Tory Farina

I Stand Corrected...

I received this email from one of my favorite people at High Point. She realized that I misspoke about the history of wedding dresses. So here is the email so we are all a bit more knowledgeable on the wedding dress.

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Just thought I'd share some of the vast amount of trivia I've soaked up reading over the years.

White wedding dresses aren't actually historical in the broad sense of the term. Queen Victoria started the white-only trend in 1840 when she wore white for her wedding. Generally, brides before that wore rich materials, white or pastel or even bright colors (though you're right - not red). I do believe the traditional Chinese wedding gown is red, though.

Apparently the color associated with purity was blue, not white.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress

I do know, however, that white and other pastel colors were considered the only appropriate colors for younger girls of the aristocracy during their coming-out (debutante) year because that was a sign of purity and innocence, so I suppose the concept is there (I think this is true today as well - sorry, not sure - didn't grow up in the debutante society). However, in the past a light dress probably more signified wealth, since it was a sign that the owner had the money to have dresses cleaned or replaced.

And, that's probably far more than you cared to know about white wedding dresses. I'll quit now ;)

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I had a laugh when I read this and just had to share it. What other trivia do you know about weddings?

Weekend Review...

• We had a great Weekend... A solid presentation of Christ and His church. I love weekends like this. No major mess ups. Lots of energy. The band is always ON>... and we had a good crowed.
• Drew did an amazing Job. This was his first full message. He represented like a pro. I love being a teaching hospital. A place where we give the scalpel to those we have trained and empower them to live their potential.
• He was so nervous. But he didn't need to be. He did a solid job. I am so excited to see what Drew does from here. He has the potential of becoming a fantastic pastor of an exciting and innovative church. 

• We are seeing lots of new people come to High Point right now. Our kids area is busting at the seems. I love it and am so excited as we grow to our next level as a church.
• desert with the Pastor was a blast Sunday night. We had a few people who High Point was their first church experience since their childhood. I love that Statement. It means we are doing it. This church is reaching people who are not close to God.
• Let us know how your Sunday was...

Weekend Review...

• We had a great day!
  
• I am excited for the gifts that you gave to the Kenyon's. They are an amazing couple and will do great things in Latin America.
• I have had several people come to me and tell me to keep doing what I am doing. that the vision is working. that This great experiment... this amazing test of faith E and I are on is working. Thank you for being on this journey with us. This next year we get more disciplined, fight more fierce, Work Harder, Expand Expand Expand and watch God bring in the harvest! 
• The less I have in my notes the more I realize I have been preaching too much content. This is so interesting because this week I tried to not go as long but i think I have a pre-programed timer... We were done on time but it is so interesting to see my notes shrink and my time not shrink in proportion. Next week I am only using a page of notes. (that is my goal anyways... eventually I will just use my bible)
• I am really trying to come to one main point and wrap my entire message around that. I figure that we have a better shot of implementation of what has been talked about on Sundays i we spend time on one major theme. I have been guilty of having multiple thoughts and then it gets confusing as to how and where we should implement the thought.
• This weeks thought... "Guilty By association"... what are your Friends/ associates making you? Do they take you closer to God? Further away?
•  I got a little intense at the end. I think this is a big deal! I think that we find ourselves to often in friendships that keep us codependent and not Christ Dependent. We find we would rather brag to our Friends than ask how we can grow and be better. We look to our peer group for the affirmation that only the Lord can truly give us.
• I miss my wife. Seriously I have had a few phone calls, some email, Ichats, and a few IM's but nothing compares to holding her hand looking into her eyes and asking her what she thinks about... Olivia misses her too. I can tell.
• Easter is coming and I am already getting stoked. I will remind you later but... People are coming who do not know Jesus. SO... We need volunteers to be on the ball that day, we need regulars to site front and center. Let the guests get the edges and back. I think we will be jammed!!!!! Come on attendance record! PRAY WE HIT 200! People matter to God and we need to be ready.
• I still need a lamb...
• 1 week left of David and I do not want it to end. I cope preach about this guy for a year... no joke. Don't miss next week.
• Our upcoming series... Remember, The LAMB, The Shack, the Naked Truth, Smoothie life... Its gonna be a great line up!
  
• What should I get E for her b-day? April 4th... Ill post some ideas later

I need a Lamb...

I need a lamb... anyone know where I can find a petting zoo lamb or a baby lamb for a upcoming message?

Weekend Mind Dump!

•  I had a horrible week. Tired, Felt Low, Anxious, Just not myself. AND THEN SUNDAY CAME! I finished my message on Saturday and immediately felt a little better but when I woke on Sunday I was like a new person. Revived, Refreshed and ready to go share Jesus with people. Thanks to all who pray for me. I felt in worship God remind me... "We do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities." GAME ON!
• We gave a ton of great gifts to ICCM thank you for your generosity. This is a fantastic organization that I look forward to partnering with more in the new year.
• I love how hearty you are and I love it. We have had cold and snowy Sundays but each time we get lots of great visitors. You come and volunteer. People are being changed because of the sacrifice you make. Their are
• Worship was fantastic! We did some great tunes and have a great sound.
• Visitors were a plenty. I loved having my neighbor come.
• Christmas EVE 4:30 at the Showplace Theatre. Come for a great night as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
• thank you for the Gifts you have given to the pastoral Team. It means so much that Neil asks to take an offering for us each year. Thank You.
• My fantasy teams are horrendous... I kinda gave up and got busy the later part of the season.
• I had a real conundrum last night. I am a packer fan and a fan of anyone playing the Vikings. I grew up above Chicago and was bread with these biases. So last night I felt weird but I routed for the Bears to win... OUCH! But now the pack get a top 10 draft pick and the Vikings have to Earn their way to the playoffs. They have their work cut out for them.
• I have to wrap my gifts but this year I went with a different plan of attack for E. Less is more. Smaller and more of them will be the plan. I went with a little theme of her favorite things. I tried to think of the things she loves and work from their. It should be GOOD.
• Merry Christmas! blogging might be spares the next few days but I figure so will readership. Thanks for reading.

Weekend Mind Dump...

• this series was a harder series to nail than I thought it was going to be. Here is the deal... You can't not talk about tough subjects. Not everyone will agree or think you dealt with it the best.Either people will want more or think you said to much. Messages are serial and not one time specials. If you come one time you get such a small part of what we are trying to do. We are trying to make followers, Disciples, building takes steps and processes. It is not as simple as 1 service and then everything about that subject is out and dealt with nice and neat. I actually think that some of the best messages are those that have very little resolution to them. The most challenging messages for me are the ones I walk away from thinking and talking about. He could have said this... I was challenged by this.. why didn't she say this... What doe this mean for me and mine?... and on and on. So I hope that these past four weeks made you think, challenged you, fired you up!
• The Gifts of the Spirit are for you and me for today! With out them we are not able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we are able. God designed us to live LOUD, LARGE, VENTE, BOLD, DISTINCT, POWERFUL, PURPOSEFUL and the only way to effectively do that is to seek the gifts he wants to give to help us.
• I love how God works... He brought a family who had had some very negative experiences in past churches and I was able to speak to them about a source of pain in a positive and life giving way. Their are no accidents! No coincidences. God works behind the scenes and puts you and I in the right place at the right time even if it feels like the wrong place at the wrong time. He redeems the wrong.
• I made the playoffs in both my fantasy leagues. I am going to get skunked this week I think.
• The Vikings are in 1st place and my Packers are in 3rd. I am shocked! Frustrated! And ready for them to flake out, as is their custom, so the packers can take the division again.
• I am getting really excited about the Christmas series to start. We are talking about some really powerful subjects and spending eac week talking about what Jesus came to bring and how that rocks our world. This week PEACE!
• Good WIll Offering. If you want to give something this year to those in need. Give it through High Point. Mark on your envelope Good Will and we will get it to those in need. Are two partner ministries are Inner City Church of Minneapolis and Neighbors in IGH. Both do amazing work and are worthy places to give our time and talent and money to.
• I meet with Richard Riesing of Artistry Marketing and Got rocked on Monday of last week. He is so challenging and so inspiring. I am trying to get him and his company to come up and work with us to reach this  community more effectively. It costs and right now it is not in the budget. We will have to try and carve it out in the future. I love when people use their knowledge to make the church better.
• The LOCAL Church Is the HOPE OF THE WORLD!
• CHRISTMAS EVE At the movie theatre @4:30pm Plan your holiday festivities around it. bring your neighbors and friends. Invite your boss. Everyone is open this time of year and we are working on making this an amazingly inspiring and meaningful night. 1 hour, candle light, Christmas Carols, The Works.
• Insecure people cling to things they have and don't let go, they feel wounded when things don't stay as they are. Secure people Hold everything they have loosely and are confident that letting go means their is something else to grab hold to coming. As a pastor people come and go from your church. Some leave for other opportunities others don't jive with the vision and direction you are leading, Others don't want to be challenged. I love everyone who comes to High Point. I Hold them to my heart dearly. But I hold them loosely because they are not my sheep they are Gods sheep. I am just the care taker of this flock. God is the Great Shepperd and he knows what he is doing. We said goodbye to Andrea and Orion. I will miss them in our church but look forward to watch them grow as they develop their own flock.
• I almost got scammed yesterday on a car I found on Craig's list. More later but suffice it to say that if the deal looks to good to be true... IT IS!
• O HAS AN EAR INFECTION... yuck.
• I am o ready for God to blow the doors of High Point this new year. Year three at HPC is going to be So much bigger and better than ever. We have new things planned. Challenging series in the works and the vision is clearer than ever before. Lets get this party started!

Weekend Mind Dump...

• I loved preaching this Sunday! Talking about heaven, Hell, Jesus relationship desire with us. I love love love it! The Lord told me a long time ago... "share about Jesus and I will take care of you." So you will probably hear a lot about Jesus in my preaching.
• WE MISSED Courtney this week. Pray they stay in the state next year.
• I have preached every week since AUG 31st. That is a lot for me. I am mentally toast. I like to keep it at about 8 weeks in a row max. Creativity is best served fresh.
•  I am thinking a lot about our future. WE are headed into Christmas... YEAH! Jesus b-day! Our first Christmas Eve service this year. 4:30 in the theatre. Don't miss it... invite everyone you know. I want to pack it out so full we have to ask regulars to stand on the sides. Candle light in the theatre is amazing to watch.
• God of the City in January... SEX series in February then The SHACK... (all subject to change but on the dock for now.) Looking forward to it!
• Drew the intern is kick en tail and taking names. He is such a huge help. We are working him like crazy.
• My fantasy team has taken a turn for the worse. Not sure what i did but I think I let a player or two go I should have kept. Oh well.
• Olivia is a ton of fun and has now truly found her voice. She can scream in a pitch I thought dogs could only hear.
• Jeff Kirby is doing a tad "better". They are taking him off the vent, and doing less dialysis. He is still very critical and in dire need of a miracle but he is still with us which is a miracle in and of itself. PRAY! The Dr. and nurses are surprised which is fun to see.
• Diet Dr. Pepper is still the best soda on the planet!
• Thanksgiving is so close I can almost taste it.
• Their are so many BIG things I want to do. So many things the Lord has laid on my heart. For a while I thought money was our obstacle, then I thought it might be people, now I realize it is leadership and time. As I and E and the team and you grow we walk in the plans God has. All the needs are meet in relation to the capacity we have to use the tools God gives. I am telling you this because We need you to Give, Serve and pray more than you have ever done these things because E and I and the team are getting stronger. Under the Hood High Point has been in a remodel. We have greater capacity. Which means... Blessing is on its way. To whom much is given much is required. We are required to kick our leadership capacity up because God has HUGE plans. HUGE! You are going to look back on this season and laugh because you will see the favor of God! I LOVE IT!
• Join Face BOOK AND BE MY FRIEND. Face book is not for predators!
• For the advanced peeps in the blogosphere... twitter is the new thing... fallow me and Ill return the favor. 
• One more plug for the book... THE SHACK! WOW is it good.
• aeee abbbeee thats all for now.

Weekend Mind dump...

• I had an interesting weekend putting this message together and then delivering what was my more challenging messages I have done in a while. It is always a deep feeling of vulnerability after you preach such a message. 
• I am realizing the value and importance of living with CONVICTIONS. I want us all to be people of Conviction!
• My fantasy teams did pretty rotten.
• Olivia has started to scream for no apparent reason. It makes driving fun. I hope it is just a faze.
• Winter has settled in. I can't seem to get warm.
• I bought a workout ball. One of those big balls that you work your abs on. It is fun to try and balance on it. Olive laughs as I fall over.
• I am scheduled to see 007 on Wednesday before it comes out. We will See if it all works out.
• Jeff Kirby is not doing well. He needs the Lord to do a complete healing. The Hospital is severely low on Platelets which Jeff needs several bags a day to keep him from bleeding. click here and register to give platelets.
• I am getting new glasses and am trying to figure out the best look. I think small dark and rectangle. Its been over five years since my last pair. Olive bent my current pair so its time for a new pair.
• I am thinking about the "end times", "Heaven" and what to say this weekend. It should eb a good message. we also have a baby dedication so it is kinda ironic we are celebrating new life and the end of this life all in the same day. All I know is this earth it not our Home. Heaven is our Eternal Home.
• Christmas Eve is gonna happen at the Movie Theatre. It should be pretty AWESOME! Sometime around 4:30 give or take. More details are to fallow. If you are in town bring the family and celebrate Christ with us.
• I'm kinda into "My own Worst Enemy." 
• I am totally addicted to twitter and would love to have you follow me and I follow you.

Weekend Mind Dump!

• What a weekend... We wrapped up our "Prodigal Son"/ "Waiting Father". I was having a hard time with the message. I knew what I wanted to say but it just wasn't coming out on paper right. I went to bed on Saturday praying, "Lord help me now to talk about you in a way that will radically change someones perspective about you forever." I woke up the next morning thinking I would go over my message again and felt like I shouldn't. So I printed it and just went for it. I felt like it was one of my "best" messages. (Don't take this the wrong way... I rarely feel like I spoke great.) So when I was done and Orion and "The House Band" broke into "Prodigal" by One Republic. HOT!!!!! It blew the doors of the place! 
• One Big Burly Biker guy was crying at the end in the Lobby and was so taken by what God had done he Hugged me so Hard He hurt my back. I went home and was hurting all day. -I gotta say it was a good hurt! beautiful Pain!  
• Another girl in the Lobby Said, "when you talked about the father being different than our earthly father... That got me because my dad is not very nice and doesn't listen." I got  little emotional and said, "God our father always hears you." BAM! we both started to tear up. i hugged her.
• My Pastor... Pastor St. John  was in the house to see what we have been up to at High Point he pastors 915 pastors in the state of MN. He was very complementary. I respect him a great deal and have learned a ton from him.
• Let me know what God spoke to you during this last series. Leave a Comment.
• Elephant in the church is next. Thanks Mark for the idea. This is going to be a fun series. Hitting on some Hot Topics of the church. Next week is the Grey Elephant. What does God say about Drinking, Dancing, Movies, Tobacco and Poker. Come next week and we will Shed some light on the "GREY ELEPHANT.
• My Church fantasy team is in a slump. As the GM I put the coach on notice if we go 6 loses in a row he might be canned as it is I am 4 and 5. My other league I am 6 and 3. I definitely take an Internet in teams I would never enjoy watching if I have a player on their squad. Its a fun diversion.
• Things I am listening to... New... Augustana, Snow Patrol, Hillsong, Keane, Ryan Adams, Bloc Party, and more old... Vega 4, and more.
• I listen to a lot of music. It is important in my opinion to hear what is out their and going on. So much of culture can be expressed from our music. Think of what Elvis Presley meant to my parents generation. Now think of what Pink and Death cab for Cutie mean to ours. Christian or secular it is all a prayer. Think about it. If they are lamenting about life or praising God I picture God in heaven listening and responding as if he would to a person crying out to him directly. Music is raw emotion. Just my take. I am careful not to fill my mind with dirty, vulgar or hateful music... but I am also careful to give a lot of different stuff a spin at least once at least for a little while.
• I may have a lead on packer tickets for Sundays game. YES!!!!
• Pray for Jeff Kirby... things are not looking good. Pray for comfort and wisdom.
• I am gearing up for a late night tonight to watch the polls close. I am going to go out and get snacks.
• "Jesus was innocent but he was not naive"
• I bought a pair of $150 shoes fo $8 bucks yesterday
• I am changing my schedule to be more "in the community" so watch for me :)

Weekend Mind Dump!

• I found my headphones for my Ipod. Strange way to start a post but i thought it was funny that i am in a Lost/found series and found something I thought was long gone lost.
• I absolutely have been blown away by this simple story in Luke 15. Each week as i study i feel like I see so much in the story that Jesus told. I hope that you are getting as much out of the story as I am.
• Our Next Series is going to be a lot of fun to research and process and deliver.
• I am looking forward to getting back to my connection group after a week off at Amplify.
• Amplify was a great success. We had abut 85 people their which is about half of Sunday morning. I think that is HUGE! 
• I love a full office. We have four people working on the great things that High Point is up too. It gets pretty exciting to have so many people kick en tail and taking names for the cause of Christ. For a long time it was just E and I in our spare bedroom.
• The SHACK is one of the best books I have ever read. We are totally doing this as a series look for it this spring.
• I signed back up for Rhapsody. I like Pandora and will still use it but needed to be able to listen to specific songs and specific albums. Pandora gives you what they got but they don't have a lot of content.
• I am excited to use Church Metrics.
• GAS was 2.19 the other day. WOW! no stimulus needed if gas stays below 2.50.  Remember when it was .99?
• We have a new look for the lobby!!! I love when we change things up. Pictures will be coming soon.
• My pastor is coming to church Sunday. Pastor Clarence St. John is the Leader of the MN Assemblies of God. He is an amazing leader and personally has meant so much to Elizabeth and I.  He is one of the reasons that Elizabeth and I started High Point.
• Keep Praying for Jeff Kirby. He is in bad shape. He was just diagnosed with a potentially fatal complication.
• We are moving Elizabeth over next week to her new mac. I am looking forward to it. Her old machine is "having issues."
• I am also excited to migrate from a Microsoft exchange to google apps. It should save us money, time, and energy.