Maybe you started the year with a plan to read through the Bible. By now, maybe you’ve fallen behind or you’re contemplating giving up. Here are a couple resources to make things just a tiny bit easier to follow through on one of the most worthwhile things you can do this year. 1 – Tracking a Reading Plan Across Your iOS Devices Reading Plan is a free, simple app for starting a bible reading plan. You can customize: ...
The AeroPress was my first love when it came to moving beyond the automatic drip coffee maker. It’s still my favorite way to make coffee when I’m traveling. But there’s a new brew method in my life, and we’ve been going steady for nearly two years. Meet the Chemex. If we were judging brewers by their covers, there’s no doubt the Chemex could win a beauty contest. But beyond that pretty hour-glass figure is a simple way to brew the cleanest, most delicious coffee you’ve (likely) every had at home. ...
At some point, nearly everyone needs to make a graphic. There are countless tools for adding text to an image. Photoshop and Pixelmator give you tons of options and range in difficulty of use, but for an on-the-go, simple app, Typorama is unbeatable. In fact, I own multiple design programs but often reach for Typorama because it’s so fast and simple. It creates images as good or better than what I would on a computer in less time. ...
Maybe online privacy isn’t something you think outside of keeping your credit cards and banking information out of the hands of hackers. iOS offers an option to change your search engine under Settings ? Safari ? Search Engine. There you can choose from: Google Yahoo Bing DuckDuckGo DuckDuckGo is the only search engine in the list that doesn’t track and store your search results. That means they aren’t targeting you with ads or trying to sell your data to marketers. I like having more control over who has my information and search history, but what sold me on DuckDuckGo is a unique feature called bangs. DuckDuckGo enables you to search certain sites directly by using an exclamation point followed directly by the website shortcut. ...
As I reflected on the year in 2014 and 2015, the two things I said I wanted to improve the most was my focus. I still have a long way to go, but I’m convinced in an increasingly distracting world, focus is what separates those who make an impact and those who get lost in the shuffle. I want to focus on not being distracted by social media and giving my full attention to the people around me. ...
Writing an Internet post about how posting things on the Internet can strip away your joy is like writing a book about why people shouldn’t write books or singing a song about why we need to stop singing songs. I’m aware of the irony. Bear with me, please. I’ve shared that notifications can’t satisfy us. Unfortunately, that truth hasn’t sunk in yet. Nevertheless, I continue to internally yell “Validate me!” with each post to the Internet. ...
Some people simply aren’t interested in discussing spiritual things. At least, that’s what it seems. Last week I was chatting with a student who, from the outside, appeared completely apathetic about spiritual matters. I’d asked him a number of questions and it didn’t seem the conversation was going anywhere, but instead of trying to force something that wasn’t there, I kept asking questions to try to find an opportunity to genuinely connect with him about faith. ...
Don’t read the comments. It’s the first rule of using the Internet. Nothing good happens there, and there’s a 99.9% chance you’ll be wishing you could get those precious few moments back that the comment section ripped from your fingers. Now you’re fuming because KoolGuy2596 said all (gender, faith, race, and / or nationality that describes you) are idiots. It’s not the Internet alone that makes people say terrible things, but it sure helps. And why is that? Because it’s anonymous. [footnote]Ok, not really 100% anonymous, but anonymous enough to be the righthand man of foolishness.[/footnote] It’s the same reason that we wish the most horrible kinds of evil on that person who cut us off in traffic. We lose sight of reality. The reality that crazy commentators and wild drivers are humans. We have no personal connection with them–only an emotional reaction to something they said or did. ...
Of the things we do each day, the majority are things we’ve done before–hundreds or thousands of times before. Our subconscious is constantly processing things for us so we don’t have to think about how to brush our teeth or shower or the way to drive to work. Or how to be impatient with people who frustrate us or how to sit on the couch and watch Netflix instead of exercising or how to waste money on frivolous purchases. For the last year and a half, I’ve been thinking a lot about habits. I’ve written about developing new ones and recorded a podcast on habits, and I’ve encountered a number of books focusing on these tiny building blocks that dictate so much of what we do. I’m convinced that habits are one of the most important things we can focus on if we want to live a life of purpose, because they are a powerful force that are constantly moving us further and further in a direction and becoming more deeply ingrained with each passing day. Just think about the things you do each day. How many of them are truly new things? You likely eat similar foods for breakfast, take a shower at a similar time, hang out with some of the same people, ask the same questions, do repetitive tasks at work. And we don’t seek out novel ways to do things when we already have a way. I’m not trying to find a unique route to commute to work–I’m going the way I always go because it’s the easiest. The classic quote, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” emphasizes our habit for habits. Good or bad, the more we do something the easier it is to do it again. So how do we start making changes? ...
Occasionally, someone asks me for a bit of advice on starting a blog. I’m always happy to share how to get started. Choosing how and where you’ll host your blog online seems like the most important thing when you’re starting out. The reality is, actually writing and consistently posting, no matter where you do it, is far and away the most critical aspect. Nevertheless, you have to put your blog somewhere, so here are your best options for where to call home on the Internet. ...