Striving for Excellence

The summer is officially over for our family.  School bells have rung again and we are in full swing now! The new school supplies are in use, uniforms are out, schedules are posted, and their new lunch boxes are very cool!  Of course, the first day of school is always the most fun!  Seeing all your friends after summer vacation and catching up is great, but then that fun starts to wear off as soon as the homework and early morning wakeups hit.  Reality sets in and as parents; our job is to encourage the kids to start the year off with good study habits and routines so they can continue to follow through all year.  We are also their “cheerleaders”, if you will, to encourage them when the going gets tough and they just don’t think they can do one more piece of homework.   We also want our kids to strive for excellence in all they do.  In our home, we do not demand all “A’s”, but we do expect them to do their very best in all areas.  God doesn’t expect perfection in us, but he does expect our best.  That is something that we try to instill in our kids, through God’s Word.  

Our best!  That is what God deserves in all areas of our lives.  Not just for the kids in school or sports, but from all of us in every thing we do.  We wholeheartedly need to give our all to God.  In our parenting, our marriages, our jobs, our relationships, our ministries, and every other area, we need to work to give God our best, to strive for excellence!  King Hezekiah was a king that had a close relationship with God.  Though he did make mistakes at times too, he was credited for trusting the Lord and seeking excellence.  

“This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah,

doing what was good and right and faithful

before the Lord his God.  In everything
that he undertook in the service of God’s temple

and in obedience to the law and the commands,

he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.

And so he prospered.”

-- 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 

“He sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”  We, as children of God, need to seek God daily.  Just as Hezekiah, a leader, served as a role model, we too serve as role models in the position we hold as worship leaders.  Others are watching our lives and our lives should match what we sing and lead on Sunday mornings.  Just like we teach our children, God doesn’t expect perfection from us but he does deserve our best.  We should strive for excellence in leading worship to our God!  That requires us to be in a deep prayer life, and daily reading of his Word for guidance and direction.  It also requires us to come to rehearsals prepared and ready to practice.  We expect our children to go to school with homework done and prepared for tests and quizzes, and the same is true with us.  When we come together in practice, we need to have prepared in advance so that our time together can be everything it should be for our Lord.  The times that we lead in worship, should be times focused on our amazing God, and that will happen when we are well prepared and in one accord. May the cry of our hearts this week be to seek excellence for our King!  

I appreciate all of you so much and know that God wants to do amazing things through us all!  

Blessings,

Allison Jordan
SHBC Praise Team

9/12/10 worship set

Be Glorified
We Have Seen Your Glory (choir special)
   *w/track
Open the Eyes of My Heart

Grace Flows Down (praise team w/band accompanying)
Great is Thy Faithfulness (Tommy w/band accompanying)

Do not be afraid, only believe!

Has God been pricking at your heart about a certain area and asking you to take a leap of faith and fully rely on him to guide you? Is there an area that you know God is leading but the fear of the unknown is holding you back? 

Well, I had another devotion planned for this week, but after some events over the weekend I feel that God is leading me to share a devotion with you that he had for me the day we made Caleb’s adoption “official”.  I have a couple of friends right this very minute in China adopting two precious girls into their families!  I began to think back to the call Matt and I had to adopt.  We were completely stunned, to say the least, when we felt God calling us to adoption.  We had two great kids already and we were done; or so we thought.  For a year we prayed about adopting before making that huge step of faith.  Our fears were many but one thing was clear; God called and we had to obey.  It was during the paperwork process, that we really studied God’s Word about adoption and what we realized is that how could we fear when God already set the standard for adoption.  He adopted us as his children through his Son, Jesus Christ.  He paid the ultimate price for me and for you!  From that point, we put our fears aside and knew that somewhere out there was a child that needed a family; a child that God had already predestined to be with us.  How exciting that was!  I have to be honest when I tell you that there were many times that I, in my human eyes, could not see how this would all work out, but God again would draw me back to him and I would look through his eyes.  What a beautiful picture I could see then.  

The day Caleb walked into my arms is a day, ordained by God, that I will never forget.  How perfectly he fit into my arms, how natural it was to hold him, like he was finally “home”!  It was a beautiful moment.  As Matt and I talked that night after the kids were asleep, we discussed how we could have missed out on this moment because of our fear.  If we had not put our fears aside and put our trust in God we would have missed this precious miracle that was waiting for us in a Chinese orphanage.   As I woke the next morning, preparing our final paperwork, I was excited to be officially making Caleb my son in just a few hours. I stood over his bed, in awe of what God had done.  I picked up my Bible and devotional book and turned to that day’s message and this is what was there:

Faith Versus Fear

“Be not afraid, only believe.”  Mark 5:36

As we consider the uncertainties of the future, we are confronted with a powerful temptation to play it safe.  Unwilling to move mountains, we fret over molehills.  Unwilling to entertain great hopes for tomorrow, we focus on the unfairness of today.  Unwilling to trust God completely, we take timid half steps when He intends for us to take giant leaps.  Ask God today for the courage to step beyond the boundaries of your doubts.  Ask Him to guide you to a place where you can realize your full potential – a place where you are freed from the fear of failure.  Don’t ask Him to lead you to a safe place; ask Him to lead you to the right place.  And remember, those two places are seldom the same.

-- from Hugs: Daily Inspirations for Women

I thank God that we took that step out of our fear and had faith that God knew what was best for us.  That we didn’t give in to the practical but put our trust in God.  We now have another precious member of our family because of that trust in God.  A precious soul that has now heard the most wonderful name he will ever hear, JESUS!  The Name above all names!

This was not intended to be a devotion about adoption, but a devotion about overcoming fears through faith in God.  I wanted to share our story of adoption because God used it in a powerful way to show us how fear, overcome by God, provides such sweet results!  I strongly feel that God is calling us all to a time of true faith!  It is time we put all our fears aside and follow him completely.  It is then we will see mountains moved!

Let’s use Mark 5:36 as our verse to focus on this week!  “Be not afraid, only believe.”  

Have a blessed week and know that I am praying for you!

Blessings,

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team

9/5/10 worship set

My Savior Lives
Glorified
Nothing But the Blood (Charlie Hall)

At the Cross (praise team w/band accompanying)
   *tag after message

Happy "New Year"!

I know what you are thinking: ”Allison has lost her mind and doesn’t know what month we are in, bless her heart!” Well, that is not exactly true! I do sometimes think I have lost my mind, but this is not one of those times, LOL! This is the first day of our new year at Scotts Hill Baptist Church so happy new year, everyone!  It is great to be back together singing and praising our Lord!  I hope you all had a time of rest and relaxation.  

As we begin a new year, there are many things that we are uncertain of; many things that we are waiting for; and many things that that we hope for.  As I spend time in God’s beautiful Word, He so sweetly reminds me of 4 things:

 1) to keep faith: 

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

-- Hebrews 11:1

2) His love for us is eternal:

His love endures forever.

-- Psalm 136:2

3) the Holy Spirit is working on our behalf:

…Spirit himself intercedes for us…

-- Romans 8:26

4) He wants us to have the abundant life he has promised

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

-- John 10:10

Let’s keep our focus and our faith in Christ!  Let’s set our eyes on things that are eternal and praise Him for the hope we have, that He knows what is best and His timing is perfect!  May our praise bring a smile to His face and may our worship bless His heart! Make this year count for Him! We are blessed beyond measure and this year is ALL about Him!

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

-- Psalm 40:3

Blessings,

Allison Jordan
SHBC Praise Team

8/29/10 worship set

Let the Praises Ring
King of Glory
God You Reign

Worthy is the Lamb (praise team w/band accompanying)
   *tag after message

8/22/10 worship set

Awesome is the Lord Most High
Most High
I Bow Down

I Exalt Thee (praise team w/band accompanying)
   *tag after message