Favorite Things Friday - January 24

Good Reads
25 Worst Passwords of 2013 from Mashable
Best Value Travel Destinations for 2014 from As We Travel
The Most Photographed Cities On Earth from Google

Guerilla Marketing Effort

Almost Goalie Fight


Boring Topic Made Interesting


The Future Of The Church


I'm Going Home To Try This

We Fall, We Get Back up

The Man In The Arena 
It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs,
who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds;
who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause; 
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
— Theodore Roosevelt

Favorite Things Friday - January 17

Good Reads
Stop Making Excuses, Start Making Choices from Phil Cooke
The Buffet Problem from Seth Godin
A Strategy To Truly Reach Your Goal from Unstuck

Relief From Winter In Central Ontario


Pre-Show PSA


Promotional Campaign/The Importance Of Showing Up


Movie Trailer/Commentary On Internet Silliness


Explanation Of A Common Stereotype

5 Songs That Impacted Me

I've worked at LIFE 100.3 for nearly 9 years now. From starting on The Slam, moving to middays and now doing the (early) mornings. Over those 9 years the sound of the music LIFE plays has changed dramatically. The music I listen to has changed dramatically!

One thing that has remained constant over those 9 years are the stories of how music has impacted people. Songs that came on at just the right time, or a line that cut through the B.S. and right to someone's core. There is no doubt God can use songs to help people through dark times or deliver a message that had been ignored up until that point in time.

Here are 5 songs from artists who share my faith, and that have made an impact in my life.

Ben Rector - Sailboat

This song echos my feelings and emotions the past year or two. Listening to it is still a spiritual experience.


Switchfoot - Souvenirs

I have a tendency to look into the future and often disregard the present. If you subscribe to StrengthsFinder philosophy, I'm a futurist. This song reminds me to stop and take in what is happening around me right now, to soak in the present. To remember how good life has been and how good it is right now. Again a spiritual experience when this song is played.


Lifehouse - Everything (excuse the lame lyric video)

In my opinion the best worship song ever written. I can have the worst day at work, throw this song on and sing it as loud as humanly possible, and 6 minutes later all is right with the world. Something about the building intensity and the sheer emotion.


Chris Tomlin f Lecrae - Awake My Soul

I never thought I'd include a Chris Tomlin song on a top 5 list, but this song is too good. Chris' part is ok, no complaints, but what makes the song is Lecrae. I love the spoken word/scripture halfway through. So powerful!

Eddie Kirkland - My Next Breath

Written by Hawk Nelson and it's another one I love singing in church.

Any songs you'd add?
What's one song that has impacted you?

Favorite Things Friday - January 10

Good Reading
Kiss Mediocrity Goodbye This Year from Switch And Shift
Unconventional Ways To Eliminate Distractions from Dumb Little Man
Targeting The Outliers Is A Legitimate Strategy from Seth Godin
BONUS: Can You Find The Click-Bait Headline?

'I Know The Trick And It Still Works' Moment


World's Coolest Game-Show Host


Just Watch This... Trust Me


Late Night TV Promo


Embarrassing Moment Caught On Tape

Is Your Comfort Keeping You On The Sidelines?

Last year I was part of a group of guys that read through the Bible in a year, it was the first time I'd read the Bible cover-to-cover.

The group leader suggested we do it again in 2014, and to be honest I didn't want to do it. Some passages were so dull and a struggle to get through. I figured I could just go deeper with the sections I like, (Acts, Romans, etc)

He proposed we read the For The Love Of God plan, which includes a devotional section to go with the assigned scripture.

Here's what a part of the devotional for Ezra 2 said:

Naming these individuals and their families bestows on them an implicit

approval. Countless tens of thousands of Israelites never returned to the Promised

Land; they were too settled where they were, and the restoration of Jerusalem and

the temple was of too little importance to them to warrant such dislocation. Their

names have been lost; they are of little consequence in the sweep of redemptive

history. But these names are remembered and written down in sacred Scripture.

Read them slowly; they call forth our respect and gratitude.

The second chapter of Ezra is pretty much a list of names and numbers, pretty dry. However, this devotional section added some depth and meaning to the names and numbers.

I also was struck by the "they were too settled where they were" line. How often does that describe us?
We know that we should be creating environments that attract the 90% of people that don't attend church on Sunday, but we like church the way it is. If we change and 'target' the unchurched person we might not like it. We're comfortable with the way it is.

I don't want to be one of those people. I want to have my name be part of the redemptive story God is writing. I don't want my comfort to hold me back from being a part of what God is doing, because he'll get it done with someone else if I prefer to be comfortable.

So I guess the question we can draw out of the second chapter in Ezra is simply this: "Will your comfort keep you from getting in the game?"

Favorite Things Friday - January 3

Good Reads
12 Productivity Hacks from Make Use Of
Should You Take A Picture Of That from Peta Pixel
4 Common Habits Of World Changers from Dumb Little Man

5-Minute Economics Lecture


Failed Video Bomb


Anti-Smoking PSA


Out-Of-The-Box Marketing Effort


Invention