For all of those who will read this blog, I want to inform you that I now have my own website, and also a new blog, found at;
jamesbauslaugh.com
I will no longer be writing blog posts on blogger but will now do everything on my website.
Please check it out and join the conversation! I'm really excited to hear from you about your thoughts on the posts and on the website itself!
See you there at;
jamesbauslaugh.com
Sincerely,
James
My love
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Social networking rules
In a quickly growing digital networking world where people's attention seems so divided amidst all the tweets, emails, texts and Facebook messages; I find Kevin Kelley's thoughts both refreshing and interesting.
"my first priority is face to face conversation. If I can be physically in front of someone, I give that person my full attention-ignoring competing distractions of phone calls or anything else that might hinder my focus. But if a face to face conversation is not possible, I defer to voice-to-voice-normally by way of phone. But even with that, I have rules. When I'm having a phone conversation, I don't look at my computer screen or engage with anything in front of me, except the person I'm talking to at that moment. I want to be fully present. But finally, if neither one of those options exist, my last resort is screen to screen. Using email or sending a text is my last preference-but even then I keep it short and sweet but force myself to be fully present in the written communication I send."
Interesting. Your thoughts?
"my first priority is face to face conversation. If I can be physically in front of someone, I give that person my full attention-ignoring competing distractions of phone calls or anything else that might hinder my focus. But if a face to face conversation is not possible, I defer to voice-to-voice-normally by way of phone. But even with that, I have rules. When I'm having a phone conversation, I don't look at my computer screen or engage with anything in front of me, except the person I'm talking to at that moment. I want to be fully present. But finally, if neither one of those options exist, my last resort is screen to screen. Using email or sending a text is my last preference-but even then I keep it short and sweet but force myself to be fully present in the written communication I send."
Interesting. Your thoughts?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Zane's Birth Story (My perspective)
Did you all know that I found out Em was pregnant just minutes after coaching the FCS Boys Varsity Soccer Team to a Victory in our first State playoff game of the tournament? Then it should be no surprise to you that it was after I came home from PLAYING Soccer with the same group of guys at FCS that I found out that Em was having consistent contractions. Then the craziness officially started.
Bags packed, check. Phone calls made, check. Gas in the car, check. Mixed playlists created, check. Prayers lifted up, double check! And off to bed we go knowing full well that at any moment we can wake up and head to the hospital. It was July 21st as we went to bed and we were excited and nervous for the arrival of our son, Zane. To bed we went, full of thoughts that filled our minds.
Em wakes up at 3:00 in the morning with labor pains preventing her from any good sleep. She does not wake me up because she feels as if it would be more beneficial for me to get some sleep. I wake up at 7ish just excited and ready to rock. Em's contractions are getting stronger and I decide to go to Marshall's to buy an exercise ball for her to labor on. Jessica Frain, one of Em's best friends and RN at Mary Washington's Labor and Delivery Wing, stays with Em to keep her company. The contractions go from 5 minutes apart consistently to 3-5 minutes apart, consistently. Here we go!!!!
Em decides that we have labored long enough at home and that we should leave at 3pm to Mary Washington Hospital. I made a few last minute errands and come home for the final stages of packing. As Em is on the phone with Jess, she says with an excited voice, "Um, Jess, I'm pretty sure that my water just broke." Freaked out and excited we now know that we are ready! At just after 3pm we leave our house for Mary Washington Hospital.
I now know that we had no idea what was ahead of us, WOW.
We get to the Hospital and get checked into the nicest room that Mary Wash has available. It is really nice getting special treatment because this is Em's place of employment :) As they are hooking Em up and we/I am overly excited, we notice that the doctors and nurses are looking at the computers with concern.
The concern is over Zane's heart rate which is decelerating outside of the contractions that she is having. They decide that we need to monitor Zane more closely so they put some things on his head for a greater read and they still don't like what they see. Multiple times we heard machines beeping and both nurses and doctors came running in to tell Em to move so that Zane's heart can become consistent.
Super super scary. Helpless is all I felt. I could do absolutely nothing but pray. And what more do we need then the God of the Universe to remain in control? And in control He was!
After an epidural, Em was feeling great! Zane's heart was looking better and all was well. Em dilated from 7 to 10 inches in 30 minutes and we were ready to rock. We were almost certain that Zane would be born on July 22nd and through a normal, healthy delivery. But we were wrong.
As Em began to push Zane's heart was decelerating. We could see Zane's head, and his curly hair! But as close as he was to being delivered we couldn't finish as his heart could not handle the stress. The doc came into the room and quickly decided that we needed him out now because Zane was distressed and in danger.
Scared, helpless, but praying to the God of the Universe. I scrubbed in and got into some scrubs as Em was prepared for the C-section. As it was coming to its end we heard a nurse pull Zane out and say, "Wow, he looks like his daddy." Words that touched my heart after all of this madness. And yet, no crying? Why isn't he crying we wondered?
Em and I sat there staring into each others eyes. Em's filled with tears and mine showing any kind of confidence and reassurance that I could muster. Praying and talking to Em we just waited, looking into each other's eyes. 5 minutes went by before they invited me over to see Zane.
In his Incubator and hooked up to a bunch of ridiculous tubes I was both excited and scared. Excited to see my son and yet scared for his health and well being. Zane was born on July 23rd, 2011.
After multiple trips to the NICU, many prayers, sleepless nights, earthquakes, hurricanes, and many great memories we are. WOW. It has been just short of 6 weeks now and all is well! Zane is completely healthy and Em is on the mend.
Zane's name means, "God is Gracious." How perfect is that!
God, thank you for your Grace and love. And for my beautiful wife and amazing Son! God, you truly are gracious to me!
James
Bags packed, check. Phone calls made, check. Gas in the car, check. Mixed playlists created, check. Prayers lifted up, double check! And off to bed we go knowing full well that at any moment we can wake up and head to the hospital. It was July 21st as we went to bed and we were excited and nervous for the arrival of our son, Zane. To bed we went, full of thoughts that filled our minds.
Em wakes up at 3:00 in the morning with labor pains preventing her from any good sleep. She does not wake me up because she feels as if it would be more beneficial for me to get some sleep. I wake up at 7ish just excited and ready to rock. Em's contractions are getting stronger and I decide to go to Marshall's to buy an exercise ball for her to labor on. Jessica Frain, one of Em's best friends and RN at Mary Washington's Labor and Delivery Wing, stays with Em to keep her company. The contractions go from 5 minutes apart consistently to 3-5 minutes apart, consistently. Here we go!!!!
Em decides that we have labored long enough at home and that we should leave at 3pm to Mary Washington Hospital. I made a few last minute errands and come home for the final stages of packing. As Em is on the phone with Jess, she says with an excited voice, "Um, Jess, I'm pretty sure that my water just broke." Freaked out and excited we now know that we are ready! At just after 3pm we leave our house for Mary Washington Hospital.
I now know that we had no idea what was ahead of us, WOW.
We get to the Hospital and get checked into the nicest room that Mary Wash has available. It is really nice getting special treatment because this is Em's place of employment :) As they are hooking Em up and we/I am overly excited, we notice that the doctors and nurses are looking at the computers with concern.
The concern is over Zane's heart rate which is decelerating outside of the contractions that she is having. They decide that we need to monitor Zane more closely so they put some things on his head for a greater read and they still don't like what they see. Multiple times we heard machines beeping and both nurses and doctors came running in to tell Em to move so that Zane's heart can become consistent.
Super super scary. Helpless is all I felt. I could do absolutely nothing but pray. And what more do we need then the God of the Universe to remain in control? And in control He was!
After an epidural, Em was feeling great! Zane's heart was looking better and all was well. Em dilated from 7 to 10 inches in 30 minutes and we were ready to rock. We were almost certain that Zane would be born on July 22nd and through a normal, healthy delivery. But we were wrong.
As Em began to push Zane's heart was decelerating. We could see Zane's head, and his curly hair! But as close as he was to being delivered we couldn't finish as his heart could not handle the stress. The doc came into the room and quickly decided that we needed him out now because Zane was distressed and in danger.
Scared, helpless, but praying to the God of the Universe. I scrubbed in and got into some scrubs as Em was prepared for the C-section. As it was coming to its end we heard a nurse pull Zane out and say, "Wow, he looks like his daddy." Words that touched my heart after all of this madness. And yet, no crying? Why isn't he crying we wondered?
Em and I sat there staring into each others eyes. Em's filled with tears and mine showing any kind of confidence and reassurance that I could muster. Praying and talking to Em we just waited, looking into each other's eyes. 5 minutes went by before they invited me over to see Zane.
In his Incubator and hooked up to a bunch of ridiculous tubes I was both excited and scared. Excited to see my son and yet scared for his health and well being. Zane was born on July 23rd, 2011.
After multiple trips to the NICU, many prayers, sleepless nights, earthquakes, hurricanes, and many great memories we are. WOW. It has been just short of 6 weeks now and all is well! Zane is completely healthy and Em is on the mend.
Zane's name means, "God is Gracious." How perfect is that!
God, thank you for your Grace and love. And for my beautiful wife and amazing Son! God, you truly are gracious to me!
James
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Baby Bauslaugh
It is Thursday, March 3rd of 2011 and I am sitting on my couch with my beautiful and 20 week pregnant wife. I don't ever want to forget this moment, what happened, because it is so precious. Em begins to feel the baby moving/tossing/turning and asks me to put my hand on her belly to see if I can feel anything. I am sitting in anticipation as I await any sort of movement that can be felt.......nothing. Em has been telling me about all that she is feeling and I am so excited for her but usually it is just her feeling and nothing on my end. As I sit on the couch patiently with my hand on Em's belly I all of a sudden feel it.......a good strong thump on my hand! All I can say is WOW. This is a miracle. THE GIFT OF LIFE. I will cherish this moment forever knowing that God is the one behind it. Thank you Father!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Be The Change
Be the change you wish to see in the world. -Mohandas Gandhi
It is a couple of days after New Year's and I am sure that most people who have made their resolutions are able to remain faithful to them so far. Losing weight, going deeper in your faith, reaching financial goals and becoming a more complete person are all important things that we should strive for! As I look ahead to 2011 and ponder the goals that I have made, I come across this quote and find it so inspiring. I mean this comes from someone who is obviously not a Christian and yet there is so much truth to what he says. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Wow. As I look at my goals I can not help but see that the core of my resolutions are to be a better person and yet I ask myself, Why? I mean yes, I do want to be the best Christian, husband, minister, coach and friend that I can be......but why?
The answer to this question is that I desire to be the best Christian, husband, minister, coach and friend so that I can be the change that I wish to see in the world. I desire to see a world that is full of people who are longing to go deeper with Christ, a world that has thriving marriages that establish amazing families, a world that contains people who are willing to minister life and encouragement to all who are looking for it, a world where people are willing to pour into (coach) others to be the best they can be, and I desire to see a world where true friends are encouraging, challenging and enjoying the relationships that they have with people.
We all desire to see a better world. WE all desire to see change within it. Every Revolution starts from within and if we are to see a change that it will come from what God is doing in us. I pray that we all are thirsty for God's Spirit to transform our lives and the world in which we live.
We must remember that we must "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
It is a couple of days after New Year's and I am sure that most people who have made their resolutions are able to remain faithful to them so far. Losing weight, going deeper in your faith, reaching financial goals and becoming a more complete person are all important things that we should strive for! As I look ahead to 2011 and ponder the goals that I have made, I come across this quote and find it so inspiring. I mean this comes from someone who is obviously not a Christian and yet there is so much truth to what he says. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Wow. As I look at my goals I can not help but see that the core of my resolutions are to be a better person and yet I ask myself, Why? I mean yes, I do want to be the best Christian, husband, minister, coach and friend that I can be......but why?
The answer to this question is that I desire to be the best Christian, husband, minister, coach and friend so that I can be the change that I wish to see in the world. I desire to see a world that is full of people who are longing to go deeper with Christ, a world that has thriving marriages that establish amazing families, a world that contains people who are willing to minister life and encouragement to all who are looking for it, a world where people are willing to pour into (coach) others to be the best they can be, and I desire to see a world where true friends are encouraging, challenging and enjoying the relationships that they have with people.
We all desire to see a better world. WE all desire to see change within it. Every Revolution starts from within and if we are to see a change that it will come from what God is doing in us. I pray that we all are thirsty for God's Spirit to transform our lives and the world in which we live.
We must remember that we must "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I'm an open book to you (God)
Psalm 139:1-16 (The Message)
GOD, investigate my life; get all of the facts firsthand. I'm an open book to you; even from the distance, you know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead, you're there too-your reassuring presence , coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful. I can't take it all in! Is there any place that I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on mornings wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute-you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact; darkness is not dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you. Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out. You formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you High God, you're breathtaking. Body and Soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration-what a creation! You know me, inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing to something. Like an OPEN BOOK, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stage of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.
I wanted to read this passage of scripture today in light of the knowledge that right now God is forming Baby Bauslaugh as we speak. How humbling it is to know that God is behind every second of our lives and even in the process of forming us from the moment of conception until the day we take our last breath. Though we may not feel like it, God is ALWAYS there during every second of every moment of our lives. Let us live in light of this truth from Psalm 139! Thank you God! You are AMAZING!
GOD, investigate my life; get all of the facts firsthand. I'm an open book to you; even from the distance, you know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead, you're there too-your reassuring presence , coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful. I can't take it all in! Is there any place that I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on mornings wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute-you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact; darkness is not dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you. Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out. You formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you High God, you're breathtaking. Body and Soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration-what a creation! You know me, inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing to something. Like an OPEN BOOK, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stage of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.
I wanted to read this passage of scripture today in light of the knowledge that right now God is forming Baby Bauslaugh as we speak. How humbling it is to know that God is behind every second of our lives and even in the process of forming us from the moment of conception until the day we take our last breath. Though we may not feel like it, God is ALWAYS there during every second of every moment of our lives. Let us live in light of this truth from Psalm 139! Thank you God! You are AMAZING!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I'm going to be a daddy!
It was a beautiful fall day on Friday, November 5th. I was focused on Coaching the Fredericksburg Christian Varsity Boys Soccer Team to Victory during the first round of the State Playoffs. THe Boys played hard and well and we came out on top with a 2-0 VIctory! I was so happy for the guys and just plain excited to advance to the quarter finals of the state championship playoffs. As excited as I was, I never anticipated the news that I was soon to find out. I found Emily in the parking lot and gave her a big hug. After getting off the phone with the newspaper I told her all about the game and how excited I was. She told me that she was really happy for me and that she had something to show me. She reached in her purse and pulled out a picture frame that said, "World's Greatest Dad" and on the inside of the frame was Emily's writing which said, "We're pregnant." One of thee most amazing feelings that I have ever felt in my life. (FIrst was when I put my faith in Jesus in first grade, second was the day I married Em, and this was in that category). After picking Em up in the hair and spinning her around with excitement I had to belt out the words, "He Shoots, He Scores......GOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL." I have always looked forward to saying that when finding out this amazing news. Talk about being on cloud nine. It does not get any better then this.
I now feel as if I have a new purpose in life. A new beginning! This one is one that I am really looking forward to. Here we go!
I now feel as if I have a new purpose in life. A new beginning! This one is one that I am really looking forward to. Here we go!
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