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Fighting Ego

For the last year or so, I’ve been (slowly) working towards simplifying my life. This has been both educational, and very difficult. It’s only when you realize how much modern America has strayed from it’s self-sufficient roots that you begin to realize how radical Frugality is nowadays. Years ago, fixing your own car or canning your own home-grown produce was not just commonplace, it was expected. People sewed their own clothes, for goodness’ sake! Shoes got repaired, not replaced. People rode bikes everywhere. It was unusual for a family to have more than one car, if they had one at all.

Today, life looks much different. On one hand, I’m totally repulsed by it. On the other hand, I’ve been raised in it long enough that I’ve adapted to it, and have come to expect things will be there when I want them. I’m used to getting whatever I want, whether or not I can afford it.

This is called Hedonic Adaptation. Basically, the idea is that despite America (or any other developed country) having more riches and amenities than any other time in the history of the human race, we’re not really that much happier than people were hundreds of years ago.

What it boils down to is this: we quickly adapt to the level of comfort we are given, and over time, what was once “awesome” now becomes “ordinary” because well, everybody’s got one. Nobody missed the iPhone 5 fifty years ago, because nobody knew what one was, and nobody cared. They didn’t miss it. They didn’t need it. People could still call their friends on the phone, and could still send them text messages (written on paper, but still…) but today, a smartphone is seen as a “necessity.”

Let me tell you something: Smartphones are not necessary to be happy. Continue reading “Fighting Ego”

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“Joy To the World” Isn’t Just For Christmas

Sometimes, you just have to stop trying to be happy.

Where in life do we balance “being content” with “reaching for more”? Paul says in Phillipians 4:13 that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He was referring to those who live in plenty, or live in poverty… this applies spiritually and physically. Sometimes we just need to be content with where we are, and understand that God will give us what we need, and get us through.

There are times, however, when being content with misery isn’t going to work. You can say all you want about being humble, but God doesn’t want us to be miserable, either. If there is more misery in your life than joy, there’s a good reason for it… just not the reason you’d expect. The church today (little “c”) has found success in promising people happiness and comfort. And yes, if happiness comes from physical comfort, then they’re very good at making church members “happy.”  But Jesus never promised fame, fortune, or worldly success. Or happiness.

So if that’s the case, where does our contentment, our peace, our joy come from? And what’s the difference anyway? Well, our joy comes from God… not doing things for God, not learning about God, not talking about God. Joy comes from God Himself.

There is no formula. There isn’t a “if X then Y” flowchart. The only way to have Joy is to be in the presence of God. And that looks different for everybody. You may feel closest to God when you pour through scripture. You might feel close to God when you’re singing praises, or helping the poor, or painting a picture. But, it comes with common sense, too. You can’t say “I feel closest to God when I’m downing a fifth of Vodka.” Sorry, but what you’re feeling isn’t God… that’s momentary happiness, maybe. Certainly not Joy, because the funny thing about Joy is that is doesn’t wear off easily. If we spend time with God steadily, it doesn’t wear off at all. And most importantly, Joy from God doesn’t leave you feeling drained, worn out, or hung over.

When you get to the point where you’re trying so hard to be close to God that you’re worn out, you can pretty much bet you’ve left God behind. He’s not in the maelstrom, he’s not in the typhoon, he’s not in the earthquake… God is that still, small voice, calling to you in your exhaustion and misery.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew 11:28-30 – MSG

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Saving Money The Hard Way

Every now and then, stuff breaks. That’s shocking, I know, right? But it does. It might be your clothes dryer, your car, your TV, or who knows what. Sometimes you can fix these things, and sometimes you can’t. But if you can take the time to learn how to fix things, it’s worth the time invested! let me explain.

If you have, let’s say a car, that snapped a timing belt. Well, the first thing you do is make sure it’s the timing belt. Do you know how to check the timing belt on your car? Do you even know what a timing belt is? Time to learn. Go go Google and find out.

Then, you need to know if a timing belt something you can replace on your own. Sometimes a snapped timing belt will destroy an engine… sometimes it won’t. It depends on whether the engine is an interference design or not. If it’s not, then chances are there’s no serious damage. Do some research and find out!

If your engine isn’t an interference engine, and you know it’s the timing belt that went out, then you’re in luck! You can probably fix it yourself, for less than $50. It will just take some research, and about 5 hours or so. Chances are your car would be in the shop more than 5 hours, so overall, this isn’t bad.

Yes, the photo in this post is me changing a timing belt. I already had the tools, but tools can be borrowed (usually for free from an auto parts store) and information can be learned. It’s not that bad.

The real thing I want people (that means you, reader!) to understand is that it’s not as hard to fix things as you’d think. Some people say “I don’t have the mechanical aptitude to fix anything!” but I don’t believe that. There are tons of articles and videos on the internet that can walk you through it, step-by-step. You can save thousands of dollars this way! I’m not trying to stiff mechanics and repairmen, but let’s be honest, their time isn’t cheap. Most repairs aren’t that hard.

Don’t be afraid to do some research on your problem to figure it out for yourself. The added bonus is, once you’ve learned how to fix something, that’s a permanent skill! If you keep adding to your list of skills, eventually you will be confident enough to tackle jobs you never thought you could.

This is how I got started in frugal mechanics… out of necessity. Now I do it because I can, and the long-term benefits are well worth it!

What are some things you’ve accomplished that you never thought you could tackle?

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The Story of Stuff

Sad reality check of the day: we have too much stuff. Specifically, *I* have too much stuff. I’m preparing myself for a massive personal minimizing, and hopefully, it will help motivate my family to do the same. You can believe what you want about ecology and conservation, but I definitely agree we’re consuming too much, and I’m going to start with myself.

If you remember my post on the difference between Minimizing, Frugality, and Simplicity, you’ll remember “Simplicity” is our goal, not just getting rid of everything… minimizing is just a means to an end. Once I’ve de-cluttered my surroundings, I can focus on what’s important… family, music, and writing.

I’m going to try to document stuff as I get rid of it, and possibly will use the Ebay Mobile app to get rid of the more, um… “interesting” bits of hardware I have laying around.

Lastly, here’s an interesting video to get you thinking about all our “stuff.”

[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_7i6T_H78″ autohide=”1″]

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Thoughts On Technology In Worship

If you’ve never heard of it, there’s this new thing in churches called Environmental Projection. There’s a new company dedicated to expanding worship spaces using- you guessed it- projectors. This is just the latest in a long line of technology-driven “improvements” in worship services.

My initial reaction to this was disbelief, then understanding, then skepticism. I totally understand why it works, and I think it’s extremely cool. But deep down, I’m very cautious of things that we add to the worship service just to make it “more appealing.” Now, before you think I’m a fool, I don’t mean we should try to make the service unappealing. We’re not Franciscan monks. This does bring up a very valid point of discussion, however, and I’d like to indulge in it. There are generally two lines of thought on this. One, we should use whatever means possible to reach the lost and bring people closer to God. This is hard to argue, and with newer technology, it’s getting more and more prevalent. There are even Seminary degrees for Church Media Arts.

The flip side to this is that it is very easy for things like beautiful sanctuaries, large orchestras, feel-good preaching, and so forth to take the focus away from God and His message. If you can only worship in a sanctuary with 360° projectors, a full orchestra, and nice padded seats, then are you worshipping God, or something else? Are we including new technology to reach the lost, or are we simply catering to a specific crowd? Honestly, I don’t really think churches are using technology to “Reach people” as much as they are using it to satiate their existing membership (or woo other churches’ members).

*Disclaimer* I am a born-again techno-geek Renaissance Man. I love technology and the possibilities it brings. I’m also a Bible-believing man, who recognizes God, and more specifically, God personified in the form of Jesus Christ. I like technology, but I also understand that it is simply a tool, a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. I do not believe in technology for its own sake! Everything should have a purpose, and apart from that, it is by definition unnecessary.

So where do I stand on this? Where should the Church stand on this? Well, I wish it were simple, but there’s a few things to consider. Continue reading “Thoughts On Technology In Worship”

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I Drive, Therefore I Am

I hate driving. And I love driving.

Yes, I am a paradox. Almost everything I do is a paradox. But in particular, driving is the one that gets me.

I’ve been driving since I was fifteen (which was… let’s see…twenty-four years ago?) and I’ve always been enamored with cars, especially fast cars. Which of course means I like driving, and also racing. And driving fast. But here, out in the third-world country known as Louisiana, there are more idiots on the roads than anything else. It’s quite evident if you spend more than a day driving anywhere south of I-10 that people not only have no freaking clue what good driving is, they also don’t care.

Louisiana tops the nation as having the worst drivers of all fifty states. This comes as a surprise to nobody. I hate driving here, and what’s even worse, I hate riding my bike in traffic here. The roads are poorly maintained, horribly planned, and just plain dangerous. Add horrible drivers to that, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

I recently took a road trip to Houston, TX. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it was long. Why? Smooth, well-marked roads. Mostly courteous drivers. It was a pleasure to drive the Texas interstate system. Nobody was swerving while driving, nobody texting and drinking and driving and talking on the phone, and who knows what else. They were just, you know, driving. Imagine that. In a car, and just driving! Crazy, right?

So basically, I love driving, but I hate drivers.

I think I need to go ride my bike.

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What Portal (And Breaking Bad) Taught Me About Writing

What does playing a video game have to do with writing a story? Well, if you’ve played any recent games, you’ve probably realized they’re becoming more and more story-driven. That’s because developers have realized that a good story will suck players in more than good gameplay alone. In fact, the best games have great gameplay and story.

And so, I discovered the game Portal. It’s a very non-traditional game, in that it’s a first-person 3D puzzle game. And your character never speaks. Even in the sequel, Portal 2, she doesn’t speak, despite being constantly accompanied by a talking sphere. And later on, a talking potato. Seriously.

The main things that stand out to me about Portal are how the story develops, and how the environment was designed to forward the story and the game without bogging players down. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about good writing, it’s that writers should “Show, don’t Tell.” Portal is a perfect example of how to do this: you start the game knowing nothing about your character, where you are, or what do to, and every level walks you through a little more of what you need to know without explicitly giving you directions.

When you play through the game with the designer’s commentary on, they stress the importance of how much they developed the game to teach players how to play the game. The whole idea was to shape the environment so that players would come to the right solutions, without just giving it away. That way players felt a sense of accomplishment, even though the entire game was designed to lead them down the right path, and entertain them along the way. Every single “discovery” was carefully crafted to elicit a certain response, and the player never even realizes it.

When writing a story, we need to stick to the same idea. Why have a massive deluge of information when it’s more fun for the readers to come to the same conclusion on their own? It takes a little more creativity to craft a story completely out of surroundings (as opposed to just spilling your guts) but when you do, the reader feels like they are in control of the story, and they figured it out on their own… even if you’re leading them by the hand behind the scenes. The tension, the curiosity, the sense of accomplishment. All these things come from not just reading the story, but experiencing it from the character’s eyes.

You need to lay out all the plot pieces as the character finds them. You have to make it so that the reader finds the story on their own, but doesn’t realize you were leading them there.

In television shows, they use what’s called a “Cold Opener.” This is basically an opening scene that the viewer is thrust into, without knowing anything in advance. In the cold opener for the show Breaking Bad, we see the main character standing next to a smoking RV in nothing but his undies and a shirt, and holding a gun behind his back.

Immediately, your brain is thinking “Why isn’t he wearing any pants? Who’s the other guy? Who is he afraid of? What’s all that stuff in the RV? Is that why they have gas masks? And what’s with the apron?” You’re trying to figure out what’s going to happen, but you only have a few visual clues to go on… there’s no narrator, no prologue, no back story. Just Walt in an apron. In Portal, you get nothing except Chell waking up from hibernation, a few visual clues, and the ramblings of a deranged computer (which you can’t really trust). Gradually, as the stories progress, you get pieces of the puzzle. Eventually, you put enough of the puzzle together to figure out what’s going on, and by then, the story’s almost over, and it’s time for the epiphany. By then, the reader/viewer/player is ready to engage, and that’s when the final action sequences have the most impact.

As a writer, don’t spill all the beans. Don’t be afraid to leave details out at first, and don’t be afraid to hint at things early on. Trust me, if your story is interesting at all, people will remember those tidbits, and make the connections. Our brains naturally file things away to use for later, even if they don’t make sense at first. At last, when the reader makes the connections, bam, they’re hooked. They’ve invested in the story, they’ve worked on figuring it out, and they will stick around to see how it ends up.

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How To Self-Publish an Ebook With Smashwords

This article was originally posted for Smashwords’ “How-To” post, located here. The original article I wrote has long since been erased to the world, so I decided to re-write it! EDIT: I found a copy of the original article!

For some people, one of the main things holding them back from writing a novel is the fear of “What do I do with it once I’ve written it?” Thankfully, in today’s web-enabled world, it’s no longer necessary to hawk yourself to publisher after publisher in hopes of making that elusive book deal. Also, for the first time ever, eBook sales have eclipsed print copies. This puts us in an interesting place! One of the largest independent e-book publishers is Smashwords, and once you’ve decided to publish a book, this is the perfect place to start. Smashwords is essentially a tool for distributing your e-book, and helping you get it accessible in as many formats as possible. Smashwords is NOT an editing service, a sales service, nor a sleazy print-on-demand retailer. I recommend them because I use them myself.

Of course, you have to have actually written a book first. (This should go without saying.) You will also need to be able to have the book edited, either by yourself, or preferably by someone else who knows how to do quality editing. Once the actual story is finished, you’re ready for formatting.

When publishing an e-book, formatting is the most critical part. When you take away the actual paper, formatting is all you have left! Without good formatting, a good book can be rendered nearly unreadable. Thankfully, Smashwords thought ahead on this, and offer several helpful documents on how to do it justice. First, you will want to download and read the Smashwords Style Guide and read it more than once. Yes, formatting is boring, but if you want the widest distribution and the best looking end result, you need to read it carefully! If you get stuck, check the FAQ and go back and read it again. Still, it’s a daunting task, but there’s plenty of info that may help you along. You will also want to read the e-book terminology guide, the Book Marketing Guide, and possibly check out the Smashwords Facebook group.

Once the actual content is in a usable state, you can then create a free account at Smashwords, and get started. The process is fairly straightforward. You upload your document, and it gets processed by the word grinder, which converts it into all the common e-book formats. Make sure all the output formats came out okay. I didn’t have any problems with it, but if you use any graphics, odd fonts, or whatever, you will want to check it.

Tips to good e-book formatting:

  • Read the Smashwords Style Guide.
  • Strip all existing page/paragraph formatting from your document, but not character formatting (otherwise all italics and bold text will revert to default)
  • Use either blank lines between paragraphs, or indents, but not both! 
  • Minimize empty carriage returns. Anything more than two or three blank lines in a row will fail when you put it through the Meatgrinder. In print copies it’s necessary to get the page to look right, but in e-books it’s not needed.
  • Save a fresh copy of your story with all formatting removed!! (The style guide explains how to do this.)
  • Read other stories similar to yours. You can learn a lot about what not to do by reading other examples!
  • Make sure to read through the entire finished formatted copy before you submit it.
  • Check for missing italics, misplaced page breaks, anything that doesn’t look right.
  • Try to stick with regular fonts. Many e-readers don’t work well with non-standard fonts.
  • Make sure your front matter and end pages are formatted per the style guide, otherwise you will end up doing it over.
  • If you have a cover graphic, make sure it gets included, and is the right DPI
  • If you are okay with listing Smashwords as the publisher, you can get your ISBN# assigned for free. If not, you will need to buy one.
  • If this copy of the book differs from any other versions (print too) then it needs a separate ISBN.
  • Preview the book in all formats to make sure there’s nothing wrong with the formatting! Even if you’ve done it before, it’s easy to miss something, and sometimes you just can’t see it unless you preview it in that format.
  • When in doubt, simpler is better. Your adoring fans will appreciate your hard work in making the book readable, but if the formatting is unusable, it doesn’t matter how good the writing is.
  • You don’t have to publish it right away. Make sure it’s right, and that you’re happy with the finished product.

Hopefully this will get you far enough along that you can start selling your very own e-book. These are just the ones I could think of, but they will keep you from making simple mistakes (some of which I made myself). It will take some time to format the book, so find a comfortable place to work, clear your desk and your mind, and do it in chunks of 30 minutes. I found that was about as long as I could concentrate without taking a break, but you may be able to knock it out in one sitting! Remember, you’re not trying to re-edit the book, you’re trying to make it look right.

Not to shamelessly plug my work, but if you want to see what a formatted book looks like, you can go to Smashwords and download any of their free offerings. If the book meets the highest standards of formatting, then it will be included in the Premium Catalog. Why do you want your book in the Premium Catalog? More online sellers to distribute it! More exposure and more sales, not to mention you’ll have a great-looking e-book.  It took 2 attempts to get my book in there, but they were simple mistakes I overlooked by not paying enough attention to the style guide.

That’s it! Just take your time, and you too can be an online self-published author!

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One-A-Day (More like monthly)

I haven’t posted a one-a-day minimizing picture in a while. It’s not because I haven’t been minimizing, it’s just that I’ve been too busy trying to think up other things to post about, and I don’t minimize as much as I would like. I do still get rid of things, though. Quite a bit, actually.

Last week, we cleared out four bags of old clothes, and our broken flat screen TV (which we’re not replacing). Also got rid of a spare computer we had, and a bunk bed we weren’t using. So yes, we’re making progress. I think there’s more there. We’ve got boxes upon boxes of books, toys, magazines (still!) and more clothes we can get rid of. I can’t walk into my closet yet, but it’s better.

What to do with the extra space? Well, I’ve got plans for that, actually. I want to set up some musical instruments- guitars, keyboards, drum pads, violin, etc.- so me and my kids can jam whenever we want. This is a totally worthy cause, and I’m going to do everything I can to make this happen.