August 25 2011, 9:39 am | Blake Hudspeth
Most 12 year olds don’t get the privilege of knowing kids their age with cancer. I wish they would; it changes you. I don’t talk about my experiences in Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s oncology clinic often, but when I read this article today…it brought back a flood of memories. I’ve never had cancer. The disease I was diagnosed with at 10 created benign tumors in my sinuses/eyes. It was (and still is) an extremely rare condition and doctors believed treating it with chemotherapy might put...
August 17 2011, 12:04 pm | Blake Hudspeth
Students are back in school…some of you started last week, others started Monday. But everyone’s got their new shoes, new pens, new schedules, new Bieber Fever backpacks, new catchphrases (i.e.- “we be clubbin” or "SPOILER ALERT!" or “bout to go on a chillin’ spree”)…so many new things. Usually, the beginning of a new year brings new QUESTIONS: What will this school year be like? Will I date him/her? Am I going to be able to drive? This evening, we’re having the SPOT: Worship &...
August 15 2011, 1:52 pm | Blake Hudspeth
“It is a slander to the Word of GOD to say that we don’t know God’s will for our lives” –Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on discovering GOD’s will for our lives. Part 1: Sovereign Decree Part 2: Holy Desire & Plan of Direction Do I go to college? Should I marry? Who should I marry? The last post ended with many questions like these, and, as Christians, we tend to ask them with the intention of finding “God&rsquo...
August 08 2011, 4:31 pm | Blake Hudspeth
THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT (AUG 10) @ 6:33PM, we our having our annual SSM Calendar Meeting. If you just read “Calendar Meeting” and thought “that sounds boring”…then you’ve obviously never been to one ☺ Here are 5 reasons you can’t afford to miss it! 1) You get to hear EVERYTHING SSM is doing for the ENTIRE YEAR!!! Find out the locations (including NEW locations)/dates/cost/purpose of all the 2011-12 events. In other words, if you wanna be in the know…you gotta be there. 2) See the 2010-2011 Year in Review video....
July 27 2011, 12:44 pm | Blake Hudspeth
This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on discovering GOD’s will for our lives. There are three components/characteristics to the will of GOD that we’re discussing. The first component, His Sovereign Decree, cannot be thwarted or broken. In this sense, it is impossible to be “outside the will of GOD” (read more about that here). The other two, we’ll talk about today- #2 His HOLY DESIRE God’s will in this manner, CAN be broken, but it’s also made known to us. It refers to what...
July 25 2011, 3:33 pm | Blake Hudspeth
This will be Part 1 of a 3-part series on discovering GOD’s will for our lives. Okay, maybe that was a bit strong. Maybe it’s not exactly GOD’s will for you to read this. Yet, you’re reading it right now, so it has to be…right? Confused? I know I was. For most of my life, I’ve seen the will of GOD as something that I have to figure out on my own. Something a little mysterious. Something that, if I didn’t figure it...
May 31 2011, 11:03 am | Blake Hudspeth
If you weren’t there, last week’s “Veinte Cinco de Mayo Summer Small Group Ultra Smash Launch Explosion Epical Kickoff Forever: Six Flags” was INCREDIBLE!!! We had absolutely no power in the building…which made it that much more amazing. And I think it was just a taste of what this summer will be like at SSM. Here are 5 more reasons why I think this will be SSM’s best summer yet: We’re bringing more students to the beach than EVER BEFORE! Kyle Reno’s been texting...
May 24 2011, 10:49 am | Blake Hudspeth
I got the call on Saturday morning. Dan could barely get the words out through her tears. "Honey... I think we lost the baby." I wanted to crawl through the phone to Nashville and hold her in that hotel room more than anything. It's not uncommon. Many women I know have lost a baby through miscarriage. But none of them were my wife. The tears from Dan came immediately. I, on the other hand, tried to "stay strong" for her...until after the doctor's appointment on Monday. We are blessed with a wonderful physician who loves Jesus and...
May 10 2011, 6:57 am | Blake Hudspeth
I learn more about GOD from my 16-month-old daughter than I do most people. Not because Mae is incredibly wise- she can say “yes”, “dada”, “fish”, and “mama”, none of which carry much theological weight when strung together in a sentence- but because I see glimpses of the love my Heavenly Father has for me when I’m with her. Take last night for instance. Mae, like every child, throws fits on a daily basis. Most of the time I try to correct her behavior (I&rsquo...
April 22 2011, 1:12 pm | Blake Hudspeth
What’s your “5 year plan”? You know, the thing that helps you get where you “need to be” in 5 years? Save this much. Wait this long. Get this thing. Set up this deal. It can actually be very helpful…even Biblical (Proverbs 21:5). However, sometimes GOD tells us to do things that don’t sit very well with us. In fact, I’m gonna go ahead and say that these guys didn’t write this on their 5 year plan: Abraham- pack up your tents, your...