What a “Guy”

I have to share this. I sent an e-mail to Guy Doud, a former teacher of the year award recipient today to tell him that I have been listening to a CD of his that has been a huge encouragement to me in my decision to go into teaching.

The cool thing was, he wrote me back within an hour. I thought that was very cool that he took the time to write back and encourage me. That e-mail is something I know I will treasure and look back upon in my new career. He is an incredible speaker and great example of what a teacher should be.

If you haven’t heard of him, look into some of his books or CDs. He has a lot of great things to say about how we view other people God has put into our lives.

Gettin’ Down with Baptism

Yesterday our church had baptism during the morning services, which I believe is the first time we’ve done that. Usually, we will have baptism during an evening or special afternoon service. I thought the change was an awesome way to worship and renew my faith via Sunday Morning Worship.

Watching all of the people who came forward and were baptized reminded me of the struggle I went through for my baptism. I had my salvation experience at 8 years old, but was not baptized until age 19. The reason was I was looking for some “deeper meaning” in the baptism experience. I thought there was something more to being baptized that I had to find. So I spent about 11 years looking for it.

I finally found it one day at a Baptism service at a church in Cedarville, Ohio. One of the pastors came out after the service and talked a little bit about why those people were going through the ritual of baptism. I was on the edge of my seat at this point thinking “This is it! This is what I have been looking to understand about this!”

He simply said: “obedience.”

What? I couldn’t believe it was that simple. But he was right. We as Christians are to be baptized because He told us to be.

Acts 2:38 – Repent and be baptized!

There is not much to the institution of baptism. It is simply a believer’s way to proclaim the leadership of Christ in his life to all around him, and to be obedient to Christ.

Simple as that.

Words of Wisdom from Spidey

(Warning!!! Possible movie spoilers ahead!)

I went and saw Spiderman 3 with a friend on Saturday, and I must say it was pretty good. Some of the reviews were correct in saying it is a very “busy” movie with A LOT happening in 140 minutes. There are new characters introduced, old ones are forgotten and brought back, and various other plot lines are inter weaved. But what is interesting is that there was one line in the movie that hit me hard.

At one point Peter and Aunt May are talking about marriage, and Aunt May basically tells Peter that a man is ready to marry when he can put his wife’s needs and desires ahead of his own, no matter what. I literally missed about the next 10 minutes of the movie thinking about this because I wondered if after 8 years of marriage I can say that is what I have done. I realized that lately I really haven’t put my wife’s needs ahead of mine with all my complaining about my job, school and everything else. I needed to get back on that track and I think Mother’s day was just what I needed to remind me of my role in a marriage/family. Now with children, I need to put my wife’s and kid’s needs way ahead of mine. And only with God’s help can I overcome the selfish nature I have inside me to put them first. That will definitely be part of my morning prayer for the day – for Him to help me put my girls ahead of me in all things.

Usually I don’t think Hollywood has many “deep insights” that are actually true, but I think Aunt May got it right with this one, and it was worth the $6.50 (student discount ) to see the movie just for that reminder.

And the special effects were pretty sweet too…

dcTalk – I wish we’d all been ready

I grew up on dcTalk. Saw many concerts. This is probably the one song that always got me thinking.

Are you living as if Christ would come back today?

Self-Evaluation

“The best men know that they are very far from what they ought to be; and the very worst think that, if they were a very little better, they should be as good as they need be.”-James Anthony Froude

It is that dreaded time again for me – the self evaluation at work. I guess you are supposed to brag about what you did the past year, how you made the organization better, put the organizations goals and needs before your own, how you worked hard, how you were reliable, etc. Then you have to set goals for the upcoming year of how you are going to do better.

As I sit here, the thought occurred to me, that I have never really done a “life self-evaluation” using the same questions. I found the above quote one time, and just now realized what it meant. It means I need to be doing a self evaluation daily, about what I “ought to be” as a Christian, a husband, a father, a friend, a church member, a teacher, a student, a person. How have I done in the last year? What goals do I have for the upcoming year for myself? my church? my relationship with my wife? my girls?

I just realized how often I think I am just “doing enough today” to be as good as I need to be. I was always the one in school just doing enough to get a B+ or A-, but never really committing to the goal of an A+. Now I do the same thing, just doing enough to do pretty good, but not outstanding.

God has called me to be “outstanding,” translated “Christlike”, and that need to be the goal of my self-evaluation. I am proud to be called a follower of Christ, but now I want to be known as Christ-like.

National Day of Prayer

I was in high school when the original push was “Meet me at the Pole!” Anyone remember that???
It’s good to stop, pray, and thank God for what He’s done.

Going away

 I don’t know how some of you frequent flyers do it. I thought I would love a job where I get to travel and see the world. But now that I am doing that, I can’t stand being away from my girls. I am actually heading off for a weekend conference tomorrow that sounds like it will be fun and educational, but I just keep thinking that it is time taken away from my family.  I have heard too many people say “Where did the time go? I didn’t spend enough with my children/spouse/family.” I know I don’t want to be that guy at 50.

I guess the upside is that God blessed me with a family that I WANT to and ENJOY being with. Not everyone has that. I thank God for that blessing every day.