Situation last Monday was that I didn't have access to a computer so I couldn't blog plus I was busy (see relaxation below) - sorry to you who have commented that you missed my usual Monday morning blahs!
Graduation weekend was a really cool experience...tiring but cool. As usual, the sara and mike experience was to pack hecticness into our already hectic weekend (her parents in town and staying at our house, my sister and brother and their families in for graduation and memorial day), plus Caleb's ceremony on Saturday, plus setting up tents and chairs and stuff in our backyard, plus packing for a trip, plus hosting a couple of hundred in our backyard after church for the actual party, plus tearing it all down before it began raining, plus getting the food, plus it was sweltering....oh yeah and I have this preaching thing that I do every Sunday. No lie, it was so crazy at my house on Saturday night I spent the night with our next block friends, the shifflett's!
Relaxation was five days of vacation in a southern state at a place owned by one of our church members. Really am grateful for the place and generosity of our good friends for letting us hang out there. It was sunny and hot and I laid by the pool and thought and read. I ran every day in the heat because I'm neurotic that way - you've got to do something when you eat that vacation menu.
Celebration came in the second day of our vacation because it was June 1st. Do you know what that is? It's my Sr. Pastor anniversary. Believe it or not I celebrated three years in this role last Tuesday. Amazing how it seems like forever and how it seems like just yesterday. I really do celebrate this...still the most blessed man alive to be here, now, with the people of Eastview.
Invitation time after yesterday's sermon was thrilling. I know if you don't go to Eastview you think I'm making this stuff up, but God is just really moving in cool ways right now. We are seeing more really messed up situations, really redeemed by a God who is good at spiritual cleaning! Seriously, it's not perfect, but the tears and the prayers and the desperation for God and confession I'm experiencing at these special times are really life changing for me these days.
Congregation is really remaining faithful to keep up with this year long (we're a month past half way now) study in the book of Luke. Several of you have told me that you are using your "follow me" journals on a regular basis to keep up with your Bible study and other spiritual disciplines.
Innovation that our tech and creative team continues to display at church with the lights, sound, and stage for our weekly worship time together. This week we start our summer of parables series with a 60's (summer of love) theme and look and the stage is absolutely amazing.
Revelation is the last book in the Bible
Exclamation is the last symbol of an excited sentence
Consternation is the feeling you get when the blog is really stretching it
Amalgamation is a word I know, but can't really use in a sentence...so I'll stop - but this blog did take some imagination
NOTE: No "ation" words were harmed in the writing of this blog. The following "ation" words were invited to appear on the blog, but refused comment: Consideration, Obligation, Litigation, Fascination, and Pixelation (which may or may not be a real word). Go ahead and respond with your own "ation" words
Non "ation" NOTE: Did you catch my humorous attempt to say "familial" in my sermon on Sunday?
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Mike Baker
Mike is the Senior Pastor of Eastview Christian Church in Normal, IL. Mike posts weekly about what God is teaching him in his spiritual journey as a pastor to a growing church, husband to his best friend and wife of 28 years, Sara and father of a twenty five year old, super talented tattoo artist (Michael II) and his favorite young preacher (22 year old, Caleb).
Mike's Links
Posts
Mike's Sermon Podcast
Mike's Books
- Freedom in Christ: Galatians
- Counsel Fit for a King
- How Teens Do Church
4 comments:
What I love the most about you is that while you are an amazing man of God, encouraging and convicting pastor and a true Spirit driven person you crack me up and always put a smile on my face and a fun role of my eyes! It has been a rough week w\out your blog to turn to but on Sunday I had my own exciting revelation: that you are a published author and I now own your books and have started consuming them! It was a God thing because I have been looking for books on Christian Leadership and Galatians as I am leading a small group for the first time and those are the topics of the two books that were at Harvest! I truly heart you Mike, thanks for all you do and just being you! :)
I agree with you Mike about God moving at Eastview. The way you shared last Sunday was truly God-given. especially your final remarks about why you 'buy in'. I respect your walk, your humility, your dependence on the Lord and your obedience to share the Word. Blessings!
Illumination
Pixelation is a derivative from the word pixelate...
You could've looked it up on your iMac, iPhone or iPad...which uses pixels to render on the screen.
pixelate |ˈpiksəlāt| (also pixellate or pixilate)
verb [ trans. ]
divide (an image) into pixels, typically for display or storage in a digital format.
• ( be pixelated) (of an image on a computer screen or other display) be enlarged so far that the viewer sees the individual pixels that form the image, the enlargement having reached the point at which no further detail can be resolved.
• display an image of (someone or something) on television as a small number of large pixels, typically in order to disguise someone's identity.
DERIVATIVES
pixelation |ˌpiksəˈlā sh ən| noun
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