Welcome to Nolan's World

The Power of an Unexpected Song

So I was driving home from work today and, as normal, I was listening to the radio...Confession: I rarely listen to music when I am in the car alone, sports radio is my regular companion...well, I had gone to pick up Sonic for lunch and when I am there, I am forced to switch to FM because AM radio doesn't work there...anyway, I was listening to our Christian radio station and left it on as I was driving home...

I stopped to pick up a newspaper, and a song I have heard before came on...

Even though I had heard the song before, I really listened, and it was like I was hearing the song for the very first time...it was the song  "More" by Matthew West...I've always thought that it is a catchy song, but I was blown away today when I realized that this is a song that the author imagined that God would sing over me...

It's been a tough week for me emotionally, nothing serious going on, but just lots of questions on the journey...this song reminded me that God treasures me...in my drive home, I was reminded of God's amazing love for me and His belief in me.

Thanks Matthew West for writing such a beautiful song...Thank You, God, for speaking so loudly through the message of the song.

Here are the lyrics:

Take a look at the mountains
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean 
Far as your eye can see
And think of Me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today 
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to Me

And I want you to know
That I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today 
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

Shine for Me 
Shine for Me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for Me

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today 
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more 

(Chorus) 
Than the sun 
and the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you, yesterday and today
Through the joy and the pain 
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you 
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

Worship AND Bow Down

I was made; God is the Maker

I deserve nothing; God extends grace

I marred myself with sin; God provided cleansing through Jesus Christ

I have wandered and wandered; God remains faithful and pursues

Worship begins as we acknowledge that God is above all, including and especially me.  Bowing down is an act of me submitting honor to the greatness of One above me.  

God owes us nothing.  We owe Him everything.  

And for that reason alone, we should both worship and bow down!

Blogging Confession

I was having a conversation with a friend at work the other day and we were talking about the Psalms.  I think sometimes when we read the words of the Psalms, it is easy to forget that they were originally all set to music and meant to be sung.

Based on so many of the sad Psalms I read, I have drawn the conclusion that if David were writing the Psalms in our current culture, his music would be classified as "emo."

Angry, hurt, confused, contradictory, frustrated, searching, sad (doesn't that description make you just want to rush onto iTunes and download the Top 10 emo hits???).

I am fearful that I could so easily become an emo blogger, so for that reason, my blog has been uncharacteristically quiet for too long.  

This is my 466th blog post, and this entry may be written more as a manifesto for me than you.

I cannot deny that the last ten weeks of life have been trying on a number of levels.  If I really get down to the root of it, I have worried a great deal not only about making the right decisions, but also how those decisions will be perceived.  In the middle of that personal pain, there has also been a good measure of great growth in my spiritual journey.

Is personal pain worth spiritual growth???

I think that is the conclusion of so many of those "emo Psalms" I was talking about earlier.  The Psalmist takes us through his personal journey of pain to show us how he arrives at the position where trusting in an Almighty God is just, best, and worth it. 

There are so many fingerprints of God hanging around on the events of the last 10 weeks that I cannot deny His everpresence and personal touch in the trials I have encountered.

Are they His fault?  No.  Are they His plan?  I believe so.

Anyway, I am grateful for the growth and look forward to blogging more regularly.  There will be a mix of pain, celebration, and I am sure, some silliness along the way.  

It's gonna be a journey worth sharing!

10 Random Things That Make Me Happy

1. A kiss from my beautiful wife Alison at 4:30 AM (as I leave for work)
2. An after school hug from Madalyn
3. Having the #1 college football recruiting class two years in a row!!! Roll Tide!!!
4. Cinnamon crunch bagels and honey walnut cream cheese from Panera Bread
5. Freshly brewed Sun Dried Ethiopia Sidamo coffee 
6. New books from my amazon wishlist
7. The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
8. New episodes of Lost, 24, and Top Chef
9. Checking my friends' status' on Facebook
10. A little relaxation time!

Preaching Reflections

Our family had a wonderful weekend visiting with Mike, Amy, and Noah in their new home in Odenville, Alabama.  The reason for this trip was Mike had asked me to preach to his church.  I count it a huge honor to be asked to preach at someone else's church, but especially Mike, because he is not only my brother-in-law, but I was also his youth pastor for his final three years of high school.

Preaching was a great deal of fun on a number of levels.  FBC Odenville is a very warm and friendly group of people.  They are also "visually responsive," that is they were quick to nod their heads, smile, laugh, etc. 

The discipline of preparation for preaching last week was very exciting for me.  Because Mike's church is going to through the book of Luke, I was assigned chapter nine, which was a first for me as a guest preacher.  Having 62 verses to pour over and pray through was a great challenge.  Early on as a preacher, I really thought that sermon preparation was about putting together a solid message.  As I get older, I am believing more every day that the sermon preparation is more about focusing the heart of the messenger on what God would have him share. 

I felt a little rusty, and I was actually shaking when I got to the pulpit.  I even knocked my cell phone off the pulpit within 10 seconds of getting my notes set up.  As I started to deliver the message, I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to share a personal experience that wasn't in my notes.  I trusted God in that moment, and called the audible and shared my heart.  In that moment, I knew I was sharing the word He had placed in me.

Here are a few thoughts from my notes:

"I used to think I had one tool in my toolbox--a hammer--I would find one point and pound it home.  With each passing day, I discover that I have been half-right: I have one took, but it's not a hammer--It's actually a jackhammer!"

"It's one thing to SAY you are a follower of Christ; it is a completely different thing to SHOW yourself as His follower."

(speaking about Luke 9:23)  "In essence, I believe that Jesus is saying--SAVE YOUR WORDS, SURRENDER YOUR WAYS!"

"Many Christians could do the cause of Christ and the lost world a favor by removing their Jesus fish off their cars and removing the term Christian from their vocabularies.  Why do I feel this way?  I have seen the damage done by people who name the Name of Jesus, yet refuse to follow His example in their lives."

"Denying yourself and taking up your cross is a great deal bigger than letting someone else pick out where you are going to eat lunch or getting cussed out at work this week!"

"One area where I expect that we all coud do a better job of denying ourselves is living in a way that says, 'I have time for you.'"

"Let's be honest: dying on a cross daily isn't on most of our agendas!"

"Dead men and women have no rights or agendas."

"The greatest indictment on this generation of Christians may be that we have tried so hard to find life that we never discovered how to die."

All in all, it was a very good day.  The Spirit of God was actively at work in the service and I believe that the Lord used the message.  I appreciate so many of you who let me know you were praying for me.  I believe God was faithful to answer those prayers!

Sermon Prep Week

It will most likely be a very quiet week for blogging because of my real world job being combined with sermon preparation.  I am going to be preaching at First Baptist Church in Odenville, Alabama on Sunday morning (services start at 10:30 AM--we'd love to see you there).  It is a little different preparation for me because I have been asked to continue their series on the book of Luke.  Each week, this congregation is going through a chapter in this great book...that is good news!  Bad news--my chapter is chapter 9 which has 62 verses and about 10 different messages all in that one chapter.  If they allowed me to preach a 3-4 hour sermon, I am confident I could cover it all, but we are looking more at a 35-40 minute window, which makes it more of a challenge.

I made a commitment to God recently that I will preach every sermon like it is my last.  I am looking at this weekend's message through that lens so I am taking this opportunity very seriously. 

Please pray for me to have clarity to present the message that God lays on my heart from Luke 9.  Please pray that God would prepare me as His messenger to deliver this message on Sunday to this wonderful congregation(my brother-in-law Mike pastors FBC Odenville).  Please pray that hearts will be challenged to "take up their cross" no matter the cost.  Please pray that the Lord will be glorified through the worship service this Sunday morning.  And finally, please pray that I will have the time and energy to study and prepare this week in addition to my work schedule!

Hope you have a great week and I will update you no later than Monday!