"Field Posts"

He started crawling about a week ago.  To watch in HD, click play below, then choose HD at the bottom. To watch it large in HD click here (requires a fast connection).

You all know that God has changed my life more than anyone or anything.  For the purposes of this post, I am speaking on a much more insignificant level. Google Reader (or any other Reader) has changed my life. For a an excellent simple video explanation of RSS and Google Reader, watch this video on YouTube. So much of today’s content online is made available via RSS or ATOM.  The idea is that you can get a site’s content automatically shown in your Reader when new content is available.  News comes to you instead of you going to the news! I have posted about this before, but I must post again because it truly has changed the way I work and play on the web.  If you don’t use it, you should. For awhile, I avoided it because I didn’t really get it.  Now I get it, and can’t believe people avoid it. All you have to do is either click on the RSS button of syndicated web content, or copy the URL and paste it into your reader, to subscribe. What have I su...

I just came across 2 free tools that I have immediately begun using a ton.  Maybe you will find them helpful… Affixa… For a Gmail or Yahoo user, this is a must.  This allows you to click on any email link and it will put an email in your Gmail or Yahoo draft folder.  You can also right click on a file in Windows Explorer and choose send to mail recipient.    It will also put an email in your draft folder with the file attached.  It basically sets your default email software as Google or Yahoo.  Pretty cool. ScreenHunter 5.1… There are probably many free screen grab tools, but I have found this one really easy and straight forward.  You can grab your whole screen, just an active window, or you can drag a rectangle to grab any portion of your screen.  You can instantly turn these grabs into a bmp, gif, jpg, or send it to your clipboard.  No frills, no extra fluff, it does what it says well.  Perfect! Gotta love free s...

Last night, Braden woke up around 2am.  We decided to go ahead and give him a bottle (he’s teething, and it wasn’t worth letting him cry it out).  Becky got up, changed him, and then gave him to me (her responsible husband) while she went to get a bottle.  Well, that’s when I messed up. I thought I was awake, but apparently I wasn’t.  Next thing I knew, Braden was on the tile floor screaming.  He is not quite as stationary as he was only a few days ago! After a few minutes of Becky and I panicking and checking him all over, and Braden crying, we determined that all was good.  I don’t know how he landed, but apparently he landed well. I thought I had learned my lesson when Drew took a dive off the bed.  I thought I had learned my lesson when Tessa took a dive off the couch.  But, now, I have finally learned my lesson (right?!). Wow, thank God kids are resilient! Rob

I heard the following yesterday on “Mike and Mike” on ESPN radio… As they talked college basketball, (which I acknowledge somewhat ashamedly that I do not follow) illustrious “Coach K” (Mike Krzyzewski) shared that he had challenged his team after they had won a run, but had yet to fulfill The dream, that he wanted to see… “Confidence and Commitment, not Confidence and Complacency.”  I like that. With a little success, we get too big for our britches.  Our posture may be a laissez faire pride in our achievement, when it should rather be a commitment to a properly aligned humility in advance of our future.  Pride in self does not acknowledge the true reason for success.  Therefore, one’s future victory is uncertain and out of reach due to a misplaced confidence.  Trust in self, and we will fail every time. Pride breeds failure, but humility breeds success. I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded, that he is able… 2 Tim 1:12 Rob

We dispense the dispensible. We honor the honorable. We present the presentable. We praise the praiseworthy. We accept the acceptable. We love the lovely. We give to the worthy. We avoid the unlovely. We popularize the popular. We widow the widows. We orphan the orphans. We hate our enemies. We break the broken. We reward the accomplished. We tolerate the tolerable. I think God would do things differently.  Will we? 1 Cor 12:21-26 , Psalm 34:18 , Matthew 5:44 , Matthew 25:31-46 Rob

Wickles slogan… “A Wickedly Delicious Pickle.”  I agree.  If you haven’t given them a try, you must. All I can say is, bam!, pow, woohoo, an explosion of taste.  What a pickle!

I think Jesus has a love/hate relationship with Web 2.0 . Facebooking, blogging, tweeting via Blogger, Facebook, Live Writer, Tweetdeck, Twitterfeed, Twitter, Reader, Twitterfon, Vlingo, and …  wow, I have been posting a ton.  My devoted (or not so much) Facebook Friends , Twitter Tweaters , and/or Blogger Buddies must be annoyed with my constant feeds. Or not? I truly don’t think it is simply that I like to talk about myself (although ashamedly I probably I do).  I think my volume of social chatter is more about the yearning for social interaction, my desire to walk through life with others, my desire to connect with others.  Jesus created us as social beings.  He is writing my story within the context of others.  He made us to thrive in community.  We become better as we stick together (1 Cor 12).  Too voluminous?  I look at other well respected bloggers and tweaters (example Mark Batterson ), and I see exponentially more posts....

…I am currently watching our church service live online .  Not the same.  I missed the blessing of corporate worship, I missed our class, but it is nice to be able to watch… I couldn’t watch our alternative venue that we attend, “Worship in the Hall”, but nonetheless, it’s great to have this ability to watch.

So, in our web-based world, I decided about a month ago to experiment with a fully web-based alternative for all of my Outlook type stuff (email, contacts, calendaring, tasks). Here is the history… About a year ago, I switched all of RMI’s users away from exchange running on our internal server, to the totally free and external Google Apps for Non-Profits .  This gave me/us so much relief from so many email problems!!!  It was also free! I can’t tell you how nice it has been.  To be fair, Google Apps has had some minor snags, but using exchange was a constant headache for me.  Also to be fair, if I was more knowledgeable in servers, user management, DNS, IP management, spam protection, etc etc etc, maybe our own internal hosted exchange would still be an option. So, for about a year, most of our users, including myself, have been using Outlook on our laptops, and setting up email accounts via IMAP and POP.  There are certainly good arguments and bennies...

For more pics from Drew’s 4th’s Pool/Pirate Birthday Party, click here .  Videos will come when I get time… From Drew's Birthday Party March 2009

My sore throat feels like it is swollen to the size of a watermelon.  I worked all day yesterday because I had to (poor me), but today I am staying home from Drew’s Soccer game (poor me) to “rest” and not spread my germs to the world. I am thinking of all kinds of spiritual metaphors for being sick and staying home, but I will leave that for another day… Rob

It’s hard to believe he was this tiny once!   Drew at his 1st Birthday party—it’s amazing how much they grow in one year!   Drew got a tricycle for his 2nd birthday and was riding it like a speed demon in just a few weeks!  Still a little baby-face, but growing fast!     By his 3rd birthday, most of the baby face is gone, and he’s proud to be a big boy. It’s hard to believe Drew is 4 years old already.  He is now all boy-- no baby left to him.  He grew taller this past year! We are so blessed to be Drew’s parents!  We love you Drew! ~Becky

Warning, below I sound like a grumpy old man.  There, I warned you… Here is what I just submitted to Spirit Airlines to complain again about their inappropriate and offensive advertising. “Your current sale verbage in your "threesome" ads are inappropriate! Threesome? Please please please refrain from such sexual innuendo.  It may sell tickets, but it will surely also send others away.  I can't believe you have "Offended by Promotional Ad" as one of the drop down items to choose from in the topic drop down in the form above.  Therefore, you are quite aware and acknowledge that you are offending people, yet you do it anyway. This can't be the image you are wanting to portray for your company.  Please?” Previously, they responded to the same type of complaint with the following response…  (I underlined the words for emphasis) “(Karla Romero) - 07/11/2008 10:50 AM Dear Mr. Thompson, Thank you for writing in and letting u...

You may use Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome… but I am still living in my Microsoft World and use Internet Explorer.  Finally IE8 is out of beta and available today.  I have been using IE7 because Google maps was broken with IE8 beta.  But, now it looks great! Don’t you feel better now that you know this? Rob

We have posted the latest version of "theSlice" here .  Take a look! Rob and Becky

So, we always try and watch the shuttle on Nasa TV online.  The kids love it, and so do I!  Tonight was especially cool because it was dark.  The best part was that I stepped out back to see if we could see it, and sure enough there it was.  I was quite surprised actually!  So, the whole family went back there and squealed with glee as we saw it continue up.  It was like a bright orange dot of fire followed by the smoke trail.  Here is a pic, although it didn’t really capture what we saw. Rob

To watch in HD, click play below, then choose HD at the bottom. To watch it large in HD click here (requires a fast connection).

I really appreciate the time that I had to spend with our RMI Missionaries.  Billy and Debbie and their 2 girls Savana and McKenna, and Gary and Marilyn, are working hard down there serving the Lord.  I respect their sacrifice.  I respect their ministry.  It was neat to listen and learn.  I learned a lot about them and a lot about their daily routines.  I shared a little as well.  They have vey unique-to-Haiti struggles and joys, unlike what most of you my readers experience.  Yet, they are no different than us. Their care and encouragement to me was so appreciated.  I was well taken care of.  Thank you Debbie, you are responsible for most of the meals and making me comfortable at the RMI Guest House. I didn’t lose weight while I was here.  I ate and I ate and I ate.  I learned that I love avocado with some Italian dressing on it.  I learned that I really like Tampico (a store bought Haitian made fruit juice).  I ...

As is often the case, when in Haiti, I get to ride a dirt bike.  Pretty cool for someone who never rides in the US (what I mean is that a certain someone wouldn’t allow me to ride in the US!). This time, I had opportunity to go out once again into the valley behind the mission center for a quick ride with Gary McLaughlin (one of RMI’s missionaries).  Don’t worry Billy, if you are nice, next time we will invite you along… It was a fun ride.  We did it while the sun was going down, so it was neat to see the landscape of Haitian life as reflected in their fields and farming, rivers and roads, homes, hills, mountains, valleys, cattle and people, against the back drop of a colorful sun-setting sky.  Every kid along the way that saw us, realizing we were white, wanted us to stop and help them.  Pretty typical. We rode out to a church that is in the Cance District (Cance is one of our RMI Sister Churches).  This was one of Cance’s satellite churches. ...

No, I did not get rid of my iPhone.  My new cell phone is for use only in Haiti.  My # is an 11 digit number.  Kind of strange…  509-3805-XXXX.  I am not giving out the number because of international rates, but isn’t that weird to have a 4 digit exchange (3805)? Next time I go back, I will be able to make and receive calls.  Very cool.  I may not be able to use it to update Facebook, Twitter, check my email, post to my blog or surf the web, but it will be nice to be able to “reach out and touch someone” while I am in Haiti next time. Communication is everything, right? Rob

As I look around me, I am awed at the breadth of opportunity for being the hands and feet of Jesus here.  I am confronted with the realities of wealth, and the realities of poverty.  Traveling from the financially richest economy in the world to one of the poorest, is never easy, and is always perspective altering.  People loved by God, yet broken, lost and confused, within of these realities, need the love of the body of Christ.  I want my desire to be as Paul’s, “I no longer view anyone from a worldly perspective”.  I want to see people as Jesus sees them. My soul is singing along with Matt Redman’s Fearfully and Wonderfully made… “Reminded… You gave me this breath… and you gave me this strength… and every day I live to obey you… with all of my heart… with all of my soul… Let every breath I breathe in this place…God So what am I gonna do in this life… So what am I gonna do in these days you ordained So what am I gonna do...

Becky was awake with Braden...and SHE has a fever! Pray for her.