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!

A Week Old Already

Today, Kaylin is one week old. The time really goes fast. She is doing really well. We went to see the pediatrician last Friday. Kaylin weighed in at 6.67 lbs. The doctor said that she was doing really well. She did have a little bit of jaundice, but that was normal, especially in breastfed babies. According to the test they ran, her level was 12.8. The nurse said that a lot of times they see levels well over 20, so there was no need to worry. They wanted us to come back on Monday just to check her level again. So, yesterday Mollie took her back and the count had dropped to 9.3. We were relieved to see that.

We are also excited to see that Kaylin is beginning to develop a routine when it comes to eating and sleeping. She does best when we do a diaper change prior to eating, then feed, then sleep. Mollie seems to think she is catching on. Praise the Lord that Kaylin sleeps most of the night anyway. We are usually up only twice, sometimes three times at night with her. However, this is only to feed and do a diaper change. She doesn't cry a lot unless she is hungry or has a dirty diaper. We are so thankful.

Mollie is doing really well too. She is an excellent mom. I am so proud of her. Just to share a funny story, when we were in the hospital with Kaylin, they had to put her under a warmer to raise her body temperature a little. Well, as most of you know, we like it cold. We usually keep our air set on 67 degrees at night. Mollie was a stickler for this because she gets so hot at night. Well, now she is paranoid that Kaylin is going to get cold. When we went to bed a few nights ago I turned the air down to 70 degrees. When I got up the next morning I noticed that mom had moved it up to 73 degrees. My how a little one can change you! I have been ribbing Mollie pretty hard about that one. Too funny!

As for dad, well, I am doing well too. I went back to work yesterday. I will admit, I am a softy. When I picked Kaylin up yesterday morning and kissed her goodbye, I almost lost it. As a matter of fact, my exact thought was, "screw this, I am staying home," but I quietly put her down and scurried out the door. Today was a little easier, but I do get to go home and see her at lunch.

We have been blessed with really good friends. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends since Kaylin was born. The phone calls, emails, and texts have been very comforting. To those of you have have called, emailed, texted, came by, or brought food, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We can't thank you all enough.

Looking back on the events of the last week puts a HUGE smile on my face. It is funny how a child can change you. I never thought that it was possible to love someone so much. I will do anything, and I mean anything, for Kaylin. If she needs her daddy, he will be there. I tell her that everyday. I will do everything in my power to be there for her. I want her to know that. She puts everything into perspective for me. Thank you Lord for such a healthy and beautiful little girl!

Kaylin Reese Davis

God is good. I know we hear and say that so many times, but never before have I personally seen such a miracle from God in my life like I did when I witnessed the birth of my little girl. Anyone who says that there is no God is a fool. Kaylin Reese Davis was born into the world on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 3:22 pm. She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches long. Those with children have always said that there is nothing like the birth of your child. They are right. I will never forget seeing Kaylin for the first time. I wish that I could put into words what I was feeling. I am so proud of Mollie. She did so well.

The whole experience was surreal. On a funny note, I thought I was actually going to miss her birth. Around 1:00 pm that day, I went down to the cafeteria to get me some lunch. When I left, Mollie was a 4. I figured that I had plenty of time. I left her with her mom while I was gone. Well, I had just finished eating and had gotten up to go when Dorma called me. She said that I needed to get back up to the room quick. They were setting up the room and calling Dr. Curry. Needless to say, I kicked it into high gear and decided to take the stairs instead of waiting on the elevator. Oh yeah, it was only six floors that I ran up. I thought I was going to need to stop by the cardio unit by the time I reached the top. I got there in plenty of time though.

I have never been so proud of one thing in my life. Kaylin is the prettiest baby I have ever seen. She has been so good. I know that may change at any time. Never did I realize how possible it was to love someone so much. She is so sweet. I look forward to doing so much with her.

I want to thank everyone who lifted us up in prayer. It is because of this that everything went so well. I fully believe that. Second, I want to thank everyone who took time out of their day to come see us at the hospital and/or send well wishes and congratulations. Mollie and I have such good friends. We thank you all so much.

Well, I hear my sweet Kaylin starting to cry. Gotta go love on her!

It's Almost Here

Mollie and I went back to the doctor yesterday for a check-up. Her doctor said that she is beginning to show signs of early labor. While it could be another 1-2 weeks before she naturally goes into labor, she said that it could be as early as tonight (last night). Mollie asked her about inducing labor. She checked her schedule and asked how Tuesday sounded. I told her I was only in favor of inducing if Kaylin's lungs were fully developed and she was ready to be born. She told me that according to her research and studies, babies born on or after 39 weeks have a less than 0% chance of underdevelopment of the lungs. She told us that they are really strict about inducing labor, but we could do it next Tuesday if we wanted. Well, as of now, we have to be at the hospital next Monday (July 27th) at 5:00 pm to get settled and hooked up to everything. They will give Mollie meds to help her dilate further if she isn't far enough along by that point. The induction will start on Tuesday morning. We are welcome to change our minds, but as of now, that is the plan. We are still seeking God's will in this, but as of now, this is what we are hoping for. Please keep us, especially Mollie and Kaylin, in your prayers. I will try to update if anything develops any sooner. Please check me out on Facebook and Twitter, as these are the easiest ways for me to get information out there. Well, here we go! It won't be long until my little girl will be resting peacefully and safely in my arms. Thank you Lord!

While I Wait

Here I am sitting in a hair salon, an hour and a half from home, with my wife while she gets her hair done. Why? Because I love her. Yes, we drive to West Little Rock from Colt to get to Mollie's hair dresser. Mollie has been coming here for about 7 or 8 years now. It wasn't so bad when we lived in Cabot, but it is quite the drive now. I won't complain. If she is happy, then I am happy.

As I sit here, I have been reflecting on the past week. Monday, the first day back after a long weekend. I get to work to find out that a co-worker and friend had fallen on July 4th and broke her leg in three places. Poor Mrs. Pat. I hated to hear that she did that. At least she was with her husband and daughter and not alone. She had surgery on Friday to repair the break. I am told that all went well and she will be fine.

Tuesday was a normal day, but I received news on Wednesday that just stopped me in my tracks. I was eating lunch with a co-worker when my dad calls and tells me that our music pastor at church is leaving. I was stunned, and that is an understatement. I am not going to air any dirty laundry, but I will say that this news has caught a lot of people off guard. I feel so bad for our music pastor and his family. I understand both sides, but what makes this hard is that I have a good friendship with both parties. It leaves me torn. I want to be the best friend I can to both guys, but this is the hardest issue I have ever had to deal with. I know that God is in control and that His ultimate plan will prevail. That is all that gets me through.

And so here I sit in the salon waiting on Mollie. My rear end is getting pretty sore and I am hoping that she is almost done. This is the last weekend we can really leave town and do anything. After this weekend, Mollie's doctor doesn't want us getting farther than 60 miles from the hospital. I think Mollie will deliver early. I give her two weeks maybe three, but I feel that Kaylin will be here the last week of July.

Well, here comes Mollie. Yay!!!!

It Won't Be Long

Well, the day we have been waiting for since last November is only 28 days away. It won't be long before little Kaylin Reese is here. There are so many things going through our heads. When will she be here? Do we have everything ready? Did we forget to pack anything for the hospital? Did we pack enough for the hospital? What are we going to do with our dogs while we are in the hospital? These are just a few of the things going on in my head. The bottom line is this, no matter what, Kaylin will be here soon.

We have finally gotten the nursery situated. We have washed all of her sheets and most of her clothes. All we can do now is wait. The showers have been extremely helpful and we are grateful for everyone who has given us a baby present. We have one more shower left and it is this Sunday at church. We sent out 194 invitations, so needless to say, this will be the biggest shower so far. I think we have most of the "big" things we need such as a stroller, car seat, and such. The main things we need are diapers and bottles. We can't have too many diapers.

Well, I will do my best to post any changes or updates that may come our way in the coming days and weeks. Mollie is 36 weeks and will be considered full term in a week. Hopefully Kaylin will come a little early but not too early. Please keep us in your prayers. God has really blessed this pregnancy so far as we have had no problems. Pray specifically for Mollie. She is getting really anxious and nervous about this whole delivery. Also, please pray for me as I will be her "coach" through all of this. God has been so good and we are certain that He will continue to bless us.

Until next time!

Beginning to feel real

Well, we got the call yesterday afternoon that our baby furniture had arrived. So what did we do? We hooked up to the trailer and headed to Memphis right after work to get it. Thank the Lord that the rain had moved out and the roads were dry. We didn't' even have to cover it with a tarp. The furniture is still in the boxes. We just backed the trailer into the garage when we got home and decided to wait until Saturday to start putting it all together. We ordered the furniture from a small store in Memphis called Babytime. Let me tell you how impressed I was with these people. The first time I went in their store, I noticed that they had Christian music playing. That was the first thing that impressed me. The second thing was how friendly and helpful they were. They seemed as if they really cared about our baby and her bedding. They weren't pushy. They let us look and were there to answer any questions that we had. They were really nice and I would defiantly recommend them to anyone looking for baby stuff.

We sat down a couple of nights ago and started filling out the baby book. That was fun too. We enjoyed reminiscing back to the beginning of this journey. We only have two months until Mollie's due date. Things are starting to get hairy. We feel as if there is so much we need to do before Kaylin Reese gets here. I hope that moving the furniture into the nursery will make things a little more calmer. Probably not.

It is really starting to sink in that we have a precious little girl on the way. We now have a little thing we do every night before we go to sleep. I lay my head on Mollie's stomach just to feel my little girl move. It is probably one of the neatest things I have ever experienced. Sometimes she is really active. Other times, she is calm. I can't wait to meet her. Mollie will be considered full term in just 5 weeks. At that point, even though she isn't due for another 3 weeks, she would be just fine to deliver. That is the part that freaks us out. We don't expect her for 8 more weeks, but she could come as early as 4 to 5 weeks from now.

One other fun thing that Mollie and I are doing is making a video for Kaylin showing what all is going on leading up to her arrival. I think Kaylin will think that it is cheesy when she is younger, but will really appreciate it when she is older.

Well that is about all for now. I will try and get some pictures up of the nursery when its ready. Until next time!

Remembering the birds

Mollie and I went to Memphis on Saturday to begin setting up baby registries. On our way over there, I stopped in West Memphis to gas up. As I was pumping gas this little sparrow landing just a few feet from me and began drinking from a water puddle about the size of a quarter. I was filled with joy as I remembered when Jesus told us in Luke 12:22-30 about how God provides for us all. God saw to it that that little sparrow found water in the middle of the city. It was just the perfect size puddle for that sparrow. We should always remember that God will see to it that we are cared for. When times get tough, we should always remember the birds.

Kaylin Reese

Mollie and I recently had an opportunity to have a 3D/4D ultrasound done. It is really amazing what they can do with sound waves. I have some really cool pictures that I will share with you below. We are about 2 1/2 months away from Kaylin's arrival. Needless to say, we are very anxious and ready to hold her in our arms. There is still a lot to get done. It finally sank in with Mollie yesterday. She realized that she will be full term (37 weeks) in only 9 weeks! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Here are the pictures:

Making Progress

Well, we are just 3 months from the expected arrival of little Kaylin Reese. There is still so much to do. Mollie and I went to Jonesboro on Friday night to get the last of the fabric that will be needed to make Kaylin's bedding. Mollie's mom is hard a work cleaning out her laundry room so that she can get to her sewing machine and start the production. I am glad that Mrs. Dorma is doing this. It will be good for her and I am sure Kaylin will some day be glad to know that her Mimi went to that much trouble for her. On Saturday, we got back in the nursury and started going through some of the boxes in the closets. When we finished, we had pretty much cleared out one half of the closet. The other half doesn't have near the amount of boxes. We are going to try and tackle a little bit each night.

Like I said earlier, Kaylin should be her in three months. That is so hard for this dad-to-be to grab hold of. Where has the last 6 or 7 months gone. I feel like there is so much to do. We have been watching A Baby Story on TLC. This is fun to me because it heightens my level of excitement, but for Mollie, not so much. She is really nervous about this whole hospital thing. She doesn't like needles or anything like that. She doesn't handle pain well at times. She tells me that she doesn't want to watch it anymore. She said that the thought of IV's and needles gives her nightmares. I guess I will have to watch them on my own from now on.

Things are moving along at work OK. I really need a break, but I am saving my time off for when Kaylin is born. I hope that I have enough time built up so that I don't have to take off without pay, but if I do, then I do. We are prepared for me to be off as long as Mollie needs me. I know that my family comes first. Mollie, on the other hand, has nothing to worry about. As long as she gets in at least a half of a day, she will be good for the whole day. To make things easier, she can even work from home. She has about 4 or 5 weeks of PTO built up already. Her company and boss has really been good to her throughout this whole pregnancy, sometimes I think her boss is more protective of her than I have been. That is pretty protective!

So that is what is going on in my life. We have been resting a lot because we know that those days are coming to an end here pretty soon. We spend a lot of time just laying in the bed watching TV. The last two Sunday afternoons we have napped a lot. After all, isn't Sunday the day of rest? LOL!

Until next time!

Friday

It's finally Friday. This hasn't been too bad of a week, but I am still glad that the weekend is almost here. We have a lot to do in making a place for little Kaylin Reese. We have decided to have Mollie's mom make the bedding for her. We have looked at lots of different types of baby bedding and have come to the conclusion that it is a hot commodity. Mollie and her mom went and picked out fabric and Mrs. Dorma is going to just make everything. We have to make a quick run to Jonesboro tonight to get the rest of the fabric.

Tomorrow we have to get Kaylin's closets cleaned out. When we moved into our house, we kept one room empty because we knew it would be used for a nursery some day. What we failed to do was make the closets in that room empty. Now we are left with the task of sorting through all of the stuff in them. This is something we should have done a long time ago, but you know how that goes.

Tax season has come and gone for another year. I am all finished except from one from last year. This one takes a lot of time to do and since this is my side job, I don't always have the spare time to devote to it. I really need to take a day and just get after it. Sometimes I wonder why I even fool with doing taxes, but the extra cash comes in handy. Since I will have two females in my house in the very near future, I guess it is good to have all the spare cash I can get.

Something else I have started doing is counting Weight Watchers points again. I have gotten to the point where my clothes don't fit and feeling miserable. So far so good. I have lost about 7-8 pounds in the last two weeks. I have done this before so it wasn't that hard to get back in groove. It hasn't been too bad. As a matter of fact, I don't even use all of my daily points. I can have 25 points a day and an extra 35 to use throughout the week. Usually I try to save those for the weekend so that I don't have to be so cautious. I really need to lose about 30-40 pounds. We will see how it goes. Please keep me in your prayers.

Last night I attended an event at the church called "The Main Event." This was a dinner and program put on by the men's ministry. The speaker was Jarrod Jones. He talked about the importance of sexual purity and how sexual sin can be so damaging. The scripture reference was Proverbs 7. He gave six ways you can destroy your life. These points were centered around sexual impurity, but could also be applied to everyday life and sin. He said you can ruin your life if you:

1.) Get numb to the word of God
2.) Think we are in control of our sins.
3.) Think we learn from experience and not by the facts.
4.) Flirt with sexual temptation.
5.) Deny the obvious.
6.) Believe no one will ever know what you are doing.

One point Jarrod made that really stuck to me was that we don't obey God so that we will receive His love and mercy, we receive His love and mercy, therefore, we obey. Wow! I have never thought of it like that before. We want to live our lives under law so bad. The good news is that because of Jesus, we are no longer under law. There is nothing we can do to "earn" our way to heaven. We are naturally sinners. We can't do it, but through Jesus, we can. We can because Jesus came and lived a life without sin. He was tempted like we all are because He was God in human flesh, yet He never sinned. He was killed for our sins, but after three days, He rose from the grave proving He was who He said He was. It is because I believe that, that I am accepted by God through grace. I don't have to be perfect, just blameless. Jesus paid it all. Wooooo! How awesome is that?

Last, but not least, I found out last weekend that I am going to be an uncle. That is right, Chris and Jill are also expecting. They are due in mid December. Mom and dad are ecstatic. I am happy for them. They are trying to sell their house in Marion and move back to Wynne. If anyone is looking for a house in Marion, let me know.

Well that is all for now.

Sermon Notes

I mentioned earlier a sermon that Bro. Matt preached last Sunday on the recession. This sermon put everything into a Godly perspective. I wanted to share the sermon outline.

"The Economic Recession, Our Heart, Anxiety, and the Kingdom of God"

Luke 12:13-34

Observation #1: The economic recession we are currently experiencing is a gift of grace from God for our souls.

Observation #2: Jesus is more concerned about the condition of our hearts than settling little disputes.

Observation #3: Anxiety is our hearts over the future is directly tied to God not having full reign over our lives.

Observation #4: The new heart Jesus is aiming for is one that sees and values Him above all things, instead of using Him to get things.

I would encourage anyone who wants to hear this message to check it out at http://web.me.com/wbconline/main/media.html.

The United Tour

What a great day yesterday was! I started off my day attending church. Bro. Matt preached from Luke 12:13-34. The sermon was part one of two parts on the economic downturn. He reminded us that God is in control of the economy and everything else. God cares about us and will provide for us. I will have to post his sermon notes on here later. They were really good points and puts this whole economic situation, and life in general, into a Godly perspective.

The highlight of my day came later in the evening. I got the opportunity to go and see two of the greatest Christian music artists of all time in Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman at the Robinson Center in Little Rock. What a terrific show! To make the night even better, we were on the second row! That's right, we were probably 10-15 yards from Smitty and SCC (b/c of the orchestra pit). They opened the show together with some praise songs before Steven Curtis Chapman took the reigns. He did all of his current songs, Yours, Miracle of the Moment, Cinderella, Magnificent Obsession, and a few others. Smitty came out towards the end of set and they did some of each others older songs. That was really cool. Steven Curtis Chapman also spent a lot of time talking about the death of his little girl Maria Sue. For those that don't know, Maria was SCC's 5 year old daughter. He and his wife Mary Beth adopted Maria from China. She was accidentally killed in their driveway last May 21 when her brother accidentally ran over her. All that said, I was inspired by a comment SCC made regarding God's plan for our lives. He said that at Maria's memorial one of his sons said that this current moment in our lives is like looking really close at a beautiful painting. Up close the painting just looks like a bunch of chaos, different shades of paint and lots of different brush strokes going in several different directions. He said that is what our life is like on God's scale. Its only when we step away from the painting and see the whole picture, that we can really appreciate its beauty. WOW! How big is that? When we look at our lives right now, sometimes we just see chaos and craziness, but when we look back on our lives and see how God has brought us through life's struggles and successes, our lives are a beautiful masterpiece! Woo-hoo! I thought this was really well said.

After about an hour and a half, Michael W. Smith came out and did his set. I was so blessed to have been able to be led in worship by Smitty. He is just awesome. He is really good at worship leading. He also gave a brief testimony. He spoke of the time, about 20 years ago, when he actually realized the sovereignty and love God had for him. Smitty said that he accepted Christ at the age of 10, but the realization of who God was and is didn't sink in until later. I could relate to Smitty here. I accepted Christ at the age 8. I know I was young, but even at that young age, I understood that I was a sinner. I understood that my sin separated me from God. I also understood that Jesus came and died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and then rose again 3 days later. I put my trust in Him back then and accepted Him as my Savior. Unfortunately, I didn't fully realize the power of what lived within me until April of last year. Like Smitty, I am a child of the great God. The King of Kings, the Master of the Universe, the Lord of Lords. He's my daddy! He loves and cares about me. He likes me and is quite fond of me. My sins and trespasses against Him are forgiven. He holds no record of wrongs. He is God of the universe and He is my God. I am so glad that I have this peace and hope.

The show ended around 10:30. We finally got out of the parking garage and got home around 12:15 am. Yes, I am dragging today, but I feel good because I have been filled up spiritually. Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith put on a great show. I hope that I have the opportunity to see them again some day.

Convicted

I just watched an interview with Cindy Winters. She is the wife of Fred Winters, the pastor that was gunned down at the pulpit in Illinois. She spoke of how she forgives the man who killed her husband and the father of her two girls. She told of how she loves him and hopes that he develops a personal relationship with Jesus. She has no anger or hostility towards this man. The man who robbed her of a husband whom she loved dearly, who robbed her two girls of their daddy. They will never be able to have their dads walk them down the aisle. When they take the family trip that they all planned, he won't be there. Mrs. Winters loves and forgives this man. Its funny you know. I have a hard time forgiving someone who says something or does something to me I don't like. I have a hard time forgiving someone who cuts me off or drives too slow in the fast lane. What does that say about me? I still have my wife. I still have all of my loved ones. I haven't been through half of what they are going through.

This is the perfect example of Christ-likeness. This interview really ministered to me. I would strongly encourage you to go and watch it too. I hope that you find it as encouraging, convicting, and uplifting as I did. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjkbFZ_c6ss.