Sunday, May 20, 2012    

A Little Encouragement Please

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

I’m still not exactly sure why, but yesterday was full of discouragement as a dark mood settled over me. As I pray and think about it I am sure it is because of the great weekend we had with the boys (more to come on that in another post, but I want to give it the attention it deserves). It really hit me after lunch…more specifically, after going to the gun range with two of my buddies.

But when it hit me, it hit me pretty hard. I started thinking about all the stuff I have to get done this week, this month, this year. I started thinking about finances. I started thinking about my garage. I started thinking about my uncertain future. I started thinking about homework. I started thinking about being there for my family. I started thinking about church responsibilities. I think you get the picture…it was overwhelming.

It is times like this when I usually would turn to something I shouldn’t (food recently, porn a few years ago). But God has been working on me to turn to Him. So I did. I put all of this on the table, confessed my discouragement and asked Him for a little encouragement. Did I get it? Yes and No. He isn’t letting me off quite that easy, but He does hear me and He does love me…and He is working on me ever so slowly.

So what did I hear from Him? Here’s what I got: “Be Still”. Not exactly word of encouragement, and not exactly new words of instruction for me. This is also an area He has been working on…my need to slow down, be still, and be with Him. Seems counter-intuitive to my mood this morning. Wasn’t what I was looking or hoping for. But then He reinforces the command with this…

Be still, and know that I am God!
(Psalm 46:10a)

Okay…even I get it. Be still, right? But that’s not my nature. He knows. So here I am, doing my best to be still and wait on God. He’s here. I’m waiting…

12.08.2008 God's Love, Misc Ramblings, Spiritual Development 1 Comment

Things You Don’t Say to Your Wife

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Per Anita’s request, here is a hilarious video by one of my favorite comics, Tim Hawkins. Enjoy…

I’m off to the mountains so have a great weekend!

09.08.2008 Humor, Video No Comments

Every Man Needs One of These…

Friday, August 8th, 2008

SwordLast night the boys and I ran a little errand (at least that’s what I told them we were doing). They thought we were going to pick up a bicycle because Anita has been looking at buying one for the past couple of weeks. But we were not in the market for a bicyle last night! Instead we bought the little beauty to the left!

First, if you don’t already know, Craigslist is awesome! You can find just about anything you could ever dream of buying, wanting, needing and it doesn’t cost you or the seller a dime (well, until you purchase something at least). And it’s all local. Ok, enough of that little soapbox since everyone already knows and loves them!

Since this was a surprise for the boys you can imagine the look on their faces when I walked back to the car holding this in my hand! I still don’t think Logan believes it’s ours yet (and Kyle asked me twice if we got to keep it). Logan must have told me he loves me 20 times on the way home. I let them hold it across their laps and they both were VERY excited. It’s fun to do something that brings your kids so much happiness (and me too). :mrgreen:

Logan once again proclaimed that he wants to make swords for a living and that he just couldn’t “believe I’m holding a real sword”. And yes, it’s very real. For the price I expected it to be kind of flimsy and have a dull edge…wrong! It’s heavy, made of steel, and sharp.

I must admit, it is very cool! If you don’t have one already you must go and purchase one immediately (there are about 50 on Denver’s Craiglist right now…well 49 now). We are using this as part of the rite of passage ritual this weekend with the boys and I can tell you already that they are even more excited for the trip knowing the sword is going with us. I am really looking forward to it too…I think it’s going to be something special!

One last thought…every sword needs a name (doesn’t it?). Any ideas for this one? I will of course get the boy’s opinion on the matter, but planting an idea or two never hurts. If you have an idea, please share via comments. Now I’m off to play with my sword. And yes, I know how that sounded. :wink:

08.08.2008 Manhood, Misc Ramblings 1 Comment

The Bachelor Life

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

For the past two days I have been a proverbial “bachelor” while my family has been in Wyoming visiting my wife’s parents. I know it sounds great…house to myself…schedule free to do anything I want…yada yada yada.

But it just ain’t so. It S-U-C-K-E-D! First, my lifeis plenty busy that I didn’t exactly get to do anything overly exciting (unless you count homework and boring TV exciting). And I flat out miss my family. They are a part of me and I love being with them. I have the greatest wife on the planet and I missed being with her and sharing my day with her. I have great kids and truly enjoy hanging out with them…they are just fun to be with (most of the time).

And to top it all off, I couldn’t sleep worth a &%^$#! It has been a long time since my work-travel days when I got used to sleeping alone. It doesn’t feel right and I couldn’t get used to it.

The good news? They are all home again! Life is back to “normal” (whatever that means). We are back together again…it feel right!

PS: After some more thought and discussion, here is the list of Manhood Principles we settled on:

  1. A Real Man Knows and Walks with God
  2. A Real Man Lives by Biblical Standards «We have a list of 12, but that’s another post
  3. A Real Man Works for Something Bigger than Himself
  4. A Real Man Loves and Protects His Wife and Family

Would still love your feedback and thoughts before it becomes “set in stone” this weekend”…

06.08.2008 Family, Manhood, Misc Ramblings 2 Comments

What Does It Mean to be a Man?

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

This weekend is our First Annual Guy’s Camping Trip. Paul Foster and I (an maybe one other guy) are taking our boys camping. There is a specific purpose behind this annual trip though. The goal is to start the process of making men out of our boys…to begin the journey of manhood with them. I am a firm believer that this is our primary role as fathers for our sons–to guide and direct them into manhood, to teach them what it means to be a man and help them become a man.

This is no easy task, and we have done a lot of homework in preparing for this journey already. We have prayed. We have talked. We have studied. One of the best books on this subject is Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis. In the book Lewis talks about defining manhood and instilling this definition in your son(s). He also talks about using ceremonies in your son’s life to initiate him along the pathway to manhood (a rite of passage that is missing in our society). Lewis details four principles of manhood in his book (chapter 4):

  1. A Real Man Rejects Passivity
  2. A Real Man Accepts Responsibility
  3. A Real Man Leads Courageously
  4. A Real Man Expects the Greater Reward

I can’t argue with any of that (especially when you get into the details), but I think there is something missing. I sat down last night and prayed about this, asking God to help me define manhood for my sons. What is it I want my sons to know about manhood? How do I define manhood? What does it mean to be a man?

Here is my modified list (in its current form anyway, and yes some are from Lewis’ list):

  1. A Real Man Knows and Walks with God
  2. A Real Man Stands for Truth and Accepts Responsibility
  3. A Real Man is a Servant Leader
  4. A Real Man Lives for Something Bigger Than Himself
  5. A Real Man Loves and Fights for the Woman in His Life

So here’s the question of the day…and I really to covet your thoughts, evaluations, and responses…are we missing anything? How do you answer this question: What Does it Mean to Be a Man? This is too important for me to think I have it all figured out (I’m working towards the goal…which is part of the lesson for the boys…this is a lifetime journey). Any thoughts, reactions, modifications, or additions are willingly accepted.

And please be praying for us this weekend as we start this journey. And if you know anyone who can loan us a sword for the weekend…do tell, we need on to initiate our boys as Pages! :wink:

05.08.2008 Discipleship, Manhood, Spiritual Development 2 Comments

Video of the Month

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

This one gave me shivers, can almost feel the power of Christ…


 2 Corinthians 3:17, NLT

03.08.2008 Jesus, Spiritual Musings, Video 1 Comment

Happy Birthday Logan

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

 9 years ago today my first baby boy came onto the scene!
I became a father of a bouncing baby boy and we had our package (one boy,one girl).
9 years ago today, Logan David Baumgartner was born!

I remember thinking forward to all the great times we would have as a father and son duo. All the camping trips. All the hunting trips. All of the fart and burping contests. All of the times learning about life, girls, and God (not necessarily in that order). I remember once again feeling completely inadequate to the task…totally freaked out!

And once again, I blinked and my baby boy is now 9 years old. I love him more today than on that first day (and I didn’t think that was possible). I love the young man that he is becoming. He has a heart of gold, compassion like I’ve never seen before, and a love for his family that I could only have dreamed and prayed for. I can’t wait for him to continue to grow and become a young man…the journey is just beginning!

Happy Birthday Logan!
I love you!

Now, some of my favorite Logan pictures…

LoganBirth
Logan’s Birth Picture

old_time 
My Little Outlaw

LoganFish 
His First Fish

LoganFlying 
Flying with Larry
(this was a truly great day)

LoganFencing 
En Guard!

LoganBird 
Logan and Amy
(his favorite pet)

LoganBike 
He has learned to ride his bike…FREEDOM!

02.08.2008 Family, Misc Ramblings No Comments

Slow Down

Friday, August 1st, 2008

I got this message from God about a month ago (on July 3rd to be precise): “Slow down and be with me.” I even wrote it down and journaled about it. The message could not have been any clearer and you might assume that I received the message loud and clear. Me too. That is, until this morning when God gave me two reminders.

Reminder #1:

 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are
weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-30, NLT

Reminder #2:

Most of us are going as fast as we can, living life at a dizzying speed, and God is nowhere to be found. We’re not rejecting God; we just don’t have time for him. We’ve lost him in the blurred landscape as we rush to church. We don’t struggle with the Bible, but with the clock.

Spiritual growth is not running faster, as in  more meetings, more Bible studies, and more prayer meetings. Spiritual growth happens when we slow our activity down.If we want to meet Jesus we can’t do it on the run….Christianity is not about inviting Jesus to speed up through life with us; it’s about noticing Jesus sitting at the rest stop.

Rest is the ultimate humiliation because in order to rest, we must admit that we are not necessary, that the world can get along without us, that God’s work does not depend on us.

Messy Spirituality, Michael Yaconelli, pages 124, 125, 127

So there you have it. I think I get the message. Slow down, rest with God, focus on Him instead of the “stuff” I think ‘m doing for Him. There is too much in the above passages for me to unpack…it’s still too fresh and raw in my own spirit. So why do I share? Two reasons. First, it’s a form of confession and accountability on my part. Second, you might need some of this message too.

I’m still not exactly sure how and where God wants me to slow down (i.e.: what He wants me to give up or how need to slow down in my spirit), but I’m working on it, praying about it, and getting the message. Pray for me as I continue to unpack this and walk in it with Christ. And drop me a comment if you have anything to share on this topic…either your own struggles or ways you have conquered this one.

01.08.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

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