Weekend Reflections

• Our Harvest Festival last Wednesday was incredible! Probably our best ever. John Cox made a video we showed Sunday thanking our volunteers. Here it is in case you missed it:
  
  
• Colleen and I were BLOWN AWAY by the gifts we received for Pastors Appreciation Month! The Starbucks cards alone should hold me over until, say, next week or so! Just kidding ... in actuality, they'll probably hold me for quite a while!
• Our boys' biggest football game of the year was Saturday. It was for the playoffs and we barely got there. Literally made it into this game by a coin toss. Anyway, we did well in the beginning, but eventually lost. Last game is this weekend as a consolation game. I have bittersweet feelings about the season's end.
  
• Got lots of comments this weekend on my new beard. Actually, I don't really have a beard because I can't grow a good one. From a distance, it just looks live I haven't washed my face in a while. It's there because I was too lazy to shave last week (and OK with it!). For the record, here's a picture before it comes off.
  
  
  
• Katie Miller is doing a fantastic job as our new Worship Coordinator. Sunday's time of worship was so fun, rich and themed really well around the cross as we received Communion. For any Worship Leaders reading this, her set was Beautiful One, Indescribable, You Are Good, Lead Me To The Cross, and Jesus' Blood. But then, at the end they transitioned back into You Are Good, and it was amazing!
• We concluded our "Lord of the Spiritual Things" series on Sunday morning. Taught about why things like psychics, tarot cards, palm readings, horoscopes, and Electronic Voice Phenomenon are NOT good things to be messing with. You can listen here if you want.
  
• I got to spend Sunday afternoon with a couple who just came back to our church after being gone for 4 years. They left under strenuous circumstances. We were very close to them and it was very painful for us to be without each other for these last years. God opened doors for us to reconnect over the last couple months or so. We have watched reconciliation and restoration of relationship happen and they ended up feeling led to come back to NewHeart. ONLY GOD!!
• Took the boys to Barnes & Noble Monday night so Colleen could have a quiet evening to prepare for a test at school today. Did you know Colleen started her Sociology program at CSUN this Fall? Taking 2 classes right now. I am SO proud of her!