Water Baptisms

What a day!!! Last Sunday a crowd of approximately 200 friends, family and church attenders showed up at Lake Andrea to celebrate the water baptisms of an undetermined number of Christ followers. Turns out that 72, yes I said 72 people decided to make a public statement to the crowd that was there with us in addition to anyone else who cared to watch.

Someone later told me that they were approaching the picnic areas and saw a BIG tent with a few people in it and a SMALL tent that was surrounded by a crowd. Their guess was that we had the BIG tent. Much to their surprise and pleasure we were in the SMALL tent.

I had planned to teach the brief message about baptism but my heart was also in calling the friends and family that attended to examine their hopelessness and need for a Savior. A young woman who had come to support a friend accepted Christ on the spot... AND THEN WAS BAPTIZED! How exciting!

I was also blessed to baptize Joya, my friend Ellen's daughter among the people who ended up with Pastor Bob and I. What a great moment... probably only second to marrying Dave and Ellen last year. These experiences leave me (almost) speechless.

We have great stories and some good photos. I look forward to seeing the edited video which will be available on our website as soon as possible.

Take care-

Friday

Friday is MY day, most of the time. I spend the first part with the Lord in some time of community. I pray and read His Word then I do my best to LISTEN to what He shares with me. I have to be disciplined to stay still and also not to give that time away in the midst of my busy schedule (especially when the boys are not in school). Next is home management time. This might include housecleaning, bill-paying and grocery shopping, or not. THEN come one of my FAVORITE weekly activities: SMALL GROUP.

SMALL GROUP: after 21 years of group life I need to say that each group I have belonged to is better in a different way than the group before. Much of that has to do with the group God places me in but it also has to do with my transformation. As I have grown in maturity so have my reactions to bringing people closely into my life. Let me just add now that I am grateful for that change!

We currently have a group that ROCKS! We have men that cry and bare their souls and women who are not afraid to be seen. What a blessing! The past two weeks our group has been just amazing! Thanks groupies for giving HIM your all and then sharing it with us.

Take care-

Rules and Relationship

This week during my quiet time I have been lead to take a look at my closest relationships. It is amazing what God will lead me to when I humble myself and ask Him. Having been a study of relationships, psychology, group life and the like for many years has not exempted me from needing to do a relational tune-up from time to time. The timing is where God comes in. This exercise is not the result of hitting the relationship wall with someone as much as it is the 'still, small voice' guiding me to take a good look at how things are (a bit of a personal inventory of sorts).

Many have heard the profound statement "rules without relationship lead to rebellion." Romans 5:20 states "All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers." This was the way of the Old Testament. It was hard work to get righteous before Christ came to walk among us! All of the sacrificing and isolation as atonement took so much time and effort. Sometimes even for healthy, normal bodily functions. The book of Leviticus lays out all of the rules and the remedies for straying from them. While not an easy read, certainly a chance to grow your gratitude.

I thank God for the gift of Jesus! In John 3:16,17 we learn"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted." My personal commentary on this is that God longed to be in relationship with us more than He valued even a generation of rule-followers; therefore He made a new way (a new and everlasting covenant) with the fallen mankind. Jesus endured the cross so that we could boldly approach God. We have no need of translators or interpreters, no need for someone to communicate on our behalf. No, we can speak directly to our Heavenly Father. We can seek Him and ask Him... AND He has given us His Spirit as a guide.

So, in my life that Guide has brought me to look at my relationships. Do I expect people to play by MY rules? How do I place myself under the real or perceived rules of others. Do my children see me as a relational parent or the judge of their behavior? Do I reward people based on their willingness to follow my rules? Oh, the list goes on. So now you know what I am looking at. Where are you being lead? Do you hear Him? Will you follow?

Take care-

So this is connected?

As I am still working to get my new Blackberry fully connected, synced (sunk?), and working I think about how communication and the ways that we connect have changed in the past 40 years (my lifetime).

Let's see... we once had phones with CORDS that connected the handset to the base of the phone. On the first one I remember you also had to dial (with a rotary dial) to make your call until the invention of the 'push button' phone. THEN we had cordless phones. I know, still do. These cordless phones had a telescoping metal antenna at least 2 feet long (created by the same being that invented the light saber I think). As technology advanced the phone antenna shrunk.

Then the cellular phone:
The one on the left was attached to a base that lived in a bag. No texting, no browser, not even a camera! Hugely expensive to purchase and to use with little to no reception. Someone had to be IMPORTANT to use this phone.

Then 'IT' happened. We became a mobile society. Now we call, text, email, browse, film, take photos and work from our cell phones while we Twitter and visit our Facebook pages hourly. Technology has virtually eliminated our need to meet face-to-face with each other. In fact we don't even use full words anymore. I will never forget the first time I read an emails with this written in it: "ROTFLOL"... I had NO idea. I am much better now. Partially because I am a techie who 'gets' how these things work rather easily but also because I have children. I HAVE to keep up with things as they quickly change or my kids might be able to pass me by.

So anyway, since God designed us to be in community (and set the Trinity as the perfect example) I believe that this lack of face-to-face encounter with those we are 'connected with' comes at a high cost. We fall out of the habit of being in the presence of other and most importantly we lose the discipline of getting into the presence of God. In all cases we have even begun to lose our social skills. When was the last time that someone began texing or took a phone call during time that you were sharing with them? How much more do we do that with God?

Sorry Oprah, but He IS a jealous God. He LONGS to connect with us. He longs for us to DESIRE Him... and we are wired to worship Him. It is we who take on other gods and idols in HIS place with HIS time. Connecting with (loving) God and others are the greatest two commandments... how amazing then, once we get past the first few awkward moments just how great both feel.

The challenge is to turn off the business-as-usual of the day and fill up on community.

Take care-

Brush with Fame

My weekly phone call with my mom began with a twist yesterday. "Your dad reminded me to tell you that he's a celebrity." As my mind began to process the sentence my mouth took the bait, "Really, how is that?" She went on to tell me how dad and his buddy were out to lunch when the Obama/Bayh tour stopped by the northern Indiana Schoop's restaurant that they frequent.

Seems that this was more of a thrill than I thought as I Googled to find news interviews and photos. In the midst of rumors and speculation about running mates it appears that they decided to shake what one reporter called 'blue-collar hands' on their whirlwind tour of the state.

My dad, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat was not fond of 'his' party's candidate prior to this brush with fame. In fact he preferred the Republican candidate so he was wrestling with skipping the vote completely (probably for the first time in all of his 55+ voting years). But now he has a new perspective about placing his new-found friend in the Oval Office.

It all makes me think about labels. Democrat, Republican, white-collar, blue-collar even Christian and 'lost'. It is certainly an 'us' and 'them' culture that we live in where we label our differences as quickly possible. I am reminded that Paul instructs the Galatians that " There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." So let's love God and each other looking at our similarities rather than our differences.

Take care-