A gifted public speaker was asked to recall his most difficult speaking assignment. “That is easy,” he answered. “It was an address I gave to the National Conference of Undertakers. The topic they gave me was, ‘How to Look Sad at a Ten Thousand Dollar Funeral.’” Now that’s a tough assignment!
As we have recently been looking at a Life-giving Christmas, I have pondered the question of excitement people seemed to have had in the early church years. How could people be sad when they discovered something so wonderful as the Messiah? It is obvious to me that there was much joy in the church during the early ministries of people like Paul, Matthew, Peter and so many others.
Do you remember the words of Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)? The joy Paul shared was not because of the setting he found himself in. The presence of the Holy Spirit of God lived within him and produced a joy within that was unspeakable.
For the last to Sunday evenings I have received a joyful blessing by attending the Christmas performances of our Children’s choirs two weeks ago and our Youth choir last week. Their programs were awesome, the music was exceptional but it was the joy of a child (the children) that made my Christmas complete.

Jesus is the joy of living;
He’s the King of Life to me.
Unto Him my all I’m giving,
His forevermore to be.
I will do what He commands me;
Anywhere He leads I’ll go.
Jesus is the joy of living;
He’s the dearest friend I know.
- Alfred H. Ackley

May your Joy be made complete this Christmas Season as you, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)?

Wow! It is busy around here! Last Tuesday night, the youth had their largest fundraiser of the year, “Ladies Night Out!” The following were some impressions I had from the day of the event:

I just came from the gym! Everything is so beautiful!  All the tables are decorated.

Christmas china!
Huge table arrangements!
Magnificent designer table cloths!
A stage setting to “die for!”
Food being prepared in the kitchen!
What can I say? “It is going to be a marvelous night!”

The setting has over three hundred places reserved!  The youth are planning on being here to serve the meals!  Stevie Jones, Beverly Oliver, Nel Joyner, Linda Pope, Debby Conway and so many others have worked tirelessly to get everything ready.

It is obvious to me that everyone is coming because of the awesome settings and wonderful meal being prepared!  Dinner! Hallelujah! I can’t wait!

“What do you mean I can’t stay?”
“Well you do get to say the prayer!”
“But, what about dinner?
“This meal is for Ladies only!”
“How many ladies are you planning on being here?”
“Over 300!”
“You are kidding?  What do you want me to speak on?”
“Oh, you are not the speaker.”
“Three hundred people!”
“Ladies!”
“And I don’t get to speak?”
“Correct!”
“Well, you do have ushers? Remember, those ladies are carrying purses and we’ll need to take an offering!”

Just kidding with the conversation! Isn’t it awesome to have something so wonderful that people (ladies) are willing to fellowship with one another, listen to an awesome speaker (who is not me!) and share to love of God!

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body…and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (I Corinthians 12:13)

I saw the most beautiful baby born yesterday! Babies always are the most beautiful, especially if the baby is related to you.  This little boy (the one in the picture) is my great nephew! Father (Jakob), grandparents, great-grandmother, aunts and uncle were all aglow at the window watching as Jaxon Mercer Hedgepeth took his first bath. He was not happy! You know that kind of thing is supposed to be private!

We were all amazed at his eyes being so open, looking at everything as if he really wanted to be outside the window playing with all the cousins. As we looked through the window I could not help but think of the old hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

It’s kind of interesting how God works things out in our lives.  When I got up this morning to prepare Mitchell’s Meditation I found the following e-mail from a cousin.  Interesting….

“It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it’s enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician, it’s the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I’m told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right.

Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig – I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the ’40s to the ’90s with a few original tunes thrown in. During our emotional rendition of the classic, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.

After the tune was over, she approached me. ”I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?” she asked.

“No,” I replied. “We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?” To my delight, she accepted my invitation. ”You choose,” I said. “What are you in the mood to sing?”

“Well … do you know any hymns?” Hymns? This woman didn’t know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. ”Name one.”

“Oh, I don’t know. There are so many good ones. You pick one.”

“Okay,” I replied. ”How about ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow’?”

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, “Yeah. Let’s do that one.” She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing,

“Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?”

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.

“I sing because I’m happy;

I sing because I’m free.

For His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches me.”

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, “Oh, y’all go back to your coffee! I didn’t come in here to do a concert!  I just came in here to get somethin’ to drink, just like you!”

But the ovation continued. I embraced my new friend. “You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!”

“Well, it’s funny that you picked that particular hymn,” she said.

“Why is that?”

“Well …” she hesitated again, “that was my daughter’s favorite song.”

“Really!” I exclaimed.

“Yes,” she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual. “She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week.”

I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. ”Are you going to be okay?” She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. “I’m gonna be okay. I’ve just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything’s gonna be just fine.” She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it. God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it’s no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything’s gonna be okay.”

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use YOU or your gifts, remember;

Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Samson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt, John the Baptist ate bugs, Peter denied Christ, The Disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything, The Samaritan woman was divorced (more than once), Zaccheus was too small, Paul was too religious, Timothy had an ulcer…, And Lazarus was dead!

No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential.

In Whom do you Put Your Trust?

Besides you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger.

God bless.

May God Bless you today and everyday
as you face any storms that come your way!

A little boy once asked his Sunday school teacher, “Where is God?”

“God is everywhere,” she replied.

“Is God in my inkwell?” (You can tell this an old story!)

“Uh, yes,” answered the teacher, “I suppose so.”

“Then I got him!” replied the boy as he clamped his hand over the top.

Is God in the inkwell?  Is God in your car?  Your house? Your church?  I certainly hope so!  Yet, it seems that there are specific places where God seems to make God’s presence more known than in others.  And, I have to ask the question, “Where are we?” “Where am I?”

As we have recently been looking at all of our spiritual gifts, there have been constant revelations about how God is working in people’s lives.  Some have even discovered that God has been and is with them at all times and in all places.  I have heard from several people who have said that they did not realize they had certain gifts until they started looking at how God has been present with them through this whole process.

Jesus promised in his “Sermon on the Mount” that “the pure in heart…will see God,” and that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness…will be filled” (Matthew 5:6-8).  I am convinced that the more I seek God and God’s presence around me, the more I live my life in God’s trust.  The more I put my faith life in the spirit of faith, the more I know God’s purpose in my life –“Then I got him!”

BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

BIRTH–DAY!  The day you were born! How about the day a friend was born?  Or perhaps, it is just any day because we know that somewhere, every day, someone is born.

My sister, Rendy, had a birthday this week. My wife had a birthday in September. So did Renee Neblett.  My cousins Grant, Robert & Mechelle all had birthdays in August. Even Stevie Jones (our youth director) had a birthday in August. But July, that has to be the best, after all my birthday is in July (Of course, so does Tommy Steadman & Davis Winstead.  I guess they can share the month with me! Ha! Ha!).

At staff meetings we will often share a birthday cake with those who recently had a birthday. Let’s see, Betty, Saul, David, Brenda … just recently had birthdays.  I wonder whose birthday will be next.  Sharing the birthday cake, and sometimes ice cream, is our way of celebrating a very special day with someone we care about and work with daily.

Earlier this week I witnessed an awesome birthday party! Yeah, Birthday parties are great!  The tables were set with birthday table cloths.  Balloons were placed strategically around the room! There was cake and drinks readily available.  It was very obvious that the guest of honor was to be someone very special.

As I made my way around the hall to the elevator I suddenly realized who the special guest(s) were.  You could not even get on the elevators at Blair E. Batson Hospital.  All the children were coming out of their rooms to celebrate at a birthday party! And that is when it hit me right between the eyes!

They were not here to celebrate just anyone’s birthday. They were here to celebrate life!

Isn’t that really what BIRTH-DAY is all about anyway!  Celebrating LIFE!

“For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.”

(Proverbs 8:35)

- Mitchell

This may be an urban legend, but check it out:

Over 30 years ago, scientist Spencer Silver was working on pressure-sensitive adhesives for 3M – glues that instantly bond to a surface but can be removed without destroying the surface. He investigated various synthetic polymers and eventually found one that was a weak adhesive, but then he lost interest.

Fortunately, an engineer named Arthur Fry was working for 3M in the early 1970s, and Fry had a problem. He was a member of his church choir and was getting frustrated with the fact that when he tried to mark pages in his hymnal with pieces of paper, the markers constantly fell out. Remembering his colleague Silver’s weak glue, he put his hands on some and used it to mark his hymns with slips of paper that stayed put and could also be easily removed.

The prototype for Post-its was born!

This may be a “as legend has it” tale, but it is pretty interesting for us.  Every day in my office I am constantly using those little yellow slips of paper we call “Post-its”. I’m always making notes and putting them in various places. You know, it just seems as if they have always been there to help remind me of things I need to do.  But, have you ever used a Post-it as an adhesive, something that would hold another object together?

As I spend this week reflecting on my spiritual gifts, I am reminded of how Paul shares with others the importance of unity within the church and how important it is that we stick together.

May we, the body of Christ, the Church, use our spiritual gifts to build up the kingdom of God on whom we have our focus!

What an awesome time we have been enjoying when people have shared their witness about why the church has been a special part of their lives!  From faithful commitments, to the call to ministry, “because my mama told me”, to baptisms in India, we have certainly seen the wonderful beauty of God’s work through our “Telling It” stories of faith and community.  Let me share another spiritual experience with you:

I have always been intrigued by many parts of God’s creation.  Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there when God was naming everything?

“You’re a tree!”

“I think you’ll be water!”

“Here, let’s have some planets.”

“Hey, Pop! How about some little planets around the large ones?  We can call them moons and they’ll reflect the awesome power of the light.  I see the moon and the moon sees me!”

I remember when I was a child the ‘race’ to get to the moon.  Who was going to make it first, the United States or Russia?  My big question was, “Why?” and I guess it still is, (Yep, that will be a question for another day!).  I still remember those famous words, “the Eagle has landed”, when the astronauts’ space capsule touched down on the surface of the moon.  And, who will ever forget the reactions of Walter Cronkite when he was left speechless on national television?

This morning as I arose from the night of rest, awakening to a new day, I walked outside to see the sliver of light, reflecting on just the edge of the sphere God called the moon!  As I stood there in the chill of the morning, I was reminded of just how omnipotent our God really is!  Everything so precisely put together!  Everything so perfectly made!  Just beyond the darkness was the light!

What is your witness of the awesome power of our Almighty God?

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:3-4)

Mitchell

Over the years I have heard it said that “if you can’t say anything positive, just don’t say anything at all.” So for the last few days I have been sitting around the house bemoaning my situation, knowing that I don’t feel good, but also knowing I have so much that needs to be done.  So, I thought to myself, why not find some good reading material and think positive thoughts and at least you’ll feel better about yourself.

So I started reading and I came across the following dilemma about a pastor who needed to say something positive about one of his church members.  Here, read it yourself:

Think it is hard to say something positive. Consider this pastor’s dilemma.

There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and looked to be perfect Christians.

Then their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers’ deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers.

A fund raising campaign was started to build a new assembly. All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.

“I have only one condition,” he said. “At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint.”

The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check.

The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back.

“He was an evil man,” the pastor said. “He cheated on his wife and abused his family.”

After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with, “But compared to his brother, he was a saint!”

I’m not sure there is a particular point here other than to say, sometimes we just need some positive remarks to make us feel better and to laugh at ourselves often helps!

Psalm 118:24 – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

I love a good sandwich. The other day my wife and I stopped at a shop and got a sandwich.  I would not call it bad, because it really was not, but it reminded me that when you make a sandwich you really need all the right ingredients!

Let’s see; two, no make it four slices of white bread.  Mayonnaise, Blue Plate! Has to be Blue Plate mayonnaise or it’s just any other sandwich.  When we first married, my wife went to the store and bought some stuff called Miracle Whip Dressing.  Looks like mayonnaise. Has the consistency of mayonnaise.  Spreads like mayonnaise. But it’s not!  You need real mayonnaise (Blue Plate) to make a really good sandwich. When you spread the Blue Plate on the bread you have to have it thick and it has to ooze out around the edges.  These are basic starting points of a good sandwich!

O.K. next you will need plenty of mustard.  I’m not really particular as to the kind of mustard as long as it is yellow!  Who really needs grey mustard anyway?

Alright, you’ve got bread, mayonnaise, mustard, now you need meat.  Ham is best but I can work with leftover roast beef, turkey, hamburger patties, steak (any kind will work), as long as it is meat.  My favorite however is to make a sandwich on Sunday after we have had meatloaf for Sunday lunch! My, my I’m getting hungry as I write!

Now add cheese (American), lettuce (Iceberg), fresh homegrown tomatoes and lots of salt and pepper! Alright, let’s eat!

To me, this sounds like a great sandwich.  I’m ready to eat but I still remember fixing that sandwich when we were first married almost 21 years ago! With Miracle Whip Dressing as all there was, I wanted to put all the other stuff away and just not eat because, for me, it was just not a real sandwich without the Blue Plate.  If it is to be a perfect sandwich it must have all the right ingredients.

Jesus once told a rich young ruler, ““One thing you lack; Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” Mark 10:12

If we are going to be followers of Jesus we must have the right ingredient, Jesus himself as our Lord and Savior.  All the riches in the world, all the success in the world, all the “mayonnaise” in the world will not make us perfect in the sight of God.  We must be willing to give ourselves to Jesus or we will always be lacking that “one thing!”

P.S. – I ate the Miracle Whip Dressing, we had not been married all that long!!!