Browsing articles from "February, 2009"
Microblogs
Feb 28, 2009
Jeff
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Tweet Week Summary

  • New blog entry: Tweet Week Summary http://tinyurl.com/chpan5 #
  • Aaah. Out of coffee filters- big ones – at church. But God is gonna do great things today anyway. @ Journey http://loopt.us/-9NGUg #
  • Good but wild #
  • New blog entry: Review: Communicating for a Change (rated 4 stars) http://tinyurl.com/d3qtba #
  • The mucus monster has attacked and claimed the back of my throat. Begone, foul creature! Fie on you! #
  • ‘Good to Great’ to bust? Hankins on ‘great companies’ in recession: http://snurl.com/chnui (via @LT) in reply to LT #
  • Spaghetti turns into black worms if accidentally microwaved for more than 5 minutes. #
  • Anyone know a way to hide widget titles in WordPress 2.7 without leaving widget title box blank? #
  • Really sorry to hear about @bcmguy’s chronic diarrhea. #
  • Question I heard recently: “how bad do you have to hate someone not to tell them about Jesus?” (via @markhallCC) in reply to markhallCC #
  • Does anyone local have a power adaptor (5.1v) for a 2wire DSL router? Or just an extra DSL router the church can have? #
  • Manly morning voice! Going to every drive-thru in town just to hear, “Is that all, SIR?”!!! #
  • Cnet Benchmarks Safari 4 at 42x Faster Than IE7… http://iClarified.com/3067 (via @iClarified) in reply to iClarified #
  • SuperSize Me app (Zumo Drive) available in the App Store for free. Limited time only. #
  • Speaking tonight at the BCM’s Refuge service. Love connecting with collegians. #
  • Picking up pizza for little BCM dudes and dudettes in Monticello, AR http://loopt.us/4OKkYA #
  • New blog entry: Help! Add it to your vocabulary http://tinyurl.com/chlyzn #
  • Dropped off a herd of kids. in Monticello, AR http://loopt.us/BUJpBQ #
  • It’s Official Slap-a-PC-User Day. Should be a good workout. #
  • K #
  • Heading to look at new furniture in new BCM in Monticello, AR http://loopt.us/6HvMTA #
  • At softball coaches meeting. What have I gotten into? @ Hollywood Cinema http://loopt.us/aJVWkA #
  • Great childrens ministry meeting this morning. Excited about what God is doing in our church! #
  • Suh-weet. CBS unveils TV.com for iPhone – watch TV shows on your phone… http://www.9to5mac.com/TV.COM-iPHONE-APP #
  • Sorry Twitterers… sent out a blast instead of a direct. #
  • New blog entry: 25 Things I Hate About Facebook http://tinyurl.com/dmm42t #
  • Was just told by Mobile Me chat agent “the total size of a calendar that you can sync without seeing any issues is 1 mb.” Mine is 38.8 mb! #
  • Wow. Just discovered that Google Sync recommends only a 1mb cal file as well: http://tinyurl.com/bsohrh #
  • Yuch. My head is full.. Not of knowledge.. but phlegm. Since Monday. Trying new meds. #
  • Trying QuickSMS for iPhone. New version doesn’t crash. Nice so far. #quicksms #
  • Fixing my daughters laptop #
Shootn the Bull
Feb 27, 2009
Jeff
5 Comments

25 Things I Hate About Facebook

Don’t get me wrong… I love Facebook. It’s an amazing relational tool. I’ve had more than a dozen conversations just this week on Facebook with folks that I don’t ever see. I’ve loved the ability to catch up with old friends, particularly those from high school that I didn’t do a good job keeping up. Add to that friends and colleagues from former churches and ministries, and it’s been fun.

However, I could have produced this video. Just about every one of these things are stuff I’ve rolled my eyes and sighed excessively about before. Without any further adieu….

HT: Shane Vanderhart

Spiritual Markers
Feb 25, 2009
Jeff
4 Comments

Help! Add it to your vocabulary

The following is from a talk I did as a campus minister at the University of Arkansas at Monticello back in ’02. I stumbled back across it today and thought it might encourage some of you.

HELP! – God’s Favorite “4-Letter” Word
FIRE, 11/20/2002

Look at four different snapshots that all reveal one thing:
1. 2 Chronicles 14.9-ff (Asa). “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You alone. It is in Your name that we come against this vast horde. O Lord, You are our God; do not let mere men prevail against You.”

  • It is vitally important to note when God sent help. It wasn’t until after Asa admitted his need and asked for it. Our Lord will put us the most desperate of positions in order to reveal to ourselves that we are not sufficient. We must cry out for help! Our cry of help is not only the delight of the Father’s ears, but it is also our admission that we are not God. As much as we might like to think that we are in control and that we can make things happen and that we can figure a way out, we are like the grass – here today and withered tomorrow, sustained only by the grace and light of God.

    • 2. 2 Chronicles 26. (Uzziah). “He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.” (5)
    “And he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.”

  • Here is an example of a king that had to depend upon another person (Zechariah) to keep him straight with the Lord. Do you know people like that? These people are only faithful as long as someone is paying attention to them, thus their faith is revealed as being self-centered rather than God-centered. May we all be motivated internally to pursue an intimate love relationship with God, and thus be dependent upon Him rather than men.

    • 3. 2 Chronicles 32.1-20 (Hezekiah). “…cried to heaven.” (19)

    “They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth.” (see also v13 – “were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able…?”)

  • Another important thought about when God gives help is that He always acts to bring glory and honor to His name! It is not for our fame and for our recognition that God works. From the beginning of Scripture to the end, God acts and works to bring glory to Himself. Wherever His name is being defamed, God will act quickly, even if it is to punish, destroy, or deliver.
  • In this passage, Hezekiah cries out for help, and it is evident that Sennecherib was defaming God’s glory and name, comparing Him to the “gods” of other nations.

    • 4. Matthew 8.23 (Disciples). “save us!”
    Again, we see that God is not inactive. God is not sleeping. God is waiting on us to realize our own predicaments apart from His power.

    Some principles to chew on:

  • Our cry for help reveals our heart of dependence.
  • Calling for help deposes the gods of our life.
  • Calling for help is a loud scream to self that “you are not God!” Perhaps that’s why God waits for our cries. He wants us to be well aware of where our help comes from (Psalm 121).
  • Every day we live without help from another becomes a brick that we place into a wall. The walls form a structure. The structure eventually becomes a temple that we erect for ourselves in our feeble attempt to control and be god of our own life.
  • God delights to help those who ask for it. The very act of asking for help is something foreign to us – whether we’re asking God or another person. It’s an admission of inability. It’s an admission of inadequacy. It’s an admission of insufficiency. But it is the foundation of humility. Scripture repeats from Old Testament to New that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

    • So if we work at being humble, will that release God’s power? No. God does not help us based on our demonstration of humility, as if “getting humble” somehow was a magic formula that forced God to work on our behalf. God only works to deliver and help based on his faithfulness to His own glory! You see, God is not man-centered. God is God-centered.

  • “My glory I will not give to another.” Isaiah 48.11
  • “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I will give to no other.” Isaiah 42.8
  • “Glory to God in the highest!” Luke 2.14 (at the birth of Jesus. Notice how the rest of the verse indicates that God’s glory means our peace!)
  • “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3.23 (the reason we are condemned apart from Christ is that we have failed to bring God the glory due His name!)
  • “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46.9
  • “Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19.7 (at the end of time)

    • Isn’t it obvious from these verses that His greatest glory means our greatest joy?! (This one phrase has become John Piper’s life message.)

    In conclusion, look at these verses of help in light of what we’ve studied:

  • “Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the honor of Your name. Oh, save us and forgive us for the sake of Your name.” (Psalm 79.9)
  • Even though we might have to cry out like the father of the demon-possessed son, “I do believe, but help me not to doubt,” God will still come to our aid, as Jesus demonstrated to the father. Not asking for help is not a demonstration of strength, but of weakness. Doing it on your own is not maturity but pride.
  • 1 Peter 5.5 – “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

    • Perhaps we could boil the entire Gospel message down to eight words:

    “I can’t. He can. I’m gonna let Him.”

    Or maybe even to two words:

    “Help, Lord!”

    Parchment Reviews
    Feb 23, 2009
    Jeff
    No Comments

    Review: Communicating for a Change (rated 4 stars)

    Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
    by Andy Stanley

     

    I keep waiting for Andy Stanley to write a flop. So far, he’s exceeded my expectations. Visioneering is probably one of the best books on vision out there, and this entry into the world of practical communication skills will be sure to help innumerable people.

    I would sure add it to every preacher’s reading list for this year – especially those who truly want to connect with current culture and younger generations. They may discover that implementing some of Stanley’s suggestions will not just enable them to communicate for change but that it will also refresh and renew their calling to communicate as well.

    It’s an easy and compelling read. The first half of the book is essentially a modern parable that illustrates all the principles that Stanley will elaborate on in the second half.

    The “Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication” are:

  • Determine your goal.
  • Pick a point.
  • Create a map.
  • Internalize the message.
  • Engage your audience.
  • Find your voice.
  • Start all over.

    • Yawn… right? Wrong. While the bullet points listed above seem like tired, old maxims, Stanley’s comments bear digesting. So, just because I’ve shared them with you (heck, they’re on the inside of the book jacket too) doesn’t mean that you know what’s going on.

    Again, if you want to communicate for change, you will probably have to change how you communicate. That’s what I found, and while I was encouraged by how closely my teaching style was affirmed in the book, I still found many areas that I really need to work on.

    Consider the following three possibilities of how you preach as listed in the book. You’re either…
    1. Teaching the Bible to people.

    This is usually the goal of the preacher or teacher who methodically and systematically teaches verse by verse through books of the Bible. This is the perfect approach for the communicator whose goal is to simply explain what the Bible means. 

    2. Teaching people the Bible.

    This goal was behind the “three points and an application” approach to preaching. The multipoint sermon or teaching outline is a great approach for the communicator whose goal is to teach people the Bible… Preachers who embrace this goal often use alliteration and multiple illustrations… the primary concern is… Did I cover the material? 

    3. Teaching people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible.

    Spiritual maturity is gauged by application not contemplation… Preaching for life change requires far less information and more application. Less explanation and more inspiration. 

    All in all, the book was extremely helpful and has some great suggestions. However, I do not subscribe to his “one point” approach. He urges the teacher to leave the audience with one point and to work hard to identify a point that is memorable and of course, comes from the text.

    However, what I’ve found in my years of preaching and teaching (and I’m no Andy Stanley, so take this with a grain of salt) is that my blatant attempts to narrow down what a passage is saying may often not be what the Lord really wants to say to His people. It’s not a bad approach, mind you. After all, a good communicator will prepare something. Who’s to say anything that we prepare is the right thing? Only prayer and sensitivity to the Spirit.

    Yet, even with that caveat, I would urge every teacher/preacher/speaker to try organizing your messages in such a way occasionally and see how your congregation responds. Those who would stay with what they consider to be “tried and true” may later discover they were only dispensing information rather than communicating for change.

    Spiritual Markers
    Feb 19, 2009
    Jeff
    2 Comments

    Spiritual centering

    Do you have a document that you’ve taken time to write that helps you remember who and whose you are? It’s what I call a “spiritual centering” paper.

    May I suggest you take the rest of this week to create one?

    Several years ago, someone recommended I do this, and after spending a lot of time on it, this is what emerged. It has been a great source of encouragement over the years. Sometimes I add to it; sometimes I delete from it. It hinges on what I sense I need to have brought to my mind the most.

    Purpose: To live and pursue in Christ things of ultimate worth and significance.

    Understanding my identity in Christ.

    Death precedes life.

  • 1 Corinthians 15.31 - ”I die every day.”
  • Galatians 2.20 - ”I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
  • Romans 6.6 - “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin —  because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”
  • Colossians 3.3 - ”For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

    • Thinking precedes being. (I will become who I think I am.)

  • Romans 12.3 - “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
  • Philippians 4.8 - “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
  • 2Peter 3.1 - “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.”
  • Romans 12.2 - “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

    • Christ makes me righteous, not my effort.

  • 2 Corinthians 5.17 - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
  • Romans 8.10 - “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
  • Philippians 3.9 - “…and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

    • Desiring God’s reign, His kingdom in me.

    Submission precedes peace.

  • Luke 18.14 - “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
  • 1Peter 5.6 - “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

    • Handling the burdens of life

  • 1 Peter 5.7 - “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

    • Reminding myself of God’s love for me.

    Refreshing myself with my personal mission and vision.

    Renewing my hope

    Skepticism, sarcasm, being critical and overly analytical are the signs of a loss of hope. Hope is the engine of faith and the enabling of endurance.

  • Psalm 62.5 - “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
  • Proverbs 23.18 - “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
  • Romans 15.13 - “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
    • Parchment Reviews
    Feb 17, 2009
    Jeff
    3 Comments

    Review: Now, Discover Your Strengths (rated 3 stars)

    Now, Discover Your Strengths
    by Marcus Buckingham

     

    Let me just say it outright. Don’t buy this book.

    It’s one of the dullest, most uninspirational leadership books you’ll come across. Truly. I ran out of toothpicks propping my eyes open with them.

    However, with that said… the StrengthsFinder Leadership Assessment tool is an intriguing tool. After taking it and sharing the results with my wife, she kept saying, “Yes, Yes, Yes!” in response to at least three of my results.

    The overall premise of the book and Strengths-Based Leadership is simply that… lead from your strengths. The tool helps you discover your strengths and learn to adapt those and develop those to whatever job or profession you’re currently in.

    The authors have done extensive research spanning years to develop this tool, and their observations and conclusions seem to ring true to general human experience: If you try to focus on shoring up your weaknesses, you will always only be an average performer. The real key to excellence is finding and developing and operating out of our your real, innate strengths.

    These conclusions are extremely encouraging and challenging. For one, few people are ever able to work in a true strength-based organization. The book offers suggestions for leading your existing company or group toward that goal, but so much rides on the identification and development of exceptional managers that I wonder how many organizations – even when knowing these principles – will ever be able to change without outside consultation and professional direction.

    Therein lies the weakness in the approach. The authors’ conclusions might be revolutionary; however, the implementation of the principles are simply nigh unto impossible. You would need the perfect storm of managerial talent, organizational leadership, executive humility, and employee teachability to pull off such a massive ethos transition.

    And let’s not forget that in the middle of wanting to change the way your organization treats its people and uses them, it still has to focus on its prime objectives. Strength-Based Leadership would definitely increase and radically transform the organization from morale to productivity. However, getting there is going to be exceptionally challenging.

    Especially if all the material is as dull as this book was.

    Like I said, the tool is great; the supporting material is zzzzzzz. I would suggest that you go straight to the StrengthsFinder website to take the inventory there, but it appears that they’ve cleverly required you to buy one of their exceptionally dull books to take the inventory. Good luck with that.

    For what it’s worth, here are my Strengths, as identified by the test:

    • Activator
    • Strategic
    • Intellection
    • Belief
    • Achiever

    To sum these up:

    Activator
    “When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that “there are still some things we don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can’t. You must put yourself out there. You must take the next step. It is the only way to keep your thinking fresh and informed. The bottom line is this: You know you will be judged not by what you say, not by what you think, but by what you get done. This does not frighten you. It pleases you.Strategic
    The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

    Intellection
    You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.

    Belief
    If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics—both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

    Achiever
    Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.


    See more about Now, Discover Your Strengths
    Goin' to Town
    Feb 16, 2009
    Jeff
    2 Comments

    Next Palm Pre promo

    The folks at Palm have released an “official” Palm Pre video. They’re the first company that understands what is needed to give the iPhone serious competition. That’s because they were one of the first in the industry doing smart phones. They seriously shot themselves in the foot when they clung to Palm OS – and watched every other smart phone in the world get an updated OS that passed them by. 

    Watch the video and see if you think you might like a Pre…

    Goin' to Town
    Feb 14, 2009
    Jeff
    2 Comments

    Considering the Kindle

    This is a great article for someone like me who is considering the Kindle. Basically, I can’t afford it. And as the author points out, no matter how “cool” and wonderfully convenient it is, it will break your bank in the long run.

    $400 for a device that could be obsolete in a a year or two. On top of that, kiss goodbye the ability to buy a used book for cents. Kindle’s software limitations (DRM) force you to buy digital books from the Amazon store for much more than what you’d pay for a used book.

    Sigh. The technology is able, but the wallet is not.

    In addition, my iPhone can download a free copy of Stanza, which is a ereader application. It has more than 100,000 books at present. However, it charges far more for digital books than Amazon does. (Compare Christopher Paolini’s Brisingr at $27.50 on Stanza to $9.99 on Amazon’s Kindle!)

    The eBook world is just not there for me… yet. Maybe one day. I still enjoy holding a book – new or used in my hand and then reselling it after I’m done or adding it to my library. Since I underline meaningful passages often for easy reference, it would be hard to adjust to an electronic marking system (although the Kindle’s is remarkable).

    I’d encourage you to watch this video on the Kindle and then tell me if you could be persuaded to change your reading habits for one of these devices. Let’s just say that you could afford a Kindle. Would you embrace one?

    Homestead Happenings
    Feb 13, 2009
    Jeff
    3 Comments

    Eating my words


    Yesterday I posted this video to my Facebook profile. The name of the video is “When the Driver is a She.” I laughed at it and moved on with my day.

    Little did I know that the Female Genie of Driving Vengeance was watching and administering justice.

    Last night, in a rush to get Sam to bow practice in time, I backed into Paula Atwell’s car in our driveway. She had parked behind me. Bad thing is I had seen it and calculated what turns I would need to make.

    However, upon getting in the car, I was juggling a hot meal intended for Tracy Reed’s house. As I passed it off to Sam to hold, I completely forgot about the car behind me.

    Yup. I’m that way. A creature of driveway habit.

    So I put it into reverse and begin my normal (aka, speedy) exit from the carport. We were jolted to a quick halt by Paula’s Honda.

    Dented her hood quite well. But no damage to our Sequoia.

    As I stepped back into the house to tell Carolyn and Paula, by the eyes, I realized they had witnessed the whole thing through Caro’s office window. They had been yelling at me to “watch out” through the window…

    Moral: Laugh in private at women drivers. Posting videos about them will come back to haunt you.

    Homestead Happenings
    Feb 12, 2009
    Jeff
    1 Comment

    Wifey’s photoblog…

    carophotoblog

    Carolyn started a photo blog a few days ago that she’s been very consistent in updating. This comes after her initial attempt at being a blogger ended with a whimper. She just hated feeling like she had to write something. After months of chiding, I finally gave up. She has so much to offer the world, but no amount of guilt, bribery, or laundry could convince her to create with words.

    Enter photo blogging.

    After discovering aminus3.com, I suggested she blog a photo a day. That immediately caught her imagination, and she has been sharing with the world some of her amazing photography. The ability to post new and old, the global community at aminus3, and the feedback she receives has been great. 

    So I wanted to point you all her way. Bookmark the site and leave a few comments. Maybe we can keep her spreading her talent for our enjoyment.

    Her site is anoblephoto.aminus3.com. Oh, and if you’re interested in a shoot, her main photography site is anoblephoto.com.

    Goin' to Town
    Feb 10, 2009
    Jeff
    6 Comments

    Google Sync for Mac may trump MobileMe

    sync-48x48Ever since Mobile Me’s inception, there have been significant burps and hiccups of Apple’s revolutionary syncing service. When it works, it’s beautiful. When it doesn’t, it’s a bear. My experience over the past year has included more bear than beauty. Granted, Apple acknowledged its stumble out of the gate by extending members’ expiration dates beyond their 12-month paid subscription. That was a caveat. 

    However, the amount of times I’ve had to reset iPhones, my sync history, and generally yell at my calendars for not syncing correctly between our three computers and two iPhones has been excessive. Apple should be paying me for bug discovery of this service, not the other way around. Since it’s a $99 annual fee, Google’s recent end-around may sound the death nell for Apple’s stumbling. 

    Disclaimer: Before you think I’m being hard on Apple, just remember you always tend to be hard on those you love. I am a diehard Apple fan, and therefore my criticisms, I think, are fair. I have a hard stomaching those who take pot shots and make snide remarks without any familiarity with Apple’s stellar and amazing products and customer service.

    Let me make a long story short: If you own an iPhone and do NOT use Mobile Me but WOULD love to have your contacts and calendars sync wirelessly with your Google account, (what’s on your iPhone appears magically on your Google calendar and vice versa) then go here and set up your iPhone to work with Google’s new Activesync.

    At the very least, you’ll want to use it if you don’t already use another service. For Mobile Me users, you may be tempted to demand a refund or pro-rated credit. Certainly for users of the super-expensive BusySync (see my review of it here), you’ll sigh and regret paying their astronomical fees.

    I would think most folks will be switching to Google’s services soon. It’s free, and it works.

    Like Mobile Me should be, on both counts.

    Also, you can watch the video for an explanation of what exactly it does:

    Goin' to Town
    Feb 9, 2009
    Jeff
    3 Comments

    Another reason I enjoy blogging…

    bloggingvisit

    I’ll admit that I track my blog’s statistics regularly. I enjoy seeing where folks are coming from, and what they consistently read. Particularly, I tend to check the “exit page” which is the last click before they exit my blog.

    The above image may look like mumbo-jumbo to you, but it tells me several things.

    • The visitor was from Reno, NV.
    • The visitor was a first-timer to Notes from the Trail.
    • They found my blog from a Google search for “Together vs Yojimbo.” These are two productivity apps that I had happened to review a while back. 
    • The visitor spent 7 minutes and 5 seconds on my blog.
    • The exit page (or last page they read) was a blog entry about having a love relationship with God.

    Consider the stunning implications of that… A visitor was simply Googling for information about productivity applications on the Mac, found my blog on Google and ended up reading an entry I wrote about falling in love with our Creator…

    And that, my friends, is why I really enjoy writing about all kinds of things – from technology to cereal to cancer to Christ. You just never know what may lead someone to the real stuff behind the fluff.

    Previous in series
    Homestead Happenings
    Feb 6, 2009
    Jeff
    5 Comments

    There’s a new cereal in town… and lose 6 pounds

    I just know there’s going to a mad cereal rush at the Supercenter after all five of you read this post. I have discovered a new cereal that may just compete with my Strawberry-Vanilla Wheat Square Extraodinaire. Actually, I was informed this morning at a children’s ministry meeting that Mandy has already climbed the mountain of surreal cereal discovery and planted her flag there. We shared a few moments of mutual praise for the cereal this a.m. when we both realized that we have fallen in love with it.

    cerealI know, I know. “Say no more,” you’re thinking. “Tell us, for the love of spoons, what this wonderful morning taste sensation is!!” 

    Please be patient. I too was walking in darkness for many a morning. A few more seconds of tastelessness can’t hurt you. Go ahead, eat your soggy Captain Crunch. It will be the last time that a bowl of those yellow pillows satisfies your senses.

    Drumroll, please…

    Kellogg’s Special K Fruit & Yogurt. 

    Yea, I realize that the name is dull. Almost unappetizing. But you’ll have to forgive Kellogg’s again on this one. (They seem to have a knack for giving their best cereals weak names. Perhaps they do so to make the moment of discovery all the more sublime.)

    Carolyn must actually be given some credit for making my mornings (and evenings) so wonderfully enlightening. She was the one who picked it up at Wal-Mart the other day. 

    There’s a large banner on the bottom of the box that proclaims “Lose 6 lbs in 2 weeks.” I don’t know if she was sending me a message or not. One caveat, the weight thing will not work. The cereal is so good that you’ll find yourself, like me, devouring three bowlfuls in the evening when it’s “fend for yourself night” around the house. I really think I could eat this cereal for every meal. 

    Then I find myself grabbing handfuls of it for a snack throughout the day. How I wish we had a pipe into a pantry from the Kellogg’s factory. I could just pull a lever and have Kellogg’s Special K Fruit & Yogurt funneling into my bowl without worry of running out.

    Hmmm. All this typing has made me hungry. Off to get a spoon and a bowl.

    Spiritual Markers
    Feb 2, 2009
    Jeff
    No Comments

    Joyful Submission Series

    francischanWe began a 4-part series at Journey this past Sunday on biblical authority. It’s called “Joyful Submission: Losing Control Without Losing Your Soul.” You can read more about the different topics and areas of life we’ll be applying submission to here, but I wanted to share with you the message we heard Sunday.

    It’s by Francis Chan who is pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi, California. He is one of the more dynamic biblical communicators around right now, and after listening to this podcast a few weeks ago, I knew I wouldn’t be able to say it any better. So we showed the message this week, with blessed results from the Lord.

    I really believe the issue of biblical authority and submission is perhaps the key issue for our culture and generation. So many problems in churches, in the corporate world, education, the home, and government are the result of our refusal to submit to divinely-ordained authority in our lives. We are a nation of rebels. Heck, America was born out of rebellion. That trait is so intertwined into our national identity that we think it’s a positive trait.

    Listen to Chan’s message and let me know your thoughts as well.

    Click here to watch. You may also go to Cornerstone’s website and listen to other messages. This message is dated June 10, 2007.

    About

    Notes from the Trail
    The Personal Blog of Jeff Noble
    Info: From the misty hills of Virginia, "Notes from the Trail" seeks to encourage you on your journey. Written by a graphic designer-pastor, this blog is a blend of humor, insight, and faith discovery.

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