okay, ya’ll.
(how’s that for living in the south for the last month?)
the blog is redesigned.
(as well it should have been).
and there’s even a new profile picture. i have to keep ben happy.
(which reminds me, daley hake took a few pictures of me last weekend. he’s amazing. hire him.)
anyway, i’d love to hear your feedback.
and that means if you’re an RSS reader, you need to click on over.
holla.
I have tweeted over 2500 times.
That is a lot of tweets over the last year. A lot.
And after a year or twittering, or tweeting, or twitting…I thought I’d share a few tips I’ve learned along the way that helps Twitter work a little better for me.
1. Web – I almost always only check Twitter from the web.
2. Relationships – I only follow people I have a relationship with. It doesn’t have to be an in person relationship, but in some way or another, these people have say into my daily life. Some people have called me a “Twitter Diva” (which means that I have a lot of followers, but only follow a few) and to those people I say “…and?” I can’t keep up with everyone all the time. My brain is just not wired like that. Sorry!
3. Phone – Of the small group of people I follow, an even smaller group of people’s updates come directly to my phone (my boss, my coworkers and a couple of good friends). Most of the time, I have it turned off though.
4. Interact – To kill the Twitter Diva, I realize there is still a need to interact with lots of amazing people. I check the reply tab to see who all has replied to something I?ve said and if needed, I reply to them. Even if I’m not following someone, it doesn’t really limit the interaction. It just helps focus it.
5. Track – Tracking is a cool feature (when it works). If you twitter “track Nashville,” anytime someone has “Nashville” in their tweet, it will ping you.
6. Give Love – Giving twitter love is easy, but so many people miss it! If you want to give some twitter love, DON’T phrase your twitter like “@whoever has a great blog post!” Because the only people who will see that are the people who follow you AND whoever, and whoever himself. To show some real twitter love, phrase your tweet like “So, @whoever has a great blog post!” That will allow ALL your followers to see and link over.
I know that sounds really complicated but I know for me, it?s the best way for me to interact and allow Twitter to be completely functional…any Twitter tips you’ve learned along the way?
I was brainstorming on the phone yesterday with someone about what it would look like to “blog” the Catalyst Conference.
Note: This does not mean only sitting in a chair making bullet point lists of what the speakers are saying.
Note: This does not mean only talking with the speakers back stage.
I NEED YOUR HELP! Think WAY outside of the box. What do you see happening as a blogging-behind-the-scenes-meeting-people AND incorporating this into the actual Catalyst event? Bringing Catalyst to the people who aren’t there…and bringing what isn’t at Catalyst to the people there.
No dumb ideas. Forget about money and logistics for now. Just throw out some crazy ideas!!
Lunesta has become a close companion lately. I go through seasons of insomnia…usually about 3-4 months long, followed by 3-4 months of healthy, non-medically-induced sleep. Currently, I’m about halfway into one of those insomnia cycles.
I decided last night to see if, by chance, I’d be able to fall and stay asleep without the drugs. No such luck. I drifted off into a weird, lucid dream.
In my dream, I was given a choice to do something and the consequences would require me to leave ministry. I’d be disqualified completely. And I remember the battle I was waging in my head.
“If I make this decision, I’ll lose my job.”
“If I make this decision, my publisher will drop me.”
“If I make this decision, I’ll never be able to speak into the lives of leaders again.”
After I woke up following a very restless night of tossing and turning, I started thinking through what my dream-self was considering and realized something disturbing.
Not one of those thoughts I had was “If I make this decision, I’ll be disobeying God.”
Now, I realize this was just a dream and the decision I was considering in it was something that would likely never cross my path…and I realize a dream doesn’t represent my full consciousness.
But if it was a real life situation, would I have asked myself the same questions, while neglecting the most important one…How does this affect my relationship with Christ?
It’s easy for me to coast through life and walk a straight line. It’s actually pretty easy for me to be the good girl. But following rules isn’t the most important thing…that should just be an overflow of a lifestyle of obedience.
Why do you make the decisions you make? Are they out of love and obedience, or out of fear for losing your position, your marriage, your ministry?
Just something to chew on.
Another company takes online initiative.
My tweet after picking up some amazing produce at Whole Foods on Sunday:
And their reply:
Stuff like this gets me really excited for some reason! And not just because the gift card. I really love good customer service!
i thought i’d share a few little blurbs with you from my article for the catalyst groupzine.? as soon as i know when you can order them, and when they’ll be available, i’ll let you know.
my article is called “the lonely leader and the power of truth” and here are a couple of thoughts from it:
Fear and loneliness are two inseparable lovers with a tragic common denominator: they seek to destroy the Kingdom within.
and
Sadly, we?ve often become so structured there?s no time to experience real life together.? We?re obligated to schedules and appearances but not to each other.? The business of community satisfies our addiction to productivity, but does nothing to nourish the anemia that is afflicting us.
as a leader…do you struggle with loneliness?? do you find that fear isolates you?
with moving, getting settled in, starting my new job and then spending a week in the dominican, i’ve been really behind on reading some blogs. i just caught up with brad lomenick’s blog last night and he asked a great question earlier this month which i thought i’d ask y’all.
if you could have dinner with anyone (besides jesus)…who would you have it with, and where would you have it?
mine would be anne lamott at a waffle house.
you?
I have got to focus the little part of my brain that is the creative writing part on a very cool article for the Catalyst Groupzine. For some reason, it’s been tougher to write than my book!
In the mean time, I thought I’d copy the ideas of many others and have a “You Ask…I’ll Answer” post. You ask questions and I’ll respond to them (in the comments as well).
Nothing is off topic…have fun!
You guys are amazing! We had 118 books donated to the GO Ministries Pastors’ library. WOW! Thank you once again for being the church in practical ways and making a huge difference thousands of miles away!
Our team REALLY appreciates your prayers of support and encouragement along the way.
It was an amazing trip…and this week will be a crazy one of catching up on emails, blogs and comments. But I really can’t thank you enough.
I would be honored to spend some time praying for you this week and weekend…please let me know how in the comments.
