The Update

Hey Blitzers!

If you haven't signed up yet, this Sunday is the last day for Spring Blitz. We've got two dozen folks ready to go, and would love to have you on the blitz-wagon!
If you need to sign up (or if you just can't get enough of that shiny countdown thingy) head on over to the Spring Blitz website at students.northwoodcc.org and use the form.
If you're signed up but haven't paid, please bring payment this Sunday and hand it over to Luke.
Thanks!

A great many of our students helped out with the childcare for Sunday's annual meeting. From the smiles on the kids' faces it's easy to see that you all did a wonderful job, so an extra thanks to all of you who helped!

Greetings meat eaters! The results from our last survey are in and the answer to the question "What is your favorite food group?" shows we've got a carnivorous bunch. Meat ran away with over a third of the votes. So stick to steak if you want an "in" with this crew. Surprisingly, fruits came in and handedly defeated Sugar! for the number two spot. Grain was a distant fourth, and despite the strong favoring of fruit, Veggies got pummeled back into the ground in last place. Be sure to head to the NSL Homepage for our next question, "What is your main form of communication." Head to "students.northwoodcc.org" to cast your vote!

Call me a nerd (there's proof here) but I really dig space stuff. So the fact that there's a total lunar eclipse tonight is great news in my book.

The really cool part should start around 9:00pm tonight and last around an hour, during which you could see deep reds and browns on the moon, maybe some other colors too.

It's events like this that remind me how freaking huge God is, and how His creation just... works! Not only did God set up the vast expanse of space, and then put this ginormous planets flinging around a bazillion miles an hour, he sets it up so they can orchestrate a beautiful dance of amazing sights without bashing into each other, and it keeps working for thousands and thousands of years. God rocks!

Looking for some great tunes with an even greater message? Look no further than the NSL Jukebox. The latest addition to the online arsenal of Northwood Student Life.

The NSL Jukebox is a place for you find new music and listen to old favorites. Did you hear some great music in a youth leader’s car on a trip? Did you like something that was playing when you showed up on Sunday morning? Maybe it’ll be online. If it isn’t, just tell Luke you liked it and we’ll see if we can’t get it up and playing.
Here’s how it works.

· Follow this link.

· Log in:
username: students@northwoodcc.org
password: bemore

· Pick an album

· Hit play!

It’s that simple! Right now there's just a few albums (some Skillet and Day of Fire, plus pretty much every Switchfoot song). We’ll add music pretty regularly so watch to see what tunes we’ve found. This is a great way to find some great music that also shares the same message as NSL. “Jesus Rocks, He Loves Us, and He Wants Us To Be More.”

Teresa Mickelson (Junior High Leader) had a baby on Saturday!
Finnian Thomas Mickelson was born Saturday afternoon weighing 6 lbs. 15 ounces and 20 ½ in. long. (Why do we always give specs with birth announcements?)

A huge heartfelt HOORAY goes out to the Mickelson clan of Jeremy, Teresa, Owen & Nora, and now Finnian. Be sure to pass on your own congrats when you see them, and pray for the whole family as they recover and re-adjust to the latest addition to the crew.

Here's just a few of the pictures from the Nerd Night roller skating party. But we need more before we make our video (see NSLtv for last year's vid). So if you have pics please e-mail them or bring a disc for Luke. Thanks!

Are you ready to rock it out nerd style and hit the rink? Below is a list of the people who are signed up so far. If you're not on this list, you need to head to this web page [click] and sign up so we can be all, "Sweetness, they're coming too!"
Special Deal: Remember, if you bring a friend that's never been to our youth group NSL will cover the cost 'cause it's important that your friends feel FREE to join us. (Ha! Free! Get it!)



Who's signed up so far :
Andy Moore
Sam VanWalbeek
Kaycee Clark
Katie Clark
Lisa Stillman
Ben Schablin
Jess Anderson
Dan Anderson
Updated: (signed up since original post)
Spencer VanWalbeek
Joe Kramer
Kirsten Stillman
Kyle Knopik
Brian Hanson
Alex Ostman

It's Valentine's Day, a day of mushy lovey-dovey stuff. And of chocolate. Mmmm… chocolate.

It’s also a day to talk about love, and what it truly means

In honor of this most-romantic of holidays, I wanted to pass along a personal Valentine from my buddy JC, I tweaked it a bit in honor of the occasion.

"This is how much God loved the world you: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone you can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world you how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world you right again."

John 3:16-17, The Message

You are loved. Happy Valentine's Day.

I had a some requests to post the Great Rules Caper video starring Cooper & Jason that we used at the Becker Retreat. It's now showing over at NSL:tv [click here] along with clips from past events. We'll get video and pictures from this weekend made up ASAP and posted there as well.
Here's the video:


Kudos to Coop & Snowflake for their sweet ideas and hard work.

Kudos to the Alpha Team Special Forces Saran Wrap Candy Heart Strike Force that managed to strike Luke's car Friday night, even when it was parked directly in front of the two story window at the Becker Retreat. Bobber and Boone (Senior High Leaders) along with Brian and Amy Hanson, paid a little visit to the Becker Retreat and prettied up Luke's ride. In fact, there are still candy hearts and twinkies frozen to his car!
The pictures say it all, you guys are awesome!

Here's the video that Luke used in his talk Friday night. It's a powerful reminder of how things in life can get between us and God, how we have to fight to change that, and how Jesus will stop at nothing to fight for us.

(Side note: Yes, Luke still cried at the video just posting it here on the blog. Gosh! When am I going to be able to make it through this thing dry eyed?)

That was amazing! We spent 2 days in Becker, MN at a retreat that challenged us to Go Deeper in our relationships with God... it was one of the best trips for Northwood Student Life to date. For those who couldn't make it or those whose memory needs a jump start here's a recap.

Friday Night:

Some fun games to get acquainted and then the first session where some rockin' music gave way to Luke talking about the call to Go Deeper in our relationships with God. We watched a sweet skit about how God fights with us against a lot of the junk in our life. Then we gave time to pray, ask for help, laugh, cry, and in all other ways deal with some of the junk we had. That time went on for almost 4 hours! Dozens of teens finally started to talk about things they had been holding deep inside... healing took place. It was awesome in the truest sense of the word. God Rocks!

Saturday Morning:

Woken up by the youth pastor drumline, teams had to slurp a liter of Mountain Dew through a pipeline of 10 or more straws to earn the right to eat breakfast. What a refreshing way to start the day! Session 2 brought a clip from U-571 and Pastor Blake talking about how going deeper often allows us to stay safe from many threats even though it can feel scary. The challenge was given to make an impact on the world by working to deepen our dependence on God.

Saturday Afternoon/Night:

The Becker Olympics (congrats to the Purple Team) and some free time for ping-pong, four square, and other craziness. Then the prayer walk, a 12 station guided time to contemplate our inward journey with God and our outward journey to leave an impression on those we interact with. Some worship, and then home.

It really was an amazing time and I'm thankful that so many of you were able to make it. There will be more pictures and videos coming this week, along with the stories of those who had significant changes in their life. God's just getting started with this group!

Enough people asked about finding this video we showed yesterday that I decided to post it. Enjoy!
"I knocks da pride outta them!"

Today is the last day to sign up for the Becker Retreat and Spring Blitz before the price goes up. The cost for Becker and Blitz is $20 and $100 respectively, until tomorrow. Then Becker will cost $25 and Blitz will cost $125. So if you're planning on joining us for either of these amazing trips today is the best day to sign up!
If you're not sure if you've been signed up yet, here's the list of people who have signed up.

Becker Retreat (Feb. 8-9) (Sign Up by clicking here)
Andy Moore
Kaycee Clark
Sam VanWalbeek
Katie Clark
Kayla Yahnke
Kyle Knopik
Joe Kraemer
Olivia Benver
Rachel Knopik
Jess Anderson
Dan Anderson


Spring Blitz [sign up by clicking here]
Blake Koppendrayer
Rachel Knopik
Andy Moore

If you see someone who you think should be going and they haven't signed up yet you should call them, write them, telegraph them, send smoke signals, put a letter in a bottle, or hire a sky-writer to tell them "Hurry up! Sign up!" Any questions, just give me a call or e-mail me!

-Luke