2/27/11 worship set

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
Holy, Holy, Holy
Our Love Is Loud
I Exalt Thee
Lord I Run To You

Extravagant Love

 When I was in elementary  school I couldn’t wait until Valentine’s Day.  It was so much fun decorating a shoebox to put all my Valentine’s in and of course eating all that yummy candy.  I would spend hours putting together Valentine’s cards for all my friends because I had to pick that special card for each one of them.  We would dress in “red” and have a party and then go home and read how special we were to each other.  Now, I get to help my kids pick out their special Valentine’s cards for their friends and see their excitement as well.  Callie and Caleb had fun going through and reading their cards and “love notes” from their classmates and of course overindulging in candy.  Each card they read brought such a smile to their faces to see how much they meant to the person sending them the card.  Isn’t it great to hear how special we are to others?

This particular Valentine’s Day, for me, didn’t quite end the typical way.  Typically, it ends with me reflecting on all the love of those special people in my life.  This Valentine’s Day ended extremely late as I was filing a police report for my work computer that was stolen right out of my van as I was working at Weight Watchers.  Needless to say, I wasn’t “feeling the love”!  I was feeling everything but, just to be honest.  I felt a whole melting pot of emotions from sadness to guilt because that computer didn’t even belong to me.  But as the next few days unfolded (and the nausea started to wear off), I began to see how God took that situation and showed me just how much he does love me.  

You see, through this situation I discovered a whole new appreciation for those around me every day.  My husband and his loving arms and encouraging words, my kids and their sweet giving spirits, my co-workers and their precious hugs, prayers, and help getting my office up and running again quickly, my family in their willingness to jump in and help out, a perfect stranger and his kindness in finding my computer bag (minus the computer of course) on the side of the road and bringing it back to me, a police officer who was so helpful and is now becoming a new friend and sister in Christ!  God has shown me at every turn that even in the midst of this trial, he will always be there with loving arms!  We have prayed for this person who stole my computer!  He may have been looking for electronics but, praise the Lord, he had to go through much of God’s Word to get it.  I have precious scriptures all over my van and as you open my computer, scripture and devotions of God’s greatness and love is there as well.  Our prayer all week has been that God’s Word will permeate their soul and that they will recognize their need of a Savior.  That Valentine’s Day could have been the day that they realized the One who loves them most!  

As I think about Valentine’s Day and the importance of that day, (this will definitely be one that I won’t forget) I do think about the love of my Heavenly Father.  I have the most wonderful love note of all right in my very hands and every day he reminds me of how special I am to him.  

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!” I John 3:1

The word “lavish” also means extravagant, bountiful.  Don’t you just love that word, “lavish”?  It brings a smile to my face and peace in my heart to know how unconditional his love actually is.  It is hard for us to comprehend that kind of love because we do sometimes put conditions (maybe without even knowing) on our love for others.  But our Father’s love is the perfect love and every day we can read from his love note to us with the assurance that it is unending.  His love is extravagant and bountiful and he gives it to us every day.  Though my Valentine’s Day didn’t end with the “love” I expected, my Lord has shown me all week through his Word just how deep and far his love for me goes!  I am his child!  That will never change!  

Thank you Abba Father, for your love for me! That is has no conditions and that it has no end! 

As you continue your week in this beautiful weather, focus on that extravagant love he gives us and how we can show that love to others even when it is not easy.  

Love you all,

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team

2/20/11 worship set

Let There Be Blessing
Love The Lord
My Jesus, I Love Thee
My Hope *special during offering
Awakening

Bear Hunting In Alaska

 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

A Texan went with a group of men to Alaska to hunt the huge Kodiak bear. As the group walked the trail to their mountain cabin, one of the men noticed the Texan did not have a gun. All he had was a large, straight stick he used for walking. A few of the men began to make fun of the Texan. “What are you going to do,” they asked, “spank the bear with a switch?”

“Shucks,” replied the Texan, “that’s the way we hunt bears in Texas.” That was all he would say to their jeers.

When they got to the cabin the Texan said, “We’ve got plenty of daylight left. I’ll just go get us a bear.” With that he started out the door with nothing but his stick.

At first the other men thought he was teasing. After almost three hours, they started to get worried.

“What if he got out there and got himself lost or hurt? Maybe we should not have teased him so much,” one of the men said. They decided they had better send out a search party.

Just as they walked out the door to look for the Texan, they looked up the mountain and saw the Texan run across a clearing. Right behind the Texan was a ten foot tall Kodiak bear. The bear would almost catch the Texan and the Texan would use his large pole to vault down the mountain. It looked as if the Texan might make it to the cabin – with the help of his stick.

The Texan burst into the edge of the clearing near the cabin. The bear was right behind him. The men in the cabin yelled encouragement to the Texan as he came closer to the cabin. The bear got closer to him as he got closer to the cabin. The men in the cabin opened the door of the cabin and yelled for the Texan to close the door as he came in.

Just as the Texan got to the cabin, he sidestepped the door and stayed on the outside. The bear could not stop and charged into the cabin.

The Texan started to close the door from the outside and yelled, “You guys skin this one and I’ll go and get another one.”

Most of us have known that kind of feeling. All of us have felt like life has locked us in a cabin with a ten foot bear. In troubled times we realize we need a strength that beyond our own. When we have that trapped feeling in life, it is good to know that help is only a prayer away. God can give us the strength we need for the situation we are in.


By: Ed Handkins

2/13/11 worship set

Everyday
Our Love is Loud
Let It Rise
Children of God
   *special during offering
   *tagging after the message

Charge!

A couple of years ago, Ben was preparing for the big Bible sword drill competition at school.  During that time, we worked feverishly for a couple of weeks getting him prepared.  Every morning on the way to school or church we were having Bible sword drills in the car.  If you are not exactly sure what I am talking about, well, one person calls out a Bible reference and then says “Charge!”, then the first person to get to that reference in Scripture wins.  They have to hold their Bible on one knee and put the other hand on the opposite knee.  They have to wait until they hear “Charge” before they can begin searching.  I remember doing these when I was a child and they were a lot of fun.  Ben was so excited to compete in this competition! Well, we practiced non-stop in the car and I also required them to read the verse aloud when they would find it.  This not only helped their reading skills but also gave them even more time to read God’s Word.

I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful that was for me as well!  It had been a very stressful couple of weeks and hearing my children read Scripture aloud as I drove was very peaceful and encouraging.  I would call out verses that I needed to hear especially at that moment or the verses that they chose really touched my heart.  During times of stress or discouragement, many times we are quick to “phone a friend” and ask for direction when we forget that we have the “Instruction Book” right in our hands.  Life changing moments happen when we dive into God’s Word with everything we have!  His Word is Life and encourages me to keep going for my Lord!  

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
--2 Timothy 3:16-17

There we have it!  It is God-breathed and useful for everything!  God used my children to help me through a challenging couple of weeks through their reading of God’s Word.  The Living Word pierced my heart and nourished my soul in a mighty way.  It enabled me to find the blessing in the midst of the challenge I was facing at that moment and gave me strength to continue the work God had set before me that would bring him glory!  The challenges will come and go, but God’s Word is forever!  Hallelujah!  

Have some fun and do a few Bible sword drills this week!  The reward for winning is etching God’s Word deeper into your heart!  What better reward could you ask for?

Have a blessed week!

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team

2/6/11 worship set

God is Our Refuge
Your Grace is Enough
Lord of All (w/Beautiful Jesus)
We Have Seen Your Glory
   *special during the offering
Here I Am to Worship/The Call

God's Amazing Love...

I am constantly in awe of God’s provision!  He meets each of our needs exactly when we need them.  Financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, all needs are met!  This week alone, God has amazed me, yet again, with his unconditional love and provision.  When I stop to think about all the ways God provides my every need, I get overwhelmed at how he is always concerned about me.  

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
--Philippians 4:19

He knows my every need at the exact moment I need it, yet he also knows about each of your needs at the exact moment you need it.  He is such a “big” God!  Sometimes I think I take up too much of God’s time because I constantly long to talk to him and come to him for everything, that I feel like I get a little selfish.  But then, I remember: He is God!  He knows everything, at every second, of everyone, and still controls the universe!  WOW! That is why he is God and I am not!

You know, in thinking about all his wonderful provisions, I have to stop and marvel at the ultimate provision, his Son!  He took his only Son, and sacrificed him for a lowly sinner – ME!  God’s Word defines what true love is:

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
--1 John 4:10

On this 1st day of February, 2011, I want to begin this month of “love” and soak in every bit of God’s Word about his love for me.  He loves me so much that he does provide my every need and in turn we are to show that love to others.  What a great way to start the month! 

Have a blessed week!

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team