Clover-- A Great Website Resource for Churches

I was talking with Ian Utile with Trinet, a web solution and development company that helps many large ministries. I like Ian; he's Kingdom-minded, and it shows.

We were talking about the need many churches have for a less expensive solution, and he told me about Clover. Clover has an amazing set of tools for churches for an amazingly low price. If you're thinking of changing where you church is hosted and want a new website for very little $$ (only $1000 plus $20/month for hosting!), check them out.

Ian's also in a terrific Christian band called Take No Glory. I just listened to their music, and it's very good... check 'em out!

Eye Exam Surprise!

Today I had my eyes checked for the first time in five years. The result was wonderfully surprising! My left eye, which is naturally nearsighted, is now less so. My right eye, which is naturally farsighted and has an astigmatism, is now less farsighted and no longer has an astigmatism! The bottom line: my eyes are healthier and I don't need glasses!

Some Perspective, Please!
When I was in college, I wore trifocals full time. That means each eye needed a different prescription for close up, near, and distance vision. By the time I was thirty, I was not only no longer wearing trifocals, I no longer needed bifocals!

After my last eye exam I got some glasses that were blended bifocals. The idea was that if both of my eyes were corrected to see well at all distances, I would see better. But I couldn't get used to the blended lenses, so I probably wore them less than three hours total! Thus, not wearing glasses for the last five years has helped my eyes get better! Go figure.

Benjamin Buttons?
Grace has taken to calling me Ben, after the movie character Benjamin Buttons, because it's as though I'm getting younger! We'll see.

O'Reilly @ Reagan Presidential Library

My family and I got to enjoy a special treat yesterday. We drove an hour up to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library after church and got to see a bunch of things that most don't ever see up close and personal. Some of those were:

• The Oval Office
• The Magna Carta (the original is on loan there!)
• Air Force One (this picture is me and Grace as we're entering Air Force One)
  
• President Reagan's Tomb
• A large section of the Berlin wall

As if that wouldn't be enough, we also got to hear one of our favorite commentators speak live! Bill O'Reilly spoke extemporaneously to a sold out theater for about an hour. He was entertaining, provocative, insightful, and just plain awesome! We were in the front of the room and sat just a few seats over from Mr. J.D. Powers! Our 17yo daughter and her boyfriend were with us and also greatly enjoyed it.

Love Is In The Air!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Have you gotten something for the one you love yet?

This is one of those fun opportunities to say, "I love you!" to those who mean so much to us. Don't miss it!

Victory over Internet Porn

Covenant Eyes, my favorite Internet accountability solution, just released a compelling video about the problem and the solution. I've been sharing the benefits of Internet accountability to help gain victory over Internet pornography for a long time. This video, 6 minutes long, is a must see. It will give you the tools to realize and help others realize victory over Internet porn.

And if you're on a church or ministry staff, Covenant Eyes has special site licensing that makes this an affordable solution for your entire team! I highly recommend it.

Recent Web Outages Make Me Nerveous!

It’s only February, and we’ve already seen more Internet problems this year than I remember in all of 2008! Yet many churches and ministries are deciding to put their most important data on the web… data that, if unavailable, could shut them down. I wrote an article today that can help protect your ministry from Internet outages and the havoc they can wreak.

Click here for a free PDF download of the article.