No human thing is of serious importance.
Plato (427 BC – 347 BC)

Positive Thinking, originally uploaded by michaeljosh.

So I’ve never been a positive thinking guy. And what I mean by that is simply this:

I never imagined that your life could really be affected by the attitude that you have. It seemed like a bunch of emotional mumbo jumbo to get you through some rough stuff. I thought that the people that needed to hear think positive, had trouble facing reality. I know, I am still naive in so many ways. But over the last week, I really have been thinking about this whole idea of positive thinking.

A couple things that I’ve picked up along the way.

Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. ~Author Unknown

Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.
~Francesca Reigler

And this nice piece of speak from the Mayo Clinic:

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

* Increased life span
* Lower rates of depression
* Lower levels of distress
* Greater resistance to the common cold
* Better psychological and physical well-being
* Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
* Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It’s unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It’s also thought that positive and optimistic people live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and have reduced rates of smoking and alcohol consumption.

So as I was on a giant ship cruising through the Bahamas I started to work on my positive attitude. (I know, what a great place to start!)

And the distaste that I had been having in a few certain projects at work, began to turn themselves around this week, even though there are a few extra bumps in the road this week. I think most of that change has to do with an attitude adjustment.

Maybe it’s time for you to have one too.

So I’m back and I’m pretty excited! I feel completely refreshed! I disconnected for the whole last week from every piece of technology. I must say it was a great choice to spend some much needed chill time with my wifey. Ready to get back in the swing of things and prepping for Adventure Week. Catch you soon!!!

I’m intrigued by this one for sure. Google TV is coming to a living room near you. While the idea for this type of TV isn’t new, it’s never had the Google name behind it.

Check the video and let me know what you think:

Definitely not sure how I feel about this one. A new site called Togetherville is aimed at being a social network for children. But also it seems to be aimed at getting families to network together as a family. Check out this NY Times article about Togetherville. Here’s a small excerpt from this article that stuck out to me.

“We teach kids from a very early age, never let your identity be online, never let anyone know who you are, but we’re teaching some bad things,” he said. “Kids don’t learn how to be accountable.”

Maybe it will be effective. The goal of helping children learn how to use technology seems like a great one. Just hope we’re not creating another arena for our kids to be in danger online.

carnival cruise ship 2, originally uploaded by narayananm.

This week you might see a shortage of posts this week because of a little trip that me and my wife are taking.

We will be chilling in the Bahamas for the week. Trying to figure out which excursions to take right now. So I need some advice.

Which excursions would your recommend to a friend?

You are probably asking what the heck are you talking about JC? Well every year Pantone selects a color for the year. They are pretty spot on for the most part. So here are the colors from last year and for this year:

So I want to know what you think: Mimosa or Turquoise?

Wanted to make a tech thursday comeback today. I’ve got a few ideas that are in my head for big reasons why you might want to think about getting an iPad for your Family, Student, or Children’s Ministry.

1. Cheaper Gaming Device-

With Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii’s you are going to continue to have to buy discs to keep up with the latest and greatest trends. These discs cost between $30-$60. Over a year with multiple consoles to buy for and you are spending a good amount more for your consoles. With the iPad, you are paying a fraction of that. A lot of times those new and intense games are even free!

Here are a few examples:

2. Presentations-

I’m sure you’ve heard about the iPad’s ability to have keynote and maybe even in the future ProPresenter will come out with some kind of app to use on the iPad. Someone please let Renewed Vision know! But building presentations or just using the iPad to present them is an excellent alternative to high end macbooks to run your Worship service experience.

3. Easier to store and secure-

When you are dealing with people, not everyone is going to be on the up and up. With the iPad, it would be extremely easy to store them in an area and secure them. Much more so that your laptops, Gaming Consoles, and maybe in some extreme cases desktops.

4. Way high on the edge factor-

sort of cutting edge right now with everything that is available. +100 for being relevant to culture.

5. Bible App -

talk about a killer device for small groups. Gaming Device, Presentation Device, and a Bible all in one. Seriously Small Group Leaders what would you think about having an all in one device like this. Not to mention maybe having a database app, your ministry app from r04r to know and communicate what’s happening in your mininstry, and even notes to take prayer requests.

There are so many more uses for the iPad that are running through my mind like: having a database app to take attendance (even using numbers or pages to do so), your ministry app from r04r to know and communicate what’s happening in your mininstry, and even notes to take prayer requests. Some of which I’m not telling…..yet But here are a few that should get your mind going on why you should think about getting an iPad for your ministry.

What other things do you see that might be a good use for the iPad in your ministry context?

I keep your love locked down, your love locked down., originally uploaded by Kelly West Mars.

Tonight I’m speaking at Varsity, the high school ministry here at Brookwood. I’m teaching on a series called Flirt by Room 1228. Great resource for student ministry stuff.

This passage has been stuck in my mind.

“As we talked about in our last two sessions, Jesus had been crucified and buried. Hope, air, and opportunity had been sucked out of the atmosphere. Now the disciples were huddled under lock and key because they had their love locked down Kanye West-style. Then all of a sudden, Jesus appeared by walking through a wall and surprising His disciples, and then He said, “Peace be with you.” Once again, as He had done in other appearances, Jesus turned desperation into hope and sorrow into joy. Most of all, He turned fear into peace.”

Man what a powerful story. The disciples are locked in a room because of fear after Christ had died. The fear of being crucified, made fun of, and probably some of them felt as if “Did I waste a lot of my life following this man?”

But in the middle of that locked room. Jesus appears and says what he said earlier in John’s book. “Peace be with You”. So in your life today. There might be some areas that are completely locked down for fear or doubt or maybe even they are painful. But allow God to enter into those locked down areas.

Let Jesus Unlock your Love Lock Down today.

So the other day I got a brand new Nikon D3000 Camera. It’s my first DSLR camera, but I have shot some pictures with a few of my friend’s cameras. I am so excited to get in and play with some of the settings, start adding more and more of my own pics to this blog and more.

I love to take pictures and capture moments in picture format. It’s one of my favorite things. So expect to see a lot more of my own photography gracing these posts in the coming months and years!!

Any tips on DSLR cameras? Any must know treatments for photos in photoshop?