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I am sure you have heard the old saying, “if you don’t like the weather, just stick around. It will change.”  Well that same thing could be said of the music at DeSoto Hills.  We love variety.  You can experience everything here from anthems to bluegrass, from the old hymns to a new chorus. On any given Sunday, you might hear a violin or maybe even a banjo.  In the church music world, we are what you call BLENDED.  Our goal in all of this is not to try and satisfy everyone’s musical taste.  That would be impossible, not to mention rather self-serving.  Our mission through this diversity of music is to remind us all that we serve a God who can and should be worshipped in a variety of ways.  As I have told you so many times it’s the spirit of our music, not the style, that most concerns our Lord. If variety is the spice of life, then we are looking at spicing things up around here.  For several years, we have been borrowing a set of hand bells to use during the holidays.  We now have an opportunity to buy a used set at a greatly reduced price.  A new set would run $10,000 – $12,000, but we can purchase these from a church in Tupelo for $3,500.  This would allow us to have an ongoing hand bell choir that could contribute to the music ministry throughout the year.  This is not a budgeted item, so we are asking for donations above and beyond your tithes to help purchase these bells.  I jokingly commented that I am sure someone out there would be delighted to help us acquire some instruments that did not need electricity. J   Anyway, if you would like to donate to this project, just indicate that on your offering envelope or pick up a generic one.  These are available throughout the church.  You will also find a display out in the Grand Hall this week along with a donation box.  If you have any questions, just contact the church office.  Together let’s help ring in the spring.

Blended and blessed,
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“For everything there is a season a purpose under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die,”
These very poetic and poignant words written by an aging Solomon are found in Ecclesiastes 3. They are typically shared at graduation ceremonies with the hopes of challenging students or at memorial services to remind people that a season of death is really a part of the sequence of life.  Recently is seems like that reality has been a constant reminder among the DeSoto Hills family.  In one week’s time, the news of loss seemed to be never ending.  Milissa Butcher lost her grandmother who had been such a stabilizing force in her life.  Barb Smith’s mom, Fran, passed away after a short stay in the nursing home.  I got a call from Shad Sims that his step dad had died in Tupelo.  Don had served on staff at West Jackson Street Baptist Church and had been battling cancer for years.  He was a great guy.  When I got to church Sunday morning I found out that Elizabeth Cothern’s father has passed away while she and Burt were visiting family in Wichita.    But there was one death in our church family that was different from all the rest due to the fact that the span between “a time to be born and a time to die” was so brief.  Caroline Elizabeth Simmons was born on February 11 at 7:57 AM.  She weighed 3lbs.10oz.  Her parents, Amanda and Rhett, had received the news back in October that there were insurmountable problems with the pregnancy.  Caroline lived about an hour.   When I walked out of their hospital room that morning, I did something I have not done in 32 years of ministry.  I sat down in the lobby for a few minutes to catch my breath.  Oh, I was not winded physically, but I was out of breath spiritually.  My soul had been stretched thin by the experience.  It’s not that I had expended much energy ministering to the Simmons.  Their steadfastness and strength in the midst of this continues to be an encouragement to us all.  However, as I watched Amanda cradle that precious little girl, I was reminded that this was one of those situations that requires all involved to truly trust in a God whose ways are beyond our finding out.  As the song says
                        “…When you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart…”
Although Caroline’s life was brief, it did matter.  My life is richer for coming in contact with her.
 
Winded but wiser,
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Several months ago our church family stepped out on faith and made the commitment to bring on an additional staff member in the area of Children’s Ministry. It is a need we have been aware of for some time and one that needs to be addressed sooner than later.   Thanks to a slew of volunteers we continue to reach out to this age, but we are aware of how much more could be done if we had someone on board specifically ministering to them.  Finding that “someone” has not been an easy or quick task.  We have a great team in place, but the search continues to be slow.  I remind you today that “slow” is not always bad, especially if it means waiting on the Lord to bring that right person into our fold.    Recently I had an awakening in my own heart that perhaps the Lord was waiting to direct us because we had not clearly answered the question of WHY we need a Children’s Minister.  I know parents want it and kids need it, but to be frank, that is not a good enough reason.  I know that other churches have them and are seeing some great things happen, but again that is not a good enough reason.  Churches, like families, can get caught up in the trap of “keeping up with the Joneses”.  It is a dangerous and ultimately unproductive path.  So that brings us back to square one.  Why should we go to all this time and expense to bring on a Children’s Minister?   It’s not to help us build a huge children’s ministry, but rather to help us grow some healthy children ministers.  We need a new generation of kids who will not be self-centered or even just church centered, but rather will be truly Christ centered.  Although they are a part of the church today, they are most certainly the leaders in the church of tomorrow.  If we could early on instill in them this “kingdom mentality”, then like the 1st century church, they could end up turning this world upside down for Christ.  This must be the driving force behind our search.  I certainly know that we need to provide them with activities, but it must not stop there.  Our greatest goal needs to revolve around providing an atmosphere that will help them develop and nurture the heart of a servant. 
 
The search is on,
 
 
 
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