The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture

I love this

What are you looking at?

In my journey through life, I sometimes take a chance to stop and look back at where I have come. I don't wish to go back, but rather reflect back on the lessons that have come through the path I am on.

Lately, I have really had a burden to do a study on the reasons to approach the cross as opposed to the reason to approach the throne. The cross stands for brokenness. A submissive symbol for us Christians to remind us that we must die to ourselves and our will. The cross is a place of surrender. All that happened on that cross should be a model of what our lives should be in order to stay in the will of God.

The throne is a differnt type of symbol. The throne of God is a place of worship. One must approach the throne with a humbled heart, where the cross is the act that will bring humbleness.

In order to approach the throne of God they must first visit the cross. They must remember the purpose of their worship. Reflect the sacrifice that lead you to the throne.

Once you are where you need to be, completely humbled and under the submission of God, I like to picture this as being in the lap of God. Constantly adoring the Creator, doting on the One who gives us breath.

Here is where my question comes in. How often do we, who are sitting on Jesus' lap as any child would do a loving parent, shift our focus? We are still exactly where we need to be, in line with God, but we have taken our eyes off our purpose. We may be doing God's Will, but may be focused on the acceptance of others or the accolades of our peers. When God, if we stay focused on the One who put us in that position, would give us all our heart desires, if we just stay focused on him.

So, I am putting this question out there to those of you who read this blog. What are you looking at?

An adendum...

I would like to make an adendum to the previous post. I have not realized how effective this blog could be. I was simply looking at this as a way to put my thoughts before me and never actually thought anyone really read this. For that reason, I have said things that no one else should have been privvy to. I had no premeditation behind anything I have written and, in that, have stepped on a few toes.

To those of you who have been the object of my writings, I want to say that I am deeply sorry for anyway that my blog has upset you and tarnished your image of who I really am.

Like I just previously posted, I have become a person that I don't recognize. Please accept my apologies and pray with me for my mind to be renewed with those things which are good and holy.

Once again, I am sorry for any hurt that I have caused.

My weakness...

Ok, so my weakness is my newly found appriciation for Christian fiction novels. I have found quite a few authors that I can completely dive into their writings and not surface until the back cover is reached.

Karen Kingsbury, Neta Jackson, Dee Henderson, and Kristen Heitzmann are some of the authors that I enjoy.

I am currently on the second book of a series by Kristen Heitzmann and it has brought quite a few good thoughts to my mind. The one that hits me the most is the quote:

"To experience a greater joy is to risk a greater sorrow."

How true is that? In order to truely experience a boundless joy takes risking the chance at a greater sorrow.

Regardless of how the experience turns out there should be no regrets because you risked the sorrow just to experience the joy. This could be applied to many situations in life. So the next time you are faced with a chance at great joy, I say weigh the risks and know that, yes, you might get hurt, but, wouldn't the joy that is possible far outweigh the sorrow you could experience.

God is Good...

From the abundance of the mind, the mouth speaks. (Or something like that. I think you will get my jest.)

I am sitting here at work giving my sinus medicine time to kick in before beginning my usual tasks. While waiting, I have gone over and read my past few entries. I must seem like a dark, lost soul. I would like to try and redeem myself.

It amazes me how quickly our mind can deceive us. In no time at all our mind can make us believe all sorts of things. In reading through my blogs, I have become to see how deceived I have become.

I am not in the mudslinging business, but somehow, my blogs have represented that I am. I have been on the blunt end of insults and misunderstanding enough in my own life to simply but someone else through that as well. But that is what I have stooped to.

Time can do wonders for our thoughts and, if we are strong enough to wait, our actions. My writings, although completely unintended, could have misled people down a wrong path.

I pray regularly for God to help me be a stepping stone and not a stumbling block. That people could use me to help them get farther along in their walk with God, not stumble because of my doing. But, unfortunately, I believe that I have become just that, a stumbling block.

But...God is Good. He has shown me the error of my ways. If I were to spend more time focusing on Him and less time focused on me and my situations, the abundance of my heart and mind would definatley put me back into the place that I am supposed to be, not slinging mud.

So, I will strive to make this blog more about positive, uplifting things and less about negative things that may cause someone else to stumble.

The Goings-on

I can't believe that is July already! The summer is now half-way over and what do I have to show for it? The Baldi's have been pretty busy with ball season and all. Now, ball season is over and things can start settling down.

The Baldi household has entered a new season. We have recently resigned the Youth Group at our church and although it was a bittersweet separation, we are beyond relieved to be out from under that responsibility. (Apparently, so are many others.) We truly had a heart for the youth that we worked with and looked forward to what the future held for the youth of WMAC. Unfortunately, as with any "break-up", feelings have been hurt. We had full intention of notifiying the children ourselves of our decision, but that task was taken out of our hands while we were on vacation. So, understandably so, there are some who feel betrayed because we were not the ones who let them know. We wish the youth the best in the future and continue to pray that the right decisions will be made regarding their leadership.

As part of this new season we have entered, we are exploring many options. Life sometimes comes at you at full force and you aren't ready for what lies ahead. Our job is to just handle it the way God would have us handle it. This is especially hard. No one ever expects those closest to you would hurt you. Right now, we are praying about certain situations that have happened lately and seeking the Will of God on how to handle them. Sometimes distancing yourselves from the situations is the best solution. That is probably the way this is going to be handled. We need to go somewhere and lick our wounds for awhile.

Please pray for us as we are entering this new season. We have three children whose souls depend on us to make the right choices. It is not just us anymore. We have to keep our children in mind and keep them from being hurt the way that we have been. We are well aware that the changing of seasons is not always the easiest thing to go through, but I know that we will make it through.

My Revelations...

I, like others, have to apologize for not updating my blog like I should. What can I say, life has been crazy! Anyway, I will try to do better.

God has a way of speaking to me in small subtle ways. I can be driving down the road and all of a sudden I am hit with a new revelation. They can be complex or very simple.

One of the first one is a bumper sticker of a hairy man's arm using a clay wheel and the caption would be "God - The original "Hairy Potter."

Another one is that we need to be more like Zacheus and go out on a limb for God.

Most of the time they are very simple but then they can get more complex.

My latest hit me yesterday on my way home from work. There are two journies that we must make multiple times in our Christian walk- to the cross and to the throne of God.
There is a time for each journey. The cross is a form of execution, brokenness. It is the greatest symbol of shame and humiliation. We go there when we are beat down. However, the bible also says that we are to take up our cross daily.

The throne of God is where you go in times of worship. You can still be broken and approach the throne, but it is for worship.

This is still being formed. I haven't gotten the whole revelation yet, but I thought I would share it incase any of you might have some insight in this matter.

Please, keep praying for our family. We are at a crossroads and are really needing direction. We have been stationed at the cross for quite some time and have forsaken the journey to the throne. Help us find our way from the cross to the throne. (This is not saying that we have fallen away. This is simply saying that prayer is needed in this new chapter, new journey, in our life.) Thank you for your prayers. I know God will deliver.