Update (5/14/09): Kris Allen is now in the finals! Go get your t-shirt today! Kris Allen is an Arkansan who is on this season’s American Idol show. He’s made it to the Top 12, and he’s a great guy. He is a worship leader in his church, and so my wife and kids and Lee [...]

Occasionally I highlight a ministry-related website that either has caught my eye graphically or because of usefulness. The Living Open Source blog is run by Tim from the UK and attracted me for both of the above reasons. I first found LOS when I was searching for a great WordPress theme for our church. He [...]

We’ve been preparing for some time for Sam to be a page in the Arkansas Legislature this week. Adelyn got to experience it last week, and when I asked Sam over the weekend if he was excited about the learning experience, he replied, “Well, yea. I get to get out of school for three days.” [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Ever 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 [...]

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. [...]