Oops, I never posted this picture from last week’s sonogram. Here’s Laura Marie at 36 weeks:
Packed and Ready
Carolyn is at week 37, which means that Laura Marie is now technically considered full term. So the family bags for the trip to the hospital are now packed and waiting on the living couch for the big moment.
From left to right: Daddy’s bag, Baby’s bag, Mommy’s bag:
In case you’re wondering why the baby has her own bag, it’s because her mom has several different outfits picked out for her to wear home. She wants to wait until the baby is born so she can pick an outfit that best matches her personality. And each outfit is accessorized–matching hat, bib, socks, etc.
$kittles
Yesterday at CrossWay we talked about Skittles. Pastor Ed Young from Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, tells a story about a time he was at a high school football game with his daughter. She wanted a pack of Skittles, so he bought her some. As he watched her eat them, he decided they looked pretty good. So he asked for a couple Skittles, but she refused.
Pastor Young pointed out three things that his daughter didn’t seem to realize about her Skittles:
(1) He was the one who had given her the Skittles.
(2) He was bigger, stronger, and faster than her, so he could take away all of her Skittles.
(3) He had enough money to go back to the concession stand and buy her more Skittles than she would ever be able to eat.
We’re in a very similar situation with God and the stuff He gives us. Everything we have is from God, but sometimes when He asks for us to give back a few Skittles, we refuse. We clutch tightly to our Skittles.
As we talked about Skittle management, we looked at a few basic Bible truths:
- Life is about God, not money or possessions. (Luke 12:13-34)
- Our money and our stuff is really God’s, anyway. (Psalm 24:1)
- God calls us to give generously. (Mark 12:41-44)
- God calls us to give cheerfully. (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
God wants us to enjoy the tangible blessings He gives us, but He also wants us to be His channel for blessing others.
Naturally, we just had to close the service by giving everyone a pack of Skittles. 
Um, You Can?
Wow….
During President Obama’s highly controversial speech at Notre Dame yesterday, someone shouted, “Stop killing our children!”
Amazingly, the graduates actually responded by chanting: “Yes we can!”
How sick is that?!?
Mother’s Day
Yesterday at CrossWay we celebrated Mother’s Day with a special message from Steve Doherty. He shared a little about the history of this holiday. Then he took some statements made by Training Station preschoolers about their moms and skillfully brought out the spiritual truths they contain. Very interesting sermon! The podcast will be up soon.
Stuff Re: Dates
Laura Marie is due one month from today!
Our worship leader at CrossWay, Josh Engle, turns 35 today. Happy birthday Josh!
As of last Wednesday, I’ve now been at CrossWay for two years. Sure has gone by quickly.
Surprise!
I just got one of the best birthday presents ever. All three morning preschool classes came by my office and sang “Happy Birthday” to me! It was so precious. They even gave me a card and a chocolate cake–which, by the way, really caught the kids’ attention. What a wonderful way to start the day!
What Happens When Four-Year-Olds Go to Assateague Island
This morning the Pre-K class from the Training Station went on a field trip to Assateague. When they got back I was talking with some of the kids about what they saw there. (One little boy’s shirt was soaking wet. When I asked him why his shirt was so wet, he grinned and said proudly, “I touched a fish!” I decided not to pursue that one.) When I asked if they saw any ponies, one of the girls said, “No, but we saw that kind of horse that swims in the water. What’s it called?”
Since they have wild ponies at Assateague that like to swim in the ocean waves, I asked her, “A wild horse?”
She said, “No.”
“A swimming horse?”
“No.”
“A shark horse?”
“No.”
“A whale horse?”
“No.”
“A turtle horse?”
“No.”
“A fish horse?”
“No.”
“A dolphin horse?”
“No!” she said. “None of those kinds of horse is real. It was one of those little baby kinds.”
“An ocean horse?”
Apparently that jogged her memory. “No!” she exclaimed. “A seahorse!!!”
Praying for Sermon Impact On an Individual Level
This morning on the way to the office I heard a great podcast about preaching and praying. Every week I pray over the sermon and I pray about my preaching and I pray for the people at church. But what this podcast was talking about is the power of praying specifically by name for the sermon to impact each individual at church. This might seem obvious, but it never occurred to me!
In other words, if the sermon is about money, I can pray for Hank that God would provide employment, for Susan that she would be generous with her huge new raise, for George that he would get his debt under control, for Rachel that she would trust God enough to tithe, etc….
What an awesome idea!
Why It’s Good to Be a Sorry Loser
At CrossWay yesterday we wrapped up the series “i am second” with a message called “Why It’s Good to Be a Sorry Loser.”
We started with a video testimony from Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, then talked about everyone’s favorite subject: repentance. Repentance doesn’t seem like a very fun word, but it’s actually the means that God has given us to draw close to Him. We talk a lot in various circles about change, and repentance is the key to real, true, lasting change. Repentance can be broken down into simple steps:
(1) Admit my sinfulness.
(2) Humble myself. This means:
A. Submit myself to God.
B. Submit myself to others.
(3) Resist temptation.
(4) Draw near to God.
To delve deeper you can read James 4:4-10 and listen to the podcast when it’s up.
