9/29 E-News

Announcements

Potluck—This Sunday!

Want to take a guess?—When do you think baby Jones will be born?  We’ll be selling dates this Sunday for $10/day (It’ll cost extra to buy more than one day).  Prepare your guesses!  (Due date is October 3) All $$ will go to Living Waters of the World.  The winner’s prize—homemade cookies and the chance to pick a sermon text! 

Oct 8 at 7pm—Free Bluegrass Gospel Concert at Collegedale Community Church (4995 Swinyar Dr)
Come enjoy  an evening of music and praise! Artists include: The Weaver Believer Survival Revival (National Gospel Bluegrass winners), Heartstrings, and Bluetastic Fangrass.

   Equip's Small Church Ministry Group has planned an excellent Leaders Academy to help supplement your own officer training. This overnight opportunity will be at John Knox Center on October 28 - 29.  You can register quite easily on-line by going to the presbytery's website -www.presbyteryeasttn.org and clicking on on the Leaders Academy link. That'll pull up a page of description at the bottom of which is the REGISTER button.  Let us know if you have any questions.

New Hope News

Polly Black is moving tomorrow to Martin Boyd home on Standifer Gap Road.

Martha Hicks’ estate sale is this weekend.

Pray for…

Linda, Chad, Ashley & John Brandon—Linda’s Niece, Christine Dress, passed away this Monday morning.

Pat Mayo—dealing with cancer

Don Glover’s brother Jack, who is battling cancer

Roger & Lynn Meyer

Links

Want to change?

Be Weird

Does your life feel fragmented?

Some thoughts on Child sponsorship

Chattanooga Bike Club has a new website

Text for this Week

Luke 20:20-26

So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth.Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 

But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.”He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 

And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.

_____
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Keith’s blog and devotionals

Devotional--Sin, Part III

Judges 17.6

In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.
**************

  Judges was a rough time for the people of God.  Their leaders were not always Godly people, and often the people drifted away from the Law, far from the people God called them to be.

  It's not that difficult to draw a comparison between then and now.  Back then, the standard for morality became what was right in their own eyes.  Now, we are often afraid to talk about right and wrong, and leave people to decide for themselves.  Often, the results can lead people farther away from God.

  We live within a framework as the people of God--Jesus Christ has shown us how to live.  He has taught us what is right and what is wrong.  We are to follow his example in selfless living, in generous loving.  We are to stay far away from selfishness and greed, to be wary of allowing our hearts to be captured by the things of this world.  We are to love our neighbors, to love our enemies, and to work for justice and peace.  We are called to hate sin and love God.

  As the people of God, we turn from sin to God.  Doing what is right is rarely easy, but it builds our character, and as a community we gain strength from one another to grow as the people of God, living for God's glory, rather than our own.  Doing what we want is easy--doing what is best for the community, for others, for God, takes a bit more work.

Blessings

The Scandal of the Cross

David Platt // Catalyst Dallas from Catalyst on Vimeo.

New Pictures

Here's the latest pictures of Jeeves:

For those of you who have been waiting for nine months to see Jeeves' nose, wait no more:

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

  Want to be amazed?

  The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an incredible story about a boy's life in Malawi.  In abject poverty, in the midst of a famine, while his parents cannot pay for school, he teaches himself more about electricity than I know (Not that I'm exactly the paradigm of electricity knowledge, but I know a fair bit about it), and builds his own windmill to provide electricity to his house.

  I will freely admit I know next to nothing about Malawi.  Our World Vision sponsored child lives there, and I know that it's in Africa.  That's about where my knowledge ends.  But the story of William is an incredible story, mostly because there are so many points where William could have given up.  He mentions it at different points in the story, about how easily he could have become just another subsistence farmer, destined to live according to the fates of the rains and government corruption.  But he wants more than that--he wants better.

  So he sets out to build a windmill, like he has read about in the books he checks out from the library while he waits for his parents to find money to send him back to school.  It's a crude device, fastened out of whatever is available in the junkyard and what he can beg and borrow from friends and family.  But it works--it works marvelously, and he can charge people's cell phones and wire his house with electricity and play the radio and more.  His windmill takes him from Malawi to South Africa to Los Angeles to Dartmouth.

  In the midst of the book, a large chunk of the telling is focused on the famine that hit Malawi.  This is where I confess that I had no idea that a famine hit Malawi.  Rachel and I were talking last night about how difficult it is to keep up with all the news stories of the world, especially given the tragic nature of so many of them.  I wish I could say that I had been moved to action when famine hit Malawi.  I wish I could say the same for the famine that is taking place in Somalia right now--it is claiming the lives of thousands, and is a heartbreaking tragedy.  I don't know what it is about our isolation from such stories, but surely there is something that God calls us to when famine strikes these already poor pockets of the world.  I pray for the wisdom to respond in the best way, be it through prayer or donations or some other path.  It is a terrible thing, made worse by governments that seem to not care about the lives of the people.  May we, as the people of God, find some response and serve those in desperate need.

William's Website

Devotional--Sin, Part II

Exodus 31:18-32:1

  When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
  When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
*****************

  It would be funny if it weren't so tragic--in the midst of one of the most pivotal moments in the Old Testament, when God is busy talking to Moses, giving him directions on how the people shall live, just after God has rescued the people from slavery in Egypt, the people get tired of waiting for God and want something easy to worship.  Their memories are so short, they can scarcely remember what God did for them yesterday.

  In the same light, it's not always easy for us to worship God.  We want to--our souls long to be in continuous worship of God.  But we're so easily tempted--we're distracted by the here and the now, by the new and exciting.  We forget all the things God has done for us, and we wonder where God is now.  We wonder if God is around, if God cares, and, if we're honest, we admit that it's not always very exciting to worship God, while golden calves and other idols we create are so much more physically present.

  It's not easy to follow God.  We won't always succeed.  But we have to struggle against sin, to constantly strive to worship God, to tune out all the noise and distractions so that we might grow into Godly people, people of deep faith and integrity, who will not be shaken when the storms come.  May we turn from sin's temptations to God's delights!

Blessings

Well, that was exciting...

 So there I was...

  Rachel called me and told me the doctor had decided to have another ultrasound done.  The doctor was concerned because Rachel's stomach was measuring smaller than usual (a strange thought considering that Rachel's stomach would not best be described by the word 'small').  The concern is that if Rachel becomes low on amniotic fluid, Poseidon doesn't have much room to move around and has trouble doing little things like breathing.  If the amniotic fluid is very low, this might be reason for an induction.

  Anyway, I'm at the church when Rachel calls, so I decide to head to the doctor's office for the ultrasound, and Rachel doesn't usually mind having me around.  (In my defense, I've made it to most of the other doctor's appointments.  This one was rescheduled in the middle of a busy morning, so I decided not to go.  Figures.)  I was halfway out the door when it hit me--
 
  I might have a baby by this evening.

  Now, for the last month or two, I thought I was ready for this.  I've taken enough classes that I'm pretty sure I could teach a course on how to have a baby.  I've been praying about it since I found out Rachel was pregnant.  I've been focused on the baby and have been so excited, that I figured when the time came I would be nothing but excited and ready to meet little Poseidon.

  And I'm sitting the car, on the way to see Rachel for what could, for all we know, be the moment where they tell us to cross the street to the hospital to be induced, and I realize I am not prepared for this.  All I was thinking was, another week might be nice.  I didn't have much planned for the rest of the day, but it hit me how fully this will change my life, and how uncertain I am about what life will look like, post-baby.  It occurred to me that I am unprepared, raw and unready, for what is about to come.  All of my excitement cannot conquer the fact that my life is about to change monumentally and I'm not ready for that to occur.  Poseidon, on the other hand, isn't too worried about how ready I am--he says I better be ready, because he'll be coming soon.

  Anyway--because most of you are more concerned about the baby than my mental state, I can gladly say that there is plenty of amniotic fluid.  Poseidon has plenty of room to move and breathe and do whatever it is babies do in the womb, and he's still there, safe and sound, waiting patiently to spring himself upon us when we're least expecting it.  Everything looks great, and we're back to watching and waiting!

  I'll try and remember and post the ultrasound pictures in the morning.  He looks fabulous!

Devotional--Sin, Part I

Genesis 3:1-7 

  Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“
  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
************************

  This is not the way it's supposed to be.  We weren't made to sin like this--we were created good, sinless.  We were created in the image of God and were meant to live as children of God in everything we do.  Of course, we now know that we have failed to live up to that image.  We fall short of living in the full image of God.

  From the very beginning, we haven't been able to resist temptation.  Both Adam and Eve made the choice to choose temporary, worldly pleasures over a permanent, lasting relationship with God.  We choose what is appealing in the short-term, ignoring it's long-term consequences for our lives.  Sin separates us from God, from one another.

  That deep sorrow in your soul when you see the evidence of sin--that's a reminder that this is not the way it's supposed to be.  We weren't made to sin--we chose that.  May we remember that sin is not natural, and may we long for the day when it shall pass away, like the morning mist, and we shall once more know not its power.

Blessings

39 Weeks

  Rachel's officially pretty pregnant.  She's at 39 weeks right now, which is French for 'the baby could come on any day'.  We were out walking at the new park by the Volkswagen plant and we ran into a lady I know from the YMCA.  She came up to me today at the Y and told me that Rachel was the best looking full term pregnant lady she had ever seen.  (For the record, I agree with her)  Other than the baby-sized basketball under her shirt, she doesn't look that pregnant.  (I know that's kind of like saying that other than Congress and the President that the leadership in Washington is functioning well, but you know what I mean.)  Rachel's still feeling great, although she says it was a bit strange to not be at work today.  (Her last day at TVA was Friday)

  We have no idea when little Hercules will show up.  Could be today...  but I think we've still got a little while.  I don't know why, I just feel that way.  I've been wrong before, though, and everyone knows that I know nothing about having babies.

  I did go to Daddy Boot Camp on Saturday.  I was the only person in class, which meant that we got out an hour early.  I now know everything possible to know about babies.  There is still plenty I don't know, but if I haven't picked it up in the four hundred hours of classes I've been to by now, the Lord doesn't intend for me to know it.  We talked about crying and labor and sleeping and intimacy and pets and in-laws and poison (not the band) and a bunch of other stuff... and I can say that I feel as qualified to have a baby as any man could be, except for the fact that I've never changed a diaper or held a baby for longer than two minutes.  But I will say, in my defense, that I've raised two cats from kittens to three year olds, so that should count for something, right?

  Right?

Lord's Baseball Game

An email forward that speaks to my heart!

THE LORD'S BASEBALL GAME 

Albert and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan 's team. The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs.

They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named 'Love..' Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because 'Love never fails.'

The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.

The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws. The bases were now loaded.

The Lord then turned to Albert and told him He was now going to bring in His starplayer. Up to the plate stepped Grace.  Albert said, 'He sure doesn't look like much!' Satan 's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! But Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground; The roaring crowds went wild as the ball Continued over the fence . . For a home run! The Lord's team won!

The Lord then asked Albert if he knew why Love, Faith and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn't win the game. Albert answered that he didn't know why. The Lord explained, 'If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base but only Grace can get you Home: 'For by Grace are you saved, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.' Ephesians 2:8-9

Devotional--Hope, Part V

Mark 16:1-8
The Resurrection of Jesus

  When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
**************

  There is no despair darker than death.  There is no shadow that looms larger than the pall that death casts upon life.  It looms, seemingly larger than life, at the end of our days, and we cannot pull back the curtain and see what lies beyond it.

  And yet, we have great reason to hope.  We have every reason to look at death not as an enemy, but as a defeated power, a shadow that lingers yet cannot control us.  In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, death's power is broken and we are invited into eternal life.  Christ takes the most despairing element of life and turns it into the greatest reason for hope--the graveyard is now a place of new life, so we can wander among the graves and see the names of the newly-born, rather than the destroyed.  In death we have life.

  For every ounce of despair in this world, Christ gives us hope.  Even in the darkness of death, the light of Christ shines brighter.

Blessings

Church

This is Discipling from The Foursquare Church on Vimeo.

9/22 E-News

Announcements

Elder Nominations have begun!  Please be in prayer for our nominating committee, and if you have people in mind you’d like to see as leaders in the church, submit their names to Gerai Kocher.  Please talk to them first!

Want to take a guess?—When do you think baby Jones will be born?  We’ll be selling dates this Sunday for $10/day (It’ll cost extra to buy more than one day).  Prepare your guesses!  (Due date is October 3) All $$ will go to Living Waters of the World.  The winner’s prize is TBA. 

Wednesday Night Supper—Next Wednesday we renew our Wednesday night suppers at 6:00.  Be there!

 

Chattanooga Funeral Home Presentation—Canceled 

New Hope News

Polly Black's birthday is this month Sept 23 , it would be nice if everyone would send her a card.   Polly will hopefully be moving soon, so I don’t know how much longer this address will work.

Polly Black

                   Life Care Center of Collegedale

                   PO Box 658    Room 227 B

                   Collegedale , Tn.  37315

Lynn Meyer will be taking part in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure this year on September 25.  If you’d like to offer support, you can visit her page and offer a financial support. 

Pray for…

Garrett—the son of Janet Phillips’ secretary who had major knee surgery yesterday.

Susan Reggin—Mandy’s mother, dealing with health problems of her own.

Polly Black

Don Glover’s brother Jack, who is battling cancer

Roger & Lynn Meyer

Links

God’s servant nature

Latest Living Waters for the World Newsletter

Troy Davis was executed in Georgia last night.  While the debate about his possible innocence may fade in the public eye, I hope that the debate over the death penalty remains. 

Chattanooga:  The Best Town Ever

From East Brainerd Neighbors:  Four Seasons Wellness’ annual Open House/Ladies Night is coming up Friday Sept. 30th.

RiverRocks is coming up.

Text for this Week

Luke 20:9-19

He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time.  When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. 

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!” But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” 

When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

_____
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Keith’s blog and devotionals

Devotional--Hope, Part III

Genesis 37:12-24

 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said; ‘tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’

So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’

But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
************

  It's one thing to be betrayed by your enemies, as we discussed yesterday.  It's another to be betrayed by those closest to you, as happened with Joseph and his brothers.  We can certainly critique Joseph's attitude, but we all know how heartbreaking it is when those you love dearly turn on you and become your enemies.  It shatters our world, and we wonder if there is a way forward.

  The good news is that God can bring hope out of such despair.  God is at work in each of our relationships, no matter how broken they may be.  God is present and moving, and when we display our sin and brokenness, God searches for ways to repair broken relationships.  It took Joseph decades before he was reconciled to his brothers, but God never gave up on any of them, and was at work in their lives and hearts to prepare them for the moment of reconciliation.

  May we be open to God working in the same way in our lives, shining the light of hope into those relationships that cause us to grieve, that cause us stress, and may we be patient enough to allow God to repair them.

Blessings

Devotional--Hope, Part II

1 Kings 19:1-6

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’

3Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’

5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ 6He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.
***********************

  To summarize all that had happened before, Jezebel was seriously not happy with Elijah.  And then Elijah killed all of the prophets of Baal, and Jezebel was looking forward to adding Elijah to the subgroup of 'dead prophets'.

  Ever feel like your enemies are rising up around you?  Like your competitors at work are sizing up your cubicle, so that they can take it over when they have pushed you aside?  Like others who oppose you have finally gained enough strength to dispose of you, to conquer you, to leave you behind?  Ever feel like there is no hope that you will be protected from pain?

  I can't imagine what it was like for Elijah as he fled for his life, certain that the end would come at any time.  At one point he asks the Lord for permission to die!

  But I can imagine his relief when he falls asleep, awakes, and finds that the Lord has provided a meal.  Sometimes hope looks like a nap and a good meal.  Sometimes it is the simple awareness that the Lord sends angels to dwell with us and encourage us.  Sometimes the angels simply remind us that the Lord is looking out for us.

  When it seems like our enemies are about to win, may we find hope in the Lord's presence with us, and trust in his grace.

Blessings

Reggie McNeal

In keeping with the trend of videos that go along with books I've read--here's a great interview with Reggie McNeal, who wrote Missional Renaissance.

 

Devotional--Hope, Part I

Genesis 1:1-5
 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
***************

  Ever feel like your life is formless and void?  Ever have those days where it seems like your world has descended back into the primordial chaos from which it was formed?  Ever wonder if there is any hope, or if you will spend the rest of your life trying to keep the 4,000 balls you are juggling up in the air?

  Have I got good news for you!

  We worship a God who creates order out of chaos, even the chaos we create out of our own sin.  Whatever the origin of chaos, God speaks into it, and brings order, brings life, creates anew.  If we feel everything spinning out of control, sit back, take a deep breath, and remember that God will be faithful to his promises.  God will not abandon you to the chaos--God will create anew in your life, and hope will shine in your darkness.

Blessings

Visit to the Doctor

  Believe it or not, Rachel and I made it in and out of the doctor's office in under an hour today!  Combined with a session meeting yesterday lasting 55 minutes, I feel like I'm on a roll!

  While there, the doctor said Olivander isn't that close to arriving, as far as she can tell.  He's still at minus 3, which means he has quite a bit farther to descend before making his grand entrance into the world.  It's so strange to think it could be another 3 or 4 weeks before Olivander shows up, especially since Rachel and I are so geared up for this to happen any moment.

  We know that the womb is the best place to be right now, but holding him in my arms right now seems like a close second.  I know that it will be soon, and I am trying to treasure the serenity of the house, but knowing that in a few weeks we'll welcome my son into the world is just too exciting.  We like to think he's excited, too, since he's kicking the daylights out of Rachel's ribs, but perhaps he's merely expressing his disappointment as the Reds' season comes to a close.  I'm disappointed, too, but trying to avoid kicking anything.

Plenitude, Part II

I wrote up a review of Juliet Schor's Plenitude a little while back.  I'm sure you're still ruminating on my thoughts. Here's a short, simple video illustration of her idea.
 

Gideon

38 weeks

  Want to know what's crazy?  (Other than the fact that Bronson Arroyo is making $11,500,000 to throw a small white baseball with relatively little success.  That's right--he's 8-12 with an ERA over 5.  Oh, and he gets a raise next year.  He'll get paid $12,500,000 next season, regardless of performance.  That's right--while most people would get fired for under-performing by such drastic measures, Bronson gets a raise.  Meanwhile, in the real world...)

  Rachel and I could have a baby at any moment.

  Could be today.  Could be tomorrow.  Could be in three weeks.  We have no idea.  But it's completely realistic (Unlike the economics of baseball) that the baby could show up at any time.  There isn't much we can do to predict it, and we're as prepared as we can be for it (we finally bought the glider, thus ending Rachel's anxiety that the baby might come before we purchased the glider.  We also ended Mastercard's anxiety that we might have a small bill!), but it's just so surreal that it would be completely natural for Zeus to arrive today.  A little more certainty would be nice, but we simply won't get it--we have to be prepared for the next three weeks to drop everything for Zeus' arrival.

  We've spent so much time thinking about what the baby will be like, it's hard to imagine that all of those dreams will finally come true, and we'll suddenly have a 7 pound toxic waste producer of our own.  I'll be a dad, whether I'm ready for it or not, and our entire life will be focused on the every burp, coo and cry that Zeus produces.  Everything will change, only we have no idea when.

  Sometime.

  Maybe today.

  Maybe Monday.

  I have no idea.

  How strange it is!

Sizes

  Would you believe that there aren't any more size updates?  For months we've gone from fruit to fruit, or from strange object to strange object, but here, at 37 weeks, we've reached the end!  That means little Marko Ramius (just go watch The Hunt for Red October.  Everything will be better then.) is about as big as he is going to be this side of the womb!  (cue Rachel exhaling a sigh of relief...)

  According to this website, little Marko is about the size of the electric motor in the 2008 Tesla Roadster.  It does 0-60 in under 4.0 seconds, but would probably be a lot harder to deliver than a baby.  I'd imagine, anyway.  What do I know about labor?  Or electric motors on cars that cost more than $100k?


  In something that's a little easier to imagine, he's about the size of a watermelon.  He's probably about 20 inches long, and is considered full term, meaning that he's about as ready for life as he's ever going to be.  (are any of us truly ready?  I'm barely ready for today, and I've had almost 30 years of practice!)

  Apparently, during birth the baby will produce more stress hormones than at any other time in his life.  Clearly, they've never measured the stress hormones on a minister in the midst of the call process.  Or on someone about to take their ordination exams on a laptop that keeps crashing to make up for the fact that they've had mono for the last two months.  Not that any of that would be stressful...

  It's easy to forget about how stressful this will be for little Marko.  He's been isolated in a fluid environment for nine months, with the sound of Rachel's heartbeat to keep him company.  Every jostle is softened by the water surrounding him.  He has been prayed for by a great cloud of witnesses, and we have done everything possible to make this period of his life as comfortable as possible.  In this brief window, we have control over his safety and security.

  In a few weeks, he'll come rushing into a bright, loud world, and his world will be completely transformed.  Everything will be new, and despite our efforts to console him, he'll have to deal with monumental changes to every aspect of life.  Only the prayers and our love will continue.  (And perhaps my desires for absurdly fast sports cars)  We can no longer protect and shield him from every threat.  All we can do is love him for who he is and offer our hearts to support him on his journey, in all things pointing him to the greatest love the world has ever known in Christ.

  Perhaps it's also a reminder for us--the single most stressful moment of our lives happened on the day of our births.  Everything else pales in comparison to that miraculous event.  It is a miracle that we are alive, that we have survived the journey from womb to the world, and may we live in endless gratitude for each moment, allowing some of the stress to dissipate as we keep things in perspective, grateful for the chance to experience one more day on this planet, to drink in the beauty and splendor of life, and give thanks to our Creator for the blessing of our sustained existence.

9/8 E-News

Announcements

Elder Nominations have begun!  Please be in prayer for our nominating committee, and if you have people in mind you’d like to see as leaders in the church, submit their names to Gerai Kocher.  Please talk to them first!

Disaster Preparedness—Would you know what to do if a disaster struck?  Resurrection Lutheran on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road in Ooltewah is hosting a disaster preparedness time from 11-2 this Saturday.  It’s a drop in kind of thing with booths for you to peruse so that you might be prepared if a disaster directly affects you.

Outreach Committee—Meets next Thursday (9/15) @ 5:30. 

New Hope News

Polly Black's birthday is this month Sept 23 , it would be nice if everyone would send her a card.   Polly Black

                   Life Care Center of Collegedale

                   PO Box 658    Room 227 B

                   Collegedale , Tn.  37315

Lynn Meyer will be taking part in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure this year on September 25.  If you’d like to offer support, you can visit her page and offer a financial support.  Wouldn’t it be pretty cool, though, if a bunch of New Hopers got together and walked with her?  There is a 5k run/walk at 2:00.  Lynn plans to walk this.  There is also a 1 mile fun run and walk at 2:05 if you would prefer to do that.  (Just a note—if you open the link in Google’s Chrome browser, it may be in Greek.  I don’t know why, but just try the link in another browser.  The internet is a strange, strange place.)

Pray for…

Polly Black

Don Glover’s brother Jack, who is battling cancer

Roger & Lynn Meyer

Links

9/11 +10

Some great thoughts on Sabbath

Great date night

Chattanooga Habitat for Humanity Young Professionals

From East Brainerd Neighbors:  Four Seasons Wellness’ annual Open House/Ladies Night is coming up Friday Sept. 30th.

Text for this Week (9/11)
Luke 19:41-48

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
   but you have made it a den of robbers.’

 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

_____New Hope on Facebook

New Hope on iTunes

New Hope on Twitter

WWW.NEWHOPECHATTANOOGA.ORG

Keith’s blog and devotionals

It was only a matter of time...

As we get close, it's time to celebrate one of the best routines ever:

Head and shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes!)

If you look closely, you can clearly make out Eugene's traffic stopping good looks:

And here are the toes, which Rachel's ribs refer to as 'weapons of mass destruction': (you may remember these from this earlier post)

  Eugene weigh's about 6.5 pounds, which puts him right about on schedule.  They said he's in the 49th percentile for size, so he's just about average.  He's getting mediocrity out of the way early to prepare for his career as the most amazing person ever.  (Which will hopefully make him fabulously wealthy so he can support his parents, too.)  There's no evidence that says he will be arriving any time soon--they can't say that for certain, but they say that things look good for an arrival date around the end of September/beginning of October.  Until then, Rachel is practicing her breathing and thinking positive thoughts, while I'm sleeping as much as possible!

Honeydew

  For the next week and a half, Octavious is the size of a honeydew melon.  If Rachel were to stand in front of the car at night, the headlights would cause his tiny little eyes to dilate.  If she were to sing to him, he can recognize and react to simple songs.  (Hence the reason I don't sing often around her--we don't want him to be born early in an attempt to flee the womb, thinking he can escape my voice!)

  It's all so amazing to consider--he's truly a little person in there, and as the time goes on he grows nearer to the form and qualities he will have when he is no longer in the womb.  All the parts are there and continue to develop, and Rachel and I stand in awe as we await the delivery of God's gift into our lives.

  We get an ultrasound next Tuesday, and I am so excited about that--we'll be able to see what God has been doing inside her, and we'll marvel at the little man we are about to meet, and wonder how God does such amazing things.

9/1 New Hope E-News

Announcements

No Scheduled Worship at New Hope This Week (9/4)

Elder Nominations have begun!  Please be in prayer for our nominating committee, and if you have people in mind you’d like to see as leaders in the church, submit their names to Gerai Kocher.  Please talk to them first!

The Church Office will be closed on Monday in celebration of Labor Day.

Open Table is a group of young adult-types (post-college age to 40-ish (we don’t check id’s)) within the area who will gather around tables (restaurant tables, dinner tables, coffee tables, pool tables, picnic tables, etc) for friendship, discipleship, service and more.

Open Table Kickoff Picnic – Saturday, September 10, 4:30 - ?, Chickamauga Dam and Recreational Area (Take the Amnicola Exit off of Hwy 153.)

Bring a dish to share, camp chairs, picnic blankets, Frisbees, etc. We will provide drinks, plates, cups, utensils.

This event is for the whole family. Come early to swim if you’d like.

Open Table Dinner at Las Margaritas – Tuesday, September 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m., (4604 Skyview Dr., Chattanooga, TN 37416 – just off Hwy 58); dutch treat.

Free child care provided at Northminster Presbyterian Church (parents can drop off at 6:15 p.m.)

New Hope News

Lynn Meyer will be taking part in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure this year on September 25.  If you’d like to offer support, you can visit her page and offer a financial support.  Wouldn’t it be pretty cool, though, if a bunch of New Hopers got together and walked with her?  There is a 5k run/walk at 2:00.  Lynn plans to walk this.  There is also a 1 mile fun run and walk at 2:05 if you would prefer to do that.  (Just a note—if you open the link in Google’s Chrome browser, it may be in Greek.  I don’t know why, but just try the link in another browser.  The internet is a strange, strange place.)

Pray for…

Polly Black

Those attending Family Camp

Roger & Lynn Meyer

Links

Should Christians do yoga?

The picture of devotion

Will bodes one day be liquefied?

The Presbyterian Response to Hurricane Irene

The Vocation of Motherhood

Text for next Week (9/11)
Luke 19:41-48

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
   but you have made it a den of robbers.’

Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

_____New Hope on Facebook

New Hope on iTunes

New Hope on Twitter

WWW.NEWHOPECHATTANOOGA.ORG

Keith’s blog and devotionals