Creative Exercise #5: Numbers & Letters

OK... so here is another creative exercise from the book, "Caffeine For The Creative Mind" by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield. The book is a collection of 250 exercises to help "wake up your brain". Remember... the only way that this is going to work is if YOU PARTICIPATE. So... each time I post an exercise... YOU have to play along... OK? If you are just joining us... you can go back and do the first 3 to catch up if you'd like. Some of the exercises will seem a little silly at first... but they are designed to get you to think outside of the box.

This one is called "Numbers & Letters". We have a hard time looking at numbers and letters as anything but what they truly are. We often don't see the beauty in the form. Only when we turn them inside out and upside down... do we really begin to appreciate their design.

You task for today is just that. Type or write your full name using any combination of numbers and letters. The only catch is... you cannot use them for what they actually are. So if your name starts with a "D" (like mine)... you can use a 9 for a lower case "d" by flipping it and then turning it upside down. You just can't use an actual "D' or "d". Make sense? Give it a try.

Here's mine:

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

We will be kicking off a new series this weekend called "Christmas: What's the Pointe". This Sunday we will be taking a look at four words to help avoid the craziness of the Christmas season. It is going to be an incredible service. We have some pretty amazing Christmas music planned... a couple of fun creative elements... and a powerful message from John Bunn.

Here is the music for this weekend @ NewPointe:

"O Come Let us Adore Him" - The Passion Band

"Gloria" - MercyMe

"Shine" - Matt Redman

"King of Angels" - Krystal Meyers

If you can't actually be at NewPointe on Sunday morning... you can watch the services LIVE on-line. Over 100 folks are watching every weekend. Check it out (right here) at 9:00 and 11:00 on Sunday morning! See you there!

Six Down... One To Go

Well... tonight is the big P.A.L. Ministries Christmas concert at the church... and the last of seven events that I had committed to over the last month. I am so ready to rest my voice (and fingers) for a while.

This past Monday night I was asked to sing a few Christmas carols for the crowd (indoors) at Union hospital... and then we went out in the freezing cold to sing for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree. Man, was it ever cooooold out there!







A huge thanks to Chad Stutzman who prayed for the event and held my music for me. Here are a couple of pics:

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

This is the last week of our "Worlds Apart" series. Next week we begin a brand new series for the month of December. Also... make plans now to attend one of our 3 Christmas Eve services. All I can say is... you'll be sorry if you miss it!

Here is the music for this weekend:

"Make A Joyful Noise" - David Crowder* Band

"Let Me Sing" - Eddie Kirkland

"Sing To The King" - Passion Band

"Shout Unto God" - Hillsong United

There will also be a drama sketch... and an amazing wrap up to the "Worlds Apart" series by our Students Ministries/Communications Director: Dave D'Angelo. It's going to be another great weekend at NewPointe!

Bathroom Humor

OK... so this one is just for a good laugh. It is a collection of photos that I just couldn't resist sharing with my friends. Most of these shots are "the real deal" (Meaning: either I took them... or a friend did).

This photo was taken by Ryan (my daughter's boyfriend) on his camera phone... in his college classroom just last week. Evidently his teacher was in a little bit of a hurry to get to class that morning. I had only heard of this sort of thing happening. Too funny!!






















I actually took this photo this morning... in my girls' bathroom. Now... they are responsible for keeping their own bathroom straight... right? Check it out:





















UNBELIEVABLE! (I am going to get shot for posting this photo). Now... if any of you know my wife, April... then you know that she would absolutely die if she saw this. So... I went ahead and emptied it before she could find it.


This is just a photo that I had taken a while back in the men's restroom on a Sunday morning before sound checks. Don't ask me why. I guess I just wanted to prove that you really can take a photo in a church bathroom??? You know what they say... "A band that washes together... (Yeah... I can't think of anything either.)

















OK... so this is my favorite. I was driving home one evening and spotted THIS!!!

If you look closely... I am pretty sure that it's a "crack house". (click on the photo to enlarge it. But I must warn you... proceed with extreme caution.)