My prayer for you today is that you are with friends and family and actually get something that you want. Myself, I did and will let you know more about that later. I hope you take time to thank God for all of the blessings that he has given to you. I also hope that you thank God for sending Jesus Christ to earth and providing a Savior. Today may not be his real birthday but today could be the day that Jesus makes a difference in your life. If you seek him you will find him. So to all that may come across this post:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
December 25, 2007
December 19, 2007
Sign Wednesday: The Nativity and WHY?
Christmas is less than a week away. I hope you have all of your shopping done and that you are taking time out of your schedule to thank God for sending Jesus so that we can celebrate this season. I think the nativity is a great way to remind us to stop and think about the true meaning of this holiday. But what happens when we take this sign called the nativity and get creative with it? Things can get a little out of hand and the message of the sign could be lost. I mean take a look. . .
Rubber ducky your the one, you make bath time so much fun
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know
Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man on the moon
Joy to the world the penguin's come let earth receive it's next movie. . .
Now this next lawn sign is not a nativity but is the reason for the WHY? in the title. People do put this out at Christmas and I really don't get it. Give it time because it lights up.
Thanks to Justin Tapp for bringing these signs to my attention and to Mark Oestreicher for posting these signs to his blog. I do appreciate it.
Rubber ducky your the one, you make bath time so much fun
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know
Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man on the moon
Joy to the world the penguin's come let earth receive it's next movie. . .
Now this next lawn sign is not a nativity but is the reason for the WHY? in the title. People do put this out at Christmas and I really don't get it. Give it time because it lights up.
Thanks to Justin Tapp for bringing these signs to my attention and to Mark Oestreicher for posting these signs to his blog. I do appreciate it.
December 13, 2007
Tech Thursday: Zoho
Let me tell you a little bit about my dad. He is a Project Manager and Estimator for an electrical firm here in town. He is an incredibly hard worker and highly intelligent. Anytime I need something fixed around the house he is there and knows how to fix it. He is in his mid 50's and likes technology but I wouldn't call him cutting edge by any standards. None of that really did him justice, but needless to say, I truly am blessed to have a dad like him.
Why do I tell you about my dad on Tech Thursday? Because this week I got my dad to check out Zoho. Zoho is on online Microsoft Office competitor plus other tools for free. It has a word, excel, powerpoint, and outlook product for free. Did I mention that it was free. Why is this important? Because Zoho has made it to where you only need a web browser. If you want to go offline then you can do that too. Just install Google Gears and you are set. Now you can open, edit, and save Office files, unless you are using Office 2007, right there on the web or offline and access these files from anywhere. I have been following Zoho now for over a year and a half. Their products rock and it seems like every week they are making them better. I like them so much that I subscribe to their blog. Their user interface or UI is very recognizable even for electricians who can't use Microsoft Office because it doesn't work with the Estimator program that they use. I will let you know how my dad is coping with cutting edge programs like Zoho. So far I haven't heard any complaints.
By the way, a new thing for me in 2008 is going to be seeing if I can use a PC but not use Microsoft. I can't wait to buy a computer and basically have nothing on it but Firefox and survive. That is going to be the day.
Anybody else using Zoho? What do you think?
Why do I tell you about my dad on Tech Thursday? Because this week I got my dad to check out Zoho. Zoho is on online Microsoft Office competitor plus other tools for free. It has a word, excel, powerpoint, and outlook product for free. Did I mention that it was free. Why is this important? Because Zoho has made it to where you only need a web browser. If you want to go offline then you can do that too. Just install Google Gears and you are set. Now you can open, edit, and save Office files, unless you are using Office 2007, right there on the web or offline and access these files from anywhere. I have been following Zoho now for over a year and a half. Their products rock and it seems like every week they are making them better. I like them so much that I subscribe to their blog. Their user interface or UI is very recognizable even for electricians who can't use Microsoft Office because it doesn't work with the Estimator program that they use. I will let you know how my dad is coping with cutting edge programs like Zoho. So far I haven't heard any complaints.
By the way, a new thing for me in 2008 is going to be seeing if I can use a PC but not use Microsoft. I can't wait to buy a computer and basically have nothing on it but Firefox and survive. That is going to be the day.
Anybody else using Zoho? What do you think?
December 12, 2007
Sign Wednesday: Google Maps for Mobile
I know for all of you tech geeks out there that this is not breaking news but for all of you who don't read Mashable!, Tech Crunch, and Technoriti, this is for you. My favorite new sign is on my cell phone. Yes, Google has had Maps for mobile for quite some time. I have actually used it for over 6 months myself, but a couple of weeks ago they made some major changes. They added some incredible features that make this technology incredible. I will get to all the updates but first. . .
Why do I call things like this a sign? I mean it is not a traditional sign that you would think of or even a new LCD billboard that can be found on major interstates. This is a sign because this is the future of signs. Not only will signs in the future give you helpful information but tell you where you are and help you get to and buy things that are around you. The signs of the future will be interactive and personal. They will be smart, fun, and easily adaptable. Yes, signs of the future will even be carried around in your pocket. When you start thinking of signs as this then you will start thinking of the signs that are to come. But that is enough about that. . .
Google Maps for Mobile the updated version makes me want more and more the availability of phones built on Android, the mobile OS by Google. I can't wait to see what phones come out next year. They will be awesome. So what is the big deal? 1 feature makes it all worth while. It has a function called My Location that tells you where you are without using GPS. It uses the cell towers around you and radio frequencies to let you know where you are within a certain radius. Is it perfect? No but it is darn good. If you were lost in Cincinnati you could search for where you wanted to go and find your way there from the location that it says that you are by very simple key strokes. It almost makes it to where you don't need GPS at all, and it is FREE. Having a GPS unit for Christmas quickly fell off my wish list. If my phone had GPS then it would work even better with the Google Maps for Mobile but the key is you don't have to have it. Other upgrades are better search results and one touch calling features within the search which is really nice. I could go on.
Do you want to see what the sign looks like? Go take the tour here.
Are you using this already? What do you think of it? Has it saved you yet?
Why do I call things like this a sign? I mean it is not a traditional sign that you would think of or even a new LCD billboard that can be found on major interstates. This is a sign because this is the future of signs. Not only will signs in the future give you helpful information but tell you where you are and help you get to and buy things that are around you. The signs of the future will be interactive and personal. They will be smart, fun, and easily adaptable. Yes, signs of the future will even be carried around in your pocket. When you start thinking of signs as this then you will start thinking of the signs that are to come. But that is enough about that. . .
Google Maps for Mobile the updated version makes me want more and more the availability of phones built on Android, the mobile OS by Google. I can't wait to see what phones come out next year. They will be awesome. So what is the big deal? 1 feature makes it all worth while. It has a function called My Location that tells you where you are without using GPS. It uses the cell towers around you and radio frequencies to let you know where you are within a certain radius. Is it perfect? No but it is darn good. If you were lost in Cincinnati you could search for where you wanted to go and find your way there from the location that it says that you are by very simple key strokes. It almost makes it to where you don't need GPS at all, and it is FREE. Having a GPS unit for Christmas quickly fell off my wish list. If my phone had GPS then it would work even better with the Google Maps for Mobile but the key is you don't have to have it. Other upgrades are better search results and one touch calling features within the search which is really nice. I could go on.
Do you want to see what the sign looks like? Go take the tour here.
Are you using this already? What do you think of it? Has it saved you yet?
December 10, 2007
A Musical, Track Sign-ups, Birthday Party. UK Basketball, Blue Flame, A Bengals Game, and Volunteer Appreciation
The above title are just some of the things that happened this past weekend. Let me break them down for you.
- Friday Night and Sunday morning we had our annual Children's Christmas Musical. Friday Night is special because we bring in a group of Inner-City kids and do the show for them. We then have a Christmas party for those kids and the expressions on their faces are incredible. I was really proud of my team and the kids this year. The musical really was an excellent presentation and showed how serious we take Children's Ministry.
- Saturday morning was the 3rd opportunity to sign up for the spring session Indian Hill Recreation Track. Yes I also coach track and we will have somewhere between 60-70 Kindergarten-6th graders run this year. This is a great way for me to meet families outside of the church walls and be apart of the community.
- Saturday we celebrated my one and only nephew's first birthday. Happy Birthday Caedmon! Your Unk loves you a lot.
- Kentucky got served a big piece of humble pie on Saturday by Indiana. Billy Gillespie is not bringing the best out in players yet. I really hope he can turn this team around.
- We had dinner club on Saturday night and then played a game where one of my answers to a real question was "Blue Flame". It really took me back to my college days.
- Going to the Bengals game on Sunday wasn't bad if you were either sitting in a box or in one of the four rows in front of the boxes. Thanks to Rich I got to stay dry and watch the Bengals win a game.
- Sunday night we had a volunteer appreciation event for our Junior High and Senior High volunteers. We had a small but nice catered meal and played laser tag. It was a really fun and I learned one thing. If you have the chance to pick between the surgeon and the police officer, the police officer is much better at laser tag. I am just saying. . .
December 6, 2007
Tech Thursday: Jott
I first blogged about Jott in April of this year. What is Jott? Here is what the CEO says: "We let you use your voice to quickly create email, text messages, lists and reminders. Push a button, speak, and you’re done." So why write about again? Because they made improvements. Did you know that you can now Jott to Blogger, Wordpress, and Typepad? You can also Jott to Amazon and create a wish list for your friends and family. You can Jott to Zillow, which is a real estate site, and they will send you all of the info on that house. But my favorite new improvement that they have made is the Jott to Google Calendar. I am a huge fan of Google as you well know and use their calendars as my way of life. Now instead of calling my assistant or forgetting about appointments, I can now call Jott and they will add it to my calendar by a simple phone call. How awesome is that?
Of course you can Jott to a lot of other things but I don't at the current time. So are you Jotting? Do you find it useful or is it just me? Let me know what you think?
On another note. . . What improvements have you made that are worth writing about? Or better yet, are you improving? I hope that you are and I hope it is blog worthy.
Of course you can Jott to a lot of other things but I don't at the current time. So are you Jotting? Do you find it useful or is it just me? Let me know what you think?
On another note. . . What improvements have you made that are worth writing about? Or better yet, are you improving? I hope that you are and I hope it is blog worthy.
December 4, 2007
I am spoiled. . .
I have talked about the perks of being a pastor in the past, but sometimes you just have to revisit certain topics. Especially when you have the opportunity that I had last night. You see each year the staff of Horizon Community Church is invited to a Christmas Party that is sponsored by a local company. This event is huge and held at the Cincinnati Music Hall. For Jessica and I we take this opportunity to freshen up the wardrobe by buying something nice to wear and really calling it a night out on the town. Jessica looked great last night and I was blessed to call her my date.
Why is it such a big deal? Each year they bring in a singer for a private concert. They have brought in Frank Sinatra, Faith Hill, Kenny G, and many more. This was the 48th year of this party. The 1st year we went Jessica Simpson was the artist and it was a little lacking. Sorry Ms. Simpson but you were a mess that night. Last year they brought Michael Buble in and he was very good. He was not great but he was very good. Last year I said it could have been better if they had brought in Harry Connick, Jr but I was sure that he would be very hard to get. After the singer each year then you get a free buffet and another live band for dancing. It is in one word, SWANK. Seriously it is one of the nicest events that I have ever been too.
Who was there this year? The only person that could have made it better than last year. Harry Connick, Jr. was live and loud last night. The band was incredible and Harry has a voice and a half. The sound guy made it sound like a CD and not some crappy stage show. The lights were right on cue. Needless to say the show was great, not good, but great.
You know, I love seeing people grow spiritual. I love to see kids get what it means to be a Christ-Follower. I love challenging leaders to change the world. It is hard for me to say though, that nights like last night make the job of being a pastor anything less than being great.
Thank you to the family that invites us every year. Thank you to Horizon for letting us go. Thank you to my wife that puts up with me on nights like last night. Thank you for good food and a great show. Thank you.
Why is it such a big deal? Each year they bring in a singer for a private concert. They have brought in Frank Sinatra, Faith Hill, Kenny G, and many more. This was the 48th year of this party. The 1st year we went Jessica Simpson was the artist and it was a little lacking. Sorry Ms. Simpson but you were a mess that night. Last year they brought Michael Buble in and he was very good. He was not great but he was very good. Last year I said it could have been better if they had brought in Harry Connick, Jr but I was sure that he would be very hard to get. After the singer each year then you get a free buffet and another live band for dancing. It is in one word, SWANK. Seriously it is one of the nicest events that I have ever been too.
Who was there this year? The only person that could have made it better than last year. Harry Connick, Jr. was live and loud last night. The band was incredible and Harry has a voice and a half. The sound guy made it sound like a CD and not some crappy stage show. The lights were right on cue. Needless to say the show was great, not good, but great.
You know, I love seeing people grow spiritual. I love to see kids get what it means to be a Christ-Follower. I love challenging leaders to change the world. It is hard for me to say though, that nights like last night make the job of being a pastor anything less than being great.
Thank you to the family that invites us every year. Thank you to Horizon for letting us go. Thank you to my wife that puts up with me on nights like last night. Thank you for good food and a great show. Thank you.
December 2, 2007
Gene Appel sighting
Gene Appel, Lead Pastor at Willowcreek, spoke at our church today. Why would a guy who normally speaks to more than 20,000 a weekend come to our little church in Cincinnati, OH? Today was a very special day at our church. Today ended our official capital campaign. Gene was kind enough to come help us cast our vision. It was very nice to meet Gene and to hear him for a 2nd time in person. The first time was 2 and a half years ago, the same weekend I had a going away party and he was speaking at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. So a big thank you to Gene for helping us out. We really do appreciate it.
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