Here's How a Moleskin and Memory Work Go Together

The link below is a handy resource for memorizing Scripture:

Moleskin and Memorize Philippians

(I was looking for a goal for the new year...looks like I found it!)

Capture and Arrange Thoughts Easily

Stumbled across this great resource!

I write my sermons using Google docs.  I never have to worry about losing my work since it saves everything offline.  But I find it difficult to rearrange and move chunks of thought around.

With WorkFlowy, I can add, delete, expand or collapse my thoughts and outline and rearrange my presentation with ease.

And it automatically saves the work offline.

Check it out...

WorkFlowy

Christmas Mad-Lib

I love Mad Libs! They help pass the time on a long trip and create lots of laughs.

I found this one...try it out!

CHRISTMAS MADLIB

Buzzword Bingo

Without thinking much about it, we say words that sound impressive to people who hear them when we ourselves don't really know the actual meaning to the word.  These words are called "buzzwords".

Common examples of buzzwords are:

* paradigm
* synergy
* non-reciprocity of the two natures of Christ (say that at your next Christmas party).

In the church-world, we say A LOT of buzzwords in order to impress people.

To add humor and laughs to your next meeting, here is a game to play:

BUZZWORD BINGO



If you could create your own bingo card, what buzzwords would you put on it?

What If Your Facebook Was a BOOK?

Check out this video to create your facebook BOOK:

How Do You Get Things Done When There's Too Much To Do?

I often find myself caught in the struggle between completing tasks (ex. answering emails, phones calls, team meetings, etc.) and carving out quality time to think through big creative projects (ex. sermon writing, future planning, problem solving, etc.)

Here is a great article to help wade through the overwhelming amount of work:

Click here

A World of Tweets

Curious about how many tweets are posted and where those tweets are posted? How about in real time?

How about viewing that in a 3D view?

Wow!

Click here to check out 'A World of Tweets'

Why Halloween Is Now the #2 Holiday

Great insights from Seth Godin's post about Halloween.

Halloween is arguably the #2 holiday behind Christmas.

Seth suggests that it is becoming more popular in recent years because Halloween is filling a void; a need that people have.  And companies looking to create happiness and make a profit are rushing in to fulfill that need.

What do you think that void is?

Read more here

My thoughts:

* Halloween is a great excuse to dress up and pretend to be someone else.

* You get to meet a diverse group of people than you would typically see in your normal day.

* You get to meet your neighbors - some that you haven't talked to for a year.

* Who doesn't like getting free candy?  It's not about eating all of it: it's the thrill dumping out the bag at the end of the night and finding the really good candy.  Bits-O-Honey, Mary Jane and an Oatmeal-Creme-Pie (yes you read that right...someone was handing them out!) were at the top of my list!

* Halloween is a great way to see how creative people can get.

Be not Do

I know I fall into the trap thinking that the more activity I do, the more personal growth I will experience.

It doesn't make sense: more activity should equal more personal satisfaction and growth.

But it doesn't work that way.

It's the difference between running on a treadmill and running in a race.

The treadmill takes energy, but leads nowhere.

The race takes focused energy and the ending is rewarding.

The more treadmills we have, the more tireder we get.

Especially in the church world.

Read Will Mancini's excellent post for churches here:

Tyranny of More

Expectations of a Pastor

This is an interesting post about how Christians who view their needs above the Pastor's needs are literally sucking the life out of their Pastor.

Christian Consumers

I think it comes down to what a congregation expects of a Pastor. A congregation needs to be honest and upfront about their expectations of their Pastor. And the Pastor needs to be upfront about his expectations of the church. This is a continual dialogue with hopefully a happy medium and tremendous clarity.

What is on Your To-Do List?

Here is an interesting post about getting things done:

If It Won't Fit On A Post-It, It Won't Fit In Your Day

Tools that Help Tell a Story

One of the most successful stories being told in our culture is the Harry Potter series.

Here is a helpful tool that the author used to help to tell the story:

Storytelling

A more powerful story is Jesus' work in us. When you think about telling THAT story, what would it look like if you drew it out?

Listen to Luther for Free

In honor of Reformation Day coming up on October 31, here is a free audio resource of Martin Luther's writings.

In His Own Words

The Five Levels of Delegation

Delegation is a part of leadership.

Where I find where delegation gets dicey is in one-of-two places:

1. The leader is uncomfortable delegating if the other person does not perform the task in exactly the way the leader would (this is a control issue)

and

2. The leader doesn't not clearly communicate their expectations when they delegate a task or project.

To address the first issue of control, a leader needs to ask themselves:

"Can this person perform this task at least 80% as well as I could?" If so, then the leader needs to let it go and give the person the running room.

To address the second issue of clearly communicating expectations, Michael Hyatt nails it when we talks about 5 levels of delegation:

"Recently, one of my mentees was planning a special event. Last week, he was surprised to discover that someone on his planning team had completed a project that he didn't really authorize. He was clearly frustrated, because he felt the other person had taken more initiative than he was given. After listening to him describe the situation, I finally said, "The fault is not with your team member's action. The problem is that you didn't make your expectations clear when you delegated this task..."

Read more here

Of the 2 issues, which one do you fall into?

The Art of the Sermon

Preparing a message every week can be exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.  Michael Hyatt at Thomas Nelson has great insights on the emotions that a public speaker goes through:
STAGES OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

The 11 Minute Difference: 7 Checkpoints to a Great Guest Experience at Your Church – Will Mancini

Here are some great insights to improve how guests experience church:

The 11 Minute Difference

The Creative Mindset

I appreciated the insights from this article - I wonder how this might apply to the church world?

The Top 5 Qualities of Productive Creatives and How to Identify Them

Fun Pancake Art

This takes pancake making to a whole-notha-level!

Fun Pancake Art — Illusion 360 - The World's most amazing Art, Design, Technology and Video

Make Breakfast F-U-N!

All about making breakfast fun:

1. Make a Cereal Box Marble-Run

Step-by-step instructions here



2. Make Pop-Tarts into Sushi:

Too Many Ideas, Not Enough Action

One of the major frustrations people have with creative types like me is that we do not follow through and "close the deal" on our commitments and ideas.  

Recently, the Action Method has helped me to follow through on the many ideas I have.  This tool increases my integrity and closes the gap between what I think/say and what I do.

The tools I use are the ActionMethod Online and the Action Journal.  If I get an iPhone, I will defiantly get the app.


Yesterday, I was at a 2-day conference full of ideas, insights and "best practices".  There were lots of items I wanted to follow up on.  If I wrote them on a piece of paper, it would get lost.  If I wrote it in a notebook, the action items would get lost in the brainstorming "I wonder if it would work" thoughts.


Here is a link to describe how the process works.


Here's a pic from my ActionJournal of the conference:

Share the Happiness

Great idea!

Best Video Ever

Great Reads

If you are on a team, the following posts might help you address some key issues:

It is tough to keep aligned around the vision of an organization. Here are some tips on how to stay aligned with your team so you're all going in the same direction.

Got apathy? Do something about it here.

Love this post by Mark Driscoll on how to be missional. It's not about a program - it's about our relationship with Jesus and how we live that relationship out.

Anyone face criticism? Here are some encouraging words for you.

"More programs." "More events." "More more more!!!" ... it doesn't equal better. Will Mancini describes why doing a few things well helps us bring our best to God.

Procrastinate Without Being Paralyzed

Great video on how to procrastinate well without playing solitare or checking Facebook:

Giving from a Child's Perspective

Great video on giving posted by Perry Noble, Pastor of New Spring Church:

Giving: From A Child's Perspective from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

The Ten Commandments

This is a compelling way to remember the Ten Commandments. Thanks to Vit, this combines the visual and the audio in a way that draws you in.

(I just with the ordering of the commandments reflected the Lutheran numbering but that does not take away from the creativity!)

The Ten Commandments - motion (kinetic) typography from Vit Ryznar on Vimeo.

How To Start a Movement

In order to effect change, it is not entirely on the shoulders of the leader - it's the first follower who is crucial.

This and many other leadership lessons can be learned by watching the short 3 minute video below.

Presented by David Siers:

How to Create Creativity

I really like what this post says about jump-starting creativity:

http://sixrevisions.com/creativity/how-to-create-creativity/

Which technique helps you jump-start your creativity?

On Suffering Well

What does it look like to suffer well?

What does it look like for a Pastor to suffer well?

I listen to Matt's podcasts and have heard him at major conferences like Catalyst. He is a fiery preacher with passion and grace.

Right now, he and his family are going through unimaginable things. Keep them in prayer.

Read the latest here:

http://tinyurl.com/yasqrba

Thoughts Running Thru My Head

As I was de-icing my hill and cars, here are some thoughts that ran through my mind:

1. I wonder what it would take to get radiant heat under the ground?

2. Easy way to wash the car.

3. All this ice would make one big smoothie!

4. How many cars has my neighbor pulled out from Hwy 31?

5. I guess that run will have to wait.

6. (while opening the mailbox door) "Pickles! No mail today!"

What Gets Measured Gets Changed

If you could make a visual of your personal routines, what would it look like?

Each year, Nicholas Feltron tracks his personal routine and creates a compelling visual report. For example, click here to see his 2009 report.

I would like to change my personal routine in 2010 but first I need to track my current habits and discover what needs to change.

(I plan to use the tool called Daytum to help track my daily routines.)

To start this journey, I need to find the routines that would be the most important to change.

So far, I have DINING OUT, DINING IN, DRINKS, BOOKS READ, PAGES READ, EXERCISE as possible categories.

What do you think are the important categories that I should track?

How Much Life is In One Cubic Foot?

Duck River runs along side a forest in Central Park, NY, a coral reef in the French Polynesia, a Cloud forest in Costa Rica and Mountain Fynbos in South Africa.

How is that possible? Check out the link below:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/cubic-foot/liittschwager-photography

Which is your favorite organism?

Mine is the Golden Darter

(btw...Clarissa's is the Golden Darter too)

Lost Generation

This is a video submitted by a 20 year old for a contest. He won 2nd place.

The video is a palindrome: it can be read the same forward and backward.

What if the church could create something more creative than this for a worship experience???

Check it out:

Condition 1

Winter weather is crazy. Especially in Middle Tennessee

But then I saw this.

(Made me think about a church member who is on a work crew in Antarctica. He'll be back in February. I wonder what his experience was like?)

You thought an inch of snow was bad in Columbia, TN then you need to check this out

A Goal to Read 1563 Pages in 6 Months

If we can read all 7 books of the Harry Potter series;

If we can immerse ourselves in the hundreds of pages of the Twighlight saga;

If we have "down-time" and can check our email on our cell phones

Imagine how quickly we would be able to read 1563 pages of the action-adventure, mysterious and romantical saga of all time.

How?

By subscribing to this.

While I don't have an iPhone, I'm picking the plan that allows me to read all 1563 pages in 6 months.

Which plan did you pick?

Sushi etiquette

I love sushi! I love sushi so much that it is a tradition at our house to eat sushi on Christmas day (it's a way we live out the restaurant scene in the Christmas classis "A Christmas Story").

If you're wondering how to eat sushi, look at this...

Better than a string...

Check this out! I drink hot tea almost every day and could totally see using this to make the perfect brew:

http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/01/07/hang-me-some-tea/

What do you think?