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This Week in Prefab: Lamboo Bamboo
I love this nifty eco office previewed over at Inhabitat.
The Lamboo Solar Studio is a Curvy Eco Home Built from Bamboo
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Popping about.
The garden is off to a smashing green start.
We’ve already harvested the early strawberries. There’s plenty of greens to eat.
Other things popping about: red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, beets, chili peppers, heirloom and other tomatoes, leeks, yellow and red onions, rosemary, thyme, basil, sage, zucchini, and cucumbers.
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Confessions of a Hipster.
Hilarity.
This young lady is talented. She’ll go far.
As seen at: http://twentytwowords.com
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This completes my life as a designer:
I received this email this morning:
Hi, my name is xxxxxxxxxx and I attend Sanctuary Covenant. I absolutely love the church and Mpls and I thought of getting the city-scape logo you guys have as a tattoo but I can’t figure out how to save it. Would I be able to get that e-mailed to me? Thank you!!
No, thank you. I can now close the book on my life as a designer. What’s next in this life?
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Foodie Week #3: My Treasured Trove of Cookbooks.
I WANT TO BE A CHEF.
My wife has agreed to go back to work full-time after all the kiddos are in school so I can go to culinary school, but that’s a few years off at this point.
I LOVE TO COOK.
But I have no real skills other than what I’ve learned watching the Food Network. (I can chop veggies with the best of them nowadays).
I DON’T MEAL PLAN TOO WELL.
I wish I did a better job of this, it would make a huge difference in my cooking…
This is how I cook:
I get home from work, pop open a cookbook, find a recipe that I clearly only have half the ingredients for, decide to make it anyway by modifying it, see how it turns out. It’s hit or miss, but we eat it anyway (in most cases).
This is going to look so nerdly. But, it’s unfortunately true. These are the cookbooks I regularly use for kitchen inspiration.
I’m a huge Jamie Oliver fan. If you’ve been to this blog before, you probably know that already. I use these every week. There’s lots of simple stuff, some with decidedly European flare to it, but all good.
My New Vegetarian Cookbook. It literally does tell you how to cook EVERYTHING vegetarian.
Brunch anyone. I just got this one. Hoping it will transform Saturday mid-morning feasts at our house…
This is what I’m getting next. Then I’m going Asian. Probably Thai and Indian before going Japanese.
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Living Off The Land: Foodie Week #2 (hard to call it Foodie week when it’s now taken a month. Such is life as a dad, husband, entrepreneur, and employee. No more promises or schedules for this blogger.)
So, getting back to my Foodie posts, I want to take a few minutes of your time to encourage you to live off the land this summer. Well, not really, but what I would like you to do is to close the gap between the food on your table and the field it was grown in.
Last Spring, I surprised my wife (not in a good way, she was just surprised) by heading out in the backyard in the middle of the night and digging up a strip of grass to do some planting. It wasn’t huge, but neither is our city plot of land. A deal was struck! She got some room for flowers, I got some room for veggies.
I’ve been wanting to grow some of my own food for a while now. Here’s a few reasons why:
- To Close the Gap.
When you walk around the grocery store and see boxes and cans and microwavable trays, and each product has 50 ingredients in it, you get a very abstract picture of where food comes from. I wanted to close the gap between the field and the table. I wanted to cook with veggies and herbs that I could see their whole life cycle. - To Teach My Kids About Real Food.
Those products in the grocery store have dozens of ingredients that I can’t pronounce, much less tell you where they came from. One day my son who was 3 at the time asked me, “Where do Graham Crackers come from?” Not a clue. What does it say on the box? Well, clearly there’s pyrophosphates in there son. Eat up. – Got me thinking, do I really want to give my kids food that I can’t pronounce the ingredients? Or myself for that matter? - I like to cook and I want my food to taste better.
I’m not particularly that good at it, at least, not to where I’d hope to be…but I love to cook. The garden is inspiration. You can’t help but want to be a better cook when you’ve got access to fresh off the vine tomatoes, lush herbs and crunchy lettuce you just pulled out of the ground. When it comes out of the ground, gets washed and goes right into a meal, it tastes better. period. - Saving Money
I think this is possible. I didn’t run the numbers last year, but conceivably, with the right mix of veggies, the right planting schedule, eating what’s “in season,” it is conceivable that you could actually save money. It doesn’t really cost that much to get up and running. Last year we spent less than $100 and had a serious bounty. I plan to do it again this year with more intentionality.
So, that’s why I started and I want to encourage you to grow something. I’m not saying that you should give up your day job and become a farmer. I’m not saying rip up your whole yard and make the whole thing edible. Here’s a few ideas to get you going though:
- Grow Something. Anything.
Head to the bookstore and look at the magazines. There’s a ton of them out right now that give you ideas from a window box, to container vegetable gardens, to 3×6 raised beds, to the works. Buy some seeds and grow! - Start at a pace that makes sense for you.
Don’t rip up the whole yard if you’re not ready to deal with the ramifications of it. Not everyone is as crazy or impulsive as I am. Starting with a 5×20′ garden may not be right for you. But, there is a happy place between nothing and full-fledge farmer that is right for you. - Don’t be discouraged by some things not growing.
Truth be told, at least half the seeds I started last year died before I could plant them outdoors. That sucked. But the other half didn’t. That was awesome. Don’t be discouraged. It’s not all going to grow. - Start with plants from the garden store.
Starting from seed can be a lot more work and a lot more defeating. Start with 3-4″ or 12″ plants from the garden store can be a winning recipe. Most of those plants are bred to live in your local area. You’ll have a greater chance of early success. - If you’ve got kids, get them involved.
Everyday, my boy was out in the garden asking if there were any cucumbers or tomatoes to pick. It’s a great way to get them going in the process and even encourage them to eat more fruits and veggies. My boy loves Thyme. He says it’s his favorite herb. Does your kid have a favorite herb at age 5? They could.
I’d love to have some conversation about your successes and struggles.
A few garden shots from last year…
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Foodie Week: Books, Movies, Links, Resources…
As part of my personal, family and social food revolution, these are the resources that have changed the way relate to food.
THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA
Out of everything I’ve watched, read or listened to, this is by far the number 1 item on my list. I would recommend this book to everybody as a starting point to think about where our food comes from and the relationship we have with it. After this book, I became a Pollanaut. Nearly totally buying in to what Pollan says about the way in which we purchase and consume food.
You also can’t beat listening to this book rather than reading it. If you get the audible version, it’s read by Scott Brick who is one of the best readers around. He brings the book to life and I’d suggest there’s no better way to read this one.
OTHER BOOKS/COOKBOOKS
Food Rules – Easy digestible condensed version of Michael Pollan’s, “In Defense of Food.”
The Maker’s Diet – Interesting read about how a guy who was basically dying went back to the traditional, Biblical, kosher diet and it essentially saved his life.
Jamie at Home - Seriously, there are thousands of cookbooks in the world. The reason I love this cookbook is that I end up feeling gourmet, with simple fresh food. And it’s intended to be a resource to help you eat foods in-season.
Jamie’s Food Revolution – A simple cookbook to help you cook great simple meals from fresh ingredients. Same old same old from Jamie Oliver, but worth a look.
TALKS
A Few TED talks
Michael Pollan: A Plant’s Eye View of the World
New York Times Food Writer Mark Bittman on “What’s Wrong With What We Eat”
Ann Cooper “Talks School Lunches”
Again, Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize Talk
FILMS
I’ll let the trailer speak for itself.
Pollan’s other book, The Botany of Desire was made into a documentary that ran on PBS. It’s worth a watch even though it isn’t directly related to food issues.
Food Inc., A Participant Guide – This book expands on the stories and themes of the movie and takes them into a bit more detail.
A little Docu-drama following filmmaker Morgan Spurlock as he sets out to eat McDonald’s every meal for a month including super-sizing his meal every time he’s asked. Within a month his health deteriorates and he works to reveal the half-truths about the health claims of the fast-food industry. It’s an oldie but a goodie.
I just happened to be flipping through the channels one night and came across King Corn on PBS. Fantastic. Love the way this film dismantles the historical rise to prominence of corn as currency in America. If you eat anything in the middle isles of the grocery store, the stuff in boxes, you are undoubtedly consuming corn in some way.
Fresh is definitely interesting. Not quite as polished as some of the above films. Not as interested in the darkside of the industry, more interested in the upside of people and movements to get people eating real fresh food once again.
LINKS
Local Harvest.
This is the best site around to find locally grown food whether it’s locating farmer’s markets, stores that carry local foods, CSA Farms (Community Supported Agriculture). Go there end zero in on your area of the map to find out what is available in your neighborhood.
A Good Food Manifesto by Will Allen.
Short, Sweet and to the point. Growing real food can happen anywhere.
I’ve got so much more, but this list is getting exhaustive, and I’m getting exhausted. Just wanted to share some of the resources that have changed my perspective on food.
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Thoughts: Who Killed the Electric Car
So, I just got done watching “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and here’s my main thought…
All things being equal, I think most logical, coherent and breathing people can agree on 1 thing: No pollution is better than some pollution. End of argument. Smog=bad. Clean air=good. It’s only slightly above neanderthal in its comprehension quota.
I have little doubt, before or after watching this film that big business is self-intererested in serving the needs of its share price far beyond it’s responsibility to further the health and well-being of humanity. I have little doubt that our democracy has holes in it like swiss cheese where money is the filler that closes the gaps. I have little doubt that if these guys can make the Tesla Roadster run on electricity, then GM, Ford and Chrysler could come up with a long-term, viable, profitable solution to the problem of vehicle emissions.
Bottom line, I think most of us were told when we were kids to, “put it back the way you found it, or better.” There’s no excuse for demoralizing future generations by not solving problems that we can solve today. Electric car or no electric car, we should be interested in taking care of this world we’re here to steward. Zero emissions is a stewardship goal, not just an environmental freak movement.
If for no other reason than to be entertained and make you say, huh? add “Who Killed the Electric Car? to your netflix queue.
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Foodie Week. – No, for real this time.
So, last week I was going to have a foodie week. Turns out, I hit a wall with my workload and couldn’t muster up the energy to do any writing.
This week will be foodie week.
Here’s how I’m going to break it down.
Tuesday: Books, Movies, Links, Resources that have changed the way I think about food
Wednesday: Living off the land this summer
Thursday: Cookbooks that I use for inspiration (I rarely follow recipes, so they need to be inspiring…)
Friday: Two of my personal recipes that always get a warm welcome
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The Paradox of More.
More sounds better.
More resources.
More stuff.
More beautiful.
More productive.
More is the standard I have set for myself.
More outputs.
More accomplishments.
More pats on the back.
More results.
More is what I want and more is what I’m getting. In order to get more, I’m putting in
More time.
More stress.
More money.
More of my life.
In order to get more, my family is getting
Less daddy.
Less husband.
Less patience.
Less love.
I’m ready for
Less perfect.
Less outputs.
Less pride.
Less friction.
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Another Recent Identity Package from Redwire Creative.
My company Redwire Creative recently helped give a visual identity to the EnterChange, a consultancy that helps organizations learn about themselves and navigate into seasons of change.
Here’s the Visuals:
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I don’t want my kids to get fat and die early. Foodie Week #1.
So, you may know that I do have a mild obsession with food…
Eating it. Cooking it. Thinking about where it comes from. Loving it. Hating it.
For the next week I’m going to take a few posts to talk about food. If you’re not a foodie, feel free to tune out or tune in to get a few ideas.
About 3 years ago, I watched something that every so inexorably changed the course of my life. No really. It was a half hour TV show and it did just that; it changed me.
It was Jamie Oliver’s cooking show called “Jamie at Home,” on the Food Network. It was all about getting real food (or growing it yourself) and cooking fresh meals that are relatively easy, sometimes gourmet, always tasty. Admittedly, I was not a cook at the time and I had little understanding about “food” other than what the current diet fad was. We ate Lean Cuisine’s and McDonald’s regularly in the same day as if they offset each other.
Within watching this show about 2-3 times, I was bitten by a cooking bug and a personal food revolution that persists all these years later.
We cook nearly everything we eat from scratch (with the exception of a few quick meals out and some pregnancy emergency foods we’ve got on hand at the moment). We buy vegetables, try to buy our meat straight from the farmer whenever possible. We’ve rid the house of corn syrup and as much of the other crap that gets called food that you can buy at the grocery store. We even dug up a bit of the yard last year and grew some of our own herbs and veggies.
Last week, I watched with anticipation as Jamie Oliver received his 2010 TED Prize and talked about his TED Wish that he wants to mobilize people around. It’s an issue I totally agree with and want to find ways to support.
Take a minute to watch his talk and engage in the conversation around keeping our kids from getting fat and dying from the foods we let them eat.
I would love to hear your thoughts…
Jamie Oliver is on twitter @jamie_oliver
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Excerpt from my conversation with author Dan Pink
A few weeks ago I gave away a copy of Dan Pink’s new book, “Drive.” I’ve had the chance to get through most of it at this point and it’s quite good. If you’re interested in a synopsis of the book take a look at his TED talk from last year. Great info.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about wanting to dive deeper into my blog and deeper into writing in general. I had the chance to correspond with Daniel Pink, about his evolution into writing and what keeps him motivated.
Me: When did you decide to write?
DP: It was a pretty slow evolution. I wrote for school newspapers and the like, but never envisioned becoming a writer. In my mid-20s, though, I found that writing was what I was doing during my discretionary time. In law school, I wrote magazine articles and op-eds for newspapers. When I worked in politics, despite some pretty demanding jobs, I also wrote magazine articles on the side. That gave me a hint about what I really wanted to do. But it wasn’t until I left politics to work for myself that I began to consider myself a writer.
Me: What motivates you to write and write better?
DP: There are lots of motivation. I sometimes write to figure things out — and the process of discovery is one of my favorite things in the world. I also write in a small effort to influence — to change the way people think and perhaps even how they act. When I get an email from reader telling me one of my books made a difference in that person’s life, I’m motivated for another week! As for writing better, it’s constantly on my mind. Writing is the sort of undertaking that is impossible to master fully. That’s one of the things that makes it both frustrating and alluring.
I found his thoughts encouraging. I love my job. I love a lot of things. Sometimes that’s a problem for me because I don’t always feel settled being in one place. I want to do some writing though. Even if it’s just on this blog or in a few other places, I want to feel like I have something to contribute to the greater good of this world. I’m definitely motivated by making a difference in people’s lives and I think I can have an impact in some way great or small through my desire to write.
Is there anything you’re itching to do, but have been hesitating to give yourself over to? Are you slowly evolving into that passion? What’s motivating you?
BTW: Read his book. Go get yourself some Drive at Amazon or listen to Dan Pink read it by getting the audio at Audible.
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Brainwashed: Seven ways to reinvent yourself.
What an awesome mini-manifesto from Seth Godin over at ChangeThis.com
It’s like this: we were brainwashed. Brainwashed into believing a set of rules that aren’t true (any more). And because the brainwashing has been so complete, the shifts in our world and new opportunities they open up are easy to see as ways to shore up yesterday’s faltering system. Please, don’t fall for that. Don’t use the tools of today to support your effort to do yesterday’s job better.
This is an opportunity to completely reinvent your role in the system.
Here are seven levers available for anyone (like you) in search of reinvention:
- Connect
- Be generous
- Make art
- Acknowledge the lizard
- Ship
- Fail
Seth’s thinks this is the time. If you’re going to make a big move in life, if you’re going to live an extraordinary life, if you’re going to “do something with yourself,” now is the time.
Guess you’ll have to read it to figure out exactly what he means by “Acknowledge the lizard.”
It’s on you now…Go get the short, 15 page, BIG TYPE, easy read pdf.
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Leading Through Change: Thriving in the Unknown.
Many of you may know, my friend, pastor, and boss of 6 years has been called to a new position. Efrem Smith will be moving on from Sanctuary this summer to a new position as Superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. It’s a huge honor with a new realm of influence and a higher call on his life in leadership.
This is really awesome for him, and while transitions are really hard, I think great things can come to Sanctuary during this time.
Anytime time there is a major shift in leadership in an organization there are emotional, visionary and team dynamics that are affected by the changes taking place. So how do you survive?
During this time of leadership change I’m planning on focusing on 3 areas as we move into a new season.
- Being a TEAM PLAYER
At this crucial moment, there is no room for sanding against the grain. When you sand against the grain, you leave deep wounds in the wood that requires you to remove even more layers to get things smoothed out again. Being a team player will make it less painful to readjust when new leadership is in place. - No Better Time for SELF EVALUATION
– How does my personal spiritual journey affect the spiritual journey of our community?
– What do I need to improve, let go, start or stop?
– Where have I been dropping the ball and what’s my plan for picking it up?
– Am I acting from my strengths and mitigating my weaknesses?
– How does my performance affect the whole team? - Finally, I plan on BEING HONEST about the future.
This will not be easy. In fact, if it is easy, I think we’re probably not living up to our potential. Being honest about what this team needs in order to fulfill the vision in front of us means we won’t dance around the holes. The holes in our team, the holes in ourselves and the holes in our faith.
Even though this will be a tough transition and I will miss Efrem and what he brought to Sanctuary, I’m looking forward to being pushed and pushing myself to grow in new ways.
What are your thoughts about leading through a leader change? Have you been on a team that lost a key player? How did you navigate?
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Freebie Giveaway: Kem Meyer’s Less Clutter, Less Noise.
The first book giveaway isn’t even over but I’ve got another one to give away for all you church marketing peeps.
You all know about our great teacher Kem Meyer, and most of you probably have the book. For the rest of you, you need to read it. I’ve got an extra copy or two laying around, so somebody else might as well benefit.
Leave a comment on this post and I will choose a random number to give one away to on end of day Wednesday.
Read my review of the book here.
UPDATE: Mr. Chad Maag has won the thesis of our responsibility.
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Freebie Giveaway: “Drive” by Daniel Pink
Last Monday, I drove down to Barnes & Noble to listen to Daniel Pink talk about his new book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.”
One of Pink’s previous books was a game-changer for me. “A Whole New Mind” was a fascinating look at how right-brained aptitudes will drive the future of our economy and culture. He analyzed the way in which the workforce of the future is already being created through 6 high touch, high concept senses of right-brain-directed thinkers.
Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. These six senses increasingly will guide our lives and shape our world.Many of you no doubt welcome such a change. But to some of you, this vision might seem dreadful–-ahostile takeover of normal life by a band of poseurs in black unitards who will leave behind the insufficiently arty and emotive.
Unfortunately, Daniel Pink’s flight was delayed, delayed, cancelled, so he never made it to Minneapolis. He did however buy a copy of his new book for everybody who showed up to hear him. So, I’ve got my hands on a free copy of “Drive,” and I think you should too.
I’ve decided to turn his gift into your gift. So this week, I’m going to be giving away not one, but 3 books. I was going to buy Drive anyway, so I decided I’ll buy a copy for one reader of my blog. In the coming days, I’m going to have two more books that I’ll be giving away. (Hey, i can’t help it, people keep giving me dupes.)
Drive is the first book up for winning. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you’re in the running. Because it’s late in the week, I’ll let this contest roll until Monday. You don’t have to say something witty, funny or intelligent to win (though I wish you would). One winner will be picked by random number. If you win, I’ll email you for your address and ship it to you. Comment away.
UPDATE: Winner is Josh!
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I'm a sucker for high efficiency…
With our new furnace:
- we heated 1 extra bedroom
- had a lower electric bill (1 room switched from electric baseboards to gas)
- used 32% less natural gas over the same time period last year.
The average temperature was roughly the same, so I’d say this is going to save some money in the long run. I should mention too that we’ve been keeping the house a little warmer this year. Chilly toes don’t agree with my pregnant wife so much this year. Thermostat is set to 71 when we’re home compared to 67/68 like I like to have it.
For this month alone, using last year’s natural gas rate as a comparison, we saved approximately $76 on natural gas for the month of December with our 95% efficiency furnace.
Good for budget, good for earth. Of course, I’ll be paying off the furnace/air conditioner/air filtration system for the next 5 years, but what the heck, huh…
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Have you created a "they" are the problem mentality?
In Tom Kelley’s book, “The Art of Innovation,” he writes,
ABOLISH “THEY”
One of the things that struck me the most about my first days at IDEO–other than the fact that I had no desk or office–was that try as I might, I couldn’t find a “they.” At my old job as a consultant at for a large international firm, there was always a spoken and unspoken “they.” If the coffeemaker was broken, “they” should fix it. If you were entangled in bureaucracy, “they” were the problem. “They” do not innovate. “They” leave less elbowroom for you and other individuals to solve problems from the ground up.
Technology has in some ways exacerbated this problem. I’m confounded at how many companies bring “they” in reach of your every keystroke. I think those large corporations who snoop on their workers’ e-mail are nuts–and not just for ethical reasons. If you practice monitoring or surveillance, your employees may end up being less productive and certainly less creative. But “they” companies can’t help themselves. They’re control freaks–even when they imagine they’re loosening they’re grip.
So who is the “they” in your team? Are you building trust or building a spirit of US VS. THEM?
I will admit it. I have always had an ego problem. Sometimes my head is too big to fit through the door. It has made me believe that I live in a Me Vs. Them world and workplace. I’m in a daily battle to believe and rely on my teams knowing we’re all in this together.
Kelley goes on to quote famous Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz:
“The team changes every year, but each team member’s three implicit questions for him remain the same: Do you care about me? Can I trust you? Are you committed to the success of the team?
Trust is essential. I have to know that you care about me, that you’ve got my back, and that you’re in it for the success of the team and not your own personal gain. When all team members share this spirit of trust, they’ll move faster and more effectively towards the team’s goals.
So, have you identified the “They” in your organization? How are you working to make “they” all about “us?”
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Allow your team to be Mischievous
There’s a great short post on the Signal vs. Noise blog this week about creating a culture of trust with your teams.
A lot of companies seek to control employees. They have handbooks and policies. They monitor emails. They make rules about what’s allowed and what’s forbidden.
But “control” is a tricky thing. The tighter the reins, the more you create an environment of distrust. An us vs. them mentality takes hold. And that’s when people start trying to game the system.
One thing that has been a continual learning process for me over the years has been to give up control to my teams. I generally know how I want to do things and I’ve always kept a tight reign on my teams to make sure things fall in line.
This type of control generally leads to
- me over-working myself
- my teams feeling un-empowered to serve
- a stifling of creativity
Over the last two years, I’ve been working to give up control to allow room for others to lead and for others to serve in freedom. I’ve been working to widen the boundaries and allow people to be mischievous. What I’ve gotten is
- teams that are more committed
- teams that do better work
- teams that feel empowered to be creative
- I also end up not feeling like I have to do everything.
It’s a win/win.
Even though I’m still the lone staff member over IT, Communications, Media and the Web and I have more teams that I’m responsible for, we’re actually producing more outcomes and I’m not feeling as stretched thin with church work as I used to.
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This Week in Prefab: Lam...
Posted by jeremyscheller on Jul 7, 2010
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Popping about.
Posted by jeremyscheller on Jun 29, 2010
Freebie Giveaway: “...
Posted by jeremyscheller on Jan 21, 2010
The Paradox of More.
Posted by jeremyscheller on Feb 25, 2010
- Ariah Fine on Popping about.
- Bruce on Living Off The Land: Foodie Week #2 (hard to call it Foodie week when it's now taken a month. Such is life as a dad, husband, entrepreneur, and employee. No more promises or schedules for this blogger.)
I use Mozy. U should 2.
READ THESE
