Well it was a different kind of day...

I slept in and woke up with the family...

We all piled into the Family van and drove to church together...

We all sat together (except Canon) and enjoyed hanging out with many of our friends at NorthGate.

It was great to see some of our old MakeOver Team members serving at NorthGate and creating a great environment there!

It was also great to see some of our old equipment being used once again in a theater!

It was also great to see the formation of another Community of Faith that we had a small part of investing in that wasn't in existence this time last year!

It was great to see some 40 plus Renovation folks in attendance and bringing their "gifts" with them!

So proud of so many of you that went all over our city!

I would love to hear about many of your experiences... it is so good to get out and worship with the greater Body of Christ... so easy for us to get so inward focused on ourselves... there are many flavors and expressions and it is always good to experience them!

Being back in a theater generated a lot of great memories both exciting and scary ones...

You never knew when something was going to break or not work... or if anybody was going to show up... 

I remember days when we would have taken a big hit in attendance if a group of people hadn't showed up "out of the blue" or someone drop a check that we didn't expect in the popcorn box!

It was cool to be a part of a greater blessing today for John and the NG crew... I am sure that the other churches that had Renovation folks show up today felt the same way!

It was good to take a day "off" i can't lie... but I also can't wait to get back at next week for our 1 year Renovation Celebration!

See you there... have a great week!

I hope everybody had a merry Christmas... of course not everybody did.

I conducted a funeral service on Christmas Eve... a 37 yr old father... who had buried his son after being murdered in August... for that family the words merry and Christmas is not possible.

There are many of us who will struggle through the Holiday season for many reasons... loss of friends, family members, loss of a job. loss of opportunity, God is still able... He still cares... He knows not only our names but our hurts...

We had a great Christmas Eve service we called Jingle Jam. Joshua led our students as they presented an awesome family production that was based on the COMPASSION that God had for us and how He saw our need and did something about it!

Last Christmas we didn't even know half the kids that were on stage... this Christmas we are watching them sing and dance and performing drama sketches... makes you wonder what we will see next Christmas!

We spent Christmas day at my folks over on Grand Island... over the river and to the island to grandmothers house we go... or something like that!

We had a great day... very relaxing!

Did anybody try to go out to any stores today? CRAZY!!

I took the kids to the Galleria Mall (my first trip to any mall during this shopping season) I knew we were in trouble when it took us 15 minutes to make our way up to the 3 level of the parking garage! Half of Buffalo must have decided to go to the Mall today.

I am looking forward to visiting another church tomorrow with my family. We don't get to all get up... get ready... and then go "go to church" together so it will be a nice experience! (i think) 

I pray that you have a great day tomorrow!

My goodness I feel like i have gotten completely out of my blogging rhythm... the problem is there is so much that is happening every week it is hard to keep up. Part of my motivation to blog is to keep a journal of the journey so this blog has been that for me but I have nit been as dedicated to the process as I have been... so I need to step it up a little... not that anybody else cares :)

Let me rewind back a week...

We finished talking about the family tree that Matthew described in the first chapter of his story of Jesus Christ by talking about a woman with a label... Rahab the Harlot and how we could all relate  because we all admitted that we have our own labels that have been hung by our name.

I loved the conversations that we had as we looked at the family that Jesus came from... we discovered that Jesus didn't just come for sinners but from sinners!

Then this past Sunday we took a different turn and looked at the grandeur and splendor of the canvas that God has been painting on and how great our God truly is. The message that we watched was called How Great Is Our God... you can go online and purchase a copy of it for your own. I know it was an incredible morning... many of us were overwhelmed by what we heard... we had several folks give their life to Jesus Christ! 

Last week was full of activity... the Christmas program was outstanding! Loved seeing both the basement and the auditorium full of people from our community. The students did a great job in the drama and the 60 voice student "mass" choir!

We got a ton done this past Saturday in the basement... we had 7 men from CP and the Pottershand Ministry come down to join a few of our guys to help us take another step in completing the project! A BIG thanks to all of those guys for their hard and cheerful work!

We got to serve some 100 families this past Saturday through the Boxes of Love Initiative... we had a great crew of people that made the experience a wonderful one!

Fast forwarding to tonight... had a great time rehearsing with some of our students as we get ready for Jingle Jam. I was blown away watching these students singing and dancing... doing drama... what a year it has been. THis time last year we didn't have but a handful of students now we have 20-25 students involved in serving in Renovation Station and you will get to see them in action Thursday night at Jingle Jam so don't miss it... 6.30-7.30!

That's it for now!

During this time of the year comparison shopping is huge... we are looking at every add that comes to us to see if we can get that gift any cheaper at another store or website... right?

I have been reading Francis Chan's new book the Forgotten God... about the Holy Spirit. It is a great book that I would encourage you to get and read. I was reading a portion of it this morning and he talks about what it means to actually walk in the Spirit. 

He goes to Galatians 5:16-25 where Paul describes the two ways that we can walk... by the spirit of this world or our sinful nature that we are born with OR by the Spirit of God which is given to us through God's Son Jesus Christ.

Paul tells the Church in verse 16-18 then and now that we have a war going on within us... the add campaign for the sinful nature is blistering and continuous and very loud! So it is easy for us to not hear or see what the Spirit wants for us and to do in us. 

That is when he describes in pretty good detail in verses 19-25 the results of shopping either at the Sinful Natures "Store" or the Spirit's "Store." Do a little comparison shopping this season and see what you are buying and what you are getting and doing with the "products" of each "Store."

It has been a busy couple of days... I took Carlee down to Washington D.C. for a very special experience that she got to share with her grandmother... Gloria's mom. We drove down yesterday and came back today.

Carlee wanted to make sure that we got back in time for her to go to the Renovation's Students Christmas Party tonight... so we got back just in time for her to go and for me to take Caleb to his basketball game!

So i took Caleb to his game... this is his second game - I missed last nights.

So his team got a W but I didn't know how difficult it was going to be for me to watch him and keep my mouth relatively closed... Gloria had to remind me that he was only 10 and it was only his second game... "oh yea"

When I was coaching I hated loud mouth dads so I swore I would not ever be like that... i guess father and son are a work in progress!

So after i brought Caleb home I went down to Kenmore Lanes to pick up Carlee and when I walked in I was blown away by the great turnout we had for our MS/HS students... not sure but looked like we had close 50 kids there... they were all having a great time... laughing... being stupid (in a good way) I loved what I saw!

Joshua and our volunteers are doing a great job building relationships... speaking truth with love into the lives of teenagers! What a difference a year makes... Carlee said while coming home that she had a great time... love hearing that as both a dad and a pastor!

Student ministry may be a place for some of you to get inVOLVED! talk with Joshua on Sunday to find out more.

I am sitting here once again totally blown away by what God is doing in the hearts and minds of men, women, students, kids at Renovation. 

Today was just an awesome day as we gathered together... I love the energy that was in the room. There was like an anticipation and once Nick and the band kicked us off with O Praise Him... it was on!

I loved having the tables back and in place.

It is an awesome sight/sound to hear a couple of hundred people praying together... talking... laughing. I think it really fits our personality at Renovation!

I loved the story that we downloaded today about the life of Judah and how a jacked-up dude like Judah was who God chose to be a part of His Sons family tree!

I had several people come and talk with me about what God is doing in their lives... it is amazing to see what happens when people turn to Jesus and surrender their lives and agendas to Him. 

My dad has always said the shorter the distance between hearing the Truth and Obeying the Truth is where we find victory in our lives and I think for many of us at Renovation we are beginning to see some wins in our personal lives because we shortening that distance between hearing and doing!

We have done a great job of bringing in gifts and food for our Boxes of Love initiative so thanks to everyone who has contributed in some way!

This past week I had an opportunity to meet with some pastors that I had not met before... I love getting to meet and hang out with men/wpmen who have been in the trenches of Ministry for a long time and all three of these pastors had been. All three pastors serve on the Eastside of Buffalo and to hear what is going on in their respective churches was inspiring and encouraging for me. All three from different denominations but all three really desiring to be a part of the collective movement that is beginning to happen in the Church at Buffalo... very exciting stuff!

BIG SHOUT OUT to all of our students that are helping lead Renovation Station!

We have ms/hs students who are rocking the "station" on Sunday mornings... how do I know? When I look over and see Canon sitting on our sofa watching a movie as he is doing the motions and singing the words to We Shine not knowing that I am watching him... after a couple of minutes of intense motions and "whisper" singing so he can hear the movie (monsters inc... still a gr8 movie) I ask him.. hey buddy is that a song from RS and of course he says yes... do you have fun at Renovation Station... yes he says... thank you students and our adults for all that you are doing to bring passion to my sons life for Jesus!

That's it for now... at least the Bills didn't lose today!