I had the privilege of leading worship for NorthRidge Church this weekend.   Here are a few pics from my phone…more to come.

Early morning view from the drum riser.

Josh and Nancy practicing the special song for the weekend.

So what year was the delicous cookie invented?  Well, I recently read an article that layed out all the inventions during the Great Depression.  The infamous Chocolate Chip Cookie was one of those inventions.

The Glory of Christmas here at NorthRidge has 10 shows.  We are in the midst of #6.  I have the responsibility of sending out the parking team by praying for them before they leave (and occasionally going to to help if needed).  It is cool to see our High School students step outside themselves and serve for something bigger.  During the show I am able to go to The Underground and do some work.  Today I wanted to get ahead in my Dave Ramsey Financial Bible Study.

My day started at 3:00a.  Why?  Well, at 4:00a I was going with Josh and Santa to wake up some High School students.  It was the classic “Santa Wake Ups.”  Only this year we did the “Sibling Version.”  We are in a cool season in High School Ministry where we’ll have a Senior in our group, and then their brother/sister who is a freshman or sophomore.  So we dressed the sibling up in an elf costume and proceeded to abruptly wake up their brother.  Reactions varied from fear, to anger, to pure joy.  Stay tuned for the video.

This past Thursday marked the beginning of the Glory of Christmas here at NorthRidge.

Every year the High School Ministry helps out the parking team.  Every year we get a great response.

Epic, the college ministry, helps out by cleaning the auditorium after each show.  It’s a big task to be sure, but they’re volunteer team is up for the challenge!

This weekend we had 5 shows.  Next weekend we’ll have 5 more.  Yup, 10 shows.  It is an amazing outreach event for our community.  There are still some tickets available if you have someone you’d like to invite!  Check out the website.

I first saw this video on my friends blog. It has some amazing and interesting stats about our world today.  My favorite part is the end.  It does not make conclusions for you.  It assumes a level of “thinking” on our part.  Watch and enjoy.

I just joined Twitter.  It is a networking site that allows people to update their “status” via web or texting.  I shall try it out and will promise nothing in the arena of my involvement with the tool.  But just for kicks and giggles, check out my page.

So we had our annual Turkey Bowl here at Velocity.  The past few years it has snowed, and this year was no exception.  In fact, God decided to wait until we had our Turkey Bowl to bring Michigan its first Winter Storm of 2008/2009.  It started as a mix of rain and snow, then it turned to pure snow…with flakes the size of your big toe.  Below are just a few pics from the night (special thanks to Sharon for braving the weather to take some photos!)

I was challenged by Steven Furtick (via his blog) to take the steps necessary to thank someone in my life.  It is something I should probably do more often, but the busyness of life tends to get in the way.  I could have picked any number of people to thank…no question about that.  Scott Ockerman, however, has a special place in my heart.

When I was in 8th grade (middle school…a trying time for anyone), my family started attending Rochester Church of Christ.  On Wednesday nights they put the Junior High in a small room in the corner of the church (probably a good idea!).  I can recall sitting in a circle and listening to and discussing with Scott, our volunteer small group leader.

Scott’s life before Jesus was anything but perfect.  He had made his mistakes.  He had gone down the wrong road.  He had been there and done that.  But if I was honest, that is what drew me to him.  He did not act like he was perfect.  He admitted to a group of 8th grade students that he was a flawed human being…one that was saved by the grace of Jesus.  It was that honesty that made my heart open to a relationship with Jesus.  Scott was humble, non-judgmental, caring, and willing to have fun with a bunch of Junior High students…and he gave all credit to Jesus.  I wanted in.

The next four years I allowed God to shape me into the person I am today.  But it all started with someone overcoming his fear of prepubescent teenagers and showing us the love of Jesus.

So to Scott…I say thank you.  Sorry it took so long for me to say it.

Throughout the day yesterday we worshipped with Steve Fee.  It was an acoustic set with Steve and Matt (dude in the band), and it was fantastic.