Read All About It!!!
Psalm 105: 1—2
“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!”
People from all over the world, if asked, could quickly produce an idiom attributed to the southern United States. Whether it be “Bless your heart” or “Howdy Y'all,” the film industry, if nothing else, has seen to it that a few stereotypical phrases are well known. As one who grew up in the South, I can confirm these statements are used in daily conversation and would like to add one I heard often from a pastor’s wife who was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta.
Ready? “I do declare.”
Except you have to pronounce it, “I do de-clay-a!”
Urban Dictionary defines this phrase as “An exclamatory phrase which asserts/affirms the truth of a previous or forthcoming statement.” Urban Dictionary nailed it. When you heard Mrs. Pam exclaim, “I do de-clay-a,” you knew to sit up and listen because you were about to hear big news! Amazing news!
We are so glad you found your way to this blog, where we plan to “de-clay-ya” the wondrous works of the Lord! We are excited to make known His deeds among His people, and we hope you will join us, sit up, and listen to some amazing news. Here are some examples of what’s to come:
It’s newsworthy that more and more staff are being sent to respond to the requests from international churches for more laborers. “I do declare” that these 23 staff have deployed to Campus Outreach teams around the world this year.
In more news, laborers are being built through life-on-life discipleship! In August, Maddie (center in the below picture) asked four female students in Johannesburg to commit to a discipleship group with one another. This challenge included meeting together weekly, investing time outside the group for personal discipleship, studying the Bible, praying daily on their own, and beginning to think of how they could impact their friends. Since making this commitment, Thanda, Mapula, Bonolo, and Joy (left to right in the picture below) have been taking huge leaps in their faith! Thanda has grown in her conviction to be in God's word and seek Him first in everything she does. Mapula has been sharing Christ with her classmates and bringing them to church. Bonolo, a new Christian in July, has been so hungry for God's word! Joy shared about Jesus with her Muslim classmate. Give thanks with us for all that God is doing in their hearts and their lives!
Going forward, we plan to post twice a month and “de-clay-a” God’s deeds among the people! We promise not to fill every post with Southern Slang, but we do commit to exclaiming Truth so that your hearts may be moved to praise the Lord.
So, tell your friends! At the bottom of each post, you can download a copy of the story to share with your friends! Let them know there’s more where that came from — God is at work, and you can read all about it on the CO SERVE blog.