This past Sunday I used my Kindle 3 to have my notes for a wedding I was officiating in. How did it perform? Quite well, but there was one major flaw. Here’s the lowdown:

1. Getting documents on the device. This part is easy. If you have a Word document, you can simply email it to the email address you get when you receive your Kindle. Mine, for example, is rodlie.ortiz@kindle.com. A few minutes after emailing it the document appears on your home screen, and you’re good to go.

(more…)

Have you ever thought about your web security? You should.

If you’ve even been in a Starbucks or any other place with a public wi-fi you could potentially be making your info available to hackers and identity thieves. Besides, these days there are tools that make it easier than ever before for them to quickly steal your data.

So here’s a few strategies to think about courtesy of Access Now.

1. Use HTTPS for every website you can. This means that when you type in the web address, add an “s” to where it says “http.” This establish a secure connection. Not all websites have this option, mind you. So if you have to do anything on websites that can’t be secured, I would do it elsewhere, or use a VPN. I’ll mention more about VPN’s later.

(more…)

I think we inevitably all feel a little stressed at times, right?

And what’s really interesting, is that I think at times we can’t completely pinpoint where the stress is coming from. Sure, we can think of some major presentation to be made, or a conversation to be had….but there still may be some lingering stress.

(more…)

I received my Square a few days ago. Haven’t heard of it? It’s a great little device you can use to receive credit/debit card payments. Let me give you a closer look.

(more…)

One of the most special things I can be a part of in church is a baptism. There’s nothing that compares to seeing someone take that ancient step and declare that they are dead to their sin and old way of life, and resurrected into a new creation and disciple.

Because of the momentous occasion, I think it’s a near crime when churches barely say or introduce the person being baptized. It’s as if they’re some anonymous person on an assembly and production line. Ever since I began baptizing people, then, I wanted to make sure that the church could make a connection with the person being baptized by hearing a little more of their story.

(more…)

It seems that this coming weekend, March 19-20 is the National Day of Unplugging. A group called the “Rebooters” has been promoting the idea of people practicing the ancient custom of the Sabbath. They actually wrote a document called The Sabbath Manifesto in which they detail ten principles that they’re encouraging people to follow on the Sabbath.

As you may have noticed, though, I wrote very little in the month of June. Only about 3 posts. This was also because I wasn’t doing as much reading. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but I know that I felt quite bored with the things that I was reading. I always have plenty of church growth, leadership, business-type books to read, and I think part of me was beginning to just loath those topics. I was bored. I was “over” them. It’s kind of like the feeling of eating the same food over and over again. Over time you become sick of it. I feel like I could not read another John Maxwell book for a long time and be just fine. My apologies to Maxwell.