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It’s remarkable with what ease I’m able to conjure up lies when I’m in a situation of uncertainty. When I’m no longer in control, I generate untruths as fast as Jesus turned five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed 5,000. Those lies normally stem from a single fact followed by a false assumption. He didn’t call me back. He’s probably mad at me. God isn’t answering this prayer. It’s probably because I don’t have enough faith. My boss wants to talk to me later this week. I bet I’m in trouble. No one commented on my blog. I should probably stop wasting my time writing because it’s not making an impact. We are fantastic storytellers when it comes to writing an unhappy ending in the midst of foggy circumstances. Here’s what I’ve found most of the time: he’s not mad, it’s not your lack of faith, you’re not in trouble, and you are making an impact. The human mind is a terrible thing to let frolic in the swamp of falsified bad news. We quickly dive into the worst-case-scenario end of the pool, which is rarely (if ever) what’s actually happening. How do we stop believing these lies? How do we stop over-analyzing limited data and turning it into a murder-mystery instead of a chance for a good opportunity? There are five things you can do. ...

Recently, some of my favorite apps got “upgrades.” First, Apple updated all of its iWork applications—Keynote for presentations, Pages for word processing and Numbers for spreadsheets. Apple added the ability to collaborate online via a web browser. As a result, to keep features consistent across all platforms, they removed features power users often relied on to make it accessible for more people on more platforms (as Seth Godin noted), ubiquity trumped power.) Another favorite app, Tweetbot for iPhone, received a full revamp and joined the iOS 7 club, but it ditched a few features that I used frequently. I’d guess the majority of Tweetbot users are power users (read: nerds who are particular about things), because no one pays $3 for a Twitter client when they can download a functional (albeit barely, and certainly far less delightful) 1st-party app for free. If you look at the @Tweetbot Twitter feed, you’ll see support responses to the same feature requests over and over. Users (for the most part) are gracious, but it’s very clear how heavily some relied on a myriad of different tools that aren’t currently available in this version (or they requires a different approach or an extra tap). A few thoughts: ...

Friction. the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another. When you are trying to go somewhere faster, friction is bad because it slows you down. But when you’re trying to stop yourself from crashing into a building, friction is good. I’ve realized that friction applies in ways beyond the physical. For example, I like to think of friction as effort in the emotional sense. Asking others to do things or responding to requests from anyone involves friction–you or someone else remembering to follow through or follow up in order to accomplish a task. Friction is bad when it keeps people from following through and simultaneously a good thing when it puts up a barrier that makes it just a bit more difficult to see if someone actually wants something to happen. So, I’m constantly adding and removing friction as it suits my needs, and I think you should do the same. Here’s how I leverage friction. ...

I’ve mentioned to a number of friends what a significant impact the book A Praying Life by Paul Miller has had on me in the last three months. It’s now the book I recommend and give away the most often. God used it in significant ways to change me and draw me to Jesus. I’ve tried prayer systems that I’ve concocted that I haven’t stuck with. I’ve wanted to be a better pray-er, but I often felt helpless and defeated. Miller suggested a simple system of 3×5 note cards with a person’s name on each card alongside a few requests and a specific verse of scripture. That simple system has worked for me, and I reference the cards multiple times per week. Here are my cards, based mostly on Miller’s suggestions: 13 family cards (a combination of individuals and extended sides of the family) 1 marriage card (for close friends of ours who are married, all listed on one card) 1 work card (things I’m praying would be true in our work) 1 repentance card (with 5 things/sins I’m praying God would stomp out in my life) 2 ministry cards (for ministries we support, and one specifically for Slovenia) 1 dream card (things I’m trusting The Lord for in my life that are fully impossible without him) 1 top 10 list (of people I’m praying would come to know Jesus) Twenty cards that take around 15 minutes to pray through, with a number of specific requests on each. It’s been a delight to see the Lord already answering a number of those prayers in the last three months. This way of praying alone makes the book worth the read. But wait! There’s more. Here are a few of my favorite quotes that have significantly changed my thinking. ...

In Revelation 3:16, Jesus says he spits lukewarm followers out of his mouth. That seems a bit more serious than a passive frustration or minor annoyance. Why so harsh, Jesus? I think there are a few reasons. As far as credentials go, I feel particularly qualified to speak to this issue because I’m still a recovering hypocrite and former lukewarm “follower” of Jesus. This isn’t meant to condemn, simply to clarify what I think it means to follow Jesus. Lukewarm followers aren’t really following You can’t follow a leader you don’t trust enough to listen to. You can’t make Jesus your Savior without making him your Lord. If you aren’t walking closely with Jesus, you’ll quickly lose your way. We most follow closely behind him, walking in his steps. They run his name through the mud Saying you’re a Christian and living contrary to how Jesus called us to live it gives Jesus a bad name. It’s like working for Coke but drinking Pepsi. What does that say about your taste for Jesus? ...

I can’t remember the last time I asked someone how they were doing and “busy” wasn’t part of their response. Busyness is cool. It’s a sign of importance. It says, “I have a demanding job, family, and life” and sometimes adds, “and I’m not afraid to let you know.” It’s not always in pride. In reality, most of us are busy. It’s a badge of honor worn proudly, and we can’t help but let people see it. Kevin DeYoung, one of my favorite authors, has written a “mercifully short book” about busyness–Crazy Busy. I appreciate DeYoung because although he’s significantly smarter than me, he writes in a clear way, with well-thought through concepts that get to the heart of the matter. He’s not afraid to share his own journey and struggles, which line the pages of Crazy Busy in an honest and helpful way. Weighing in at just over 100 and some pages, Crazy Busy is crazy short. It’s made up of 10 chapters, with the majority of the book being seven diagnostic chapters that help us identify the roots of our busyness. ...

I’m passionate about stewardship. I believe the Lord entrusts each of us with certain talents and treasures to be used for His Glory and His Kingdom. Niki and I often joke that after being disciples of Jesus, we are secondly disciples of Dave Ramsey. We both write often about budgeting. We love to give. But I still haven’t perfected the balance of when to buy something and when to wait. Buying material things is very much a spiritual matter with lots of gray area. Some purchases are no-brainers. If your wife is sick, buy her the medicine she needs. If your car is out of gas, put gas in the car, man! These are easy things. Many purchases aren’t just about essentials. There are countless opportunities for us to use our discretion on buying things, because we have more money than we need for meeting just our needs. I tried to find a good set of questions for helping Christians process through making purchases for our wants, and my somewhat limited search turned up few helpful results. So, I’ve created my own list of questions that I hope aid believers in stewarding well what the Lord has given us. I am not a perfect money manager for God. But I want to grow in this area. ...

Sometimes, at the end of the day, I wonder to myself, “Have I done anything that really matters today?” Honestly, the answer, at least to me, feels like “No!” on some days. So I decided to come up with a list of things that do matter and that make a difference in your life and the lives of others. Encourage Text, call, tweet or message to someone you know. Let them know you care about them and you’re praying for them. Be specific and use their name. ...

Base hits win games. I’m not much of a baseball fan, but I know that getting on base is a solid strategy for putting up runs and scoring more than the other team. If everyone keeps getting on base, you don’t need home runs. Overnight success happens over a lot of nights. People you’ve just heard of have likely been slugging away at their business, craft, or ministry for years or decades or their entire life. No one is an overnight expert. Perhaps an overnight celebrity thanks to YouTube videos with catchy auto tune action, but surely not a success. These people aren’t hitting home runs, they’ve been faithfully and consistently building their skill over time. In fact, overnight success isn’t ideal. Here are a few problems with attempting home runs every at bat. The problem with swinging for the fences When you swing for a home run every time, you’re going to strikeout often. That comes with the territory. If you’re swinging hard and fast, you’re going to whiff pretty regularly. Your timing is going to be a bit off when the pitches aren’t coming as you intended. You’re going to get frustrated quickly. If your goal is a home run, a base hit won’t satisfy you. If you’re just trying to get on base, day in and day out, when the homer comes, you’re going to be ecstatic. And trust me, it will come. ...

Responsive design, web design that enables websites to automatically resize and reformat to provide the best experience for the user’s screen, is critical to the future success of websites. I’m downright aghast and quick to navigate away to a new site (because surely the information is out there somewhere else) when a blog doesn’t instantly accommodate me. I’m a bit of a fanatic here (and in lots of other ways) but I think the sentiment is common: serve up the same content in the best way, no matter how I access your site. Practically any major website you can think of has responsive design enabled, and even mom and pop sites (like this one) can figure out responsive design with a template or a few simple coding tweaks. Nearly a third of all traffic to my blog comes from mobile devices, and serving up content on a mobile device the same way I would to someone using a laptop or desktop computer is frustrating for the user. It communicates, “I know this looks like crap, but it’s better than nothing.” Responsive design follows the same logic of restaurants offering kid portions, small portions and large portions–the right size for the right person, even though the content (the meal) may be the same. ...