Instead of doing my usual once a month blog on what I’m currently listening to, I thought I would just share my favorite love songs of all time.  Tonight and tomorrow night at “Married Life Live” (there are a few tickets still available at the church office if you want to come!), you’ll hear some of these songs, but not all of them.  Anyway, the following five songs are my favorite love songs of all time.

1.       “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” by Bryan Adams- I’m sorry if you hate this song, but this is without a doubt my favorite love song of all time.  Nothing comes close to this one.  I know there’s the line, “I’d lie for you”, but I don’t really care.  It’s still my favorite love song of all time.   

2.       “My Girl” by The Temptations- Who doesn’t like to sing this song at the top of their lungs?  It’s a classic love song, and it’s probably number one on your list if you’re over the age of 50. 

3.       “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King- Just like, “My Girl”, I love to belt this song out!   

4.       “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago- Great love song!  Enough said! 

5.       “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers-  If this song were easier to sing, it would probably be higher up on my list, but nonetheless it is still a classic love song and one of the all time greats.   

Honorable Mention:  “Unforgettable” by Nat “King” Cole, “I’ll Stand By You” by Carrie Underwood, “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke, “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol

So, just curious.  What is your favorite love song of all time?

Every once in a while, I get an e-mail that is so encouraging and inspiring that I have to share it with others.  Today I want to share one of those e-mails.  But before I share it with you, I need to set it up with a brief explanation. 

Jump Start is a creative, 30-minute presentation for parents and kids where we talk about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is an opportunity for us to both talk to kids about what it means to give their lives to Jesus, as well as to help parents understand how to lead their child to Christ.    

I am convinced that just as most parents want to be there when their child takes their first steps physically, they also would like to be there when their child takes their first steps in following Jesus.  Unfortunately, most parents just don’t have the confidence to do so.  Jump Start is a place where they can discover that it’s not that complicated and any parent can do it.

Just so you know, we make sure that every parent knows that if they do need help in leading their child to Christ, we will be there to help them.  And after a parent leads their child to Christ, I still personally meet with every child that claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior just to make sure that they understand what it means. 

Ok, now for the e-mail.  Check this out.  I love it!  (And in case you’re wondering, yes, I have permission to share this!) 

Hi Matt!

I just wanted to take a minute to share with you…Luke just couldn’t wait – he got saved tonight. I am so happy that I was able to be courageous ( I think I was more nervous than he was!) and watch him take those first steps of his spiritual journey, as you mentioned last night.

I have to share his bedtime prayer last night – after Jumpstart…he said “ Dear God, I had a really good time at church tonight, I liked going to Mr Matt’s office and I hope I get to be a part of your family real soon. Amen.”

So, when we got home from school today, I saw him on the couch reading the brochure you gave us last night. I sat down with him and he answered every question on the handout perfectly. When I got home from Ladies Bible Study, I was putting the kids to bed and we got ready for prayers and he started to pray and stopped and said “ mom, where’s that Jumpstart paper? I want to pray that prayer on the back and get saved”

We talked about the fact that praying the prayer didn’t save you, and he said I know – you have to believe and receive! I felt very strongly he was ready and so we prayed the suggested prayer by his bed. I wish you could have seen the smile on his face when he opened his eyes. He called his dad and grandparents, - so excited. I was trying to get him to calm down and go to sleep at almost 10:00, and he was laying there saying “ I’m going to tell my teacher and Tyler, and my AWANA teacher and my basketball coach, and…”

I am so excited for him, and I just wanted to say a special thank you to you for making the children’s ministry here at Southside so fun and powerful for the kids. I know what an instrumental part you and the Fusion and AWANA ministry has played in his recent interest in becoming a Christian. I so appreciate that yall don’t hoard kids off in groups to repeat words they may not even understand. I have been in churches before where I was actually scared for my kids to go to children’s church for that very reason.

Luke comes home every Sunday talking about the “virtue” and it is so great to have a church family reinforcing what we are teaching at home. We still plan to come and talk to you tomorrow at the scheduled time, so you can talk with him and review.

Thanks again!

Laura 

Isn’t that like the best e-mail you’ve ever read?  I just had to share it!  And in case you’re wondering, the next Jump Start is Monday night, March10th, from 6:30-7:00 p.m., in the Fusion Building.

This past Sunday, an unnamed church member approached me with a DVD and said, “You’ve got to see this!”  It was labeled, “Youth Sunday, 1990”, and I immediately knew that if this DVD ever got out, I would be thoroughly embarrassed.     

This unnamed person went on to explain that she had found an old VHS tape of this youth service and had it converted to DVD.  I, in turn, explained that this DVD could ultimately be damaging to my future ministry in the Middle Georgia area.

I first thought about covering this video up, but since there were multiple copies floating around, I realized that my best plan of action would be to go ahead and put this out there before someone tried to blackmail me, and I didn’t really have a choice.  So let me just provide a little background at this point.

In 1990, I was a freshman in high school.  As best I can recollect, this is the very first time I ever set foot on a church stage (not counting numerous children’s choir performances!).  It’s a short clip, but as you’ll soon see, I’m leading the classic hymn, “Mansion Over the Hilltop”, and I’m not exactly very good at it. 

This video was obviously shot at our old campus on Pleasant Hill Road, so those of you who’ve been at Southside for a long time will especially appreciate this trip back in time. 

One last thing.  If you don’t mind, let’s keep the sarcastic comments to a minimum! 

Today I wanted to wrap up my series of posts on reading with a couple of questions about your reading, and I hope that after you’ve thought about these questions, that you’ll take some time to post a reply.

The first question I have for you is:  What is the best book you’ve ever read? 

And for those of you who are super spiritual, you can’t say, “The Bible”.  I’m sorry, but that is a given!  So, please share with me your favorite book of all time (other than the Bible).

The second question is sort of a follow up to the first one:  Why do you love that book so much? 

I would really love your feedback on these questions so I hope that you’ll take a few minutes to reply. 

Reading a book is not something that you will ever accidentally do.  No one ever just finds themselves all of a sudden reading a book.  In fact, just the opposite is true.  In order to become a reader, one has to make reading a priority.  One has to make time for reading.    

I have made reading a priority in my life.  Specifically, I take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, every night, and devote it to reading.  Even when I don’t feel like reading, I make myself read, because it’s that important to me. 

But I don’t just read at night.  I’ve also learned to make time for reading throughout the course of a normal day.  Wherever I go, I try to take a book with me. 

If I have a dentist appointment, I take a book with me.  If I’m going to meet someone for lunch, I take a book with me (my lunch appointment may be late and if I have a book I can take advantage of that time by reading).  If I’m going to pick up my son from school and there is a possibility I might have to wait in a long line, I take a book. 

Again, reading doesn’t just happen.  No one stumbles into reading.  You have to make it a priority.  The question becomes, “Do you think reading is important?”