Saturday, October 27, 2012

Get Ready for Election Day


Tuesday, November 6, is a watershed moment in our nation’s history. Here’s my advice for election day...

Pray. Let’s pray for wisdom, for peace, and for leaders who will fear God and keep His commandments (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Most importantly, pray for revival which is by far our nation’s greatest need.

Learn. Study the issues before entering the polling booth. Click here for a Presidential Voter Guide. For more info about candidates and propositions, go to: www.californiafamily.org and Robyn Nordell's website.

Vote. Cast your vote on election day and thank God for the privilege of having a government that is still ‘of the people, by the people, for the people.’

Rest. Regardless of the outcome, you can rest in God’s sovereignty and remember that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior” (Phil. 3:20). As Bob Dylan sang, “we’re strangers in a land we’re passing through.”
photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Book Review: Evernote for Dummies

I've tried many filing systems and databases over the years, and Evernote is by far the most powerful note-taking software I've ever seen. I use it every day to save newspaper clippings, ministry articles, and sermon illustrations.

Evernote is so simple and intuitive that you really don't need a manual to use it. But for those who want to get full use out of the program, Evernote for Dummies by David Sarna is the perfect sidekick. The book is divided into seven parts:

I. Starting Evernote (the basics)
II. Increasing Your Reach (integrating other kinds of media)
III. Managing Information (how to search, synchronize, and share)
IV. Just for You: Device-Specific Features (using on computer, tablets, and the web)
V. Expanding Your Skills (using handy hardware and third-party applications)
VI. Adding Professional Power (open scripting and community forums)
VII. The Part of Tens (using Evernote in different contexts)

This last section is a trademark of the Dummies series. In this volume, it is so valuable I would suggest reading these pages first so you get a full idea of the potential of Evernote in your life. It shares ideas for using Evernote in the home (e.g. decorating ideas, voter guide, packing list), at work (brainstorming, productivity), and at school (note-taking, research, shopping). The book concludes with an appendix for developers and an invaluable index.

The basic version of Evernote is free, and the premium version is a very reasonable $45/year. Now we have no excuse for being disorganized!

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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Halloween Outreach

Every October 31, hundreds of kids walk through our neighborhood with their parents for trick-or-treat. (We weren’t prepared our first year, but we quickly learned to stock up on candy!)

We’ve always seen this as a great opportunity to reach out to our neighbors and be generous toward them. After all, it’s not often that 500 people walk down our street and knock on the door. We want to seize this chance to talk with neighbors and represent Christ in our community. Occasionally, we even see kids who have visited the church or attended our VBS program.

Last year, we tried something new, and it was a big success. With the help of a couple volunteers, we set up a table in our driveway and added free bottled water and hot chocolate to our standard fare of candy. Many parents responded, “Wow! Thanks so much! What a great idea!” One mom said they were looking for a church and visited First Southern.

This year, we’d like to do it again. We plan to have a table set up with water, hot chocolate, candy, and gospel tracts. We will also put a label with church information on each water bottle and on the back of each tract.

Please pray that we will be able to have some good conversations and that we can be salt and light on a typically dark holiday.

If you would like to donate toward this event, you can bring water bottles and candy bags to the church, or simply donate online to the church and write "Halloween Outreach" in the comments line.

New Blog

Today I'm closing up shop and launching a new blog called Pinch of Clay. You can visit it by clicking here . Please stop by and...