What is your lifesong?

I am reading through a book right now entitled Lifestories. It is written by Mark Hall, the lead singer of the contemporary Christian band, Casting Crowns. In this book, he writes about the inspirations behind some of the songs from thier first two albums. Each chapter of this book is about another song. I must admit that reading this book has been very inspiring to me in my walk with Christ, but also very convicting as well.

One chapter I read recently was about the song Lifesong. The song is about worship and living a worshipful life. Many people go through life looking for their purpose. What am I here for? Why do I exist? What is God's will for my life? I know you have been there. I know I have. Well, I am going to tell you what we are all here for. Come in real close and listen carefully. We are here for one purpose and one purpose alone. We are here to worship and bring glory to our Heavenly Father. The one thing we probably do the least if we are truly honest with ourselves.

In this chapter Hall recounts being at a concert with the students in his youth group. As the band played he noticed many of the youth with their hands in the air worshiping as they sang along with the band. He too had his hands the air when God revealed something to him. He looked up at his hands and thought to himself how he hadn't used those hands to glorify God that day. His hands were empty. That is where the first verse of the song came from. "Empty hands held high/Such small sacrifice/If not joined with my life/I sing in vain tonight" Been there too, huh? I have. Ever find yourself unable to worship because you are spending most of your time seeking forgiveness? I have multiple times. We should always stive to live like Christ. Our lives should be spent in a continual attitude of worship.

Another thing that gets me sometimes is our idea of what worship is. Worship is about what is on the inside, not the outside. The outside is just a reflection of what is on the inside. When we are living lives that are holy and pleasing to God, we make Him smile. Have you ever stopped and thought about that? Who doesn't want to make God smile? We all do. How do we do it? We live lives that are full of Him and are continually giving Him praise and worship. This is what Hall refers to as our "Lifesongs." What is your Lifesong? What does it say about you? Is it one that would make God smile? I encourage you today to make your Lifesong sing to HIM!

Matthew 15:8-9
Galations 2:20
Matthew 23:25-28
Colossians 3:17

Lifesong (Mark Hall)

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight

May the words say
and the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to you

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord I give my life
A living Sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to you

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Let my life song sing to You!

My Thoughts on The Past Week's Happenings

This is another long one folks. Again, I encourage you to read it all. I hope you will be encouraged by it.

This past week has been one that will go down in history because of a piece of legislation passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law. As many of you know, this legislation was a complete reform of our country's health care system. Supporters of this legislation say that it will enable millions of Americans to purchase health insurance who previously didn't have access to it. Congress was sharply divided down party lines on this one. It was definitely an historic moment for our country.

I am not going to get into the whole debate that has taken over all forms of media this past week. What I believe is irrelevant when it comes to the root of the matter. The heart of the matter is that our country is in complete darkness. We are lost.

I am a Facebooker and a Twitterer. I enjoy reading about what my friends are doing and love to hear about what is going on in their lives. Today, I came across a post that really disturbed me. I will share. A friend of mine posted, "apparently helping those in need is only Christ like if it doesn't raise your taxes." I read it and just moved on to the next friend's post. Something just didn't feel right. I had that feeling in my gut. Sensing the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I went back to my friend's post to read the replies to his post. A fire was lit in me.

I have been guilty before of putting my two cents worth in when I probably should have just stayed quiet. These social networking sites aren't the best places to debate sensitive issues. A lot of the times we type things with one intention, and when its read, it comes across in a different way. This happens to me all of the time. Having that thought in the back of my mind, I debated with myself whether or not to respond. A lot of the replies were directed at the church in a negative way and I just didn't feel like Jesus would just ignore the comments, so I replied. The comments centered around whose responsibility is it to meet the needs of the needy, primarily in regards to health care. Is it the government's? Is it each of ours? Is it the church's? The general consensus was that the church isn't doing their part. This is where I chimed in.

I referenced 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. In this passage, Paul basically says, if you don't work, you don't eat. In summary I stated how I believed that we should love everyone. We should also work in order to provide for ourselves and not rely on handouts. Granted, there are people who are physically disabled and are not capable of working. I think that is where the line is. It is a fine line though. Regardless, you should do all you can to try and provide for yourself. I also addressed how we can't look to the church as our example, we have to look to Christ. He is who we should pattern ourselves after and not the church. The church is made of up of humans who are naturally sinners. They will fail you and they will come up short a lot of the times. Jesus, however, never fails.

Well, almost immediately my comments lit a fire under some lady whom I don't even know. She ripped me apart. This is her response:

"No, Wesley. Render unto Ceasars what is Ceasars. Health care is not a hand out. There is no fine line. If Jesus took as much concern with the sick we should as according to your own example [Jesus being our example, not the church]. Jesus did run around working to provide health care. Jesus provided it to those who couldn't get it elsewhere. Too many are working and still can't afford it. You shouldn't have to join the army at 40 because your wife has cancer [article]. I am so blind sided by Christians who are more concerned with their pocket books than what is right. If you had the faith you say you do money would be the least of your issue. And the church SHOULD be the example of Jesus on Earth. It's not, but that was God's set up initially."

Let me stop here and say one thing. What I am about to say isn't to tear this lady down. I believe that this is a view shared by many "Christians" today. I have heard this all before. My comments are directed to all of us Christians.

Now, back to the post. First of all let me point out a few things I do agree with. There are lots of people working that still can't afford the health insurance they need help. I know people like this and YES, they deserve help. I also agree that Christians are more concerned about their pocket books than what is right. That is why there are so many IMB Missionaries who are having to return home because there isn't enough money to support their work. Last, I agree that the church should the example of Jesus on Earth. We are all called to be more like Christ.

There are a lot of things she says, however, that I disagree with because I don't feel her comments are correct, Biblically speaking. I will start at the top. She says, "Jesus did run around working to provide health care. Jesus provided it to those who couldn't get it elsewhere." I don't recall ever reading that Jesus actually sold health insurance, but I don't think that is what she means. If I understood her correctly, she is trying to say that Jesus went around healing all who were sick. This isn't completely true. Let's look at the passage of scripture where Jesus is at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-8ff). Here Jesus comes to Jerusalem and He ventures over near the pool where the bible says "crowds of sick people....lay on the porches." Notice verses 5-6, "One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, 'Would you like to get well?'" Verses 8 and 9 say that Jesus told the man to get up and pick up his mat and the man was instantly healed. Jesus then disappeared into the crowd. Notice that of all the people lying there, Jesus healed one. He didn't heal everyone, just one man. Now, I take this to show that we can't always meet every need, nor should we try. We should do what we can do. We should do what God tells us to do. Jesus did what God told Him to do so He healed the one man. My Sunday School teacher says, we can't go to the Mississippi River and expect to walk over to Memphis because we will sink like a rock. It isn't because we don't have enough faith. It is because God has to call us onto the water.

The next thing I want to point out is that she said, "You shouldn't have to join the army at 40 because your wife has cancer." She is referring to an article which tells of a 40 year old man who is enlisting in the Army so his wife, who has ovarian cancer, can have access to health insurance to pay for her chemo treatments. This is a sad story. I feel for this family, especially his young daughter who doesn't understand. On the positive side, this shows us that God always provides. In Matthew 5:19-34, Jesus teaches us not to worry. He tells us that God will provide for us and for us to consider the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Neither can provide and care for themselves, yet God manages to provide them with the necessities of life. Jesus says we are more valuable to God than the birds or the Lillis, yet He takes care of them. What makes us think He won't take care of us? It is sad that this man has to join the Army in order to get the health insurance that he needs, but I see it as God providing him a way to care for his sick wife. I also applaud his guts and his determination to take care of his family no matter what the cost. It is a way for him to meet the needs of his family. He may not like it, but he is doing anyway because he wants to provide for his family. WOW!! That's quite an example for us husbands and fathers.

It all boils down to this. Whether you agree with the new health care law or disagree with it is irrelevant. What really matters is are you being obedient to God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." I want to look into this verse. Who is this directed at? God says, "my people." Well, who are God's people? Again God says, "who are called by my name." That means we don't choose God, He chooses us. It isn't anything we do on our part. It is all Him. That is how we become God's people. He has to call us. I want to jump to the end of the verse. There God gives us a promise. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. This promise, though, has some stipulations. In order to receive this promise, God says we must humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. This, I believe, is our problem. I heard it put like this. Picture a teenage girl. She is pregnant, out of wedlock obviously, and she has decided to get an abortion. As she makes her way to the front door of the clinic, she is hounded by protesters, many of whom probably claim to be Christian. They have signs and are yelling at her about she is a murderer and how that baby has a life. Can you picture that? We have all seen in on the news at one time or another. Let's stop right there and look at why this girl is where she is. She was a member of a church. She was a Christian, yet to many she was viewed as an outcast. She didn't "fit the mold" and most people in her church just silently ignored her. As a matter of fact, since she was considered different by many in her church, it was no surprise to them that she turned up pregnant. Do you think that maybe, just maybe if those same church people had loved her and not judged her; maybe if those same church people would have discipled her; maybe if those same church people had reached out to and prayed for this young immature Christian, things might have been different?

We are these church people, aren't we? How many times have we been quick to state our opinion instead of praying about a situation seeking God on the matter? How many time have we encountered a rough patch in life and tried to make it our job to right the ship? I can't count the number of times I have been in those situations. You see instead of pointing fingers and name calling and throwing our opinions around, we need to stop. We need to humble ourselves and realize that we can't do it on our own. We need to seek God's help and pray for His wisdom and guidance and deliverance. When we do these things, God says He will forgive us and will heal our land.

Regardless of where you and I stand on the health care issue, we need to quit pointing fingers and start praying. That is where we have gotten off course. Instead of blasting Pelosi, Reid, Stuppak, Obama, and all the others, we need to pray that they will humble themselves and pray and seek God. If we will seek God, He will find us and He will heal this country. He promised us. Will you join me in putting this into practice. Will you hold me accountable? Can I hold you accountable?

Home Alone

Well, as usual, it has been forever and a blue moon since I last blogged so I do apologize. Daddy's little girl is just 2 days away from being 6 months old. Man how time flies! It has been so much fun the last 6 months being Kaylin's daddy. Watching her learn to roll over and over and over has been a lot of fun. She is hitting all of the milestones right on schedule. She is now sitting up too. I think that the days of laying down are over. Kaylin doesn't like to lay down, she wants to sit up so she can see everything that is going on.

I must say that something big happened this past Sunday night prior to the kickoff of the Vikings/Saints game. We have hardwood floors so we will lay out a couple layers of blankets on the floor for Kaylin to play on. Well, the game was at commercial so I got down in the floor with her to play. I pulled her over towards me and what came out of her mouth? "DA-DA!!! Yes, it was a proud moment for me. Mollie was in the other room, but Kaylin said it so loud and so clear that Mollie came running in the room. I asked her, "Did she just say what I thought she did?" Mollie confirmed that she heard it too. Kaylin doesn't know what she said, but her daddy will take it and will never forget it!

Mollie has some meetings in Fayetteville today. Her boss, who has been more than accommodating for Mollie, told her that if she had someone who could watch Kaylin while she was in meetings, that she could bring her. Since I was fresh out of vacation time, Mollie, who didn't feel like she could leave Kaylin yet, coerced her mom into going up there with her to babysit. That means that daddy was home alone last night. Usually, that doesn't bother me, but now things are different. Not wanting to sit in the house missing them all night, I called up my old man. Mom is gone too, so we decided that we would have a guys night. After a trip to Jonesboro to eat and then swinging over around Newport to pick up something from my aunt's and then passing through Hickory Ridge, and rolled in around ten o'clock. We had a really good time reminiscing about the good ole days. We drove past my grandmother's old house. Man, the memories are so sweet. Sadly, none of my family lives in Hickory Ridge anymore. Sad. So, as I was saying we finally got home around ten o'clock. This was great, so I thought. Now I could just come in and go to bed....I wish. The last thing I remember was looking at the clock at 3:30 am and thinking how my dad was about to get up and I hadn't even been to sleep yet. I don't sleep well when Mollie is gone. I hate it. Needless to say, I did get some work done, but I sooooo look forward to them being home again. I will be making a beeline for home come five o'clock. When I was growing up my dad used to talk about how he just liked it when everyone was home. It just made him feel better and it used to annoy me because I have always liked to be on the go. Well, I have to say I sure do like it when everyone is at home!

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away. Man, where has the year gone? I got a laugh out of someone's post on Facebook yesterday talking about how they feel sorry for Thanksgiving because everyone seems to just overlook it. We go straight from Halloween to Christmas and poor old Thanksgiving just seems to be forgotten. I think it is because we don't "get" anything on Thanksgiving. For Halloween we get candy and on Christmas we get presents, but on Thanksgiving, we just get another meal. Granted, it is a big meal, and usually followed up with a deep sleep, but it's not the same. Anyway, I thought I would take the time and list some of the things I am thankful for this year. I am shooting from the hip, but here goes.

First of all, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, I would be forever doomed. Because of his death on the cross, I can have eternal life in heaven. Thank you Jesus.

Next, I am thankful for my beautiful daughter Kaylin Reese. She is that breath of fresh air when I seem to be suffocating. She is the extra ray of light when all around me seems dim. I love her more than anyone could ever imagine. She is the best gift I have ever received. (Isn't funny that the best gifts we can receive come from God)

I am thankful for my always loving, always supporting, always gorgeous wife Mollie. She is my best friend and faithful companion. I don't deserve all she has done for me, especially in the last year.

I am thankful for my health. In a year when sickness has stuck the world, I have managed to somehow stay healthy. Thank you Lord for my health.

I am thankful for a family that loves me. There are so many people in the world today who just want to feel loved. I don't have that concern and for that I am extremely thankful.

I am thankful for:

-my home
-my job
-my church
-my friends
-my blessings

Well, that is my list, or at least all that has come to my mind right now. I am sure that there are some things I have failed to mention, but it happens when trying to do these kind of things. Oh well. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Until next time!

An Eventful Weekend

It has been a busy last couple of days. I feel like I have been in a fight with Mike Tyson. Let me recap. Friday afternoon, after work, I left home for the hills of Northwest Arkansas. Me, my little brother and dad were taking a guys trip to Fayetteville to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. We had a blast. Dad doesn't get out much, so Chris and I were going to introduce him to a little "culture." Our first stop along the way was in North Little Rock. We stopped to eat dinner at Johnny Carrino's. The highlight of the meal was when Dad was eating his salad. The waiter came over and asked Dad if his salad was ok. Dad said yes and as the waiter reached in the direction of dad's plate, dad covered it with his arms and told the waiter he wasn't done with it yet, to which the waiter replied, "That's ok, I was just going to refill your tea." Chris and I laughed so hard we almost peed our pants. Dad thought the guy was going to take his plate before he was through. Anyway, maybe you just had to be there.


We finally arrived in Fayetteville around 11:00 pm, in one piece. After dropping off some tickets at another hotel to a guy for Mollie's uncle, we took a quick drive through campus before heading to the hotel. We finally got to bed around 1:00 or so. Since we were with dad, morning would come early, about 5:30 to be exact. As a matter of fact, I was woken by Garth Brooks, a.k.a Dad, singing in the shower. Thanks for the concert Dad!

We got up, got dressed, loaded our bags back in the truck and headed to Denny's for breakfast. We arrived at the stadium around 8:00 and headed to the Broyles Athletic Center so that Chris could go through the museum. Here are a few pictures of some of the exhibits.


This is "The Boot." It is a trophy given to the winner of the LSU/AR game. It's home has been Fayetteville for the last two years.



This is the game ball given to Arkansas after they knocked off #2 Auburn 27-10 at Auburn October 7, 2006.

This is the game ball from the 7-Overtime game between Arkansas and Ole Miss in 2001. Arkansas came out the victors against Eli Manning the the Rebels that LATE night in Oxford. Boy, do I remember that one.

No Razorback museum would be complete without a shrine to one of, if not the best running backs in Razorback history, Darren McFadden. Below is the Doak Walker Award trophy given to the best running back in college football. Darren won this award on two occasions in 2006 & 2007.

We scored some great seats for the game. We have 6 season tickets, but we sold 4 of them. Since Chris and I wanted to take Dad, we had to look for 3 tickets so we could all sit together. My buddy Ross gave me 3 tickets 25 rows up behind the Razorback bench on the 35 yard line. They were great seats! Arkansas won the game 33-16. It was a must win for Arkansas and a great game. We finally got to the truck and headed home. We finally got home around 8:00 or so. Boy were we tired, but no rest for the weary.

I had to be at church at 8:15 because I sing in the choir. I finally headed home from church around 11:20 only to pick up Mollie and Kaylin and head back to Wynne for lunch at Mom and Dad's house. We were celebrating Chris's completion of his graduate work. After lunch, I went with Dad and Chris to replace a belt on Mollie's car. When that was done, I came home and finished staining the spindles on my deck, cut, or pulled some broken branches out of a tree in the back yard, cleaned up underneath my deck and loaded up the four wheeler, which I had to take to get serviced. Nightfall caught up with me so I had to go inside. I finished off the night in bed watching the Dallas Cowboys put away the Philadelphia Eagles. Man, what a weekend!

I need some sleep! Maybe tonight I can lay in bed and watch wrestling. I am not getting my hopes up, but we will see.

Until next time!

3 Months and Counting

My precious little girl turn 3 months old this past Wednesday. Time really flies by. What a treat she is to have. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to raise her. Kaylin has been growing learning a lot. The last time we took her to the doctor, she weighed in at 9 lbs 7 ozs. and measured to 23 3/4" long. Recently, she discovered her hands. That seems to be her thing now. We can tell a lot about her mood by what she is doing with her hands. If the hands are in her mouth and she is smiling, she is happy and content. If her hands are in her mouth and she is cranky, you had better be getting ready to feed her. If her hands are over her eyes, she is sleepy.

Tomorrow she will take part in her first Halloween. She will be a zebra. We found her costume at Walmart in Rogers, AR. Her Mimi and mom made a mane for the hood of the costume. She is absolutely adorable. I will have to post some pictures of her. I have mixed feelings about trick or treating tomorrow night since the Razorbacks are playing at 6, but I guess that is why I have a DVR.

It has been a long last two weeks for the Davis family. Last week I was gone Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to an accountants' meeting in Texarkana, AR-TX. Mollie had a meeting in Memphis on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Well, Kaylin and I joined Mollie on Monday and Tuesday nights after work. That meant that I had to commute from Memphis to Forrest City Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, but it was worth it for us all to be together. Mollie and I are wore out. We plan to stay home tonight and watch the new Transformers movie. Sleeping in tomorrow morning is also in the game plan. Oh well, I guess that is all I got.

Until next time!

1 Month Old

Today my baby girl turns 1 month old. It is so hard for me to believe that we have already reached this point. I have always heard that "they grow up fast," but it is really hitting home today. This last month I have had experiences that I will treasure forever. Praise the Lord that Kaylin is healthy and sleeping most of the night. She goes to bed around 11:00 or 11:30 and sleeps till around 5:00 or 6:00 most mornings. If we are lucky, she will sleep till 7:00. We have been so blessed.

On a different note, I have been asked to participate in a small group bible study/accountability group with some other men in our church. This has really been a blessing to me. I have been able to get to know some other guys in our church and learn more about Jesus too. I am really excited to see how God is going to use this group.

Next Saturday begins the 2009 Razorback football season. To say I am ready is an understatement. This season will be different for me since I have a new little Razorback. The plan for now is to go to the SEC games, with the exception of next week's game. I have high expectations for the Hogs this season. We will see how it goes. The schedule is brutal, however, not quite as brutal as last season. The difference this year is that we bring back a lot more experience. If you add to the equation that we now have, not one, but two quarterbacks who can be game changers, the Razorbacks could be a force to reckon with this year. Once they hit the field, all of the speculation and talk will end and we will see what we got. I am not ruling out a 10-3 finish. That is optimistic, I know, but I think people aren't giving Bobby Petrino and his staff and team enough credit. Call me wrong, but I think come November, the Hogs will have everyone's undivided attention.

GO HOGS!