Like a Good Neighbor

March 1, 2013 in Family Life with 1 Comment

20130301-215719.jpgI have to say it – like the commercial jingle “State Farm is there”. My real life good neighbor, Rob Mullen, (literally across the street from my house) is my State Farm agent. This week I had to have my car towed due to mechanical problems. I called Rob to ask about the State Farm Roadside Assistance program and he not only got back to me quickly and with helpful information, he hand delivered a check to cover the cost of the towing to my house this evening.

It was only a small thing but it does demonstrate excellent service & gives me confidence that if something more significant comes up the jingle will be more than just words but a real promise of service.

Thanks Rob!

Pick a Great Reading Plan

December 29, 2012 in Church Life with 0 Comments

YouVersion Reading PlanIt’s that time of year again. A time to start fresh. A time to make new (good) habits. One of those you might want to consider trying out is a Bible reading plan. You can start small (like a 5 day plan), try out a topic (like leadership or marriage), or an overview of the important stories and events.  Like any good habit, the important thing is to start and stick with it.

Fortunately, the YouVersion Bible app makes this quite easy.  They have a great list of reading plans to choose from including some brand new ones that have just been added.

To start the year, I’m going to try “God’s Glory and Your Purpose” a 5-day video devotional by John Piper. After that, I think I will do the 21-day study on leadership “NIV Once-a-Day Bible for Leaders“.  How about you?

Read more about reading plans from the YouVersion blog: Pick a Great Reading Plan from YouVersion

You Intended to Harm Me…

September 13, 2012 in Music with 0 Comments

What can be said but “Wow”. If you ever wanted to see an example of someone’s pain and anguish being used to drive their passion and determination, here it is!  Watching this, I am reminded of the verse in Genesis 50:20

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives

Watch video below [or click here]

http://youtu.be/UtvqlTyP5sY

 

12 Keys to Authentic Leadership – Brad Lomenick

September 11, 2012 in Leadership with 0 Comments

I found Brad’s post to be very compelling.  He highlighted 12 points that are important for leaders if they are going to be authentic in how they lead.  In a digital age authenticity is something that easily is lost. I believe the world needs more authentic leaders, ones that are true to themselves and those they are leading.

Here is a summary of his points, but check out the post, 12 Keys to Authentic Leadership, for full commentary.

  1. Be real in all mediums (forms of communication)
  2. Constantly turn the rocks over.
  3. The more successful you become, the less accessible you are.
  4. Learn to open up.
  5. Ask great questions.
  6. Invite direct reports to do 360 degree review
  7. Accept a better standard
  8. Be interested over interesting
  9. Be accountable to those who know you best
  10. Authentic leaders make more of those around them, less about themselves
  11. Actively build a support network
  12. Be who you are.

Most all of these are hard to do consistently, but it in a society and culture where authenticity seems to be a dying characteristic, it is important to keep in front of us and moving in this direction.  If we are not deliberate about it, the pressure to always have the right answer, look important, and show no weaknesses will set us up for sure failure.

Project Glass Goes SkyDiving

June 28, 2012 in In The News, Tech Life with 0 Comments

I have a feeling we are going to be hearing and seeing a lot more about this in the future. Just imagine the possibilities…

More about Project Glass.

Custom Themes in Gmail

June 27, 2012 in In The News with 0 Comments

Ah finally!  I’ve been waiting for this capability for a long time!  Last week Google announced the latest update to themes in Gmail.  Now, in addition to being able to select from one of the many HD themes they provide, you can also use your own background image.

Have you experimented with gmail themes yet?

 

Leaders Are Decision Makers

June 26, 2012 in Leadership with 0 Comments

Making decisions can be a difficult thing, but good leaders make them. Period.  Often there can be a tendency to try to avoid making a decision for fear of being wrong or being criticized by others, but the leaders who stand out, who make a difference are the ones who actually make decisions.  Brad Lomenick had some great thoughts on this in his post which included these points.

  • Understand that it’s part of your job.
  • Sleep on the big ones.
  • Know your values.
  • Understand the context.
  • Just do it.

Being the analytical and introverted type, I know I will often gravitate to putting decisions off until I know 100% it’s the right one.  The problem with that is not enough decisions get made.  What about you?

dotChurch

June 14, 2012 in Church Life with 0 Comments

You are familiar with the current top-level domains such as .com, .org, .net, etc, but starting in 2013 hundreds of new top-level domains will become available including brand-specific ones like .netflix or .toyota as well as generic ones like .bank or .dental.  These new domain extensions are not cheap however with a price tag of $185,000.

Thanks to the partnership and vision to help the global church, LifeChurch.tv has created an initiative to help bring a new domain extension to all churches:  .church

Read more about it and show your support to help make this an affordable reality to search, share and connect with ministries across the globe!

Happy Hallowmas!

November 1, 2011 in culture with 0 Comments

An interesting post today from RELEVANT Magazine about why November 1 is more than just the day after Halloween. I must confess that as a protestant growing up in America, the notion of “All Saints Day” was lost on me and I never really understood the significance or concept behind the day.  I don’t think I even knew about it or any connection to Halloween until I was in college.

The true spiritual significance of remembering “all of the saints” is one that really stands in contrast to the American tradition of what we tend to think about with Halloween.

For much of modern human history (since at least the 16th century) All Hallows’ Eve—in other words, Halloween—has been notable for what it anticipates. The “eve” in the name isn’t just for show, just as the “eve” in Christmas Eve suggests something else is just over the horizon. That something, in the case of Nov. 1, is All Hallows or All Saints’ Day (fun fact: it’s also known as Hallowmas, which sounds like the greatest Christmas-Halloween mash-up ever, where kids wear costumes, gorge themselves on candy and get gifts. Like that wouldn’t take off immediately). Christians all over the world will celebrate today, remembering the saints.

Interesting how over time the cultural tradition has shifted from one of honoring the saints to one that honors the dead and focuses more on the macabre.  Have you ever been enlightened to something that gives new meaning or understanding to something that is familiar?

iPad Magic for Halloween

October 30, 2011 in Just for Fun with 5 Comments

Guess we should have seen this coming! With technology present almost everywhere in life, why not in a magic act?  Great job by master magician Simon Pierro!

[hat tip to Mashable]

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