Family

Baptism on a Perfect Day

IMG_0440I baptized our son yesterday.  We could not have chosen a better day for this momentous occasion, for 10/10/10 (October 10, 2010) will never happen again this millennium.  Surely this was the event of a lifetime, especially for my son, for our family, and for God.  Baptizing my son by water was one of the biggest thrills of my life.  A missionary friend blessed and ordained him; I asked my son to give his testimony and helped affirmed that he was ready to take this important spiritual step.  He did splendidly.

It reminds me of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist almost 2,000 years ago in the Jordan River.  Matthew 3:13-17 says:  “13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

I’m proud of my own son for taking this important step in his walk with God.  He is a young soul, but his heart is true, and he knows the truth.  A couple of years ago he asked to be baptized, but we asked him to wait until he truly knew what it meant to be baptized.  I did not get baptized until much later in life; I am very happy he’s taken this big step while he’s young.  I looking forward to helping him grow in his faith as he develops into a man of faith.

In this day and age where relativism reigns and diversity is sacrosanct, it should be understood that baptism is not something that needs to be hidden away from view or done discreetly because someone might happen to offend someone. It’s a story begging to be told.  Much as all sorts of religions are tolerated for their own outward expressions of belief, so also should this type of visual proclamation of faith be respected.  It’s not something that needs to be hidden under a bush or salted away.

Happy New Year 2010

I wish you a happy and prosperous 2010.  I hope 2009 treated you well and that the new year will be even better.  What do you have planned for the new year?

I’m one of those people who believe in making and achieving goals, and I consider New Year’s resolutions worthwhile.  Resolutions help one think about what needs to change and how to change it.  Unfortunately, it’s very easy to break resolutions because they usually focus on aspects of our lives that we continually struggle to improve.  Hence, “resolve” is a key aspect of resolutions, and one must have the resolve to achieve the resolutions they make.

I’m as guilty as anyone in making and breaking my resolutions for the new year, so I have made three personal commitments this year that I hope will help me achieve my resolutions for 2010.  One, I chose goals that I am already pursuing and have already made some progress in achieving.  Two, I chose incremental targets for my goals rather than “pie-in-the-sky” aims that I know I will never achieve.  Third, I pledged to prioritize these goals, focus more on achieving them, and balance them with other responsibilities so they’re not superseded by life’s daily demands.  With these three commitments I hope to accomplish these resolutions by year’s end.

Here are my personal goals for 2010:

  1. Make a major life change
  2. Lose weight (10 percent)
  3. Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
  4. Run (not walk) a 10-kilometer race
  5. Read half the Bible
  6. Stop one bad habit
  7. Write or update 25 short stories
  8. Go golfing three times
  9. Read ten books
  10. Increase our net worth by ten percent

If you haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions, I encourage you to try making some and make the commitment to follow through with them.  If you achieve even one, you increase your chances that you’ll end this year happier than you started it.