How Much??...

Sunday at church I heard a statement that keeps popping up in my head so I thought I would share it with everyone! The pastor said: "I love Jesus as much as the person that I love the least".

This statement has caused me to consider how much I truly love Jesus at certain times and in certain situations. In Matthew 25:35-40 it tells us that what we do for those that are destitute, strangers, outcasts, etc... we also do for Him. I often wonder how many times I, with my preconceived notions and judgments, miss the opportunity that was set before me to serve and draw someone into the saving light of Christ?

Wedding!

Yesterday my dad got married. It was a small wedding with just family and a few close friends. It was a good time to see family and celebrate with them. Here are a few pics. Yes, I know to see me in a suit is the last thing expected, but it is fun and does happen at times!!!

Dad and Theresa

Back Row: Uncle Randy, Dad
Middle Row: Aunt Brenda, Grandpa, Great Uncle Bob
Front Row: Great Aunt Mary Lou, Grandma, Theresa

Back Row: Grandpa, Me, Great Uncle Bob
Front Row: Grandma, 2nd Cousin Marsha, Great Aunt Mary Lou

Uncle Randy, Me, Aunt Brenda

Micah, Dad, Jonathan, Grandpa, Me, Theresa

Another set of parents!
Bill Baldwin, Me, Joy Baldwin
Jonathan's inlaws

Dad and I

The brothers!!!
Micah, Me, Jonathan

Micah, Me, Jonathan!

Volleyball

This evening I went to a volleyball game between Center Grove and Warren Central. Samantha Wathen plays on Warren Central's JV team and my cousin, Bethany Irwin, plays on Center Grove's Varsity team. They were good games. Both of them did well and have improved since I have last seen them play!

Samantha Wathen #35

Sam blocking

Bethany Irwin #4

Bethany getting some air!

Talking with the team

More air

Cousins! What else can you say!!!

Not quite sure what happened in this picture, its just not normal??!

Anyway, fun times!!!

Family

So, while I was thinking about Chicago with my family last weekend I remembered something I had heard on the radio recently. A poll was done by MTV, and some other group, of kids between the ages of 13 and 24 to see what made them happy in life. The answer turned out to be surprising to a lot of people. The majority response was spending time with family. Even in todays culture where the big push and advertisement for that age group goes into stuff; they still feel that simply spending time with family makes them happiest. It isn't more money, a car, new video games, a bigger tv, or any of the other thousands of options available out there today. I find that quite fascinating. Though society as a whole has pushed the family into a dark corner and tried to bring the individual to the front kids are still finding this the most important part of being happy. Many of the kids polled said that they considered their relationship with their parents very important and when asked who their hero's were they were much more likely to respond with a family member then an actor/actress, sports figure, or any other generic reply. It was found that kids with their parents together were happier than those with divorced or separated parents. What a surprise! This makes me think about what I have learned through studying the Scripture. How we were created for each other to be together and how throughout Scripture the family was very important. I found this encouraging to see a small corner of the mindset of today's youth. Here is a link to the AP story: What Makes Kids Happy?

Chicago

This past weekend I went up to Chicago with family. It was a good time just spending time together and hanging out.

It was rainy but still fun.

Walking downtown.

Jonathan and I, not quite sure what we're doing?!!

Uh, Micah and I, again I don't remember this shot!

Micah, me, Jonathan; all normal, I think.

There was some cool fog obscuring some of the buildings.

It was actually really busy even with the rain.

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe!
L to R: Theresa, Dad, Micah, Me, Jonathan, Anne


Ahh, the Hershey's store. A wonderful place!

Miscellaneous Canadian Pics

Here is my last post of Canadian pictures. Just wanted to share a few of the many that were taken!

White Water-lily


Pickerelweed

Orange Hawkweed

A Birch forest that we hiked through.



Cool water scenes.

Hanging at the cabin.

A game of Khet between Joy and Chris.

Horn Lake

We went to Horn Lake quite a few times and did a lot of swimming and kayaking. I love the Canadian glacial lakes. They are so clear and clean. We would swim down twenty feet or so and see schools of small bass swimming by. We would also see a couple of bigger ones from time to time. Fun times trying to chase them!

The first plunge was always the worst, but the water was pretty warm so it wasn't bad!

Ben and I swimming.

There was a rock that was about 20 feet up that we jumped off of into the lake. No worries about hitting bottom as we swam down 20 to 25 feet and still couldn't see the bottom. This is Ben jumping off.

Me jumping!! We got Joy to jump later in the week but we couldn't ever talk Rich into. He said it was something about not breaking under peer pressure!!!

Ahhh, kayaking! One of our favorite activities. We only missed swimming and kayaking one day.

Ben, Rich, and I.

Me again, the reflection is cool!

Me, Rich, and Ben.