I realize making fun of fortune cookie spelling is like taking candy from a baby, but it’s still pretty funny…I’m also a big fan of the superfluous smiley faces…

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Category: Adventures in Proofreading
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I’m a huge fan of anything that’s free. Which is part of the reason I love WordPress, Google, and the open-source world in general.

I believe that Free is not only a social good (hey, it’s saving people money!) but is in fact a great marketing tool as well. Google’s managed to turn billions of dollars a year in profit off of giving almost everything away. Musicians drive attendance at their show and even album sales by giving music away for free.

One great example of this is www.NoiseTrade.com, a website started by Derek Webb and a few others, NoiseTrade gives away (mostly independent) music for free, simply requiring an email address and a zip code. (Note: I’ve written about NoiseTrade before, but they’ve made some pretty significant improvements, such as only requiring your email address)

Why is this a good idea for the artists? Well, for starters, I’m much more likely to purchase concert tickets the next time one of the artists I’ve downloaded comes to visit my area, and thanks to them having my contact info and my area, they can let me know when they’re coming. It’s permission marketing at it’s finest. I get some quality music, and they have a better chance of me attending their concert. If I like them, in fact, I WANT them to tell me when they’re in town, because I’ll want the chance to hear them.

Anyhow, there’s a ton of good music on the site, and if you’re curious, here’s some of the albums I’ve downloaded recently:

Ampersand EP by Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken

Recovery by Jeremy Casella

Weightless by Katie Herzig

What music are you listening to?

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Category: Random
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So I’m re-reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan for a study that myself and few friends from work are doing…just got to Chapter 4 and it hits as hard a year and a half after I first read it….

In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained that the seed is the truth (the Word of God). When the seed is flung onto the path, it is heard but quickly stolen away. When the seed is tossed onto the rocks, no roots take hold; there is an appearance of depth and growth because of the good soil, but it is only surface level. When the seed is spread among the thorns, it is received but soon suffocated by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures. But when the seed is sown in good soil, it grows, takes root, and produces fruit.

My caution to you is this: Do not assume you are good soil.

I think most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns. Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and bunch of other stuff, then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled on top of it.

Do not assume you are good soil. I think that as churchgoers, that is an assumption we make far too naturally. This is far too important to make that assumption. Is there evidence of God’s transforming power in your life?

Who are you reading/listening to that is challenging you the most?

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Category: Random
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Ok, random thought, but I think it’s true.

I think that the amount of work that you do contributes only a small amount to burn out.

Instead, I think that whether or not you enjoy what you are doing is the biggest factor in burn out.

When I’m doing something I enjoy, I can work for hours and hours on it, and actually feel more energized by it. In contrast, if what I’m doing consists of a large percentage of what I don’t enjoy then I can get burned out even if I’m just working normal hours.

This is pretty obvious I guess, but it bears repeating. What are your thoughts?

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Category: Life Lessons, Random
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Ok, I promise after this I’m done with the snow posts. But I took these two pictures and I thought I’d share

Snowmageddon stops for no one!

I think this counts as a “Snow Emergency”

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