tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133699922024-03-07T18:21:24.356-06:00allen arnnwhat I'm thinking aboutAllen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-72422565446389788702011-05-18T09:01:00.004-05:002011-05-23T08:55:50.118-05:00ResonanceOn a playground, the way you swing higher and higher is to pump your legs in the same rhythm that the swing would swing if you pulled it back and let it go - the resonant frequency. The way you push down a small but formidable tree (I as did last week) is to push at the natural frequency that the tree naturally oscillates at (in that case about once per second back and forth, back and forth). Tiny.. small.. bigger.. bigger.. bigger.. BIGGER.. BIGGER.. down!<br /><br />People jumping to music in bleachers or wind gusts hitting bridges are two other places where jumping or gusting just in the right regular tempo makes the movement grow bigger and bigger until it breaks.<br /><br />A leader I worked with always talked about starting things at the right time of year - the time of year that makes sense to people. The more I think about it, that was a commitment to hitting the organization at it resonate frequency. <br /><br />To move anything... a company, an organization, a family, an employee... push at the resonate frequency. As it naturally oscillates, push things at just the right time to make the oscillation bigger. Unveil exciting things at the annual conference. If your kids are especially receptive at bedtime, speak things that mold their character at bedtime -- not when they're cranky right after school. Your church operates on the school calendar... start new things at the semester breaks.<br /><br />Move things at the regular frequency with which they want to be moved - the timing they "resonate" with. Any other timing than that has the feeling of being jerky and dampens the effect you are trying to achieve.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-18247891484707364852011-05-15T17:06:00.008-05:002011-05-18T08:21:18.697-05:00SmileIf you are feeling down, just start smiling. I'm not talking about tricking yourself psychologically. I'm talking about how the physical action of your smiling face sends signals to your brain changing your mood. Try it!Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-30143514677507052462011-05-10T15:07:00.003-05:002011-05-11T13:21:32.495-05:00Why can 'no' not sometimes be 'yes'?I'm not a big James Dobson fan, but one thing he said years ago has really stuck with me.<br /><br />As parents, sometimes we just get in the habit of saying 'no' to our kids.<br /><br />Can I play with your iPhone? No<br />Can I have some ice cream (30 minutes before dinner)? No<br />Can we stop by the gas station and get a Coke? No<br /><br />Many times 'no' is the right answer, but does it always have to be?<br /><br />Sometime soon, when you would normally say 'no' to your kids, try saying 'yes'. It'll be fun to see their reaction.<br /><br />Is there really a good reason why 'no' cannot sometimes be 'yes'?Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-28980858966806727162011-05-09T22:25:00.007-05:002011-05-15T16:48:42.965-05:00Book of RemembranceWarning: This is a little touch-y/feel-y but sometimes leadership requires that.<br /><br />Pastor Harry Li inspired me a while back to have what he calls a "Book of Remembrance". It's just a journal where you can write down funny, cute, or special things that happen in your family.<br /><br />A few keys:<br />-- If you're the one starting the book, only you can write in it. If the kids or your spouse ask to write in it, say "Get your own book!"<br />-- Keep the book in a certain place with a pen attached so it's very easy to write things down. If it's always getting misplaced or there's no pen around, it'll be too hard and you won't write in it.<br />-- Pull it out every once in a while and read some posts to the family... great laughs and special moments.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-24613872169537426462011-05-09T22:23:00.004-05:002011-05-10T13:11:23.129-05:00If something feels funky...One of my favorite leaders, Bill Hybels, says "If something feels funky, engage!" He speaks of that mostly in regard to work team dynamics going south, but I find it's useful in any area of life.<br /><br />If the fridge is making a weird noise or the car has a weird smell, waiting won't make it go away. And, every day you wait, you worry.<br /><br />Whether it's a relationship problem, a technical problem, a mechanical problem, a work team problem... just engage sooner instead of later and you'll keep it from getting worse.<br /><br />Sometimes you'll find, when you do bite the bullet and engage the problem, that it's not quite as bad as you thought.<br /><br />If something feels funky, ENGAGE!Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-29126972291097256962011-05-09T21:39:00.004-05:002011-05-09T22:09:02.899-05:00Thrash EarlyIn Linchpin, Seth Godin talks about thrashing early. Often we do things on our own in an organization and then the closer we get to the finish line of a project, the more and higher up people get involved in approving the end product. That is thrashing late... only getting the collective wisdom of the team near the end when it's too late to make it better. Thrashing early is hashing things out on the front end, and then as the project goes along there's less and less input needed from others.<br /><br />That's thrashing early as a <span style="font-weight:bold;">team</span>, but what about thrashing early <span style="font-weight:bold;">internally with your own relationship to the project</span>? It's easy to put off the hard trashing til later. You glance and see a couple of things that need to change in that print piece being designed, but you think you'll let it go. And then you find yourself (on the day the piece was going to print thousands) having to hold things up because that one sentence doesn't make sense. You knew it wasn't right a week ago, but you didn't thrash early and say something.<br /><br />Or, what about when you half-way review some creative work and think it's good enough, but then right before time to ship you see something that could have made it 10 times better. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Thrash early</span>! Engage your <span style="font-weight:bold;">brain</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">heart</span> fully early on so there's <span style="font-weight:bold;">time to act on what you think and feel</span> before you get too close to the shipping date.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-41615697160512122702010-04-28T12:01:00.002-05:002010-04-28T12:27:51.673-05:00Gospel GoodnessFirst a note for the MoKids team at Mosaic Church... then a post for today.<br /><br />SPECIAL INVITATION FOR THE MOKIDS TEAM<br />In special appreciation for all of your hard work through the year leading children closer to Jesus, on May 16 at Community Meal following the 2nd worship service, we'll honor all MoKids volunteers! We'll have a special seating area for all MoKids volunteers and their families. Of course, there will be some surprises as well. Please mark your calendar and plan to stay for the lunch that day as the church thanks you for your excellent service to our children.<br /><br />GOSPEL GOODNESS<br />Do you ever fall into the trap of thinking the Gospel of Jesus Christ is just that we'll have our sins forgiven and go to heaven someday? I mean... those are great things but I think Jesus (who came to give us abundant life) has much more in mind. The next few days I'll be talking here about the awesome things we get when we embrace the Gospel.<br /><br />For today... just one<br /><br />The Gospel is not a judge knocking the gavel and proclaiming "sins forgiven... <span style="font-weight:bold;">you are free to go</span>".<br />The Gospel is a father saying "I forgive you... <span style="font-weight:bold;">come to me</span>".<br />Do you hear the amazing difference in those?<br /><br />More Gospel Goodness tomorrow.... stay tuned...Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-59998912597789361362010-04-26T08:26:00.002-05:002010-04-26T08:46:37.425-05:00A different kind of SundayAt our church, we have three practices that we focus on. Worship, walk, and work. For quite a while, I've been focused on "work" -- doing things to help our church run in a more healthy way. I've even done that to a degree that it's often been keeping me out of attending worship as I strive to get that one more idea implemented or that one more person engaged.<br /><br />Yesterday, I think I got back in balance and added a whole new component as well.<br /><br />I arrived early to do some "work", preparing a few things to help the children's and enfolding ministries run smoothly. <br /><br />Then, I attended "worship" and participated in great worship and heard an incredible message.<br /><br />During second service, I did something different. I (along with two friends) decided to "walk" our neighborhood. Our goal was to meet people, to learn more about our neighborhood, and to minister to people we came across. Too often, I think of "walk" as "fellowship with Christian friends". But "walk" is much more than pita chips, spinach dip and cupcakes. That's a party. Parties are good and parties should continue to happen. But, for me, I'm seeing "walk" as much more than walking in fellowship together. <span style="font-weight:bold;">I'm seeing our value of "walk" as "walking out the kingdom of God in our neighborhood".</span> When we do that, Christian fellowship will definitely be a byproduct.<br /><br />Worship... work... walk...<br /><br />Gotta run... will flesh out more soon...Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-42410440445265802182009-08-18T09:25:00.007-05:002009-09-11T10:28:23.109-05:00Update on the Arnn'sWow! What a year. It is completely FLYING by quicker than any other year I can remember.<br /><br />I want to give an update (especially for our awesome supporters) of all that's been going on at Mosaic the last few months!<br /><br />As you know, since January I've been leading our children's ministry called MoKids.<br /><br />Here are some MoKids highlights:<br />1) This Spring I encouraged my leaders to be "apprenticing" someone on their teams -- teaching them to do the job that they do. One leader in particular did that very well, and we're seeing the fruit! That leader has now moved up to help in a different role in MoKids, and the spot she left vacant has been filled with one of her "apprentices"! That's how it's supposed to work!<br /><br />2) This summer, MoKids partnered with Child Evangelism Fellowship to hold kids' clubs out in the community bringing children the gospel and the love of Christ. We had 102 children attend clubs at two near-by apartment complexes. A number of children sought counsel about salvation and 4 children prayer to receive Christ as their Savior! <br /><br />We had, for some time, had our eye on these two apartment complexes for ministry, but it took actually stepping out there for the vision to crystallize. It was a watershed week for MoKids as we officially expanded our strategy beyond "Partnering with Parents" and "Sunday Morning Ministries" to now include a third prong, "MoKids Community Ministries" -- children's ministry beyond the walls of the building. We plan to continue a weekly club in one of the apartment complexes and a quarterly party in the other. It is a beautiful thing to be out in the community. <br /><br />3) The last few weeks have been extremely busy ones as we prepared for the new school year in MoKids. Some of systems and plans we've begun or improved in the last few weeks are: 1) A better plan for promoting kids to the next class/grade 2) Better use of our facilities 3) New curriculum in the elementary area that spans both worship hours - different but complementary content around one theme all morning!<br /><br /><br />Beyond MoKids, I'm also what we call a "ministry developer". I've focused on two main projects in that realm at Mosaic:<br /><br />1) This summer we had a "Find Your FITT" fair -- FITT stands for faithfully investing time and talent. For the first time, we have consistent job descriptions for all volunteer roles and a system for getting people connected to serving.<br /><br />2) I'm working with one of our pastors, Steven Weathers, to develop a midweek discipleship program for both children and adults. We are recognizing the need to take our people deeper in discipleship than they can go on Sunday mornings or in LifeGroups. We launched this ministry on Sept 2. Going well! The elementary kids are learning Phil 2:1-11 one verse per week. It's so powerful for chilren (and adults!) to memorize scripture and take God's word with us through the week.<br /><br /><br />Here are a few updates about the Arnn family:<br /><br />-- We bought a house in July! We are fairly settled, but there are still lots of unpacked boxes! We're getting there though.<br /><br />-- Alex is in a public charter school this year. It's going very well. Emmaleigh and Susannah are on the waiting list and are attending a Christian school until they get into the charter school as Debbie begins a new job.<br /><br />-- I had the privilege of baptizing Emmaleigh and Alex on Easter at Mosaic this year.<br /><br /><br />Prayer requests:<br />-- Debbie's mom has not been feeling well. Please pray that it is nothing serious.<br /><br />-- Please pray for community to further develop among the staff at Mosaic. We are all so busy doing our own thing that we don't take time to team together and find synergy.<br /><br />-- Please pray for our new Wednesday night initiative - Mosaic Midweek Discipleship. We could still use more leaders in the elementary area to disciple the kids in prayer, scripture memory and worship.<br /><br />-- Pray that our girls get into that charter school right away!<br /><br />I think that's it for now! Thank you to all of our financial and prayer supporters! We could not be creating a church for all people across racial and economic lines without you!<br /><br />These are tough times in our world. I encourage you to press on! Don't grow weary doing what God has called you to do. Depend on Him daily.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />AllenAllen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-4868209530398076862009-06-02T09:59:00.002-05:002009-06-02T10:04:30.606-05:00So thankful for teamwork!On Sunday at Mosaic, we kicked off a season of volunteer recruitment called "Find Your FITT". I'm so thankful for all the people who contributed time and energy to the project. I'll post some pictures soon.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-32638865491847527492009-02-07T20:50:00.002-06:002009-02-07T21:08:55.346-06:00First 100 daysI'm on day 35 as pastor of the MoKids ministry at Mosaic. It's been a busy month! I'm the kind of guy who finds the area of biggest need and dives in to do whatever it takes to fix it. Right now I'm in the glitzy and prestigious world of 2-year-olds. That has been our toughest room to staff. So... again tomorrow... I'll be working in that room teaching our 2's about how Jesus says that God will go after us like a lost sheep and joyfully carry us home on his shoulders. I just hope no adults come by and see me singing and doing motions... "His love swallows me up... with one big gulp" :) (Kris, I hope I don't hurt my back!)<br /><br />While I don't need to be in 2's much longer, it is always good to take short seasons and experience things way down in the ministry. Last week in 2's I learned some things and have already implemented improvements for this Sunday. That would never have happened if I were directing things from above in a vacuum.<br /><br />I was doing some calculations to better understand our need for more volunteers. I find that we ministered to 30.4% more children in our ministry January 09 than we did January 08. We have 70.8% more kids in the 2-year-old class! That explains the need... we just need God to send us some great volunteers!<br /><br />Fun stuff. I love working at my church.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-76980019450529663572009-01-03T10:33:00.004-06:002009-01-03T10:39:56.052-06:00Responsibilities vs. your dream"If your dreams and responsibilities are running crosswise, you are probably living the wrong life. You've got to take responsibilities and dreams and fuse them together where your <span style="font-weight:bold;">responsibility IS your dream</span>. You are <span style="font-weight:bold;">responsible</span> to live the life God created you to live." Erwin McManusAllen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-46377986506478874582008-10-21T08:36:00.011-05:002008-10-22T09:29:01.752-05:00Hour for hourI had an obvious but challenging thought this week. As church staff members, every time we spend an hour doing something for our jobs, someone in our congregation had to do an hour of work to pay for it. Every time we spend $15 of church money a real person in our congregation had to labor for an hour or two to pay for it.<br /><br />I find myself feeling very accountable when I think about an actual person doing actual work so I can spend church time and church money.<br /><br />The next time I decide how I'll spend my next hour or spend the next $10 or $20 of church budget I want to be thinking about the people who labored to make it possible doing things like this:<br />- cutting grass for an hour<br />- selling cars for an hour<br />- cleaning houses for an hour<br />- brewing coffee for an hour<br />- changing diapers in a day care for an hour<br />- directing traffic in the hot sun for an hour<br /><br />This may seem really obvious and simplistic. And, I acknowledge that people are tithing joyfully not begrudgingly. No one is sitting around thinking about this hour for hour deal; they are giving to God. BUT... it does help me prioritize my spending of church time and money when I think of the decisions that workers are making all over Little Rock and beyond to labor in their job that next hour and give the money earned to Mosaic Church.<br /><br />Yesterday, I had to rush order a case of labels needed for child check-in this Sunday. My neglect of that known need caused me to spend more on shipping than I should have. Imagine if I had to go to a member of the congregation at his workplace and ask him to work the next 2 hours to pay for the excessive shipping cost related to my procrastination.<br /><br />One other related thought... An old friend of mine was a missionary to Romania. In Romania, people don't make much money and giving to the church is low. In order to do the things the church wants to do, people in this one area painstakingly craft and sell shoes to make money for the church. I find that very challenging.<br /><br />Maybe an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Powerful-Leadership-Bill-Hybels/dp/031027236X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224684358&sr=8-1">axiom</a> is in order! When deciding how to spend church time or church money, ask yourself: "Would someone make shoes for this?"Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-76868504049548941742008-10-10T09:43:00.002-05:002008-10-10T10:02:30.096-05:00The power of accountabilityMy wife and I have tried dieting separately off and on through the years semi-successfully. We've had a breakthrough now though. We've been dieting TOGETHER. We each set a weight goal (really a mini-goal on the way to our true goal weight). We both LOVE desserts, but we agreed that we wouldn't eat ANY sweets until we both met our mini-goals. It's been about 3 weeks with no sweets (and for me about 6 weeks with not a single Coke!) Debbie met her goal two days ago and I met mine today. <br /><br />We'll celebrate with a reasonable dessert tonight and then we need to set our next weight goals and decide what we are going to keep each other accountable to regarding food and exercise.<br /><br />This makes me think. We are succeeding in the weight loss department through accountability, but what else should we be using accountability to help us accomplish? Probably lots of things! We should think on that.<br /><br />What are you and your spouse or friend working on together?Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-16092041577220576512008-09-30T10:12:00.003-05:002008-09-30T10:17:49.224-05:00Woohoo for Firefox tab hot keysI'm excited to have learned the hot keys to navigate between open tabs in firefox.<br /><br />On the mac...<br />ctrl+tab - toggles sequentially through open tabs<br />ctrl+shift+tab - toggle backwards through open tabs<br />cmd(apple key)+1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or etc - goes straight to tab 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 etc<br /><br />cmd+t - opens new tab<br />cmd+w - closes tabAllen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-7590510262360353992008-09-21T20:40:00.004-05:002008-09-21T20:55:17.968-05:00WowI was just part of something amazing. A friend named Carlos was in his basement my himself leading worship in front of his mac book pro. 170 friends from around the country/world joined in the worship via his blog and were able to participate through live sharing of the their worship thoughts through chat. So often, worship is a band leading, everyone signing, and a few people shouting out a thought or two. This was everyone shouting out their instantaneous worship, their prayers, their thoughts.<br /><br />I had my kids sitting with me and they chatted in a couple of praise thoughts of their own.<br /><br />Carlos' blog is <a href="http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com">www.ragamuffinsoul.com</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOg6GPvD6EtbYgenJ9qSOqDVp7Lx_Fpc8jXjgIcNqso3L79anZvMCJjZtLvli5CKoaKMZuB9b2s6she3kkv_wAIM1eCxL-SLO9-hrKtNN0IOkIcr3pRV5hLdxPkRPzZ9QQhoRcOA/s1600-h/Picture+33.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOg6GPvD6EtbYgenJ9qSOqDVp7Lx_Fpc8jXjgIcNqso3L79anZvMCJjZtLvli5CKoaKMZuB9b2s6she3kkv_wAIM1eCxL-SLO9-hrKtNN0IOkIcr3pRV5hLdxPkRPzZ9QQhoRcOA/s320/Picture+33.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248657071640286034" /></a>Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-83474719754824455442008-09-20T18:26:00.004-05:002008-09-20T20:49:04.311-05:00Park and Movie DayToday, we went to Riverfront Park and to the dollar movies. Here are some pix...<br /><br />Em by a sculpture...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2873196757/" title="P9200020.JPG by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2873196757_6bbe40258a.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="P9200020.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Mr. Cool...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2874028378/" title="P9200027.JPG by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/2874028378_a76dc479e0.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="P9200027.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Susie...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2874031688/" title="P9200043.JPG by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/2874031688_bfac352748.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="P9200043.JPG" /></a><br /><br />More Susie...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2873203805/" title="P9200056.JPG by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2873203805_2cc0bce172.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="P9200056.JPG" /></a><br /><br />"I didn't want water, I wanted a diet coke."<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2873206753/" title="P9200071.JPG copy.jpg by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2873206753_e01533ff2a.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="P9200071.JPG copy.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Dollar Movies are great!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2873208417/" title="P9200075.JPG by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2873208417_972dacfcea.jpg" width="260" height="130" alt="P9200075.JPG" /></a><br /><br />This family really gets into it's movies... you should have seen them after the movie. Alex was spinning, kicking, karate chopping Em. Pretty funny... like when we saw Ratatouille and Em/Alex were crawling through the movie theater afterwards like rats!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allentexas/2874038058/" title="P9200074.JPG by allen texas, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2874038058_3dac898309.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="P9200074.JPG" /></a>Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-65941868763342335452008-09-19T20:36:00.003-05:002008-09-19T21:13:46.455-05:00Catching up with old friendsVia Facebook, I caught up this week with two friends I haven't seen in years. One of them I haven't seen in 19 years. It turns out he's a pastor in the delta of eastern Arkansas. What's even wilder is that he has recently picked up my pastor's book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Building-Healthy-Multi-ethnic-Church-Congregation/dp/0787995517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221876763&sr=8-1">How to Build a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church</a>". He commented how the delta is a place that really needs that.<br /><br />Just being at our church in Little Rock, it's easy to miss the <a href="http://www.mosaix.info">multi-ethnic church movement</a> that is beginning to spread.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-25519971184368958382008-09-01T21:45:00.002-05:002008-09-01T21:59:24.267-05:00Need a new blog addressI'd like to get back to blogging, but I need a new blog address. <br /><br />allentexas.blogspot.com made sense when I was an "Allen" living in Texas. And, I actually lived in the city of Allen, Texas. But now I live in Little Rock, AR.<br /><br />Once I get some creative juices flowing on that, I'll be back on here more.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-22177170183685799592008-06-11T06:41:00.002-05:002008-06-11T06:48:32.202-05:00AT&T Internet at StarbucksThis is a great day. Found out I can log into the internet at Starbucks using my sbcglobal dsl account. <br /><br />Thank you Starbucks! However, I HATE the new brown cups.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWnukXJ1Slpn4-Ns73QoPgSBgZjkaJyAKmQTJ2TIC3FXgxsopZjbD_FA8kpR6X0r3ReVqNNJuqOn53nDHAjCS6AkT1cCmfcf5kc7KgBJ0z4_MgU8Fl9L6vRygzBdSQdMixx1qzQ/s1600-h/Photo+73.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWnukXJ1Slpn4-Ns73QoPgSBgZjkaJyAKmQTJ2TIC3FXgxsopZjbD_FA8kpR6X0r3ReVqNNJuqOn53nDHAjCS6AkT1cCmfcf5kc7KgBJ0z4_MgU8Fl9L6vRygzBdSQdMixx1qzQ/s320/Photo+73.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210589352419882978" /></a><br /><br />Bring back the green!!!!!!!Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-81816680897460011552008-05-09T07:58:00.005-05:002008-05-09T08:15:35.337-05:00One of those cool moments...I wrote recently that I went with Deb's class on a field trip. Each time I'm around those kids, I try to look for what their strengths are and how I can affirm them and build them up. This one girl (I'll call her Courtney to protect her identity) is a great writer. She's the one with the biggest face on the first funny foto <a href="http://allentexas.blogspot.com/2008/04/day-with-rest-of-our-kids.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Whenever I see Courtney, I call her my writer. I ask her what she's been writing about and encourage her to keep writing.<br /><br />When you encourage kids in this way, you wonder if it sticks at all.<br /><br />Debbie had the kids make thank you notes for the adults who chaperoned the field trip.<br /><br />Courtney signed her note to me:<br />"Your Writer, Courtney"<br /><br />Watch out writers of the world!Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-53738395082267394862008-05-07T14:01:00.002-05:002008-05-07T14:05:13.532-05:00Another good word...I have no time to write today, so I'll just point to <a href="http://www.stevenfurtick.com/personal-development/the-comfort-zone-and-the-sweet-spot/">this smart guy</a> again.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-22770874019900870492008-04-30T09:37:00.003-05:002008-04-30T09:39:58.358-05:00Good wordGood <a href="http://www.stevenfurtick.com/leadership/lead-less/">word</a> for all of us trying to grow organizations.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-92062734967637134812008-04-29T07:58:00.004-05:002008-04-29T08:37:26.698-05:00A few framesPart of the way I make my living is editing video. <br /><br />One of the things that always strikes me is the difference a few frames makes. [a frame is one of the 30 pictures per second that we see as moving video]<br /><br />Edit out a tiny pause in the action; man the difference it makes in the energy.<br />Lengthen a clip a frame or two and bam!... it hits right on the beat of the music.<br />No one wants to watch if audio and video are out of sync just a few frames.<br />Nobody believes the story line if a scene hangs on a few frames too long.<br />On and on... it's often a matter of a few frames.<br /><br />I been seeing lately that much of life is a matter of a few frames as well.<br /><br />In just a tiny moment of frustration, a relationship can go south.<br />Just a tiny instant of misunderstanding can needlessly get a work team off track.<br />Just a instantaneous hurtful word spoken to your child can harm her for years.<br />The decision to go into sin is often an impulsive decision.<br /><br />A few frames can wreck months of work and years of love.<br /><br />So what is the remedy?<br /><br />On the front end...<br />Stay close to Jesus and think before you act<br /><br />On the back end...<br />Grace, grace, and more graceAllen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13369992.post-47125579409784880162008-04-25T18:45:00.008-05:002008-04-25T19:09:54.489-05:00A day with the rest of our kidsToday, I went on a field trip with Deb's class to a museum. On the bus we played with photo booth. Loads of fun for the kids.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8wEC5_OpahkWchAlrGcpWtwmNC5EbJ_VLudIRbkH0k98imlk9RZynIZADbed10Zcz_vcDDTBj9CTkZJfdfN-dZzDzSY383aZeQl_jkdkcObhdtWFg2pMawnNXsNf5Rjf7OAAHg/s1600-h/Photo+68.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8wEC5_OpahkWchAlrGcpWtwmNC5EbJ_VLudIRbkH0k98imlk9RZynIZADbed10Zcz_vcDDTBj9CTkZJfdfN-dZzDzSY383aZeQl_jkdkcObhdtWFg2pMawnNXsNf5Rjf7OAAHg/s320/Photo+68.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193336672384585186" /></a><br /><br><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LDNkbXspCF2XznQMuqA-vlgJqB9PRNelYq-Ptbhf04dwX8tr2EXzApa4YYS2sacYv9o2MIzKbH2Y2-B1jaF_MY1Xv7S7ZmGOJ7QuWHvbAYaDM57YthzEvMkpCe8dHAC9Nz_yxA/s1600-h/Photo+71.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LDNkbXspCF2XznQMuqA-vlgJqB9PRNelYq-Ptbhf04dwX8tr2EXzApa4YYS2sacYv9o2MIzKbH2Y2-B1jaF_MY1Xv7S7ZmGOJ7QuWHvbAYaDM57YthzEvMkpCe8dHAC9Nz_yxA/s320/Photo+71.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193339476998229490" /></a><br /><br />I love getting the chance to speak a specific word of encouragement or inspiration into a few of those kids' lives.<br /><br />Then after school, I spent a couple of hours with the at-risk 2nd grader I mentor. He is so smart. We played chess and talked. He has so much potential but SO needs self-control to stay out of trouble. I care a lot about this kid. He's accidentally called me "dad" once and I've accidentally called him "son" twice. Please pray he has a breakthrough this coming week.Allen Arnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03530965973424281807noreply@blogger.com0