Nonsensical Ramblings of Mark

You got to move; you got to move You got to move child; you got to move When the Lord gets ready You gotta move - You Got To Move,  The Lost Dogs It was already one of the most awesome Sunday services I had ever been a part of and it was hard to hold back my tears and impossible not to celebrate. One by one, members of my church family (most of whom I did not know) were plunged into the water and brought back out again going public with their faith in Jesus Christ and their desire to follow him for the rest of their lives. But God was still getting ready. During the sermon one of our pastors laid out the theological significance of baptism and why we as Baptists perform it the way we do. We follow the pattern explicitly laid out in the Bible where someone is fully submerged under water and brought back out again as a picture of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection and their commitment to a full and undivided trust in Christ. He also issued an invitation for anyone who hadn...

The big joke about the beginning of our relationship, if you can call it that, is that my wife had to ask me out a total of three times before I said yes. Now there are a couple of different interpretations of why that was the case, but needless to say I was a bit more passive than she was in seeking a relationship with her. Once I realized who she was then it was obvious that I needed to put a ring on her finger. Anyone in my place would have done the same. Recently, though, I realized that she pursues me still. Last week I was on a plane heading back from a week long trip to Switzerland and France for some work-related activity and I was reading a book called The King of the Earth by Erich Sauer and there he relayed a story about a neophyte philosopher in the presence of Socrates. As he walked in stunned silence next to the great thinker Socrates finally broke the silence with the admonition, "Speak...so that I may know thee."  And how much like him she is.  As we spo...

There was a lot of snow on the roof last Saturday and we knew that the thaw was coming. We have had a bit of water staining on the ceiling in our bedroom (not a lot and it looks like it is just about over) but I knew that I needed to get up to the upper roof for some maintenance. After banging on the ice dam with a hammer and failing to make much progress on it I decided to do what I could and shovel the snow off of the top roof. I was already up there after all. Well, when I got to the back roof and began to clear the snow off I noticed that much too much water had been pooling beneath a layer of ice and I knew that it needed to go. And I needed her to help. And that is when it became much more than just a chore. I needed to carve a channel into the ice dam down to the roof itself and I needed buckets of hot water (close to 10 I thought) to get the job done. I had a hammer, shop vac, and shovel to help but, most importantly, I had her. She agreed to haul the buckets of water from th...

I've been looking so long at these pictures of you That I almost believe that they're real I've been living so long with my pictures of you That I almost believe that the pictures are All I can feel - Pictures of You, The Cure I know this song does not have to do with what I am going to write about, but when I heard these lyrics for the 20th, maybe 50th time I got to thinking about my pictures of God. To me a picture is a bit of captured reality that, less rather than more, allows me to recall the place, people, feelings...all of the everything associated with the time that I remember when it was taken. I get so sure about what I recall and the longer I stare at the pictures, the farther I get from the actual event, I remember less specifics but I am sure of so much more; sure of much more than I should be. And what of the pictures of God that I have? For sure he has plainly revealed himself to me in the Bible, but what of the spaces that the Bible doesn't occup...

Disappointed a few people When friendship reared it's ugly head? Disappointed a few people? Well? Isn't that what friends are for? - PIL, Disappointed I'm brilliantly flawed aren't I?  An imperfection here, a rough edge there. A glance that betrays my heart's true state. A slight yesterday, an oversight last week when a missed opportunity for a conversation or connection was embraced rather than the person I should have had it with. I have and will disappoint more than a few people during the course of my life here. And that is why I need friends. Real friends. Friends that call to my mind those flaws and imperfections that I need to subject to the control of the Spirit. Friends that see my all-too-often half-hearted attempts at repentance and pray for me. Friends that forgive more than they demand payment from me. Yes, friendship with me has an ugliness and beauty that is all its own. My flaws are in full dress bearing their banner in my parade. Overlook ...

I serve a humble God. It seems kind of strange that a God could be humble especially when so many people misunderstand Him and label Him as either an egoist in the highest order or even rather insecure. But as I read the Bible, and seek to really understand it, I find that God is rather humble and, in imitation of Him, I need to be humble as well. Christianity has, at its core, the humiliation of its God. This is a truth that is trotted out at Christmas and Easter (especially), but it needn't be relegated to those holidays on the church calendar. If I carefully read the Scriptures I see this from Genesis 1 straight through Revelation as it is something that sets my God, the true God, apart from any other. He is patient, meek (power under control) and gentle of heart and in Him I find rest - not a hint cruelty or pride.  I also find in Him the desire to discipline me and orient at least a some of His activities towards my well-being. That He would even pay attention to me is s...

I was uploading a bunch of pictures to Flickr today and came across some pictures of miscellaneous stuff in our garage that we have sold on Craigslist. It all went - not a single thing was left and I received my asking price on all but one of the items. That I got my asking price on just about everything is completely strange because, as far as I know, I have not paid the asking price on any item off of Craigslist. At any rate, this is just another example to me of the golden age of information and connectivity that we are living in. After picking up a nice used bike for my oldest son I recalled a story to my boys about a used bike that my dad purchased for me. We were on our way back from visiting my relatives down in Wayland, NY when we just happened to drive by a house with a decent enough used bike for sale. My dad got it for me, we loaded it in the station wagon, and we were on our way again. It was a decent enough bike (just the good side past a piece of junk) and I rode it for...