Run with God

10 things missing from Google Apps for Non-Profits

I've discussed Christ Fellowship's move to Google's Apps for Non-Profits (I termed it CF+G). We started the transition over a month ago, and I am genuinely surprised at how easily CF's staff has adapted to the new interfaces and adopted to the "Google" way of thinking. I still cannot believe we didn't do this sooner, and cannot think of a mid-to-large size church that I would not recommend this system to.

With that being said, I got ten things Google needs to fix. Yo Google, pay attn!

10) Google Notifier for Windows doesn't work. Notifier (Windows Version) won't accept Google Apps user/passwords...

9) Unable to "merge" existing Google accounts with Google Apps accounts. Several of our users have pre-existing Google/Gmail/Blogger accounts... It'd be nice if they could merge their accounts with their new Google Apps account. One username/password is a lot easier to remember...

8) No support for Palm. I know, I know. I thought Palm was dead too. Evidently they're still around. I still have users using Palm... I need an easy way for Google Apps to sync with Palm...

7) Limited support for Outlook 2000. Crazy request. To upload Outlook data to Google Apps you need to have Outlook 2003. Most of our users used to use Outlook 2000. It'd be crazy to upgrade to 2003 only to ditch the software... come up with a way to upload Outlook 2000 data to Google Apps!

6) Google Docs unable to edit PDF. I'm probably asking the world here, but we should be able to edit PDFs through Google Docs, not just read them. Google, I want you to: accept an uploaded PDF, scan to editable text through OCR software, then let our users edit, collaborate, and view text.

5) Task Management Software? Why is it no software companies (Google, Apple) understand that people use To-Do Lists? Remember the Milk is great, but it's not Googleesque. Buy them out and merge the software...

4) More control over the "Start page". What Google Apps is missing is a true "Intranet" site. Google Start Page has the potential, but there's no way to Administer the page globally... to add, edit, delete modules or text on the page across all users simultaneously...

3) Calendar Reminders only work on the Primary Calendar. Reminders (Email, Pop-Ups, SMS) only seem to work for the primary calendar (top calendar), and not on "shared" calendars. It would be beneficial if the Reminders would work on all calendars, whether primary or not.

2) Calendar Pop-Up Notifications get Snoozed. Sometimes we get a reminder, but we don't want to deal with it immediately. Just like alarm clocks... sometimes you need another 10 minutes...

1) Google Sites upload limited to 20megs. Also, only able to upload one file at a time. Of all the Google Apps, Sites has me the most excited. HOWEVER, you gotta open up the file size to larger than 20 megs! Photoshop files are MUCH LARGER, especially with print. 20 megs is ridiculous! In addition, GIVE US BATCH UPLOADING!!! Who has time to do one at a time!

Finally, as an afterthought, if you (Google) could figure out how to get my Starbucks Grande Iced Coffee Black No Cream No Sugar delivered to my office by 9am, you would easily replace Apple as my favorite tech company. Thank you for your consideration.

10 Tips for CF Staff on switching to Google

I've talked about Christ Fellowship's transition into using Google for our communication (or as I've branded it, CF+G). It's been a great experience thus far. I'm currently doing some training sessions teaching our staff how to use the Google suite for all that it's worth.

Here's a list of 10 things that are worth repeating from the training:

10) Google Notifier
If you use the web-based email application, or you use the calendar, then you REALLY NEED to install Google Notifier on your computer. Even if you're not logged onto the website, you get immediate notification when an email arrives. Notifier also makes the web-based email option become your "default email" application. Works for Mac & Windows - sans Windows ME users...

9) Never delete an email
Straight up, you have almost seven gigs of email space. Unless it's junk mail or spam, DON'T DELETE! "Archive" your mail instead!

8) Search, and you will find
The strength of Google is their ability to catalog and analyze text data (ever use their search engine?). Feel free to search your entire email system. Type the name of a person, or their email address, or key words that would be found in an email. See what happens.

7) REPORT SPAM button
Occasionally, SPAM will trickle through. DO NOT DELETE SPAM. Instead, click on the checkbox next to the email, and click on the "Report Spam" button. By doing this, you will help Google prevent other people from getting SPAM. Good for you!

6) Multiple Calendars, one user
The strength of Google's Calendaring system is that you have the ability to share appointments with other people. But maybe I don't want everyone to know when Amy's birthing classes are going to be. If I create a separate calendar for my personal events, I then can share my work calendar with the work folks, and keep my personal calendar just for me (and Amy).

5) Text Messaging is your friend
Can't tell you how many times this saves me. Get a text message 15 minutes before a meeting reminding you, "Yo. Dummy. You got a meeting." (Note: SMS=Txt Messaging)

4) Remember the Milk
One thing missing from Google's suite is a good Task Management (read: to-do lists) option. Vivian pointed me to RememberTheMilk.com. Stupid name. Great site. If you use to-do lists. Go sign up for this. Great stuff! Plus, it integrates into start.cfmiami.org

3) ACS Integration
Speaking of start.cfmiami.org, you can easily integrate ACS into your start page. Check out the info below (thanks to Debbie for finding this.)

Visit start.cfmiami.org - click on add stuff, and then copy/paste the URL into the search field...

My Church Life - http://gadgets.acstechnologies.com/mychurchlife/google.xml

Small Group Metrics - http://gadgets.acstechnologies.com/smallgroups/google.xml

2) Separate Email Account to register on all websites
The best way to cut back on SPAM is to never give your email address on any website. I promise you, if you've ever put your email address on a website, mass email list, discussion board, chat room... they've sold your email address to someone else, or better yet, their database was broken into and data stolen (that happens, too!)

The way around this is to have a separate email account that you JUST HAVE FOR SPAM/JUNK MAIL. Since you're familiar with the gmail account interface, sign up for your free extra account here. For some of you the damage is already done, but if you take the measures above, the SPAM should get better over time.

1) Outlook? Never heard of it...
The #1 Tip I can tell you is that you should totally forget that Outlook is on your computer.

Qs, you know where to find me.

Ten Things I Never Blogged

I'm getting ready to write my 700th blog post. Uh, yeah, didn't think it'd actually go this far. Thanks for being my stress relief. Really can't believe there are people out there that read this stuff...

I've taken some heat in recent weeks for my posts... evidently some of you were disturbed by the post describing Eight Belles being euthanized, or how the polar bears are becoming extinct, or how I may be voting for Obama (wait, was I being serious about that?)

Honestly, if you think that stuff is crazy, you should see the stuff I write but chicken out on posting...

In honor of the stuff I've never said, I present to you the titles of ten blog posts I've written but never published:

10) Seeking Madonna
Tongue in cheek look at the concert photo of Queen of Pop... on a cross wearing a crown of thorns. Ten years ago Christians would have been up in arms over this. Today, Madonna is "seeking Christ..."

9) Why I Didn't Get Shot By The Cop
Dennis Miller (not at all inappropriate) quote relating to my unexpected encounter...

8) When Quitting Is Okay
Parallel Seth Godin's book "The Dip" to Green Bay Packer's Brett Favre's retirement.

7) Jeff's Voicemail Greeting
What my voicemail message should say...

6) Raising Your Ebenezer?
Weird line from the old hymn "Come Thou Fount." If I posted this, you'd understand what an Ebenezer is...

5) Amy's Celebrity Lookalikes
Evidently my wife is a cross of Kelly Clarkson & Merryl Streep. Yeah, think about that for a while.

4) Running on Empty (or what I've learned about God by watching my dog)
self explanatory, don't you think?

3) The More I Serve God, The Worse My Life Is
Someone actually ended up on my blog by Googling this phrase... so of course I decided to write a blog post about it...

2) What have you done for me lately?
...or why a Thai restaurant should not be proud they won an award for the best Thai restaurant in Miami in 1997... and none since then...

1) Success?
How does a business doing ministry judge success? Salvations? P&L Statements? Testimonials?

Sorry I've been on a more comical/satirical streak lately. I'll solemn up soon...

Side note: let me know which of the above you'd like to read... I may get the courage to post some of them.

10 Names that didn't make the cut

We didn't spend much time discussing Boy names, (since I was convinced myBaby was a Girl)... but here were the Boy names that didn't make the cut.

10. Optimus Prime Reed (after all, he's my hero)
9. Jeffrey Reed, Jr. - (aka JR, jr.)
8. Stone Forest Reed
7. Gilligan Skipper Reed (ala Scrubs)
6. Radley "Rad" Reed (upcoming career as BMX bike racer/skater/80's wannabe.)
5. Grendel Reed (didn't want Beowulf to have an immediate adversary in house.)
4. Jason Alexander Reed (wife totally didn't realize that the name was taken by this guy).
3. Ing Reed, or as written in a gradebook Reed, Ing. (Amy humor).
2. Darth Vader-Maul Reed (only if he needs an inhaler...)
1. Reid Read Reed (think Reed cubed)

With creative power like that, at least we came up with a decent girl's name. Hopefully Caitlyn will appreciate us someday (and not be upset we didn't name her Gomer).

UPDATE: Couldn't resist putting in my 2nd favorite Girl Name: Apple MacKenzie Reed...

Ten Things I Look Forward To When I Meet myBaby

I've had a couple people email/facebook/comment for more info on myBaby. Honestly, I got nothing. Tomorrow is 11 weeks, so we're over a quarter of the way there. Woohoo! Next appointment is in a couple weeks. We should know boy or girl in a month or so (still a ways away).

In lieu of solid info on myBaby, I'm just going to vamp...

Ten Things I Look Forward To When I Meet myBaby
10. Cool new toys. Saw a baby stroller with a builtin iPod hookup.
9. Beowulf as a watchdog. I'm wagering Beo is not going to let anyone near myBaby.
8. Late night feedings. I'm up at 2am anyway. Might as well be feeding myBaby.
7. Having another reasonable excuse for pulling my hair out.
6. Give my parents the grandbaby they always wanted.
5. Counting 10 fingers, 10 toes.
4. New baby smell. Don't know what it smells like, but I can't wait!
3. Seeing Amy as a mother. It's a role she will be awesome in.
2. Hearing a cry, and seeing a smile.
1. Having the rest of my life changed in ways that I haven't even imagined.

10 Things Stopping Me From Blogging Regularly

Yes, yes. I'm not blogging regularly. I am still alive. I am back from vacation. I have not run out of things to say. I do still love my readers. I have, drumroll please... been busy. I know, I can't believe it either.

2008 is the year of Jeff the Runner... and sometimes I'm running so quick I don't have a chance to get my collective thoughts together to blog. So basically this post is me making excuses for not posting, and once I get those excuses aired, I can get back to posting. Kosher?

10 Things Stopping Me From Blogging Regularly
10) Pop Goes The Church: I was selected to review a pre-release of Tim Steven's new book, Pop Goes The Church. Gotta tell you, I'm loving it. If I stopped blogging long enough to write a book, this would be the book. Tim is the Executive Pastor of Granger Community Church (a church I admire) and it's cool to hear his perspective on how the church can use POPular Culture to reach out to the unchurched. Tim, this is awesome stuff! (More coming soon once I finish it...)

9) Anchor Harbor, Way Station, and Revolution @ Downtown and Redland: we are REALLY trying to have one big PUSH to finish off the age-graded worship venues by this wknd. It'll be close. Left on my plate are final tweaks of the Dwntwn Adult Worship Center, and all modifications of the Redland Adult Worship Center. (We're integrating video teaching into the Redland Worship Center, which is always a joy! Big fan of ProVideoSync! Thanks guys!)

8) Saliva: Wiping the drool off my chin after looking at the new Macbook Air. Yes, it will be mine... (and no, Saliva was not referencing Saliva, although "Ladies and Gentlemen" has been repeating on the nano for weeks.)

7) Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork: While the bookstore ran great while I was on vacation... uh, the backoffice is now swimming in paperwork. Now that 2007 is over and 2008 is starting, yeah, let the chaos begin!

6) Princess on TV: I discovered I still owned a Nintendo Wii. Broke out a video game I hadn't played in a year (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess). Awesome gameplay. I miss video games. It's so easy for me to mentally check out of my own environment and become enveloped into somewhere else...

5) Another Vacation: I needed a vacation from the vacation after my vacation...

4) Late nights: Seems like I've had a lot of late night meetings at Christ Fellowship as well as the bookstore. Nothing serious, but I really haven't been home much.

3) Check, please: To Do Lists, or the lack of one in the iPhone. Is anyone else confused why Apple doesn't put a to-do list application on it's iPhone. I mean COME ON! The iCal application can handle "To-Do" items, why can't the friggin iPhone! Every other gripe I have Steve Jobs has fixed. Steve, man up! I've got ten thousand things to do and I need your miracle device to help me do them.

2) CFPB - I'm loving being back on the Palmetto Bay Campus. Sammy, Hector, and Ammy have been great to work with, and I love helping directly create four worship experiences every weekend. Thanks for letting me be part of the team!

1) "__ ___ _____ ____ ____": Let's be honest, I got nothing left to say. After all, to quote Landon (CF Audio Guy), "Dude, no one reads your blog!"

With that being said, let's get back to our normal programming...

Ten Things I Learned From My Disney Vacation

Well, I'm still in Canada (on my vacation from my vacation), and I've had some time to reflect back on my magical experience @ Disney's Parks in Orlando. Here's what I learned:

10) Stay away from Goat Cheese - Probably not the best idea to eat $40 worth of sushi, then follow it with Pork Tenderloin covered in a Goat Cheese sauce. Had food poisoning for 24 hours.

9) Always read directions before taking medicine - Unfortunately, I took a couple too many Immodium AD. Dried up my diarrhea, and everything else, for way too long... needless to say, regularity is a good thing...

Now that the disgusting ones are out of the way.

8) Better not to risk fate - I was sick when we were scheduled to go to Animal Kingdom, so I did not get a chance to ride Expedition Everest. Much love, Jeffery ReeB.

7) To Pin or Not To Pin - Not sure if you've experienced Pin Trading @ Disney. My bro-in-law suckered my wife who suckered my parents into it. If nothing else, it's a great way to break up the monotony of what to do between rides... but keep in mind, Mickey's pals don't do things to be nice. They do things for $$$.

6) Disney Redux? - Some rides (Pirates of the Caribbean) did an awesome job of getting updated... Johnny Depp was in it three times! Some rides (Haunted House) should not have been updated... by changing it you messed with the camp value. Finally, some rides (Tiki Birds) stunk years ago, and stink worse with the update.

5) Achieving excellence, 98% of the time - For the first time EVER I saw a Disney Cast Member (read: employee) yell at a guest. For organizations that strive to go that extra mile and aim for perfection... getting it is a REQUIREMENT. However, once you achieve perfection, every slipup you have can be a fatal flaw. I don't remember specifics on the hundreds of small things that the Disney Cast Members did to make my trip memorable. I do remember when the Old Guy @ Pirates of the Caribbean yelled at the Japanese tourists that didn't understand what he was saying anyway... which gets me to...

4) Customer Service = Sensitivity - I may have been more aware this time, but it appeared to me that there were a lot more Foreigners/Internationals there. However, the majority of the park signage, maps, disclaimers, and verbal instructions are in English... how are they expected to have an enjoyable time when they have no idea what's going on? It just seemed odd to me to see all these different nationalities walking around, clueless, and on several occasions frustrating Disney Cast Members.

Do I have an answer for this? Not really. But if Disney can rig up a stuffed mouse to talk to people via RF frequencies all over the park, I'm willing to wager Diz can rig up something...

The point is... is Disney sensitive enough to the plight to care?

3) Technology as an end, not means - Diz is awesome at stretching technology. I saw a Computer Animated comedian do a live standup act where he interacted with the audience (Monster's Inc. - The Laugh Floor Comedy Club). I also watched HD Video get projected on a screen of water spray (Disney Hollywood Studio's Show. Can't remember the title). Even though these technological feats were incredible, they fit within the purpose of what the show was. I can't think of a time when Disney does technology solely to do technology. Now, they may wrap an entire ride around a technological advancement, but at least then that advancement is still part of creating the end - for Disney, creating the magical environment for their guests through "rides" and "shows". All technology flows through those established contact points.

2) Picking apart the pieces of the puzzle - Rides/Shows are a chance to figure out HOW the show is created. When does the screen expand? Where do they hide the projectors? How are the lights programmed? What is that green LCD teleprompter in the back of the room used for (the words are backwards/mirror imaged. Really, if you know what I'm talking about, let me know.) Disney doesn't use "real magic" these days, and the producer in me loves to mentally reverse-engineer the experience. Unfortunately for my wife, I've got her hooked too. Kinda takes some of the magic out of the Magic Kingdom.

1) Kids - Going to Magic Kingdom made me realize how much I want kids. Watching the protective Dads with their kids. All in God's time...

Thanks to my parents, for inviting us to go on their trip to Disney! It's always great to get caught up in your childhood and regress back a few years.

10 Reasons Amy & I did not do Christmas Cards this year

Amy and I skipped our annual tradition of sending out Christmas Cards and letter this year. Believe me, I feel horrible. Truly, truly horrible. For many of you, your holiday season has just been ruined, and I hope that by notifying you this far in advance you can get over the heartbreak in time to get back in the season. I sincerely apoligize. But, I've got a lot of good excuses... well, a couple good ones anyway...

10 Reasons Amy & I did not do Christmas Cards this year
10. Come on, like you need to see another picture of my bald head and goatee?

9. God has not answered my prayer request to add an eighth and ninth day to the week. Probably for the best. If I had the option I would work those days too.

8. Don't know if you've heard, but CF has two new campuses...

7. The highlight of the Christmas letter was keeping everyone updated on Amy's and my life. Now with the blog, you get DAILY UPDATES. You get me being stupid 365 days a year!

6. I was informed the other day that Christmas Cards were the tool of the Antichrist. Well, at least all the Christmas Cards I had in stock at the bookstore. After all, they all had verses from NIV translation (not KJV). I was sparing you because I did not want to "lead you into sin". You're welcome. Now, as for my customers... sin away!

5. It's hard to get into the holiday spirit when you own two retail stores. I don't know if you're realized this, but Miami is a RUDE city to live in.

4. $0.41 Stamp per envelope? Let's be honest. I don't like many of you that much. Okay, maybe that's a joke. Depends... I'll have to get back to you. If you're not sure whether I'm serious or not, email me. I'll address all requests on a case by case basis.

3. Dog ate all the stamps. Last year we used him to lick the stamps... and this year he got a little ahead of himself.

2. I truly hate paper... and until eChristmas Cards are a more acceptable medium I am boycotting the industry. Stupid Hallmark. Wait, Hallmark owns Dayspring, my card vendor. I love you Hallmark. I love you Dayspring.

1. Wait, why am I making excuses, when you didn't send me a card last year! What's your excuse?

Housecleaning Top 10

Been a busy couple weeks. I've had some people ask why I'm not blogging much lately. Honestly, I'm so busy "living" my life that I really don't have time to write about it. I actually had some "Me time" today to think, process, and overall defunk what's been going on lately.

Let me catch you up:

1) CF Downtown is going great. The Worship Center conversion will be a monumentous (is that a word?) task. Good news is we're developing a multi-phase plan, and what felt like an insurmountable task is slowly starting to come together.

2) C28's is a Key Sponsor for Wayfest happening Saturday, November 10th at the Sound Advice Ampitheater in West Palm Beach. Also as part of Wayfest, C28 West Palm is hosting an intimate artist signing with Seventh Day Slumber and Storyside B... SSB will also be performing an acoustic set in the store. How cool is that!

3) Pray for C28 in general. Most of the stores reside in Southern California, which is currently being ravaged by fire. I was calling one of my reps earlier this week, who told me "Uh, I gotta go. My backyard's on fire and we gotta get out of the house." Crazy. Absolutely crazy.

4) There are some new CF Bloggers, and I can personally recommend both of these guys. Carlos Lollett is the worship leader for CF West Kendall, and Berchman Paul is the worship leader for CF Homestead. Thanks to E for the reminder.

5) Wanna make God laugh, make plans! The old adage has really rung true in my life over the past month. It seems as if God is content keeping me running. So we'll keep running. God, I trust that you know what You are doing in my life. Keep opening doors and I'll keep running through them.

6) Anyone see Joel Osteen bench 300lbs on TV recently? I've had multiple people tell me they saw him do it. I can't find the video on YouTube, and I'm going to pull a doubting Thomas until I see him do it. The man is a beanpole (albeit an extremely rich beanpole) and I do not see how he could throw that weight up. 300lbs on his chest would break him like a twig.

7) I'm mentally working through a blog redesign for the site. Not like I got time to do the work, but maybe I'll get a day off in December and can have fun with it then.

8) There's a good chance I will be at four different church locations this Sunday. No, not kidding. I'll be sure to blog my day. I think it may be a 200 mile day. WooHoo!

9) Are you celebrating Halloween this year? If the secular world has taken Christ out of Christmas, is it possible that we have commercialized Satan's holiday as well to the point that children getting free candy is no longer glorifying to Satan either? (Don't know the answer, just thinking...)

10) God-sized news this weekend @ CF. Eric's teasing the info again. Come celebrate with us and see how God is moving across Miami.

10 Reasons to be @ CF this wknd

Haven't done a 10 Reasons in a while... and I'm excited about the weekend...

Ten Reasons to be @ CF this wknd

10. AskGod.cc: AskGod.cc starts. This promises to be an awesome sermon series. We're planning some really cool media elements for these services. Stay tuned!
9. Hymn: Slammin heavy songs like My Future's Decided, closing up with Just as I Am! I love Hymns!
8. Movie Matinee: CF Homestead is doing a movie matinee... Facing the Giants! On another screen in the youth wing they'll be showing Remember the Titans. On another screen they will be playing Nintendo Wii!
7. Worship: The worship experience @ CF has been phenominal lately. Thank you, God, for giving us something worthy to worship!
6. Jeff's smile: I promise you... nobody gets yelled at this wknd. Jeff is nothing but smiles.
5. Opera: We'll leave it at that.
4. 12:30 Launch: Listen, I'll be honest here. This service is designed for people like me. Sleep in Sunday, show up @ 12:30. How great is that?
3. Bruce Orr: Yes, I've conned Bruce out of retirement, and he'll be working Camera in Homestead this weekend. Look for Bruce's return to Palmetto Bay in '08. You can thank me later.
2. Dolphins: 1-2 Raiders @ 0-3 Dolphins. That's not even going to be enjoyable.
1. Cliffhanger: This cliffhanger is worth the hype...

John & Linda's "30 Hints"

Thanks to everyone who helped make my 30th Birthday last a full week! Emails, TXT messages and Facebook posts flooded in. I promise, this will be the last Birthday post. (I'll find something else to obsess over). Hope you took advantage of my Reverse Birthday Gift. If not, too bad for you. There was something, though, I had to share with you.

I got a Birthday card from my parents. I hear you... "Big friggin whoop." What makes my parent's cards cool every year is NOT the card, but the crazy crap they write in the card.

For my 30th, my parents gave me a list of 30 "Helpful Hints" (read: Things To Do). Nothing like giving a workaholic a list of things to do... where needed, I will add my thoughts below [in brackets and italicized text].

Without futher delay I present My Parental's Helpful Hints:

1) Brush your teeth
2) Change your undies - [I wondered what that smell was...]
3) Kiss your wife (Amy) - [not to be confused with my other wife?]
4) Don't forget to walk Beowulf
5) Call your Grandmother
6) Pray daily
7) Drive carefully - [maybe I should take back the Cadillac XLR then...]
8) Pay bills on time
9) Open your mail
10) Be nice to strangers
11) Lock your doors - [uh, yeah... we live in Miami. Goes w/o saying.]
12) Comb your hair - [it's a good thing I'm not sensitive...]
13) Compliment your employees - [stupid morons]
14) Run frequently
15) Work in the yard!! "We beg..." - [um... yeah... I'll get back to you on that.]
16) Put in drycleaning - [I haven't done drycleaning in a year, why start now?]
17) Invest wisely
18) Don't work harder - [I thought they would have said "instead work smarter."]
19) Get the truck washed - [Last time I did that I also put in my dry cleaning.]
20) Call your parents
21) Fill your gas tank at 1/4 left
22) Clean the garage
23) Eat your veggies
24) Chew with mouth closed
25) Get more rest - [is that before or after I do this list?]
26) Write more blogs
27) Play more games
28) Listen to more music
29) Buy your wife flowers - [but they die like 2 days later...]
30) Do something you want to do!!

Thank you, Mom and Dad. Even at age 30, your written reminder serves as notice that I will forever be your little boy... a much bigger, bald, goateed little boy looking to pay someone to pick the weeds out of his yard.

What hint would your parents leave for you?

Jeff = Good Mood? That's unusual...

Top 10 Reasons I'm in a good mood today:

10. While my parents are out of town, my mom insisted I drive her Cadillac XLR for her (to keep the battery fresh, of course). Tooling around Miami in a Cadillac Roadster? That alone is enough to get in a good mood... but there's more.

9. CF Homestead Media has worked out several major flaws in our worship center. It took a lot of planning and talking in circles, but the end product improved significantly over the past couple weeks. I was really stressing over it, and I'm glad it's resolved.

8. Big announcement coming up this Friday @ the CF Ministry Rally... Eric is tipping his hat (if you're curious).

7. C28 West Palm is catching stride as Back-To-School shopping starts. Aside from the increase in sales, we're getting a lot of exposure to new customers.

6. Ryan has done a great job inking a deal with Summit Christian School (in West Palm) where every Middle and High School student (350 some I believe) will be getting a NOTW shirt as part of their Spiritual Emphasis Week. The great thing is the school has uniforms every day of the week, EXCEPT for the occasional day (once a month I think) when they will be allowed to wear our NOTW shirt. Talk about branding.

5. Had coffee yesterday with Rob Robbins, Station Manager @ CallFM. I have a lot of respect for Rob because he took a radio station that "could not survive" and has turned it into a strong, viable product. Rob has great vision, and we will all be seeing some phenominal opportunities for growth coming very soon.

4. Wikinomics has really been hitting a cord with me. I never really thought I'd be the guy reading business books and getting ideas from it, but the idea of wikichurch has been rattling in my head for months now.... and I love it!

3. Emily, the Assistant Manager from C28 in West Palm has come down to Miami to fill in as a temporary Manager for The Living Word. We had a quick turnover at the manager position (Rebecca went back to teaching at a local Christian Elementary School) and I needed some help retasking the staff and getting me organized. Emily's retail experience is a HUGE PLUS! Not to mention, she already understands how much of an unorganized freak I am.

2. Talking: I have had several opportunities in the past 72 hours to talk to people who are in different places. Ministry, business, life... I've realized that by working so hard, so much I've really limited myself to the people I come in contact with, and that I really hate being "the loner."

1. Amy went back to work today. After 10 months off from teaching, she's gearing up for the school year again. She's going back to Palmetto Sr. High where she's teaching PreCal and Algebra I? She's excited, which means she's happy, which ultimately means I'm happy. Oh, and I'm glad to get another paycheck coming in, too.

Ten Things I Admired About Frank Hopkins (1936-2007)

A man known and respected by the CF Community, Frank Hopkins, passed away last Friday. I attended the funeral today. Frank's Obituary is posted online. While Frank spent more time with my father and my father's friends, as an outsider I held much respect for Frank. While listening to people share about Frank, I started crafting my own Ten Things.

Ten Things I Admired About Frank Hopkins:

10. Business Owner. Frank understood the business model. Knew how to work it. He was interested in the bookstore and C28, and oftentimes gave advice on what direction to take.

9. Visionary. Frank was the type of guy that never stopped, never settled. His goal was to do better in all things.

8. Workaholic. It's one thing to be a visionary that sees things, but doesn't work to achieve them. That cannot be said of Frank. The man was driven in home life, business, and ministry. People look at my life and say "Jeff, how do you have time for everything?" I looked at Franks life and asked him, "Frank, how do you have time for everything?" Seeing what he's done reenergizes me in that I still have resources to give to the Kingdom.

7. Controlling Chaos. If you've ever seen or been a part of a SHARE program at CF, you know this is true. Frank's management style was not "order". It was bringing "order to chaos".

6. Genuine. There were no surprises with Frank. You knew what you were getting. You may not always like what you get, but you knew it was coming. I bumped heads with Frank a couple times in my young life. At the end of the day, I respected the man even more because during those arguments, it was clear that Frank disagreed, but he still respected me. And I respect that.

5. Maven. Read Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. Frank was the epitome of a "Maven". He knew everyone, but more than that... if you came to him with a problem, he would know how to fix it or who you needed to talk to to get it fixed. He collected resources for the purpose of helping others.

4. Servant Heart. Looking from the outside, I never got the impression Frank's ministry was about Frank. It was about impacting the City of Miami-Dade for Christ. He strove to meet their spiritual needs, but was very Missional by meeting their physical needs first.

3. Man of Faith, Biased to Action. There was never a doubt that God is in control of Frank's life. He was a man of strong faith. But Frank was driven by James 2:14-17...

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead..

2. Entrepreneurial Spirit. When Frank saw a need, he would find a resource to fill it. If he found an unused resource, he would find a need that it could fill. NOTHING was ever wasted with Frank.

1. Aggressive. Read: Pit Bull for the Kingdom. Frank wasn't afraid to bark. When he saw things weren't right, he wasn't afraid to say what he thought. If it required work, though, Frank was the first in line.

God, thank you for the lessons you've taught through Frank's life. Let him enjoy the rest that he so much deserves. Frank, we'll see you soon.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Miss My Wife

I've only mentioned it a couple times that my wife's on a mission trip to the Ukraine. This is an annual trek for her, and I've learned to adapt in her absence. Most people freak out when they hear that she's gone for a month. It's obviously difficult to function in a relationship when the other half is on another continent for a month straight, but we've learned to deal with it.

That being said, let me give you the Top Ten Reasons Why I Miss My Wife:

10) Jerk: Eleven months out of the year I'm a jerk. For the one month when she's gone, I'm a super-jerk. I'm sorry.

9) Meals: Notice I didn't say cooking. When she's around we eat nice meals. When she's gone I eat Ramen Noodles or soup for almost every meal. I'm sick of liquid-based food.

8) Fun: As much fun as seeing Transformers three times in a weekend is, she makes life better. Who do you think made me a Pro at Wii Boxing?

7) Sleep: Amy is a noisy sleeper. Mumbling. Chewing. Kicking. As you can imagine she keeps me up into odd hours. When she's not around, though, I never sleep. Ends up I need those noises after all.

6) Bills: She is the one that reminds me to pay the bills. I got really afraid when the power flickered today during a lightning storm that FPL was cutting the power off on me. I could almost hear Amy yelling at me from the other side of the world.

5) Beowulf: Our dog mopes when she's gone. He sleeps by the door and gets excited every time he hears a noise outside. (Ever see Return to Me? That's my dog!) It's not just him. It's me too!

4) Femininity: If you saw my PersonalDNA test I have NO FEMININE SIDE. Amy supplies that for me. Amy keeps me honest, and helps me deal with people (thus another reason when she's not around I'm a "super-jerk". See #10).

3) Communication: As much as I enjoy talking to my dog about how my day went, I really don't quite get the interaction that I'm looking for. Besides, he's asleep at the door (see #5). I know she doesn't really care about the latest Apple Rumor or technological tidbit I'll throw at her, but she pretends very well... much better than I do with her stuff!

2) Smile: I'll be honest. That's why I asked her out thirteen years ago. I remember when she walked in the room, smiling. Jealous? You should be.

1) Minutiae: It's the little things you miss. Her jestures. Her laugh. Her wink. The numerous tiny nuances that would drive someone else crazy, yet when they're not around I ache for.

Love you babygirl.

Top Ten: I [heart] iPhone

I had so much fun with my "Tranformers: The Movie" Top Ten, I decided to do another one...

Top Ten Reasons I love my iPhone
10. Apple, Inc.: I'll get the obvious one out of the way. Steve Jobs can do no wrong in my book. With that being said, I would still love this thing.

9. 3" Video iPod Screen: As much as I [heart] my green shuffle, not having video (for movies/vid podcasting) was a serious drag for me. The screen is huge, easily watchable, and builtin speakers are decent for a phone. Earbuds sound great. This REALLY is the best iPod ever created.

8. Durability: PC World did some field tests on the iPhone, intentionally trying to damage their iPhone. It survived. Check out the video. The most common comment I get is "Heavier than I thought it would be". To which I ask "Is it too heavy?" The comments I get back typically are "No, I like it." "It's just different." "I wasn't expecting it, but it feels good in the hand."

7. Spellcheck: I've always tried to place faith in technology. To type on this thing you really have to. It spellchecks everything automatically, and if you "mispell" a word by pressing the wrong key, it will correct itself automatically. For instance, when I type "wurhim", it automatically recommends the word be changed to "within". Even though I typed 50% of the letters correctly (thus 50% incorrectly), iPhone gathered that the mistaken letters were "mispressed keys" and created the actual word by scanning what letters are physically on the keyboard surrounding the letters... It knows I meant to press "i" instead of "u". Dang!

6. Poke and Pinch: My wife's joke, not mine. Want to zoom in? Press the area you want to zoom in on, or try a pinch method. Honestly, you really need to go to an Apple Store and pinch this thing. It really is unbelievable.

5. Syncing: I have synced my phone to my computer via bluetooth for years. I was syncing my Sony Ericsson phone (TI-80 I think... it was the first Sony Ericsson phone made after the merger). What I love about this is the data gets there correctly. Addresses go in the address fields. Multiple e-mail addresses go correctly. Notes get synced without miscellaneous data getting dumped over. Bookmarks. Photos. Groups. It is all structured exactly like it is on my computer.

4. Real Web Browser: When I searched for movie times for Transformers the Movie, I went to the "real" Google.com, not some hacked up version.

3. UI: What makes Apple different is their User Interface. Most devices become so complex and feature loaded that they cease being usable. Or they have so few features they have no usefulness. Apple has done a phenominal job of creating a simpe interface that is easy to adapt to. I've had non-technology people tell me they have adopted/felt comfortable with the phone in less than 24 hours. Honestly, it's not that difficult.

2. Bye Bye Laptop: Sadly, Other than blogging and remote accessing work, there's very little I use my laptop for anymore at home. Now, when I break out Photoshop at work, that's another story.

1. Updates: The best news I have heard is Apple's announcement that they will be updating the iPhone through iTunes/Software Update Application. What you see now will not be the final product. But the thing that makes Apple unique is they continue to build on a product, from the firmware up!

It's not all "peaches and cream" for Apple (pun intended) in iPhoneland. I could probably put together a Top Ten: I [don't heart] iPhone list, but if I do that will certainly be for another day.

Top Ten: Transformers the Movie

I did something out of character this weekend. I saw a movie...Transformers, the Movie to be exact. That's not too much out of character. What really makes it out of character is that I saw it three times in one weekend. Friday 3:30pm. Saturday 12:10pm. Sunday 9:40pm... Wow, I really need to get a life. Actually, my life is in the Ukraine...

I have to blog on this somehow, so please let me present to you a Top Ten.

Top Ten reasons I love Transformers the Movie:
10. Product Placement: Since we have Tivo, we rarely watch commercials anymore. I sat through a 2:33 movie which had major product placement for GMC Cars (specifically Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac), Apple, eBay, Yahoo, Microsoft, Dance Dance Revolution, Nokia, and Mountain Dew.

9. Toy Commercials: Let's be honest, the original TV series and comic books was nothing more than an 30 minute commercial to buy the toys (Transformers is owned by Hasboro, THE toy company). Nothing has changed, and we will all be seeing Transformers on MANY children's Christmas lists this year.

8. Soundtrack: Anytime I get to hear Linkin Park these days makes me happy.

7. Deja vu: I read this storyline in a comic book like six years ago when I was living in Texas. As I recall, it was an "independent comic book" (not official Marvel/Hasboro). I got it from a comic book store that was going out of biz. Now, it's a Major Motion Picture storyline. Good for the guy that wrote it.

6. Excellent dialogue: Come on, you know you'd be inspired too when the hot chick says to you..."No matter what happens, I'm glad I got into that car with you."

5. Peter Cullen: The original voice of Optimus Prime (and other macho cartoon characters like Winny the Pooh's Eeyore) returns in the live action remake. Seriously, though, Cullen's voice is the definitive characteristic of the Transformers Experience. Props to the producers for bringing Cullen out of retirement for this!

4. Transformers Expert: I get to flex my Autobot/Decepticon knowledge. Glad those years of studying comic books are finally paying off. Plus, I got to say "I had that toy" a lot.

3. Suspending logic: The storyline had more holes in it than Unicron did after the cartoon version of "Transformers the Movie" in 1986. Come on, it's a sci-fi flick for kids (and grown up kids at heart)... Check your brains at the door and enjoy the explosions!

2. Movies imitate real life: Dorky kid saves the world, gets a hot chick and a cool car. Definitely real life here. I remember when that happened to me (all except saving the world, that is...)

1. For seven hours and thirty nine minutes this weekend I got to forget about everything in my life and be a kid again. No work, bills, invoices, employees, bosses, schedules, computers, calendars, responsibilities... I got to go back to the third grade and say things like "ooohhh cool", "awesome", "wow". Transformers the Movie, for me, was the ultimate escapism.

Thank you, Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, for bringing my childhood back to me in such a vivid way.

Can anyone say Transformers: the Sequel opening Summer 2009?