Kelly Correll
Owner, Sonata Notary Services
sonatanotary.com
In our busy lives, finding the time to get important tasks done can be a challenge. One such task is getting documents notarized, which is when a notary verifies that the person signing a document is who they say they are. Usually, this means going to a retail location or church during business hours. However, what if the notary could come to you?
A mobile notary service provides all the same services, sometimes more than most traditional notaries, but instead of you going to them, they come to you.
Whether you’re at home, in your office or even at a hospital, a mobile notary will meet you where it’s most convenient.
An additional perk is that after-hours, weekend and holiday appointments are often available. Many also provide printing, faxing and shipping services for their notary customers, saving them valuable time.
Mobile notaries are especially helpful for people who might have a hard time getting out and about. The elderly, people with disabilities, the sick or those living far from a city can really benefit from this service. This is especially important for those who are homebound, immobile or in a facility.
For example, if someone needs to update a will or sign a power of attorney, which can involve several people, the notary can provide this service at a convenient time for all involved.
Notaries will often provide witnesses if needed. By bringing notarization to the customer, mobile notaries make sure everyone in the community has equal access to the services they need.
Helping local businesses
These services are also a huge help to local businesses. Companies like real estate agencies, law firms and mortgage lenders often need documents notarized quickly.
A mobile notary can come directly to their offices or to their customer, saving time and helping things run more smoothly.
In fact, many notaries are certified to conduct real estate closings, purchases and refinances, for example, making closing at an attorney’s office during business hours unnecessary. Providing this service to other businesses means they can get back to serving their customers faster.
Alabama law
A few things to keep in mind before you call a notary is that Alabama law requires the notary to verify certain information before a notarization.
The first is that the signer must have a state- or federal-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, passport or military ID. This can also be photo ID from another country. These requirements are an important reminder to keep ID current and available, especially for those without the ability to renew their ID in person.
Another requirement is that the signer must be mentally aware and able to communicate with the notary. If you or someone you know is delaying important legal decisions, this could be very costly.
If a notary determines the signer isn’t of sound mind, the notarization cannot be completed.
By being mindful of these requirements, you can save yourself and your family financially as well as emotionally during hard times.
Mobile notary services are a great resource for everyone in the community. They bring important services directly to those who need them, making life easier and more convenient.
Letters to the Editor
Thank you for your article in the Sept. 19 edition on the value of hymns in our worship service. It is stirring to be reminded of those precious words and tunes that have been with us for so long.
It is deeply saddening to know that they have been replaced by such shallow theology in much of our current music. A generation is being robbed of the imagery projected while singing “The Old Rugged Cross,” “I Surrender All” and “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.”
Lloyd Borden
Lookout Mountain Association
Part of learning to see beautiful again is recognizing that a hard season doesn’t have to be full of only hard days. There’s still beauty to be found. There’s still joy to be found. There’s still peace to be found. There are still so many reasons to treasure life and thank God.
Lysa TerKeurst
@LysaTerKeurst on X
The power of the idols of our day is they don’t demand our gold or worship at some temple. They demand our time, attention and love. We’ll expose our idolatry when we’re aware of what we scroll through, what we dwell on and how we orient our day.
Daniel Ritchie
@DanielRitchie on X
Waiting involves the confident expectation that something special is going to happen at God’s appointed time. Waiting involves trusting God’s timing.
David L. Chancey
Fayetteville, Georgia
Don’t let people you disagree with hijack your mood! Life is too short to allow people you don’t care for to determine your joy!
Richard Blackaby
@richardblackaby on X
McCain shares with SBC EC trustees
By Jennifer Davis Rash
The Alabama Baptist
I’m so grateful,” Dana McCain, SBC Executive Committee board of trustees member from Dothan, shared Sept. 17 during the group’s two-day meeting in Nashville.
McCain opened the second plenary session of the EC meeting with Scripture reading (Rom. 12:6–8) and prayer.
“When I look across this room, one of the things I’m most grateful for and most in awe of is how the Lord has brought so many of His servants from all walks of life, different areas of vocational ministry service, professions, areas of lived experience and wisdom all for the good of the SBC and for the good of the Kingdom,” she shared.
“I’m so grateful to be able to work alongside each and every one of you,” she said. “I learn something every time I get in this room. … Let’s pray for the Lord to continue to work in us and through us for the good of the SBC and the good of His Kingdom.”
Romans 12:6–8
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Other news
Trustees also heard from EC president Jeff Iorg and SBC president Clint Pressley and handled 30-plus business items.
What is the Bible really about? If you had to summarize the entirety of the Scriptures, how would you do it? To some that seems impossible, or at least very difficult. My colleague, Scott Guffin, and I were discussing this very question today. We have found that most Christians know the “stories” of the Bible, but sometimes miss the larger “story” of the meta-narrative. We must read all of the Scriptures as one big unfolding eternal narrative so we see God’s greater redemptive purpose.
Tim Keller perfectly summarizes this thought:
“Because the Bible’s basic plotline is the tension between God’s justice and his grace and because it is all resolved in the person and work of Jesus Christ, Jesus could tell his followers after the resurrection that the OT — “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44) — is really all about him (Luke 24:27, 45). Paul says that all God’s promises throughout the Scripture find their fulfillment only in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). So everything in the Bible — all its themes and patterns, main images and major figures — points to Jesus.”
If we miss the big story of Scripture, we have simply missed the whole point. Jesus IS the big story, the unfolding plot and the central figure of the victorious future glory.
Kevin Blackwell
Samford University
“When we leave worship (after singing hymns in church together), we carry these hymns in our hearts. We are transformed by singing and hearing the solid theology that has endured for generations,” said Tanner Vines, pastor of worship and social media, Gardendale FBC.
“Singing the hymns throughout the week solidifies our life in Christ. If we continue to do this, we experience spiritual growth that will endure. We hold the words in our hearts,” said Ken Patterson, minister of music at First Baptist Church Guntersville.
“There are 6,000 (foster) kids across the state. Odds are that you know some of these kids. These are kids in your neighborhoods, in your schools, that you’re seeing at the grocery store,” said Jeff Hurn, Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries engagement specialist. “The difference we want to make is, we are a faith-filled Christian organization. Our foster parents are Bible-believing Christians. We want to place kids in a situation where they can hear about Jesus and experience the love of Christ.”
“What if you only had one month to live? … What would you do to make the rest of your life really matter?” Pastor Bobby Mullins posted these words on Facebook on Aug. 27, about a week before he and his wife, Wanda, would lose their lives in a car accident. In the days since, that Facebook post — which includes a link to a video of one of his sermons from 2008 called “Living Like You’re Dying” — has more than 94,000 views. Mullins was pastor of Kirk Baptist Church in Piperton, Tennessee.
“I never set out to do any of this because I thought I could win an award,” said Luke Smallbone about the successes of the band For King & Country. “Hopefully any … success that the world wants to point to us instead sees the souls and hearts behind it. That’s my motivation.”
“[Planetshakers Church] quickly grew with the emphasis on presenting the gospel of Jesus, stirring a generation of people from all ethnic backgrounds to lay their lives down for Jesus and serve Him unreservedly,” said Sam Evans, worship leader and singer-songwriter. “It really was the most incredible year where we saw God do the impossible in so many people’s … situations.”
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