Since Hannah was a newborn, I have sang a special song to her.  Now it may not mean much to you but it is a song that I made up just for her.  Now let me give you a forewarning: I am not a songwriter, nor will the content move you.  But after all it is Hannah’s song. 

It goes:

Hannah Elizabeth, is so sweet
From her head down to her smelly feet
She’s so fine, she’s all mine
And I love her so much
Hannah Lou, Hannah Lou
From her head down to her shoe
Hannah Lou, Hannah Lou
Oh, how I love you!

I would sing this song to her every time that I would rock her to sleep.  Now 2 years later, I play my guitar and sing it to her.  I never thought she paid attention to the song much.  The other day, however, Hannah started singing the song on her own.  We were working around the house and she starts singing our song.  Talk about making my heart melt.

In our relationship with God, He has a song that He sings over us.  It is a song of rejoicing, a song of love.  Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”  God rejoices over us with singing.  He sings songs of love over you and I.  What’s more, one of the Hebrew phrases for rejoice in this verse, literally means, He dances over you.  God loves you and I so much that He dances over us with singing.

When we discover His love for us, we will have a song in our hearts too.  God sings over us and we should sing back to Him.

This morning we continued our series, FLAWED: How God Uses Imperfect People.  We talked and about something dear to my heart, God using those with a flawed past.  We looked at the story of the woman at the well and her checkered past.  5 husbands and now living with one who wasn’t her husband.  She had a history and was shackled to her past sin.

We talked about breaking the shackles of our past.  If we are shackled to our past, we will not allow God to use us.  He wants to deliver us and set us free for the future He has for us.  This morning, God was good as several young people responded at the altar and many of all ages acknowledged that they would like to be free from the condemnation of the past.

Check back Tuesday for the sermon audio.

On another note: it has been great to see the increasing number of youth coming to church on Sundays.  Many have never ventured into the sanctuary but now they are beginning to come.  We pray God will touch each one and that they would have an encounter with Him.

Hebrews 10:32-39 (ESV), ”

32But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,
33sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
34For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
35Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
37For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 
39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

I found this on Ben Arment’s blog:

Yesterday, I had the privilege to attend a church coaching session with Pastor Rod Loy of First Assembly in North Little Rock.  Under his leadership North Little Rock has seen amazing things.  They are incredible givers to missions, active in church planting world-wide as well as making an impact on Little Rock, Arkansas.

He shared principles with the pastors that could work in any size church.  I am thankful for opportunities to learn from guys who are doing great things for the kingdom of God.  I value insight that successful pastors have.

Some of the great quotes from the coaching sessions:

“We are rewarded according to our labor, not our results.”

About Conflict

“You can’t let others actions determine your reaction.”

“If you lose your temper, you lose”

“When you’ve got them down, let them up.”

Missions

“Bite-size the offerings.  Break it down to a sum that everyone can give.  A small bite for all, a big bite for those who can.”

Thanks Pastor Rod for spending the day with us.

I am heading to Little Rock this morning at 6:00am.  I am driving with a couple of pastors to go to a training conference sponsored by the district.  I am looking forward to meeting some new pastors in our new district.  One of the biggest adjustments has been the fact that I do not know anyone.  We were in South Texas for most of our ministry and in the same section for 10 years.  We became good friends with a lot of people.  Now we are starting over.  But with new ministry is new opportunities to get to know people.  I value the friendships I have already formed.

Thank you veterans for sacrificing for our country and its freedoms.  Without you we would not be the nation we are today.  We salute you and the willingness to serve in peace time and in war.  Thanks for leaving your families to go alone to foreign fields for months on end.  We appreciate your willingness to be in harm’s way to ensure that we remain a free nation, with freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom to vote.  You are not overlooked for your efforts in the war on terror and the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.  You are not forgotten for the past wars and protecting our home country.  Thanks to all who have served in years past and who currently serve.  Our prayers are with you.  God bless America!

Recently, I installed a mirror on the back of our bedroom door.  Hannah has become fascinated with it.  Now, I do not know if Hannah is vain, but she does like to look at herself anytime she can.  She watches herself eat in the reflection of the glass at Braum’s.  She climbs up in her her chair at home just to look in the little mirror on the wall. She watches herself dance in the reflection of the glass on the back door.  Now, that we have the mirror she goes into our room to look at herself.

Last night, we were playing and she pulled me back to our bedroom, closed the door and started playing in front of the mirror.  She would laugh and watch to see how she looked laughing.  She would make faces.  She would jump up and down, walk backward while looking at herself to see how she looked.  Hannah loves the mirror.  She watches herself.

In our spiritual life, God has placed mirrors for us to look at to see how we look.  When I look in the mirror I see a short and stubby guy, but what does God see?  God does not look at the outward appearance but He looks on the heart.  What do I look like when I look at the mirror? 

The mirror is His Word.  His Word is lamp unto our feet, a light for our path.  The book of Hebrews says that the Word of God is the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of our heart.  When we look into the mirror of His Word what do we look like?  Do we look more like the world or like Jesus?

The intention of our Christian life is to look more like Jesus.  The longer we know Christ the more we should look like Him until we are perfected in Heaven.  II Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Are we being transformed?  Is our pride weakening instead of strengthening?  Are our motivations pure and our hearts true?  We should be looking more like Jesus when we look in the mirror.