Sunday Blitz

> Contrary to how it feels, our attendance is actually up a bit from June of last year...it feels down because we know that tourism here is down, but the enthusiasm of the worshippers and the numbers, especially the kids, speak for themselves. July will be the real test, as it's always the busiest month here at NHC.

> After a few weeks of rough starts for the band, yesterday morning flowed really well from start to finish. A few minor bumps, as always, but no major frustrations like we've been having the past few weeks.

> Great message about leaders...being a good leader and praying for and supporting those who lead us...can never hear about that stuff too often.

> Our First Impressions Team may have the toughest assignment each week...while our other teams have a plan in place with little variations, the FI Team is basically always adjusting and reacting to what comes at them...big crowds, small crowds, late-comers, cranky tourists, bad weather, small parking lot, etc....they do an incredible job of meeting the challenges of a growing church during tourist season.

> Speaking of cranky tourists (and, just in case you're coming to our church soon from out of town), I really wish there was a way to explain to our out of town guests why we do everything we do...some people come to church thinking that we're here to cater to their every need, putting aside the needs of everyone else, and that's just not the case. We do everything we do for a very specific reason, and although we love our out of town guests, our target is our local, unchurched guests, and we will make the most sacrifices for them and our regular attenders. Although, we will do it with a smile on our face, even when people are cranky...

> We've yet (knock on wood) to have a bad weather Sunday this summer! Nothing better than walking out of the church building on Sunday afternoon with nothing to do and blue skys! Yesterday, we spent some time with family and friends at the beach...first time my wife and I have been in the ocean together in a few years!

> It was just one of those gatherings yesterday at 9am...a ton of little children in the auditorium (somebody explain to me why so many parents don't send their kids to do their own thing?)...which also meant a ton of distractions...once we've got our Kids Zone finished and can shuffle some things around, I'm hoping those distractions will be minimized.

> Speaking of kids, my daughter may be experiencing her first bit of separation anxiety...the past two Sundays, at 11am, when I hand her off to our awesome nursery team, she's cried. She never crys...I'm hoping it's just a combination of hunger, nap time, etc. and not real separation anxiety (although it does make my heart melt).

> Stoked to have my great friends Matt and Sylvie Glock (and family) in town with us over the next few months...I love all of our missionaries, but especially Matt and fam. Matt was in town from France a few years ago and we went and saw the Transformers movie together...hoping to see the sequal with him sometime soon.

> Now it's time for me to chord out a few new songs for the band, finalize plans for our 4th of July outreach event, and find some lunch!

Rock on!

Nate