The latest from the shift happens folks. With much more of a technology and social media bent.
What do you think?
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SolarCrash.com now runs on the thesis framework. I bought into it because I wanted to refresh this site and am planning on doing some site development for others. I’m also really banking on the search engine optimization hype all over it. Finding a promotional discount also helped.
I was exploring Thematic, and some other frameworks at first, but felt that a lot of them were still glitchy and in beta stages. Thesis seems to have reached the tipping point where the kinks have been ironed out and there’s a large support community around it.
It’s definitely powerful, but having said that, I wouldn’t get it if I was completely code-illiterate, unless you’re willing for your site to look like an increasing number of other Thesis-driven sites out there.
This site still needs some work, but I’ll have to let it slide till I have more time to tinker around.
Some changes so far
- cutting the load time by half
- added a social profile icon bar at the top
- creating a ‘brighter’ look with the background
- rounded corners – using some new css features – that won’t work in IE though.
- shifted the nav bar down below the header
- removed redundant links like home / subscribe
- added a intro section hook above the sidebars
- removed some dividing lines for a cleaner feel
- edited the threaded commenting system so it’s a bit more engaging
I still hope to eventually make a new logo/banner, layout the navigation pages better, and probably remove those google ads once I hit the next payment clip. I’m getting a bit tired of ‘Sexy Christian Singles” ads. Hopefully I’ll get some sponsors at some point (can you believe I made 10% of my income last year, through this blog?)
If you plan on purchasing Thesis, you can click my affiliate link so I can get some cash back.
Let me know if you’ve got ideas on making a better site, specifically this one!
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Today’s blog action day.
Poverty, what do you think? Where do you fit in it all?
Last Christmas my wife and I experimented with funding a few differnet organizations in place of presents for one another.
We bought a goat through World Vision, which sounds cool, but I have no idea what that Goat is doing right now. We decided to partner with Food for the Hungry for child sponsorship. I like how they state upfront you can actually meet the child you sponsor.
My favorite organization yet has been Kiva.
Through Kiva we’ve been able to continuously re-microfinance different families all around the world. I love reading about the different ways entrepreneurs in the two-thirds world are lifting themselves out of poverty – everything from selling vegetables, recycling goods, and making clothing.
With all the places we can donate money to in mind, I believe Shane Claiborne once said something to the effect of how churches and these organizations can be reduced to distribution centers. Where the poor get their stuff, and the rich feel a bit better, but in the end no one is deeply transformed.
Poverty. What do you think?
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I just recently put down Will & Lisa Samson’s “Justice in the Burbs“. They remind me that
The suburbs in many ways are…
“…an illusion of the American dream – where no one is needy, where there is a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage…
“… where planned developments control who comes near, and are designed to avoid interruption by anything unpleasant or uncomfortable…”
“… designed to keep people busy and buying more stuff”.
Justice in the Burbs weaves together fictional narrative, personal stories, and reflections from guest authors, to remind us all of the calling in the Scriptures to live justly towards those who are poor, marginalized, and oppressed. I’m so glad they wrote this book, and I’ll be recommending it to many.
I only wish they took it a step further in sharing more of what justice would look like in our own suburban neighborhoods and workplaces, rather than simply partnering with those in ‘urban’ settings. But maybe that’s for another book. I’m just convinced that plenty of injustice occurs right under our own suburban noses.
What really struck a chord with me was how realistically and gently the Samson’s call suburbanites to be a force for social justice in the world. They do so by sharing their struggles and handling objections with grace and recognizing that the journey towards justice is exactly that, a journey.
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Mark Batterson of evotional/NCC is reverse gifting and giving out free copies of his new book (In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day) to church planters for his birthday.
You’ve heard latest craze of Chuck Norris jokes. Chuck responds. (Thanks Albert)
Zaadz a new social-network gathering those who intend to change the world. I think it’s got potential. Join! Here’s mine.
Ode Magazine – Magazine for intelligent optimists, who also intend to change the world.
Zooomr Photos keeps developing and has just upgraded their pro accounts to 4GB/month! Get a pro account free here. Here are my sets.
Things really aren’t looking good for Ted Haggard. I hope I’m wrong but I can’t say he looks convincing to me on the video clips. Mark Driscoll writes some good thoughts on the matter.
Update: Looks like the decision’s final on the NewLife church website.
Here’s an excerpt from Ted Haggard’s wife Gayle that I thought was very powerful.
Dear Woman of New Life Church,
I am so sorry for the circumstances that have led me to write this letter to you today. I know your hearts are broken; mine is as well. Yet my hope rests steadfastly in the Lord who is forever faithful.
What I want you to know is that I love my husband, Ted Haggard, with all my heart. I am committed to him until death “do us part”. We started this journey together and with the grace of God, we will finish together.
If I were standing before you today, I would not change one iota of what I have been teaching the women of our church. For those of you who have been concerned that my marriage
was so perfect I could not possibly relate to the women who are facing great difficulties, know that this will never again be the case. My test has begun; watch me. I will try to prove myself faithful.
I’m amazed she has the strength to say something like this so soon.
Update2: Audio mp3 message of the sunday service at NewLife Church. It’s loaded with insight in terms of grace, trials, church polity, and discipline.
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