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Check out the Pebble watch. What? Did you expect one of those iconic (ironic?) calculator watches from the 80’s? Please. Grab this hat while you’re at it. The Pebble watch (getpebble.com) runs apps! It uses an e-paper display which can display any clock face imaginable. It’s bluetooth connection syncs up to your iPhone and displays notifications from twitter, facebook, email, etc. Just in case you weren’t connected enough to social media. At $149 it’s a bit pricey, but did I mention it’s a remote display and control for your iPhone?
Let’s explore a few other geek watches.
Gotta be digital.
Gotta be square.
Gotta be a bit large.
Diesel has some designer watches that fit the bill, such as this Diesel Quartz Black Dial men’s watch. Nice.
If the Diesel brand is a bit too pricey for you, this Armitron 408177SIL will fit any budget.  All the features you’d expect in a digital watch, but with a geek’s style.  Whilst wearing it, I’ve had several people comment… one person mistook it for the Pebble.  Score!  I also think it looks better in person than the pictures.  This Armitron is probably my favorite watch I’ve owned in the last 10 years.
Dr. Tim Kimmel, Executie Director of Family Matters and author of Grace-Based Parenting, was the guest speaker at Grace Fellowship Church on October 21, 2012.  The Big Idea: God gives us the ability to create a culture of grace in our families.
FYI: Â There’s an upcoming conference on this subject Nov 30 – Dec 1 2012 at Grace Fellowship. Â Sign up and details here:Â http://latham.gracefellowship.com/event/raising-truly-great-kids-conference/
Sermon Notes:
Text: Luke 2:39-52
1. Grace-based families give the people they love the freedom to be__________________.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.â€
2. Grace-based families give the people they love the freedom to be ___________________.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.â€
Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.â€
3. Grace-based families give the people they love the freedom to be __________________.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need.â€
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.â€
4. Grace-based families give the people they love the freedom to___________ __________________.
Hebrews 12:5-6 “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord
disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.â€
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.â€
I’ve been a happy Ooma customer for over 2 years now. Â The price of the Ooma Telo box has come down significantly in that time, and the service is still pretty much free: Â just a few dollars a month to cover mandatory taxes and fees. Â If you have home phone service from one of the regular guys, this will save you a lot of money.
I’ve reviewed the Ooma Telo in the past, but if you want the best deal, for a limited time, there is a referral code you can use to save $50 and get free shipping!
Get Ooma today, with $50 off and free shipping!
I can’t choose just one bar, there’s several that I like a lot and keep rotating. Sometimes I’ll eat one of these for a quick breakfast on the go, or for a relatively healthy snack throughout the day. High quality ingredients in all these bars. Nothing fake. No preservatives. Just real food.
Raw Revolution bars, raw food.  I was a bit surprised that I would like an apple cinnamon bar as much as I do like this. It’s got some nice greens mixed in there too.

I’ve mentioned the Odwalla bars before. Â They’re great. Â No doubt the choco-walla is my favorite, but the superfood is runner up. Â The superfood bar is a bit more healthy, with raisins and greens.
The Larabars are great.  They have tons of flavors to choose from.  I really like the Apple Pie and Blueberry Muffin ones.  Fruit and nuts and thats it. But these bars are pleasantly chewy, not like eating a birdseed bar. If you’re into that, Kind bars are good that way. Ingredients: apples, raisins, dates, walnuts, almonds, and cinnamon. That’s it!
Click on the pictures above to get these bars from amazon.com with free shipping, and if you’re ready to commit, you can subscribe and save even more!
The Mac Mini is a great little computer. Â It’s got a lot packed in there, even some pretty nice built-in speakers (as long as you’re not an audiophile). Â If you’re interested in getting a Mac on your desktop for under $600, this is the way to go. Â To get a full computer setup, though, you will need some peripherals: Â a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Â If you don’t have these already lying around, let me recommend this set of peripherals to complement the Mac Mini. Â These are all available from amazon.com, and all qualify for free shipping!
First, a monitor: HP 20″ LCD. Â No need to pay extra $$ for the Apple display. This is a great monitor for a little over $100 (at amazon.com). The Mac Mini includes an HDMI to DVI converter cable, so you can use any monitor that supports DVI, which is pretty much all of them these days. Â (Want more screen? Â Try this excellent 24″ LCD from Asus.)
Next, a keyboard: You could get the official Apple keyboard, but let’s pretend you want to save some money and stick with the black peripheral color theme.  If you don’t mind using a PC keyboard (with a WIN-key instead of the command-key), you can get a basic USB keyboard from AmazonBasics.  A wireless keyboard and mouse are always an option.  Personally, I don’t mind wires, and no batteries.
Now a mouse:Â Standard USB mouse, from AmazonBasics. Â Two buttons + scroll wheel + free shipping = great deal.
What about a CD/DVD drive? Yes, please.  Remember there is no optical drive included with the newest Mac Mini model, so if you need to read or write CDs or DVDs, you’d better get an external drive. I recommend the AmazonBasics CD/DVD writer. It’s slim, black, and powered through USB alone, so no power adapter to mess with. The square footprint of the DVD drive is smaller than the square Mac Mini, but complements it just the same.  (Second option for DVD writer.)
You want to videochat, too?!?  OK, with this super cool and inexpensive Kinobo USB webcam, you can Skype or Facetime with your buddies (includes a built-in mic).
That’s it, pick up all these peripherals to turn your Mac Mini into a stylish, fully functioning Mac workstation, all for under $180 (with free shipping) if you order from amazon.com using the links included here.
I’ve been enjoying Odwalla food bars lately. They make for a great snack, and also compliment my light lunch. One isn’t quite enough food to be a meal on it’s own, but it could probably be half a meal.  Odwalla makes a variety of products which use healthy, natural ingredients. Their products also happen to be very tasty! These food bars are 25% organic, contain no GMOs, and include hearty helpings of essential vitamins and minerals. The Odwalla Bar is sweetened only with natural nectars, is wheat and lactose free, and contains nothing artificial.
Another thing I just became aware of: I can get these bars delivered to my house, with free shipping, for less than $1 each! How? Amazon.com subscription! Amazon will ship me a new box every 1, 2, 3 or 6 months, and with a 15% discount!  This is the first product I’m trying out with a subscription. Check it out, get some great food, so convenient, and a great deal!
These were the kind of talks that got me first hooked on Piper, and this topic, passion for the supremacy of God, is one of the main themes in his book Desiring God, which rocked my worldview back in my college days.  I actually hadn’t heard these particular messages until recently, I heard Lecrae mention being at Passion 97 and getting rocked by these messages, so I decided to throw these on my iPod as I went out to shovel 12″ of snow from my driveway.  Vintage Piper, I guess you could say.  Had a great time shoveling.  (This is part 2, part 1 is previous.)
These were the kind of talks that got me first hooked on Piper, and this topic, passion for the supremacy of God, is one of the main themes in his book Desiring God, which rocked my worldview back in my college days.  I actually hadn’t heard these particular messages until recently, I heard Lecrae mention being at Passion 97 and getting rocked by these messages, so I decided to throw these on my iPod as I went out to shovel 12″ of snow from my driveway.  Vintage Piper, I guess you could say.  Had a great time shoveling.
Good message from Pastor Mark, speaking to potential church planters, and men in particular, about the priority of the family in the context of serving in ministry.  Our priorities, in order, should be:
- Loving God
- Loving your wife (spouse)
- Loving your kids
- Ministry
I’m not a church planter, but the reminder about the importance of taking care of my family is an appreciated one. Â Why do we sometimes think we can do God’s work without doing it His way? Â We can’t do God’s work. Â If we hope to be used by God in ministry, I imagine we should pay serious attention to priorities 1-3. Â I love how he talked about qualifications of an elder (church leader) from 1 Timothy 3:1-13, and 1 Timothy 5:8, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Part of an Acts 29 boot camp in Seattle, titled Ministry, Marriage, and Mistakes.
You can also watch the video here on the Mars Hill blog.
