OK everybody – you can now watch the wonderful Submerge 08 recap video (made so beautifully by the wonderful Rachel Haddon and the legendary Dave Wright). This is the uncracked version.
If you were at Submerge, you will understand.
There’s a lot going on today, so I thought I would just give you a lil’ taste of what is up in my world today.
New Fusion series starts tonight called “April’s Fools.” I always get questions from this age bracket about God’s will for their lives. Who should I marry? What type of job should I get? Where should I live? If you are wanting any help in this department, join some other college students and 20-somethings at Fusion Tuesday night @ 7:30 at the North Side coffee shop.That’s what’s going on with me right now. Its a great time to be the church!
Is this how my daughter could be?
How your baby’s growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he’s born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you’ve been nervous about preterm labor, you’ll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
See what your baby looks like this week.
Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.
By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you’re under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now’s the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you’ve been sitting or lying down for a long time, don’t jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.
Feedback: Wow – 34 weeks! Tomorrow is April and that is when I can finally say our baby will probably be here next month. It might be that month! Pretty crazy! We go to the doctor again today. Obadiah is kicking a lot more these days. He can move pretty quick and hard. He likes blues singer, Etta James, apparently, since he had a party while we were watching her last night. He really likes to wake his mom up in the morning with a party.
Today was the second week of God’s Believe It or Not. The service today focused on the fact that God is “In Control.” If you don’t know this about North Side yet, everything this morning was trying to lead you to that thought. It is this type of journey we try to take you through. Instead of just picking out a few favorite songs, we try to get you thinking about the topic from the get go. Look for it. We think we can teach less for more by getting you to focus on one thing and focus on it well.
This is a very hard theological theme to grasp. Sure our head comprehends it, but our hearts fight against it. Does God really have the whole world in his hands? Cause if he does, then why am I having to deal with…
That’s normally the tension.
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Job had that tension too. This is what happened at the end of his story recorded in the Bible:
1-6 Job answered God: “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.
Nothing and no one can upset your plans.
You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,
ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’
I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,
made small talk about wonders way over my head.
You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.
Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’
I admit I once lived by rumors of you;
now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!
I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!
I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.” (The Message)
Job wanted it all to work out in his head, but when he came into contact with God, he understood he will never understand. We aren’t intended too. We have to learn how to trust.
Jeff introduced this one thought that I am still trying to get over: “Hey Satan, have you considered my servant, Jeff?” Job trusted God, but also God trusted Job, that he would glorify him no matter what happened. I wonder if God has ever trusted me – believed in me – that no matter what happened, I would still follow God.
I wonder if my name is ever brought up. Not that I particularly want anything bad to happen to me, but would I be prepared to pass the test?
If you want to listen to the sermon again, or you didn’t get to today, you can listen to it here.
It was great to have the Submerge band to lead in worship this morning. I always struggle with whether or not to do that. None of us had any voices left and were really tired, but it was great to be able to lead with the last bit of “umph” we had left. I love worshiping with our family. These are the songs we worshiped to:
Next week, we are investigating another huge claim of Scripture: that you can have an overshadowed past. Don’t miss it! The gospel is going to roll all over you!
Believe it or not – God is in control.
