Link Post
How the Tesla Model S is Made
I LOVE this. “We want to push the boundaries of what can be done by robots, versus humans.” More of this!
The Journal
Written Observations
Explorations into theology, technology, leadership, and culture.
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How-To
Five Simple Steps to Effectiveness in Your Work
Do your daily tasks include handling a large amount of incoming information that you are expected to process, act on, and keep track of? Â Do you feel like you are constantly getting busier, with more responsibilities, with no end in sight, and cannot currently handle it all? Would you like to boost your effectiveness at […]
Link Post
TED-Ed Lesson: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, with David Allen
Implementing David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology has changed my life in terms of being able to accomplish tasks and especially having the creative head-space to think and dream, and execute on those dreams.  By no means have  I perfected this, and I still let a lot of things drop (something about the way I’m […]
Commentary
How The Gospel Affects Our Work
The last several weeks at Stonebrook Church, we have been going through a series called “Work and Worship: Connecting Sunday to Monday”. I kicked off this series with an overview of the whole concept. The sermon was called “How The Gospel Affects Our Work”. You can read the manuscript and download or stream the audio […]
Commentary
Children, Jesus, Superheroes, Depravity, and The Gospel
My reformissionary brother Steve set a small corner of the Internet on fire the other day with this tweet: Teach your children they are broken. Deeply broken. — Steve McCoy (@stevekmccoy) July 1, 2013 This set off a chain of tweets, Facebook messages, and blog posts, from alleged Christians who called him abusive or worse. […]
Commentary
According to Slate, you won’t finish reading this.
Slate posted an article (which I didn’t finish reading) about how few people finish reading an article online before “bouncing” (leaving without reading anything) or heading off to comment before they are finished. They are making three assumptions I’d like to call out: * They assume their articles are worth finishing * They assume that […]
Quick Take
The Gospel in One Verse
A friend asked on Facebook if there was a single verse that summarized The Gospel. I took a crack at it. * 1 John 4:10 * 2 Corinthians 5:21 * 1 Timothy 1:15 * Romans 5:8 * 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 * Ephesians 2:1-5 Those last two are cheating. What do you think?
Reflection
Do Not Mistake These For Wisdom
Age (longevity or relative age) Intelligence Charisma Persuasiveness Book smarts Having a blog (even a popular one) Economic success Cynicism Skepticism Silence Zeal Lack of zeal Outward calmness Cautiousness Being well-travelled Random reflection for the morning. Â What else?
Reflection
The Distinctive Way of Life of the Christian
Fascinating comment from Kevin Perotta from his book Leading Christians to Maturity. Chapter 7: “A Distinctive Way of Life” > “Christ, the apostles and the leaders of the early church considered the teaching about the Christian way of life to be the norm for Christians. They viewed the didache not as a distant ideal but […]
Commentary
The Jonathan Edwards Diet – My Biblical Alternative to the Daniel Diet
…Just for fun… Over Christmas break I became aware of “The Daniel Diet” which purports to be “God’s prescription for your health”* Rick Warren is even endorsing this diet all over national media. The diet is “based on” Daniel 1. That is, it loosely cherry picks a few rough concepts from an approximation of a […]
Reflection
A Hard Reality Check This Advent Season
Devastating, unfathomable, bewildering, horrifying. That’s the best my mind can do with today’s events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut with an hour’s reflection. This post is one way I’m trying to process it all. Politicians are posturing. Parents are weeping. The self-righteous are cursing. My friends (and myself) are asking things like: “How […]
Reflection
Silent Night, Peaceful Day, A Christmas Story
The following is a recounting of a true story involving my grandfather, Fred Heerema, during World War II. I remember the story originally being told in various forms by my grandmother. This telling is by my father, Jim, and was originally published in the Des Moines Register sometime prior to 2002. (We’re still hunting down […]