45

Arbitrary Thoughts

September 22nd, 2011 - Arbitrary Thoughts - 45 Comments »

+ In honor of its new back cover, I’m permanently reducing the price of Everyday Absurdities print and Kindle editions next week. Prices will be in impulse range, I promise.

+ What show are you most excited to have back on the air? So far, I’m going with Parenthood (with Modern Family a close second).

+ Amazon Prime might be the best purchase we’ve made all year. Two-day shipping on everything. $79/year. Don’t think you can afford it? Just start ordering your household items via Amazon for a fraction of the price and you’ll save over $79 in no time. And stuff gets delivered to your door instead of you having to go to the store. Win. Find out more here.

+ Just started reading Dave Ramsey’s new book, EntreLeadership. Loving it so far. Starts off with some real common sense stuff, but in typical Dave Ramsey fashion, he makes common sense incredibly compelling.

+ We’re on our 4th oven in a week. First one died, next one was making a noise, the next one was making an even louder noise, and the final on is now in. Except that we just realized it has a huge scratch across the front – and it’s brand new. Sigh.

+ Catalyst is in…14 days? Wow. That’s crazy. I can’t wait to show you some of the stuff we’re working on for it (one video in particular). Any of you coming? If so, let me know so we can meet up.

+ I feel like giving something away today. How about a copy of my book AND a copy of David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day (one of the funniest books I’ve ever read). Just answer the question and I’ll pick a winner at random at 11:00pm tonight…once Grey’s Anatomy is over.

If you have a blog, what is your favorite post you’ve written in the last month?
If you don’t have a blog, what is your favorite blog post you’ve read in the last month? 

Just give us a link and a sentence telling us what it’s about.

Only rule: If you’re going to pimp your stuff, you have to share the love and go read some of the others. Deal?

  • sethcaddell

    My proudest post this month is the one I wrote about how we mis-lead people to Jesus. And not in an angry theological rant kind of way.
    http://174.132.167.90/~kaleidic/lifeasexperienced…

  • http://www.thecjadams.com C.J. Adams

    Definitely "Please Refrain….Hunting Season," which basically gives insight into things we shouldn't do as hunting season quickly approaches. It's pretty amazing in a not-so-amazing kind of way.
    http://thecjadams.com/post/10200640311/please-ref…

  • http://robshep.com rob shepherd

    I can't wait for Catalyst! I hope to run into you again. Are you going to post Randy Stanley any time soon?

    My favorite post of mine from this month is "Jesus Messed It Up." http://www.robshep.com/2011/09/21/jesus-messed-it…

  • http://twitter.com/mathdcarter @mathdcarter

    Tyler! I'll totally be there bro! I can't wait to see what TnT have cooking! Last year was my first and it was incredible. It would be cool to meet you guys. I follow your blogs and videos. Especially loved the reluctant runner stuff… that is me to a T! Thanks for making catalyst and the internet better!

    • Tyler Stanton

      are you going to labs on wednesday? I'll be roaming around all day when we're not rehearsing stuff. That'll probably be the best time.

      • matthewcarter

        Unfortunately, our group can't make it then… STINK. We wanted to this year, but we're taking such a large group, the budget was getting a bit tight. But… who knows, maybe I'll run into you anyways. thanks for your reply! Still excited!

  • http://twitter.com/mathdcarter @mathdcarter

    http://matthewcarter.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/ret…

    This is old… but it's about rethinking how we do accountability and accountability groups.

    • http://guidetowomen.wordpress.com/ Sharideth Smith

      good post.

      i once got kicked out of an accountability group. got voted off the island. true story.

  • http://jknight31.blogspot.com/ Joe

    I am still pretty new to blogging, but my favorite this month is a quick recap of how life is working in retail.
    http://jknight31.blogspot.com/2011/09/life-in-ret…

  • http://www.stevansheets.com Stevan Sheets

    http://bit.ly/o18bsV | Service vs. Sale in Ministry
    Often we fall into the salesmen category instead of the servant – this should not be.

  • http://www.davepettengill.net DavePettengill

    I am definitely looking forward to Parks and Recreation tonight! Man I love that show and Ron Swanson is hilarious. I want to get better at blogging so I am reading Bryan Allain's new book it is really good so far.

  • Chris Roberts

    I'll be at Catalyst. This will be my 3rd trip. Love it! Hope I can run into you. @chrisroberts

  • http://guidetowomen.wordpress.com/ Sharideth Smith

    "trying too hard" – http://guidetowomen.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/tryi…

    "i can’t really tell you how to get rid of the body chemistry that short circuits your brain and makes you say dumb things when you’re nervous. but maybe i can help pinch off the hose."

    you're welcome.

  • chrystalmurphy

    First of all – I'm SUPER excited about Modern Family being back on. Followed by Community and The Office (don't expect it to be as good without Michael Scott but Im interested in where it goes).

    Secondly – Amazon Prime is AMAZING. But, you can try it out for FREE if you aren't sure how much you'll actually use it. Sign up for a Amazon Mom account (you can be a dad). You get maybe 90 days of a free trial but when you purchase items from the "baby" store you earn more time – up to a year. As an Amazon Mom you enjoy the benefits of Amazon Prime for free. The thing is that almost everything qualifies as a "baby" purchase – not just diapers and formula. I've earned the whole year and it ends in November, probably going to have to splurge on the Prime membership because we use it often. Here's the info: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000…

    To answer your question – My favorite post this month is more of a Page than a post. I'm working on putting together some Organizing Tools and I finally got some stuff out on the blog. Pretty excited about getting it going: http://chrystalmurphy.com/organizing-tools/

    • Tyler Stanton

      awesome! that's so good to know.

  • Josh

    http://miljosd.tumblr.com/post/10169852828/redire…

    a good reminder to remember where your vision is and that is the direction you should be heading. excerpt taken from Mark Riddle.

  • …adam

    I think I have only written one blog post, this month, but it makes several references to the cinematic classic Cool Runnings, so it was already at a distinct advantage.
    http://adambuzard.com/2011/09/14/feel-the-rhythm/

    In my defense, I did recently move several states, move stuff into storage, move into my sister-in-laws guest room and start a new job in the last month. And I have barely had time to complain about the new facebook style. But I do have time to check out what else is going on via the other people's blogs.

  • http://gplus.to/mystree Tsholo

    don't know if this is the best thing i've written this month, but it's definitely my favourite. I wrote it for my friend Tubbs, whose mother was in the hospital for a while, and then a couple of weeks after she got out her grandmother passed away, and I really had no idea what to say to her…and that's what this…uhm…"poem" is about…
    http://tsholo.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/when-it-ra…

  • http://overdivulgent.blogspot.org Lauren

    Oh my Parenthood! But what is UP with Hattie's hair? I'm so distracted every time she's on the screen.

    My favorite post I've written in the past month was "In Spite of Ourselves," a story about what happens in Nashville when you promise to join someone for an open mic night and then wuss out. http://overdivulgent.blogspot.com/2011/08/in-spit…

    My favorite post I didn't write was "What to do with Pain" by Donald Miller. Good stuff there about embracing pain, rather than avoiding it and missing out on crucial personal growth opportunities. My description just made it sound much more dry and Debbie Downer than it is. http://donmilleris.com/2011/09/13/what-to-do-with…

    • Tyler Stanton

      great question. I was just telling my wife that if I could design the worst possible haircut for her, it would look identical to haddie's. I would rather her shave her head.

    • http://thomasmarkzuniga.com TMZ

      Love that Miller post about pain. Wish he would blog more often, because he's always so spot-on about life.

  • http://Jeffmcclung.com Jeff

    The best post I wrote in the last month is “How to Be a Better Leader in 7 Words”: Check it out and let me know what you think: http://tinyurl.com/3eu7vv7

  • Jody Ferrell

    I'll be at Catalyst. First one for me. Also signed up for the labs and have my Braves' playoff tickets (Please sweet Baby Jesus don't let them blow it!)

    Tyler, I tweeted you a while back regarding a group run and you responded that we should make it happen. You still want to?

  • http://iamjakz.wordpress.com Jakz

    Four ovens in one week is impressive (and I'm sure agitating!).

    Favorite recent post of mine would be "It's not what you think." It's a post that involves the controversy of not wearing wedding rings & an injury that happened IN a doctor's office. http://iamjakz.com/2011/09/06/its-probably-not-wh…

  • http://edhyndman.com Elizabeth

    I will be at Catalyst! It's my first time to attend, so I'm pretty excited to see what all the fuss is about.
    This is my favorite post this month (that I wrote): http://edhyndman.com/2011/09/14/what-street-i-liv…
    It's about the street I live on and how I don't know the name of it. It was surprisingly popular.

  • http://abluesicanwhistle.blogspot.com Tim

    The show I'm definitely most looking forward to being back is Community, and Dexter right behind it.

    I'll be honest, I'm really sucking at blogging right now and I'm not really proud of anything lately. Maybe next month!

    But my favorite blog of the month was James K.A. Smith's:
    http://forsclavigera.blogspot.com/2011/08/liberal…

    Not at the moment going to Catalyst, but really want to. I'm just a procrastinator. And poor.

  • http://twitter.com/DrCabler @DrCabler

    I have a tie for my favorite posts of the last month that I wrote:

    First is "Skidmarks on the Wedding Dress" http://www.cfinancialfreedom.com/CFFwordpress/?p=…

    Next is today's post "Don't Eat the Goldfish- 12 Crazy Ways to Save Money" http://www.cfinancialfreedom.com/CFFwordpress/?p=…

    • Tyler Stanton

      skidmarks on the wedding dress is the most compelling title yet. i'll definitely be checking that one out.

  • http://missionallendale.wordpress.com/ Joey Espinosa

    I work in an after school program in the most impoverished area in our state. It gets overwhelming and depressing at times, so we (my family and I) need all the encouragements we can.

    Here are some recent encouraging comments we received from parents and kids in our program:
    http://missionallendale.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/…

  • timdreyfus

    When we recently completed the adoption of our son, he became child #4 for us. That put us in a whole new club and I blogged about it here…. http://wp.me/p1AUgt-54

  • Marc

    Fav post, http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2011/09/godissad/
    Examining look at our response to Troy Davis and the death penalty in general.

  • http://www.stantonmartin.com Stanton

    I mean I'm a huge fan of everything I do, so it was hard to narrow it down to just one blog post, but I managed: http://www.stantonmartin.com/2011/09/life-tip-wri…

    It was fun to do something a little different, and try to channel another blogger's writing style. Who knows if I really succeeded, but I think I earned Tarver's affections, and what else could a man really ask for?

    If you think Amazon Prime is great, you should check out Amazon Prime for students. I was able to get Amazon Prime for freesies dollars, and I have used the ever loving life out of it.

  • http://twitter.com/mattnightingale @mattnightingale

    OK, I'll play. But if I win, I just want your book. Oddly enough, I just purchased the Sedaris book at a used book sale today for a buck.

    And since I'm only playing for one book, I'm going to bend the rules and link to my favorite post from the past TWO months… It's about the physical transformation I've experienced in the past year. Yes, I'm bragging, but I do it with much gratitude to God. :)

    Oh, and it's my 40th birthday today. I can brag, right?

    Here's my post: http://mattnightingale.blogspot.com/2011/08/trans…

  • hal

    My wife entertains me constantly with her vivid imagination and the captivating stories that unfold as a result. This link describes her eyewitness account of a drive-by-shooting from a sketchy looking van in our neighborhood. http://zestfullyliving.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-hea…

  • http://thomasmarkzuniga.com TMZ

    My favorite blog post this month was recounting this church sermon in which one obscure verse from the obscure book of Ezra totally collided with where I am today: http://thomasmarkzuniga.com/2011/09/tears-from-ez…

  • http://livinginhebel.wordpress.com livinginhebel

    This month has been a bit dry for me, blog-wise, as school recently started back up, and my every minute seems to revolve around Greek and Hebrew… But, from this last month, my favourite post was probably "just a little secret" http://livinginhebel.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/jus….

  • http://www.fallingdowntherabbithole.com Heidi Britz

    First, LOVE, LOVE Parenthood! Next, David Sedaris makes me cry I laugh so hard (and I want to apologize on behalf of all speech therapists for what was done to him). Lastly, my favorite blog post was Faith Like A Child, http://www.fallingdowntherabbithole.com/2011/09/f… All it took was the whisper of a first grader to bring about big questions in how I live out my own faith.

  • http://evanforester.com Evan

    FYI: Anyone with a .edu e-mail address gets Amazon Prime free for a year. It's pretty spectacular.
    Just saw someone else said that, but now I can confirm the awesomemess

    One of my favorite posts is actually a guest post I did a couple weeks ago on Paige Knudsen's blog. It is one of the best and most inspiring love stories I've heard (it's about my wife's grandparents) and something that really has been a blessing to my marriage: http://paigeknudsen.blogspot.com/2011/09/lifetime…

  • fantanna

    I am not a great blogger, but my favorite post has to be the one where I talk about how I'm going to become a better blogger, thanks to Bryan Allain and his new book. http://fantanna.tumblr.com/

  • http://raisedbytheremote.tumblr.com/ Kate

    I'm most proud of this blog post : http://raisedbytheremote.tumblr.com/post/10166203…

    I'm even more proud that I'm not ashamed (confused?) to admit that I created it from memory.

    PS. Vote Knope '12

  • http://tymn.wordpress.com Tymn

    In honor of football season I wrote a post showing the similarities between the players on a football team and the people in the church.
    http://wp.me/pGZIl-SI

  • http://www.gsfbcmen.com Stuart Goudy

    Here's a post I did about me competing with my kid (and why I let her beat me in a 5k)… http://www.gsfbcmen.com/2011/08/26/competing-with…

  • kevin sherry

    FYI. If you're a student you get Amazon Prime for FREE!

  • http://180tampa.com @pastorjerry

    Love the community you create here. Can't wait to dig into some of those blogs, the titles sound hilarious. I am going to Catalyst, along with 20 or so other staff and Interns and a bunch of other local church friends. Catalyst is like the best a 'working vacation' could be.
    Blog wise, I just stumbled across this one and love the style of writing, not to mention the photographs are killer. http://www.aholyexperience.com/

  • Lucynt

    I'm w/ you on Prime. That $79 gets erased fast via price savings, not to mention sales tax and gas to go get the stuff. Which I just mentioned.