Beau and Jude were baptized yesterday!

The building where our church meets does not have a permanent baptistry, so we announced several weeks ago that we were going to have a baptism Sunday yesterday.  I have been talking to one of my good friends about him being baptized, and about two weeks ago, he decided to commit to baptism, which was very encouraging to me. As we were discussing this in our home last Sunday, Beau and Jude asked, "When can we be baptized?" We discussed it a little that evening, and then Brandi discussed it with them extensively after school on Monday and discerned that they had the necessary faith and understanding to be baptized.  

So, at the end of our gathering, we baptized Beau, Jude, and our good friend.  Peter led our prayer as a church for each before their baptism, and the family prayed over them after their baptism.  Brandi, my dad, and I prayed over Beau and Jude, and Joe prayed over our friend; I asked Jesus to baptize them in the Holy Spirit.

We went to Rudy's BBQ for lunch to celebrate.

Father, thank you for the opportunity to celebrate adoption of sons into you family! Jesus, thank you for your example for us to follow.  Holy Spirit, thank you for your baptism.  I love you.

Hiking Capitán

Brandon invited me to join him for a hiking/camping trip before he deploys in a few weeks.

This past Thursday, we packed in food, water, and basic shelter and then hiked in the rain a few hours before setting up camp. We started at an elevation of about 6000 feet, and Brandon was probably carrying three times as much weight as I was.   That morning, I read about Jesus's transfiguration on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and I asked him to reveal Himself to us on this hike.

Friday morning, there was a trail for the first hour or two, but we were hiking through brush and tall grass (or over rockslides) most of the rest of the way.  At around 8500 feet, I started getting dizzy and light headed.  I had to stop every couple hundred yards to catch my breath, but Brandon was very patient with me.  He noticed that I was taking large strides, and he encouraged me to take smaller steps, which helped a lot.  The sky was mostly clear until we got to the summit (10083 ft), and then clouds rolled in.

And then I realized that I had been so focused on making it to the summit that I had forgotten about making it back down the mountain to the truck. 

After about 30 minutes of descent, the skies cleared up again.  Thank God, He gave me strength and protection to make it back down.  It was about a 10 mile round trip.

As I was reflecting on the experience, I saw God in a few ways.  I think Brandon was an example of Jesus or the Holy Spirit (not sure which, or maybe both): eager for me to go on to new heights, more confident in my ability than I was, and patient with me the whole time.  Furthermore, I don't think it was a coincidence that the clouds came in when we summited.  I think God answered my prayer by surrounding us with clouds the way Moses experienced God on the mountain and the way that Peter, James, and John experienced God on the mountain.

Father, thank you for giving me what I asked for.  Thank you for revealing yourself to me.  And thank you for a good friend who pushes me beyond what I think my limits are.  I love you.

Mountain top glory

This past Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, Beau and I went camping on his second manhood trip.  It was a great trip and we had some great conversations and some good hiking.

This afternoon and tomorrow, I plan to hike with Brandon before he deploys in a few weeks.

As I was reading Matthew's account of Jesus's transfiguration, I was impressed with what the three disciples were experiencing and what he Father said of Jesus.  I want Him to be able to say that of me.

Matthew 17:1‭-‬3‭, ‬5 NIV

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.  ... a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

As I was considering this, I noticed that the song on the radio was Show me Your Glory by Jesus Culture:

[Verse 1]
I see the cloud, I step in
I want to see Your glory as Moses did
Flashes of light and rolls of thunder
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid

[Chorus]
Show me Your glory, show me Your glory, my God...
Show me Your glory, show me Your glory

[Verse 2]
I'm marked by Your beauty, lost in Your eyes
I want to walk in Your presence like Jesus did
Your glory surrounds me and I'm overwhelmed
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid

[Chorus]
Show me Your glory, show me Your glory, my God...
Show me Your glory, show me Your glory, yeah!

[Bridge]
I long to look on the face of the One that I love
Long to stay in Your presence, it's where I belong

Father, thank you for speaking to me through your Word and through a song.  God I want to connect with you on this mountain trip today.  I want to experience you on the mountain top, like Moses, like Jesus and the disciples.  Please reveal yourself.  Please purify my heart so that I can see you.