Nothing vs. Something

I have been looking forward to the weekend, and as it stands right now, I have nothing planned. And that is a good thing. Nothing can be good. I'm not saying that something is bad, but every once in a while, nothing can be really nice.

I take it back. There is something scheduled for this weekend, and it's very important. It's College Football! Yeah! College Football kicked off last night with several games and will continue through until Monday night. But in some ways, watching football on TV is still nothing. But once again, nothing can be really nice.

It's also becoming apparent to me that I have "nothing" to write about today.

Cubicles Video

The first of August we held our annual Leadership Conference at McGregor. Our Ed Team produced a video entitles Cubicles that we opened the conference with. At that time, I blogged I was working on getting the video available online where anyone could watch it (we actually had a lot of requests). Well, it's finally here. So enjoy (video is about 15 minutes long).

Changes...Part 2

I mentioned in an earlier post about some changes coming to our schedule at McGregor. Here goes the "more info" I promised...

Starting January 2008, we will make two major adjustments to our church schedule. First, we will no longer have a Sunday evening Worship Service. Second, we will start a brand new midweek worship service that is designed to help believers grow in their faith. There it is, two changes that have huge implications for those who call McGregor home.

Personally, I am very excited about these changes because of how they position our church for the future. Let me share with you several benefits I believe these changes will bring to our church.

• Focus - I mentioned this in an earlier blog post as being one of the major reasons I am excited about these changes. The new schedule is a way to help us focus our energy on the mission and priority of McGregor - making fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
• Simplicity - As we grow as a church, the tendency is to do more. When in reality, we need to do fewer things better.
• Stewardship - We always want to be wise stewards of all the resources God has blessed us with and this includes people resources. By putting our focus on Sunday AM and Wed PM, we are maximizing member's time by focusing on the two times when the majority of our members are on campus.
• Strategic - Sunday AM is all about connecting. Believer's connecting with God in worship and also providing a place for unbelievers to begin the process of connecting with God. Wed PM is going to be all about helping the believer grow deeper in his or her walk with God. It will be a brand new worship experience that will be totally discipleship oriented. I love the two-prong approach to these two worship experiences!

Let me conclude by saying that I know how hard change is for everyone. I am the first to resist change. But I try to constantly remind myself that without change, I cannot grow. To learn and to develop means I must change. And so while I am excited about the changes, I know for many, this will be a process of adjusting and adapting to. That's okay. As long as we are moving forward, we'll adjust and adapt together.

I can't wait for 2008!

Web Sites I Use Almost Everyday

We talked about this on the Mark and Miller show a couple of weeks ago, but I thought I would put it down for anyone curious. Here goes...

Pandora - Be warned. If you like music, this may become your home page. It is basically a music listening site that your get to customize with your own reviews. That's right. Somehow your feedback on songs it plays creates an evolving custom playlist just for you. Not sure how it does it, but it is awesome.
Google Reader - If you're reading more than 2 blogs a day, you got have a reader! Google's reader works great and it's free! This is how I keep up with Engadget, Steven Anderson, and many other wonderful blogs.
FoxNews - still one of my favorite places to get my daily news.
Facebook - I've not yet submerged myself into the Facebook world/culture. I guess you could say I'm a casual observer, trying to see how this could benefit me.
BibleGateway - I have started using this online Bible Software in place of the regular Bible software I have been using for years. It's faster and doesn't take up any room on my computer.
National Hurricane Center - I live in southwest Flroida anf its hurricane season - need I sway more.

Macy's Favorite: The Food Network - she actually uses this site quite often, looking up recipes and printing them off.

A Few Other of My Favorites:
Kayak - my favorite travel site.
Google Maps - never get lost again
Peet's Coffee - best coffee roasted and sold in the United States. I'm drinking right now Espresso Forte.
Amazon - I'm amazed at how often I still go here when I need something. They just get it done and with no hassles.

Changes...They Are A Coming

Today was an another awesome day at McGregor.

We had a great time in Worship in the AM services. I loved the time spent with my Bible study class this morning. We have an awesome group of young couples who are hungry to grow in their faith. I love being around them.

Tonight was really special. Our worship choir led us in an awesome time of praise and worship. We celebrated as a church family the Lord's Supper. And Pastor Powell shared with us the vision for our church as it relates to our schedule in January 2008. (I'll share specifics of the schedule changes in an upcoming post.) I am personally excited about the benefits the schedule change will bring to our church. We'll be more focused and more efficient with the resources God has given us. Will it be easy for everyone to adjust. No. Just ask my wife. But in the long run, it will position us better for "doing whatever it takes to make fully devoted follower of Christ."

We topped it all off by opening up Studio G (our newest building) for everyone to go over and look around. I've said it before here, but what an incredible space this is for our students, our school and our college and young singles. What a blessing!

Thanks God for another awesome Sunday!

An Awesome Team

I think I have the team to win our Fantasy Football League this year!

Things didn't start out so well. Our draft was a fiasco. We were attempting an online draft, but we ran into technical challenges and had to do the entire draft manually. Which meant Gerald and myself had to enter all the draft results in manually after we finished the draft. But other than that, we had a blast.

For anyone who cares, here's my team:

Leinart, Matt QB ARI

Addai, Joseph RB IND

Maroney, Laurence RB NE

Driver, Donald WR GB

Edwards, Braylon WR CLE

Fitzgerald, Larry WR ARI

Crumpler, Alge TE ATL

Mare, Olindo K NO

Chargers, DST DST SD

Losman, J.P. QB BUF

Henry, Travis RB DEN

Bruce, Isaac WR STL

Clark, Desmond TE CHI

Nedney, Joe K SF

Cardinals, DST DST ARI

Online Banks

I am very intrigued by online banks.

I'm not talking about online banking, but rather a bank that replaces the local brick and mortar building. After doing a little research, it seems that an online bank can now legitimately replace my traditional bank and branch model completely.

What caught my attention initially with online banks were their great rates. A typical online bank's saving account may have a 5% yield. That's about 10 times the return on most traditional bank savings accounts. Some online banks allow you to use any brand ATM and they automatically reimburse any fees that may occur. Now that's pretty cool.

Now don't think I'm getting ready to switch any time soon. I ran this by the family banker (Macy) and she was not too impressed. But at least she listened.

I am intrigued. For more information on online banks, check out this Money Magazine article.

My First Fantasy Football League

I'm excited. This Thursday we have our league draft. I'm working on my strategy. I can't wait. Get ready, you'll hear more about my experiences with fantasy football this season right here.