Category: Example

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God Bless You, Go With God

“Better than I deserve…”, grew to be the expected response after a greeting to and from Dr. Stan Mitchell. It didn’t matter where you were or what you were doing, you were always greeted with an ear-to-ear smile from, in my opinion, the schools’ most ‘social butterfly’. He seemed to be just about everywhere you looked. Sometimes sitting with a group of students just talking and laughing in the library or student center, getting some coffee, walking to class with students, getting more coffee, in his office talking with his students, or walking alone to class…with a cup of coffee in hand. He was never without a compliment to give or a wise word to impart.

Upon hearing of his sudden hospitalization earlier this past weekend and of his passing early this morning, I could not help but think back on many of my “Stan” interactions. There were many times I would pass him in the student center while checking my mail or grabbing a quick lunch, and he’d be on his way through to a class or to check his faculty mail, and without fail, I was ALWAYS greeted with a, “Miss Emili!” and a HUGE smile. I remember specifically one time going to his office (unfortunately, one of the things I didn’t do as often as I wished I had) a short time before my, now, husband and I began dating. Stan had told me a few weeks before I went to see him, that I was welcome to his office, and his chocolate, anytime I liked. I confided in him about being lonely and how I just wasn’t feeling like I was good enough (in the regard of having never been dated or even asked out) and that I didn’t know what was wrong. I do not think I have ever been cut off so quickly and I don’t ever recall him being as stern, and as serious, with me as he was. I’ll never forget what he told me, “Miss Emili, you are wise beyond your years. There is nothing about you that is wrong or messed up (he did air quotes around “messed up”). You’re just further on than any man that’s had the pleasure of meeting you so far. Give him time, he’ll catch up to you.” He said a prayer with me after that and sent me off with a piece of his Ghirardelli chocolate. A few weeks after Thanksgiving he found out that I was dating and, in his words, said, “He must be a nice young fellow,” and told me he was happy that I had found a man who could “keep up with me.”!

Dr. Mitchell has played such an incredible role in the lives of all the students, past and present, and I honestly could not imagine my FHU experience without him in it. Several of my classes at FHU I had taken with Brother Mitchell. I was visiting with a friend of mine this morning, and we got to reminiscing about taking one of his classes that we took together our freshman or sophomore year. He always started out his classes with a song and he always remarked on the rather strong alto voices he could pick out (meaning my friend and me). Without fail, we could always count on him picking a song with a strong alto lead or supporting part.

He provided us with a TON of wonderful memories, as well as advice. I believe I can speak for most Freed-Hardeman students/alumni when I say that in some way shape or form, Dr. Stan Mitchell had an impact on us. If you never had the opportunity to meet Dr. Mitchell, I am so sorry for what you missed out on. He was a ‘modern day’ Barnabas. The kind of encourager that, as Christians, we aspire to be; but not just that, he was a spiritual GIANT with a heart so big there’s no possible way to measure it.

One of the last things he would say in his classes was, “God bless you, go with God,” and I don’t believe his departure from this world could be more fitly summed up.

Stan, I believe with all my heart that today you rest in paradise. I believe that all the people you had met and all those students who you blessed with your smile will carry on with the sweet, simple thought of being blessed more than they deserve just for simply having known you. I will thank the Lord every day for allowing me to be able to sit at your feet and learn from your wisdom and experience. You will be missed but not forgotten. For your family and those who are left to carry on in your absence, this is my daily prayer…God bless you, go with God.

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Let Us Be Faithful!

Some of you may know that my daughter is just weeks away from her wedding date. She and her ‘soon-to-be’ have their special date scheduled for this coming November. To say she is beside herself with excitement would be an understatement. They have been blessed with three bridal showers and one more before the month is over. As the father of the bride, I’m most thankful that her fiance, Dalton Todd, is already getting their home prepared as he is currently serving as the pulpit preacher at the Thayer church of Christ in Thayer, Missouri.

And though all this attention to detail is necessary for the plans that go into a beautiful, God-given ceremony, the one thing I love both about these two young people is their daily desire to seek God in their future together. So when Emili posted this Facebook article on October 3rd, I asked if she’d let me share it here. Read some of the thoughts that are going through my daughter’s mind as she looks forward to her wedding day.

“I asked for marriage advice from a lady at church tonight, who (in December) will have been married for 72 years. Expecting something super profound or some secret gem to marriage that only people who’ve been married that long would ever know, what do you think she told me?

With grace and dignity, she simply said…

“Just be faithful.”

Faithfulness truly can apply to each part of life, but I can’t imagine a more worthy ‘challenge’ than committing my forever faithfulness to the Father. How hard is it to do that? HARD. The hardest thing you’ll ever do.

Trust. Accept. Believe. Live. Faithfully.

Just. Be. Faithful.”

Thanks Emili…for this great reminder. “Let us be faithful, faithful, faithful Lord!”

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Dear Almost Persuaded

Dear Almost Persuaded,

You have a lot of reasons to stay where you are. It’s comfortable, ‘safe’, and you’re not hurting anyone else. You don’t steal, kill or do drugs. You may watch a few “R-rated” movies now and then and if someone wants to judge you for smoking a cigarette once in a while just to let off a little stress, who are they to compare themselves to you? The bible says to not judge, so what should you care what other people think? You may tell a little white lie every once in awhile and may occasionally ‘accidentally’ slip on a cuss word, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to hell, right? Maybe you ‘believe’ that there is a God, but aren’t convinced that there is one. Or, maybe you are sure that there is a God, but you’re not sure that it should it scare you.

Is that you?

If that is you, and you believe in the bible, then yes, it should scare you. If that’s not you, then the answer is still yes, it should still scare you. Why? “But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8. We relax biblical standards to make ourselves feel more comfortable about the sin we are surrounded by, but when we do, we taking ourselves further away from the God we claim to serve and the family of believers we gather with as a body 3 times a week to praise our God.

Do you ever find yourself trying to decide if getting up early enough to make it to bible class is really that important and that making it to worship will be, ‘okay, just this once…’? Sure, that verse doesn’t say anything or reference specifically about skipping church, watching R rated movies, cussing, or smoking cigarettes, but 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 does. “Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”

Your body isn’t even yours, so what you put into it is of utmost importance! Why? How about this. How would you like it, if you had loaned a friend some of your favorite clothes and they were returned to you dirty, ripped and unwearable? Or you let someone you trust drive your car to the grocery store only to find out that they totaled it before they even got there? My point being, what you have, is not yours. Everything you have, has been given to you (blessed to you) by God. He saw you fit enough to care for the body you have, the possessions you own, and the precious soul He gifted to you. The Psalmist writes in 144th psalm starting in verse 15, “Happy are the people with such blessings. Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.”. In our obedience to the standard that God has set forth for us in His word, we will honor him, and how blessed, happy and content will we be as His people.

Find peace in knowing that, as sinners, the closer we strive to be to the authority of our loving God, the closer we will be to becoming the redeemed children He has called us to be. (1st John 3:2-3;10)

Sincerely,

A Fellow Sinner

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A “Sweet Hour” of Prayer? Pt. 1

Most of us are good when it comes to our prayer life and spending a few moments or maybe even twenty or thirty minutes in prayer is not a difficult thing to do. But do you think you could pray for a full hour, or two, or three? Personally, I struggle to stay focused on the task, and my attention tends to wander. If this is you too, could it be that we don’t have the patience or are we sincerely ‘just too busy?’

Yet, we read in the 6th chapter of Luke, beginning in verse 12 that Christ, ‘…went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.’ Or we could consider Matthew 14:23 as it reads, “…He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.” Though we don’t know how long He was on the mountain, ‘there alone’ we do know that during the 4th watch of that night He came to His disciplines as they were on the sea. The ‘4th watch’ would have been sometime between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM. So we can assume that Jesus was praying for at least an hour or two or three, but more likely it was six or seven hours. Still, I ask myself (and you)…could I pray for a full hour?

On Monday evening, July 16, 2018 more than 70 brothers and sisters in Christ came together at the Faith Village church of Christ in Wichita Falls, Texas and together we spent 60 plus minutes in prayer. No preaching, no Bible class, just praying on behalf of our brethren. The young and old alike took time to bow their heads, focus on the family of God and raise our petitions before His throne. But before we took that hour to pray, we sang a song that calls us to consider our time in prayer. Notice the message of this hymn, the prayer, that was written in 1845 by W. W. Walford;

“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care, and bids me at my Father’s throne make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief my soul has often found relief, and oft escaped the tempter’s snare by Thy return, sweet hour of prayer.”

Follow the four basic thoughts found in this verse. First, prayer is our opportunity to step away from the cares of this world. We must focus on God if we want a ‘sweet hour’ of prayer. Second, it’s a time we can take the ‘wants’ of our hearts and the ‘wishes’ we so desperately seek directly to the throne of God. And, true heart-felt prayer can be a relief for our souls during times (seasons) of trouble and sorrow. Don’t think you’re free from distress and grief. We live in a world of pain and sorrow, but God gives us peace in Christ. Fourth, consider how blessed you are that in prayer you can escape the clutches of Satan. Only in prayer and solely through the grace of God will we endure, but we must take time to pray.

 

Next week we’ll look at verse two and as we draw July, 2018 to a close we’ll consider the third verse in this beautiful hymn. So in the meantime find the peace and the ‘sweet’ blessing of taking time (maybe even an hour) to pray!

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How Did We Get Here?…June 18th

Driving down the street with your mind on that meeting; your spouse’s doctor appointment and the ‘conversation’ you had with the kids earlier, did you notice the stop drivingsign? Of course I did, I stopped didn’t I…didn’t I? After leaving the house you drove those familiar streets to your next stop, but have you ever ask yourself, “What did I pass, how did I get here?”  

This Sunday morning we’re not talking about driving, but we are going to look at what we have done (what happened while I was raising my family) to get where we are today. And since its Father’s Day, we’ll look at a father whose son challenged him at every corner. With or without challenges, you have grown up in a family that brought you to this day, so maybe we should ask the question…“How Did We Get Here?”

“…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.”  I Corinthians 14:15

Sunday morning, June 18, 2017

The following songs are found in the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.

“Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing” – 8

We’ll open our worship with a song encouraging ALL to rejoice and sing. “…Ye aged men and children bring to God your sacrifice…” Together we will lift up our hearts as a sacrifice of praise!

“Wonderful Words of Life” – 543

Dads (Grandads), as you raise your family insure that you are singing to your children about a God who created them and loves them? Sing so that your children would say, “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life…” If you want your family to head toward heaven, point them toward God. You can do that by singing to them about the wonderful words of life.

“There is a Redeemer” – 287

The next two songs will usher us toward the Lord’s Supper. The prayer we’ll sing is simple, “Thank you, O my Father for giving us Your son.” Tell your children and your grandchildren about the gift God has given us through His Son! Without it, our families will be in distress wondering ‘how did we get here?’

“It Is Well with My Soul” – 490Old rugged cross

The second verse of this song before the Lord’s supper we’ll focus on a call to remember Christ sacrifice, “My sin! O the bless of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to HIS cross and I bear it no more…Praise the Lord!” Maybe this could be a song before the Lord’s Supper.

“Remind Me Dear Lord” – 606

“Nothing good have I done to deserve God’s own Son, I’m not worthy of the scars in His hands. Yet He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead, why He loved me, I can’t understand.” Sometime we need the curtain of our memory rolled back so we can remember where we came from…we need that if we are ever going to know how we got where we are!

“Faith of Our Fathers” – 754

Before our lesson we’ll sing about the faith of our forefathers. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. If we fail to see what our fathers have done to bring us this far we miss the value of our legacy. Not to mention we’ll never know…you got it…how we got here!

“How Deep the Father’s Love” – no book

An invitation song that might not be ‘typical,’ but one that clearly reminds us (if we’re thinking about the words) that we were once a wretch, but now we are His treasure. That it was my voice that was heard among the scoffers and my sin that held Him to the cross. And perhaps most importantly, I have NO answer as to why I should gain from the reward of His death and resurrection. If we fail to examine this, our destination might not be the end result we all are hoping for. We might wonder not how did I get here…but why did I do that?

“Oh, To Be Like Thee” – 429

You want to have certainty of where you’re going? What to have confidence in knowing you’re directing your family toward heaven? Then consider this song, “Oh to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer! This is my constant LONGING AND PRAYER…” If our constant longing is to be with our God, and if we are leading our families in that direction, and if we obey God’s instructions to join Him in heaven…we’ll know how we got there!

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A Song Leaders Guide…Pt. 2

As we continue to look at The Song Leader’s Guide, you’ll remember previously we talked about “Being Prepared.” Though we can never underestimate the importance of working with the preacher and coordinating the song service, the second point is of equal value. In today’s Humble leadershiparticle we’ll look at the next recommendation for song leaders. We must know and practice humility. Without a humble spirit, our song leading becomes nothing more than a stage for your assumed presentation. Not a good thing!

Not only should we be prepared…a good song leader will demonstrate humility before, during and after the worship services. Before worship services begin, walk down the aisle of the auditorium and visit with the members. Knowing them by name is an important connection you can make before you step up to lead. If you are too busy picking songs, or if you aren’t willing to visit with the members, you’ll never be able to properly lead them. A humble heart will see others as valuable, and be willing to invest time in them.

During the song service, demonstrate humility. Have a countenance of joy when the song calls for it, but avoid excessive facial expressions that draw undue attention to you. A smile will tell the congregation you believe in the message of the song. At all times, avoid a look of distress or frustration. If you mess up on a series of notes, or if you sing the wrong words, don’t let the congregation know it has ‘rattled you.’ Your brothers and sisters may not even know you made a mistake, but either way it won’t shake you because, “this is not about you.” When you lead a melancholy song, strive to focus the congregation on the seriousness of the song’s message. Remember, you can communicate the meaning of a song simply by the expression you have on your face.

And, humility must also be exhibited after the worship services. At times you may receive accolades regarding your ‘work’ following the worship. A common response by many song leaders is a simple ‘thank you.’ And to God be the glorythough there is nothing wrong with this reply, perhaps a better response would be ‘to God be the glory.’ However, if someone acknowledges my song leading, I prefer the phrase, ‘the congregation was in good voice.’ It is always best to turn the focus away from yourself, and towards our God and His church. Just remember that a humble heart cannot be seen in words, but in actions. Give praise to God and uplift His church or you run the risk of leaving the congregation feeling like spectators rather than participants.

Next month (April) we’ll conclude this three part series of a Song Leader’s Guide to Worship.
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A Song Leader’s Guide…Pt. 1

Over the years some of my brothers and sisters in Christ have asked me, “How do you do it? How do you know what notes to sing, when you’re song leaderdirecting the songs, how do you know how to move your arms, how can you sing in front of so many people?” First of all, I’m no expert. As a matter of fact my 40 years of singing in the Lord’s church and leading singing is my only call to fame. So with this experience I want to share with you a few guidelines that will hopefully help you as you direct/lead singing in the Lord’s church. This is the first of a three part series that will look into ways we can better lead God’s family in worship and song.

Consider first of all…

It is a beautiful Sunday morning in the small, country church where our brothers and sisters in the Lord’s church have gathered for worship. The preacher has prepared a message from God’s word, and the song leader has selected the songs the congregation will be singing today. One is a ‘hired’ employee who has focused himself all week for this morning’s assembly. The other has spent only a few short minutes pulling together some of his favorites. If the truth be known, this scenario happens every Sunday morning somewhere within the brotherhood. Song leaders often find themselves sitting on the front row, searching through the song book for a good invitation song. This Sunday morning, somewhere a song leader will only take a few minutes to determine what songs will be sung in praise to God. The sermon might be focused on the ‘Man of Sorrows,’ (Isaiah 53:3), but the topic of the song service is ‘the Great Commission.’ (Matthew 28:19) Some points of emphasis within the sermon maybe lost to worth-while songs that fail to support the message of the morning. It is important to remember that coordinating the songs with the sermon will take some planning.

Isaac Watts wrote a familiar spiritual song more than 300 years ago that should be an MarchingtoZioninspiration to every song leader. When we realize that we are all “Marching to Zion,” the song leader can understand more clearly the first few words of this song. “Come, WE that love the Lord, and let OUR joys be known!” As the song leader, you are asking the congregation to join you in worship, “Come, we….” Know that you are not just leading the congregation; you are joining the congregation in praise to God. So what should the song leader do as he considers his task of leading the Lord’s church in singing? Many times we fail to put our best effort into song leading and a mediocre song service is produced. How much time is given to selecting your songs for Sunday? Are the songs selected appropriate in tempo and fit the message…or will this service be as predictable as ‘the last time he lead singing?’ Gentleman, we have to ask ourselves how much time and energy will we be giving to prepare ourselves for worshiping with the Lord’s church.

Consider this first of three points as you ready yourself for the next time you are asked to lead singing. Whether you are the only song leader within your congregation, or if you are in a rotation, the following bullet points will give you some guidance in preparing to lead the Lord’s church in song.

First of all, you must be prepared both mentally and physically for the task of song leading. It preparedmay take some work, but contact your preacher and get his sermon topic, scripture references and key ideas early in the week (maybe even on Monday morning.) Don’t be overly aggressive, but let him know you can’t put the time into the song selection until you know the basis of Sunday’s message. By this, he will know you care about the worship and it may help spur him on as well. In the meantime, review your song book and make a list of 1) the songs you know, 2) songs you want to teach the congregation and 3) songs you don’t know. Be familiar with your song book and enrich your repertoire of songs! This can’t be over emphasized. The more songs you know*, the more growth you can provide to the congregation in song. During the week prepare your voice for Sunday. Avoid stressing your vocal cords but sing songs of praise daily. Turn off the radio in the car and sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as you drive down the road. Your preparation doesn’t start on Sunday morning, though you should be singing (and listening to) A Cappella songs as you’re getting ready for Sunday morning worship. Your first step in making worship the best it can be on Sunday is to start by preparing, and practicing, on Monday.

*To ‘know a song’ means you 1) have committed to memory the words, 2) can maintain the tempo, 3) recognized/read the notes and 4) understand the message. This will take practice!

Next month (March) we’ll look at the second point toward the song leader’s guide to worship…

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Good Morning, Lord!

sun rise“Well I’m up in the morning and I’m feeling OK…Don’t want the devil to get in my way so I’m down on my knees and I’m starting to pray, ‘Good Morning, Lord!’ Good morning, Lord! Send a little sun(son)shine down my way. Good morning, Lord! I just want to live for you today.”

Earlier this month I was honored to worked with more than 20 young people (JH/HS & College) at the 1st Annual Ark/La/Tex Singing Camp  in central Louisiana. With the combined talents of Andy Singing CampBaker, Benjamin Bruce and our camp director Doyle Bruce the young men were taught more than just how to read shape notes and understand music theory. We imparted a working knowledge that embraced the responsibility of leading singing and bringing the congregation closer to honoring and glorifying God. The young ladies were directed by Katheryn Baker, Kristy Huntsman and Emili Bruce.

When we consider our opportunity and obligation to sing and teach singing, we come closer to knowing how GREAT our God really is. We come to appreciate the vast debt we owe for the hope we have in this life and in the life to come. But when it comes to trying to understand that debt and how I should live in response to God’s great gift, we start by looking at the first chapter in the book of Psalm. Thanks, Andy, for taking us through this psalm as we sang and learned how to live for our God!

“Blessed is the mantree by the river
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates…day and night.

He shall be like a tree
Planted by rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Godly man…PARALLELED…with the Ungodly man

The ungodly are not so
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation (family) of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous
but the way of the ungodly…shall perish (shall not last).”

Make plans to join us next summer, but in the mean time let me encourage you with these words from Andy Baker…

“Spend time in the Son (sun),
Spend time in the Scripture and
Spend time in Self-Refection.”

 

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He Walked Like a Man

“Do you fear the force of the wind, the slash of the rain? Go face them and fight them, be Walk Like a Mansavage again. Go hungry and cold like the wolf, go wade like the crane. The palms of your hand will thicken, the skin of your cheek will tan. You’ll grow ragged and weary and swarthy…but you’ll walk like a man.”  Hamlin Garland

This poem was introduced to me early in my adult life by a good man who I’m honored to call my father-in-law, James  Knight. He was a man who loved God, served the family and truly understood how to walk like a man. But Jim was more than just a swarthy man. He didn’t fear the wind and rain, but accepted them as God’s creation. And though he knew what it was like to wade like a crane, he was more interested in walking with God. And…I will never forget the strength in his hands. Even as the last years of his life was crippled by Parkinson’s, he maintained a strong grip on life.

Born and raised in Colorado, Jim taught me more about understanding and appreciating God’s creation than I would have ever imagined. His love for God’s handiwork was manifested throughout his life. From hunting the Colorado Rockies to driving the golf range, Jim loved the great outdoors. But the true joy of his life, next to his love for his family, was living and serving his heavenly Father. God was the source of his life. Jim made heaven his priority for each and every step of his life. His priority, even when his steps failed him, was to walk like a man of God.

IMG_0668And as a faithful man of God, Jim served more than 25 years as an elder in the Lord’s church. He would lead the congregation with his teaching and when necessary, preaching or song leading. Walking like a man in the Kingdom of God, perhaps one of the things I will miss most is his strong bass voice. He loved to sing praises to God, and he used that deep voice God gave him to praise and admonish the Lord’s church. I can still hear his voice thunder through the chorus as we sang; “There is a God…He is alive…In Him we live…and we survive.”

On Saturday night, July 18th at 8:30 MST, surrounded by his wife and children, his last steps led him home. He never faltered in his faith, and he always stood strong in his devotion to God. We will miss him in this family, but the legacy he gave us will provide a direction that follows faithfully the word of God. And it is from God’s word that he often recited the words found in 3rd John 1:4… “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” Jim, thank you for walking like a man, your children will follow your lead.

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The Shadow that Never Fades Away…May 10th

When someone has successfully served in a position for years as a teacher, a coach, a shadowpreacher or politician, you might hear the phrase, ‘it will be hard to fill their shoes.’ Still others might say that they, ‘cast a long shadow.’ For either phrase the interpretation is the same, they will be hard to replace. But as time passes by, and the dust of time begins to settle, the world begins to forget who was wearing what shoes and who is casting the shadows.

And as you think about it, shoes eventually wear out and shadows soon fade away. Some serve for years sacrificing and giving their all, only to be forgotten. Could there possibly be someone whose shoes can’t be filled? Can we look long enough and far enough to find a shadow that is seen for generations yet to come? Join us Sunday morning as we consider the shadow a mother casts. Could this be ‘the shadow that never fades away?’

“…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” I Corinthians 14:15

Sunday morning, May 10, 2015

You’ll notice the following songs come from the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.

“Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah!” – 3

Few of our songs (psalms) are so true to the text as this one written in the late 1800’s. Taken from the 148th Psalm, ‘Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah,’ is a beautiful, musical arrangement of scripture. And as you sing about ‘dragons’ in the third verse, you’ll recall the 7th verse, “Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps.” (KJV) Interestingly enough, other versions refer to the ‘dragons’ as sea monsters or sea creatures. Either way…EVERYTHING will praise it’s creator!

“Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross” – 383

Before the Lord’s Supper, we’ll sing about the cross. Staying near the cross of Christ we remember His cruel death. Would that we all strive to be near the cross throughout our lives. Unfortunately, some only draw near to the cross when it’s convenient. But if we’re true to our Lord, we’ll watch and wait until this life ends. Or as Fanny Crosby wrote, “…till I reach the golden strand, just beyond the river.” Faithful moms teach their children the importance of staying near the cross.

“Christ Above Me” – no book

During the passing of the collection plate we’ll sing this ‘contemporary song’ about the all encompassing role Christ plays in our life. “Christ above me, Christ beside me, Christ within me, ever guiding. Christ behind me (not in a subordinate manner, but as my daily supportive), Christ before, Christ my love, my life, my Lord.”

“Holy, Holy, Holy” – 47

How beautifully this hymn combines all four voices (parts) as we focus on the holiness of our God. Perhaps the best message from this old hymn (because we are singing to HIM), comes in the third verse. “Holy, holy, holy, though the darkness hide Thee (even though the sin of this life), though the eye of sinful man Thy glory can not see. (God sees everything, but the eyes of men who refuse to see God, won’t. Even still…) Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee, perfect in power, in love and purity.” Amen!

“Living By Faith” – 560

Do you really believe the message you sing in the first verse of this song? Read it before you sing it, “I care not today what the morrow may bring, (it doesn’t matter to me what will happen tomorrow) if shadow, sunshine or rain…” Will you, do you live by faith? If you have a mother who taught you to live a faithful life following God’s word, be thankful. You have a mother who casts a long shadow.

“Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in Me” – 722mother and child

Serving as our invitation song, we’ll proffer yet another opportunity to draw closer to God. We should daily draw near to Him, but it seems we do so more often when life is difficult. With that in mind, consider the third verse. “When your burden is heavy and hard to bear, when your neighbors refuse all your load to share. When you’re feeling so blue, don’t know just what to do, (that’s when you) let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.” And surely a godly mother knows the importance of letting the beauty of Jesus been in her life.

“Faithful Love” – no book

God’s love is faithful, and has been manifested in Christ on Calvary. “Faithful love flowing down from the thorn-covered crown…” When you see a mother who brings her children to love, honor and serve God, you still see faithful love. “Faithful love from above came to earth to show the Father’s love.”