My wife, however, is a bit peeved that I won an award based upon her pain and suffering. (Hey, she got good meds. What more can you ask for?)
So, with that being said, I shall endeavor to uphold the sanctity of this honor that was bestowed upon me.
You like me. You really like me!.. umm... OK, I almost made it through without cracking up.
Today, I had the priviledge of getting off of work at 1:00 to spend some time with my family.
The kids and I played outside for a while. We played ball, I had a chance to play games with Jules.
After playing a while, we decided on pizza for dinner. I took Juliana to "Little Snesars", as Juliana would say, with me. We waved at the "mascot" and had a great time and good conversation. It reminds me that one on one special time is a necessity for parents.
After having been in pain with a fever for 4 days, Diana conceeds to the idea that we need to go to the emergency room. For those of you that know her, this is not a usual task as she has a really high pain threshold. There were a lot of things that really worried me; the fever, body aches, sore throat; inability to sleep.
Rign around 6:00PM we decided that "yes, it was time", so she told me that she would be back soon.
"Back soon," I relplied. "Where are you going?"
"To the hospital."
"Alone? Oh, no. I'm driving you"
"I'll be OK."
"Ummm, sweetheart, I REALLY want to drive you there."
Luckily, she relented.
When we arrived, the ER was totaly empty so we were seen relatively quicky.
After some IV fluids and an anti-biotic, we were told that Diana had a kidney infection and pharangitis.
All in all a 3 hour tour didn;t turn out that bad; after all, we could've ended up on a deserted island. (I know, bad...very bad)
God is good, all the time!
My wife and I just returned from a wonderful weekend at Whitestone, a Christian Bed & Breakfast in East Tennessee. I have to say that it was such a wonderful experience!
BTW, the picture is from our picnic lunch (more pics are below), which was really cool... fruit, cheese, crackers, huge sandwhiches and a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice.
Diana and I really had a time to reconnect. I think that sometimes as married couples, we don't know "how" to talk after a while. We talked about each other and the kids. We talked about the wonderful friends that gave us this trip here.
The coolest thing was that we actually had a chance to "talk". We sat up most of the night pouring our hearts out and pouring our souls into each other in a tremendous spirit of affirmation, honesty.
As for the other points, the meals were awesome, with large portions. Heck, after the breakfast appetizer, we left because we knew that neither of us could finish the next course. Dinner was also great. We had backened tuna and there was a roaming violinist who played for the couples.
I couldn't have thought of a better weekend, nor anyone else that I would rather have spent it with.
I love you, Diana!
Today she was so cute. She was walking around the house in her "toasty" (sleeper), wearing black boots and holding a flashlight for a microphone. She was singing the Best of Both Worlds, a song by Hannah Montana.
I feel so blessed that God has given us 4 beautiful children. I am thankful for the little glimpse of Heaven that He gives us in the smiles and joy of our children.
It really makes me glad to know that I have the best of both worlds.
Is water baptism a part of salvation? This is a discussion that a good friend and I are having. There are basically two answers to this; yes and no.
There is a saying that goes like this, "Give me the Reader's Digest version", which means, the short answer without a long drawn out discussion. The "Reader's Digest" answer is: No
I am one, however, that likes to followup an answer with an explanation, so here we go...
My friend points to Acts 2:38 in the NASB, which says,
Peter [said] to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
People say, "Look, Acts 2:38 says, 'Repent, and be baptized . . . .' How do you get around the fact that Peter said you've got to get baptized to be saved?" Well, it's very simple, actually. Luke 18 contains a helpful illustration. Look at verse 18: "And a certain ruler asked Him [Jesus], saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, that's a good question. In fact, it's basically the same question the people asked in Acts 2:37. Skipping down to verse 22b, Jesus answered his question, and said, "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven . . . ." Is Jesus saying that salvation is an issue of economics? Is He saying that in order to be saved, a person has to hock everything and then give all the money to the poor? Of course not! Salvation isn't a question of economics. It isn't a question of giving all one's money to the poor. You say, "Well, that's what He said!" No, that's not what He said. Look again at verse 22. After telling this man to sell all that he had and to give the money to the poor, Jesus then said, ". . . and come, follow Me." In other words, Jesus was saying, "There's a barrier in your way, fella. You're never going to know salvation until you give up your one big hang-up - money." You see, Jesus read his heart and knew that this young ruler loved money. And the reason we know that Jesus' analysis was correct is because the guy turned around and went home. He wanted his money more than he wanted eternal life.
The point is this: It's not until you want Jesus Christ more than anything else that the conditions are removed. As long as God knows there's something in the way, He'll point it out. The biggest stumbling block to Jewish conversion was the fear of persecution, being "unsynagogued," and being put out of their whole Jewish world. So Peter says, "I know that's your problem. so that's what you're going to have to get out of the way." They had to be baptized as a public acknowledgment that they were naming the name of Jesus Christ - fully aware of what it was going to cost.
The Word of God, then, does not teach baptismal regeneration. It simply indicates, here in Acts 2:38, that the Jews were to be baptized in response to what had happened in their life. It was to be a public confession of their new union with Christ . . . and it was a high price for them to pay.
And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days,
