A Real Life (Tech Edition)

What is the sound a start-up makes when it starts?

2010-12-22T12:50:00.000-05:00

For the past several months, I have been volunteering with a start-up while I have been looking for employment. This has been an exciting experience, both technically and personally. And yesterday, our leadership decided we will launch January 3rd! This event is prompting me to reflect on the past few months and the things I've experienced.

Technical
From a technical perspective, I have learned a LOT about the Web 2.0 world. It is amazing what is available "on a shoestring" to build a very unique company. Using these resources is - as always - filled with technical challenges as we try to get various "services" to work together under the "banner" of our company.

And that is why I am so pleased to be part of this process. It has been a joy to bring my years of technical expertise to bear against these challenges and, at the same time, to learn so much about Web 2.0 that will aid me in my job search. For those reasons alone, I consider volunteering to be an integral part of my job search process.

Another factor, though, comes via this quote my friend Steve Naughton shared in his excellent "Great Positive Possibility Thought for Today" email:
“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want!” ~ Zig Ziglar, from his weekly newsletter ~

As one technique to use in a job search, volunteering gives this idea a great opportunity to prove itself true.

Personal
This thought also transitions me to some reasons for my personal excitement.

All my "working life" I have been taught that "God shouldn't be talked about in the context of work". I am now learning that it is how you talk about God and faith. How I interact with "things of faith" is an integral part of me - just like a passion for professional football is a part of some others.

With that thought in mind, then, I have to say this process is, to me, very much a "God-thing". From being introduced to the men I've been working with, to being "available", to the daily encounters I get to have with my Master, I am convinced God has been pleased to involve himself in this whole process.

Along those same lines, it has been awesome to meet and interact with two wonderful men whose faith is a great encouragement to me. Conversations with Ron and Tim - from the first time we met - started with "things of faith" first. After what was often a great while, we would "finally" get around to talking about "business". How awesomely refreshing!

For those who know me well, you know how "outside my comfort zone" these last few months have been! Over the years, I have been "conditioned" to "play it safe", to be sure I have a job (to provide for my family). When this "unexpected vacation" started, then, it was quite a blow to my "conditioning".

And frankly, a welcome and necessary blow. You see, I have been becoming increasingly disenchanted with the thought that I was working to provide a place to store my "stuff". While we don't know what God has for us in our future, I can positively tell you that the freedom to participate with my new friends in this start-up, to be available to take my sister for her chemo, to become "front-porch dwellers" and engage with our family at the farm, has been deeply rewarding.

What's that sound?
How does this wind up, then? I don't know. Actually, none of us do. :) (Perhaps I should write about "the delusion of control" soon...)

We (our start-up) may fail. I may find a job with another company and watch while they continue to wild success. (Which, by the way, I am completely OK with. I didn't participate in this process for any other reason than to help and to learn.)

There are, though, a few more thoughts as I finish up this post...

May I ask you to pray for this start-up? Yeah, I know. That is really unusual, to pray for a company as it starts. Would you please pray anyway? :)

Would you also pray for me that the lessons God has been teaching me would "stick"? As he provides for me to change, I am convinced he gets glory. How awesome!

And would you also consider that God may want to affect your life through what you've read here? Is he encouraging you to trust him outside of where you are comfortable? Is there a "start-up" he is leading you toward?

For me, the "sound a start-up makes" is one of joy and hope. Have you ever participated in a start-up? What was it like? What did you learn? What was the "sound" your start-up made as it started?

Great Expectations

2010-12-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

"I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." http://read.ly/Jer29.11.MSG

I read this verse this morning at the end of a devotional email I receive. I would find what happened next funny if it didn't happen so often - and if I didn't fall for it so often!

My next thought (wonder where it came from...) was of the story of Joseph as told in Genesis. If ever there was someone for whom "plans didn't work out", it had to be him. Every time he "got ahead" even a little bit, the rug was pulled out from under him and he found himself worse off than before! The next thing I hear is, "If God were a good God, he wouldn't do things like that!" *Sigh*

Thankfully, my Master reminds me at that point that he didn't plan a smooth, easy path for Israel or us. Indeed, in Psalm 84:5-6 he says,
"And how blessed all those in whom you [God] live,
whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!"

God understands that our lives are roads that "wind" - and he is willing to walk them with us anyway. And the winding of our lives is no indication of their destination.

So today I choose to enjoy the company of the Companion who knows the destination he has planned for me - regardless of how the road winds!

Will you join me in allowing God to walk the road of your life today?

Giving (the gift of) thanks

2010-11-25T08:31:00.000-05:00

On this day when tradition says we give thanks, my thoughts take a slightly different turn. Yes, I am most grateful to my wonderful Master, Jesus, for his generous gift of life and true living. Somehow, though, this day - for me - is being about giving (the gift of) thanks specifically to people.

In no particular order, then - and with the virtual certainty that I will leave out someone I will someday want to have included :) - here are a few "thanks":

To Elaine: I am so grateful to be your husband. You have been so generous to share your life and energy - and the new world you find each day - with me. You are a constant reminder of God's generous grace. Thank you.

To my mother: Your love and many prayers have certainly been part of God's provision for me (as well as your other children and grandchildren), both for this life and the next. Thank you for showing me how aging doesn't have to mean growing old. I look forward to the joy of tending four acres of lawn, calling all the flowers by name, and picking up pecans (pronounced in the proper Southern way with a long "e") should my Master give me ninety years on this earth. Thank you.

To my brother(-in-law) Mike: Thank you for sharing your life with me. Thank you for your transparency through times when we both were less "developed" than we wished to be. You are a friend I had not known I was missing until you were, well, just there. You allowed God to teach me hospitality and generosity when we lived under the same roof. Now you are allowing him to teach them to me all over again. Thank you.

To my sister Pam: Thank you for letting me share what I will say here to you personally first. And thank you for understanding the tears of gratitude and joy that fell as I said it. :)

I remember Elaine telling me how you had determined to say "Thank you" to each of your care-givers every time they performed some task on your behalf. I remember how profoundly that struck me and has become a motivation for me to say "Thank you" more often - even when I may not be "enjoying" what I am experiencing. In a way, these thoughts have grown out of that. Thank you.

To my friends, counselors, and mentors: If you are reading this, that means you!

Your courage and faith to face every new day - no matter what personal challenges you find - is an inspiration and an encouragement - so much more than you know! And then(!) you are so generous to include me and my "issues" in your day. Wow! Thank you!

Today I plan to look for more opportunities to give the gift of thanks. What about you? Which people can you give (the gift of) thanks to today?

My new job: How it all started

2010-07-30T09:00:00.032-04:00

It all started just over a week ago...

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 - the day before my "oldest" sister's birthday. (That's funny because she is actually a year younger than me.) Our team was getting excited as we put the finishing touches on our latest project. Even though there was a large QA effort ahead, we were very pleased with the major enhancements we had made with so few "obvious" changes to the user interface. We were confident that our development would be completed before our next sprint began the following Tuesday. Little did we know how much that was about to change...

As I returned to my desk from getting another cup of coffee, I was told the head of our department was looking for me (which was kind of strange, I thought). I quickly found him and when he invited me back to his office, I started thinking something "wasn't right", but I was determined to not let anything ruin what was promising to be a really good day. Seeing the person from HR in his office confirmed the mounting suspicion, though: "We're very sorry... your job has been eliminated... today is your last day..."

"This didn't take God by surprise."

My wife and I had used those words (carefully!) to try to bring perspective and comfort to others as they faced challenges over the last few years. I was almost surprised as they passed through my mind while the nice folks were telling me I would no longer be working there.

In the past week, I have used several euphemisms to describe this time. I think my favorite is that "I have been given an 'unexpected vacation'". :) I soon determined, though, that I had suddenly found myself with a new job: "I am helping a great company find an excellent developer!"

More on that in a future post!

Choosing to believe

2009-01-18T08:38:00.005-05:00

When my mobile rang within minutes of Elaine's and I saw it was my sister, a cold feeling passed over me. Have you ever had that feeling of dread or foreboding that makes you not really want to answer the call? Well, that's how I felt. Pam never calls me...

I really thought she was calling about my 89-year-old mother. After all, Mama's health has been declining recently and winter is hard on old people.

But as she talked, it soon became apparent she was going to talk about herself. She began telling us how the indicators they have been watching for her ovarian cancer had gone up in October - and spiked in January. The nurse from her oncologist had called to say a CT scan had showed some "areas of interest" and could she please come in to see the doctor at her earliest convenience - "would next Wednesday be alright?"

This is where my blood was supposed to be running cold and terror was supposed to be gripping my heart. Why were we talking about this like it was the impending snow we were dreading/hoping for? Had I forgotten that during her last battle with this cancer, my sister-in-law, the nurse, had taken one look at Pam in ICU and realized she had brought too many clothes?

I am remembering four years ago now. And tears are filling my eyes. It was a difficult time for my extended family. Pam's husband, Mike, had just lost his job and with it, the house they had been provided. While a stretch for everyone, we were very excited they (and their two sons) had moved in with us. Then when Elaine's job ended two weeks later, we were concerned, but certain God would provide. Little did we know...

In December - right before Christmas - Pam went in to have a cyst removed from one of her ovaries. What they found instead was stage 4 ovarian cancer. The removal of the cancer triggered a condition where her blood would not clot and she almost bled to death. I still remember how strange it sounded when her surgeon/oncologist told us of the surgery, the complications, and that if she survived the next 24 hours, she would be an "ovarian cancer survivor". Later I realized he never got to say those words.

It is interesting - but not strange - that the rest of my memories of that night are about God.

Since Pam was resting comfortably, we decided I should go home where Elaine was keeping Pam's two boys. It's a long drive, even at night, and I was almost there when Mike called to say Pam's kidneys were failing. (I'd watched enough TV to know that's not a good thing...) So five miles from home, I turned around to head back to the hospital and a long night.

We didn't really know what to do. I mean, there's no course in "my sister is about to die", you know. So we - I - started to do a thing that had just recently become a true part of my life - I started talking to God about the situation. Before I got very far (driving or talking with God), I called Elaine back to tell her what was going on. I asked her to call everyone she could think of and ask them to do two things: to pray and to call two other people and ask them to do the same thing. We would later learn that literally thousands of people - some halfway around the world - prayed that night. (And now the tears come again... If you were one of those people, THANK YOU!)

I was alone with my thoughts for the hour-drive back to the hospital. As I said, God and I talked. That sounds kinda funny to say - I did most of the speaking, after all. But somehow he communicated with my heart just the same. It is important for me to tell you it wasn't a "pretty prayer". There were no "flowers" in the words I spoke. There was quite a bit of raw honesty, the kind you find in many of David's psalms. Interestingly, it was much like those psalms. Raw emotion followed by expressed trust and a plea that good things would be said about God because of those events.

I'll never forget the strangeness of seeing Pam in ICU for the first time soon after I got back to the hospital. Lying there in a drug-induced coma, a ventilator trying valiantly to remove the gathering fluids from her lungs, she appeared more dead than alive. (Being her brother, I would later tease her by telling her she had been too "sorry" to breathe for herself!) My thoughts soon turned to those who watched their loved-ones in such situations without having a relationship with God-who-was-becoming-my-dearest-friend. I suddenly saw the struggle they had/have in reaching out and hoping there is "Something" there to help them. And in that moment, I became so enormously grateful for the relationship God had established with me. As the nurse and I spoke, it was about how we were people of faith who knew the God we trusted.

Later that night as friends gathered (you find out who your friends are when they show up at the hospital at 1:00 AM), we decided to pray together as a group. As I prayed, I heard myself expressing my feeling that keeping Pam alive was such a small thing for God. I heard myself expressing the depths of my heart - that I knew God to be a God-sized God and that we wanted to see a God-sized miracle! I think we all were truly "ready for", "at peace with" whatever God had purposed - including Pam, though at that moment she knew nothing of what was happening. Little did we know how truly "God-sized" the miracle he had in mind would be...

All of those four-year-old events flashed back as Pam talked. And suddenly I realized: The God-sized miracle we had prayed for was not yet complete! Welcome to the next chapter...

All of this is background. The real "purpose" of this post is to talk about "kinds" of faith.

Four years ago, we had little choice but to believe, to "have faith". Gratefully, we had been given that gift (faith) and God proved (once again!) he is willing and able to do so much more than we can even imagine! I call that "faith of necessity".

Today, our faith is a bit different. We think we see the challenge ahead of us. And so our faith is one of anticipation and expectancy. "What will God do this time?" "How will he cause good things to be said about him this time?" "Who will he touch with the good news of his love this time?"

We know the facts and statistics. Less than 15% of ovarian cancer victims survive their first encounter with this killer. Of those survivors, 80% will have a recurrence within five years. After that, the numbers are meaningless. The "statistical sample" is too small.

This time, my wonderful sister may die. This time, someone may get to walk with her down this last path until she goes through heaven's door, just as Pam did with her friend Jan. This time, God may choose to build the faith of someone else for their fight.

We don't know.

What we do know is that we still serve a God-sized God. And we can look forward - eagerly - to what God will do, how he will touch our lives today!

What size is your God?

Why 4:30?

2009-01-07T17:38:00.006-05:00

8:59 AM me: ... I may take a nap and hang out a while tonight.
"Friend": LOL
9:00 AM me: Well, when you drag out at 4:30 you do what you have to! :)
9:01 AM "Friend": Does 4:30 come twice a day?
me: Yep! And I see them both! :)
"Friend": Harsh!
9:02 AM me: Not as harsh as missing what God has to say to me.
"Friend": touche
9:03 AM me: Take a look at the last sentence of Romans 14 in the MSG.
9:05 AM "Friend": "If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong."
Questions anyone?
...

9:06 AM me: "God, will you please change me so that doesn't describe me any more?"
"Friend": WOW...That's a blog post.
Go 4 it
9:07 AM simple straight and to the point
me: :). Thanks. I have a couple running around my head. May try to do some writing tonight.
9:08 AM "Friend": That stuff is worthy of reading!!
me: I may copy this chat as the blog post! (With your permission, of course.)
9:09 AM "Friend": permission granted
me: Thanks. I appreciate that. :). Will probably edit out the names anyway.
9:11 AM "Friend": Here's an idea for thought. On the last sentence. Not only could it be that my actions are wrong, it could also be that my beliefs are that weak.
9:12 AM No conviction to what I supposedly believe
me: Sounds like a comment to a blog post... :)
"Friend": just might end up that way!

The hope in the dawn...

2008-12-31T08:07:00.001-05:00

Perhaps the joy and beauty of the dawn is in remembrance of a dawn so long ago. Not the horror of three short days before. Did this dawn feel the stirring in the earth? Did that sunrise realize the glory that would over-shadow it?

For some time I have been receiving a daily email from John Eldredge and Ransomed Heart Ministries. As I watched the sunrise (above), I read this:

"After he laid down his life for us, Jesus was laid in a tomb. He was buried just like any other dead person. Family and friends mourned. Enemies rejoiced. And most of the world went on with business as usual, clueless to the Epic around them. Then, after three days, also at dawn, his story took a sudden and dramatic turn."

Among the thoughts racing through my head and heart, there was great joy and deep gratitude. I suddenly realized the joyous promise of the dawns following the death of Jesus. Had he truly been ended as his enemy (and ours) Satan had hoped, there would have been no further dawns. Everything would have ended at that moment - time, earth, heaven - everything.

So now I wonder what glories each new dawn anticipate. Does the dawn know secrets we have forgotten?

I don't do this enough: Bookmarking via the blog

2008-12-30T08:36:00.002-05:00

In my last blog post, I attempted to use the tips found in ProBlogger's excellent post How to Write Fast.

I certainly don't want to forget those tips, and so I should bookmark them. But then I thought, "Why not put them in a blog post so others can find them too?!"

So I did.

I use a number of bookmarking tools - everything from howlergeek's Bookmarks on Delicious to Google Bookmarks to Firefox's bookmarks. Yes, I have too many!

But adding this "bookmark location" has the added benefit (to me) of perhaps helping others.

How do you "bookmark"?

Dawn: A reenactment of Creation

2008-12-30T07:26:00.005-05:00

I *so* love dawns!

The building colors - from the black nothingness of night, one color upon another, adding, building.

Pressing out against the black the aquas come first. And not just "aqua", but gloriously gradations of aqua in motion - but so slowly as to be imperceptible to the eye. Now come the goldens; yellows soft as down and heartbreakingly lovely. The aquas have not gone. They are simply moving up the sky, a processional of exquisite hue and variety setting the theme of the day.

As the yellows followed the aquas, so the roses follow the yellows. Intense pale in their beauty, there is a king's ransom in their richness.

And then - a breathless pause - as though the whole of creation is waiting, breath bated. The dawn-colors continue to seep into the sky taking their day-place. And then suddenly(!) - the sunrise(!) - the sun an immediate presence on the horizon.

Perhaps the unpracticed eye, not seeing the velocity of the dawn has been lulled into a sense of peace and serenity. Perhaps the glory of the sunrise *must* express itself immediately into a world without light. Whatever the case, at one moment it is not - though there is not doubt where it will be - and the next, there it is: the birth of the new day!

And for me, creation has just happened again. First reading in Genesis, the majestically grand birth of form and light. Then in John to find God-Who-Became-Man present, participating, active in that birth. And finally to First John to find that this God so desired to be *experienced* that men would struggle to describe life with him - even under inspiration from this same God - and produce some of the most compelling prose known to man.

So once again, with this dawn, God *proves* to my heart: He is *WITH* us!

The Joy of Discovered Failure

2008-11-16T08:56:00.003-05:00

This is a post about the joy of discovering a failure.

Yeah, it hit me that way too, when I realized it. You see, I seldom celebrate my failures - you know, those times/things where I forgot to listen, where I listened to the enemy. And I guess, I'm not really celebrating the "failure" so much as the awakening to the reality and truth around that failure.

A brief background: I have been "reading at" Mark Batterson's "Wild Goose Chase". It so describes my heart, my desire for God! But it also describes "where I am not". I found myself in the "cages" Mark describes as keeping us from fully pursuing God.

Now here's the "failure": Instead of looking at those, turning to God, and asking that *he* free me, I allowed the enemy to tell me it would be very difficult to be freed from those cages. I've spent a week like that.

The difference this morning is that God in his kindness has invited me back to the understanding that he is the Great Changer in/of my life. If it needs to be different, he will change it.

Is there a role for me in this? Well, actually, yes. Generous and jealous God that he is - and powerful! - he chooses to only enter where he is invited. My role, then, is to invite him. To invite him to heal, to change, to grow me according to his purpose and desire.

God,

Would you please come heal this part of my heart - the part that fears, the part that hears the lies of my enemy instead of your voice. Please free me from the cage of irresponsible responsibility as well. I look forward to praising you when this is true in my life. Thank you!

I hate being such a fake...

2008-08-30T06:45:00.004-04:00

I really do.

Now mind you, I am so much better than I used to be. At least now I will own up to it... well, a little any way.

None of this makes any sense, does it. That's alright. It makes a little bit of sense to me.

As with almost everything with me these days, there's a story behind this.

Yesterday, I was exchanging pleasantries with a friend via IM. As we chatted, I noticed a topic I remembered from reading "Walking with God" (has it been a year already!!!). So I asked him if he had read it. (Now, what you need to know at this point is that our group of TwitterFriends heading to Catalyst this year have committed to read "Walking with God" before we go.) Suddenly, I realized I was being fake. Having read the book, I was engaging from a year-old memory as though it was fresh this morning! insight. Realizing that was wrong, I admitted to being fake and needing an accountability partner. I badgered him into agreeing for us to read at the same time each day.

*Sigh* If only I had left us alone. I could have quietly gone on representing myself as something I'm not. We both could have gotten some more (much needed) sleep. And I would not have had to write a public admission of my faults. *SIGH!!!*

One of the phrases I read this morning was, "He [God] loves me too much to leave me to my own devices." I am reeling from that expression of generosity! God loves me so much he will thwart my fakeness, expose my weariness, and bring quickly the consequences of me living "my life" from my mind (I still don't like calling that sin - but it is).

I guess I knew this would happen, that I would get more out of this reading time than my friend would. I just didn't know what it would lead to...

Transparency is one of the things I have admired in many of the blogs I have read - that quality of opening the window of the blogsphere into a segment of people's lives. I had hoped to join the ranks of the transparent when I started this blog. You see, it is so much harder to live a fake life than it is to live.

What is the point of all of this? Hmmm.... Having written this much, I'm still not sure, exactly. Perhaps just the writing - and the attempt at honesty - is the point. Perhaps this is an awkward apology to the people I have been fake toward.

Will I bare all my soul here? Not likely. My issues, in large part, are my own. And God is addressing them. Remember? "He loves me too much..." That's not to say, though that I may not "cry out" during some process (as I have during this one). Be warned...

Now. I have read for today. I have heard some of what was said to my heart. I have blogged about it. Well, some of it. Now, since it's Saturday, I think a nap may be in order...

Oh yeah... I haven't gotten to the thing that impressed me most in my reading this morning. I think I'll save that for another post.

My "depender" is broken

2008-07-13T08:39:00.005-04:00

It is way too easy for me to read a list of attributes that characterize a believer's life - or a list that shouldn't! - and see where I "lack". My next thought is, "I have to do something about that." As though I could.

No. The only way those attributes describe my life (or, in the case of the negative ones, cease to) is when God produces them there.

I have agreed with the spirit of independence that I alone must change me. And in doing that, I have turned away from the only one who can cause that change.

God, please fix my "depender".

Catalyst or Bust! 2008

2008-06-26T22:37:00.004-04:00

A recurring thought has been nagging at me for a while now: The Catalyst experience seems to be a long series of small miracles.

Last year, it was the shared miracle of far-away, previously-unknown friends coming to Catalyst because of the invitation of strangers. This year, those friends are making themselves available to be catalysts in their own right.

Today was the end of the official early-bird discounts for Catalyst 2008. But because of another "small miracle" (thanks, Chad!), we are able to acquire tickets at a discount for a little while longer.

If you need an excuse to miss Catalyst again this year, let me know. I had a million of them. The only excuse you cannot use is price (yet!).

How may we serve you?

Catalyst is coming! Get your tickets today!

2008-06-24T18:02:00.003-04:00

Ok. Catalyst 2008 is still three months away. But now is the time to make some noise about it.

Every year Catalyst gives young leaders in Christ-following organizations access to some of the very best in modern Christ-centered thinkers and business leaders. This year promises to be no different.

My wife and I have had the pleasure to facilitate the attendance of several people (besides ourselves) over the past couple of years. Again, this year is no different.

The reason I am making "noise" now is the pending expiration of "early-bird" discounts.

Do you have your Catalyst 2008 tickets? No!?!?! Why not?!?!

Ok. Send me an email, DM me on Twitter, or, you know, pick up the phone before Thursday. You don't want to miss Catalyst! And you don't want to pay more later!

Checking out Google Checkout

2008-06-24T17:56:00.002-04:00

I am enjoying most things Google these days. So when I needed a different charging solution for my BlackBerry, I decided to try Goggle Checkout.

Placing the order was a breeze. I had already configured Google Checkout, so Google filled in all my shipping and payment information. There was even an option to not have the vendor send me emails!

We'll see if I am still as "happy" in a few days when the merchandise arrives. But we are at least off to a good start!

What comforts me?

2008-05-13T22:05:00.003-04:00

The section I just read in "Walking with God" (the John Eldredge book I am currently reading) has me thinking: What do I "turn to" for comfort - besides God?

Oh come on! We all do this, to one extent or another.

Ok. A little test, then. Finish this sentence: After a long, hard day, I like to ______. How do you fill in that blank? "...come home to the family." Nothing wrong with that. "...relax with a cold beer." Sounds good to me, especially now that the weather is warming up. Mine is "...spend a few quiet moments letting go of the day." In case you were wondering...

Like I said, we all have those "little things we turn to" to help us not be a bear for at least part of our day.

Why isn't it God?

Can't use this excuse any more

2008-05-11T17:12:00.005-04:00

This Mother's Day has been an interesting one. I won't bore you with the details of how we got to this point - I'll just pick up the story in the middle.

Elaine and I were doing a little shopping after church and lunch at our local BJs Club. As we often do, we were walking the aisles to "see what they got". As you may imagine, the selection at these stores do not change much or rapidly, but you never know...

As we walked through the meager electronics section, imagine our surprise to find a new item - an Asus Eee. I have been generally fascinated with this little unit for quite some time. It seemed it would be a good fit between my BlackBerry and a full size laptop. Such a device would allow me to do exactly this - sit comfortably in the living room (or more precisely - not in the office) and write, particularly on this blog.

Long story short, I am now entering this post via the tiny-but-serviceable keyboard of a new Eee.

I won't turn this into a review of the little darlin', especially since I have had it for only a few hours. But so far, it is all that I was looking for (I think). I don't think it will inhibit my shopping for a MacBook Pro in June. Nor do I expect it to replace any of my other devices. But the niche it fits, it seems to fit well. More posts here may tell more than anything else.

On our way to JAX

2008-02-15T15:54:00.005-05:00

My wife's father, already in the hospital for the flu since Monday, suffered a heart attack Wednesday night. He also has pneumonia and had been on a respirator.

So we are on the road to JAX to be with the family. We are hoping this will be a "long weekend" trip...

Thanks in advance to all those who will read this and pray. We appreciate your support.

More news here as we have it.

"In", Meaning "Into"

2007-09-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

I guess this is how this "blogging" thing works. You read something, or hear something, and it moves you. Then you write a blog post about it.

Yesterday, this world lost another of its lights when Madeleine L'Engle crossed the final "tesseract". Though considered "quirky" by some, I am sure Ms. L'Engle contributed more than any other single writer to opening my mind to *possibilities*. If you haven't read her work, you owe it to yourself to read "A Wrinkle in Time", at least. Don't let the "juvenile fiction" classification fool you. You won't understand it all. But you will enjoy it.

Say "Hi" to Meg and Charles Wallace for me, will you?

Are you coming to Catalyst?

2007-09-06T07:30:00.000-04:00

Is it too early to start talking about Catalyst? You know, stuff like who's coming and does anyone with the conference Twitter and how about we organize some meet-ups?

Post your thoughts in the comments or link back from your blog post or twitter me.

Catalyst is exciting enough by itself, but I see no reason we should not blow the roof off!

Twitterfeed - connecting your blog to the social network

2007-08-30T21:37:00.000-04:00

People want to be heard. Bloggers do too. From that perspective, blogging is a haphazard means of being heard at best. It is certainly difficult to integrate blogging into the conversations of social networks such as Twitter.

Until now...

Enter twitterfeed (www.twitterfeed.com). Twitterfeed attempts to fill the gap between the blogsphere and the social network. It takes the ubiquitious RSS feed from the blog and sending a tweet from your Twitter account for each new post. Setup is easy, after obtaining an OpenID which it uses to authenticate you. It even supports multiple feeds for those with a blog and a Facebook presence, for instance.

So now, when you have more to say than will fit in a tweet, blog it and let twitterfeed tell your network for you.
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My Catalyst perspective

2007-07-09T17:00:00.000-04:00

This is a unique post, in my limited experience. Anyway, it's something I've not done before. This is part of a simultaneous post with another blogger. My part of "why" is below. His is here.

The Catalyst Conference is, in my opinion, one of the finest examples of real faith in action in the US. 10,000 people exceptionally motivated and committed to making a difference in their world. Wow!

My wife and I have been fortunate enough to attend several of these events. Starting last year, we felt that one of the ways we could be a "catalyst" in our world would be to involve others in the Catalyst Conference itself.

Some people may think such a project just takes money. It doesn't. It takes prioritization, focus, commitment, and (as it turns out) someone to invite.

Last year, we were very certain who we were to invite. This year, however, the choice was not so clear. We started asking people the week after the conference ended. None of the people we talked with were able to attend. How strange. The certainty that we were supposed to do this did not change, but there was no one who was able to go.

Fast forward to June. Specifically, the week the "discount tickets" would cease to be available. Still no one to ask.

For several weeks, I had been experimenting with some "social networking" sites and software. I had also been watching several people through their blog posts over a number of months. One of bloggers was experimenting in the social networking space as well. We began to exchange messages and I discovered someone with a similar passion for technology and using technology for serving others, particularly his local gathering of fellow believers.

As the deadline for advanced tickets approached, the thought suddenly came to me, "Why not ask Jim?" This is not as reasonable as it might seem at first glance. The Catalyst Conference is held in Atlanta GA. We live "near by". Jim lives in Missouri.

If you haven't already read his post, perhaps now would be a good time.

This whole experience has given me some more instruction regarding the role of faith in my life. First, the awareness to "do some good" may be an indicator that that is what you should do. That may sound trite, but when was the last time you thought you should do something good and actually did it? In my case, it is all too rare.

Second, faith rarely "makes sense", to me anyway. Why should I invite someone I have never met, who lives hundreds of miles away to a conference like Catalyst? Just because I "felt like it"?

Third, faith is an essential element in community. Any community. Of any size, description, or composition. And I am learning that community may exist where I least expect it.

So check out Catalyst Conference. I highly recommend it.

And engage life through faith. Who knows, you just might "do some good".

How "safe" are you?

2007-07-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

Ok. I'm way too safe in relating to the world around me.

I honestly am excited and challenged and scared by what Shawn's church is doing to engage their community. And it is happening right in my own back yard.

As usual, I may be being too hard on myself. For the first time in my life, I am deliberately befriending people with the hope that God will show up in their lives. But it must be an extra-ordinary group who will leave the comfortable shelter of their gathering to actively connect with the society around them. While I'm not quite ready to do something like that on my own, my new-found sense of adventure is stirred with this attempt at the "impossible".

So how safe are you?

A summer storm

2007-06-28T22:23:00.001-04:00

Our front porch gives an awesome view of wonderful sunsets. The.trees surrounding the open field across the road (they're roads in the country, not streets) serve to frame some of God's most splendid creations, out to the west.

But it wasn't the sunset we came out for tonight. It was the storm.

A summer thunderstorm is wild and beautiful and majestic in its power and fury. If caught in one, it can be terrifying. But occasionally, you have the chance to watch this amazing beast as he slowly, calmly makes his way across the land.

Tonight such a storm bid us watch and somehow try to experience his raw, awesome power as he strode by, circled in lightening and heralded by thunder.

So there we sat. Now blinded by a particularly vivid flash; now enthralled by the massive curves of the flanks of this exquisite beast of the heavens. In the dark between flashes, you could feel more than see clusters of cloud, bands of wind forming this phenomenon. Then with the next flash, another dimension is revealed - a dimension so graceful, so bold the mind can only comprehend the briefest of revelations. And then, again in the dark, the heart is invited to revel in the joy of this storm expressing himself for who he is.

All too soon the rain comes - massive storm-leading drops falling with the weight of the storm itself - and we, frail and tender as we are, must leave the view-port of the porch for the protection of the house. But even as we sit, still listening to the thunder and the pelt of the rain, our hearts still linger - out on the porch, enjoying a summer storm.

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A truth about Geeks

2007-06-24T08:16:00.000-04:00

Or at least this one...

In posting the blog entry below, I tried several different methods to post from the BlackBerry. When the post didn't show up quickly using one method, I soon tried another. It took one hour and 45 minutes, and six attempts to get that entry to Blogger.

I'm not sure what that says about me, entirely.

The fact that the time frame was from midnight to 1:44 am says something. (To some who read this, it will say, "Geeks are weird." Your loss.) The fact that it is 8:23 am as I type this may speak to an over-intense focus.

This post seems to be my way of letting a little light into the "mystic arts". Many of us, as talented as we are, get things done by trying something else, often late into the night. And then bosses and readers think some sort of magic just happened and everything was suddenly alright.

So to the point (already!)...

If you are a geek, find a way to quietly, humbly let others in on what you do that makes stuff happen. They won't take it away from you. They don't want to work that hard! :) But they do need to know. There is nothing worse than being taken for granted. Talking about time and steps taken instead of jargon will help them hear.

If you are one of those fortunate ones who have a geek to serve you, the least you could do is find out how much time it took to get something done. Something you really wanted done, but wouldn't put in the effort yourself to do. (That sounds harsher than it was meant, but I haven't had enough sleep this morning. Did you think to ask, "Why?") And please help us with that "geek-speak" thing. If you aren't hearing anything that makes sense, change the question: "That sounds pretty intense. How long did it take you to do all that?"

In the interest of more disclosure... This post was entered via the web from my comfortable keyboard in front of my large flat panel display on my wonderful Linux desktop. While there are many things I can do from the BlackBerry, there are some that are still easier from a "traditional" interface. Like dealing with 6 copies of a post in Blogger. :)

Blogging from the BlackBerry

2007-06-24T01:14:00.000-04:00

I am so pleased with my new BlackBerry. Not having a holster a first was a drag. Locking the keyboard all the time has kept me in flip-phones for years. But with the holster, the BlackBerry experience is complete.

So why am I blogging from my phone?

Well, first, to be sure I can. I keep "waiting" to be disappointed in doing something with this device. Again, so far, I'm not. I'm sure I will eventually find its limits, but not today.

Secondly, though, is the friendly challenge/encouragement of a new "web friend". Check out his great blog (www.churchtechmatters.com) and then head over to Twitter and see if you might find a connection or two.

I was reminded today I write too little. So here's another in my sporadic posts.

At least I have a couple of things to "say" in this one.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Would your church welcome...

2007-05-12T11:32:00.000-04:00

Most of us have the luxury of sitting back comfortably and reviewing issues philosophically.

In his blog post Church Tech Matters » A Sex Offender Among Us, Jim Walton brings a very real issue in our culture a little closer home.

I am not qualified to pontificate on a position. I am certainly not without sin.

One thought though... Am I willing to invest the time to "restore such a one"?

Tipping point

2007-05-07T21:25:00.000-04:00

Do you know when it happened? Can you know?

When you cross over that point of being mind-lead to being heart-lead? When you transition from being plan-/goal-oriented to being purposed?

Somehow - I cannot explain how any more than I can explain an interactive relationship with God - I seem to have crossed a tipping point this evening. In the progression towards being completely heart-lead, a point seems to have been passed where I am now more heart-lead and less mind-lead.

What are the symptoms? Well, for one, this post. The passion to write - and to write about this "event".

Don't get me wrong. I have lived through enough of this to understand the process is far from over. For all the "uphill" climb of practicing listening to my heart instead of my mind, I am certain there is an equal "downhill" climb - just as trying and treacherous as the "uphill".

But for the first time in this part of the journey, my heart is cautiously optimistic.

U2 and social justice

2006-11-05T01:44:00.000-05:00

U2 and social justice

Watch the video. Go on, I'll wait...

What moved me? All those "nasty weapons of war" being used to bring supplies to people in need.

They are just tools like any other tool. It's all in how they are used. It is just a bit more difficult to see that their use "as intended" bring a similar "relief" in its own way. Relief from oppression. Relief from tyranny. Relief from terrorism.

Or relief from a flood. Same purpose. Same tools.

Catalyst links

2006-10-06T23:14:00.000-04:00

Here are some Catalyst links:
Catalyst Conference
Catalyst Day 1 (from a fellow blogger)

Farewell Catalyst '06

2006-10-06T18:29:00.000-04:00

I forget how engaging Don Miller is.

Everyone I know would disagree with most of the things Donald Miller talks about. And yet, my heart is in profound agreement with where he winds up. Our job as followers of the Way? "...to reunite sons with their Father".

I am exhausted physically. My ears ring from the high-energy music. But my mind buzzes with thoughts of engaging my world - inviting others into this story God is writing.

But more than that, my heart feels alive and stirred. And for that I am extremely grateful.

What are your Catalyst thoughts?

More Catalyst day 2

2006-10-06T16:22:00.001-04:00

So I missed the Great Pillow Fight. But Louie Giglio was his usual passionate self - proclaiming that the church was always God's plan (and he (God) doesn't mean buildings). After lunch Kevin Carroll taught storytelling and play and the value of each. Now for some Donald Miller.

Before Catalyst

2006-10-06T10:35:00.000-04:00

I have lived in Atlanta for quite a while but this was my first High Tech Prayer Breakfast. Thank you God for this great ministry.

End of day one at Catalyst

2006-10-05T18:48:00.000-04:00

So how do you end your day at Catalyst? With Dave The Horn Guy, of course.

A Catalyst afternoon

2006-10-05T16:49:00.000-04:00

You never know what you will get at Catalyst, but you know it will be good. This afternoon we got the passion of pollster George Barna and the emotional heart of John C. Maxwell. Then as a pure surprise, we got the faith and theology of Jeff Foxworthy.

Why aren't you at Catalyst?

Being a geek at Catalyst is cool!

2006-10-05T13:23:00.000-04:00

Blogging from Catalyst is certainly cool.

Listening to Andy Stanley tell the truth about where authority and "followers" come from was as encouraging as it was unsettling.

Then Marcus Buckingham (he's English, but doesn't live in the "family palace") confronting the modern myths of working and managing to eliminate your weaknesses. His truth? We should accent our strengths! Go figure!

Now that lunch is finished (thanks, honey!), it's back to hear John Maxwell and George Barna. More later...

Oh yeah! The geek factor... Blogging is coming to you via mobile phone (the pictures you see) and a cellular modem in the laptop. How cool is that!

It is finally here!

2006-10-05T08:25:00.000-04:00

CATALYST - THE place to be!

(Who says followers of the Way can't have fun?!)

Abandoned

2006-09-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

The clouds are winning!

The sun will soon be totally obscured, defeated. Soon it will shine no more. All there will be is cloud and darkness.

That is what I am constantly being told.

Sounds so funny, doesn't it? Yet I have believed a similar lie most of my life. I have been told - and believed - that my heart is evil, that I can only trust what I "know" to be true. And so the clouds have gathered, making war against my heart and the King who lives there. And what I "know" becomes a search for clouds.

But no more. I renounce the agreement with the "clouds" and look instead to the "sun" shining, living in my heart. My King is not intimidated by clouds...

Hopeful geek

2006-09-28T08:54:00.000-04:00

Technology is such a neat thing, sometimes!

Camera phones, blogs, Internet connections. And you have a means to capture and share a particularly moving experience - a heart experience - with others. Neat!

My personal struggle in this is to keep technology "in its place". I have a tendency to focus on "mind things" and be distracted from my heart. That is really easy when I am wired to "get" technology.

It is also very easy to "crush" how I feel about being wired this way. Denying I enjoy the thrill of doing something neat with technology is as bad in its own way as focusing only on bending technology to my will. That denial says God did not wire me "correctly".

So what does all this mean to me?

I seem to need to keep a "through" attitude. I look "through" whatever would distract me to see the God who gave me these gifts. I look "through" the accomplishment in worship and awe to the God who brought together all the elements of the moment so that it could be so enjoyed.

Sounds like life, doesn't it?!

Inspiration

2006-09-27T17:06:00.000-04:00

Vacation is a great time to be inspired. Remember to be inspired more often.

Starting things

2006-09-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

Starting a mobile blog.

So starts my taking advantage of a "new thing" (to me) at Blogger.

Just see what comes through next.

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

There must be a connection...

2006-09-27T14:53:00.000-04:00

...between listening to my heart and writing.

I do neither of these particularly often or (in my opinion - but then, that's a "mind" thing) well.

It has come to my attention recently that certain Christian (spiritual?) disciplines exist. The practice of these disciplines are no substitute for a relationship with the living God. But in the context of that relationship, these disciplines enhance the experience of the relationship.

Perhaps for me, writing is one of the disciplines that help me listen to my heart.

My Testimony � Glass::Brian->blog;

2006-09-27T14:47:00.000-04:00

Ok. So I'm still trying to get a handle on what blogging means to me. But in the midst of vacation, I come across this:
My Testimony � Glass::Brian->blog;

...and I know I have to make some reference to it.

Sometimes this current leg of my journey (listening to my heart) seems completely overwhelming. I have used my mind to "ride herd" on my heart for so long... I sometimes fear opening the flood-gates.

But then I am reminded where fear comes from and try to take at least a little step. Like listening to my heart and posting this entry with that link in it...

(And, Brian, if you check track-backs, thanks. Your telling your part in God's Story really helps.)

Truth in advertising

2005-12-25T07:07:00.000-05:00

For most of my career, I have been reluctant to think or talk about anything not specifically connected to my career. My whole world has been computers and bending them to my will. I have made it my carefully managed business to ensure nothing personal, nothing private ever became part of my public self.

I practiced adhering to the myth (the politically correct term for a lie) that there is no room for personal beliefs and their excercise in business.

I wish I could take credit for this (finally) changing.

More precisely, the change to engage an active belief system is one that has happened slowly and outside the business arena. Perhaps I will grace these pages with the whole long story - facinating reading, I am sure, not for my pitiful activities, but for the incredible, miraculous power God exercised on my behalf - but not today.

Today I will attempt to express some of the pent-up, explosive-sized joy, admiration, and gratitude that is the result of a God-touched life.

Having used God in a blog entry, there are many who will have immediately written off everything else I have to say in this entry or ever. Like me for so long, they now practice believing the "myth" (remember what a myth is?) that one cannot have a mystical connection to "a" power greater than oneself and have any competencies in any but sacred career fields. Their operational philosophy (as mine was) may be summed up in the old saw, "He's so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good!"

(Here is the current difficulty I am finding with my writing efforts: Now that I have written that statement, I have this almost over-whelming demand within me to poke it full of holes! *Sigh* I guess that is what a blog is for... a place to store these ideas until they can be "developed".)

(Well, that was interestingly easy. I just created some new blog posts with only titles to remind me of the subjects I wish to explore further. Now "all I have to do" is edit them sometime in the future and post them. This "blogging thing" my grow on me yet!)

The point of this post is to have a public expression of my gratitude for the real meaning of Christmas for me today.

Today (for me), Christmas will not be about the gifts given or received. Truth be told, there are few (or none) for my wife and me. There will be some for the boys (my nephews) and my sister and her husband, but for me the gift I will get is that they are here celebrating Christmas in this house.

My sister is an ovarian cancer survivor. Which means, statistically, that she will get to fight it again in five (5) years, if not sooner. So today I celebrate the gift of her life for the past year.

My wife and I have no children of our own. (I have an awesome son from a previous marriage. WOW!) So the (considerable) din of two boys on a rainy Christmas morning I will celebrate as the gift of family I never had.

I will also celebrate the gift of a fellow warrior who, like me, is just finding himself after so many years of not searching. Though he is so unlike me in every way imaginable (I'm cute and cuddly, he's gruff and prickly; I'm smart and sophisticated, he's a physocoligist), I will delight in the brother I never knew.

So the truth in this Christmas, for me at least, is to express - as publicly as this gets - the truth of God involving Himself in the life I am living.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The art of writing

2005-12-25T00:59:00.000-05:00

Writing in and of itself is an interesting proposition.

Writing in/for a blog - even more so.

Writing is perhaps the most purely creative thing I do. Certainly the most spontaneously creative thing.

For the past several months, I have been "taking long notes about life" with pen and ink in a spiral-bound notebook. As with many things, what has been captured there is of varying quality. Much is dark and ugly - the pained cry of wounded emotions.

In all fairness, all the writing is not like that. Some is almost exactly "notes about life". An excercise in expressing the who, what, when, and where of now. Often, of course followed by musings about the why, but those musings are often of interest (I suppose) to only me.

To me the challenge of blogging is much the same as writing (you know, the old-fashioned way - with pen and paper), only with the added interesting inconvenience of not being as available as simpler tools of the craft. As "too connected" as I am, the times I find available for writing as those when I am away from my computer. Given the enjoyment I am finding in the writing (the content, yes, but even the process is more enjoyable than I had thought), it is becoming more and more difficult to be at a computer unless I am there for work.

I must, therefore, wonder how this little experiment may turn out.

Will it breathe new life into my "computational" experience? Will it wither with neglect? Will it serve as a "parking spot" for ideas and thoughts more easily captured at the keyboard than with pen?

Will I single-handedly destroy blogging forever with these endless mind-numbing questions?