So, it dawned on me this week that many people are just now beginning to understand what blogging is all about.  Sure, we know that a blog is an online journal of sorts, and it’s an extension of the social media frenzy.  But, many of us are just now beginning to understand the extra features that are out there.

For example, have you ever wondered what that strange, little, orange icon with waves is all about?  (It’s this icon right here ↑ )  This little icon and others like it can be found all across the web, but what is it there for?

That little icon says, “Hey! Subscribe here!  We’ll send you the blog posts from this site for free.”  It shows that an RSS Feed is available from the site.  That’s why I’ve got one in the upper right hand corner of this web page.

Okay, so now you know what it’s there for, but how does it work?

Watch this video to learn more about RSS Feeds & the little orange icon.
(And if you prefer you can subscribe by email, click subscribe to do that, too!)

Welcome to another dimension of the blogosphere!
Let me know if this little video was helpful to you.

This past Sunday at Palmetto Avenue Baptist Church, we showed two awesome videos from Johnny & Chachi (Check out their site.  These guys are hilarious.).  The Don’t Video, which you can watch below, helped provide a good intro to the next message in our Who Cares? series, “Who Care’s About Marriage?”

Enjoy the video.  I’d encourage you to watch it several times.  For one, watching it multiple times will hammer home the truth behind the video.  And second, you should watch it multiple times because undoubtedly you missed some of the funny stuff going on in the video the first time through.  Enjoy… and tell me what you think!

It’s that time again.  This Friday brings the third installment of the Friday Favorites series.  Each Friday you’ll find a listing of some of my favorite things.  I try to mix it up each week, but I have so many favorite tweets that I have to share more of these with you.  So, here are some of my favorite tweets from April 2010.

1. hughballou

   Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm – Abraham Lincoln

2. JWill85

   When the people around you, limit God’s work within you, it’s time to get up and move – @stevenfurtick

3. erguncaner

   “Beware of men who have strong convictions, but no compassion.” – WA Criswell

4. leopercer

   Listening to gossip and accusations simply encourages ungodly behavior like sleeping with pigs encourages one to get dirty!

5. leopercer

   “A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving.” – Augustine

6. leopercer

   “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” – Thomas A Kempis

7. leopercer

   “God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.” – D. L. Moody

8. YouQuotedQuotes

   The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up. – Mark Twain

9. johncmaxwell

   On keeping it simple: If u can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough. – Albert Einstein

10. johncmaxwell

    Connecting is not about YOU. It’s hard to find common ground w others when the only 1 you’re focused on is yourself.

So, which of these is your favorite?  And then, is there a type of favorite you’d like to request from me for next week?

So, I’m at IKEA…one of the best places to shop in all of Central Florida!  Cool stuff…great prices.  Billy Mathis and I are there buying items for the soon-to-be-open Prayer Room at Palmetto Avenue Baptist Church.  And, get this.  Two separate times, I am mistaken for an IKEA employee!

Obviously, Billy thought that this was just hilarious.  He just sat back and watched as the people came up to me asking for assistance in the store.  The crazy thing is that I wasn’t even wearing the trademark IKEA yellow shirt.  I was wearing a solid red polo shirt with our Liberty Christian School logo on it…it’s one of our school uniform shirts.

Despite not wearing the IKEA clothing, I was still somehow mistaken for an employee.  Now, why did this happen?  Was it my gestures in the store as I pointed things out to Billy?  Was it that people recognized me from being there before and assumed I work there?  Was it my international look (many IKEA employees are from overseas)?  Or maybe it was my general I-look-like-I-know-what’s-going-on appearance that made them think I’m an IKEA employee?

Truthfully, I don’t know what the deal is.  But, this seems to happen to me a lot.  Just six days after the IKEA event, I was at Walmart (in the same red polo shirt), and I was mistaken for a Walmart employee!!!  They wear dark blue at Walmart!  Maybe, I should just stop wearing this shirt!

So, what’s the point in telling you all of this here?  Glad you asked.  Are you ever mistaken for someone or something else?  Here’s a thought for you.  If you’re a Christian, does your lifestyle (places you go, people you’re with, things you do) reflect it?  Or, do you think you might be mistaken for an unbeliever?  Hmm.  Something to think about.

So, I took my family to Panera Bread this week because I had a few coupons. Long story short, they took our order and accepted our coupons. Everything was looking good. However, when our food was ready for pick up, I noticed that the napkin dispenser near the food pick up was empty. So, in an attempt to be helpful to Panera and the other customers with messy eaters in their family, I let the staff know the dispenser was empty. Their response was to simply hand me some napkins. Fine for me, not fine for the next person in line.

Fast forward 45 minutes, and we are getting ready to leave. My wife goes to get napkins to clean up the kids, and lo and behold, it’s still empty! Hmm… they didn’t listen and take action when I told them it was empty. I don’t know about you, but this failure to listen carefully happens to me a lot, especially when a server is asking for my drink order. I usually say, “Sweet tea, lots of ice, no lemon.” But the server usually isn’t listening for anything more than the word “tea” so I end up with a warm, lemony tea. Not cool.

So what’s the take away today? Well, it should be obvious…LISTEN! And then, once you’ve heard, take action. When you’re at work (like Panera), listen and take action. When you’re at church meeting visitors, listen and remember their names. Then, use them. When you’re at home, listen and take action. Don’t just sit in your own little world.

By the way, the rest of the story is this. The day after my Panera visit, my parents invited us out to eat at Panera. And well, we went to a different Panera. And guess what… they listened better. Which do you think I’ll want to visit next time?

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

As I told you last week, each Friday I’m running a series of posts that shares some of my favorite things… it’s kinda like Oprah’s Favorite Things episode… only different because no one walks away with cool, free stuff.  But, you can walk away with a snippet of knowledge, and that should be valuable.  Anyway, without further ado, here are my three favorite quotes about friendship. Enjoy!

1) “You are who you hang around.”

2) “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.”

3) “Choose your friends wisely…you become what they are.”

So, what are your favorite quotes about friendship?  And, what do you think about mine?

*To my knowledge, the originators of these quotes are unknown.  If you happen to have a source for me, please let me know by leaving a comment.

So, I went to Lowes, the local hardware store, this week in search of some items for the new education room that we are putting together for our children.  Now usually, these larger hardware stores are given a hard time for being “big box stores,” devoid of decent customer service.  Unfortunately, this designation is often correct.  However, my experience this week was pretty surprising.  You see, there’s a new leader (store manager) in town, and his presence is making a huge difference (I know a guy who works there, and he tells me that this new leader is really raising the standard).

So, I’m at the store, and the new leader comes up to me as I push my two kids around the store, with merchandise hanging out all over the place, and asks if I need help with anything.  Apparently, he could see the look of confusion on my face as I looked for magnets.  Immediately, he told me exactly where the magnets are kept.  I appreciated that.  Many times people have no clue where items are in their own store where they spend hours and hours a day.  Then, he quickly had a nearby employee escort me to the magnets.  What?! An escort?  That never happens.  Usually, I just get a point of the finger and a “Magnets are over there” comment.  This was a much better experience.

So, the lessons learned from this trip to the hardware store:  1) The leader makes a huge impact on the morale and the standard of excellence.  2) Guiding someone somewhere is better than pointing someone somewhere.  Pointing is good.  Guiding is better.

Have you had a similar experience?  What are your thoughts?

Each Friday you’ll find here a listing of some of my favorite things.  Sometimes it’ll be tweets, sometimes tweeps, sometimes blogs, sometimes restaurants… you get the idea.  It’ll be whatever I decide to make the Friday Favorite.

Here’s a list of ten of my favorite tweets from the past few months.  Enjoy!

1. YouQuotedQuotes
   If your desk isn’t cluttered, you probably aren’t doing your job.” – Harold Geneen
2. YouQuotedQuotes
   Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent. – Marilyn Vos Savant
3. erguncaner
   “The only exercise some Christians get is jumping to conclusions and running down others!” – J.Vernon McGee via Greg Laurie
4. AndyStanley
   RT @CandiPShelton: We need friends who will always have our back but won’t always take our side.
5. erguncaner
   Beware of the man who has nothing good to say about anyone except himself!
6. AndyStanley
   Masking irresponsibility with prayer makes one an irresponsible person who prays.
7. tinybuddha
   “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles Swindoll
8. tinybuddha
   “Commitment in the face of conflict produces character.” – Unknown
9. johncmaxwell
   Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. – Cicero
10. johncmaxwell
    Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. – George Washington Carver

Which of my favorites is your favorite?  And, do you have any favorite tweets/quotes you’d like to share this week?

So, here we are. This is my first post.  Now, let me tell you why I’m going to start blogging.

1. Blogging is an extension of my life MISSION STATEMENT.
Everyone should have a mission statement for their lives.  It answers the question, “Why are you here?”  My mission statement in life is an expression of 2 Timothy 2:1-2.  I am here to pass along to others the truth of God that has been entrusted to me with the goal of pointing them toward Christ.  So then, blogging is really just an opportunity to carry out my mission in life.  This is my greatest reason for blogging.  As you read this blog, expect to be entrusted with God’s truth, and be ready to pass it along to others.

2. Blogging is an opportunity to ENGAGE with others.
When we engage with others, we can be prompted toward growth.  That is the hope here.  I want to connect with people through this blog and experience the sharpening effect of Proverbs 27:17.  Let’s do it!  As you read this blog, expect to be engaged and prompted to think.

3. Blogging is an opportunity to ENCOURAGE others.
There are plenty of negative blogs out there. Hopefully, this blog with have a different slant, an encouraging one.  Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks of how the community of faith should be an encouraging place where we can “spur one another on to love and good deeds.”  We need to make this happen.  As you read this blog, expect to be encouraged to the point of action.

4. Blogging is an opportunity to EMPOWER others.
The old saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”  I want to empower you to fish for yourself.  I intend to share through this blog any insights, tips, advise, information, etc. that I receive with the intent that it empowers you to do your work better.  So then, in theory, this blog is less about me and more about you.  So as you read this blog, expect to be empowered with the tools and resources necessary to do great work!

So how about you?  Why do you blog?  Or, why haven’t you started yet?

Thanks for visiting. Enjoy your time here, & please point others in this direction!