A week or two ago, this blog passed 100,000 page views. It’s because of Michael Spencer that I blog at all. I used to read InternetMonk and occasionally make a comment, and I was fine with that until his pod cast started. When I got my first iPod, I downloaded the first 20 episodes of iMonk Radio, and ate those things like candy until I finished them. I had so many thoughts, ideas and responses running around my head that I went to WordPress and started pushing buttons. March will be two years. Continue reading
Tag Archives: blogging
What do you think?
One of the most read bloggers on the internet gave me a good piece of advice back when I first started blogging. He said “Find a theme and a design that works for you and leave it alone.”
I have tried to do that. The Master’s Table has not had a face lift since the doors opened in May of 2008. I’ve been wanting to switch to a 3 column theme for some time for a couple of reasons. One is that the sidebar ran so far down the page on my 2 column theme, and the design was just so narrow. My Other Blog is done in Andreas 9 which I love except for one thing; the headers above each widget are too close to what’s above them, and not close enough to what they are meant to label. It’s a small thing, and I don’t want both blogs to look alike anyway. BTW, find some other blogs in Digg 3 and then ask me how I got the title to look like that.
So, to make a short story long, this is the new look of The Master’s Table. What do you think?
p.s. If you’re in a reader, jump over to the actual site for a minute. Thanks a bunch.
New Friends …Again
It’s that time again. Time to add some new friends to the blogroll. New on the blogroll at this time is New Creation Person, a.k.a. Carl. We think a lot alike. He’s a bit new to the blog thing, so pay him a visit and share a comment or two; I already have.
And new in the Useful Resources list is Catholic Answers. Check out their forums. This is the self proclaimed largest network of Catholics on the net, and Protestants alike are invited to join in and comment. I found out about them when a member linked to a post I wrote months ago. The thread on Christians struggling with homosexuality was sending traffic my way, so I joined as a member. Anytime you happen to wonder what our Catholic brothers and sisters believe about a particular subject, this is the place to start. Even if you believe Catholicism is wrong, I want you to do the research and be able to say why it is wrong.
Warning: If you are entering the URL yourself to visit Catholic Answers, be sure to type http://catholic.com and not catholics.com, with an “s.” This site will download malicious code (a trojan) to your computer. I was fortunate that McAfee caught it.
A ton of links
Sometimes I like to go looking for blogs I’ve never read before. Occasionally, you find a real treasure that way. One of my internet blogging buddies has created a post listing every single blog that he subscribes to with RSS. He is actually taking inventory of what to scrap and what to keep, but in this post he links to each with a brief description. It would take some time to go through and look at each one, but any blog that he describes as an absolute must read I would consider at least taking a peek at.
New Page: The Best Of…
I set out to make a short list of essential posts, my list of personal and reader favorites from all the material found on The Master’s Table. Writing a “short list” almost proved too great a task for me. The new page “Best Of” is sort of an anthology of my work here on this blog. I don’t expect anyone to go back and read each post, but the 18 posts listed almost form a working theology of everything I believe. Some of these probably deserve a repost, and I will actually be looking over some of them as I prepare sermon material in the near future.
How to WordPress
Everyday new people begin to use WordPress for the first time. Since I joined in March the number of WordPress blogs has gone from 2.5 to 3.6 million. I imagine there are also those users who have used WordPress for a while now, but do not take advantage of all the features. I would like to share a few tips and tricks that have made my use of WordPress more useful and enjoyable. Continue reading
A Look Back: Read my blog – or not
I first began blogging in February of this year. Let’s be honest; I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. A lot of those first few posts were bad, but not all of them. It was okay, because there wasn’t really anyone reading my blog either. I’ve been going through the archives, and found a couple of gems. In response to another blog I read, I drew an analogy between blogging and gardening, and described how they’re both types of therapy for me. Unless you’re one of about 4 people, this isn’t a repost for you; enjoy it for the first time.
I just read a post on Internetmonk entitled “10 Reasons I Don’t Read Your Blog.” I just couldn’t say everthing I wanted to in the comment box. Then I remembered: I have blog. Perfect. Continue reading
May 1st is RSS Awareness Day
Bloggers know about RSS, but the vast majority of Internet users do not. May 1st will be RSS Awareness Day, created to get the word out about RSS. RSSDay.org explains what RSS is, demonstrates how it works, and offers some examples of readers/aggregators. Bloglines is the reader I personally use, recommended by Internet Monk. Read up on RSS if you need to, and on May 1st, tell a friend.
New Friends
I’ve listed the blogs I read in a recent post. Some I know personally, some I’ve got to know by what they write online. There is a certain personality type that blogs I guess, and bloggers probably have certain things they all share in common. But what about this:
Jack and Shirley have a blog called Notes from a Retired Preacher. Jack is a retired preacher, 78 years of age. His latest post (as of this moment) is titled “How to Share Christ.” I think that’s awesome.
Blogs I read
I didn’t start blogging because there were no good blogs out there. Quite the opposite; reading some very good blogs is what inspired me to write also. Here are some of the blogs I have found. Some of these are listed in my blogroll, some are not. Perhaps more should be. If you find your blog listed below and don’t wish to be, let me know.
UPDATE: All the blogs listed below are now in my blogroll, regardless of what each one says.
Two Channel Station: I met Ricky online by way of his blog. He recently added Adam as his blogging partner. I’ve never seen or spoken to either of these guys, but they write thought provoking material on religion, philosophy and politics. I highly recommend them – after you read my blog each day, of course:-)
Third Watch: This is a group blog also. Sometimes they have cute pictures of their kids. If you’re an old grouch about that sort of thing, stay away. But they also have very insightful commentary on the Christianity in America.
Redhead Rev: not on my blogroll yet, Red Head Rev is a female minister in the Assemblies of Christ. Her husband Chris appears with her on a video she has up right now from Palm Sunday. You’re welcome to feel however you wish about women in ministry. But before you comment, just remember this post is “Blogs I Read” not “Blogs for you to agree or disagree with.”
Pilgrim’s Journey: is on my blogroll. Brian and I met in college. He went on to get his M.Div. at Midwestern in Kansas City. Don’t ask his opinion unless you really want him to answer honestly. Atheists – stay away from this guy. He’s not nice like me.
Life in Mordor: also on my blogroll. Mike Frizzell has been blogging quite a while. His archives are extensive, and he’s pretty well read. You and I could both learn a lot from him.
Noel Heikkinen: on my blogroll. I once watched this guy throw a coconut threw a full length mirror. He then explained we’re broken by sin, and cannot be put back together. His blog is a lot of things, religion being one of them. Most of it’s hilarious. I’ll be hilarious someday; I’m working through the serious stuff first.
A Small Faith: not on my blogroll, but I should probably add it. A Small Faith is another group blog, with some good theology. By listing their blog here, it will prevent me from just copying and pasting their stuff in my own blog to make me look smarter than I really am.
Internet Monk: many of you are already familiar with Michael Spencer. I’ve seen internet monk listed on some of your blogrolls. Reading his stuff is what prompted me to go to wordpress and start my own. If you want to mess with him, send me an email and I’ll tell you how. If you want to know what post-evangelical is, ask me instead. You don’t want to get him started.
Garment of Praise: Sometimes poetry, sometimes photos, sometimes really personal insight, Garment of Praise is almost like a daily devotional in convenient blog format. I would have done my taxes by now if the IRS was in “convenient blog format.”
There you go. Some of these are listed on my blogroll, I subscribe to them all. When I’m not writing, I’m reading one of these. Is there a blog you read (or write) that I should know about? Let me know, and it might make my next list.
The Master's Table 