Monday morning thoughts

Finally, I have a semi-normal Monday again. The last few weeks have been anything but normal. Last Monday we celebrated the birth of our second baby (and first son) Micah Christopher Hall...7lbs. 11oz. 20 inches long. I am still amazed that God has seen fit to entrust two children to my care. This is definately taking my trust in God to a whole new level. Here are some pics from the past week.


Happy Grandparents!

This is how he fit in mommy's belly.

Sissy is not sure about Micah's first bath at home.

But she is a proud big sissy.

Monday morning

For the second Monday in a row I started the day by receiving an early morning phone call. Today it was my Uncle Robert letting me know that my Uncle Raymond passed away in his sleep last night. Please be in prayer for all who are now traveling to Jacksonville and for all of the arraingements that are being made. Thank you for your prayers.

Refreshing

This has been a week of ups and downs. I have been at the hospital for births and I've been at the hospital for people's cancer and other ailments. I've been on the phone and on the computer a lot this week trying to keep people in the church up to date on all that is happening. I really didn't realize how drained I was getting until I read these words from Isaiah this morning and the refreshing poured over me like cool waters. Even if this has been the best week ever for you read these words and let them just pour over you.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you," (Isaiah 43:1b-4a)

links

Perry raises some very interesting "what if" questions here.

Here a little bit from "The Fray"...enjoy.

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Tuesday morning reflections

• This past Saturday was another great day of serving our community. Even though numbers were down for the Back to School Bash God still allowed us to share His love in a tangible way for students and their families.
• We received a good number of prayer requests from people Saturday and we will be lifting those up in prayer.
• Our house had family come through this weekend and it was great to visit with Uncle Rob, Aunt Pam, and Diana. (We even let Rob pray in the service Sunday am:-)
• Sunday's service went very well. Another great day to Praise God for all He is and all He does.
• Please be in prayer for Logan and his family. Logan had a seizure yesterday morning and they are running tests today to try and find out what triggered it. Pray that the doctors have wisdom and insight into what's going on.
• This Sunday we are looking at Psalms 21-23. I can not wait! I get pumped when I think about God as our shepherd.
• Baby Micah is not here yet but could come any time now!!!!!!!
• The Randalls are at the hospital right now anticipating the birth of their twins.
• Remember, in all things..."To God be the Glory...Great things He has done!"

6 more countries

My normal Monday morning reflections has been put on hold today. I received one of those early morning phone calls today that required me to rush off to the hospital and I've been caught up in other stuff today. I will update on the past weekend at some point but I do want to let everyone know that as of today we can add 6 more countries to the thoughts and things blog hit list. Wow!!! Check back soon for updates.

cartoon from 1994

Scary to think this was 15 years ago.

pastors/leaders

Acts 20:28 hit me square in the face today.

"Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."

I think most pastors can agree that paying attention to the flock seems pretty simple. After all, that's really what the job is all about right? It was that first part of the verse that grabbed me.
"Pay careful attention to yourselves..."

That led me to ask several questions that I think are productive questions for every pastor and leader to ask themselves from time to time.

1. How am I doing spiritually? Am I spending intentional time with God and His word outside of sermon/lesson preparation? God has led me this year to systematically reading through the Bible and it is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had as a believer. Am I being intentional about my prayer life? God is showing me the value of praying His scriptures. Wow! Now there is power!


2. How am I doing physically? Am I exercising? Am I eating healthy? Am I sleeping? I'm not the best at any of these areas. Actually, I even had a delicious bowl of cookie dough ice cream last night and did not feel bad about it at all. But am I consistently making healthy choices for myself or is that bowl of ice cream the most consistent part of my diet. Also, God has really pressed on my mind the need for a sabbath. Without proper rest we are not proper administrators of grace.


3. How's my family? I love my family soooo much. If something is not right at home it affects everything else in my life. Am I communicating love towards my wife? Am I available to my kids (both physically and mentally)?


4. How's my attitude? What is the state of my mental health? Am I more positive or more negative? Am I focused on spiritual things? Am I more concerned with what God wants or what anyone else wants (including myself)? Am I more irritable than calm? Do I have a sense of hope? Positivity is an intentional thing. I really don't think it just happens.


5. How are my relationships? Am I helping the people around me live out a Great Commission/Great Commandment life? Are they helping me in the same way? Putting God's purposes into every relationship really puts things in perspective.

I don't write all of this as if I have it all down. I write it to say these are things that God is putting on my mind. If I'm not checking my own health in these things then am I really being the most effective minister of the gospel that I can be? I pray that these thing may help you as well.

Qoute of the day

"The difference between believing that God is gracious
and tasting that God is gracious
is as different as having a rational belief that honey is sweet
and having theactual sense of its sweetness."

- Jonathan Edwards

Car tunes

This morning I had an awesome worship time with Natalie as we were driving into the daycare/office. We were listening to a Veggie Tales cd filled with praise songs when we started singing "God of Wonders". The next thing I knew I here this little voice belting out..."You are Hoooooooly, Hooooooly". It really almost brought tears to my eyes to think that my daughter is praising God. Even if she doesn't understand exactly what that means God is being glorified through her.

My next thought was how little I really understand God and His praise yet He uses my feeble attempts to bring honor and glory to Himself. Wow....what a cool God He really is.

Even Natalie knows this isn't "right"

Greatness of God

Isaiah 40:28 (English Standard Version)

"Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable."

There have been tooooooooo many times that I have looked at the last several verses of Isaiah 40 and never taken into consideration the rest of the chapter. Today as I was reading through it I was smacked in the face by the GREATNESS of God. To say that God is anything less than Awesome is a serious injustice to who He really is. I encourage everyone to go read the entire chapter of Isaiah 40 today and be amazed at our God.

Monday morning reflections

• Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach at New Life Community Church in the heart of Jacksonville. The folks there were very warm and welcoming. These were some of the MOST laid-back church people I've ever spent time with. It was fun.
• Had the opportunity to go with Logan, Scott, and Joe and share communion with some of our shut-ins yesterday. Someone PLEASE ask Joe about his balloon. :-) Great afternoon.
• Watched "Fireproof" again last night. This time it was with our Sunday School class. It was fun watching a movie with such a diverse group of people. Feel free to ask Laura how a mom should be treated...she'll be more than willing to tell you.:-)
• Right now I am using a reading plan I found online to systematically read through the entire Bible. It is one of the best things I've ever done in my walk with Christ. If you have never done this or journaled or scheduled regular time to pray I highly recommend giving it a try. If you need help getting started with something or need some suggestions feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to help you out.
• Micah is due three weeks from today!!!!!! The countdown continues.