Sep 29 2008
Tomorrow is my last day at my job, and I haven’t gotten much response to resumes, so I will either be hitting the streets trying to get job interviews or laying on the couch watching soaps and eating bonbons. Not sure which yet…
Aug 22 2008
I’m off to the ancestral home in the fabled land of the Illinois for my mom’s 85th birthday. Back on Tuesday (or so).
Jun 30 2008
I’m off to Illinois for a week or so on family matters, so just talk quietly amongst yourselves till I get back.
Apr 11 2008
C. Michael Patton at Reclaiming the Mind is reading my mind. No sooner had I posted this piece yesterday when he posts this. It’s a great description of how we are to relate to one another in the face of our disagreements. Read the whole article (he promises two more on the same topic), but here are ten guidelines he proposes for interacting with grace:
1. Never say anything to someone online that you would not say in face to face. (2 Cor. 10:10-11)
2. Don’t take things too personally. Understand that many people are insecure and will interact with violent resolve to shield their insecurity. (Prov. 16:18)
3. Don’t take things too personally, but realize that [others may be saying] things we may need to hear. (Prov. 27:6)
4. Don’t respond immediately. Give yourself some time. Rash reactions are like drops of blood. Once the shark smells it, he will attack for the kill. (Prov. 12:18)
5. Interact with great humility. Go out of your way to recognize the right things that are said before you respond to the attacks. (Prov. 15:1)
6. Recognize that while you are separated from the other person by cyber space, there is no space that can separate you from God. (Ps. 139:7-9; Matt. 12:36)
7. Remember that virtual interactions have real people on the other end. These people are created in God’s image. Whether believers or not, they are like God. Who are we to curse someone created in the image of God? (Jam. 3:8-9)
8. Shower your response with biblical truth, but don’t shove the Bible down people’s throats. This can come across and arrogant and sloppy. Be tactful and sensitive to the context of the situation. Often, people do not avoid the Bible, they just avoid you with a Bible in your hands. (Eph. 4:29)
9. Don’t be a people pleaser. You will never satisfy everyone all the time. Speak what needs to be said without fear of reprisal from some particular group that you are trying to please. This is particularly hard for me. Sometimes when I write, I write to the donors of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. Sometimes I shape it for the legacy of Dallas Theological Seminary. Sometimes there are particular people (other bloggers) that I am fond of that I don’t want to hurt or disappoint. There is a fine line between being sensitive to an audience and compromise to an agenda. (Gal. 1:10)
10. If you are going to take people to task, rarely do this in a public forum. Contact them personally and try to resolve the situation. Don’t use people as a public punching bag. (Matt. 18:15)
Mar 03 2008
My apologies for light posting and lots of technical difficulties over the past few days. I’ve been having hosting issues and, oh yeah, family turmoil. All is well, more or less.
Jan 09 2008
All is well…. The folks at ScriptLance came through. They were phenomenal - especially Levi - when the WordPress Codex didn’t cut it. I found a great programmer/scripter to fix things quickly and at a great price. Two thumbs, way up.
Jan 03 2008
WordPress for Dummies is a great resource for both WordPress.com sites and self-hosted sites. As with the rest of the ‘Dummies’ guides, there’s a ton of useful information presented at a non-geek level, with enough technical detail to be really useful.
Nov 29 2007
I’ve gotten a few comments that this site is not accessible in all browsers and operating systems. Can you get to the sub-pages by clicking the tabs in the header or by clicking the Pages links at the top right? Can you enter comments? If not, please drop me a note - click on the Contact Me link at top right - and tell me how accessible this site is. Please include your browser version (IE6/7, Firefox Beta 2, Netscape, Opera, etc.).
That is all. We now resume our regular programming….
