At our church, those getting baptized are asked to share their testimony beforehand. I had this typed out beforehand, but decided to talk instead of read. So this is the thought-out, not-rambling version. :-)
This isn't my first baptism.
I grew up in the Methodist church which believes in baby baptism. So on September 19, 1982, at just under six months old, I was baptized. From there I grew up in a Christian home, was involved in church, went to a Nazarene university. I never knew anything different.
Then, shortly after my wife and I were married I went to membership classes at her home church, which I had been going to with her for several years. In one of those classes they mentioned that you had to be baptized as an adult to be a member.
I didn't understand. I was already baptized, why did it matter when it was? They said it didn't make a difference in you being saved, but they still considered it a necessity as a mature Christian to make that public declaration. I didn't express it in the class, but I got defensive. What was wrong with my church? What was wrong with all the people there I grew up with? What makes you more correct than them? I didn't agree, I thought my baptism should "count" and while I kept attending there, I didn't pursue membership any further.
Fast forward a year or two later and my wife and I were now living in Columbus and we're in the membership class at Linworth. There it was again. Baptism. That one 20-something years ago doesn't count.
Now that I heard it a 2nd time it started to break down the walls I had built up, albeit slowly. I talked about it with my wife several times. She asked questions about Methodists and baptism that I realized I really didn't know the answer to. I told her I thought they might have rebaptized us when we were made church members but we both agreed that if was part of a ceremony and especially if I didn't remember it doesn't really count either.
But still even as the idea made more sense and I read over Jesus' words about baptism, I resisted.
I still felt like getting baptized would be admitting that my home church, my parents church, the denomination both of my families have been in for decades was wrong.
But then, finally, earlier this year I started to get it.
I realized that this was never about that other church. This has all been about me and God. How I wanted to be right. How I didn't want to be told what to do.
Throughout my adult life I have made choices, about what college to go to, about what major to choose, about my career path by myself. I would pray about it, but I wouldn't really listen. I often felt that "divine discontent" that something wasn't right and that I could be in a better place. But I always tried to pick the way and figure it out myself.
Then this Easter, we went to church with my Grandma at Fohl Memorial United Methodist Church in Navarre, Ohio. It was a wonderful service. Great music, a touching message and we enjoyed being there with my family. But the thing that stuck out to me most was the baptism. There was a baby only a few months old that was baptized. She was upset and crying, not really enjoying herself.
I realized I was still like that baby. Fighting for what I wanted when there was something so amazing going on around me. I wasn't truly understanding and accepting the love and grace God has for me and the plan He has for my life.
So finally, after 30 years of stubbornness, I started giving up control to God, and admitted to Him as well as myself how terrible I am at making decisions. How I don't know know what I'm doing. How I need his direction and want to follow his plan. And this time, I'm actually going to stop and pay attention.
And so as a symbol and declaration to Him, myself, and all of you. I'm here, being baptized for the first time as a willing follower of Christ. I'm humbled and excited to be here today and to see where God takes me and my family from here.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
not a fan by Kyle Idleman
Part of my BHAGs was to read more, specifically a book a month. As I stated in my first update, I started one book but was stopped by having to return it to the library. In retrospect, I believe that someone putting that book on hold so I had to return it was a work of God. I needed to read not a fan. by Kyle Idleman (aff link) and I needed to read it now.
I finished not a fan in a little less than two weeks. Idleman has a way of making a huge, life-altering message very accessible and comprehendible. Although the read itself is quick, it's a book you process throughout the day while you aren't reading it, as you see how it applies to your life.
If you don't know any thing about not a fan, Idleman draws a dividing line between fans of Jesus and followers of Jesus. Jesus wants so more from us than we give him and Idleman calls us on that.
I knew going into the book (and perhaps it's why it sat on our shelf for so long) that I generally fall into the "fan" category. I knew the book would be convicting. I knew it would be challenging. I knew I wasn't sure I was ready for that.
The reason I needed to read it at this time is my baptism is next Sunday. This baptism is obviously a big step and Idleman's message gave me a powerful foundation to take it on.
Idleman's book is offensive in the best kind of way. Through scripture, personal examples and even humor, he doesn't pull punches. He doesn't soften God's true message. He tells us exactly what we need to hear so that we don't become the ones sent away in Matthew 7:23-23.
Idleman challenges to stop being simply fans of Jesus and start being the followers we claim to be. If you consider yourself a Christ follower, dare yourself to read this book and see where you really fall.
Idleman challenges to stop being simply fans of Jesus and start being the followers we claim to be. If you consider yourself a Christ follower, dare yourself to read this book and see where you really fall.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Talk Radio Killed the Radio Star
I used to be a music guy.
I can still recite lyrics and name the year of release of a large number of songs from the 1990s and early 2000s.
I was all music all the time. From mix tapes in middle school to burned CDs in high school to MP3 playlists in college. I wrote reviews for the newspaper in college, I wrote reviews for a website after college. From age 13 through 24 or so I was the one to ask about music. Rock, pop, hip hop, classical, Christian, secular, even some country, I knew it all.
Then I started listening to talk radio. There was a talk radio station that hit Columbus soon after I moved here that played Glenn Beck, Dennis Miller and others. I had never listened to talk before and it caught my attention.
Soon, after finding myself getting depressed by political talk radio, I found sports talk radio. That is what's been on my radio dial for the majority of the past few years.
I've tried to listen to music on the radio when I'm driving but I get too impatient, for many reasons
1) When I do listen to music now it's on a computer or a mobile device where there are few or no commercials. That doesn't happen on the radio.
2) I don't know where to start. I have some stations saved that I heard something I liked at some point. But not knowing most of the songs makes me lose patients.
3) Common Man and the Torg are just too good to turn off, even though I don't really even follow sports that much anymore.
4) The station I default to the most, The River, repeats songs way too much.
5) When I listen to modern stations, I find a lot of the "music" is pretty terrible.
I do listen to Pandora at home, when I'm not listening to Podcasts (again, talk!). But Pandora has a tendency to repeat a lot, too. My iTunes library is solid but dated and doesn't teach me anything new. I thought Spotify might be the answer but a) I don't really know where to start and b) even if I find something I like I can't take it with me because I won't pay for mobile.
This is all frustrating because deep down I really miss my connection to music. (Much like I missed writing, hence this blog.)
I guess the impasse I've reached is that I like the music I know, and I'm comfortable with it. But I'm also kind weary of it and want to find something new to add to it. But, the patience and time it takes to find good, new music doesn't really work for me right now.
This is the part of the blog post where I'm supposed to wrap things up in a nice little package and put a bow on it. But I am really lost here.
Any suggestions? How do you find new music? Or do you just crank up the "oldies" of whatever point in your life you connected to music the most? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I can still recite lyrics and name the year of release of a large number of songs from the 1990s and early 2000s.
I was all music all the time. From mix tapes in middle school to burned CDs in high school to MP3 playlists in college. I wrote reviews for the newspaper in college, I wrote reviews for a website after college. From age 13 through 24 or so I was the one to ask about music. Rock, pop, hip hop, classical, Christian, secular, even some country, I knew it all.
Then I started listening to talk radio. There was a talk radio station that hit Columbus soon after I moved here that played Glenn Beck, Dennis Miller and others. I had never listened to talk before and it caught my attention.
Soon, after finding myself getting depressed by political talk radio, I found sports talk radio. That is what's been on my radio dial for the majority of the past few years.
I've tried to listen to music on the radio when I'm driving but I get too impatient, for many reasons
1) When I do listen to music now it's on a computer or a mobile device where there are few or no commercials. That doesn't happen on the radio.
2) I don't know where to start. I have some stations saved that I heard something I liked at some point. But not knowing most of the songs makes me lose patients.
3) Common Man and the Torg are just too good to turn off, even though I don't really even follow sports that much anymore.
4) The station I default to the most, The River, repeats songs way too much.
5) When I listen to modern stations, I find a lot of the "music" is pretty terrible.
I do listen to Pandora at home, when I'm not listening to Podcasts (again, talk!). But Pandora has a tendency to repeat a lot, too. My iTunes library is solid but dated and doesn't teach me anything new. I thought Spotify might be the answer but a) I don't really know where to start and b) even if I find something I like I can't take it with me because I won't pay for mobile.
This is all frustrating because deep down I really miss my connection to music. (Much like I missed writing, hence this blog.)
I guess the impasse I've reached is that I like the music I know, and I'm comfortable with it. But I'm also kind weary of it and want to find something new to add to it. But, the patience and time it takes to find good, new music doesn't really work for me right now.
This is the part of the blog post where I'm supposed to wrap things up in a nice little package and put a bow on it. But I am really lost here.
Any suggestions? How do you find new music? Or do you just crank up the "oldies" of whatever point in your life you connected to music the most? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Friday, June 8, 2012
My BHAGs - An Update
It's been a month since I listed some Big Hairy Audacious Goals for myself. Every month I'll revisit them, update them, and sometimes add to the list. Yay, accountability. :-)
Make daily devotions a lifestyle.
I've been doing ok with this. I got through Proverbs in the first 31 days, with only a few days where I had to catch up on several chapters. The other plan I'm working on, 100 Days of Discipline (this is through YouVersion) has been going decently, also. I still need to work on increasing my prayer life, though.
Read a book a month.
I was getting into 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller when I had to take it back to the library (you'd think they'd make the check-out time 48 days). It was really hitting the nail on the head when it came to my career path. I'm back on the wait list for it, but I may break down and buy it just because I want to get to where it tells me how to figure out my work life. Until I get it back I've started Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman since we own it.
Be Debt Free
Pending...
Get Baptized
I'm getting baptized on June 22nd. I'll have a blog post related to this sometime soon.
Write More
I'm trying to keep up with a goal of blogging a minimum of once a week. Hoping to get it up to twice a week at some point.
I'm also following the 15 Habits of Great Writers series, but I'm not as committed to is it as I want to be.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Are you investing in your marriage?
I've recently watched the marriage of people close to me head toward divorce for the first time in my life. I realize that I'm very fortunate that it took me until 30 to witness divorce and am still praying that this one won't end that way. It's been short and fast, and really, I've found it more difficult to deal with than a loved one's death.
With divorce, there is no finite end in this world, signed papers or not. It's harder to explain to children why so-and-so won't be around anymore if they're leaving than dying. (Still haven't figured out how to approach this.)
There are accepted things to say to someone when they've lost a loved one to death, I'm not familiar with what you tell someone when someone else turns their world upside down.
Divorce is not something to be taken lightly or as a joke, as some TV shows or magazines would lead you to believe.
So for those married, or thinking about marriage, never forget that a marriage is a living thing. No matter how long you've been married it needs a lot of attention, nurturing and work. A marriage isn't simply the effect of a wedding ceremony.
My wife and I have worked hard on ours, especially over the past few years. I wanted to share a list of resources we've found helpful over the years.
Books
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary D. Chapman:
I think most people have at least heard of this book. I had heard about it a long time ago but never read it. My wife had read it a long time ago but had kind of lost touch with it. We each read it last year and we were amazed at the differences it made.
With divorce, there is no finite end in this world, signed papers or not. It's harder to explain to children why so-and-so won't be around anymore if they're leaving than dying. (Still haven't figured out how to approach this.)
There are accepted things to say to someone when they've lost a loved one to death, I'm not familiar with what you tell someone when someone else turns their world upside down.
Divorce is not something to be taken lightly or as a joke, as some TV shows or magazines would lead you to believe.
So for those married, or thinking about marriage, never forget that a marriage is a living thing. No matter how long you've been married it needs a lot of attention, nurturing and work. A marriage isn't simply the effect of a wedding ceremony.
My wife and I have worked hard on ours, especially over the past few years. I wanted to share a list of resources we've found helpful over the years.
Books
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary D. Chapman:
| Photo Source: Barnes & Noble |
Her love language is pretty obvious, so we both knew that going in. What I didn't understand was how to speak it. I'm still working on it, but I have a better understanding of what she's looking for now and am able to use it to better show her love.
We both thought we knew my love language as well, but it turns out we were both way off. Mine ended up being something I didn't even consider before hand.
Both of our love languages are towards the bottom of the other's rankings so it takes a lot of work to remember to give the other what they need. But the first step is knowing what they are.
Both of our love languages are towards the bottom of the other's rankings so it takes a lot of work to remember to give the other what they need. But the first step is knowing what they are.
Knowing your spouse's love language keeps you from wasting time, spending money, and getting frustrated about things that don't even matter to your spouse. You might think they do because it would matter to you, but your spouse in most cases doesn't speak the same language and doesn't get what you're doing. If you're married or in a relationship, you need to read this book.
Love and Respect by Dr Emerson Eggerichs
We did this book as a small group study and are very grateful that we did.
Ephesians 5:33 says, However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. This book explains the why and the how about this verse (and others related to it).
Love and Respect gave a definition, a plan and an end to what ended up being a central issue in our marriage. Two or three years removed from reading the book we don't necessarily use the terminology that Dr. Eggerichs uses, but we definitely still know the concept and realize when we're falling into what he calls "The Crazy Cycle."
While we're still not perfect in this regard, the wisdom in this book has saved us a lot of greif over the past few years because we realize when we're falling into the traps we set up for ourselves.
Blogs / Websites
The Generous Husband / The Generous Wife / The Marriage Bed /
I put these three together because they're done by the same people, Paul and Lori Byerly. Paul and Lori have been through a lot in their lives and their marriage (marriages for Lori) and they've made their life work and mission to help others have the the type of marriage that God designed.
The Generous Husband and Wife are daily (yes, daily) blogs written by Paul and Lori respectively. They cover a multitude of topics and sometimes do series. They time and dedication they put into writing these is incredible. I truly recommend subscribing to whichever applies to you and I also recommend peaking at what you're spouse is getting, too. :-)
The Marriage Bed is a extensive resource site related to, well, that marriage bed. They cover everything from basics, to biology, to common issues, to intimacy. If you have any questions about how God designed intimacy and sex in marriage, it's a good resource to check out.
The Byerlys have a wonderful ministry and I'm sure they have many things that can help your marriage.
Mystery32
I'm not sure how long Erin Baxter's blog has been around, but I've only become familiar with it recently. Erin offers insightful, practical advice for everyday life in marriage. I enjoy her writing style and how she makes things couples tend to make complicated rather simple.
To Love, Honor and Vacuum
This blog, by author Sheila Wray Gregorie, is generally written for women; however a lot of her content applies to husbands as well. Shelia has a way of making the crazy in life make sense.
There are many fantastic marriage related blogs out there, I'm not going to go into all of them. Many found here or over on the sidebar on my blog list. Explore them, see which ones have content and writing that meets your needs.
Twitter
The only thing that has kept me on Twitter has been the access to fantastic marriage advice. I follow others, but the thing I go straight to is my Marriage and Family list. (I hope that link works.) There's a lot of fantastic people out there trying to help marriages improve all over the world.
Once you understand how a marriage is designed to work, you realize a lot of the things you spend your time on--arguing, fuming, acting out over--are a waste. The important thing is that you admit that as a newlywed, or even as an oldlywed, you don't know everything about marriage and you can always improve.
Spend time investing in your marriage. It's worth it!
Love and Respect by Dr Emerson Eggerichs
| Photo Source: Barnes & Noble |
Ephesians 5:33 says, However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. This book explains the why and the how about this verse (and others related to it).
Love and Respect gave a definition, a plan and an end to what ended up being a central issue in our marriage. Two or three years removed from reading the book we don't necessarily use the terminology that Dr. Eggerichs uses, but we definitely still know the concept and realize when we're falling into what he calls "The Crazy Cycle."
While we're still not perfect in this regard, the wisdom in this book has saved us a lot of greif over the past few years because we realize when we're falling into the traps we set up for ourselves.
Blogs / Websites
The Generous Husband / The Generous Wife / The Marriage Bed /
I put these three together because they're done by the same people, Paul and Lori Byerly. Paul and Lori have been through a lot in their lives and their marriage (marriages for Lori) and they've made their life work and mission to help others have the the type of marriage that God designed.The Generous Husband and Wife are daily (yes, daily) blogs written by Paul and Lori respectively. They cover a multitude of topics and sometimes do series. They time and dedication they put into writing these is incredible. I truly recommend subscribing to whichever applies to you and I also recommend peaking at what you're spouse is getting, too. :-)
The Marriage Bed is a extensive resource site related to, well, that marriage bed. They cover everything from basics, to biology, to common issues, to intimacy. If you have any questions about how God designed intimacy and sex in marriage, it's a good resource to check out.
The Byerlys have a wonderful ministry and I'm sure they have many things that can help your marriage.
Mystery32
I'm not sure how long Erin Baxter's blog has been around, but I've only become familiar with it recently. Erin offers insightful, practical advice for everyday life in marriage. I enjoy her writing style and how she makes things couples tend to make complicated rather simple.
To Love, Honor and Vacuum
This blog, by author Sheila Wray Gregorie, is generally written for women; however a lot of her content applies to husbands as well. Shelia has a way of making the crazy in life make sense.
There are many fantastic marriage related blogs out there, I'm not going to go into all of them. Many found here or over on the sidebar on my blog list. Explore them, see which ones have content and writing that meets your needs.
The only thing that has kept me on Twitter has been the access to fantastic marriage advice. I follow others, but the thing I go straight to is my Marriage and Family list. (I hope that link works.) There's a lot of fantastic people out there trying to help marriages improve all over the world.
Once you understand how a marriage is designed to work, you realize a lot of the things you spend your time on--arguing, fuming, acting out over--are a waste. The important thing is that you admit that as a newlywed, or even as an oldlywed, you don't know everything about marriage and you can always improve.
Spend time investing in your marriage. It's worth it!
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