 a gift from jon barnes, he thought it was cool to own something that was made in the 1800s. I took pictures of it to show texture by using off camera lighting.
The words in the pictures of the book have nothing to do with the topic of this blog. I’m sitting in the back of our Thursday night service listening to Mike Rohlin teach about the history of thanksgiving. History is cool, I wish I would have paid more attention to it in school. There is such a need for TRUTH in our history. For some reason I combined thanksgiving and the pilgrams with Columbus even though it was 2 centuries apart. I’m glad I came out tonite to hear Mike teach.
I went and taught at IMPACT today at Southwestern High School, a group of ninth and tenth graders get together during the lunch period with some local youth pastors. We did some worship and then I just brought a simple message of God’s love to them.
When I checked in at the school the secretary asked me if I was just in the paper.
The church submitted a press release that Jess actually wrote originally, to the two local papers, its interesting to me how they were edited.
Jamestown’s paper.
Warren’s paper.
The original can be seen on our church’s website.
I always thought if you wrote one number you wrote the other… I guess not…
Jess left for NYC today… its our first time apart for this long. She will return tuesday night.
JIM baker
 feb 2009 – kailua kona hawaii
so lets hear from you, what is God saying to you through this picture that I took on a morning walk one day, earlier this year in Hawaii? Spend some time and ask God what He wants to speak to you through this picture then share it with us!
To comment click on the upper left hand of this post where it says a number and comment. Then scroll down and type your comment in the comment box. Click on the drop down box that says “comment as” and pick name/url and type in your name and website if you have one (if not leave it blank) and then click continue. Then click post comment.
Looking forward to your responses.
JIM baker
 one of my 365’s while I was in Kona
I woke up today after my ritual sunday afternoon nap and just found myself bored. I found it ironic since I’ve been writing a bit about boredom lately. Justin posted a comment on one of the last posts saying boredom is an inability to rest. My boredom today was rooted in that very thing, I felt like I needed to be doing something, but had no desire to do what I needed to do. But there was an internal struggle because I felt like I needed to be doing something.
My wife and I had an awesome conversation tonight about literature. My wife is an english major and she’s reading a book right now and I asked her how it was. She dived into an answer that I didn’t expect, she started talking about the narrative voice and how its written differently. These are things I would never even consider.
I asked what she thought about some authors that we both know Francine Rivers and Donald Miller, she talked about them as writers and it moved us into a discussion about poetry. She showed me a paper she wrote in college which dissected a Emily Dickinson poem. She handed me the poem first and told me that I had to read it. I glanced over the poem and thought to myself well that’s nice. And then I read her paper, and a whole new world opened up because she pointed out things that I didn’t even know to look for.
It made me marvel a bit at the intention of a few words. That the author took the time to say so much with so little. Intentional. Being intentional takes time, it takes rest, it takes processing. Maybe it even takes being bored from time to time. I want to get back to a place where I live intentionally and take things in and processing them. I want to walk through life not run.
JIM baker
 indian food from house of india in columbia md
Not the prettiest pic at all, but it is my most viewed picture on flickr.
Tonite Jess and I are going to Buffalo to meet up with some of her friends from Rochester. We’re going to try out Taste of India and I’m really excited because I absolutely LOVE Indian food.
The nearest Indian restaurant for us is all the way in Erie, its called Raj Mahal. It’s worth the drive though.
In Columbia MD there is a new Indian restaurant that opened and the owner knows Jess and I because when we were there this summer we went there three days in a row. Last week we were in MD and Dave the owner greeted us and said that he hadn’t seen us in a while. It’s called India Delight.
Anyway my favorite dish is chicken tikka masala.
Got thoughts on Indian food? Leave em in the comment section!
JIM baker
teapot 2007
I have the privilege of joining up with some of the other warren PA youth pastors for breakfast every first wednesday of the month at the plaza restaurant. The waitresses know the group well since they’ve been meeting for something like ten years, and the waitresses love spilling coffee all over the table when they pour it. But they keep your cup filled, I think I’m still awake now at almost 2am because of it.
Anyway I shared about what I wrote in my last post about my students being bored and Pastor J pointed out that the students we work with are so used to effortlessly being spoon fed new things every two seconds, if things aren’t new, or it takes effort it automatically become boring. Hmm…
Jon Barnes, a former Maryland youth pastor and personal mentor, talked about this negative effect of modern technology which inspired a blog that I posted somewhere else probably a couple years ago. I might repost it here if someone asks nicely.
I’m not really saying anything here, I guess I’m just asking how do we engage and teach in this culture?
I don’t think its an age thing, I think its an effect of microwaves and high speed internet which feeds our instant gratification and need for new. I find myself right now really bored with something trivial like my profile picture. I think I had more of a variety of pictures when I used to 365.
Anyway, not sure if this makes sense its 2am I need to go to sleep. Got thoughts on this? Leave em in the comment section.
JIM baker
Model – Sophia Dorozio – Kona Hawaii 2008
Last night we were reviewing what Corey had talked about the week before at Higher Calling. Cages that hold us back from what the Holy Spirit wants to do.
One of our students said something to the effect of
“I think we’re just bored with the stagnant routine.”
I asked them to be honest and raise their hand if they were bored with their Christian walk. Almost every hand was raised.
I asked them if they thought the early church was bored.
They snickered and said no way, they were like healing people and stuff…
Maybe its good that our youth have gotten bored with stagnant Christianity.
One of the biggest things I took away from the conference we just went to is this…
Rivers FLOW and if water is just being poured in and its not flowing out then it becomes dead and stagnant.
What if when Jesus said “ALL authority has been given to me…therefore go…” He really meant it… and we were really suppose to live that way.
Bill Johnson said this at the conference…
“Its hard to have the fruit of the early church when we honor a book they did not have more than the holy spirit which they fully relied on “
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
JIM baker
So… we got the official verdict on the car today… “Play taps” said Brian Adelgren when I asked him how the car was… the whole lower part of the engine is gone and its not worth replacing. Not sure what we’re going to do, just trusting God. I am very grateful to the Paterni family who gave me this car in April of this year. In 7 months Jess and I put 30,000 miles on it.
In other news… JANSPORT is AMAZING. I remember buying a jansport backpack because my sister had one when we were both in school. I remembered her saying it was an awesome deal because it had a lifetime warranty even though it was more expensive than other backpacks. Well this backpack has been EVERYWHERE with me but the zipper broke recently so I decided to take them up on their lifetime warranty. I mailed it in and it came back with a new BUFF zipper, you can see in comparison to the other zipper on the backpack. I just love companies that really take care of you.
JIM baker
oct 31 2008 – kailua kona, hawaii
Last year Sandi Walrod and Jess (then) Stiles (now BAKER) came dressed to the Hallelujah party at my apartment in Kona as me. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. 😉
Crazy that a year later we’re all still hanging out only this time in Baltimore MD for the VOA conference, luckily neither of them are dressed as me. (At least I don’t think Sandi is 😉 she’s at the conference today, Jess and I took the day off)
It has been GREAT to run into some friends at this conference. Friday night I ran into three friends Augustine and Sarah Park and Hannah Brogi. I met them in Comitan, Mexico on a missions trip. There I saw the greatest outpouring of the holy spirit that I have seen to this day during a worship service.
We also ran into Jared and Brianne Miller too. Jared is the brother of my good friend Mark’s wife Jeanette. He and his family are just pursuing revival in their home town by being intentional with the people in their neighborhood. They are partnering with other local churches in the area and they said that they have seen God do the most in the liquor store on the corner.
I think I realized that I’ve hit my traveling quota for right now. Jared asked me how far I lived from here at lunch yesterday and I just stared at him blankly and could not figure out where I was.
Tomorrow we are back to NY with the help of a lot of good people.
JIM baker
p.s the new Cory Asbury album is epic, i’ve been listening to it over and over again all night.
changing spark plugs
So about 4 hours into our trip to baltimore Jess turns down the radio and asks “whats that noise?” and I hear a loud clicking from the engine… we pull up to the toll booth pay the toll and the car stalls out. I start it back up and get off of the exit and pull into a parking lot in time for it to stall out again. Real long story short, got towed, guy wanted $187 for a tune up, called Brian Adelgren, he told me that was a rip off, the Walrod family came to our rescue (they were headed to baltimore from jamestown NY too and were about an hour behind us) we picked up the parts on our own and Tim Lease walked me through how to do it over the phone. Car still didn’t work correctly so I left it sitting at a gas station in Breezewood PA right off of the turnpike.
my spark plug changing friends (Jess, Bob, Linda, and Sandi)
I am seriously surrounded by the most GENEROUS and AMAZING friends ever. The Walrods rerouted to come pick us up and Bob paid for the parts that I needed. Tim Lease took the time to walk me through how to change my spark plugs over the phone. My parents are driving us to Heidi Fraisers house and then she is going to drive Jess and I back to Breezewood on Sunday and Nate Adelgren is going to drive 4 hours from Jamestown to Breezewood and drive us back to Jamestown with our car.
worship last night at Voice of the Apostles
We are here in Baltimore for the Voice of The Apostles Conference. We have seen hundreds of people receive physical healings, hearing testimonies of creative miracles and metal in peoples bodies dissolving. Major things, minor things all being healed in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have sat under some of the most amazing teaching from modern day apostles like Bill Johnson, Che Ahn and John Arnott. It’s been a blessing to be at this conference. Heidi Baker is speaking tomorrow.
God’s GOOD.
JIM baker
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” – Romans 10:14-15
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
My heart is pounding with excitement and I have a huge smile on my face as I write this post. Jess and I are headed back overseas for a 10 day trip to KENYA!
We will be in Kenya late January early February. It seems like forever ago that I’ve done any international missions work. And this will be our first international trip as a married couple!
I have been asked to go and do portraits for some of the orphans at an orphanage in hopes of getting them furthered sponsorship. I’m excited to do something so significant with my photography.
Jess and I along with two other adults from our church, and two of our students from the youth group will be teaching english and the bible to students in the Msomi Academy.
Please click here to find out more about where we will be working!
JIM baker
If you are interested in supporting this trip financially or through prayer please contact us! jim@worshipplace.org
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by Jim Baker
It was interesting how the Post Journal left out what your desires and passion are for the youth.
its weird cause they are owned by the same company ::shrugg::