12 Stone…coming to a city near you!

Well, not exactly near you, at least near me.

Some exciting news a couple of weeks ago was released at 12 Stone Church. They are going to open a Flowery Branch Campus. I am pretty stoked about this! This is an exciting time at 12 Stone. There are so many wonderful things going on here.

So, just a break from my normal Crown news and financial stuff to this awesome news taking place at my home church.

By the way, the Cliche series is rocking! Literally, and you know what I mean if you were there last Sunday. You never know what you are going to get when you show up to a service. For those who are not familiar, 12 Stone is doing a series on cliches we use in our Christian walk and they have partnered with Crown Financial Ministries for this awesome series.  If you are available, come check out the final  two Sundays in the series.  You will love it.

Oh hey, check out this awesome organization too. 

 Cause and Affect Network.

This organization is doing some big things and helping a lot of people.

Praying for Obama

Ok, I will be the first to admit I did not vote for him, I do not agree with about 90% of the things he stands for and on a personal level I don’t care too much for him.  But, as I was sitting pondering some things about the economy, politics and life this morning, it hit me, “What have I done to make things better?”  I have complained, I have voted, I have voiced my opinion, I have listened to other people’s opinions.  I thought well God why haven’t you moved in this situation or why haven’t we even heard you mentioned in anything as being the solution or that we need you involved.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  It was like that still small voice we hear ever so often…”You haven’t asked me too.”  eesh…  Ok, so publicly, I confess and admit, I have not been praying for our president, my president.  Again, I don’t agree with him or even care too much for him, but I am called by God to love and pray for him:

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.                  1 Timothy 2:1-3 (The Message)

So, I have taken time this morning to pray for him and the other leaders in our country and around the world.  Now, more than ever, we need to be interceding for them.  Things are being decided and put into motion that will have a ripple effect from now on and will effect billions and billions of people. 

Whether you like him or not, or whether you voted for him or not, I challenge you to take some time today or this week or when ever you read this blog post, and pray for President Obama and the leadership of this country and other countries around the world.  God is still in control not matter who is president of this country or any other country in the world and that will never change.  Our task it lifting them up before God that they will make the right decisions, not just for the country but for God’s Kingdom.  We have to take off our blinders that it is about our individual happiness and remember it is about furthering God’s Kingdom. 

I did not post this out here to say hey look at what I am doing, but more as a confession of what I have not been doing.

Ok, its been a while

Well, I did what I said I would not do…I neglected the blog.  I am goign to try to be more intentional in tryign to get new and relevant stuff on here.  We are doing a lot of exciting stuff with the short films that I have talked about many times, and I will be sharing more from those very soon.

In the mean time, here is a very thought provoking video…

Economy goes down, Savings goes up?

Chuck Bentley recently mentioned an article from Bloomberg.com titled, “Turmoil may make Americans savers, worsening ‘nasty’ recession.”

The article gives statistics showing that for the first time since 1990, Americans are starting to save again. Before then, Americans had been saving an average of 9 percent of their income. In the 1990s, the percentage began to decrease, and it has been less than 1 percent for the last 3 years. We have relied on easy credit instead of saving for needs.

With the turmoil in our present economy, easy credit has become a thing of the past. This is causing Americans to begin to spend less and save more. The article presented the idea that this is a bad thing, that without the continued spending of our consumerist society, the troubled economy would only worsen.

We know from the Bible that saving money is a good thing. Proverbs 6:6-8; “Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest.” God teaches us the biblical principle of not spending everything we have, but saving for future needs.

For those who have been following this biblical principle, these uncertain economic times may feel a little less frightening. It is a comfort to know that money is put aside for emergencies such as a broken appliance, a car repair, or medical bills.

FInish reading the article HERE.

All good things must…err…might come to an end

From CNN.com…

Ex-Googlers launch rival search engine

Developers of new engine say it offers a more comprehensive way to search the Internet.

Anna Patterson’s last Internet search engine was so impressive that industry leader Google Inc. bought the technology in 2004 to upgrade its own system.

She believes her latest invention is even more valuable – only this time it’s not for sale.

Patterson instead intends to upstage Google, which she quit in 2006 to develop a more comprehensive and efficient way to scour the Internet.

The end result is Cuil, pronounced “cool.” Backed by $33 million in venture capital, the search engine plans to begin processing requests for the first time Monday.

Cuil had kept a low profile while Patterson, her husband, Tom Costello, and two other former Google engineers – Russell Power and Louis Monier – searched for better ways to search.

Now, it’s boasting time.

Web index:For starters, Cuil’s search index spans 120 billion Web pages.

Patterson believes that’s at least three times the size of Google’s index, although there is no way to know for certain. Google stopped publicly quantifying its index’s breadth nearly three years ago when the catalog spanned 8.2 billion Web pages.

Cuil won’t divulge the formula it has developed to cover a wider swath of the Web with far fewer computers than Google. And Google isn’t ceding the point: Spokeswoman Katie Watson said her company still believes its index is the largest.

After getting inquiries about Cuil, Google asserted on its blog Friday that it regularly scans through 1 trillion unique Web links. But Google said it doesn’t index them all because they either point to similar content or would diminish the quality of its search results in some other way. The posting didn’t quantify the size of Google’s index.

A search index’s scope is important because information, pictures and content can’t be found unless they’re stored in a database. But Cuil believes it will outshine Google in several other ways, including its method for identifying and displaying pertinent results.

Content analysis:Rather than trying to mimic Google’s method of ranking the quantity and quality of links to Web sites, Patterson says Cuil’s technology drills into the actual content of a page. And Cuil’s results will be presented in a more magazine-like format instead of just a vertical stack of Web links. Cuil’s results are displayed with more photos spread horizontally across the page and include sidebars that can be clicked on to learn more about topics related to the original search request.

Finally, Cuil is hoping to attract traffic by promising not to retain information about its users’ search histories or surfing patterns – something that Google does, much to the consternation of privacy watchdogs.

Cuil is just the latest in a long line of Google challengers.

For the full article you can go to: CNN Article.

WorldVision Clean Water Campaign

WorldVision has always held a special place in my heart.  What they do has a tremendous effect on so many lives.  This video was put together by their UK division.  It really hits the message home to us that do not deal with this on a daily basis like others in third world countries.

This is another sponsorship video, that hits it home also.

Visit www.WorldVision.org.

22 Days and Counting…

That’s right, only 22 days left until the greatest of all sports conglumurations begins…the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

If you have been around me much in years past, you will know that I am a HUGE Olympics fan.  I love everything the games stand for and what they mean.

Peace…Hard Work…Unity…Strength…Determination…

It is bound to be an interesting one this time around with Beijing pushing the level of preparation and presentation.  I cannot wait for the Opening Ceremonies.  I know they will be out of this world. 

There are so many stories to follow this year from the extreme political unrest with Tibet to the heartwarming storie of Dana Torres, the oldest Olympic swimmer in the history of the games at age 40, and then you have the gut wrenching story of Eric Shanteau, a local guy who just days after making the Olympic swim team found out he had cancer and decided to continue to compete.  And I know there are many more stories out there leading up to the games, and many more that will embrace our hearts during the games.  From the underdogs taking on the champions, to the good will and nature of mankind becoming evident between competing countrymen.

So, it all begins August 8th.

“Citius, Altius, Fortius”

(Faster, Higher, Stronger)

iPhone Bible

If you have an iPhone this would be a great tool!

You can now have the Bible on your iPhone for free. YouVersion, the online Bible and social community, has released a free iPhone application. It includes:

• 15 different Bible translations
• Keyword search
• One-year reading plan
• Ability to add and share sermon notes in text, audio, video, images, and images

Visit the iTunes store to download your copy of the free iPhone Bible app.

Common Sense

I saw this on a forum and thought it was hilarious! And so true…

The 10 Commandments of Web Design

Thought this was a great article…

The Internet is constantly changing. BusinessWeek.com spoke to a bevy of experts and distilled the must-follow rules top online designers live by in 2008

1. Thou shalt not abuse Flash.

Adobe’s popular Web animation technology powers everything from the much-vaunted Nike Plus Web site for running diehards to many humdrum banner advertisements. But the technology can easily be abused—excessive, extemporaneous animations confuse usability and bog down users’ Web browsers.

2. Thou shalt not hide content.

Advertisements may be necessary for a site’s continued existence, but usability researchers say pop-ups and full-page ads that obscure content hurt functionality—and test a reader’s willingness to revisit. Elective banners—that expand or play audio when a user clicks on them—are much less intrusive.

3. Thou shalt not clutter.

The Web may be the greatest archive of all time, but sites that lack a coherent structure make it impossible to wade through information. Amazon.com and others put their sites’ information hierarchy at the top of their list of design priorities.

4. Thou shalt not overuse glassy reflections.

Apple often sets the standard for slick and cool—in all forms of design. But some experts say the company’s habit of creating glassy reflections under photos of its products has been far too commonly copied, turning the style element into a cliché.

5. Thou shalt not name your Web 2.0 company with an unnecessary surplus or dearth of vowels.

The Web has brought with it a strange nomenclature that’s only got weirder over time. Hip, smart Web sites have been named either with a superfluous number of vowels or strategically deleted ones. Cases in point: Flickr, Smibs, and Meebo. These names are memorable but destined to sound dated.

6. Thou shalt worship at the altar of typography.

Designers say that despite the increase in broadband penetration, plain text has gotten a second wind in cutting-edge Web design. Mainstream sites such as Craigslist have led the way, while designer-oriented sites such as Coudal Partners and John Gruber’s popular Daring Fireball blog represent the cutting edge.

7. Thou shalt create immersive experiences.

Merely looking good doesn’t cut it anymore. Sites like Facebook and YouTube draw in users with compelling content and functionality. Creating Web sites that can capture and hold users’ attention is what matters most.

8. Thou shalt be social.

Web 2.0 is everywhere. MySpace and similar sites only launched the trend of having users communicate and interact—sometimes obsessively—on browser-based sites. Designers are now filtering those same elements into diverse sites, from smart advertising to online office productivity.

9. Thou shalt embrace proven technologies.

Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, and their cohorts have become a part of daily life. Sites that can incorporate these elements into their design will connect with users in a meaningful way by providing functionality and an interface with which they’re already familiar.

10. Thou shalt make content king.

Though the slogan is old, it still stands. Aesthetic design can only go so far in making a site successful. Beautiful can’t make up for empty.

 

For the full article click the link below:

Business Week Article Link