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Your account has been hacked. That unfortunate news makes its way to my inbox on a near-weekly basis. Most recently Kickstarter’s databases were infiltrated and usernames, emails and passwords were lifted. I normally respond with a sigh and quickly swap my password. It’s frustrating that digital theft is a daily reality, but for many (perhaps most) people, one stolen password from a website you rarely use means bad guys probably have access to your email inbox, Facebook, Twitter and maybe even your banking passwords because you use the same password on every site. Tisk _tisk. _ I was in the same boat. I had a few main passwords I used for everything, and if I wanted to make it super secure I’d toss a few capital letters into my normal string of letters and numbers. Trying to pilfer my info wasn’t quite like trying to ravage through Gringotts. We live in an increasingly complex world. Everything has a password (and for the developers who are masochists, we have a username that isn’t just our email). I’ve heard countless comments about passwords in recent weeks: “I have to change my password every 90 days and it can’t be one of my last 4 passwords used. I can’t come up with any more passwords that I can remember.” “I just use the same password for everything.” “My mom has a word document with her passwords in it on her desktop.” The ultimate goal of passwords is to strike a balance between security and convenience. Simple passwords mean effortless access to your account (for you and for hackers.) Complex logins brings increased protection but a mini-stroke every time you try to rack your brain for your password. So how do you balance a secure password, a memorable login and multiply it over 100+ websites (between apps, utility bills, financial logins, social networks, etc.) without going to a Montessori school? A password manager. Specifically, 1Password. ...

It’s practically a requirement to write major posts for major holidays. I’m not sure who collects the unwritten rules of the blogosphere, but I know for certain that one of those rules is that bloggers must write posts about their overwhelming gratitude and thankful hearts on Thanksgiving. I’ve expressed my gratitude here before. Instead of a traditional gratitude post, I thought I’d share a revolutionary thought I’ve been learning from John Piper in his book Future Grace. Gratitude doesn’t function properly when it is forced to look forward. We can’t express gratitude in the future. We can express it for the past. And we can let that gratitude direct our hearts for what’s to come, but gratitude is a distinctly past-oriented emotion. ...

No one goes skydiving without going through training. It’s mandatory, it’s essential and it’d be pretty foolish to launch out of a moving aircraft without knowing what you’re doing. Employers that have a high emphasis on training have a high value on effectiveness, efficiency and keeping their employees. If your organization doesn’t “believe in” training, that should be a red flag. Here’s why training is essential for success. ...

Niki and I enjoy pretending that we’re coffee snobs.[footnote]I mean this in the most loving way possible. Snob is a term of endearment here.[/footnote] We’re not. A few things disqualify us: We occassionally drink our coffee with cream and not black. Strike 1. We most regularly brew Eight O’Clock coffee, Hazelnut variety. Not fair trade, not locally roasted, and flavored. Strike 2. We most often brew coffee via a standard, (yet convenient) drip coffee maker.[footnote]We love this coffee maker. It has no pot, so it’s most ideal if you have a sprayer attached to your sink to add water, but being potless is awesome.[/footnote] Strike 3. Now, I’ll make a case for us being moderate coffee snobs: We own an AeroPress and a French Press (but the latter is currently collecting dust). We use a burr grinder instead of a blade grinder (a cheap one, but it gets the job done). I drink close to half a pot of coffee a day. Starbucks isn’t our favorite variety of java. I hope that gets us at least partially into the graces of those who are true coffee connoisseurs. At any rate, I’ve searched around the Interwebs a fair amount to find a “Starter Guide to Coffee Snobbery” and I’ve come up short. Since I don’t fully qualify for full-on coffee snob status, I’d say I’m in a good position to take a stab at helping others climb the latter to fancy coffee drinking. Let’s go. ...

My phone is the first thing I grab when I wake up and the last thing I put down before going to bed. That is a problem. I love notifications. They are instant validation. It’s easier to check Facebook or Twitter than it is to solicit feedback or invite actual human interaction. Another like, favorite, retweet or comment. Someone else used my referral link! A free set of razor blades or a book or extra space in Dropbox. They are cheap substitutes for actual interaction. And I’m practically addicted to them. I have a few theories on why. ...

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? ...