We got a little jump on the Christmas decorations this year. This is the first time I can remember having the tree up before December rolled around (yes, I know we beat the clock by less than one day). This is one of those traditions I love (although sometimes it doesn’t feel that way in the middle of it). Here are some pics from the festive event…

 
Kyle Hangs His First Ornament (for the year)

 
Logan Hanging His First Ornament

 
Lindsay’s Turn

 
Sensing a Theme Here?

 
Lindsay’s Turn to Add the Angel Topper

 
Kyle, Lindsay, Logan
Good they look like their mom huh?

 
The Baumgartners 2008

 
Our Natural Pose

I still can’t believe Christmas is just around the corner.
Feliz Navidad!

This may sound weird, but during some time with God this week He has impressed on my that my faith is too internal. I need to be living and sharing my faith more externally—in the open. I don’t know about you, but this has always been tough for me (which is why I am sharing it here…so that this too is out in the open). I need and seek the approval of others far too much and this keeps me from sharing my faith as openly as I should—after all, someone might think I’m a freak or something!

This is just one of the many character flaws God continues to work on me. There is no doubt that I am a “work in progress” and sometimes I feel sorry for just how much work God has to do.  But I am listening and I am willing to allow Him to transform and change me (and I am willing to do my part too). Sometimes it is painful. It was hard just to admit that I seek the approval of others sometimes more than God’s.

Of course, He helped me on this point with several Scriptures on the topic and He is so faithful through the process of shaping me (it rarely happens in an instant…the process is important). Here are the passages in case you’re curious (and want to read them for yourself). I’ve included the phrases that dig the deepest but you should read them in full too:

1. Psalm 19:14 – “…be pleasing to You…”
2. Romans 2:29 – “…seeks praise from God, not from people.”
3. Galatians 1:10 – “…win the approval..of God…”
4. Galatians 6:8 – “…live to please the Spirit…”
5. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 – “…please God not people.”
6. I Thessalonians 4:1 – “…live in a way that pleases God…”

Think maybe he was trying to get my attention on this topic? If you are so inclined…pray for me about this. God isn’t finished yet…

There is something about this morning that has me looking forward to worshiping God in community more than usual.

I am expectant. I am excited. And I can’t really explain why.

Being ready for and excited about Sunday morning is nothing new or unusual for me…I love our church and the people and the music and the pastors…you get the picture. But this morning holds even more expectation and inner-stirring than normal.

God will be there (of course He’s here too…but it’s different among a group of people who love Him and are praising Him together). So I will get up, spend some personally time with God and then go be part of His church. I think this is how God wants us to feel heading into worship (corporate and personal).

It is going to be a great day!

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
Psalm 84:1-2, NLT

I think this event might be in the next Olympics (at least the Redneck Olympics). I’m not a big bowling fan, but the trick is still pretty cool…I certainly couldn’t do it. No rhyme or reason for this one today…it’s just Friday…

Bowling Trick 

Happy Friday!

As part of my current college course (Spiritual Formation) we have gone through several exercises this week to practice solitude and listening to God’s voice. These are uncomfortable exercise…but that’s supposed to be part of the point as we get out of our comfort zone and learn to hear God speak into our lives. It has been hard. It has been good.

Last night was a 30 minute exercise of silence and listening. After the first 5-10 minutes (I wasn’t watching the clock) God did a LOT of talking. This is probably indicative of how much I haven’t been listening recently..He unloaded on one very specific topic: Having a Servant’s Heart. I won’t go into all of the details, but here are the highlights:

1. Am I leading from a servant’s heart or am I serving out of simple duty and obligation? (I hate it when He asks questions like this because I rarely like the answer!)
2. God wants my motive to service…not service because I’m supposed to or because it feeds my ego. (OUCH)
3. Two examples for me to chew on: Jesus washing His disciples’ feet (He wanted to do it…it wasn’t just a duty) and Philippians 2:4-11.
4. Here’s the big one: He wants me to really start seeing other’s as He sees them—through God’s eyes!

This is all about my motives for ministry and service. Am I doing it for my own benefit or for God’s benefit? Is my heart truly in the right place? I’m not saying I am serving out of some dark place…but it’s not the best place. It’s for God’s glory not mine. It’s not about me…it’s about Him.

God, grant me a servant’s heart!

I have no idea where this question came from yesterday, but in the car one of the kids asked this question. It’s one of those questions only a kid would ask—and it’s kind of fun to think about (although it doesn’t really mean anything in the grander scheme of things).

Here are the answers our gang came up with:

1. Lindsay & Kyle: Agreed that heaven smells like laundry detergent.
2. Logan: Thinks heaven will smell like limes (gotta love citrus!)
3. Anita & I: Agreed that heaven will smell like newborn babies (the good smell)

What will heaven actually smell like? Who knows, but Logan said it best when we had all given our answers: “It will smell like that but better!”

So what do you think heaven will smell like?

P.S.: After I posted this I realized Kyle asked this same question back in January. I guess he didn’t get the answer he wanted then.

You lived in this world without God and without hope.
But now you have been united with Christ Jesus.
Once you were far away from God, but now you have
been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:12b-13, NLT

I don’t know about you, but this verse describes me a “T”. I lived in this world without God and therefore without hope until God brought me near to Himself. Scripture is full of this idea that God has pursued us and done everything in His power to bring us to Himself. I don’t know why sometimes, but God wants a relationship with me and with you. It’s an awesome thought. I want to be near to God, but I can’t do that on my own. It took the ultimate sacrifice to make it happen.

I have been brought near to God by Christ. There’s a thought I needed for the day!

Here’s a video Nick sent me this week that drives this thought home another way…

I have started a new class for school and it is one I have been looking forward to for some tie now: Spiritual Formation. The class has kept me busy (you may have noticed the slow down in posts this past week), but it’s a good kind of busy as we talk about, learn about, and experience walking with Christ in our daily lives. It has been a challenge to my personal walk and an opportunity for growth.

This past week we’ve been talking about many topics (i.e.: God’s grace, the journey, struggles and trials, et al). But today a question that Jesus asked His own disciples has embedded itself in my spirit:

“But who do you say I am?”
Matthew 16:15, NLT

Paul immediately speaks up for the group and gives a great answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” and Jesus praises him for His answer. It’s a great passage, a great story, with a great message. But that wasn’t what stuck with me. Jesus wasn’t just asking His disciples this question. He’s asking me and He’s asking you this very same question: But who do you say I am?”

How about it? Who do we say Jesus is? What does my life say about Jesus? Do I speak Jesus at all? Do others know about Jesus though my life? And if so…what am I saying about Jesus?

And what do I really believe about Jesus? Who do I say and who do I think Jesus is? Who is Jesus to me?

My Redeemer. My Lord. My Savior. My Friend.

How about you? Who do you say Jesus is? Let’s hear it…

This guy failed the test before it even got started. I wonder if he even finished? Either way it’s funny!

Drunk Fails the Exam

Happy Friday!

The theme for this post came to me from two different magazines I was reading yesterday (Discipleship Journal and Marriage Partnership). Two very different sources with the same message (and from two very different article topics). Here’s the thing…I don’t think the message is for me. It’s not that it couldn’t be for me (and perhaps it will be sometime in the near future), but my heart is telling me that I am supposed to write about this topic for someone else—someone who might be reading this right now. So I will be obedient to His leading and trust Him with the results (and if it turns out it was meant for me…that’s OK too).

Here are the quotes from the magazines:

The thought never crossed my mind that God might want to use my pain to turn my heart toward him. (MP, Fall 2008, page 16).

Most Christians believe that God will never give them anything—any hardship—that they cannot bear. They rely on what they read in 1 Cor. 10:13…The context of that verse, however, is key. Paul is speaking about the temptation to sin…most of us don’t read the verse that way. We think the apostle is assuring us that God will never give us a trial we can’t bear. The fact is, God will allow hardships in your life that you simply cannot bear…Yet there’s purpose in the pain…You can go through almost anything if you know the Lord of the universe is going through it with you. (DJ, Sept/Oct 2008, page 34-35).

I am only giving you a small piece of each article. I highly recommend that you read the second one in its entirety. It is entitled Borrowing God’s Smileby Joni Eareckson Tada and it is a great article. But even in these small excerpts you get the point.

Trails will come into our lives. We will have pain. You’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced it. I see it every day. It breaks our hearts. It hurts. We don’t understand it. But it’s still there and we often question why God allows it. Certainly don’t be fooled into thinking God promises to protect us from all pain and trials. Very much the opposite:

 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through,
as if something strange were happening to you.
Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with
Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing
his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
1 Peter 4:12-13, NLT

It is through our trials and our pain that we become more like Him. It is then that our hearts are turned toward God. It is then that God gets to shower you with His love and grace and mercy. Are you going through a tough time right now? Do you know someone else who is?

Take heart. God isn’t surprised by it and He wants to use it to shape you into His image, turn you toward Him, and show you just how much He loves you. Now that’s a great message…and I pray that God will use it to minister to those who need it (you know who you are).