Lessons learned in church today...

In church today I learned/thought about several things:

I. There are 3 songs that I cannot sing, because they some how remind me of daddy..

1. It is well with my Soul (because though it is with my head and my heart... it's still hard to say)
2. How Great Thou Art (because when we were on vacation to Tennessee daddy recorded that song... and I loved hearing him sing it, and I always think of him singing it when I hear it)
3. In Christ Alone (because we sang this song at church on the last Sunday daddy ever attended church... and though I love the song, the words, and the meaning... I can't sing it all without crying)

II. I adore the song Total Praise, and the choir arrangement of it. The first time I heard it was at a Gospel Choir Concert at Ole Miss... and I fell in love with the song then. It's one of those that just gives you chills when you hear a choir sing it live (which happened in church this morning). I have tried to find UMGC's version... but could not... But here's 2 videos of the song. One is of a choir singing it, and the other is several HBCU marching bands playing it. The lyrics are below:

Choral version (just a picture... but listen!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phBXe4RN3t8

Marching Bands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44gS6CfkxrE

Lord, I will lift my eyes to the hills

Knowing my help is coming from You

Your peace You give me

In time of the storm.

You are the source of my strength

You are the strength of my life

I lift my hands in total praise to You.

You are the source of my strength

You are the strength of my life

I lift my hands in total praise to You.

Amen, AmenAmen, AmenAmen, AmenAmen

III. 0ur pastor began a sermon series on the Attributes of God. He talked about the 3 ways that God reveals himself to man.

1) His Creation,
2) His Word,
3) His Son

The third one there hit me... because I realized that just as Jesus was used to reveal God to His people, I am my daddy's representation on Earth. From June 20, 2009 on, any new friends I make in life will not know anything about my dad, and will not have the option of meeting him. So it is my responsibility to reveal my dad to others through my life.

.... friends... that's pressure.

IV. One of the last things I found that Daddy wrote came from Isaiah 55:8-9, and I didn't know that till today:

my Heavenly Father's words:

{"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

and My thoughts than your thoughts..."}

Isaiah 55:8-9

my daddy's words:

{His ways are not like ours. His thoughts are not like ours. They are higher.

That is why God's plans for our lives seldom make sense in the early stages.

Only after we begin to see results of following His instruction do we realize

how wrong we are and how right He is.}

- Dannon Cole

V. 2 great quotes from my pastor Danny Wood today:

"It takes more faith to believe there is not a God, than to believe there is."

"You never quit learning about God - that's why you never graduate from Sunday School."

Les Amo,
Kace