5,040

5,040...

That's the number of e-mails I had waiting for me to deal with in my primary e-mail account when I returned from vacation today. That doesn't count the other 4 accounts that I don't check that often.

That's the number of e-mail that didn't make it into my Junk Mail folder.

While I didn't keep count, much of the e-mail I received while I was gone concerned my apparent need for "male enhancement" (if you know what I mean). Some of it the e-mail informed me of ways to invest my vast fortune. Did I mention the "male enhancement" e-mail?

And then there was the "real" e-mail. It's almost all dealt with now. I'm going home the night to finish off the last few items.

So it can all begin again tomorrow, when I'm sure I'll receive more "male enhancement" e-mail.

The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master...

1. Give advice that matters in one sentence. I got run out of a job I liked once, and while it was happening, a guy stopped me in the hall. Smart guy, but prone to saying too much. I braced myself. I didn't want to hear it. I needed a white knight, and I knew it wasn't him. He just sighed and said: When nobody has your back, you gotta move your back. Then he walked away. Best advice I ever got. One sentence.

2. Tell if someone is lying. Everyone has his theory. Pick one, test it. Choose the tells that work for you. I like these: Liars change the subject quickly. Liars look up and to their right when they speak. Liars use fewer contractions. Liars will sometimes stare straight at you and employ a dead face. Liars never touch their chest or heart except self-consciously. Liars place objects between themselves and you during a conversation.

3. Take a photo. Fill the frame.

4. Score a baseball game. Scoring a game is an exercise in ciphering, creating a shorthand of your very own. In this way, it's a private language as much as a record of the game. The only given is the numbering of the positions and the use of the diamond to express each batter's progress around the bases. I black out the diamond when a run scores. I mark an RBI with a tally mark in the upper-right-hand corner. Each time you score a game, you pick up on new elements to track: pitch count, balls and strikes, foul balls. It doesn't matter that this information is available on the Internet in real time. Scoring a game is about bearing witness, expanding your own ability to observe.

5. Name a book that matters. The Catcher in the Rye does not matter. Not really. You gotta read.

6. Know at least one musical group as well as is possible. One guy at your table knows where Cobain was born and who his high school English teacher was. Another guy can argue the elegant extended trope of Liquid Swords with GZA himself. This is how it should be. Music does not demand agreement. Rilo Kiley. Nina Simone. Whitesnake. Fugazi. Otis Redding. Whatever. Choose. Nobody likes a know-it-all, because 1) you can't know it all and 2) music offers distinct and private lessons. So pick one. Except Rilo Kiley. I heard they broke up.

7. Cook meat somewhere other than the grill. Buy The Way to Cook, by Julia Child. Try roasting. Braising. Broiling. Slow-cooking. Pan searing. Think ragouts, fricassees, stews. All of this will force you to understand the functionality of different cuts. In the end, grilling will be a choice rather than a chore, and your Weber will become a tool rather than a piece of weekend entertainment.

8. Not monopolize the conversation.

9. Write a letter. So easy. So easily forgotten. A five-paragraph structure works pretty well: Tell why you're writing. Offer details. Ask questions. Give news. Add a specific memory or two. If your handwriting is terrible, type. Always close formally.

10. Buy a suit. Avoid bargains. Know your likes, your dislikes, and what you need it for (work, funerals, court). Squeeze the fabric - if it bounces back with little or no sign of wrinkling, that means it's good, sturdy material. And tug the buttons gently. If they feel loose or wobbly, that means they're probably coming off sooner rather than later. The jacket's shoulder pads are supposed to square with your shoulders; if they droop off or leave dents in the cloth, the jacket's too big. The jacket sleeves should never meet the wrist any lower than the base of the thumb - if they do, ask to go down a size. Always get fitted.

Check out the rest of the list HERE.


tags: skills for men

11 Steps to a Better Brain...

New Scientist.com had a great article about building your brain (you can do it!). It doesn't matter how brainy you are or how much education you've had - you can still improve and expand your mind. Boosting your mental faculties doesn't have to mean studying hard or becoming a reclusive book worm. There are lots of tricks, techniques and habits, as well as changes to your lifestyle, diet and behavior that can help you flex your grey matter and get the best out of your brain cells. And here are 11 of them.

1. Take "Smart Drugs"
2. Eat right
3. Take music lessons
4. Use technology
5. Get a mental workout
6. Learn memory methods from the masters
7. Get a good night's sleep
8. Exercise
9. Learn from the "Nuns Study"
10. Pay attention
11. Think positive

Read the entire amazing article HERE.


tags: brain | cognitive power | self-improvement

Worship Confessional: 06.22.08

It was a good morning this morning. People loved the VBS video that The Weave produced (see below). And after a week of rest in the mountains, my voice did whatever I wanted to (it's so nice having a rested voice and being able to sing with power).

Here's the worship set we did (with iTunes links):

• Majestic (Lincoln Brewster)
• Let My Words Be Few (Matt Redman)
• Jesus Paid It All (North Point Church version)
• Grace Like Rain (Todd Agnew)

tags: worship confessional | New Covenant Community Church | NewCov | Fresno

Turn your $60 router into a $600 router

Of all the great DIY projects at this year's Maker Faire, the one project that really caught my eye involved converting a regular old $60 router into a powerful, highly configurable $600 router. The router has an interesting history, but all you really need to know is that the special sauce lies in embedding Linux in your router. I found this project especially attractive because: 1) It's easy, and 2) it's totally free.

So when I got the chance, I dove into converting my own router. After a relatively simple firmware upgrade, you can boost your wireless signal, prioritize what programs get your precious bandwidth, and do lots of other simple or potentially much more complicated things to improve your computing experience.

Read the entire article HERE.

HT: LifeHacker

Bruce Lee’s Top 7 Fundamentals for Getting Your Life in Shape...

1. What are you really thinking about today?

“As you think, so shall you become.”


2. Simplify.

“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”


3. Learn about yourself in interactions.
“To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.”

4. Do not divide.
“Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.”

5. Avoid a dependency on validation from others.
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” “Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.”

6. Be proactive.
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

7. Be you.
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”
Read the entire article HERE.

HT: The Positivity Blog

The Get Out Clause

Many people are uncomfortable with the march of the surveillance state – but a Manchester band has used it to their advantage.

Unable to afford a proper camera crew and equipment, The Get Out Clause, an unsigned band from the city, decided to make use of the cameras seen all over British streets.

With an estimated 13 million CCTV cameras in Britain, suitable locations were not hard to come by.

They set up their equipment, drum kit and all, in eighty locations around Manchester – including on a bus – and proceeded to play to the cameras.

Afterwards they wrote to the companies or organisations involved and asked for the footage under the Freedom of Information Act.

"We wanted to produce something that looked good and that wasn't too expensive to do," guitarist Tony Churnside told Sky News.

"We hit upon the idea of going into Manchester and setting up in front of cameras we knew would be filming and then requesting that footage under the Freedom Of Information act."

Only a quarter of the organizations contacted fulfilled their obligation to hand over the footage – perhaps predictably, bigger firms were reluctant, while smaller companies were more helpful – but that still provided enough for a video with 20 locations.

"We had a number of different excuses as to why we weren't given the footage, like they didn't have the footage. They delete after a certain amount of time, so if they procrastinate for long enough, they can claim it's been deleted," Mr Churnside said.

HT: Telegraph.co.uk

RSS: Embedded video

How to Have the Greatest Day of Your Life

1. Decide that fine is bad.

Fine means you aren't growing or swimming, which means that you are shrinking and sinking. Fine is being average, it's being defeated, and it's giving up. Fine means that nothing outstanding happened to you today and you should know that you deserve something miraculous in your life.

Fine is also a relative term. A billionaire could feel fine about making only 2 million dollars today, or a middle class man could feel fine about having 3 square meals today. A poor person would be delighted out of their mind at a couple million bucks and a starving person would jump up and down at the thought of 3 square meals. The point is to decide what's fine for you and do everything in your mind to exceed this level.


2. Relationship with self.

You're worth more than diamonds, castles, and spaceships and it's taken too many perfect coincidences to bring you here. On this day, when you become conscious of your self-worth, and acknowledge it as being more than you have ever said it to be before, you are having the greatest day of your life.


3. Upgrade yourself.

Become conscious and aware of your skills, talents, and character traits. Make it a point to become a little bit better. A better person, friend, artist, investor, parent, writer, or anything else that is important to you.

When you've chiseled your character, sharpened your skill, or expressed your talents more so than ever before, you will have the greatest day ever. Such self-improvement, sitting on the shoulders of all previous self-improvement, will allow you to have the greatest day ever.


4. Create huge possibilities.

I've mentioned that striving for greatness could lead to a misfire and leave you off at awesome instead of best. Keeping this principle in mind create the biggest goals, dreams, and possibilities that you have ever made for yourself or your life.

Think bigger and better than ever before. It is right now, during the planning and within the possibilities that you will have the greatest day of your life.


5. Love your hardest.

Love with more energy and passion than you have ever loved before. Listen harder, spend more time, and create greater workability in your relationships than on previous days.

Do something unique, caring, or fun for the ones you loved. Just love them with all your might. When you've loved harder than you've ever loved before, you will have the greatest day of your life.


6. Positive self-talk.

Be optimistic in the way that you talk to yourself. Your mind will absorb the way you speak to yourself and process it as fact. Make sure those facts are aligned with greatness.

When you've had the best conversations with yourself, you will be able to have better relationships, achieve more, try harder, and be happier than ever before. With the best positive self-talk you will have the greatest day of your life.


7. Be God-like.

Religion aside, think practically. On this day you will act more God-like. The practical thing to do is to be as giving as you can with your time, wisdom, and strength.

That's what God does right? Gives selflessly, without expecting anything in return, and with love for his people. When you've given more than you've ever given before, you will have the greatest day of your life.

Read the entire article from DumbLittleMan HERE.

HT: DumbLittleMan

Congratulations Graduates!

When I graduated from high school I had a plan. 8 weeks later that plan changed in a MAJOR way when I got a one-year full-ride scholarship to Multnomah School of the Bible (now Multnomah Bible College). The direction of my life changed forever... sort of.

Then after I graduated form college, I got married (2 weeks later!). And that has certainly changed my life in unimaginable ways.

Recently I found this commencement address that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford. It is well worth the read (whether you are a recent grad or not).

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Read the rest of the address HERE.


tags: graduation | commencement address | Steve Jobs

How to Tip Like a Gentleman

Ever wonder what is the "appropriate" amount to tip? Wonder no longer! JustAGuyThing is here to help a brother out!

Proper tipping etiquette is still a trait rarely found in modern men yet, when perfected, it can actually become quite enjoyable. It’s a selfless act of giving to others based on the level of service you’ve received. A lot of these people get a pitiful wage and the tips they get go a long way to supplement their income. Make them happy and you’ll be looked after. Annoy them and you’d be best advised to eat your meal with caution!

Tipping really is an art form and when you’re giving your tip you want to be as discrete and gentlemanly as possible. Hand over the tip with your palm facing down and shake hands with the person you are tipping, simultaneously placing the money in their hand. What you want to avoid doing is waving the money around and making a big deal of it. You’ll look like an idiot for starts and if that isn’t enough, you’re going to make the person receiving the tip feel uncomfortable because, believe it or not, you’re coming across like a condescending jerk. You’re not throwing a treat for Fido here.

So how do you figure out how much to tip? Well the truth is there are no tipping rules per se, however there are guidelines which suggest how much is appropriate to give. Let’s investigate.

HT: JustAGuyThing


tags: tipping

Trouble Sleeping?

I sometimes have trouble sleeping. It usually is a result of not shutting off my brain - especially if there is something going on that has a whole lot of details that I don't want to miss due to their interconnectivity.

Then I saw this article from Men's Health and now I'm ready to combat insomnia. Here are some highlights:

THE MATTRESS
There's more to take home from hotels than mini shampoo bottles. Chains such as Four Seasons, Westin, and W have been working with mattress manufacturers to create the most comfortable sleep surface possible. Made to the exact specifications of each hotel, the beds feature more coils and cushioning than even high-end store models.

Best in class: Thanks to a near-perfect balance of support and padding, the Four Comfort Bed ($1,300, starwoodhotels.com) provides the ultimate slumber surface. The specially designed Sealy mattress sits atop a foundation made of heavy-gauge, high-carbon steel, which does a better job of flexing to absorb weight and movement than a traditional box spring. Need something softer? Check out the Heavenly Bed ($1,450, westin.com); its pillow-top mattress provides an extra layer of padding that you can sink into without being swallowed up.

THE SHEETS
Instead of looking for quadruple-digit counts, pay attention to the fabric. The rule: Go with natural fibers, such as cotton, and avoid synthetics, which are less absorbent, says Breus. "Over the course of an evening, you can release close to a half gallon of sweat and oils."

Best in class: Make your bed with Garnet Hill Signature flannel sheets ($135 for king size, garnethill.com). A napped cotton surface makes these sheets somnolent soft. And, while warm, they weren't oppressively so. Runner-up: Pure Beech sateen sheets ($100, bedbathandbeyond.com). They're woven with fiber from beech trees and were lighter than the Garnet Hill flannels and nearly as soft.

For more on the right blanket, pillow, supplements, and sleeping pills, read the full article HERE.


tags: sleep | sleep better | better sleep

Let Me Punch You In the Face...

...and then let's see what it looks like in super-slow-mo!



RSS: Embedded video

HT: double 3 via Ragamuffin Soul


tags: video | punched in the face

Wii Magic...

As of September 2007, Nintendo has sold over 13 million Wii game consoles. This significantly exceeds the number of Tablet PCs in use today according to even the most generous estimates of Tablet PC sales. This makes the Wii Remote one of the most common computer input devices in the world.

It also happens to be one of the most sophisticated. It contains a 1024x768 infrared camera with built-in hardware blob tracking of up to 4 points at 100Hz. This significantly out performs any PC webcam available today. It also contains a +/-3g 8-bit 3-axis accelerometer also operating at 100Hz and an expansion port for even more capability.

Too much technical mumbo jumbo? Well how's this grab ya...

You can turn your Wii remote into a finger-tracker and interact with your computer (like Tom Cruise did on Minority Report before he became all creepy).

Or you can use your Wii remote to create an interactive whiteboard on almost any surface.

Still not enough? How about using the infrared camera in the Wii remote and a head mounted sensor bar to accurately track the location of your head and render view dependent images on the screen, effectively transforming your display into a portal to a virtual environment. The display properly reacts to head and body movement as if it were a real window creating a realistic illusion of depth and space.

All these wonderfully creative and nerdy projects can be found HERE on Johnny Chung Lee's blog.

This post is a part of Creative Chaos hosted by Ragamuffin Soul.


tags: Wii | Wii remote | Creative Chaos

A Friend's a Friend Forever...

It's Michael W. Smith time for my buddy Randy Parker. Check out his blog for the big announcement.

I will have more to say as "the day" gets closer and will likely do a tribute post, but until then, let me say this:

1. I am incredibly happy for Randy. This is a wonderful opportunity that I knew about from Day 1. I encouraged him to go for it and I think he will do a great job for North Point.
2. I will miss Randy like crazy. Randy is one of my closest friends. He is one of the only people I have ever had in my life that is so much like me at the core. Randy and I think alike, and yet he challenges my thinking all the time (as I hope I challenge him). I can replace the position, but I can never replace the person.
3. If you are a Lighting and Scenic sort of person... drop me a line!

So take a moment and go over to Randy's blog and congratulate him on his new adventure.

I love you, buddy, and I'm proud of you!

This post is a part of Watercooler Wednesdays hosted by Ethos.


tags: Watercooler Wednesday | Randy Parker | North Point Community Church | North Point | Alpharetta | Atlanta

Fresno State Makes History...

The baseball team Fresno State (42-29) made history last night when it became the first No. 4 seed to reach Omaha since the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 64 teams in 1999. The Bulldogs will open against Rice (47-13) on Sunday. This is the first time the Bulldogs have been to the College World Series since 1991.

The Sun Devils (49-13), the No. 3 national seed, had been unbeaten in four postseason games before consecutive losses to the Bulldogs.

For those of you who don't follow college baseball, what Fresno State did is a big deal:

They beat a nationally ranked team...

• Who had a record setting 15 players drafted to the majors this year...
• From a school that arguably has one of the most successful programs in the country (they've won 5 national championships and 58 College World Series victories)...
• And who have had the third most alumni to play in the majors , including Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson.

So set your Tivo or watch the game live as Fresno State takes on the Rice Owls this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.


tags: Fresno State | Bulldogs | baseball | College World Series | Arizona State | Sun Devils | Rice | Owls

Gifts Today...

*The Blogstar (aka Chad Jarnigan) has a great announcement on his blog today. Go over there and congratulate him.

But don't stop there. Continue on to his wife's blog, aptly titled, *Mrs. Blogstar. I really enjoyed reading Jennifer's blog today. One of the things I love is that she ends most posts with "Gifts today..."

I love that. What an awesome way to look at life.

Gifts today:

• My amazingly loyal and godly wife
• My handsome and witty boys
• Ron, Larry, Bishop, Frank, Mike, Randy, and Randy
• Getting to do what I love

What are your gifts today?

Worship Confessional: 06.08.08

It was a great morning today at NewCov. My buddy, Mike Chastain, had a great message and Ben Drati, a local principal gave his testimony.

The band brought it, as usual, and the vocalists did a great job, too.

Here's the set list (with iTunes links):

• Hosanna (Paul Baloche - A Greater Song)
• Mighty to Save (Hillsong - Mighty to Save)
• Break Through (Tommy Walker - Break Through)
• Rescue (Jared Anderson - Where to Begin)

tags: Worship Confessional | New Covenant Community Church | NewCov | Fresno

If You're Gonna Be Like Ali...

...you gotta deliver.

That's what the owners and especially the trainer of Big Brown found out today. If you're gonna talk big... if you're gonna make winning the Triple Crown a foregone conclusion, you'd better bring the goods.

Just ask the New England Patriots... or Tiger Woods.

My buddy, Ron, used to say, "Those who do, do. Those who don't, talk about it." Truer word were never spoken

Oh yeah. and if you're gonna be like Muhammad Ali, at least come up with some catchy rhymes.


tags: Muhammed Ali | Ali | Big Brown | New England Patriots | New England | Patriots | Tiger Woods

A Letter to the Tooth Fairy

The other day, a small human boy woke me up at 4 a.m. to tell me his tooth came out. Then he turned on the light so I could see it.

After the appropriate oohs and ahhs, I put him to bed and tried to get back to sleep myself, but to no avail. I did some channel surfing and then settled in and watch the new Bon Jovi Unplugged special on Vh1.

I also made a mental note to set aside a dollar bill for later that night.

When I got home that after rehearsals, I was greeted by the following note (click to enlarge)...

dear tooth fairy,

My tooth broke in two and I don't know hot it got brok in two.

PS. thank you the past years for exchanging money for my teath.

from Chase


tags: tooth fairy

The Renaissance Boy

I call my youngest blonde boy my "Renaissance Boy."

He loves sports - all kinds. Loves to watch them and play them. He hasn't yet met a sport he doesn't like. His current favorite is baseball.

He loves art. I've posted some of his art HERE, HERE, and HERE. I recently got him a sketch book and some pencils so we can do some artist retreats and sketch (I SUCK... but I want to encourage it in him).

He loves to read. We are currently reading through the Narnia series together. I can't hold him back... he devours books (much like his brother).

And he loves music. He begged for piano lessons a two years ago (when he was 5) and he plays all the time. We never have to ask him to practice.

Am I a proud parent? Yep. Am I concerned that you might think I'm bragging on my kid too much? I don't really care. Why? Because you should brag on you kids! Let them think that they can do no wrong, that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to do, that they are invincible. Don't worry about reality... life will teach them that. Your job is to be their cheerleader.

So indulge a proud papa one more story: After his first recital for Mrs. Madden last Sunday (his current piano teacher), we were walking out when we heard the family talking about the cute little boy who did so well on his numbers. They turned around and saw Chase and said, "Oh, it's you! You did so good! You are so cute!" Then another mom chased Mrs. Two Blonde Boys down in the parking lot to tell her how great the boy did.

Yep... I lost a couple of buttons on my shirt and the Missus teared up a bit. IT Was a proud moment.

And here is his recital (playing "Caballero" and "Pumpkin Boogie").



This post is a part of Creative Chaos hosted by Ragamuffin Soul.

RSS: Embedded Video


tags: Renaissance | sports | art | music | piano | recital | Creative Chaos

It Doesn't Have A Weenie!

Old man Disney was no fool.

After he and his Imagineers had completed the GE "Carousel of Progress" for the 1964 World's Fair, Walt invited a gaggle of GE executives to the studio for a peek at the show.

They loved it.

But Walt wasn't so sure.

"It doesn't have a wienie!" he said. "Come back in a couple weeks and I'll show you."

The puzzled executives did as Walt asked. A week later they returned to see the show again. It was virtually identical to the first version - with one exception: Walt had added a comical audio-animatronic dog with a wagging tail to each scene.

It was the "wienie." The "finishing touch." The delightful, magnetic bonus.

Wienies are extra.

Wienies are what you give the audience after they think they're already satisfied.

Wienies are what you add when what you have is good - but not good enough.

No boss will demand that you add a wienie. In fact, your boss would prefer that you don't waste your time with wienies.

The wienie is the seamless way the glass fits into the metal on an iPod. It's the solid slam of a Mercedes door closing. It's the "Easter Egg" on that DVD you just bought. It's the glow of the logo on the back of my MacBook Pro.

The wienie isn't what you must do It's what you want to do. Its delightful impact arises from the sheer joy of its creation and the desire of its creator to share that joy with others.

Wienies are to powerful brands what cost cuts are to cash flow.

What kind of weenies are you using at your church or in your business?

This post is a part of Watercooler Wednesday hosted by Ethos.

HT: Hear 2.0 via Seth's Blog


tags: weenie | Watercooler Wednesday

Congratulations!

Congratulations to NewCov's own Marshall Pulliam who was selected to be a part of the first-ever Songwriting Retreat & Master Class at Kalein!

Here's a video from the NewCov Production Blog of Marshall opening for Paul Wright at NewCov back in March.




tags: Kalein | Marshall Pulliam | NewCov | New Covenant Community Church | Fresno

The older I get...

This morning I bawled my eyes out. Big crocodile tears... snotty nose... the whole 9 yards (or 8.3 meters for my international friends).

Why? Because the older I get, the more I realize my need for forgiveness. The more life I live, the more opportunity I get to screw things up.

I just finished watching the video below. At one point I had to pause it because I was overcome by the weight of my sin and the release of forgiveness through Jesus.

I don't know what your cardboard would read. In truth, I don't think there is a chuck of cardboard big enough to detail my sin: lust, anger, pride, deceit... but on the back there would be one word: Loved and forgiven. OK... that's two words. Actually, it's three, but you get the idea.

I don't know what your words are, but know that you don't need to be a slave to the words on the front of the cardboard... you can live in the reality of the words on the back. In fact, if you are going to be around this coming Sunday (June 8), my buddy Mike Chastain is going to be speaking at NewCov on just that. He'll also have a guest with him, Ben Drati, principal of Clovis West High School who will be telling his story of how he left his past in the past. It should be amazing.


Until then, enjoy the video...




tags: video | forgiveness | Ben Drati