Friends With Blogs

One feature that most blogs have that I have not included so far is a blog roll. For anyone not familiar with blogs, a blog roll is simply a list of links to other blogs to make it easier to discover new people worth reading. I have decided to go ahead and start a blog roll of my own. As I started to think about it, I realized that I always feel honored when I notice that I'm on some one's list, and I've discovered some great blogs by checking out other people's lists. Since I started blogging, I have become aware of several friends who also write blogs. I have really enjoyed keeping up with their lives through their blogs, even if I don't get to see them very often or even at all anymore. My blog roll will only include friends that I actually know, not just people that I read. The list includes current and former coworkers, friends from current and former churches, family, business associates, and school friends. I will only include links to blogs that I currently subscribe to and read regularly. So, for those of you who typically read my posts by email or rss, take a minute to drop by the site and check out my "friends with blogs".

The Force Lives On

One of the things I love as a parent is introducing my kids to the things that I loved when I was younger. Growing up, I was a huge Star Wars fan. I was really too young to see Star Wars when it first came out, but by the time The Empire Strikes Back came out, I was totally into it. Over the last couple of weeks I've had the chance to relive my childhood through the eyes of my girls. They decided that they wanted to see the Star Wars trilogy, and I was more than happy to oblige. I guess the fact that they are getting older and hearing about it from their friends made them curious to know what all of the fuss was about. They have always been so scared of any costumes or creatures, I'm glad that they're growing out of that stage. Anyway, it was so fun to see them experience these movies for the first time. I forgot about some of the great quotes Yoda has while training Luke. "Try not. There is no try. Do or do not." I've already reminded one of my girls of that one. Or, Luke: "I don't believe it." Yoda: "That is why you fail." But my favorite momemt of all came at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke and Darth are fighting and this exchange takes place:

Darth Vader: Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.

Luke: He told me enough. He told me you killed him!

Darth Vader: No. I am your father.

Luke: NOOOOOOOO!!!

My girls were stunned. They asked, "Is it true??" "Can it be?" I said, "We'll have to watch the next movie to see for sure." They wanted to go to Blockbuster right then to see how it turned out. Sydney and I kept acting out the scene the next day. She always made me do the Vader voice. When we finally did get to see "Return of the Jedi" and they found out that Luke and Leia were siblings they said, "You mean Luke kissed his sister?!" I just couldn't believe how much fun it was watching these with my kids! I've already made them sit through ET. I think Raiders of the Lost Ark is next on the nostalgia train.

Lunch With Jeb

I've been busy lately and I haven't had time to post about my lunch with Jeb Bush a couple of weeks ago. I was just as surprised as you that Jeb would want to hang out, but I guess we both have the Florida/Texan thing in common and he wanted to see how I'm adapting to the new state. Okay, not really, but it sounds cooler to say it that way. Actually I had the chance attend the Comerica Bank business forum and Jeb Bush was the speaker. He was a very engaging speaker, and not afraid to say things that could be considered controversial. I thought I'd share some of his points.

- Take a Risk. He said that in his time as governor of Florida, he never shied away from vetoing items that didn't make sense. His example was the alligator marketing fund. Jeb said, "We don't need to market 'em, we need to kill 'em." Basically, his point was that great things can't happen if you're not willing to go against the flow and take a risk.

-Ask the "Why not" question. When someone has a new idea about how to make things better, it's easy to dismiss because it's different. He suggests that any time new ideas come into play, ask "why shouldn't we do it?" It might be surprising what ends up getting changed.

-Have a BHAG. BHAG stands for 'Big Hairy Audacious Goal'. Some of his while he was in office included education, and energy security. BHAG's are goals that you can't achieve on your own. It will take many people working together.

-Stick with it. Focus on the long term, not the immediate.

-Listen before you communicate. He says in this complex world listening is becoming a lost art. Make it a point to hear what others are saying before you begin to speak.

-Integrity and Authenticity Matter. This one resonated with me. He said, "Say what you're going to do, and then do what you said." Seems pretty simple, but especially in politics it's been proven to not always happen.

I enjoyed my lunch with Jeb. I hope he calls again sometime.

Planting Seeds

This month at Hope, John has been talking about Jesus' parables and how they still apply to us today. One of the parables that he mentioned came from Luke 8:4-15, the parable of the sower and the soil. The basic takeaway is that when we share Christ (plant seeds), the effectiveness will depend on how ready the person is to receive it (good soil, rocky soil, thorny soil). In my experience, it's always worthwhile to plant seeds whenever possible. Only God truly knows if someone is ready to hear the good news.

This became even clearer to me this week when Anne received a phone call from some friends that we had in Tampa. We got to know them because our daughters were in the same class in school. Through the couple of years that we knew them, the conversation would sometimes turn to what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ. During the phone call she told Anne that her entire family was baptized this past weekend, and thanked Anne for "planting seeds." It reminded me of a lunch appointment that I had with her husband just a little over a year ago. After my lunch I sent an email to some friends (this was pre-blog). I thought I would re-post that email here.

"Today I was having lunch with a friend who is at the beginning of his spiritual journey. As I was sharing some of my life experiences with him I mentioned a time in my life when God led me in a certain direction. He immediately stopped me and asked, "How did you know it was God?!" I really appreciated the question, and I had to stop for a moment to figure out how I was going to explain that concept. Through that conversation I was reminded about what a privilege it it is to have a relationship with a God who is not distant, but is present with me and hears me when I pray. I told my friend that over the years my relationship with Christ has grown and I have learned to distinguish between an idea that I have in my mind, and something that God is leading me to do. It's difficult to put into words, but I explained that it's similar to relationships we have with other people. For example, my wife knows me so well, that there are times she knows exactly what I'm going to say before I even say it. Over the years she has learned my quirks and my tendencies and she can generally predict what my reaction will be. In the same way, as I have studied the bible, prayed and walked with God daily, I have come to know more of who He is, and what He would say about the situations that come my way. Jesus said in John 10:14-15,27 (NIV) 'I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father Knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep.' 'My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.' I believe that as you pray and ask God for direction in your life, He will answer you. This week, ask Him to help you to hear His voice above all of the other distractions that come your way."

I'm glad to know that some of the seeds that I planted in his life during that lunch began to grow. Hearing about his family getting baptized makes me excited! I can't wait to hear what else God has in store.

Nostalgia

A couple of days ago my friend Tim celebrated eighteen years serving at the same church, Faith Assembly in N. Ft. Myers, FL. Tim was already on staff when Anne and I moved there for my very first full time pastoral position in 1992. We were there a little over two years, and we became good friends. You can tell by the picture that we were WAY ahead of our time. Totally cutting edge! (I think we were doing a drama about Sunday School, but I still wear the cap occasionally). We still keep in touch even though we rarely get to see each other in person. I have a lot of great memories of my time there. We were treated very well by the pastor, Phil Goss, and the church family. One cool thing is that 3 of the pastors, including Pastor Goss, are STILL THERE!! I think that says a lot about the character of the leaders there. Anyway, as I was thinking about my time there, I was reminded of a funny story that has a moral in the end...

Tim was/is a huge Atlanta Braves fan. He was always trying to figure out how to mix his love for the Braves with some type of viable ministry opportunity. One day, he decided to organize a church outing to Miami to watch the Braves play the Marlins. When I heard about the incredible ministry that was going to be happening, I asked Tim if he needed my assistance. (Doesn't every good bus trip need to include the Music Pastor? I thought so.) So I came along and we had a fun trip over to the park. By the time we arrived and got to our "great" seats (outfield of couse, Tim spared no expense), I was really hungry. Of course if you read this blog very often you know that it's against my personal values to buy overpriced stadium food, but there was no escaping it this time...I HAD to EAT!! To my surprise, they sold large pizza's for ten bucks! Not a bad stadium value, so I got one and started in. About half way through the pizza, I was feeling kind of full, but I could still eat some more. Now you have to remember that this was a long time ago when I was pretty skinny and could eat whatever I wanted and never had to think about it (oh, the twenties....how I miss thee). That's when the guy behind me (a big guy, man's man, who was on the church board) asked, "You gonna eat that whole thing?! You can't eat that!" I said, "Oh yeah, I'm going to eat it, and I'm going to love it. Just watch!" He had set the hook, and I had taken the bait. I was in. By the time there were two pieces left, I was FULL. But there was NO WAY I was going to stop with just two pieces left. When I stuffed the last piece in my mouth, I turned around and showed him the empty box, and said "See, no problem!" I think he even acknowledged my greatness by saying, "You're crazy" or something like that. Either way, I had WON! No pizza's gonna get in my way...yada, yada. I then turned back around in my seat and my stomach started to churn almost immediately. That dough felt like it tripled in size when it hit my stomach. I sat through the last half of the game with the worst stomach ache in my life, but I couldn't let anyone see because that would cheapen my earlier win. It was kind of a miserable ride home, and I can't even remember if the Marlins or Braves won the game, but there is one thing I have remembered to this day...there are times when "winning" is JUST NOT WORTH IT!!

My Very Own Street

This weekend we were out and about in Plano, dropping in on a new burger place recommended by my friend mistermunoz, when I came across my very own street! I guess when the city found out that I was moving to Texas, they hurriedly put this sign up in my honor. They must have done it quickly, because I didn't even get an invitation to the dedication! I'm sure they just figured I was way too busy to be involved, being the famous blogger that I am. Either way, I'm just glad that my work has finally been recognized, and that whenever people walk down this street,they will think of me.

Tech Stuff: Backing Up Your Photos

The other day I was thinking about the many digital photos that our family has taken and how they are being stored on the various hard drives in our household when it occurred to me, what happens if that computer locks up and the hard drive fails? Now, one of our computers is a Mac, so I know it will never happen (wink, wink), but I realized that we have several years worth of memories that should probably be protected. I decided to start looking for an easy way to back them up online, so that I wouldn't have to worry about dying computers ever again.

Xdrive is a service from AOL that allows you to upload up to 5gb of data for free. It's a pretty sweet deal, but I found the interface a little clunky, and it wasn't optimized for photo sharing.

Google's Picasa Web is a service that I currently use. They only give you 1gb of storage for free, but it's fairly cheap if you need to upgrade. ($20/year/10gb) I like the interface, it's easy to share albums, and it works well with the Picasa desktop application, but I wanted something even easier. I didn't want to have to load pictures onto the computer, and then manually upload them to the web. I thought there should be an automated option.

That's when I found Sugarsync. It's a brand new service that automatically syncs your pictures (or files, videos, music) to the web. Not only that, but if you have several computers, you can keep them synced as well. When you load your pictures onto one computer, it will automatically add them to other computers if you want it to. In fact, you can see them on your smartphone as well. It costs a little bit more ($50/year/10gb) but it is much more sophisticated than the other sites. And, they are offering a half price promotion if you sign up before April 15.

Try some of these out before you have the unfortunate realization that hard drives don't last forever!