Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A new name, a fresh outlook, and updates!

Hello! It's certainly been awhile!

I'm excited about getting back to writing. I have a little bit more time on my hands now, and I like having a Twitter account wherein to post links my blog articles. I'm looking forward very much to resurrecting my blog; so is my wife, so that I don't just preach to her all the time. :) Kidding, kidding.

So I renamed the blog "Dirigo Excelsior." It turns out that a combination of the two state mottos of Maine and New York work really well together. "Dirigo" means "I lead" and "Excelsior" means "ever upward."

I like the title. I think it fits. I want to lead folks upward in any way that I can, and I believe that should be a goal of every Christian -- to edify and assist others in conforming more closely to the mind of Christ, with eternity always in mind, relative and relevant to every action.

Well, update time. Since the first post of this blogging thingamajiggy, I've gotten married, I've been blessed with a child (who is still baking in the oven until March, Lord willing), and I have been hired on staff at Church Hill Baptist Church as the Assistant to the Pastor, Youth Pastor, and Music Pastor. That means I'm a glorifed go-fer who flaps his arms around when the piano plays and feeds kids pizza.

And I LOVE it.

I've never been happier in all my life. Satan throws darts and conjures up dumb stuff like never before, but only because he hates who I am and what I am called and privileged to do. And he hates my Heavenly Father. There's certainly some pressures and obligations like I've never experienced before, but they are wonderful and meaningful things.

For instance: this last Sunday (Christmas Day), Pastor Wiley called me on my phone a few hours before the service. Now, I had already gotten up at 4:45 that morning to throw a ham in the oven for the Christmas Banquet that afternoon, and then tried to get back to sleep that morning. You know how that goes. Anyways, he tells me his kids are sick and I'll have to be "pastor for the day," as he says it (by the way, I absolutely love that he puts his family first, even before the church if need be. That's altogether good, right, and Biblical). So sure, there was a bit of nervousness (not at the preaching part as much, but at the conducting the cantata part, which I had never done before at all!), but it went great, and I had a very, very wonderful time watching God's people sing God's songs in God's house on a beautiful, snowy Christmas morning. Then I believe that Christ gave liberty in preaching; I did not have much time to prepare, but God showed me once again that it was Him, not I, who was and is and always will be primarily responsible for an accurate transmission of His message through His Word. Amen! So anyways, all that to say this: Yes, there's some extra stuff on the plate, and there's always going to be some curveballs. But I want all that stuff there. I love every little bit of it, and I mean it with all my heart. I couldn't possibly love what I do more.

So now is a good time to say this: I love my church. I love the attitudes, the personalities, the smiles, the genuineness, the love, the kindness, the sincerity...I just love it. I'm so thankful that I am able to be a part of an amazing church family like I have. Whew. Love it.

Anyways, I'm going to get off this computer for a little bit. But I am really, really looking forward to writing what I believe to be good, edifying posts. I enjoy writing very much, and greatly anticipate many fun, excellent experiences with this blog. Thanks for reading!

Godspeed!

Mike