I received a call today from ACS Technologies, and while the intel wasn’t right, I really wanted to take a moment to brag on the company.

The representative from ACS identified herself, and proceeded to say that “we understand that there may have been a fire at your building today.”  They weren’t far off as we are very close to First Baptist of Temple.

The purpose of her call was to offer any assistance they could provide to help us get back on our feet.

I was so impressed by this proactive stance, that I wanted to write about it.  They had such a high level of concern for our ministry and our relationship that they didn’t wait for us to seek their help.  Does that happen anymore?

Please do pray for First Baptist Church of Temple, Texas.

You may remember my success story from the first CITRT competition.  I lost a total of 85 pounds in those competitions.  Well, for whatever reason, I have since gained 50 of those pounds back.  Here’s the deal – I know how to lose it, I know I can lose it, and I know I feel better with it gone.

I’m hoping this friendly challenge between friends motivates me to get my head back in the game and make better choices with food and leisure activity.

Unfortunately, I might have already spent more money on exercise equipment than the value of the prize money.

I am asking you to please send a generous gift today to help precious children and their families, and to encourage others to give toward the rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

The people of Haiti desperately need our help and hope. Compassion International is working rapidly to assess the situation and determine the full extent of damage:

• Sadly, many deaths are anticipated.
• Thousands of children and families will have lost everything.
• Many of Compassion’s church-based child development centers will have been destroyed.

Without a doubt, the children served in Haiti are in shock and face immediate needs for food, water, medical care, shelter and counseling. Teams are prepared to respond, and Compassion is deeply committed to helping each child. Please reach out in the name of Jesus to bring relief, comfort, love and restoration to precious children and families whose lives have been devastated by this crisis.

Whether you donate to Compassion or another reputable organization, I simply ask that you give. If you do give through Compassion for Haiti relief, here’s what your money can do:

• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.

Give Now

I was reading 2 Corinthians 10:10 today: “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” That text triggered this thought: some of us are very different people “in person” than we are “behind the computer.” And I don’t think that is healthy or holy.

I’m not just talking about bloggers who write irresponsibly about that which they do not know. I think it’s easier to slander someone or spread gossip from the comfortable confines of your computer. Somehow the medium excuses the sin. It doesn’t. All it does is a keep a written record of what you’ve done wrong. I’m not trying to get on a soapbox. I just think communication mediums can be used for good or evil. They can help us grow spiritually or become a spiritual snare.

To redeem an old saying: be careful little thumbs what you text. That goes for blogging, twittering, and emailing too! Keep it righteous! After all, God is blind copied (BCC) on everything we write!

I was convicted by this because I have been guilty of it a time or two.  I wrote a post here one time about a trusted company, and I’ll admit that I wrote it partly out of anger.  One of their people did something they shouldn’t have, and I wanted to show the world, but I would have never done that in person.  In all actuality, I should have practiced a little Matthew 18:15. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize and seek forgiveness.  I don’t want to be that guy.

Disciple Now Weekend starts tomorrow night, January 8 at our church. We’ve got exactly a hundred teens signed up, and dozens of adults are helping to make this a success. Please be in prayer for our teenagers as they learn to live lives unleashed for the Gospel.

Tonight, I stayed late at the office to finish up the video for Host Home Idol, a fun way to kick off the weekend. These are the people who are hosting our teens in their homes.

Enjoy the video!

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.

It’s a fitting hobby for a guy who likes to push buttons.  I’ll try not to turn my blog into a geocache travel journal, but I can’t promise you won’t hear about it again.

What about you? Are you into geocaching?  Friend me! I’m mattymattmatt. What’s the coolest cache you’ve visted? If I’m in your neck of the woods, I’d love to check it out.

(Pictured is a bridge seen from our hunt today.  I thought it was interesting that they built the new TX-36 bridge on top of the old one, without bothering to tear down the old one.)

Click to biggie size

I love Chinese to English translations on products!  I find them so amusing.  A friend of mine gave me a couple of cable testers today, and I had to share the instruction sheet with you.

What’s your favorite line?  My favorite is “do not change it on your mind.”  What? Huh? I also like “method to chang cell.”

Bill Moyer presented a leadership lesson today, and I have to admit that  I wasn’t expecting much.  I have this horrible preconceived notion that if the speaker is a local they probably aren’t much of an expert. (Yes, I know that all experts are local to some place) I am so glad that I was wrong about Bill.  He knows his stuff and he seems to be the type that seeks continuous improvement.

In any case, he said something today that rocked my world.  Speaking to sales people, Bill said, “If you can’t ask people to buy it, you don’t believe they should have it.”

I realize that he didn’t explicitly mean to hit a nerve there, but he did.  When is the last time that I told someone about Jesus in a direct way?  What about you?  What about 97% of us?

With only a slight stretch of his intent, I think it’s applicable for us… if we can’t tell people about Jesus, we don’t believe they should know Him.  Thoughts?

I’ve executed a contract on a house (my first), and I’m quickly learning the lingo and practices of Realtors, mortgage brokers, inspectors, and lenders.  I’ve learned the meaning of heat pumps, French drains, escrow, and closing costs.  I’ve learned that about 20 different people want to earn money off of your transaction.  I’ve learned what buying points mean and what commission Realtors receive.

The world of real estate is strange and peculiar to this IT guy, but I’m excited about the possibility of getting a house.  I had it inspected today, and there were a lot of very positive outcomes but two that are of concern.  Monday, I’ll get a second opinion on the foundation and possibly a structural engineering report.

Well, for all of 2008 and the first part of 2009, I had funding for an internship, but no intern wanted to fill the spot.  It saddened me.  However, this past week brought Doc to my corner of the world.  He’s green, but he’s a hard worker.  I’m excited about the coming three weeks – maybe I can keep him longer!

I told him in his interview that I lost the other guy in a very short period of time, and I asked him to commit to the semester.  He said, “I was kind of thinking a year.”  My next response was unfiltered, “you’re hired!”

Welcome to First Baptist, Doc!