I have a confession to make. My life is out of control. OK, that may be a little dramatic, but over the last 6 months I’ve allowed myself to become more and more disorganized. A lot of it has to do with the number of projects and things I’ve needed to get done have increased, and my organizational system hasn’t scaled to the new amount of tasks.

There are those that tell me I need to start using a GTD system, but to be honest those systems seem like they would be too much work to keep going. I see the need for something more than just keeping a list in my moleskin notebook. I’ve looked at a number of different software packages and web tools, but this is what I’ve narrowed my search down to:

1. Entourage
Entourage is what I use for email. It has a task list that can be tied to me email and calendar.  It’s already in my work flow and I’m very familiar with it.  It’s not perfect, but ramp up time would be small.

• Pro: tied to my work email and calendar, everything in one place, little setup time
• Con: doesn’t sync to my phone, have to be at my computer to update the list or check things off, can’t share it

2. Backpack from 39signals
Backpack is an online tool for creating simple pages that can include to [...]

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Josh, over at MoreThanDodgeBall.com had a great basic rundown on video editing software.

iLife ’09 ($59 or free with a new Mac)
Mac only … and super easy to use. While it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of higher end software, it can get a decent movie made in with a short learning curve. Good for beginners and Mac enthusiasts. B

Final Cut Express 4 ($150)
Also Mac only … and easily the best of the bunch – but it’ll take you a while to even figure it out, much less master it. This is the software the big boys use, and it is ultra powerful – higher versions of the suite can go for up to $999. You can pretty much produce feature quality shots and effects with this guy. If you take the time to learn it, you’ll make great videos – this is what several people on our team use regularly and the bar to shoot for. A

Sony Movie Studio HD ($75)
This is the program I use personally – it is an awesome PC application that chews through HD footage no problem. The price is right and the performance is incredible. You can make slide shows in seconds, drop [...]

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I just wanted to point out a great bundle that’s available over on SimplyYouthMinistry.com right now:
Books Your Students Will Actually Read Bundle.  It’s a great collection of books for students at a really low price: $25.

Here’s what’s included:

• One Minute Bible for Students
  The One Minute Bible for Students won’t replace your Bible. It will inspire you to take side trips into your Bible to see what came before and what comes after the passage you just read. These bite-size servings of Scripture are sure to increase your appetite for God’s Word.
• Stripped Clean
  Give your teenagers a guilt-free, up-close look at materialism–one that strips away the overwhelming messages of a consumer society. You’ll see authentic changes in readers as they tear out pages to use in Jesus-centered activities.
• 10 Minute Moments – God’s Story
  Each edition works like a daily journal with 31 relevant devotionals that only take about 10 minutes to complete. Students will read a Bible passage, get some questions to chew on, some suggestions to help them pray, and then space to reflect. It’s easy to read and easy to stick with. This edition is focused on God’s story—who He is, what He has done for us, and how we can live a life that brings Him glory. It’s got great lessons for new Christians as well as [...]

  Continue Reading “Books That Your Students Will Want to Read”

I finally received my invite from Google for the Google Voice service, and like a huge retreat coming down to the wire, it is getting me excited and frustrated all at the same time.

The exciting part revolves around the concept that you can have one local phone number that forwards to other numbers based on who is calling and will text message you a “preview” of the content of the voicemail that is left if no one answers.

I think that the texting feature is by far the most interesting. When I tested it, it did not do perfectly, but got the job done. I left the message: “Hi, this is a test message testing the text feature on the google voice service. I received back via text message, “hi this is a test message testing the text to make sure on the google voice servers.” Pretty good, and I didn’t have to click through and listen to find out what the person wanted.

The other great feature is the one that has gotten a bit frustrating in the initial setup.  The basic idea is that you can set up several forwarding phone numbers (home, cell, office, your senior pastor’s direct line… whatever), and google will ring one or more of them depending on the assigned group of the person who is calling.  Sounds easy, and it probably is if you have already been using google contacts as [...]

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Working on some new stuff, but in the mean time enjoy this awesome video. I love these guys.

I love my iPhone, it’s a great tool.  Often times it feels like more than a phone, but a small computer.  One thing that has held it back from really being a netbook competitor for me is the lack of document support.  Sure you can view certain documents if they have been emailed to you, but just created or accessing document hasn’t been easy.  Enter Documents to Go.  This great piece of software not only allows you to view and edit word documents sent to you, but you can also create word documents.  Support for editing Excel docs is coming soon.  Now you can work on all those youth talks on the go.

It comes it two versions one that syncs with Microsoft Exchange and one that doesn’t.  If you don’t have an exchange server at the office, or don’t want direct access to your email attachments through exchange go for the cheaper non-exchange version.  If you have an exchange server I think it’s worth the extra to get the Exchange integration.

Exchange version:

Non-Exchange Version:

I saw this from a number of twitter folks today (@jimclark I think you were the first), but the site ChristianAudio.com is giving away the Fancis Chan audio book “Crazy Love“.  I read it, and it’s great.  I can’t wait to listen to it as well.  Here’s a quote:

“Sometimes I feel like when I make decisions that are remotely biblical, people who call themselves Christians are the first to criticize and say I’m crazy, that I’m taking the Bible too literally, or that I’m not thinking about my family’s well-being. . . When people gladly sacrifice their time or comfort or home, it is obvious that they trust in the promises of God. Why is it that the story of someone who has actually done what Jesus commands resonates deeply with us, but we then assume we could never do anything so radical or intense? Or why do we call it radical when, to Jesus, it is simply the way it is? The way it should be?”

It looks like it will be available all month.

Link: ChristianAudio.com Free Download

I don’t know about you, but I love gadgets.  And a great new site launched this week just for all of us who share that love of shiny, electronic toys.  It’s from Peter Rojas and Ryan Block, two of the masterminds behind engadget and gizmodo, so they know something about gadgets.  It’s called Gdgt.com (it’s pronounced g-d-g-t), and it’s setup as community site for people to share about their gadgets or research about new ones.

Here’s a video they put together to help explain the site:

So, what is gdgt? from gdgt on Vimeo.

This may not be a place to read about news (although they had a pretty good news feed) , but it’s a great place to read about what others experiences have been.  And if you really want the news, they have a great podcast also that I really enjoy.  It’s worth checking out (click the iTunes link to visit):  .

I got a question the other day about how to live stream an event.  This person had a great idea, they wanted to live stream some of the chapel times at camp for the parents back home so they could feel a part of what was going on.  I thought it was a great application for this technology.  A few years ago offering a stream of a live event on the Internet would have cost a small fortune and required a truck load of equipment.  Today it’s surprisingly easy and inexpensive.  Here’s a quick tutorial of how to do it.

Equipment you’ll need: A computer (preferably a laptop if you’re on the road), internet connection, video camera

Optional: Microphone (although this really shouldn’t be)

How to do it:

1. You’ll need an account at one of the streaming services.  They are a bunch of them, and most of them offer a free level that ad supported.  I use Ustream.tv, and have been really happy with it.  I use it to stream the Simply Youth Ministry Podcast and have also used it to stream sessions at the National Youth Ministry Conference.  There’s newer service called, LiveStream.com that looks really good also that I’ve been tempted to try out.  Stickam.com is another option for you.
2. Once you have you’re account setup, plug in your camera.  This might be a simple as a webcam [...]

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This is not the first time we have talked about this subject.  Brandon wrote an excellent article on it.  There are several tools, but none quite as easy as pwnyoutube.com.  It does not require you to download any software or even copy a url.  Simply add “pwn” before “youtube.com” in the url of the youtube video you are viewing and that takes you to a pwnyoutube site where you can right click and “save target as” for the .flv file and even the higher quality .mp4 file where available.

If you are looking for a good video illustration to use in an upcoming talk, try this blast from the past:

Consume Me (DC Talk)