Run with God

Ten Personal Goals for 2009

2008 was nothing like I thought it would be. Caitlyn arrives, Economy crashes. 2008, in a word, EXHAUSTING. Back in January 2008 I said "This blog is about RUNNING, so 2008 is going to be a year of RUNNING)." And it was about running. What is 2009 going to be? Here's a peek...

1- Don't work harder, work smarter - I don't think it's possible for me to work harder in 2009. I probably averaged 65 hrs a week in 2008, peaking (often) in the high 70s-low 80s. I need to find a way to get 65 hrs of work accomplished in 45 hrs a week. Maybe I should rename my blog from "RUNWITHGOD" to "SPRINTWITHGOD"?

2.1- Build systems
2.2- Let go of details - In 2008 I failed at this. I built a solid system, but I failed to let go and let the system run itself. Instead, I clung to the system, preventing the system from working, from growing. The system's roof became my own limitations. The only thing this accomplished was system breakdown because I was choking it. It's time to let go.

3- Work myself out of a job - Honestly, I think I would be ultimately satisfied with my work if I was told "Jeff, you've done such a good job training CF Volunteers that we don't need you anymore. You're fired!" Not sure how I would pay for life's luxuries like food and diapers, but we'd find a way. :)

4- Change the culture - I'm not tipping my hat on this one, yet. You'll find out soon enough.

5- Books are for reading - So long Christian Bookstore! Can't wait for the chance to read books to read books, NOT to read book excerpts so I can figure out how many I should order.

6- Create a new identity - Nothing has plagued my 2008 thoughts more than this. "irunabookstore" has been my online since I, well, started to runabookstore. (Funny story. Ask me later.) I will soon nolongerrunabookstore and I have been struggling to come up with an acceptable identity.

7- Take many SHORT vacations instead of a couple LONG vacations - 2008 I had two long vacations. One in May, and the second was Caitlyn's arrival. I think 2009 will be more 3 day wknds, mid-week getaways, or just cuddling up on the couch with myBabyGirls for a day... and... (see #8)...

8- Play golf - seems silly to call it a goal. I love golf, and I was decently good at it (my mid-range game sucked, but my driving and 50yards to pin game was respectable.) Honestly, I don't think I've played golf since April 2007. Reason why? I don't think I've had a 4-hour block straight through when I didn't have anything to do.

9- Love myBabyGirls - I love both my girls. Coming home at the end of the day has a purpose that it never has before. I will not allow my workaholic tendencies to affect how both myBabyGirls view God, the "church", or me. If there is a line drawn in the sand, this is it.

10- Trust God more - Maybe it's the new job... or the struggling economy... or this whole parenthood thing... but 2008 was filled with questions like "God, are you sure?" "God, why are you putting me through this?" "My God, what now?" Turns out that my questioning Him only got me more frustrated... In His time everything is resolved...

What does your 2009 look like? How drastic of a change is it from your 2008?

Ten Things More Important Than Blogging

A voice from the depths...

Okay, so it's been, like, two weeks since I've written a legitimate post. Sure, I've been posting links and stupid quips references Berch's spiritual leading to the sneeze... "Gesundheit"... but really there hasn't been any meat for 2-3 weeks.

I'm sorry.

So to get caught up with my life for the past 2-3 weeks, let me share with you the Ten Things In My Life More Important Than Blogging (in no particular order)...

* Amy: Now that she's off for the summer, and the Ukraine trip is overseas, I get to actually converse with my wife... that is, when both our schedules match up... basically that means sometime between 10pm-8am a couple times a week...

* Psycho Dog: No not Beowulf. At some point I had to dogsit for my In-Laws dog, Ebony. She's a Doberman Pincher that's afraid of her own shadow... that was a rough couple days...

* Funeral: Amy's Grandmother passed away. Funeral was in Miami and Amy was busy with funeral arrangements (and I was busy with honeydos...) It was great to spend time with Amy's family even though it was a tough time for the family. Really don't see them enough...

* Random Projects @ Church: Feels like over the past couple weeks we have been modifying, changing, and adjusting the systems a lot. Not that it's bad. Tweaks are necessary. But it's been some crazy hours. Plus, Hector was on vacation for two weekends... didn't realize how much he did until I had to do his job too!

* Online Small Group: Excited about this. I'm starting an online small group in the fall as Christ Fellowship is going through a self-developed series, "Uncovering Revelation". Check the blog soon for more information.

* Pandora: I've discovered Pandora, an online Internet pseudo radio/streaming audio service. Very cool. Used to use Last.FM, until the CF firewall blocked service. Switched over to Pandora, and love it. Also has a cool App that works great with the iPhone (3G or not)...

* Caitlyn? 10 weeks and counting... Still got a lot to do... I am SOOOO ready...

* Dodgeball: CF Sports is almost done with their Dodgeball League. It's been fun refereeing it this year. John Moore's once again doing a great job making it happen.

* Twitter: Lately I've enjoyed writing some short, sarcastic posts through Twitter. If you're not following my Twitter feed, you're really missing out! Or, visit RUNwithGOD.com and check out the recent posts on the left side. A recent favorite:

contemplating the irony of Third Eye Blind singing "If you do not want to see me again, I would understand..." (Song: Jumper)

* iPhone 3G: Yep, I upgraded. Love it. Apple's still got some firmware bugs to work out (Apple, Inc. lost some luster on this upgrade) but by far I believe this is the best phone on the market.

Now that I'm through that... regular posting coming soon!

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?