Gilbert Thurston

• I’ll start by saying it appears our recording got messed up so if you’re looking for today’s message it is not yet available.
• If I have some “free” time this week I’ll re-record and get it posted.
• This is just one more thing in a day of weird tech stuff.
• I went to bypass the smoke alarms in the multi-purpose room so the hazer didn’t set them off, but the system was not allowing me in because the motion detectors throughout the building were constantly picking up motion.  Finally I was able to get it done but it meant we started hazing late so it was much thicker than we’d like.
• Then during the message I kept hearing what sounded like someone opening and closing a cabinet door.
• Usually it’s hard for me to get distracted but this was really bothering me, not from a speaking standpoint, but that someone would be so rude to be making so much noise.
• Finally I said something about it and much to my surprise Andy starts coming towards me.  When he got to the edge of the stage and motioned for me to lean down I honestly thought he was going to slap me…I’m thinking what could be so obvious that he’s going to hit me for being so dumb.
• Turns out my mic was at a weird angle and my “P’s” were popping. 
• Later a lot of people said they could tell it was coming from the speakers.  To me it sounded like something behind me.  Just goes to show how much difference there is from what’s being heard in the house and what’s heard on the stage.
• Other than our tech stuff things went well…another big crowd and the response afterwards was very positive towards small groups.
• I was pleased with my first effort programming the lights but it’s definitely something I don’t want to be doing each week.
• I liked the band’s version of Eleanor Rigby…thought it really helped set-up the message.
• Oops forgot to take the offering.  That’s the second time I’ve done that.  The ushers stood at the back and took the collection.  If you missed them, just drop it in next week along with your new offering.
• Had some out of town friends in attendance today including a young man from Seattle.  The last time I saw him he was about an inch shorter than me…now he’s easily at least a foot taller.
• Had a huge crowd at the guest reception…I love being able to meet people that are new to the church right away…even if I do end up forgetting a lot of names.
• The pastor’s luncheon also went well.  One man there in his 80’s shared a story of how when he turned 75 he decided he wanted to learn how to run computers.  Now many years later he teaches other seniors how to do it and helps with repairs and trouble shooting.  Just goes to show that age is only a number and all of us can learn and grow no matter what our age.
• It’s too hard to explain here, but after the luncheon my thumb got a pretty big gash in it and I almost passed out.  Luckily Andy’s mom, Jan, who is a nurse, was there and was able to take care of me.
• She also takes care of me when she makes apple pies!  :)
• After all that I went to visit my grandmother in the hospital.  She is severely dehydrated and the doctors are testing to see if her kidneys are beginning to fail.
• Tonight we’ll spend some time with members of our small group and our friend from Seattle.

• The offer for our house was ridiculous…so much so that we didn’t even give a counter offer.
• The house had another showing yesterday and will have another at noon today.
• My meeting for small groups went very well and some of you will be contacted soon about hosting a group in your home for 6 weeks.  This is a great and easy opportunity to serve and give back to others.  I’ll post later in the week more of what I’m talking about.
• The staff Christmas party was a nice time of being able to hang-out with the rest of the staff and their families in a casual and relaxed way.  I hardly heard any church talk…it was all about getting to know one another better and just chill out. 
• As much as we teased him about not doing it, I think we scared Earl from being his normal jolly Christmas self.  There were no games and no Christmas songs about the staff members.  Again as much as we teased him, I think in some ways we were disappointed that he didn’t do them.  Now what will we have to gripe and tease him about?
• Have a great Saturday…get plenty of rest and come prepared tomorrow to worship and have your life changed!

• Our house has been going through showing like crazy.
• Sort of inconvenient to have to leave all the time, but I guess it’s what you have to do if you want to sell it.
• Our realtor is coming over in less than an hour to show us an offer someone has given…didn’t sound to promising though from her phone call…we’ll see.
• Just got home from the church where I have been learning the lighting software.  The programmer we’ve had since we moved into the building is no longer going to be able to do it and at least temporarily I need to learn it so I can train someone else.
• He could do a whole set of songs in 1-2 hours…this was my first try and it took me 6+…great just what I needed…more stuff to do.
• Can you tell this is a subtle plug for volunteers to step forward to help.  It’s actually not hard…it’s just getting to know where everything is in the software that takes time.  Let me know if you;d at least be interested in taking a look at it.
• I’m excited that this week after the Experience we’ll not only have our normal pastor’s reception but we’re also having our monthly pastor’s luncheon as well as baptizing some of our new believers over in the sanctuary.
• It’s not too late to get baptized…if you’ve never done this since you made a decision to ask Jesus for His forgiveness and leadership, let me know and we’ll arrange for you to do it this weekend.
• Tonight I have a brief meeting to go over some planning for our small groups launch in February and then we’re having our staff Christmas party at the Lighthouse Restaurant.
• Pray for us…Earl loves to play Christmas games….and when I say “loves”, I mean HE LOVES TO PLAY CHRISTMAS GAMES.
• He also promised last year that he would write a Christmas song that included all of the staff in it.  That could actually be quite entertaining…then  the question becomes will he sing it…let’s hope not.
• This weekend should be great…don’t forget to invite someone!

I’m standing at the edge of the stage right now listening to the team practice for this week’s Experience…I’m really proud of our crew…they put in tons of practice time at home and then devote another 3-5 hours per week here at the church in practice and actual worship time. They just finished up working out a contemporary version of an old Beatles song that will really help set-up the gist of this week’s message. In case you haven’t done it at all or in awhile, make sure you thank not only the worship team members but all of our volunteers for all they do to make United and CFCOG such an awesome place to worship and serve God in. If you haven’t yet found a place to serve, let me know…there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.

As the week is progressing, I’m getting more and more excited about the new series. I believe that we’ll be talking during these 4 weeks about some issues that really effect us all and how to best solve them. The band is even going to be breaking out a Beatles song this week for you to chew on as we get started. Don’t forget to invite someone to come along!