Jeff Noble's Blog, page 44
February 16, 2015
February 14, 2015
February 13, 2015
Nuff Said: Demise of blog commenting, Small Groups make a BIG difference, Questions for sleepy Christians, & 11 books we lie about reading
“Nuff said” is a collection of saved entries from across the interwebs. Here are some interesting, provocative and fun things for your reading and viewing:
The demise of blog commenting and a book you might want to read
Michael Hyatt is a popular author and communications expert. He recently pulled commenting from his blog. His reasons are worth noting, especially if you use the Disqus commenting system for your own blog. It’s not as if his blog is dying (note graph).
Source: Michael Hyatt
Two main reasons (and a book you might want to read):
Commenting and interaction have moved to social media like Twitter and Facebook.
Based on what I’m seeing and hearing, these conversations have simply moved into my social media channels and especially those of my commenters, among their Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and others.
Hyatt couldn’t keep up with the commenting on his blog and it created “clutter” for him.
It was the latter reason – and his reference to a book called Essentialism that prompted me to add it to my Amazon wish list for reading this year.
Other Links:
Why CopyBlogger pulled comments from their blog
Small Groups make a huge difference
This brief three-minute video features Ed Stetzer, and he comments about 1/2 way through:
Proximity doesn’t mean community.
In other words, just because you attend church or are “around” Christians doesn’t mean that you’re experiencing biblical community. He also shares some survey results about how attending a small group at least four times dramatically impacts a person’s involvement in the local church.
Questions for sleepy or nominal Christians
Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, offers this helpful post based on questions asked during the Welsh Revival during the Great Awakening. He doesn’t mean sleepy literally. Rather, he is pointing to Christians who are “Christian” in name only or who are lethargically inactive in their love relationship with Jesus. Here are some of the questions:
How real has God been to your heart this week? How clear and vivid is your assurance and certainty of God’s forgiveness and fatherly love? To what degree is that real to you right now?
Are you having any particular seasons of delight in God? Do you really sense his presence in your life, sense him giving you his love?
Have you been finding Scripture to be alive and active? Instead of just being a book, do you feel like Scripture is coming after you?
Are you finding certain biblical promises extremely precious and encouraging? Which ones?
Are you finding God’s challenging you or calling you to something through the Word? In what ways?
Are you finding God’s grace more glorious and moving now than you have in the past? Are you conscious of a growing sense of the evil of your heart, and in response, a growing dependence on and grasp of the preciousness of the mercy of God?
Another insightful post is Keller’s Revival: Ways and Means.
11 books we lie about reading
From the Federalist blog, here’s the list:
Atlas Shrugged , Ayn Rand
On the Origin of Species , Charles Darwin
Les Miserables , Victor Hugo
A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens
1984 , George Orwell
Democracy in America , Alexis De Tocqueville
The Wealth of Nations , Adam Smith
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
The Art of War, Sun Tzu
The Prince , Niccolo Machiavelli
Ulysses , James Joyce
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February 12, 2015
February 9, 2015
Moving toward knowledge: surgery
It’s the night before surgery and all through the house… not a creature is stirring, not even a… well, our high school senior is downstairs playing the guitar at midnight… A quick text message silenced that.
I wanted to post a quick update for those of you who have been following the health saga. Carolyn is schedule for surgery tomorrow morning at 6:45 here in Blacksburg. We are not anxious, and instead, we’ve been supplied with surpassing peace in the midst of this chapter.
The surgery is just the last step (we hope) to discovering what is going on with a cluster of Carolyn’s lymph nodes – one in particular. It’s our moving toward knowledge step. The surgeon believes he will be able to remove it laparoscopically, so we are praying for that and for it not to be an invasive surgery.
We are exceptionally grateful on this surgery’s eve. Thank you for your prayers and expressions of love and kindness!
Also in Our Cancer Saga
Carolyn was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1991. Since then, it's been a wild, crazy cancer saga.
A Sheep’s Tale
Our Story, a week in October
Health update and uncertainty
Biopsy results…
Today’s stop: surgeon consultation
Doctor update
“As you help us by your prayers”
Where we are
Health latest…
Experiencing intercession
Two birthdays of good news
The chemo word
Surgery today
A little closure…
Chemo hero
Our Story: Miracles
Another opportunity to trust
Round 6 update
A La Carte: Health Update, December Nights kickoff, Saving Change and The First Snow
Final surgery – Round 6: gratitude in busyness
Health update 2014
Denied.
A little down: health update
Miracles in the mailbox
Immeasurably more..
Moving toward knowledge: surgery
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February 2, 2015
Apples better than coffee
This is a normal conversation around my house…
At lunch today, I read a tweet out loud to Carolyn that said:
“Did you know an apple wakes you up more than coffee? It’s because you’re suddenly forced to remember how terrible fruit is.”
She responded with, “It’s true.”
“What’s true?” I asked.
“The thing about the apple…” she said distractedly. She was watching Say Yes to the Dress at the time, so I wasn’t sure she’d actually heard me.
“How do you know it’s true?” I said, incredulous.
“Because I’ve heard that before,” she replied emphatically.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You’ve heard it before, so that makes it true?!” I pursued. I walked over and stood between her and the TV to make sure she was actually talking to me.
“Yes,” she said. She glared and waved her hand imperially at me. The instructions were clear. Move from in front of the TV or get an apple where it will for sure wake me up.
I walked away. But I don’t believe it.
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A personal prayer from 2009
A personal prayer from 5/11/09:
“Help us proclaim the joy of Christ and His forgiveness from every deer stand, shopping line, football game and classroom – and blog.”
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January 31, 2015
Video: Celebrating 2014
So it’s the last day of January 2015, and I’m just now posting a reflection video about 2014. It was that big of a year… and I’ve been that swamped in January. I loved putting this together – mainly because what I left out was just as fun to remember as what I included. The Noble family has so much to be grateful for!
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