Sweet Storage

I have a problem. I want to use and access some of my files from home, work, and on the go...specifically our budget. You see, Alison created a wonderful Excel budget file, but I can't see it at work. Sure, I could FTP it every time we edit it, but how fun would that be?

Step in Drop Box. You install a small file on your computer and Drop Box provides you with a folder you can put anywhere you'd like on your computer. Then you drag files you want to sync into that folder. Drop Box keeps the latest copy of that file and anytime it gets updated, Drop Box updates all your computers with the new copy. Bam!

Now I've got my budget at home, work, and on the road! (oh yeah, you can view the files from any web browser too)!

The best part is that you get 2GB of storage for free!

Read more about it here from Lifehacker.

Black Friday

I have stayed as far away from Black Friday as possible—until yesterday that is. You see, yesterday, Office Depot had a great sale on a laptop.

My first experience purchasing a laptop (5 yrs. ago) ended in credit card debt, many interest payments, and when the laptop broke, I returned it using the cash to pay off the credit card. All in all, I leased a laptop for one year. No fun.

This time was different. Actually paying for something outright is a much different feeling. Thanks Dave Ramsey, and oh the wisdom of Proverbs.

Getting the laptop did mean some sacrifice however, like waking up at 4:30am. I was 25th in line...not as up front as I would like to have been, but 100 people showed up between my arrival and the store's 6am open time. Yikes! I did however get a jump start on a John Grisham novel while standing out in the cold.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope all who read enjoy their Thanksgiving and remember how MUCH we have to be thankful for.

I found this video from Sandy Hughes. It will brighten up your day a bit!

Friday Thoughts

I take a break from the list of errands for a random posting of thoughts from today:

• New tires aren't cheap!
• I'd love to be in Nashville for the National Youth Workers Convention right now. They even have a "Live Blog" where you can view 5 youth workers blogging their thoughts as the convention roles on! Check it out!
• If you want to hear some serious preaching, check out the Cornerstone Community Church podcast (find it in iTunes) from Francis Chan in Simi Valley, CA. Brian and I saw him at the convention last year.
• In listening to the podcast, Francis spoke from 2 Timothy 3 about the last days...and that people would be lovers of self of which he said is the sewer pipe that the rest of the junk comes down. (the love of money, boastfulness, pride, etc...) The quote that made me think the most...and probably the most convicting was

  We will get to a point where we are more concerned about our standard of living than we are about other human beings actually living.

  Check out his series on The End Of The World for more...it's not your typical end times message!
• Speaking of standard of living...I'm enjoying the iPhone 2.2 software update. It's pretty cool directly downloading podcasts and then just listen away. No more syncing!

Well, so far that's my Friday...more errands next and some website work for Dennis the Dentist! If you're in Tigard, Sherwood, Newberg area and are looking for a dentist...check him out!

Encouragement from iTunes

I'm sitting here working while listening to Starfield...my favorite NYWC conference worship band this year, and can't get the song Remain out of my head. The chorus rings so true in trials and when it seems like everything in life is changing all at once.

You are God with us
You're victorious
You are strong and mighty to save
For Your word stands true
There is none like you
And when all else fades, You remain

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Weekend Update

This weekend was phenomenal! We took our High School group paintballing in central Oregon. The terrain was incredible, and the paint...fast. It was my first experience getting shot with the paintball gun, and I must do it again.