Tech Support Cheat Sheet for 'Not Computer People'
Hiroshima - 64 Years Ago Today.
The United States, in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada designed and built the first atomic bombs under what was called the Manhattan Project. The scientific research was directed by American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed on August 9 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are to date the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.
Life Online
There's a lot of details to deal with concerning life on the web. If you or your business depends on consistent quality concerning your web presence, you may want to focus on two fundamentals:
- Privacy -If you plan on using your email address as a mass communication vehicle then please protect your recipients privacy!!! Please note the existence of the BCC field in the header section of your email client. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy. Blind carbon copy exists for a very noble purpose; to send your message to anyone you choose to and then send a digital 'carbon copy' to others without the TO recipient knowing it. (Henceforth the "blind" in blind carbon copy!) Huh? Here's an example. I want to send a message to my friends at church. Emphasis has been added to the words 'my friends' in hopes of conveying the fact that although these friendly people are my friends, they may not be your friends and therefore may not want you to have their email address. If they did want you to have their email address, they would have given it to you personally. Make sense? So I simply create a new email message and place my own email address in the TO line. I then include, my mailing list's email addresses in the BCC field and then proceed with sending the message. It's that simple and you'll never again have to worry about big guys wearing dark suits and carrying baseball bats paying you a visit at 2:00 am because you distributed their bosses' email address to email harvesting bots and 2 million of your closest friends.
- Image Quality - If you are placing your images online, I would expect you to be naturally concerned about bandwidth (What is that? Well, Picture in your mind how your water bill works and apply that to how much data is transferred when someone visits the folder where all your site files are kept and downloads them to their computer to 'visit your site'. Someone is paying for this transfer of data and if you have a serious web presence then that someone is you!) The size of the images on your page can be controlled by using Photoshop or Fireworks. Use the "Save for web" feature to reduce the size of the image. Don't notice a difference after you've run this feature? The rest of us do and appreciate the additional step. You will drastically cut down on loading time of pages by learning about this feature of Adobe products. (See screenshot below. Notice the difference in size of file between images "saved for web" and images simply saved and placed on the web.)
Introduction to Google Analytics
Here's a great video introduction to Google Analytics.
A healthy shift of mindset
I read an amazing statement today and it goes like this:
"The practice of giving up so-called secular interests in order to go to church, Bible studies, prayer meetings and other social activities with other Christians has taken many believers out of the culture. Too often we withdraw from our neighborhoods to a Christian 'ghetto' "
The Birth of The Internet
Ever wonder how the internet ever came into existence? Well, here's the answer. In geek lingo, of course. Enjoy!
Disqualified
Disqualified is a timely message for believers in this prophetic time period of world history. I heard this word used this week and it sparked an interest in me to study what "disqualified" means. It would make sense to begin on this topic where we should always begin every topic; God's Word. In Colossians 2:16-22 (ESV) says,
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
This portion of scripture seems to reveal the truth as to just how much qualifying of other people we should be doing in the name of God. Do we believe that every member is a minister? Do we believe that we are all parts of His body? At what point in the process of a man or women's refining by the inner-workings of the Spirit of God does one become qualified to serve only as the gluteus maximus of the body of Christ?
If we have been called, God will qualify us. We must, in turn, trust God, not ourselves nor man to accomplish this task. It is not about being adequate, it is about being faithful and trusting God to complete the work that He started in us.
For those in authority who would disqualify us, let it be said that:
Jacob, a deceiver and runaway who had to work fourteen years to get the wife he wanted, became the father of the nation of Israel.
Joseph, a bragging, spoiled brat turned slave and ex-convict, saved his family (the twelve tribes of Israel and the ancestors of Christ).
Moses, a murderer turned shepherd--a man so timid he told God to look elsewhere--led Israel out of bondage and to the edge of the Promised Land.
Rahab, a prostitute--a woman who lived a morally bankrupt life in a morally bankrupt culture-- played a pivotal role in helping the Israelites take the Promised Land.
Hannah--a barren housewife--became the mother of Samuel, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament.
Eli, a man who blew it big-time with his own children (Hophni and Phinehas), became the spiritual father of Samuel, who became the spiritual father and mentor of David.
David, a humble shepherd boy and youngest in his family, who later committed adultery and murder, became Israel's greatest king and penned many of the most beautiful, comforting, and inspiring passages of Scripture.
Esther, a girl married to a Gentile, saved God's people from an impending massacre.
Mary, an unmarried peasant girl, became the mother of Jesus. Matthew, a despised tax collector and symbol of Israel's oppressors, became an apostle and writer of the first book of the New Testament.
Peter, a hot-tempered fisherman, became an apostle, leader of the early church, and writer of two New Testament letters.
Paul, a vicious persecutor of the early church and approving witness of the stoning of the first Christian martyr, took the Gospel to the Gentiles and wrote more New Testament books than any other author.
This list can be found at it's source: http://www.donnapartow.com/qualifies-the-called.html
Conclusion: It is certainly not my intention to convey that one should continue to sin because His grace abounds. The intended conclusion to ascertain from your own study will hopefully look something like this:
"I am thankful that You, God have not disqualified me from serving you because of a bad day, bad month, bad year or bad decade. I'm thankful that my qualifications are as filthy rags in comparison to the image of Your holiness. I'm thankful that you have not called the qualified to serve you, but continue to qualify those you call with a Father's loving and just discipline. Help me not to pass judgement on those around me who walk in ignorance of Your agape love and it's manifestation in the lives of those with uncommon challenges that prepare us for uncommon destinies."
May God have mercy on the souls of the modern day pharisees, saducees and professional christians of the institutional church who seek to heap rules, rituals and relics on the backs of those Christ came to deliver from all bondage.
Listen
Are you listening to those around you who may think and believe differently than you? Or since 'they' lack in certain areas in which you are stronger, do you count them as below you and not worthy of being heard? I honestly heard something loud and clear this week and I want to share it with you. I believe that the world thinks we hate their sin and and that we hate them also. I can completely understand why those outside our fellowships are not coming inside our fellowships. We have forgotten that everything must be done in love. If the fact that I'm right overshadows my love for my brother, then I am COMPLETELY wrong. If the song of truth I am playing is not in the key of love then I am deceived at best and a son of Satan at worst. Do I need a scriptural reference for these past statements? Can you not hear Jesus as he hung on the cross and cried out to His Father, "Forgive (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE), for (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE) does not perceive what (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE) has done to me!" If we want to share the love of Christ, then we should share the love of Christ. The love of Christ does not begin or end with, "You are sinful". It begins and ends with, "God loves you and is not mad at you!" Wake up, Christ-followers!
Chad Michael Wright
A multi-platform producer, Chad brings directional clarity to the clients he chooses to work with.
Artistically, Chad expresses himself through graphic design, as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Together with his dynamic wife, Jeffri; the couple are passionately focused on helping others achieve their goals via brand management and artist development.
As entrepreneurs, the Wrights are focused on growing their personal brand; Warbux Incorporated.
For more information visit http://chadmichaelwright.com
