Six-Pack (55)

Welcome to the latest Six-Pack! I am so grateful for every reader who stops by to check out the latest assortment of “best links”.

As regular readers already know, these pieces are generally centered on faith or ministry, though we leave sufficient license to include who-knows-what as we discover it!

If six ever feels overwhelming, start with my two *Picks of the Week*, and move out from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) New Life after the Fall of Ted Haggard (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Seven years ago, one of America’s best-known pastors crashed in a blaze of drug and sex scandal. What does a church look like after such a disaster? One looks like this.

2) Ted Haggard on How Not to Repent
While we’re discussing Ted Haggard, David Murray makes these observations about what true repentance looks like.

3) Advent and Shepherd Leadership
For Missio Alliance, Karen Wilk offers this thoughtful piece that begins with the Magi of the Christmas story and ends with some great prompts for those in leadership positions.

4) The Most Important Commandment in the Old Testament is Not What You Think (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Citing a teaching from Walter Brueggemann, Hacking Christianity offers this fascinating reflection on Old Testament law.

5) God, The Bad, and The Ugly
Bethel Church in Redding, CA, is the scene of what are some are calling an all-out revival. Some are swept up in the claims of what God is doing there. Some are skeptical of the place. Others just love the music they’re producing. Kris Vallotton, one of their pastors, wrote this piece about how they seek to respond to the criticism they receive from other Christians.

6) The Science of Posture
Buffer, who make a great Twitter-related app, offered this recent post on how far-reaching the benefits of good posture might actually reach. Straighten up, my friends!

May your week ahead be filled with life, as you seek the One from whom it flows!

leaveacommentYOUR TURN: Your input makes this post better!

  • Which link above was today’s best-of-the-best?
  • Why that one?

Direct others to the best of the bunch with a quick comment.

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Top Five Use-Everyday iPhone Apps

In my last post, I expressed my affection for my new iPhone.

Today I want to share five apps that I use every single day.  As far as this user is concerned, these are must-haves.

1) Things
This is the Cadillac of my app collection, costing me a whopping $10. That value, however, has been quickly returned.  Things, slick to operate and a pleasure to use, serves me multiple times per day as my daytimer, to-do list, project planner, and general note-taker.  It lends itself particularly well to anyone attempting to implement “Getting Things Done” order into their lives, though it is easily accessible for anyone unfamiliar with that particular system.

2) Evernote
This may be the most valuable, free app available anywhere.  As a note-taking and organizing system,  Evernote comes with nearly infinite possibilities.  If you have any need for “catching” information, sources, ideas from the vast flow of ideas that most of us live within, then Evernote is your tool.  Upon starting an account, one can feel overwhelmed at where to even begin.  But there are numerous great blogs on how to effectively use Evernote.  Several bouts of late-night reading have helped me hone my system to something quite usable.  As starting points of learning, you might be served well HERE or HERE or HERE.  As well, Evernote runs a blog that often contains helpful bits on how to best use their program.  If you want a steady stream of Evernote tidbits, follow @michaelhyatt on Twitter.  He’s been a great source in trying to craft a fruitful Evernote system.

The thing that truly sets Evernote apart is its search capabilities.  It’s one thing to have a giant bucket to collect things in; it is quite another to have the ability to locate a given “piece” with nothing more than a keyword or two.  Evernote provides this cataloging ability.  I’ve had Evernote on my computer for nearly a year, but teamed up with the iPhone’s camera and dictation capabilities, the chore of inputting such data, the essential first step to any collection system, just became a lot more fun and a lot more simple.

Evernote is quite simply one of the very best apps out there.  If you’re not already using it, you might be soon!

3) Twitter
I don’t know why, but I think keeping up on Twitter is just more fun on my iPhone than it ever was on my computer.  For that reason alone, this app gets frequent use.  In my exploration of the app world, I have researched a number of alternative options to the comes-with-the-phone Twitter app.  While intrigued by a few of them, I have yet to pull any triggers on paid apps.  If anyone out there has opinions on superior apps to Twitter’s own, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

4) Buffer
Speaking of Twitter, this freebie can significantly enhance the tweeting experience. It allows you to schedule your tweets throughout the day, in an effort to avoid flooding your followers or to maximize prime times within your Twitter universe. There are limitations on what Buffer‘s free service can provide, so diehard tweeters may wish to explore the paid options.  But for some, myself included at the moment, this app is pretty sweet.  If you sensed a tone of hesitation in my previous sentence, it is because I am still exploring for any superior alternatives to Buffer, specifically more flexibility in number of tweet “slots” each day AND more freedom on the time selection process.

5) AppAdvice
When I first got my iPhone, I flipped through several months worth of MacWorld back issues at the library.  Much of that was in the quest to read app reviews and locate those that might be most useful to me.  For a couple bucks, I now have just such a resource, updated frequently, on my phone with me.  AppAdvice is a joy to the geek within me.  Some of you may wish to buy a coffee with your toonie, but me, I’ve got AppAdvice–a bargain for any app-freak.

What apps do you use everyday? 

Please add to my list by commenting below.  I’d love to learn more.