iPhone Feature Review
Jun 27, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:.
.:itunes:. Downtown Train by Everything But The Girl
I promise there will be some non-iPhone related posts soon, but for now…one more:
“I found it amusing that iPhone’s website demonstrates how it can help you find a Starbucks just about anywhere. We all know you don’t need to pay $600 for that kind of information. You just need to turn around. A Starbucks will be there.”
-Craig Wilson
In other Apple news, I have had a quiet blogging week because of travel and because I have to take my computer in to be fixed tomorrow. It’s having some serious RAM problems, which make it hard to surf or post.
Maybe the problem was caused when I dropped it over the weekend on a sidewalk.
Nah.
Hopefully, this will be covered by AppleCare, which I have for 140 more days.
Great News
Jun 26, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Elated
.:itunes:. Out Here All Night by Damone
The iPhone plans are out and they are better than I expected. Unfortunately, precisely when they go on sale, I will be teaching at a conference…
Oh, and I still have to get it cleared by my wife, but things look good all around.
iPhone Love
Jun 23, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. In Agreement
.:mashup:. Down On Bennies by The Kleptones
(via bob.blog)
Click on this for a bigger image:
Blog of the Week: PastorHacks
Jun 23, 2007 Blog of the Week
.:mood:. Excited
.:itunes:. Letter Read by Rachael Yamagata
Blog Name
PastorHacks
Blog Author
Bob Hyatt, the Lead Pastor of The Evergreen Community in the city everyone who has read Don Miller thinks they are called by God to plant a church in (but that is another post). Here’s his official bio:
Overcoming a crippling fear of clowns, Bob has pastored in Portland OR, the Netherlands and Durham NC. A graduate of Western Seminary, Bob is slowly, slowly considering restarting a doctoral program he began in 2004. He blogs too much here and here Bob loves his wife Amy, his son Jack, and his daughter Jane, and is struggling to put them ahead of everything else, including this church.
What is this blog about?
Basically, this site is about making you more effective in ministry. By the same token, it’s useful for anyone. There are very few things he talks about that wouldn’t help anyone focus their careers / lives / ministry.
Why do I read it?
This guy gives great little organizational tips and points to lots of little programs (yes, he’s a Mac guy) that can help you get more organized. Most of his posts are very short, which speaks greatly about his ability to streamline his life.
I would highly recommend subscribing to his RSS feed because it will only take you a second to glance at each post and maybe the post you scan on his site could pay you back with minutes or hours of time management / effectiveness tips.
Quote of the Day
Jun 23, 2007 Quotes
.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. Funding Armageddon by The Lone Strangers
“When you have succeeded in making men believe that change is necessary and possible and that they are the ones who can achieve it; when you have convinced them that they and the small minority of whom they are a part can transform the world in their lifetime, you have achieved something very considerable indeed. You have put into their lives a dynamic force so powerful that you can bring them to do what would otherwise be impossible. The dull and humdrum becomes meaningful. Life becomes purposeful and immensely more worth living.”
- Douglas Hyde
Sisu!
Jun 22, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Sisu!
.:itunes:. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me by U2
I was delighted to see someone in the coffee shop this morning who was both a Mac enthusiast and a Finn. This was her computer:
Processing Pain
Jun 22, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Impressed
.:itunes:. P.I.M.P. by 50 Cent Feat Snoop Dogg
Within a few weeks time span, two couples in our church lost babies at the 27th (or so) week of pregnancy. It has been an immensely sad season for both of them. At the same time, it has been interesting to see how each have approached processing this loss.
The first couple had a full blown memorial service, which was led by Paul (one of my co-pastors). I hear that he did a phenomenal job helping the family and friends process the loss of this little life. They celebrated the baby’s short life and painted pictures of hope.
The second couple have been using the web to process their loss. While they didn’t have a “formal” memorial service, they have been accomplishing the same purpose online. You can check out Kim’s (she is the mom) blog here: phoenix rising.
Two very different approaches — and both honor the life of these young creations of God. I am inspired by them both. It makes me think of this passage in 1 Peter:
1 Peter 3:15 “You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”
2 Weeks in Review
Jun 21, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Glad to be Home
.:itunes:. I Want A Dog by Pet Shop Boys
My family and I have been gone for about two weeks and it has felt like much longer. It feels so great to be home.
Here’s a recap of our journeys, complete with photos. To keep this post relatively short, the photos are all thumbnails, click on them if you want a larger image.
The official reason for the trip was I got to speak at Leadership Training with GCM. This is a summer long program for college students in Virginia Beach and we have a bunch of MSU students there.
The unofficial reason for the trip was a week at the beach with my family.
One day while we were there, we met up with Karisa, who was the second High School student to work with Grace and I back when we did High School ministry. She’s now married with three kids. Her husband is in the Navy and he is deployed right now in the Middle East. Here’s a pic of Karisa with her youngest:
We also got to check out the Virginia Beach Aquarium. At first, we thought it was really lame, but then we found a bunch of cool stuff that we missed at first glance. Here are a few pics:
We got to hang out with the Freemans while we were there. (John Freeman is our Campus Director at Riverview.) Here are our kids eating purple ice cream that literally makes your mouth purple. Gross.
Here are some random vacation pictures. Make sure you look at the big version of the second picture.
On our way home, we stopped off at Quantico to visit Paul Kondrat. He is a Riverview person who is now a Marine. Here’s a pic:
Finally, we stopped off in Morgantown, WV, to check out the new facility of our sister church there. They have exactly the same attendance numbers as us, so it was interesting to see what they built. Here’s the outside of their building:
That’s about it with the summary. Now it’s back to the grind!
Blog of the Week: MacRumors.com
Jun 17, 2007 Blog of the Week
.:mood:. Still chilling on vacation
.:noise:. Not much, actually
Blog Name
MacRumors.com
Blog Author
I have absolutely no idea.
What is this blog about?
From their about page:
Welcome to MacRumors.com. MacRumors was founded in February 2000 and has since become one of the most popular Macintosh interest sites on the Internet.
We feature a strong community and a dedicated user base who enjoy following the latest Mac related news and rumors.
The goal of Mac rumors is to compile interesting news and rumors from all source to try to create a big picture view of what to expect from Apple, Inc.
Why do I read it?
Oh, come on. Do I really need to answer this? I am a Mac junkie. Yes, I get crap about it. Yes, I know it makes me a snob. Deal with it.
This site is great not only because they throw every Mac rumor that they can find up, but also because of the comments on each entry. If you are a Mac junkie like me, this is a great site.
My favorite page ever is the infamous “Thread 500.” On this thread, you see everyone line up to slam Apple for creating an MP3 player (the iPod) and making a big deal about it. Almost everyone on the page thought it was going to flop. Now, “iPod” is almost synonymous with “MP3 player.”
Jeezit Nipples
Jun 16, 2007 Uncategorized
Today, I had the proudest dad moment while lounging at the pool with the fam. Here’s the picture and the quote:
“Look, Dad, I have Jeezit Nipples.”
[UPDATE: Just realized I typed "Jeezit" instead of "Cheezit"]
World’s Greatest Counselor
Jun 16, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. Love & Hope by Ozomatli
(via glumbert.com)
Here’s a video of Bob Newhart as the World’s Greatest Counselor.
Best Gameshow Ever
Jun 16, 2007 Uncategorized
My kids and I were just laughing so hard watching this amazing Tetris gameshow.
You gotta love the Japanese.
(via Gizmodo)
Between Two Worlds
Jun 14, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Chill
.:itunes:. Transformer by Gnarls Barkley
So, I have been reading “Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century” (John R. W. Stott) this week. I am about a third of the way through it and I must say it is an outstanding book, especially for anyone who “preaches” for a living. This book was written in 1982, which makes it even more fascinating. He makes observations about the state of the church and preaching that are even more pronounced today. There is a lot to quote from this book, but here are a few samples:
“At least in the western world the decline of preaching is a symptom of the decline of the Church. An era of skepticism is not conducive to the recovery of confident proclamation…”, then he quotes Karl Rahner, who says, “Many leave the Church because the language flowing from the pulpit has no meaning for them; it has no connection with their own life and simply bypasses many threatening and unavoidable issues.”
One of the fascinating chapters is on “Contemporary Objections to Preaching,” with one of the chief objections being the “cybernetic” one. He talks about television as the chief culprit and then predicts what will happen in “the future” with computers. Here’s an almost prophetic section:
“It is difficult to imagine the world in the year AD 2000, by which time versatile micro-processors are likely to be as common as simple calculators are today. We should certainly welcome the fact that the silicone chip will transcend human brain-power, as the machine has transcended human muscle-power. Much less welcome will be the probable reduction of human contact as the new electronic network renders personal relationships ever less necessary. In such a dehumanized society the fellowship of the local church will become increasingly important, whose members meet one another, and talk and listen to one another in person rather than on screen. In this human context of mutual love the speaking and hearing of the Word of God is also likely to become more necessary for thew preservation of our humanness, not less.”
Testing Testing 1, 2, 3
Jun 13, 2007 Uncategorized
OK, I have had some feedback in the comments that images are not showing up, nor is formatting.
This is a test to see if it is working.
If you are reading this in a BlogReader, can you let me know if you see the formatting? Also, please let me know what BlogReader you are using.
Also, can you see the test image?
Lynnhaven Mall
Jun 12, 2007 Uncategorized
This week my family and I are vacationing in Virginia Beach, VA. I had to speak a couple times down here at Leadership Training (a college conference with GCM) so we made a week out of it and when I am not speaking, we are playing.
Today, because of a wardrobe malfunction, we had to go to the mall to buy a new swimsuit for me. We heard that Lynnhaven Mall was the place to go, so I called their “Information Line” to find out how to get there (we were in the car and I don’t have an iPhone yet to look up directions).
Here’s how the conversation went:
Customer Service Lady: “Lynnhaven Mall, can I help you?”
Me: “Yes, can you tell me where you are located?”Customer Service Lady: “Right next to the Starbucks.”
Me (a tad confused): “And can you tell me where that Starbucks is located?”Customer Service Lady: “Right next to the escalator.”
Me (laughing a little bit): “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong number, is this the Lynnhaven Mall Information Line?”
Customer Service Lady (indignant): “Yes it is.”
Me: “Can you tell me where Lynnhaven Mall is located?”
Customer Service Lady (annoyed): “On Lynnhaven Parkway.”
When we finally found the mall, we found the Information Desk, exactly where she said it was…next to the Starbucks, next to the escalator (they are to the right of the picture, but I couldn’t get them in the frame without the woman seeing me).
Vulnerability
Jun 12, 2007 Uncategorized
.:medical condition:. For some weird reason, the tops of my feet and my ankles are sunburnt
.:itunes:. “A Random DJ Mix” DJ Tripp by DJ Tripp
Just read a great post by Mark Batterson on vulnerability. He gives 10 ways we (especially those in ministry) can excel at this. Here’s a snippet. If you want the 10 ways, you’ll have to read them on his site.
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is in Tommy Boy where Chris Farley says: “Let me tell you why I suck.” A good pastor has a little Chris Farley in them. Did I just say that? One of the things that I loved about Farley, besides the fact that he was ridiculously funny, is that he didn’t take himself too seriously! In my experience, people who are more vulnerable are more lovable! I just think that spiritual leaders really struggle in this area. We feel like we have to have this holy persona that is beyond sin. What we really need is the courage to share our failures and foibles!
Blog of the Week: Seth’s Blog
Jun 12, 2007 Blog of the Week
.:mood:. Chilling on vacation
.:noise:. Kids eating breakfast
Blog Name
Seth’s Blog
Blog Author
Seth Godin. Here’s his bio from his site:
SETH GODIN is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. Godin is author of seven books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work.
What is this blog about?
Basically, this guy’s site is about marketing. He has great short little posts that make you think about what you are doing and how you can do it better. For instance, this is the post that popped up this morning:
When you are sitting right on the edge of something daring and scary and creative and powerful and perhaps wonderful… and you blink and take a step back.
That’s the moment. The moment between you and remarkable. Most people blink. Most people get stuck.
All the hard work and preparation and daring and luck is nothing compared with the ability to not blink.
Why do I read it?
His posts always make me think about how to “do church” better. Since I spend a good chunk of my time working on strategy for Riverview, I am always thinking about how to tweak things.
Today’s post made me think about our church planting plan I am working on. It’s gonna be huge.
I better not blink.
Vacation
Jun 12, 2007 Uncategorized
I’m on vacation this week, but I am still going to try to blog a bit. It just may be a little sporadic and I thought I’d let you know in advance.
Jesus, PI
Jun 9, 2007 Uncategorized
.:mood:. Behind the Gun
.:itunes:. I Would Do Anything For Love by Meat Loaf
Thanks to Gary for this one… (via FOXNews.com)…emphasis mine.
The devil may have made him do it, but it was Jesus who made him confess.
An Arizona man shocked cops in the East Village this week by walking into the local precinct and announcing that he’d strangled a woman on East 13th Street during an argument in 2004 — and that Jesus Christ wanted him to turn himself in.
Authorities said the confession has solved the previously cold-case murder of Myrna Gonzales, a 45-year-old homeless woman whose body was found folded into a large steamer trunk in a vacant lot at East 13th Street and Third Avenue.
“We wish Jesus would solve more of these,” one law enforcement source said.
Michael Mohr, 51, might have gotten away with the slaying. But he’d recently had a religious conversion, and realized Jesus wanted him to do the right thing.
Common, Jesus, step up to the plate!
Daily Jeezit Podcast: Schooling
Jun 9, 2007 Uncategorized
In this episode, I chat through the strengths and weaknesses of home-schooling, public schooling, and private schooling. I also talk about why my wife and I have chosen to do a hybrid of home and public schooling. This is in response to a recent conversation on my blog.
Video Version
Audio Version
