The Dothan Blessing

Last Saturday after Noah's birthday party, Bo took Caleb and Noah and went to Atlanta to visit his parents before he left for boot camp, and I took Isaac and went to Dothan.

I had a wonderful visit with my grandmother, my pastor, my old church, and my friends. Pastor Estes preached at the nineteenth anniversary service of the church he founded in 1989. Here are some nuggets from his message:

Why would you want to think about the offenses people have done to you? Think on righteous things until a groove forms in your thought life that is deeper than the hurt.

The thing about "seeding"- whether you're still in that location or not, it produces eternal results.

The ultimate value of man is that God bought us and owns us, but has released us to live life how we want because we are free.

God put His treasure in earthen vessels (1 Cor 4:7). It's not "if we have it" or "when we get it". We already have it; it's "will you release it?" We are to be treasure releasers to the world. We are God's hope of glory on Earth (Col 1:27).

This is how valuable I am to God....He paid heaven for me!

When the church gets so full of Jesus, we are less full of ourselves.

The "Powerful Purpose of Man" is:

1. to stand when everyone else is falling (Eph 6)

2. to believe when everyone else is in unbelief

3. to speak when everyone else is silent

4. to let your light so shine, when everything else is dark, that people see the Lord glorified in our lives (Matt 5:16)

(Sounds likes some good purposes to drive the Church :)

Here are some pics from a fun Sunday afternoon in my hometown....