God does answer prayer…Glad to be home!
Need I say more…
Psst…Anybody want an iPhone?
I finally pulled the plug on it and decided to sell my iPhone. Now I am back
to my Verizon wireless BlackBerry 8830 and boy am I happy – no ELATED!!! If you truly need the features of the BlackBerry, the iPhone won’t replace the BlackBerry. I’ve had my iPhone for two months and here’s what the iPhone
"does not" have in comparison to the BlackBerry 8830:
· No voice memo option
· No voice text option
· No real keyboard – can’t get with that touchscreen
keyboard.
· No auto text (I set up in my blackberry that if
I type "plmk" it types out "please let me know" and a 100
other auto texts I set up to be fast and efficient
· No cut and paste (are you kidding me?)
· No help feature within the phone itself
· No draft option for emails or texts (I was in
the middle of a long one, my phone rang, poof, my email was gone when I hung
up.
· No ring profiles (at night I put my bb 8830 in
phone only mode for emergiencies and then texts and emails don’t ring all night
· No search feature (for finding emails, texts,
calls or subject matters)
· Capitalization requires two strokes on the
keyboard, bb8830 only one (holding down the key)
· No way to jump to the bottom of a long email or
texts or to the bottom of a list of emails or texts
· No way to start typing the name of the person I
want to call. I have to remember how I organized their name in my almost 1000
list of contacts in order to call them.
· Doesn’t sync the tasks from my Outlook
· No speed dialing
· No LED light to tell me I have missed a call,
have a text, email or alarm. I have to physically pick up the phone to look at
it.
· No way to easily add a phone number contained in
the text of an email and add it to address book (in the bb8830 you select the
number, menu, add to address book, done!)
· No cut and paste. THAT’S RIGHT, I SAID IT AGAIN!
· No camera settings menu from the camera option,
no zoom
· My 1st calender entry repeated itself for a week
(even though I coded it "repeat: none" and blocked out 8 hours for
each of those days, even though it was a 1/2 hour appt.)
Fancy webpage graphics and music won’t fix all this. I’m lucky enough to work
in the corporate world at home and my BB keeps me efficient and mobile. Wish I
read a post like this before I got caught up in the iPhone bedazzlement.
FYI…I’m selling my iPhone w/all the extras…anyone interested email me!
The Biggest Mistake of them all…
1. KEEPING PEOPLE PAST THEIR EXPIRATION DATE. I’m what you call an eternal optimist. My first instinct is to see the best in people and work to bring it out in the open. I’ve sent people to conferences, personally mentored them, invested time and resources into their development only to be disappointed.
Dismissing a person is never easy, sometimes it’s inevitable. From experience, I’ve learned that the first person you fire is ALWAYS the most difficult. Before I replace someone, I ask myself: "Does the person really need to be replaced?"
A sharper focus can be gained by asking:
1. Is the person’s ineffectiveness, poor leadership, or example blocking the progress of the ministry?
2. How much harm is being done?
3. What if the position goes vacant for a while (one of my favorite questions)?
4. What standard am I using to measure job effectiveness? Sometimes we measure people against impossible standards. We must distinguish between someone who cannot do a job from someone who can but lacks the necessary skills.
The right people
don’t need to be managed–they just need to be pointed in the right direction.
Jim Collins said, "If the person came to tell you that he or she is leaving to
pursue an exciting new opportunity, would you feel terribly disappointed or
secretly relieved?" If you’d be relieved, it’s time for them to go.
A "DEEP" Question regarding Heaven…
At Mars Hill, I often brag on our members because we have some of the most sincere people on this side of heaven. Additionally, they are some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Often, I receive emails on various topics that get my attention. This week I received an email from a member who asked, "Can the people in heaven see us?" Man, what a profound question!
Hebrews 12:1 states, "Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…
"Some understand the
"cloud of witnesses" as being people looking down on us from Heaven.
That is not the correct interpretation. Hebrews chapter 11 records many people
whom God commended for their faith. It is these people who are the "cloud
of witnesses." They are "witnesses" not in that they are
watching us, but rather in that they have set an example for us…they are
witnesses for Christ, and God, and truth.
Hebrews 12:1 continues, "…let
us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and
let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
The Bible does not specifically say whether people can look down on us who are
still on the earth. It is highly likely that they cannot. Why?
1) They would
sometimes witness us sinning.
2) They would sometimes see things that would
cause them grief.
3) People in heaven are so occupied with worshipping God
and enjoying the glories of Heaven that they truly have no interest in what is
happening here on earth.
The very fact that they are free from sin, in heaven,
and in God’s presence is enough for them to be happy. While it is possible that
God allows people in heaven to look down upon their loved ones, the Bible gives
us no reason to believe this actually occurs.
2nd Dumbest Mistake…
2. PUTTING PROJECTS BEFORE PEOPLE. Ecclesiastes
7:18 says, "The man who fears God will avoid all extremes."
This is
one of those areas where we need to embrace the tension between relating with
people and accomplishing the mission/getting the job done. Ask specifically: "Is there anything I can do for you?"
You communicate how much you value someone by simply asking the question. Sometimes it’s nice to do something for another person without them asking or surprising them. But if you’re not a good guesser and you don’t have psychic abilities, just ask. Often, when I get home from work, I know there are two things I can say that will encourage my wife:
1) I’d really like to hear about your day,
2) Is there anything I can do for you?
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