Wellspring: Get out from under the cloud

Check out what my friend Dave wrote on condemnation in his post called "Get out from under the cloud".

Feeding the Feedburner

I have know about Feedburner for some time.  I just put my blog feed on feedburner however.

I know I have mentioned web syndication (RSS) and feeds before and why but I'll recap.  

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is a way for you to watch someone's blog or podcast or the news (really anything with frequent updates) without having to visit the site constantly to see if the put something out for the rest of the world to read.

For the non-geek among us, most blogs like Typepad, Blogger and Wordpress will publish a feed for you.  For the geekier, among us, there are ways of building your own feeds, you just need a place to put the feed file.  One that I use is called "ListGarden"... I like it because it's easy and reliable, runs nearly anywhere and costs $0... A good price.  You can pay $$ and get something like RSSBuddy however.

What do you do with these feeds?  There are several things you can do... One is to ignore it but what fun is that?  If you choose not to ignore it, however, you don't have to look directly at it. After all, the file that is produced is pretty ugly.   

Instead, put it into a feed reader.  There are installed readers and on-line readers.  I like on-line readers because I am not always on the same computer so I don't have to weed through the same information multiple times.  The disadvantage is that if you are reading a feed from a corporate intranet (inside the company), the on-line readers can't get to it and you need an installed reader.  Fortunately, many browsers have the feature built in.

Installed readers include:

• NewsGator (Windows, Microsoft Outlook & Mac)
• Firefox Browser
• Safari Browser
• Internet Explorer 7

On-line Readers include:

• Google Reader
• News Gator
• My Yahoo
• Bloglines
• Pageflakes
• Netvibes

My personal favorites are Google Reader.  It works well in Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox as well as a mobile version for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Now, why Feedburner?  Feedburner has this feature that allows you to subscribe to any of the on-line services with the click of a button.  If you are publishing a podcast, you can also have iTunes automatically subscribe, even if you are not in the iTunes store.  It also keeps statistics for you on where people come from and go to.

You can now subscribe to this blog here, Why you may want to is a different question.

Inauguration day preparation

With the inauguration of our new president coming up on Monday, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit this....

No matter who you voted for or what side you are on, you'll never have "A Savior on Capitol Hill".  There is only one Savior for this world.

Looking up from the bottom....

In the Psalm I read to day the writer seems to be looking up from the bottom, all the way up to God.  What I see in these verses, though, is surrender.

Psalm 119:25-32 reads like this in The Message.

I'm feeling terrible—I couldn't feel worse! 
      Get me on my feet again. You promised, remember? 
   When I told my story, you responded; 
      train me well in your deep wisdom. 
   Help me understand these things inside and out 
      so I can ponder your miracle-wonders. 
   My sad life's dilapidated, a falling-down barn; 
      build me up again by your Word. 
   Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; 
      grace me with your clear revelation. 
   I choose the true road to Somewhere, 
      I post your road signs at every curve and corner. 
   I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; 
      God, don't let me down! 
   I'll run the course you lay out for me 
      if you'll just show me how.

One of my favorites

Both my mom and dad are musicians.  My mom was a music teacher before I was born and my dad played drums. 

There was always music around the house.  One of my favorites was "That's Almost Good" by David Seville (who was also the guy behind Alvin and the Chipmunks).

Although I couldn't find the song on any of the music sites, I did find it on YouTube...  You can listen (and watch the '45 turn) here...

Keeping sinless...

I ran across this forumla for keeping from sinning...

Galatians 5:16:23 (The Message)...

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

Enough said...

Easy right?  hmm....