the BAKERS | www.jimjessbaker.com

Just call me Jocko Willink.

Or jet lagged with a million things going through my mind.

A couple people have commented on my lack of content lately. I must be a slow content creator because writing yesterday’s email update that could be read in like 2 minutes took me 3 hours to create.

That’s why there hasn’t been a lot content.

I’m trying to embrace the season I’m in with small children who I want to give attention to. Which means a lot of interruptions unless you’re up hours before them or stay up late. But guess what? When they go to bed guess who else is exhausted too?

I’ve been thinking about all the productivity influencers. The books I’ve read on how to accomplish more. Not many of these “experts” are in the same life season. They don’t have small children.

And so. If your a mom or a dad that’s giving your all to your kids first. Well done. That’s who we should be “influencing” first and foremost. We might not get as many likes and interactions but your building a real and long lasting legacy. You will have the most influence where you spend the most time. And for parents out there I hope the most time is spent with your kids and not internet strangers or acquaintances for fake internet points.

I don’t like the way we communicate and consume information apart from relationship. Social media has created an expectation that we share our most vulnerable life secrets without actual relationship. No one is entitled to that. Especially in the format of social media.

So this morning I’m going to try and shake off the productivity guilt that the internet seems to heap on me. That I constantly need to be doing more.

I’m going to realize that advice from a 40 something bachelor living in a big tech city might not be able to speak to my current situation.

And I’m going to shake off the false guilt that I owe it to people to be creating more content.

Reality is, someone you know, no matter what you do, won’t like it. I recorded over 100 FB lives in a year. People said it was obnoxious.  But now I’m not creating enough.

So anyway. Actually reach out to someone today. Have a real conversation. Consider their life season if you feel the overwhelming need to give advice.

I wish you could experience what I’m experiencing right now.

The sun shining on my face, the breeze.

Here’s a happy Friday reminder to us that it’s okay to love and value yourself.

I think the pride we are shying away from is rooted in insecurity so I’m not talking about conceit, arrogance I’m pomp.

I’m also not talking about the selfish version of “self love” and “treat yo self.”

I’m talking about loving what God loves. And not hating what God hates.

If we can view ourselves from Gods perspective than we have great value. We were created in His image. He sent His son to the earth to redeem that image and reside in us.

If you’re in Christ, God resides in you. He made you a new creation, because God can’t dwell in junk.

Valuing ourselves from the perspective of Gods truth brings Him glory, it doesn’t detract from it.

Let’s make sure that we speak to ourselves and treat ourselves like we are as valuable as God demonstrated we are.

And treat others the same with that same value. View everyone in the light of Christ’s grace and value.

What if we didn’t judge ourselves or others by yesterdays misstep or heck 10 years ago poor choice, but instead valued ourselves and everyone by the finished work of Jesus.

That sounds like good news.

Happy Friday.

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Stories We Adopt

Have you ever thought about the stories you’ve adopted?

The underlying narrative of your life?

Jess and I have been thinking a lot about story.  And we want to be better story tellers.

Whoever has the best story wins.

Story has a way of sneaking past your walls and barriers.

I’m not much of a story person.  I actually can’t stand allegory. I like bullet points.  I’d rather get to the point.  But story is intriguing.

I’ve watched this happen recently…

People pick up something from someone, and that idea or story, or narrative invades that persons subconscious and they adopt it as their own. They tell themselves this story over and over again, and it subconsciously becomes their own story.

Maybe you’ve adopted a story about yourself that your parents told about you.  And maybe it’s not true or helpful.

Maybe you don’t like green beans because that’s the narrative you heard and made your own, and now you reinforce it.

This can be good or bad.  So we need to be careful about the stories we let in.

It’s amazing how one sentence that someone says flippantly, can take root and guide our lives.

What we tell ourselves on a repeated basis, becomes our destiny.

Narratives direct our future.

So we need to be telling ourselves TRUE stories.

Be careful about the stories you let in.

Tell yourself a true and good story.

Rewrite the one’s that aren’t helpful.

Ask God for a story filter.

Ask for discernment on which stories are true.

And don’t let any false narratives in.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Man it’s been a while since I’ve seen a disposable camera.  Someone must have dropped this on the path that I walk my dog on.

I’ve been thinking recently about lenses.

And the lenses we view life through.

Have you ever had someone completely misjudge your motives?  You were intending to do something nice and they assumed what you were doing was savage?

That’s a lens problem right there.

We need Jesus’ lens for our lives.

If we think thoughts about ourselves that Jesus doesn’t think, then we’re viewing ourselves in an incorrect way.

If we think thoughts about others that Jesus doesn’t think, then our thoughts need to come under His submission and authority.

If our lens is smeared with suspicion, and we’re always assuming the worst, about people, and about situations then we need some Holy Spirit lens cleaner.

My prayer for us today is that our eyes, and our minds, would come into alignment of the truth of who Jesus is and what He’s done and paid for, so that we view ourselves, and others and our situations in light of our risen, very much alive and powerful King, who is Emmanuel, God with us.

If Jesus, in the flesh, was sitting right next to you.  How would that change how you viewed the world?

Everything you’re truly wanting will be found by abiding in God’s love.

I’ve got a million things to do today. I need to be heading off to job number 3 right now.

But I felt a draw to sit outside and spend some time with God.

I got a chair out and had to shake geckos off of it. I’m surrounded by plumeria flowers that are falling off the tree next to my house. The sun is warming my face

I read Proverbs 15. And spent time being thankful.

I need to go, get my day started. But I feel the pull to just sit a while longer and let God love me.

There is so much striving and people pleasing. Searching for fulfillment. My heart longs for a consistent source of love, and only Jesus will fulfill it.

There ARE things to do. People to be reached. But if we don’t do it from a place of abiding it gets twisted real fast.

I love snuggling with my son. Sitting with him. Giving him kiss attacks. I’m not withholding love from him.

I literally delight in spending time with him. And it’s not because he’s out changing the world. But we are building a bond of love and trust so that probably he will change the world.

Stop scrolling. Sit. Be still. Let the Father whisper to your heart how much He loves you. Then never leave that place of intimacy.

I feel hope arising in my soul. There are really good days ahead.

I think God is more interested in loving us than using us or controlling us. Let’s not get it twisted.

Ravi Zacharais’ team has asked people who have been impacted by his ministry to use the hashtag #thankyouravi as he is at home seemingly in the last stages of cancer.

I saw Ravi at a free event in Washington DC in 2010 or 11. What stuck out to me the most was how Pastoral Ravi is. Not only is he brilliant but tender and caring. As he closed the official portion of his speaking he asked for prayer. He shared that he was in his 70’s and was still flying all over the world and said he would not leave the venue until every question had been answered. He said that he did that everywhere he spoke if I’m remembering correctly because he didn’t want one person not coming to faith or choosing something bad in their lives because they did not get the answer they needed.

I’m humbled by the dedication to put in long hours for people and study. All motivated by love.

I decided this year to do breakfast with Ravi which was mainly me sitting in my car in the morning watching YouTube videos of Ravi.

I talked with a friend about Ravi’s health and he said that will be one big “well done good and faithful servant” when he gets to heaven. I would agree.

Ravi thank you for your pastoral heart and your brilliant mind that has blessed so many.

^{Proverbs 14:4}

You know I love my Proverbs.

God highlighted this one to me this morning.

After dinner Jess was sharing about a sermon she was listening to and one of the key verses was this verse!

Thoughts. 🤔

1. What are we afraid to invest in. Maybe the sticker shock of buying hay for the ox keeps us from getting one. So instead we are out doing back breaking work by ourselves. Even though if we would have paid for the ox we could have harvested more with it and made more profit.

2. Jess’ takeaway from the teaching. #Revival is messy. Ox’s make messes. The history of revival is full of messes, resistance, offense, moral failure… because… humans. Are we okay continuing to pursue the big things God wants even if it gets messy?

What’s your takeaway? Respond and let us know.

I heard this bridge when I was getting out of my car the other night returning from work. I was unloading groceries and this song was drifting across campus when Rachel Morley was leading worship for YWAM Honolulu and it really stood out to me.

All my heart
All my soul
All I own
You can have it all

Let it rise
Like incense
My whole life a fragrance
Every ounce, here broken at your feet

My every breath
Is my offering
My heart cries
Theses lungs sing
Over You
my worthy King of Kings

I’m starting out my Friday with it on repeat.

Why does this song move me? Is it because of the music? Is it because of the lyrics?

If it’s because of the lyrics, am I moved because ultimately I’m singing about what I will do and subconsciously feel good about myself if I’m saying I’m going to lay my life down and that somehow separates and makes me better? Do I really like this bridge because I’m singing about me?

If I’m being honest maybe thats part of it, but I don’t think that’s all. I think there’s more.

I think I feel moved and connect with this song because when we sing about truly laying our lives down we get a glimpse of what we were created for. And we’re connecting with that higher purpose. We’re connecting with what Jesus modeled for us. A sold out life to the Father.

A lot of us are laying our lives down for something. Making huge sacrifices of time, money, health or relationship for whatever we deem worthy. Maybe it’s your job, or the next promotion. Maybe you’re chasing a significant other, or vanity. Or maybe you’re pursuing your own comfort at the cost of your life.

The only thing, that’s truly worth all of our life, is the King of Kings.

Jesus says in Matt 26, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, the story of this anonymous woman’s extravagant worship, breaking an alabaster jar of perfume to wipe Jesus’ feet, will be told.

Jesus says this in the parallel story in Luke 7

“But whoever has been forgiven little loves little”

Maybe the only appropriate response to the good news of Jesus’ Kingdom on earth, and forgiveness is extravagance.

Extravagance looking like

All our heart
All our soul
All we own

What would our lives look like today if Jesus truly had all our heart, soul, love, lives and all we own?

Making it public.

Over the past year I’ve gotten a lot of anonymous feedback.

Sometimes anonymous feedback is great because it’s honest, sometimes brutally so.

I’m a context guy, I like knowing who the feedback is coming from so I can give context to it and more appropriately respond.

Is this an all the time in general piece of feedback that I need to address with everyone, or is this something that the anonymous person is needing or wanting directly from me to them?

As more and more anonymous feedback came in, I felt like I had a bag over my head and was getting punched in the face and had no clue where it was coming from.

So for the sake of my soul, any future anonymous feedback I receive is going to get shared right here. That way it’s public, and other people can see it and I can get other peoples feedback to see if it’s really a blindspot of mine, or if I’m not meeting the need, want, preference of a specific anonymous person.

I’ll share my thoughts and action steps on the feedback as well so nothing stays in the dark. A tip I learned from an interview I did with Steve Sprague.

We’ll see how this list progresses from here on out, I’m not going to go back and list the feedback I’ve gotten over the past few months.

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