Good, Good and More Good...Baptism, Town Tour Conclusion and 4th of July

Hey y'all!! Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July weekend!! I have a few orders of business to take care of... so I will wrap it all up in one blog post. ;)

First and foremost.... I got baptized!!! :)
I'm not exactly a new believer... I accepted Christ exactly 20 years ago. And, in fact, I was baptized when I was 5 years old. Even though I knew who Jesus was at 5 years old and I certainly had no opposition to Him... I hadn't prayed the "sinner's prayer" and I really had no idea why I was being sprinkled with water at the front of the church. However, I had always figured that baptism "counted" after I did accept Christ. In fact, I was was under the impression that baptism was more or less "optional"... perhaps just an outward expression of the work that had already been done inside...



Consider these scriptures:

John 3:1-5 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Matthew 3:13-16

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Mark 16:15-16 And he said unto them, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, and he that disbelieves shall be condemned.

Romans 6:3-5

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.

Acts 22:16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.

I came across a website called bebaptized.org which gave scriptural references and commentary on baptisms as preached in the Bible. I noticed a point that was given on this site:

Mark 16:15-16

And he said unto them, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, and he that does not believe shall be condemned.

Notice Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.”

Notice also what Jesus did NOT say. He did NOT say, “He that believes and is saved shall be baptized.”

YIKES! WOW! I had it all backwards...maybe this baptism thing shouldn't be taken so lightly! Yes, I was baptized as a child. No, I didn't know what it meant at the time. Since then, I had accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior... Of course I believe the Bible is the spoken word of God. And if Jesus is saying to get baptized... then by golly, I'm getting baptized! :) And perhaps I should have been baptized as soon as I accepted Christ into my life... but that is all hindsight. I might be a little late... but now, as an adult, I decided better late than never to obey Jesus... so off to church I went!

Jon was in the same position I was in... both of us being baptized as children... both of us have been long-term believers. So we decided to get baptized together. Literally. We both were baptized at the same time... almost simultaneously. Except we didn't get a 1...2...3... go. ;) I had to pause to plug my nose haha... and then when I came up Jon dunked again because he didn't fully submerge under water the first time. OK, so we are less than perfect and a little inexperienced in the baptism department. But our hearts were in the right place and that was all that mattered. It was such an amazing day... to confirm our faith in Christ as individuals... but also symbolically together to confirm our desire to honor and glorify God collectively through our marriage.

I couldn't believe I forgot my camera... so I didn't even have someone take a picture. :( I did, however, take a picture with my camera phone in the car when we were done... that is all I have.

All sopping wet... but happy. AND BAPTIZED! :)


That was Thursday. Friday we went to a friends house to celebrate his Birthday... which was a good time and, of course, I forgot my camera (AGAIN!). So you will just have to take my word for it... it was a good time. ;)

The 4th of July was pretty low-key for us. We had a lazy day... just relaxed around the house. By golly, I was going to have a hot dog at some point during the day! It is the American thing to do on the 4th of July. haha As we were heading out to the Independence Day festivities on base... we decided we were starving and would pick something up quick on the way. Which meant drive thru. Which meant no hot dog. :( We had the next best thing: Taco Bell. haha I don't know about you, but being raised in Southern California... that is as American as you can get Mexican food. ;)

Picture taken partly out of disgust and horror that we were eating Taco Bell on America's birthday... and partly out of giddiness that Jon actually agreed on Taco Bell! haha

Jon regretting his decision to come to Taco Bell. Me...taking his picture out of joy that another car pulled up behind us and he couldn't act out on his regret and back up. haha

And while the camera was snapping away, I coerced him into giving me a fake smile to document our unconventional (Euphemism translation for boring) 4th of July. ha!

We headed onto base where all of the festivities were taking place... pretty much a band and people. Come on! I didn't move to Texas for this! Where is the country fun?? Why don't we have a pie eating contest! A watermelon eating contest! A hot dog eating contest! (Can you tell that I am starving as I write this... it is taking every bit of will power in my being not to get up and get a brownie in the kitchen. It is calling my name. I am getting weak... be right back.)
I am back. What was I saying again? Oh, yes! My disappointment in the 4th of July festivities... I mean, I was expecting a 3-legged race... potato sack races... running through prairie grass with sparklers, praying nothing catches on fire. (Can you tell my thoughts are now on how I am going to work off every last delicious calorie of that fudge brownie that I just consumed like a rabid animal?) No buntings, or cute decorations (Although they did have flags lining all of the roads on base... which I was pleased as punch to see.) Alas, there WERE fireworks. Which, against the better judgment of the pyro-techies (who set up their firework display in the driest, most overgrown field of prairie grass that I have ever seen) still took place, despite the 30 mph winds that were gusting. I was certain disaster was about to unfold before my very eyes. (Which angrily posed a question in my mind: Why does Disneyland cancel their firework performance if there is even a threat of a gentle breeze or any movement of air at all!? Which just so happens to be every time I decide to go! I'm certainly going to get to the bottom of this...) After 20 minutes of a perfectly UN-synchronized Neil Diamond song that scratched and crackled, and briefly paused ever 15 seconds or so, like it was pirated off of some bootleg website (Arrrr!)... the show concluded. Without incident. Without excitement. Without leaving me any delicious details to unfold via blog. I apologize; I have nothing more to give you for the 4th. Except this display of firework extravaganza!!!

OOOOOOoooooo.....

Aaaaahhhhhh....

And probably identical what you watched on your 4th. ;)

So, in conclusion... our fireworks display was a success in every term of the word. Successfully was as expected. Successfully did not catch anything on fire. Successfully did not injure any pyro-techies in the firework field. Successfully scared the living daylights out of every dog in a 10 mile vicinity.

PS. Happy 4th of July!

Now, while on topic of the 4th of July... leads me to the Great American Town Tour Party!

What a success!! Thank you to all of the participants and looky-loos! Didn't we have such a fun blogland vacation?? Lets see... where did we go??

Well, we started in my town...and continued all around the country!

Cattle Ranch and Jets in Kingsville, TX
Beautiful Shopping and Dining Merced, CA
A Perfect Small Town in NC
A Grand Home Tour in GA
Heaven on Earth in Georgetown, TX
Quaint, Historical and Certainly Scenic in Covington, GA
A Piece of American History in Enid, OK
Small Town Living (including Alligators and windmills) in Spearman, TX
Breath-taking Victorian Homes in Romeo, MI
Charming Houses and boats on the bay in Keyport, NJ
All-American Town in Matthews, NC
Perfect Mix of Town and Country in Menifee/Temecula, CA
Small town with Big Character in Blytheville, AR
A Growing Town with a Little Bit of Everything in Menifee, CA
Southern Charm in Woodstock, GA
The Hidden Gem of America (haha, also my Hometown) in Lake Elsinore, CA
Beachy Fun in Oceanside, CA
Small Town Southern Gem in Helena, AL
A Slice Paradise in Naples, FL
Texas Size Character in Denison, TX
Historical Old Town Charm in Berea, OH

Again, THANK YOU to all of the participants... such a fun way to celebrate America's Birthday. If you missed any of the tours... just click on the links above!! :)

Next order of business.... I won 2nd place in Summer's Cakes Bake-off Contest!!

Woohoo!!! For these guys:

Mama owl and her owlettes! haha!
Sorry, I'm just so excited.. I never win anything. ;)

Lets see... what else can I show you to make this the never ending post? haha
Oh? What is that you say? You want to see Dolly basking in all of her glory out in the sun?
Righty-oh! Your wish is my command!

With that feast of dog gorgeousness, I will depart. I bid you adieu.

Happy Monday y'all!