Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. – Psalm 139:13-16

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The wonder of birth

Pirate Video | Source unknown

I’ve been trying to develop a plan at our house for the past few years to simplify our media content and move to an entirely digital media library.

Ultimately, my dream solution would be a one stop storage device on our network that contains all our photos, music and video and is accessible on either TV in our house as well as on our mobile devices (laptops, tablets, phones etc.)

When Laurie and I first married we had over 100 DVDs and easily twice that many CDs.

We’ve since whittled that down to 30 or so DVDs and fewer CDs – selling most of them to a resell shop.

Along the way we’ve also moved away from buying more physical media content and renting any movies we want to see and buying digital music from iTunes and Amazon. It just doesn’t make sense anymore to keep buying movies we only watch a few times when it’s just as easy to rent the movies for a couple bucks a pop.

Over the last year or so we’ve also opted for renting the vast majority of movies from iTunes instead of running to our local RedBox.

With our new practices in place, we’ve realized a few annoying things related to movies. The movies play fine on our laptops but HD movies have always been blocked if we try to connect our laptops to our TVs via a VGA connection.

It’s been a super annoyance but we’ve stuck to renting standard definition movies and it’s been no big deal (neither of our laptops have standard HDMI outputs and we haven’t felt the need to invest in adapters).

A couple months ago, the new Apple TV was released and I went the same day and purchased one. The idea of wirelessly streaming media from our iPads, iPhones and laptops easily sealed the deal – also knowing I could bypass the HD issue and move our DVD player out and away from toddler hands was another big plus.

Unfortunately, a few hours in I realized the Apple TV wasn’t going to solve our problems. With our horrible Wifi modem (AT&T Uverse) none of the video content played without continually buffering. So despite my high hopes – I returned it.

Recently, I purchased an iPad to VGA adapter for a presentation I had at work. The adapter worked great. Plugged it into the iPad, connected to the projector and presto – my iPad was mirrored to the projector.

At home we played around with the adapter and iPad on our flat screen TV and it easily mirrored our photos, videos, games and several TV shows we had purchased from iTunes. It wasn’t wireless like the Apple TV – but not a bad solution.

Fast forward a week or so and we decided to rent another movie from iTunes. Knowing we had the VGA adapter – rather than pulling our our laptops and downloading the movie there – we simply downloaded the movie to one of our iPads (making sure we had the SD version to avoid trouble with the HD versions).

An hour or two later, the boys were in bed and we set down to watch our movie. With no luck!

Five seconds into the movie, the playback stops and we’re given a warning message that the movie will not play on the connected device.

Cannot Play Movie | Photo via iLounge

After a little digging I found this:

From http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4108

HDCP requirements
iTunes Store movies (SD and HD) and TV shows (HD) require an HDCP digital connection such as the one provided when using the Apple Digital AV Adapter and HDMI cable. If you attempt to play this content using a non-HDCP digital connection, such as the Apple VGA Adapter, an alert will appear to let you know that an HDCP-compatible device is required. To view iTunes Store content using a non-HDCP digital connection, do one of the following:

Sync the SD version of the TV show
Use an Apple Component AV cable to play the HD version at 480p
Use an Apple Composite AV cable to play the HD version at 480i
Attempting to play rental content on a device that requires an HDCP digital connection may start the rental timer. Use one of the recommended Apple AV cables to view your rental before the time limit expires.

So despite paying $30 for the VGA adapter and despite renting the movie legally from iTunes and despite renting the SD version… we’re out of luck when it comes to viewing this video on our flat screen TV – unless we want to pay $40 for an HDMI cable.

Many are blaming Apple for selling the VGA adapter in the first place but I think the bulk of the blame falls on the movie studios. They’re the ones who are pushing HDMI – not because of the higher resolution – but because it enables a higher level of digital protection of their content (HDCP).

HDCP is an Intel invention and manufacturers pay a licensing fee to Intel to use their technology. The technology is being used all over – including Blu-Ray players and digital satellite receivers.

The studio’s overreaching effort to protect their content started way back in 1980s with VCRs. It’s since moved into the digital realm with Protect IP and SOPA legislation and more.

The fact that they can’t seem to come up with a feasible solution for allowing the end user to watch their movies (or listen to their music) wherever they want, without jumping through major hoops is a HUGE problem and just another example of how they’re still don’t get it – and folks wanting to legally view their content are left banging our heads on the counter.

Additional thoughts: Read thoughts from iLounge

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iPad won’t play movies from iTunes with VGA adapter

Heads up! If you’re using WordPress Contact Form 7 plugin and Jetpack – the recent updates to JetPack may have messed up your contact forms.

I noticed this when I started seeing contact form submissions addressed to only me – and not me and the client.

Apparently the latest upgrade to the Jetpack plugin adds a new contact form feature to its already growing list of features. But in doing so, Jetpack is using the same shortcode contact-form as the Contact Form 7 shortcode.

So, needless to say, you may be run into some problems if you’ve haven’t already.

The fix is super easy (but a bit of an annoyance).

The fix

Be sure you have the latest version of Contact Form 7 and then simply go to your Contact Form 7 admin pages and copy the new shortcodes for each of your contact forms and paste them into your pages like before.

The new shortcodes should start with “contact-form-7”

Of course if you’re not that picky – you can just disable the Contact Form 7 plugin and stick with the new Jetpack version… but know that you’ll lose any of your customizations you may have previously made.

One of the nice things about the Jetpack plugin is the ability to create forms directly within your posts and page edit screens. There’s no need to edit the form and then copy and paste the shortcode into the chosen post. Also, the forms will be checked with Akismet’s spam filter so you’ll have an automatic spam filter built in.

Now that you know – will you continue using Contact Form 7 or make the switch to Jetpack’s contact form?

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Contact Form 7 not loading properly

Last year I shared a Facebook profile hack here on my blog.

Today I’ve updated the hack to work with Google+ (especially now that Facebook has shifted to their new timeline format so the Facebook hack doesn’t work anymore) and shared the updated instructions over at BigBible.org.uk.

You can download the zipped Photoshop Template here and get the instructions over at BigBible.org.uk.

Update: Google+ announced a totally new redesign this morning.

Surprisingly this hack still works – but it’s not a necessity as you can now use one long photo instead of multiple thumbnails.

So now that the redesign is live – what do you think about it? Like it? Love it? Hate change?

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Google+ Profile Hack (with Photoshop Template)

Congolese Refugees Western Uganda | Photo by TKnoxB http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkb/17063791/

So I’m a bit torn…

The a 30-minute video from Invisible Children started rapidly making it’s way around the web on Wednesday morning.

As of mid-Wednesday morning it had 6.8 million views on Vimeo and 4.2 million on YouTube. The latest stat I heard on Thursday is the video’s been viewed close to 40 million times now.

I think it’s safe to say “It’s gone viral.”

Immediately after I saw it, I shared it on each of my networks – and was prepared to share it here on my blog Monday morning (as an added reminded for folks to watch it if they haven’t already).

The video tells a horrible story. A story that has gripped me since I first heard about it in 2006.

A story that before Wednesday, many were still unaware of – and yet the instant you hear it, it’s almost impossible to not want to rise up and do something.

I was with several friends when I first heard of Joseph Koney in 2005/2006. We watched a full length documentary about the situation on their home movie projector.

I shared that film – Invisible Children: Rough Cut with numerous friends and had banners on my websites and links and information about the cause over the course of several years.

In April of 2006, my friend and I took part in the Global Night Commute, planning to walk 18.3 miles from my place in Waxahachie, to the nearest DART Rail Station (Ledbetter Station).

The Global Night Commute was organized by Invisible Children and was all about getting young people to show solidarity for the “night walkers” – children in Uganda who had to walk several miles from their villages to nearby cities each night, just to stay safe from the attacks by Joseph Kony and the LRA.

My friend and I figured that if these kids could walk several miles each night — the least we could do is walk 18 miles or so to a DART station. From there we would ride the train to meet up with other interested “activists” who would join us in spending the night outdoors, sleeping in a church’s parking lot and soccer field.

We took off around 8 in the morning and walked most of the day before I finally quit after 14.7 miles.

I was definitely gung-ho but a bit ill prepared (HINT: using powder to keep your shorts dry NOT a good idea when walking long distances – whatever I Googled was poorly informed.)

Since then I’ve continued to keep abreast of announcements and such from Invisible Children and have always tried to keep abreast of the issue as it’s come through other sources as well.

So the information shared in this new video this week wasn’t exactly new to me. I was already on board with the cause — stop the violence and help rescue the children.

And I’m certain most people who shared the video felt the same way.

Whether they were hearing it for the first time or the 200th time, they wanted to raise awareness of the issue and encourage those in power to do something.

However, the video brought with it an unexpected controversy.

Several bloggers posted the video on their blogs immediately after it was released and were quickly surprised by the backlash against it. At least a few bloggers pulled the video and related posts shortly afterwards to wait and research the issue.

Apparently the rest of the world didn’t hold Invisible Children (the organization) with the same high regard as I had.

Bloggers raised issues about fundraising, about where the money went, if Kony is even still a viable threat, etc. etc.

And my initial instinct was to come to their defense. My thought was, even if this organization wasn’t 100% perfect, they were obviously raising awareness about an issue that I was fairly passionate about.

But as I hear some of the responses to the video I fear the video could be doing as much harm as it is good.

You should all know by now that I’m never in favor of military action. I typically consider myself a pacifist (even if I’m a poor one).

For several years now I’ve argued against the idea that violence on any level should not beget any level of redemptive violence.

Military action and violence of any sort is the last thing I want to see take place.

(And as the CEO of Invisible Children has said, their goal has been and remains a peaceful solution to this issue).

However, if any video gives any impression that people should demand military action — I think we are headed in the wrong direction.

So now, 36 hours removed from the initial hype, I find myself asking these questions:

How can I criticize military action against any dictator, terrorist, murder or anyone else and still stand in support of a video that has led many to raise their voice in support of military action?

What does it say about me (or us), when a video can inspire us to demand our government to send military troops into another country?

Where does my faith lie if I’m thinking an arrest of Joseph Kony is the solution to the problem?

Am I truly being an Insurgent of Love while spreading these ideas?

What is the proper response when faced with situations like this? What if it were my neighbor? What if it were my family?

Is there really a Third Way or is action or inaction the only option?

Now, truth be told, I didn’t gather that the video was calling for “military action” or a bounty on Joseph Kony’s head. So, if you’re in that same boat — you’re not alone.

I felt like it was calling for the US Government to remain steadfast in their help of the Ugandan government (through advising and technical know-how) to hunt for Kony and to see him brought to trail before the International Court — but even that can bring up unwanted issues and solutions.

As Phil Wilmot shared on Facebook today:

KONY2012 also reveals a lack of sensitivity about how justice is understood in the non-Western world, particularly Northern Uganda where restorative practices like Maro Oput, Kayo Cuk, and Culo Kwor continue to be implemented, even for the most tragic crimes such as murder. Indeed, these traditional practices of paying restitution and healing a broken community are preferred to this day. The vast majority of Northern Ugandans categorically oppose US governmental interference, as well as the Western assumption that “an eye for an eye” is the only virtuous and practical way to justice. Simply look at American prisons and crime trends and you will see that the US has one of the worst justice systems of any nation on this globe. Why must we project our understanding of justice onto a region which, historically, has done much better without the influence of our worldviews?

That being said, regardless of what I saw, interpreted or understood, the video seems to have left others feeling differently.

One of the first rules of communication is that communication only happens when the same message is understood by both the sender and the receiver.

If the message I’ve shared is in anyway understood to promote militarism or additional violence on any level I’ve messed up. I’ve either lost my way or at the very least, miscommunicated.

And for that I apologize.

It appears that I may have given myself over to a single story.

Phil’s post helped remind me that there are alternatives. There are other ways.

There’s always a Third Way.

Just a few months ago, I shared with a church in Wolfe City the power of second chances and the power of forgiveness. I shared how the people in Rwanda have reconciled relationships that were torn apart by war. Friendships made between murderers and the victim’s families.

The power of love has done this — not a police force. Not a military advisory. Not a video calling for government intervention. The power of love did it.

In the midst of hurt, loss and pain we don’t always see these types of solutions — but they’re there.

Phil shares just a few ideas in his note:

Let us turn to the fundamental change-makers of this part of the world, people that toppled well-established regimes by planting trees (Wangari Maathai of Kenya). Let us practice the nonviolent tactics of the Liberian Women who effectively ended the second civil war in their nation. Let us look to the Ugandan NGOs, non-profits, churches, and activist groups such as Action for Change, Alternative to Violence-Centered Organization for Humanity, Refugee Law Project, and The Campus Journal that have put the most risky and powerful foot forward in the pursuit of justice. Our global class privilege and power is silencing the efforts of agencies which actually understand the complicated mess that we have reduced to a single soundbite: “Let’s get Kony.”

So where does that leave me, as an American? It’s an important question. Kony is a tiny branch on an infested tree, but we are at the root. We taxpayers are funding violence and terror (In Uganda, yes, but also across the globe). Our consumption patterns enable rebel forces to do what they do in sub-Saharan Africa. Let us begin with ourselves. Find a socially and environmentally just electronics company when you make your next purchase, or simply don’t make a next purchase. What makes us so entitled that we believe we don’t have to sacrifice something or undergo difficult transformation for these systems of ongoing oppression to change? The blood is on my own hands, and that is where I begin.

Ten to 15 years from now, I hope my boys are going to school and learning about this situation from the viewpoint of history — not as an issue that continues to plague our world.

And as we all look back on it then, I pray that we can say the world did move. The world did take action in 2012.

But not through violence or military action — but through non-violent tactics that brought about change and repentance for all.

Let us be the Insurgency of Love. Let us live the love that we claim to hold deep within us.

Let us seek alternative measures that don’t insight further violence and don’t ignore our own guilt in the violence that has already taken place.

And in the process – may we truly be known as People of The Way.

–

A few additional links that have been helpful as I’ve processed these ideas:

An email from Dr Adam Branch (HT Ashley Stroud Phillips)

Musa Okwonga’s blog in the Independent (HT Greg Russinger)

Emmanuel’s story from POTSC:

As We Forgive

responding to “kony2012″ – joseph kony’s actions are bad, yes. however joseph kony is still a human being–created in the imago dei–whose life is still a life and still has value.

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KONY 2012 and the Insurgency of Love

Laurie and Jonathan Blundell | Photo by @easttexasphoto

For My Life –

My heart is yours. I love you!

(You can download this track and others from JJ Heller from Amazon.com)

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We belong together…

Today is Five-Minute Friday, in which The Gypsy Mama gives a writing prompt and bloggers write for the love of writing for five minutes. Then hit publish. Just write. Today’s prompt is “tender.”

“STOP!” I yelled across the room.

IDiddy just looked at me and smiled.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

His brother looked at me as well. Not only did I get IDiddy’s attention but now HDiddy was interested in playing along as well.

IDiddy went right back to trying to squeeze behind the TV stand.

There’s just something about small places that attract little boys. There’s always something interesting or exciting about them.

I started my three count.

“IDiddy. One!”

He looked at me and started to back away.

Now his brother had made his way to the other side of the TV stand and was trying to squeeze himself behind the stand.

“IDiddy…. TWO!”

He smiled. Wondering whether or not to test my patience again.

I glanced over at HDiddy and saw he was reaching for the long TV cables now.

“HDiddy! ONE!”

HDiddy is a little more responsive to “the count” and backed out from the tight spot.

IDiddy… not so much.

“IDiddy! Last chance.”

He smiled.

“IDiddy. Three!”

I walked over and picked him up.

“Time out for one minute,” I said forcefully as I sat him down in my lap.

I began to count down one minute of time as IDiddy watched his brother starting back behind the TV.

Before long, HDiddy joined me in my lap as well.

This continues several times over the next 15 minutes or so.

The boys squeeze behind the stand. I begin the count. We all sit in timeout together.

After the third or fourth time I let them out of my lap and lead them outside where we run and toss a ball together.

Soon their mind is all wrapped up in the excitement of playing outdoors with their dad and the TV stand is forgotten about until another time and place.

Forcing my boys to stop their activity doesn’t play out so well, but lovingly guiding them in another direction does so much more.

If only I remembered this trick in the beginning.

“…God’s (tender) kindness is meant to lead you to repentance…” Romans 2:4

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Tender

Me and my boys | Photo by Don Johnson @easttexasphoto

On Jan. 29th, our family will be taking part in a “baby dedication” within our faith community.

(I use quotation marks because our boys aren’t exactly babies anymore – they’ll be 15 months old on Jan 21.)

This isn’t an infant baptism or similar ceremony as some might be accustomed to, but it’s more of a commitment celebration for us as parents and our larger community to say that we will commit to fight for our children and work to teach them and lead them in the way of Christ.

As part of the lead-up to this celebration and commitment, we were asked to write a description of the type of person we hope our children will be in the next 18 years. I’ve written some of this before on my own, but I want to share this list as well.

And while both boys will definitely have their own unique personalities and strengths and weaknesses, I pray that this list will come true for both of them — as well as any children we might have in the future…

• Christ follower
• Loving
• Grace-filled
• Compassionate
• Forgiver
• Fighter for justice
• Strong servant leader
• Patient
• Thankful
• Focused on others over self

And our prayer for our boys is this passage from Colossians 3…

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ – the Message – have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives-words, actions, whatever-be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

I pray that as a father, I will lead my boys to live these traits out through my own example — first and foremost. May they always have a living example of what these characteristics look like in me.

What dreams and hopes do you have for your children?

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Our prayer for our boys

Today is Five-Minute Friday, in which The Gypsy Mama gives a writing prompt and bloggers write for the love of writing for five minutes. Then hit publish. Just write. Today’s prompt is “awake.”

It was 4:54 am.

I know – because I checked.

I was awoken by a dream, or maybe it was just my internal clock setting in to my new goals for myself.

Early to rise has never been my montra but I decided last month that if I was going to get at least semi-serious about getting healthy, the early mornings might be my only time to get active.

As I looked at the alarm clock across the room, my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“Mmmm these blankets are so warm. And it’s so cold out there.”

I rolled over and lulled myself back to sleep in a moment.

Six-minutes later my alarm sounded.

I rolled out of bed and stretched to reach my alarm clock (aka iPhone) in the nearby corner.

I’ve had to move my phone further and further away to get away from hitting the snooze and climbing back under the covers.

I stumbled to the bathroom where I very slowly went through the motions of getting ready for my morning walk.

I checked the outside temperature – 28 degrees.

“Yup! It’s gonna be a cold one,” I thought.

I pulled on my clothes, laced my shoes, stuck my earbuds in my ear and 30 minutes after my alarm sounded, I headed to the front door.

I was still in that early morning haze as I started to walk around the block.

But as the music pumped through my ears and ultimately through every part of my body, the adrenaline began.

The drums hitting, the bass slapping — and 15 minutes in I was awake.

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Awake

Today is Five-Minute Friday, in which The Gypsy Mama gives a writing prompt and bloggers write for the love of writing for five minutes. Then hit publish. Just write. Today’s prompt is “roar.”

I kinda cheated… I ended up getting going and wrote for closer to 10 minutes.

There once was a young lion cub, whose name was James Christopher IV.

He was a brave and curious lion cub.

While other lions tended to stay close to the pack, James Christover IV would sneak away to explore all the world around him.

He would pick up rocks to uncover all sorts of amazing animals and plants.

He would climb boulders to see the world far beyond his tiny jungle.

He would swim the cool river and watch in amazement as the fish swam alongside him.

But James Christopher IV was also a compassionate lion.

And while other lion cubs would chase down their prey and terrorize those meeker than them, James Christopher IV was content to play in the tall grass and become friends with all creatures big and small.

As he and his friends grew, the other lion cubs began to grow long manes of hair and their meek purring became fierce roars…

But James Christopher IV’s roar never came.

Try as he might, the roar was not there.

He’d clear his throat, cough, and push his voice as hard as he could, but no roar would come.

His friends teased him about his meek pur while the rest of them paraded around with their ferocious roars.

But then one day, as James Christopher IV was walking through the jungle he saw two of his friends circling a young giraffe.

They poked at the giraffe and called him names.

They laughed as each roar they sounded would scare the giraffe into a cower.

As James Christopher IV saw this teasing and taunting he felt something building up inside of him.

He was a feeling he had never felt before.

It was a fire coming from deep inside his chest.

And without warning, James Christopher IV roared like no lion had roared before.

The ground shook around them. The leaves fell from the trees and the birds that had been singing in the distance stopped in awe of the sound.

The other two lions stopped in their track and lowered their heads in fear.

James Christopher IV looked at his fellow lions and began to speak in a voice deeper than he’d ever heard before.

“Leave him alone,” James Christopher IV said sternly. “Move along and let me never see you taunting or teasing anyone again.”

The lions backed away from the giraffe and left the clearing quietly.

James Christopher IV walked to the giraffe and asked if he was OK.

“I am,” the giraffe replied. “And thank you.”

James Christopher IV bowed his head towards the giraffe.

“I bid you good day,” James Christopher IV said as he began to walk away.

When he arrived back to his pack, all the lion cubs and lions were already talking about James Christopher IV’s tremendous roar.

James Christopher IV’s father walked towards him and patted him on his head.

“Son,” he said. “I think we’ve finally found your voice. Remember how you found it and always be true to your calling.”

From that day on, James Christopher IV rarely raised his voice to a roar — but when he did, the entire jungle knew he was sounding the alarm for justice.

Thanks to Joy Bennett for tuning me into this project. You can listen to her story on this week’s podcast and read her submission on her blog.

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James Christopher IV