Anybody Else?
I love the sun setting later. I love longer and brighter evenings. I love the lengthening of days and the feeling that spring is inching forward with Summer in the not too distant future.
While at the same time…I hated the way I felt this morning.
Anybody else?
I mean, I travel a bit, my wake up time and bed time adjust regularly, but this morning, was terrible.
Again, anybody else?
Our kids couldn’t get up and going.
Sarah and I couldn’t get up and going.
Even Brittany, our mini-bernedoodle, had zero interest in getting up and going.
I think there is some longing that we all have, to feel like we are not alone in this feeling of exhaustion. We want to commiserate with others.
I remember when our boys were babies, our oldest, didn’t sleep through the night for 5 years. I was in seminary and both Sarah and I were working full time. We were exhausted. I loved when another parent could offer me a word of encouragement or remind me that it won’t be like this forever.
I will get sleep again someday.
We all love when we don’t feel alone in our struggles in life.
If you were with us yesterday, we began looking at the idea of God being our friend. There is sometimes a tendency to think God is distant or disconnected. That somehow God doesn’t know or care about us or our situation.
But since the beginning God has always chosen to draw close to us.
From the Garden of Eden, to meeting with Abraham and Sarah.
From talking with Moses, to leading the Hebrew people in the wilderness.
From dwelling in the tabernacle, to the permanent temple in Jerusalem.
From Jesus walking among us, to the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
God desires to be with us.
God gets us.
God has dwelled with us.
In the gospel of John, the words it uses for,
the Word made flesh and “dwelled”, is “tabernacle”.
The Word was clothed in flesh and tabernacled among us.
God became flesh in Jesus, and just like God met with the Hebrew people in the wilderness, journeyed with them in the tabernacle, Jesus does the same for us.
Now maybe I’m assuming here…but, I have to think Jesus got tired as some point.
Jesus had rough mornings every once in a while.
Jesus didn’t want to get out of bed because it was rainy or gloomy.
Somehow knowing Jesus experienced this same life as we did, the highs and the lows and he navigated it beautifully, is wildly comforting to me.
It should be additionally comforting to know we have the power of the Spirit with us now. We are not alone in this life. We have a God that draws close to us and calls us friend.
I hope you will continue to discover that our God is an endless well, a perfect friend who longs to be with us.
As you are struggling today, tired and worn out.
As you will likely wake up tomorrow still groggy and sleep deprived.
I hope that you will continue to know that God has journeyed to be with us and he calls you friend.
This Sunday we are looking at another aspect of who Jesus is for us. I hope you will continue to journey with us either in person or online as we see the complex and beautiful nature of our God and King this season of Lent.
A few other great things happening around here.
If you didn’t know, we are in the season of Lent. Sarah and I recorded a podcast that explains this season. You should check out our podcast, where we unpack these traditions for those less familiar with them. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you stream.
We also have our Lent Guides to help you be intentional during this season. There are just a few hard copies available at The Chapel. Come by and grab one or access a digital copy here.
For details on all our services, digital Lent guides, a curated Lent playlist, and more resources, visit thechapelatseaside.com/easter.
Holy Week Services:
- Palm Sunday: April 13th, 10 AM
- Maundy Thursday Communion Service: April 17th, 6 PM
- Good Friday: April 18th, 6 PM
- Easter Sunrise Service: Seaside Beach, Sunday, April 20th, 6 AM
- Easter Sunday Services at The Chapel: April 20th, 8:30 AM & 10 AM
All details are available at thechapelatseaside.com/easter.
Also This Week:
Tuesday Noon Prayer Hour and Bonus Gathering at 8 AM. We gather every Tuesday for a simple hour of guided prayer and worship. This week, 30A Prays has prayer tents around town and we will have TWO times to gather and pray at The Chapel on Tuesday. We will have an 8 AM personal and corporate prayer and worship time, similar to our normal noon prayer hour. And we will have our normal noon prayer time, that will be primarily worship, scripture, and silent prayer. Join us for one or both! You can come and go as needed. It’s a beautiful and peaceful time to sit in The Chapel—to pray, reflect, pause, listen, worship, and praise as we gaze upon our God and King.
This week we also have a 8 AM prayer hour.
Bible Studies We just wrapped up the book of Exodus and we are entering into Leviticus this week. We hope you will join us:
- Men’s Study: Wednesday, 8 AM
- Women’s Study: Wednesday, 9:30 AM
- Young Adults Study: Thursday, 8 AM
We’ll continue journeying through the rest of the Torah—Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—before summer. If you’ve missed out on Bible Study, check out our podcast, Chapel Study Notes, wherever you stream. We will meet this Tuesday and Wednesday, but we will take off next week. March 19th and 20th.
Since we are talking about Egypt…I do have a question…
We’re wondering, would you be interested in taking a physical journey with us to Egypt next Spring Break, 2026? We’re looking at the 2nd or 3rd week of March and want to gauge interest before we start planning.
This trip would include all the must-see sites in Egypt, with the option to visit Jordan, The Dead Sea and Petra as well. Our dream is for this to be the first of three incredible journeys—followed by a Journeys of Paul cruise and, when safe and possible, a Holy Land trip to walk where Jesus walked.
Let us know if you’d be interested by responding to [email protected]. We’d love to explore this with you.
I look forward to seeing you this week at The Chapel, journeying with you through Lent, and celebrating Jesus’ triumph over sin and death in less than 40 days!
As always, if you’re out of town, under the weather, or just need to worship from home, you can watch all our services live on our website (thechapelatseaside.com), our Facebook page (facebook.com/TheChapelAtSeaside), or our Vimeo page (vimeo.com/thechapelatseaside).
Let us know if you need anything or have any questions. We hope to see you on the journey.
Blessings,
Andrew