Daily Links 3-5-14

In today's post: why Satan hates your family, who is your lion, reasons to avoid sexual immorality, Reddit saves a bakery, and more.

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Why Satan hates your family. Some good points here about why Satan works so hard to attack families.

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How to write an e-mail that will get a response. Some of these tips will seem a little obvious. However, it amazes me the number of e-mails I get that don't abide by even the simplest of guidelines.

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Who is your lion? Whose lion are you? Or to put it another way: who has had the biggest impact on your Christian walk? And who have you had the biggest impact upon?

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"Dear Soldier -- my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now."  A heartwarming story about an 8 year old boy who decided to pay it forward with a soldier.

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Hire slow, fire fast. A very unconventional way of thinking about hiring and firing employees. It has a lot of merit.

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10 reasons to avoid sexual immorality. A very sobering list to reflect upon.

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25 motivational Winston Churchill quotes. How we so desperately need a leader like him today.

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Don't doubt the power of social media: how Reddit came to a bakery's rescue. (Hat tip: Food Riot)

Daily Links 2-11-14

In today's edition: the myself I was yesterday, what Al Mohler and Jay-Z have in common, the most significant spiritual decision, and more.

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What Al Mohler and Jay-Z have in common. You might think not much but they do share one common trait:

Dr. Al Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His interests appear to include: reading, classical music, ties, and world affairs.  

Jay-Z is one of the most prolific rappers of the last decade.  Jay is known for his platinum albums, flashy lyrics, Illuminati allegations, and being a hip-hop mogul. 

Yet, these two men share a common skill.  Although these men have pursued radically different goals, and have vastly different worldviews, these men have the unique ability to raise up leaders. They both share a reputation for identifying promising talent and then putting time, energy, and resources into developing these future leaders with the hope that one day they will go on to do great things. 

Be sure to read the whole thing.

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Timeless time management lessons from Winston Churchill. I'm finding it more and more effective to apply just these sorts of lessons and not allow myself be distracted by the sheer number of things that I have to do.

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Our most significant spiritual decision. We made a similar decision sixteen years ago when our second daughter was born. Although we weren't in the same position as this couple I can heartily agree this was one of the best decisions we ever made.

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A collection of 12 essential quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Related: if you haven't read Eric Metaxas' excellent biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy you should.

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The Myself I Was Yesterday - Tim Challies on men and friendship:

In my adult life I have been blessed with some dear and intimate friends. I have come to depend on them in some way, to rely on their counsel, to covet their prayers, to savor the times we spend together, to miss them when we are apart—in short, to love them, and to enjoy the very things I was told I should not enjoy.

But it has not come easily. It has taken a commitment from them to push past my defenses and it has taken effort from me to see that this is okay. It has required fighting against the tide, so to speak, bringing truth to bear against old errors. And biblical truth really does counter than ugly nonsense that claims that men shouldn’t have close friendships, that they should not be committed to one another, that they should never say, “I love you.” 

But I have found, and am finding, that friendship is worth the fight. It is worth the fight in finding men with whom I genuinely enjoy spending time and with whom I love to share experiences, but even more, it is worth the fight in finding men who will make me a better man.

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Some helpful tips for taking control of your e-mail inbox. If you're like me, e-mail can be overwhelming. But applying these tips will help you take control of it rather than it controlling you.

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This is a startup I could support: you design your own guitar and they will build it for you.

Daily Links 1-20-14

A roundup of interesting links found on the web. In today's edition: tips for posting on social media, applying "Moneyball" techniques to paying for college, homeschool vs. public school, and more.

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Congratulations to my friend Annie Parsons who was featured in Fortune's Best Companies to Work For. Check out the unusual story of how she got her current job.

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Some food for thought on how we use social media:

I was a freshman in college when Facebook came out and I distinctly remember thinking, “why would I need this? I have AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace!” 

Well, times have changed. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram (and a slew of other sites I’m not cool enough to know about) have simultaneously brought us closer together and driven us further apart. With the exception of a few universally offensive statements or pictures, it’s a rule-free zone where we can interact with society while accepting minimal personal responsibility for the implications of what we do.

In absence of guidelines for healthy and polite social media etiquette, we are left to determine our own boundaries for navigating the seemingly endless opportunities available to us. 

Before we snap one more picture of our hot chocolate topped with a foam leaf, perhaps we would benefit from a brief pause—an extra 30 seconds to ask five simple questions might suggest it’s time to unplug, or at least reconsider when and how we use social media.

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Debunking five popular e-mail myths. In reading over this I realized that I've fallen victim to believing a few of these. Makes me rethink how I am using my e-mail.

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Fun facts to know and tell at parties: why fake phone numbers start with "555".

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Implementing a "Moneyball" approach to a debt free college degree. I have a few friends who have used this approach for either part or all of their college education. While I wouldn't consider doing the entire degree this way it is worth considering as part of the degree.

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Homeschooling is not for everyone. Neither is public school:

If you’ve ever spent any time around homeschool parents (or kids), one of the first things they will tell you is that homeschooling is not for everybody. Not every parent is cut out for homeschooling; more important, neither is every kid. 

That is why, unlike those who wish to suppress homeschooling, homeschool parents are rarely if ever heard demanding that the government pass a law demanding that every other family in the country do things the way they do. Unlike our German friends, homeschool parents do not wish to seize custody of other people’s children simply because they prefer a different model of education. The irony here is that more than a few of our public schools are so dangerous and dysfunctional that sending one’s children there really ought to be considered an act of neglect, if not for the fact that those poor parents have practically no choice in the matter. 

As an aside, I’d like to put to rest the canard that homeschoolers are socially maladjusted. In my time teaching, I had the pleasure of having a number of students in my class who had been homeschooled. Some were very bright and engaging, some were not; some were super gregarious, some were not; some were the very picture of emotional and social confidence, and some were not. Which is to say, they were more or less the same as the other kids, with the sole exception of having on average slightly better manners. The traditional classroom is an environment that works for many people, but it is a highly unnatural one: If being locked in a room seven hours a day with 20 other people all born within nine months of each other were a condition for proper socialization, then mankind was never properly socialized until the middle of the 19th century or so. And of course it matters who those other 20 kids are, and who their parents are. I was blessed to attend exceptional public schools, and we call things “exceptional” because they are the exception. 

We have 900 kinds of shampoo on the shelves and 40 different kinds of fresh fish at my neighborhood Whole Foods. Anybody who sees all that but thinks that there is only one good model of education is in no position to criticize anybody’s education.

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Daily Links 12-2-13

Good morning. Here are a few links to help start out your week. In today's edition: how to use e-mail more efficiently, learning from Ananias and Sapphira, how to be amazing at work, and more.

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The sudden deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 should serve as a warning to Christians. J. D. Greear offers five lessons we should take away from this story.

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Productivity hack: using an e-mail autoresponder to help manage your inbox more efficiently. The beauty of this hack is it eliminates the need  for you to respond immediately and helps manage expectations of when people can expect to hear from you.

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Some very cool Dr. Who themed tea swag.

The TARDIS tea pot. Yes, it's bigger on the inside.

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Five tips on how you can stand out from the crowd at work.

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In 1963, 16 year-old Bruce McAllister was sick of hearing about symbolism in novels. But rather than argue with his teacher about it he went to the source: he wrote to 150 novelists and asked them about symbolism in their own novels. Amazingly, he got quite a few responses. Just goes to show it pays to correspond with novelists.

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25(!) brand names that are used as everyday words. I didn't realize that there were that many.

Cleaning up E-mail

I'm in the midst of switching e-mail accounts. I've been going through the numerous e-mails I receive each day trying to figure out which subscriptions I want to move over to my new account. In the process I realize I've subscribed to a lot of newsletters in the past few years I don't really read anymore. I'm deleting them instead of taking the time to read them.

I'm probably not alone. It's very easy to subscribe to an e-mail newsletter. It doesn't cost anything. And in most cases they probably come so infrequently that you don't even notice how many e-mails cumulatively you're receiving.

So here's my question: does anyone really utilize e-mail newsletters any more? Or are you like me and you just delete them without reading them?

When's the last time you really examined closely what e-mail you're receiving? I'd be willing to bet you're being bombarded with e-mail and you don't even know it.

Daily Links 9-4-13

Identifying your calling/vocation, Amazon hates PowerPoint and writing effective e-mails are the topics in today's links.

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Ten questions to help you identify your calling/vocation

Every Christian has a unique Calling/Vocation. But, how do we know what it is? Most people do not really understand how God uses them on in daily life and we do not spend much time trying to figure it out. We just go from one thing to the next and then begin to despise our work and spend our time trying to get to the weekend or holidays so we can enjoy ourselves again. But, there is purpose and dignity in our work at our jobs, as husbands/wives/fathers/mothers, in our church, and in our community. We all have a calling and a role to play in many spheres of life - wherever God places us.

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This is interesting: Amazon's Jeff Bezos doesn't allow his employees to use PowerPoint:

More than a decade ago, it was estimated that 30 million PowerPoint presentations were given each day—the number must be much higher today. Just think of how many millions of hours are spent every day sitting through truly terrible PowerPoint presentations.

So it’s noteworthy that Amazon founder—and new Washington Post owner­­—Jeff Bezos’ proscribes PowerPoint presentations at Amazon.

Bezos instead requires that employees compose 6-page narrative memos, and he starts meetings with quiet reading periods—“study halls”—in which everyone reads the memo from beginning to end.

So the company that is devoted to helping customers do things quick-quick-quick—“1-click ordering,” same-day delivery, the instant download—creates an environment where employees take the time to write and think slowly.

Hat tip: Blogging Theologically

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5 tips to write better informational e-mails. (Hat tip The Wardrobe Door)

Daily Links 9-2-13

Happy Labor Day! Here are some links for your edification as you prepare to go back to work tomorrow.

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"What do you do for a living?" is a common question to ask someone you meet for the first time. How should a Christian respond?

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The media trumpets a story on the success of "breadwinner moms" but overlooks the more important (and troubling statistics) that the study reveals.

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5 things you need to unlearn to succeed at work. Yes, there are things you need to unlearn.

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Don't let social media ruin your marriage. Some of these tips may seem pretty basic but there are a number of good tips here.

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Sometimes in business it's better to just pick up the phone. While I don't particularly like spending a lot of time on the phone I do find it's often easier to make a call than send an e-mail. What also seems to be missing today is a lot of the face-to-face interaction that used to take place in business. Technology is great and can be really convenient but sometimes it helps to use old-fashioned methods to build rapport with your business partners.

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Dispelling misconceptions about the value of our work. (hat tip Chailles)