Well, I'm officially a convert. I've bit the bullet and converted completely to Firefox/Thunderbird/NVU now. My favorite new tools are the RSS feeds (come on CBC... get it going!!) and the GMail integration. Lots of other good extras can be found at the Mozilla extension room! Very cool stuff there (including FoxyTunes , Bible Toolbar, and Gestures). I'm sitting here beside myself!
Monday, December 13, 2004
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Breaking up is hard to do.
Yesterday I announced to our congregation that I will be moving in a couple months. This was the culmination of six months of agonizing prayer and advice asking. I wasn’t looking to leave my beloved church... and they weren’t looking to have me leave... so to decide to pack up go was a real stretch for me.
I’ve always feared that someday I would have to figure out if it was time to leave a ministry. The only other church I worked in previously figured it out for me so this was a new process for me and my wife.
Here’s the letter I read to our church this past Sunday:
Dear brothers and sisters of Kitimat First Baptist Church
Ten and a half years ago on July 24th (my birthday) my wife and I, along with our two children, jumped into our white Honda Civic idling outside our recently sold house in Regina and headed west. Way west. A week or so later we pulled into the city that we would now call home. A place where we joined in fellowship with this body of believers. I needed a job and you were silly enough to give me one! I don’t think I had really planned on being here for such a long time. Nevertheless, with a pretty decent sized lump in my throat, I am announcing today that our time here, as your pastor, is all too quickly coming to an end. In a few short months my wife and now four children will soon be jumping into our white Dodge Caravan (if it survives) and heading back east. A church in Swift Current Saskatchewan has called us to be their pastor and we have accepted. Coming here years ago was a no brainer. Deciding to leave here is one of the most difficult decisions Michelle and I have ever made
At the BYG ministry team meeting I asked the teens and staff if they had any questions. Matt Anderton simply asked “why?”. I suppose I should try to answer that as best I can in the next few moments.
Over the years I’ve received phone calls from church search committees at various times but always thanked them for their call... but said no thanks. About a year ago today I noticed that a couple churches nearer to where my folks lived had a pastoral vacancy. One was only a few miles away. I lodged that information in my mind and began to mull it over. While we’ve always loved living here the one nagging issue that seemed to pop up again and again was a problem with the proximity of our relatives. There was no proximity. It always seemed that the road for them to visit Kitimat was twice as long as the road for us to visit them. I dusted off my resume and fired it off only to be informed by the Area Ministers that the positions were in the process of being filled.. Nothing ever came of that and, frankly, I was glad.
Time marched on and then this past summer one of those churches called me up but it wasn’t the real close one but rather Swift Current. After explaining that they didn’t hire the other prospect I was asked to reconsider. I immediately said “well, I’ve got a good thing here, thanks for calling”. However he insisted that I consider it anyway and that he’d call back in a week. Now, I’ve been to Swift Current dozens of times but I needed to answer something for myself which was “what is the closest city in Canada to the place where Michelle’s sister lives in the US”? Well, it turns out it’s Swift Current. Then I considered that it’s eight hours east to where Michelle’s dad lives, seven hours west to my folks and lots of other relatives scattered around in between. Michelle and I began to chat about it and decided that we’d let them tell us a bit more. It was one thing to be near family but if the church didn’t need a pastor like me then it was not a wise place to go to. Our discussions led us to believe that we would, in fact, fit the profile of the pastor they needed but we could only be sure after we visited them which we did a couple weeks ago.
Which brings us to today. We are not comfortable with our decision to leave Kitimat but we are at peace about it. We sense that God is leading us to join with the believers there but, in a very real way, we do so as extensions of Kitimat First Baptist. I covet your prayers and support as we head to the mission field of Saskatchewan! Thank-you to all those who have been praying along side us during this process and, rest assured, we may not be your pastor and his wife anymore... but we will always be your friends.
Currently our plans are to move somewhere near the end of January (two months from today). We’ve decided not to take our holidays during the Christmas season, as we had planned previously, so that we could share this special time with each other one last time.
Michelle and I will linger around the front here after the service and answer any questions that you may have.
In Christ
Joell and Michelle Haugan
It’s funny but it seems God doesn’t call many folks from BC to Saskatchewan anymore... but it seems that people are always hearing God’s call the other direction. Here’s hoping I was paying attention.
Yesterday I announced to our congregation that I will be moving in a couple months. This was the culmination of six months of agonizing prayer and advice asking. I wasn’t looking to leave my beloved church... and they weren’t looking to have me leave... so to decide to pack up go was a real stretch for me.
I’ve always feared that someday I would have to figure out if it was time to leave a ministry. The only other church I worked in previously figured it out for me so this was a new process for me and my wife.
Here’s the letter I read to our church this past Sunday:
Dear brothers and sisters of Kitimat First Baptist Church
Ten and a half years ago on July 24th (my birthday) my wife and I, along with our two children, jumped into our white Honda Civic idling outside our recently sold house in Regina and headed west. Way west. A week or so later we pulled into the city that we would now call home. A place where we joined in fellowship with this body of believers. I needed a job and you were silly enough to give me one! I don’t think I had really planned on being here for such a long time. Nevertheless, with a pretty decent sized lump in my throat, I am announcing today that our time here, as your pastor, is all too quickly coming to an end. In a few short months my wife and now four children will soon be jumping into our white Dodge Caravan (if it survives) and heading back east. A church in Swift Current Saskatchewan has called us to be their pastor and we have accepted. Coming here years ago was a no brainer. Deciding to leave here is one of the most difficult decisions Michelle and I have ever made
At the BYG ministry team meeting I asked the teens and staff if they had any questions. Matt Anderton simply asked “why?”. I suppose I should try to answer that as best I can in the next few moments.
Over the years I’ve received phone calls from church search committees at various times but always thanked them for their call... but said no thanks. About a year ago today I noticed that a couple churches nearer to where my folks lived had a pastoral vacancy. One was only a few miles away. I lodged that information in my mind and began to mull it over. While we’ve always loved living here the one nagging issue that seemed to pop up again and again was a problem with the proximity of our relatives. There was no proximity. It always seemed that the road for them to visit Kitimat was twice as long as the road for us to visit them. I dusted off my resume and fired it off only to be informed by the Area Ministers that the positions were in the process of being filled.. Nothing ever came of that and, frankly, I was glad.
Time marched on and then this past summer one of those churches called me up but it wasn’t the real close one but rather Swift Current. After explaining that they didn’t hire the other prospect I was asked to reconsider. I immediately said “well, I’ve got a good thing here, thanks for calling”. However he insisted that I consider it anyway and that he’d call back in a week. Now, I’ve been to Swift Current dozens of times but I needed to answer something for myself which was “what is the closest city in Canada to the place where Michelle’s sister lives in the US”? Well, it turns out it’s Swift Current. Then I considered that it’s eight hours east to where Michelle’s dad lives, seven hours west to my folks and lots of other relatives scattered around in between. Michelle and I began to chat about it and decided that we’d let them tell us a bit more. It was one thing to be near family but if the church didn’t need a pastor like me then it was not a wise place to go to. Our discussions led us to believe that we would, in fact, fit the profile of the pastor they needed but we could only be sure after we visited them which we did a couple weeks ago.
Which brings us to today. We are not comfortable with our decision to leave Kitimat but we are at peace about it. We sense that God is leading us to join with the believers there but, in a very real way, we do so as extensions of Kitimat First Baptist. I covet your prayers and support as we head to the mission field of Saskatchewan! Thank-you to all those who have been praying along side us during this process and, rest assured, we may not be your pastor and his wife anymore... but we will always be your friends.
Currently our plans are to move somewhere near the end of January (two months from today). We’ve decided not to take our holidays during the Christmas season, as we had planned previously, so that we could share this special time with each other one last time.
Michelle and I will linger around the front here after the service and answer any questions that you may have.
In Christ
Joell and Michelle Haugan
It’s funny but it seems God doesn’t call many folks from BC to Saskatchewan anymore... but it seems that people are always hearing God’s call the other direction. Here’s hoping I was paying attention.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Well, Firefox (the browser only application) is very close to version 1.0! Get in on the fun.
My new fave theme is Noia (for Firefox).
My fave theme for Mozilla is still Mostly Crystal (works in Firefox too).
I still use Mozilla for both browsing and email only because I want to be able to middle click in my email and have the pages load as subsequent tabs in my brower in the background! SO COOL (yah, I need to get out more).
In the meantime... try Firefox! :-)
My new fave theme is Noia (for Firefox).
My fave theme for Mozilla is still Mostly Crystal (works in Firefox too).
I still use Mozilla for both browsing and email only because I want to be able to middle click in my email and have the pages load as subsequent tabs in my brower in the background! SO COOL (yah, I need to get out more).
In the meantime... try Firefox! :-)
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Things that bug me.
- MS Word
- IE
- People who get bugged by software...er...ya.
- That I can't figure out Linux completely
- That I don't smoke, drink, do drugs, gamble or overspend... yet I'm still poor!
- That the US won the last World Cup of Hockey
- That I can't get back to one of the most precious spots on the planet.
- That God just doesn't send me personal notes about what to do (ok, he has in the Bible... but, you know what I mean)
- That my desk is a mess (well, it bothers me a little bit... not quite enough to clean it)
- Lists
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Ever wonder why people do blogs? I do...and I've never figured it out.
Anyway.... SP2 for Windows XP is out... finally. Get it... install it... ASAP.
Here' a neat article on how to create a new XP cd so, if you ever need to reinstall you won't have to go get the sp's again. :-)
In case you aren't up to date... Mozilla is at 1.7.2. Firefox at 0.9.3 and Thuderbird at 0.7.3. Get them all here.
Anyway.... SP2 for Windows XP is out... finally. Get it... install it... ASAP.
Here' a neat article on how to create a new XP cd so, if you ever need to reinstall you won't have to go get the sp's again. :-)
In case you aren't up to date... Mozilla is at 1.7.2. Firefox at 0.9.3 and Thuderbird at 0.7.3. Get them all here.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Like I don't have enough on my plate already.... !
Just joined a new discussion forum with some whackos from across the theological spectrum!
Check it out here:
The Boar's Head Tavern
Just joined a new discussion forum with some whackos from across the theological spectrum!
Check it out here:
The Boar's Head Tavern
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Here some more free software that may be of interest!
PHPWebsite is a neat PHP thing that creates an entire website for you that is interactive and dynamic (meaning.. you can write stuff on it... and it can be customized by anyone).
Along the same lines is PHPNuke which seems to have a bit more "stuff" including a the very flexible phpBB (bulletin board) module that I've talked about previously.
You can check out my little attempts at demos here:
phpwebsite page
phpNuke page
They really are bare... but you can mess with them... a bit. :-)
PHPWebsite is a neat PHP thing that creates an entire website for you that is interactive and dynamic (meaning.. you can write stuff on it... and it can be customized by anyone).
Along the same lines is PHPNuke which seems to have a bit more "stuff" including a the very flexible phpBB (bulletin board) module that I've talked about previously.
You can check out my little attempts at demos here:
phpwebsite page
phpNuke page
They really are bare... but you can mess with them... a bit. :-)
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Well... i'm officially switching my email and browser.... to Firefox and Thunderbird! (yes, I know they are both Mozilla apps!).
Both are better at eye candy and have all the features of the Mozilla Suite (still have Moz on my machine though... not that brave).
All I need to do is get used to the search bar being in the top right instead of in the address line. It's coming!
Both are better at eye candy and have all the features of the Mozilla Suite (still have Moz on my machine though... not that brave).
All I need to do is get used to the search bar being in the top right instead of in the address line. It's coming!
Saturday, March 06, 2004
So, you wanna learn something eh? Well. Here's a good place to start. Basic Theology.com is a great place to start with some pretyy cool HTML too!
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Exciting card game action on your PC! One of my all time favorite card games is Wizard so you can imagine my joy when I found that I could play it online with my family and friends! Just download the game from the site and then hand out in the chat room to arrange a game! Need at least 3 players to start.. can play with up to 6! Make sure you try hidden bid! Rules, downloads, etc at the Wizardcards site!
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Linux. The very word strikes fear into many hearts! I do see a day coming when Linux equals MS for desktops in the world (won't be that way in North America til later). So... why not head to Tinyminds.org and start learning Linux today! A good place to start is the FAQ.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Free newspaper!
Vancouver's "The Province" is free on the net right now! Read the ENTIRE paper!
Click here
Vancouver's "The Province" is free on the net right now! Read the ENTIRE paper!
Click here
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Time for something imporntant!
One of the amazing advantages of the internet is the ability to do research. Granted, only so much can be gleaned from website dedicated to dead cats... however, there is some excellent ways to learn the good stuff!
Start at Gospelcom.net to get excellent resources and access to dozens or Bible study helps and translations!
One of the amazing advantages of the internet is the ability to do research. Granted, only so much can be gleaned from website dedicated to dead cats... however, there is some excellent ways to learn the good stuff!
Start at Gospelcom.net to get excellent resources and access to dozens or Bible study helps and translations!
Thursday, February 19, 2004
The best way to send a document to friends and family is by making and sending a .pdf file. Don't send .doc files! Wordperfect Office has a publish to pdf facility built right in. If you don't have WP (and you should) then just get PDF995 which converts any file to PDF for free (and get an ad everytime) or pay $9.95.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Ever have a file that you want to send to someone and you can't email it because it's too big? Why not set up your computer with an FTP server (File Transfer Protocol). Cerburus FTP is free and works well! Easy to use too!
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Please don't hate me. I had my arms chopped off and I have to type this with my tongue! (just kidding). OK. So I've been lax... but there are some more software programs and web sites that I've been fiddling with that you will want to know about!
1. Well, there still Mozilla of course which is at 1.6 and doing awesome!
Of course now... is just the browser (Firefox) and just the email client (Thunderbird). Check them out!
Now, fun with PHP!!
Ever wish you could have your friends/family/church members.... etc be able to update or chat or whatever just through their web browser? Well, it's easier than ever! Here are some apps you'll wanna check out.
2. How about a free church management software system? Yes, it's true. Openserve.org features Infocentral which a PHP web browser database (driven by MySQL) application that tracks members, visitors, giving and alot more. And it's free!
3. Oh, you'll need a web host.. so why not just let your own machine host it for you! That's right, head over to Apache and download the latest server and turn you computer into a bona fide web server! (I do .. see here).
3. Free bulletin board / chat room website (based on Mysql and PHP as well). PHPbb offers an awesome bulletin board system. Check out my demo here.
4. Another bulletin board type program is Invision Board which will cost you money if you register it... but it has a calendar built right in to share info with friends and family. Here's my demo.
5. And, finally, the best word processor is due to come out with a new version soon... which includes Corel Presentations! Check out my page for getting the most out of it!
1. Well, there still Mozilla of course which is at 1.6 and doing awesome!
Of course now... is just the browser (Firefox) and just the email client (Thunderbird). Check them out!
Now, fun with PHP!!
Ever wish you could have your friends/family/church members.... etc be able to update or chat or whatever just through their web browser? Well, it's easier than ever! Here are some apps you'll wanna check out.
2. How about a free church management software system? Yes, it's true. Openserve.org features Infocentral which a PHP web browser database (driven by MySQL) application that tracks members, visitors, giving and alot more. And it's free!
3. Oh, you'll need a web host.. so why not just let your own machine host it for you! That's right, head over to Apache and download the latest server and turn you computer into a bona fide web server! (I do .. see here).
3. Free bulletin board / chat room website (based on Mysql and PHP as well). PHPbb offers an awesome bulletin board system. Check out my demo here.
4. Another bulletin board type program is Invision Board which will cost you money if you register it... but it has a calendar built right in to share info with friends and family. Here's my demo.
5. And, finally, the best word processor is due to come out with a new version soon... which includes Corel Presentations! Check out my page for getting the most out of it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
