time-to-time I am in need of a little change. Sometimes this is simply a change in location and sometimes its completely shaking up my routine. Recently this has been a change in worship. Now I am a firm believer that worship is not just music, but a way of life. I try to make my life more and more worshipful of the graceful and amazing God that has given me life. But in this case I am talking about the music and tonight I got something that completely shook up my routine.
I want to say first of all, thank God for the ministry that is Hillsong United. They come from a great church and they put on a great performance, but a Hillsong concert is much more than that. Once of my friends said afterward how impressed she was with how they continually bring it back to Jesus. Having seen them multiple times I can say that each time that has been different and always heartfelt. I know that they each have a deep faith and that faith informs their profession, and that is part of what makes their concerts a true worship experience. With the words projected on the screen they invite the audience to join them in praising the God of the universe that has brought all of us there on that night. I deeply appreciate this because it's one of the many signs that moves the focus away from them and onto the reason why we are there.
As far as the impact on me, this was one of those nights that just fills my heart with the energy it needs to move forward. In light of the craziness of my life right now, it is incredibly easy for me to get lost in all that is going on. Tonight I was reminded that the reason I am where I am is that I serve an unimaginably great God. He has not called me to busyness, but to Himself. I was reminded that I need to live a life of praise and not just relegate that to a few songs at church each week. I was refreshed (even on a late Tuesday night) and renewed to the real strength and center of life, Jesus Christ. And most of all I was overwhelmed with the amount of my brothers and sisters that gave up a week night to join in this incredible experience focused on our awe striking Father. May God bless you in this coming week and remind you of His presence and call on your life.
I want to say first of all, thank God for the ministry that is Hillsong United. They come from a great church and they put on a great performance, but a Hillsong concert is much more than that. Once of my friends said afterward how impressed she was with how they continually bring it back to Jesus. Having seen them multiple times I can say that each time that has been different and always heartfelt. I know that they each have a deep faith and that faith informs their profession, and that is part of what makes their concerts a true worship experience. With the words projected on the screen they invite the audience to join them in praising the God of the universe that has brought all of us there on that night. I deeply appreciate this because it's one of the many signs that moves the focus away from them and onto the reason why we are there.
As far as the impact on me, this was one of those nights that just fills my heart with the energy it needs to move forward. In light of the craziness of my life right now, it is incredibly easy for me to get lost in all that is going on. Tonight I was reminded that the reason I am where I am is that I serve an unimaginably great God. He has not called me to busyness, but to Himself. I was reminded that I need to live a life of praise and not just relegate that to a few songs at church each week. I was refreshed (even on a late Tuesday night) and renewed to the real strength and center of life, Jesus Christ. And most of all I was overwhelmed with the amount of my brothers and sisters that gave up a week night to join in this incredible experience focused on our awe striking Father. May God bless you in this coming week and remind you of His presence and call on your life.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
From the other side
Today I got to spend some time with a business owner that I respect and asked him generally how work was going. His response began to give me a new perspective and one that I'm not sure many of us (at least I know I haven't) have considered before.
Often I complain about not being able to find a job and the whole job market being tough. What I don't realize is that it is tough for business owners too. I can't speak for the large companies, but this entrepreneur showed me how tough it is for him.
He explained to me how the economy has not really come back in his industry and how they are fighting to maintain clients and get new ones. With everything being so crazy it has forced rates industry wide to drop to the lowest he has seen in over 30 years. This means that he has had to let some people go and had to move offices to help keep costs down. Hearing how hard it was for him to have these conversations with people, some of which have worked for him for upwards of 20 years, made me start to realize how hard our economic times have been on business owners. He owns a medium size company, but they are fighting to weather the recession and come out on the other side. I might complain about not finding a job, but he has the livelihood of dozens of people depended on him and I can't imagine the hard decisions he has had to make in hopes of keeping them employed for years to come.
I hope that as things really do start to turn around that he has the chance to hire these people back and to expand and grow the company to be able to weather these sorts of storms better in the future. There are some corporations (ExxonMobile, WalMart, Coke, etc.) who have taken a hit but are not on the brink of going out of business. But too often I forget the small and medium size businesses that look at the landscape in front of them and wonder if they will still be here in 2012. I pray that the economy turns around soon and allows them to experience some relief and celebrate the fact that they survived with their employees (and hopefully those they've hired back).
Often I complain about not being able to find a job and the whole job market being tough. What I don't realize is that it is tough for business owners too. I can't speak for the large companies, but this entrepreneur showed me how tough it is for him.
He explained to me how the economy has not really come back in his industry and how they are fighting to maintain clients and get new ones. With everything being so crazy it has forced rates industry wide to drop to the lowest he has seen in over 30 years. This means that he has had to let some people go and had to move offices to help keep costs down. Hearing how hard it was for him to have these conversations with people, some of which have worked for him for upwards of 20 years, made me start to realize how hard our economic times have been on business owners. He owns a medium size company, but they are fighting to weather the recession and come out on the other side. I might complain about not finding a job, but he has the livelihood of dozens of people depended on him and I can't imagine the hard decisions he has had to make in hopes of keeping them employed for years to come.
I hope that as things really do start to turn around that he has the chance to hire these people back and to expand and grow the company to be able to weather these sorts of storms better in the future. There are some corporations (ExxonMobile, WalMart, Coke, etc.) who have taken a hit but are not on the brink of going out of business. But too often I forget the small and medium size businesses that look at the landscape in front of them and wonder if they will still be here in 2012. I pray that the economy turns around soon and allows them to experience some relief and celebrate the fact that they survived with their employees (and hopefully those they've hired back).
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Flight travel
As I get ready for an upcoming trip to Denver, CO (one of the most amazing cities in the country and believe me, I've done the leg work) I started to realize how much I love flying. I drive to a ton of places, but I really love flying. I may complain about the wait or about being crammed into a sardine can or about being hearded like cattle on and off that can, but I really do love it. I guess its the fasination of being able to fly like a bird and travel such a long distance in such a short time. Plus it means that I can easily go to great places like Denver. And I really love sleeping through a plane flight, I always feel fresh on the other side. All of this is to say, if you haven't flown anywhere recently, then plan a flight somewhere and enjoy some time relaxing away from home. It is totally worth it.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
What are you reading?
A conversation got started today at lunch about reading. Some of the people I work with lamented that they always start books, but never finish them. I did not feel the need the chime in that I only finished 3 books last month and that was a down month for me. I understand I might read more than the average, but I think that is a shame.
Reading is one of the many blessings we get to enjoy in this world. We spend so much time trying to entertain ourselves with TV or things off the Internet, reading has become a lost art. We all learned how to do it and we all do it every day (unless you are an all-star athlete, then schools might just rubber stamp you all the way to the pros :-)). I want to call all of us to vow to pick up AND FINISH a book this month. For those that already do this, do one more than your monthly average. For those who never finish a book, just commit a small portion of every day to read a little bit until all the pages have been turned. It's an amazing sense of accomplishment.
I also want to challenge people to pick up your Bibles. I an unashamedly a Christian and I write towards Christians, so reading the Bible is essential to who I am. I am often reminded of the JI Packer quote - "Any Christian worth his salt ought to read the Bible from cover-to-cover every year." I want to use this as a challenge for my Christian brothers and sisters to pick up your Bible and read it today and every day. This is the best way learn about who God is and how He loves you.
All-in-all I want to encourage everyone who may read this to start reading something of substance in the month of June. The sense of accomplishment is amazing and the growth you will experience is infectious.
Reading is one of the many blessings we get to enjoy in this world. We spend so much time trying to entertain ourselves with TV or things off the Internet, reading has become a lost art. We all learned how to do it and we all do it every day (unless you are an all-star athlete, then schools might just rubber stamp you all the way to the pros :-)). I want to call all of us to vow to pick up AND FINISH a book this month. For those that already do this, do one more than your monthly average. For those who never finish a book, just commit a small portion of every day to read a little bit until all the pages have been turned. It's an amazing sense of accomplishment.
I also want to challenge people to pick up your Bibles. I an unashamedly a Christian and I write towards Christians, so reading the Bible is essential to who I am. I am often reminded of the JI Packer quote - "Any Christian worth his salt ought to read the Bible from cover-to-cover every year." I want to use this as a challenge for my Christian brothers and sisters to pick up your Bible and read it today and every day. This is the best way learn about who God is and how He loves you.
All-in-all I want to encourage everyone who may read this to start reading something of substance in the month of June. The sense of accomplishment is amazing and the growth you will experience is infectious.
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