The Baby and the Fish: Part 1

Recently we took Jackson to have his 9 month pictures taken. It was a Saturday morning and we knew that it would be close to nap time toward the end of our session. So we were going to do whatever we could to keep the boss happy and get as many good shots as possible before the meltdown commenced. Of course meltdown is such a strong word. Jackson is normally pretty good about nap time, in fact, the kid is like a clock! At ten, two, and five, he begins rubbing his eyes, yawning, and sucking his thumb. It's like Naptime Airlines has three flights per day and while they do arrive a little early or a little late sometimes, typically they are right on time.
So anyway, we began taking pictures. Actually, Ms. Katie of KMA Kidtography began taking pictures. (Was that an endorsement??) He was doing fine with the first prop, a big pumpkin, smiling, laughing, not putting his mouth on it. Then, gravity overtook his 9 month old ability to stand up. He fell backward and bumped his head on the floor. Obviously he was upset, but recovered well and we continued with the shoot.
After the pumpkin, the next pose consisted of a goldfish in a bowl sitting in front of Jackson where he could look down in the bowl and even touch the water. (For all the germophobes, the bowl, water, and fish were all new so there was no fish gunk floating around in the water. He had only resided in the bowl for a few minutes, which was quite a step up from the plastic bag he was in before.) And it was cute. He like the bowl and was looking down in the water, gently touching it and was beginning to notice our friend the goldfish. Our friend the goldfish was doing well also. He glided through the water calmly, almost as if he didn't mind that Jackson reached for him a couple of times. Everything was going along swimmingly.
Then, Jackson grabbed the rim of the bowl and began rocking it back and forth. It was innocent at first, but quickly the rocking got more violent and out of control. We all, including the fish, could see what was about to happen. Then Super Dad swooped in from above to save the day! I quickly, but gently knelt down beside Jackson and reached to steady the fish bowl. Ahhh, crisis averted. In those brief seconds, I was planning my next move (since, as all Super Dads know, you must have a plan to stay one step ahead). I figured we would have brief father and son discussion about what to do and not to do when you are sitting with a fish bowl in your lap. I would explain to him the proper behavior, field any questions he had, and he would return to smiling and laughing and not putting props in his mouth. Little did I know what was to come...

A great way to end a day

Last night at our midweek Bible study a friend of ours named Kandis was baptized. She and her husband have been attending PTC for some time now and it has been the prayer of many that she become a Christian. I was touched by her comments afterward. (I'm paraphrasing) She mentioned that now she doesn't have to worry, she could die right now and know she's going to heaven. WOW! What peace and assurance! That is truly the way God wants us to live our lives.
Typically, when I witness someone's baptism, my mind travels back to my own. I remember that moment when I came out of that water knowing I was cleansed of my sin and I had been joined to God's family. I had those same thoughts that Kandis expressed, now I'm a child of God, now, I'm going to heaven.
We tend to lose that over time. We sometimes question whether we are going to heaven, or we let the worries of life take over our focus on our heavenly home. But when we witness someone put on Christ, those realizations of peace, forgiveness, and assurance come back into focus. And we rejoice, not just for our new brother or sister, but for our own salvation.
Thank you, Kandis, for helping me regain my focus and welcome to the family!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philipians 4:4-7

Go Vote!

Today is Election Day and let me make one recommendation: check the sample ballot if you get a chance before you vote. Lana and I looked it over and we were prepared when we got to the poll today. I walked up, made my selections, got my sticker, and left. There were some fine American voters who had been voting for several minutes before me and were still going after I was done! Lesson: don't let voting catch you off guard, the sample ballot is out there for your viewing pleasure. Voting is a great privilege, but let's not make it an all day event folks.

Jackson did great! He was working the room, as usual, waving and smiling and just being generally cute. No matter where we go, I think he truly believes that everyone came to see him. Today, you would have thought he was campaigning! He even got a sticker.

Another thing I noticed was that the average poll worker was...how shall I say this so as not to offend anyone...of the senior cititzen demographic. No offense, really, I love old people, in fact I aspire to be an old person some day. But most of the senior citizens I know don't really care about or keep up with the latest in technological advances, voting machines included. Granted they are fairly simple to operate, stick the card in, touch the name of the person you want to vote for and touch submit ballot at the bottom, but as we all know with anything electronic or automated, there is so much that can go wrong. I guess it's like a lot of things in life, a leap of faith. We have faith in the people we vote for, we have faith in the process used to elect those people, and I guess we must have faith (and patience) in those who volunteer to facilitate this most sacred right granted to us as citizens of the United States.

If you haven't already....GO VOTE!

Jackson

Yes sir, that's my baby! Jackson Allen Parker, born January 21, 2006. What a kid! He is so happy all the time, even bed time most nights. Lana and I have been so blessed by this addition to our lives. I love walking in after work in the afternoon and seeing him light up as I walk in the door. I could go on and on about him, but I really just wanted to get his picture on here for all to see.

Here's my blog.....

more to come.