Bro. James aka Grandpa J!!!

July 21st, 2010 I have thought about it, dreamed about it, complained about it, joked about it, talked about it, hushed about it, and prayed about it.  I have mentioned it from the pulpit, in the hallway, at home, with family, with total strangers, and with many of you.  I have been told how great it is and how there is nothing like it.  I have watched with envy as others have proudly announced their news.  Well, today the podium is mine and the time has arrived for me to shout this news from the mountaintop or at least the equivalent thereof – my “Nook” article.  I am going to be a GRANDFATHER!!!  Marc and Jennifer are expecting their first child, more importantly MY first grandchild, in February.  They shared the news with us around Father’s Day, but delayed a public announcement until now.  I have been bursting at the seams wanting to let everyone know.  Now that the news is out, it’s like hearing it again for the first time.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself to be sure that it’s real.  By the way, I am quite sure that although this is the first mention of my grandchild in this medium, it will certainly not be the last.   Hey, I have listened to, laughed about, and learned from your stories. Now I am going to have my own. So, buckle up and get ready. Focusing on February, Bro. James (aka Grandpa J) Be the first to comment »

Stuffed Full

July 14th, 2010 A couple of days ago Kathy and I attended our very first estate sale, or should I say, sales.  Some friends invited us to go with them and we had a great time.  It was quite the adventure as we went from one end of Memphis to the other, pilfering through stuff.  I am talking all kinds of stuff… furniture, dishes, board games, tools, clothes, yard art, etc.   If you wanted it, you could find it at one of these places.  Some of the things looked brand new, while others were worn with time, but for a price you could make them your own.  I must admit that at first, going through someone else’s things in their own house was a little disconcerting.  We are not talking about a yard sale where people are selling off what they no longer want.  Estate sales are just that- selling off the estate.   Almost everything in the house, some of it no doubt someone’s prized possessions, are up for grabs.  Although the reasons for such a sale may vary, often the cold hard fact is that the owners are deceased and have no family or the survivors don’t want or can’t use all that stuff.  I jokingly came home and told Jami not to let people pilfer through my stuff after I’m gone.  But the truth is, it will not matter.  Things we spend a lifetime accumulating will indeed one day be left behind.  You truly cannot take it with you.   Regardless of your status in this life, death comes to us all and earthly things will not accompany us.  Remember the words of Jesus during his “Sermon on the Mount”: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 Stuffed full,

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Summer’s on a Downhill Run

July 11th, 2010 It’s been a busy summer at DeSoto Hills and we are not quite through yet. This week we look forward to some great fun and fellowship at our annual “Salute to Summer” family picnic. This is a great opportunity to invite some folks to come and get to know us. There will be water slides for the adventurous, tents with fans for us adults, and as always, food for all. This year’s entertainment will be provided by Charles Ritchie who can crank out some fantastic music from an organ. It all takes place this Sunday, July 11 from 5-7 pm. At the end of the month, we are looking forward to our second installment of “Summer Breezes”. On July 25, Wayne Marshall will be preaching here all day long and Chris Layton will be leading us in worship. We will finish out this series with Tom Richter on August 29-30. Don’t miss these opportunities for renewal. We will soon be finished with our Wednesday night study of Ten Dumb Things Smart Christian Believe, but Grant will be leading us in a study on the Holy Spirit that will finish up our summer and move us toward another semester of “365”. The premise for this series will be the book by Frances Chan The Forgotten God (Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit). It is great to have our mission team back from New York. We need to remember our students who will be headed out soon to staff a Student Life Camp, as well as our children who are going to CentriKid. Summer is on the downhill run, but we are picking up speed everyday.

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A Grateful Citizen

June 29th, 2010 Happy Birthday, America.   I didn’t get you a gift, but I wanted you to know on this special day that I still consider you a gift to me.  I know I tend to take you for granted and at times I seem to be indifferent towards the problems you face.  I complain as if these challenges are new, but the truth is freedom has never been easy.  You continue to be a work in progress.  I am quick to point out your faults and slow to pick up on what is still good with your landscape.  I know that you are much more than a place, you are a principle.  A principle birthed from the conviction of those who believed that freedom was a cause worth fighting for.  They sought to form a government that would and I might add, has stood the test of time.   You are not perfect, but there is certainly nowhere else that I would rather rest my head or raise my family than on your shores. It is my prayer that on this, your 234th birthday, that we as a nation will once again lift our eyes unto the hills from where our help comes.  May your first official words remind us of what our country is all about: “…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….”   Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776 A grateful citizen,

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A Fellow Pilgrim

June 17th, 2010 There is no pretty way to say this – I was in a bad mood.  I didn’t mean to be in bad mood, I didn’t want to be in a bad mood, but that’s where I was – in a very sour kind of way.  The strange thing for me about moods like this is that anything might cause them, or just nothing particular can bring them on.  Once there, they can be difficult to climb out of and have a way of tainting everything and everyone around you.  It happened a few days before the start of VBS and the stress level for the Lewis household was pretty high.  We were all very tired. Kathy was working on last minute VBS details and Jami was at our house working on a song they wanted to teach the kids.  That is when my foul mood took a nasty turn.  As Jami listened to the song over and over again making up the choreography – it hit me.  She is listening to RAP music!  Are we going to teach the kids at VBS a rap song?  I was not a happy camper.  You see, for the most part, I am very tolerant when it comes to musical styles and have crusaded this cause among Baptists (hymns, choruses…) for years.  However, on this day, I was confronted with my own prejudices.  I was against using this style, not because it’s wrong, but because I simply did not like it.  I formed an opinion about it before I ever really listened to the words.  The fact is the Lord can be worshiped and should be worshiped in a multitude of ways.  I was WRONG.  As it turned out, the rap became one of the favorite parts of Bible school for young and old alike.  When I got pass my prejudice and listened to the words, I became aware of how dead on it was.  If you missed them sharing it last Sunday, you missed a real blessing. A fellow pilgrim,

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From The Backyard

June 10th, 2010 It’s an annual event that from time to time has found its way into my “nook” articles.  Early every spring before the plants are blooming, our backyard becomes a splash of color as the bluebirds return to once again nest in their favorite box situated on the fencepost just beyond our screen porch.  Over the years we have watched them and their descendants raise many broods.  However, this spring we were devastated to find that something was disturbing the nest and getting the eggs.  Each time it occurred, the birds would go missing for several days, then return to try again.  We would breathe a sigh of relief, only to wake up one morning and find that the culprit had returned and the birds were gone.  After it happened the third time, I decided to take drastic measures and purchased a live trap.  I set it up on the ground right under the bluebird box.  After several days, I trapped a couple of suspects including a small possum I decided to release in an unpopulated area.  What was so interesting is that once in the trap, he was so terrified that I was barely able to get him out.  With the door open and a path to the woods clearly visible, the possum decided to move further back into the cage.  I finally had to shake him out.  It was a pretty comical scene as he clung to the sides as if his life depended on it.  Eventually he let go, hit the ground, and scurried into the woods.  I hope the ordeal taught him that messing with “the preacher’s” bluebirds will not be tolerated.  If he was innocent of the crime, maybe he learned that living around things that mess with “the preacher’s” bluebirds is likewise not a good idea.  What do they call that – guilty by association?  Anyway, the birds are nesting again. So far, the box has not been disturbed.  Their persistency is a lesson for life.  Likewise, the possum reminds us not to back further into our problems when the Lord is trying to set us free. From the backyard,

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VBS Bound

June 2nd, 2010 The church has been a beehive of activity over the past few weeks as we continue to prepare for what promises to be another great Vacation Bible School.  Backdrops have gone up, supplies have been delivered, food has been ordered, signs have been made, schedules have been prepared, workers have been recruited, and many prayers have gone up.  We have learned from past experience that His breath on this week makes ALL the difference.  So please, continue to “bathe” this week in prayer.  If you are free on Friday at noon, we could sure use some help cleaning up everything.  Also, remember that we will not have any Wednesday night activities here during the week of VBS.  Kathy got a handwritten thank you note from one of the vendors where we ordered supplies. The last line of their message says it best, “Have a wonderful, amazing, fantastic Vacation Bible School!”  These are my sentiments exactly. Also be praying for our first installment of Summer Breezes, which kicks off on Sunday, June 13 with Gary Permenter and Charlotte Ritchie.  They will be with us ALL day long so I hope you will be, too. And last, but not least, we officially welcome Laura Smitherman to our church family and staff.  Borrowing a phrase from Dr. Martin Luther King, I want to say that she is “here at last, here at last, thank God Almighty, she is here at last”. VBS bound,

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From The Mouth Of Babes

May 18th, 2010 Brady Pope is in the second grade.  He has an older sister and a new baby brother, which now puts him in that unique and sometimes mysterious category known as “the middle child”.  His dad, Spencer, happens to be Kathy’s baby brother and they live on “the farm” across the road from Granny.   To say that Brady is “all boy” is a vast understatement.  He’s in a league of his own and has basically one gear and it runs full throttle.   He and his siblings are a part of the second crop of grandchildren for the Popes. His best friend is Granny (Kathy’s mom).   However, Jami and Kathy are probably neck in neck in the race for “next best friend” status.  While visiting her mom recently, Kathy decided it was time to have a little heart to heart with Brady concerning his eating habits.  They were out running some errands and he was hungry. (There is something you need to understand about my wife.  The “mother/teacher” gene runs deep within her soul and her “opportunity radar” is always functioning.)  As they considered where they might eat, Kathy thought it was the ideal time to bring up a lesson on nutrition.  She told Brady that he really needed to eat a more balanced diet to grow strong and healthy.  He should focus a lot more on fruits and vegetables, and a lot less on chips and candy.  Then to drive her point home, she told Brady he needed to eat more of the things that God has made for us (fruits and veggies) as opposed to the things that man has made (chips and candy).  Brady listened carefully to what his Aunt Kathy said and after a moment responded by saying, “God made pigs”.  (You see, some of his favorite foods are Vienna sausages, hot dogs, bologna, and undercooked bacon.)   Although he was unaware of it, Brady’s answer reflected a desire to bend the rules until they fit his lifestyle.  We want rules we can shape, instead of rules that will shape us.  We have laughed about his response, but how often we miss the point because we are too busy trying to find a way around some God given direction.  God did indeed make pigs, but you might want to try eating them in moderation. From the mouth of babes,

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A Fellow Giver

May 16th, 2010 I believe our recent decision to add Laura Smitherman to our staff team, as Children’s Minister, will be seen as another defining moment in the history of DeSoto Hills.  However, this decision does not come without a price.  The bottom line is that it does cost to add staff. Laura will be moving here somewhere around the 24th.  I have encouraged her to then spend some time with her family in Birmingham prior to beginning her ministry here.  She will be with us during VBS.  That week will give her a great opportunity to get to know your kids and for them to get to know her. Our faithfulness in giving will ensure that we can continue to see this and other ministries flourish. A fellow giver, Bro. James P.S. Kathy and I are in my hometown of Crossville, TN today attending a memorial service for my aunt.  My dad was the youngest of eight children and it seems with each year the family number continues to dwindle.  My cousins ask me to come back home to do the memorial.  I pray you will have a glorious day at DeSoto Hills and I will look forward to seeing you Wednesday night as we continue to study 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.   This week we will explore a myth about parenting that you will not want to miss. Be the first to comment »

VBS 2010

April 22nd, 2010 One of the new fads (and expenses) for weddings is to send out “Save the Date” notifications.  This is not an official invitation; those will come a little later and cost a lot more.  These are normally just small postcard sized notifications, sometimes bearing a photographic image of the engaged couple.  Some are even placed on refrigerator magnets.  Not a bad idea since that is where much of our “don’t forget” stuff winds up.  Anyway, there is a point to this rambling.  I want you to consider this nook article as your “Save the Date” notification as well as your invitation all rolled into one.  Here’s the info you need: VBS Praisefest “The Beat Goes On” June 7-11, 2010  9am – noon We are excited and maybe even a little apprehensive about this summer’s school because we are doing this one totally “from scratch”.  For years now we have had what I call “semi-homemade” VBS.  By that I mean we would pick out some published material and then work on it to “spice it up”.  However, this year nothing out there really struck us as something we wanted to do.  This was especially true for Kathy who has been directing this event for years.  We did find some material focused on worship.  Although it was not written in such a way that would really help us, it did get us to thinking.  So here we are on the brink of doing our very own and extremely original VBS Praisefest 2010.  Our motto will be “Praise awaits you in Zion, O Lord.”  Psalm 65:1.  Praise awaits you at Desoto Hills. We hope to instill a desire to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth among our children.  It promises to be a fun-filled week.  The magnitude of the task before us and the impact it could have on those attending is staggering.  Please clear your calendars to help us if at all possible.  We need everyone to start praying now for VBS! A sign up sheet is already on the board in the grand hall by the north entrance. We are anticipating a great week and a full house. Thanks for your help,

P.S.  Kathy and are with her family this weekend.  It is Homecoming at their church, Remus Baptist, and the pastor asked me to come and preach.  It is the first Homecoming without her dad.  It will be good to be with that church that has meant so much to us throughout the years.  See ya back here on Wednesday. Be the first to comment »