Category: reflections

new techie goals

I’m working on a new Intranet site for work today. Last week I was working on new WordPress themes for a possible encounter website redesign (you may have seen them on my Flickr stream).
While working on the Intranet site I’m using CasadeBlundell.com for “filler text” and it got me thinking about redesigning that site as well. It’s gotten a little stagnant.
All of this led me to think about a few goals/challenges I’d like to figure out/complete before to long (some of them are personal, others are work related).

  • Finish a redesign of the encounter website
  • Redesign CasadeBlundell.com
  • Redesign our departmental Intranet site
  • Find out how to combine multiple RSS feeds into one – hopefully without using third party software. I’d love to be able to let people subscribe to one RSS feed and get the latest from my twitter feed, Flickr feed and of course my SSL feed. I’d eventually love to have an option to combine all my RSS feeds with Laurie’s RSS feeds as well so people can truly stay up to date with what’s going on.
  • Get a better grasp/understanding of CSS – this is coming slowly as I build these other sites
  • Learn PHP language – coming along even slower

I think those are the main ones for now – but who knows I may think of several more on the way home – you can check my Twitter feed for updates on the way home 😉

love is not against the law

I met with a couple good friends last night and discussed a few things that had been troubling them lately. I was reminded of Ephesians 5:15-21 as well as this song while we talked. It’s so hard to live though…

politics or love
can make you blind or make you see
make you a slave or make you free
but only one does it all

and itÂ’s giving up your life
for the ones you hate the most
itÂ’s giving them your gown
when theyÂ’’ve taken your clothes

itÂ’s learning to admit
when youÂ’’ve had a hand in setting them up
in knocking them down

love is not against the law
love is not against the law

are we defending life
when we just pick and choose
lives acceptable to lose
and which ones to defend

‘cause you cannot choose your friends
but you choose your enemies
and what if they were one
one and the same

could you find a way
to love them both the same
to give them your name
– Derek Webb

When people yell at me or make me upset, wherever it might be my first instinct is never to love. But somehow we’re supposed to live a life of love and submission. No matter who it is, what they do or how it may affect us. Ouch.

Goals for 2008

Resolutions/goals/hopes… call them what you will. Some people run from them, other’s joke around with them and others take them as a life or death matter.
I guess I’m probably somewhere in the middle. I like setting goals – especially when I can look back and say I met them. I didn’t do so well in 2007 – but I don’t think it was anything to be ashamed of. I hoped to read 30 books and lose 30 lbs in 2007. I read 11 (updated from earlier posts) and lost between 10 and 15 lbs – depending on the day.
I think I like setting New Years Goals because it gives me a target to shoot for during the year. Gives me a reason to do the things I do.
So here are my goals/resolutions/hopes for 2008 :

  • Finish losing weight. My goal weight is 205. I’ve got about 20 more lbs to go.
  • Read 15 books. I think I can achieve that this year.
  • See 8 new community groups started at encounter.
  • Get 4 new people on the sound or media shout rotation at encounter.
  • Finish rebuilding a new encounter website.
  • Rebuild the CasadeBlundell.com website.
  • Take a photo a day – of me. I took this idea from Laurie who wants to take at least one photo everyday. Thought I’d be a little more specific and take one of me – should make an interesting flashback at the end of 2008.

Laurie and I made a couple resolutions between the two of us but we’ll keep those under the chuppah for now.

What about you? Got any great goals for 2008?

BTW – 25% of those polled were certain Jesus would return in 2007. Wonder how that turned out? 🙂

Update: Somewhat of a personal challenge as well, from Mark Batterson’s Chase the Lion:

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

2007 by the numbers

Here’s a look at 2007 by the numbers (see how it compares to 2006):

States visited: 3 or 4
Airports I’ve been in or landed at: 3
Hotels stayed in: 3 or 4
Nights I spent camping: 0
Celebrities I met: 0
Times my transmission was rebuilt: 2
Vehicles purchased: 1
Truck payments made: 1
Times I moved: 2
Cities I’ve lived in: 2
Homes purchased: 1
Mortgage payments made: 2
Jobs: 3
Months worked at The Daily Light: 2
Months worked for Ellis County: 9
Months worked for Dallas Community College District: 1
Softball teams I played on: 1 (2 seasons)
Books read: 10 11
Pounds I lost: 10-15 (depending on the day)
Pictures posted on Flickr: 1,192
Total number of pictures on Flickr: 2,519
Times those pictures were viewed: 14,915
Videos produced for church: 12
Videos added to YouTube: 24
Friends on MySpace: 287
Current total number of posts to my personal blog: 3,183
Blog posts written this year: 1,268
Recorded visits to my personal blog (total) : 25,010
Blogs currently subscribed to: 366
Articles on my family tree Wiki: 115
People in my Geni.com family tree: 650
Blood relatives in my Geni.com family tree: 385
U.S. Presidents found in my family tree: 1
After Hours Improv shows attended: 9
Days I’ve been married: 8 months and 3 days
Days I’ve been happily married: 8 months and 3 days
Lifelong memories made with friends and family: countless

Tell Her So

My Aunt Joyce found this in some notes of my grandmother and great-grandmother.
I’m not sure if it was written by my great-grandmother or she copied it from somewhere – either way it’s worth remembering.
It was sent via e-mail as it was written (hope I got the line breaks correct):

”Tell Her So”

Amid the cares of married life
in spite of toil or business strive
if you value your sweet wife
tell her so

When days dark and very blue
she has her troubles same as you
show her that your love is true
tell her so

you love for her is no mistake
you feel it dreaming or awake
don’t conceal it
for her sake tell her so.

Never let her heart grow cold.
Richer beautys will unfold.
she is worth her weight in Gold
tell her so.

– found in notes of Marie L. Scherbarth
date/author unknown

I LOVE YOU LAURIE! Thank you for being my bride, my life, my joy and inspiration. Can’t wait to experience the rest of my life with you!