Jules' Calamari

I came across this story in the news the other day.

This Colossal squid is 39 foot long and weighs 990 pounds.

The article said that if you were to make calamari rings from this squid, they would be the size of tractor tires.

What an amazing creature.

I remember as a kid being amazed when my dad would flex his biceps for me.

I remember being in awe of his strength.

I love that God enjoys amazing us in the same way.

But unlike the fishermen in the story, I had no desire to kill, and dissect my dads arms.

Know what I mean Verne.

To Be a Hoe

I've got Moses on the mind.

As I have been reading through Exodus, I can't get past Moses' call.

I feel a great connection with him. I feel his doubt as he argues against God's persistence that Moses isn't worthless.

And like Moses, I want to look God in the face and tell him to promise me that he will be there blessing my efforts. I think it also has to do with the time of year.

It is about that time of year again.

Sometime in the near future, I believe my elders will meet with me to evaluate my ministry role at our church. It is time of great insecurity for me.

I have yet to get a bad report and yet I feel that there is so much more I could be doing.

A minister friend said he feels like God could use a stick to do his job.

My reply was that God is using a stick; a carefully grown, honed, sharpened, and shaped stick that God has developed for a specific purpose.

Yet even as the words left my mouth, I felt the creeping insecurities enter my own mind.

What good AM I doing?

My concern is not that I have no talent. It is that I bury my talent.

Not in some unassuming humility sort of way, but in a lazy servant sort of way.

I know that I am no more than a stick that is nothing without God, but a hoe is only a sharp stick until it lets itself be used by the master and breaks the ground.

I'm tired of being a sharp stick, I want to be a hoe.

Asleep at the Teet

It occurred to me that much of my life is spent asleep at the teet.

God is always there

He is always wanting to pour out his blessings on me

He wants me to grow

He wants me to trust

He wants me to love

He wants to nourish me with all the fullness that comes from life in Him

The nipple's in my mouth

But I just don't suck

Victorious Retreat

Yesterday, I was in a place where I often am.

In this place, there are many computers and little accountability.

Due largely to my family situation, it had been a long time since I have been faced with my old archenemy, the temptation to lust.

However, as my tired brain began to wander, the old feelings returned and I found myself staring it in the eyes.

SO, having read much of Edridge's material I decided to be a real man...

And ran out of there like a bat out of hell

with my tail tucked between my legs.

I felt weak,

I felt defeated,

Upon arriving home

I kissed my wife and son

And when I told my tale, it could not have been clearer

I was her knight in shining armor who had just slain his dragon.

"A Christian empties himself in order to be full,
Admits he is wrong so he can be declared right,
Goes down in order to get up
Is strongest when he is weakest
Richest when he is poorest
And happiest when he feels worst.
He dies so he can live,
Forsakes in order to have
Gives away in order to keep
Sees the invisible
Hears the inaudible
And knows that which passes knowledge."
A. W. Tozer

Jude Owens Baker... Or Jude-O...or JOB (the man, not the occupation)

He is finally here. We are so proud to announce the birth of our first son, Jude Owens Baker. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. They were definitely answered as everyone is healthy and we didn't have to have a C-section. Next time I will remember to ask for less pain or shorter time in hospital. He is the most beautiful baby, here is some proof.

Baby Time!!

Last night was our last baby-less night at home. Tonight we will go into the hospital for cervidil and be induced in the morning. Please pray for us- that we can avoid a c-section if possible, but ultimately that Sarah and our baby are ok.

What If?

Last night three area churches had a devotional before the Superbowl festivities, and before I prayed that the meal of saturated and trans fats go to the nourishment of our bodies, I challenged the teens to allow others to go first in the food line. I told them it would be a beautiful thing if everyone insisted that someone else go ahead of them. One of the middle schoolers piped in with the question, "What if no one goes first?" I told him that unfortunately, that has never been a problem I've had to face- a fellowship hall full of teens where no one wanted first dibs on pizza and buffalo wings.

What a wonderful problem to have, a building full of people who considered others better than themselves. What would that youth group look like? What would the church look like if it was filled with people who were REAL living sacrifices? What would the world see if the church existed to serve and love with a complete disregard for personal wealth, health or reputation? What if instead of trying to be right we focused on being righteous in everything we do?

What if?

I groan with eager expectation for the TRUE sons of God to be revealed, then the creation itself will be liberated from it's bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

I'll Do What Is Right...later

Why is it so easy to procrastinate when it comes to doing the right thing?

I was watching the Count of Monte Cristo last night and it struck how long it was until Dantes did what was right. He had sought his own path to the end before devoting anything to God. In the above scene, he has exacted revenge on everyone who had wronged him, THEN he devotes all that was used for revenge to be used for good.

Another kind of procrastination is ridding yourself of undesireables, Pharoah said, "Tomorrow" when asked when he would like the plague of the frogs to be removed. WHY NOT TODAY! (I think there is a book about this). I often put off dealing with my sin in the same way. But my greater struggle is to do good now and not wait around for it to fit into my schedule.
James warns against making grand plans for tomorrow and neglecting today ending with, "He who knows the good he ought to do, and doesn't do it, SINS.

Why do we squander the time God gave us in waiting for a tomorrow that might not be there. I remember as a Youth Ministry student being placated by the thought of future ministry. It freed me to do what I wanted to do now. This attitude has not left me. I see those with more wealth than I and privately yearn for the day when I will have that much to give. All the while, my pockets are full, and others are going hungry. What am I waiting for?

I resolve to change this lazy attitude in myself...tomorrow.