DeSoto Hills Baptist Church

As I write this “nook” article, I am sitting on a balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at Orange Beach, Alabama. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, the temperature is nippy, and the view is nothing short of spectacular. I have been in this exact spot many times. Through the generosity of some friends from Meridian, we have been coming here for the past ten years or so. What is different about this trip is the season. With one exception, all our time here has been in the heat of summer. After all, that’s when most folks head to the beach. But this year we needed a winter break. So here I am all bundled up, drinking coffee, and reflecting on life There are pluses and minuses of being at the beach this time of year. One big plus is less crowds and noise. Although the “snowbirds” are here, the parking lots, restaurants, shopping areas, and sand are a lot less congested. The down side is the weather, of course. It is a little more difficult to enjoy the beach when you are chilled to the bone. Don’t get me wrong. It can be done, but it takes a little more effort and planning.  Just like the weather at the beach, every season of life has its advantages and disadvantages. Right now some of you may be experiencing a blast of winter in your life that has nothing to do with the barometric pressure. It may be a result of some physical ailment, financial need, family crisis, or spiritual failure. Let me encourage you to bundle up and face the chilly wind head on. As you do, you will discover the view is still spectacular no matter the season. In fact, you may discover that the effort makes it that much better.

 

“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Well, the Desoto Hills Baptist Church Sunday/Wednesday worship team have finally released their first worship album. If you would like to purchase a cd now you can follow the link below and purchase a cd online at CD Baby (secure website) If you would rather purchase your copy at the church you can do so during office hours from Mrs. Jo for $10. Purchase your copy now by clicking  www.cdbaby.com/cd/marclewis

For most of us, it is difficult to get our head around what is going on in our nation’s capital as politicians debate, decide, and then defend their actions concerning how to “fix” our economy.  There is plenty of tongue wagging and finger pointing to go around, and everyone agrees mistakes have been made.  I assure you that during these tough economic times, we will continue to be good stewards of what you give to the Lord via the church.  However, we must not simply maintain ministries during these days.  The time is short, His return is near, and the darkness is thick.  We must continue to have an ever-expanding vision for our ongoing mission and the ongoing need to give to missions.  At DHBC, 10% of all undesignated giving is sent to Southern Baptist causes via the Mississippi Baptist Convention, while 2% is given to our local association, which is the X-tended Mission Network.  That means an average of $15,000 goes out of here to impact missions at home and around the world each month.  In addition to this, we have set aside $15,000 in t his year’s budget for special mission projects from our church.  Also, you will find on your offering envelopes a special line labeled Mission Offering.  All of this money is divided among four special causes that have been near and dear to most Mississippi Baptists for years.  Of that special line item  

 

…50% goes to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions

…25% goes to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions  

…12.5% goes to the Margaret Lackey Offering for state missions  

…12.5% goes to the Baptist Children’s Village

 

If you prefer, you can designate any or all of your mission offering to one of these four causes.  Together we will not only weather these tough economic times, but sail on toward making Jesus known here and abroad.

I have yet another confession to make.  I am a “channel surfer”.  I don’t watch an enormous amount of television, but when I do sit down in front of one, I tend to jump from channel to channel. Are you really surprised?  Who knows?  Maybe I have some disorder.  One of my favorite times and places to “surf” is in bed after I retire for the night.  The sleep experts say that is not a good idea, but what do they know?  It relaxes me, but a recent tragedy interrupted my routine.  The cable box in our bedroom went out.  I called the cable company and, of course, got a recording that asked me to punch a number so they could reset my box remotely.  That did not work.  I called again and jumped through the hoops that eventually allowed me to talk to a person.  She asked me some questions, put me on hold, checked on my status, and eventually returned to tell me my box was ba d and I should return it for a replacement.  I looked at all those wires and thought to myself, yeah, right.  I waited about 30 minutes and called again.  This time I got through the hoops a little quicker because I was learning the system.  I reached another tech who apologized for the trouble I was having and took me yet again through another series of plug and unplug, wait and plug in again, “don’t touch anything”, and “what does it say now?”  I complied and then was told that the code on my box indicated a dropped signal.  The problem should correct itself by morning.  When morning arrived, the code was the same, and no cable in the bedroom.  I called again, got a tech rather quickly, and received yet another apology.  I told her the problem and what the code read.  She immediately said you have a bad box.  (If you remember, that is what the first tech told me).  She said my options were to wait for someone to come and replace it or take it by one of their centers.  The latter was faster, so I labeled my wires, pulled the thing out, and headed for help.  Much to my delight (and relief) the box has been replaced and the picture looks better than ever.  The moral of this story is that often we are looking for easy or quick fixes that just aren’t there.  I kept calling back hoping that the first tech was wrong and that I would not have to replace the box.  However, replacing it was not just the only solution, it ended up being the very best one.

This week’s “nook thought” comes as a result of spending some time at a fitness center that Kathy and I joined several months ago. I am happy to announce that we are sticking with it and it’s become part of our routine. However, my thought today is not what you might think. You would think that I might remind you that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that you should take care of it. You are and you should. You might think that I would tell you that both physical fitness and spiritual fitness require commitment. They do, but that is not my thought for today. You might think I would remind you of the cliché “no pain, no gain”. I could point out that taking care of your self requires effort. It does. I might remind you that there are mornings I want to roll over and forget the whole thing. There are, but that is not my point here. Today our spiritual lesson is derived from how clean the fitness center is. A lot of folks move through there each day but the place stays in mint condition. Why? The staff is constantly working on it. They wipe down machines after each use, sweep up debris, seemingly, as it falls, and just generally keep the place from becoming cluttered. This is all done without any big fanfare. It seems to be just part of what they do everyday. Although everyone who works there is a trainer, they also serve as custodians. They don’t advertise how clean the place is, but the place being clean is advertisement enough. Think about it. It is easier to keep a place clean than to clean up a place. How you keep your house is your business. How you keep His house is a whole different matter. “Don’t you know that you yourself are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you?” I Corinthians 3:16