I’m notoriously cheap on buying things like laptop bags, but after reading this article and discovering Tom Bihn, I decided I wanted to buy ONE bag that’d last me and that I’d love …. it arrived today:

Tom Bihn does a LOT of things right. They are personal (I talked to Katy and she was super cool), have unique and amazing products (the product videos SOLD me), and they are made in the United States (Seattle, and they open their shop once a month and I want to go!).

Yes, I’m a geek and love it.

I rely on grace (unmerited favor) … every day … and those of you who know me personally realize that!

Several years ago, Jesus Christ changed my life forever. Although I’m educated beyond my obedience level (I have 33 hours of seminary training), Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

At a recent conference, my friend Chris Forbes asked me to share my testimony …. here’s the video link.

I’ve had the good fortune of traveling to different parts of the U.S. in the last couple of years, and even though I love visiting new places and basking in the beautiful weather of L.A., gorgeous scenery of Seattle, or awesome urban feel of downtown Chicago, I find myself being increasingly thankful for living in Oklahoma.

What’s sad though is when I do go places and tell people where I live that their impression of Oklahoma is that it’s a remote part of the world still stuck in the Wild West, where we live in teepees, grow and hunt our own food, and can’t read or write …. that’s just dumb.

This is a great place to live for the following reasons:

• Family – almost all of my family lives within 1.5 hours of us and they live in different regions of the state, and although I always dreamed of living in Seattle or New York City, as I’ve gotten older and as my nieces and nephews have been born, I find myself wanting to be closer to those I love most (OK, yes, your family might live elsewhere, but it’s still my no. 1 reason for loving living here; this is where I grew up); See “The People”
• Cost of Living - you can buy a big house for a fraction of the cost of the big metros – I’m amazed every time I visit a big city and ask the cost per square foot of houses (we bought our house for around $79/sq ft.); gas prices are usually low and most everything else is reasonable, helping us Okies save more and enjoy life without worrying about an enormous cost of living bill
• The People - for the most part, Oklahomans are just nice, friendly and courteous people; in the small rural town I grew up in people often waved at you on the country roads; but going back to “Family,” this is a great place to raise a family!
• Short Commutes - I don’t have a big commute (our office is less than a mile from my house), but you can get almost anywhere in the Oklahoma City metro area in around 30 minutes or less with minimal traffic
• Airport – Although I usually have to connect in Dallas or another bigger city, the Will Rogers Airport is SUPER easy to get into and out of
• Bricktown – this hip, awesome historic part of downtown OKC has put us on the map as an actual destination worth visiting

There are of course many reasons to move or live elsewhere, but after living here for most of my life, and despite the 100 degree heat we live in right now, I sure do love it here … and after all, I can always hop a plane and visit those other exotic places!

OK, maybe they aren’t tornadoes … but wow, did this look scary!

I’m in Phoenix this week to present a couple of seminars on web design for a Christian communicators group and had a moment to sit in the cool air, with a coffee in hand, for about 20 minutes of pure, quiet, peaceful reflection.

This was the photo I snapped with my phone.

… I’ll let it explain the rest.

We’re hosting an Office Returns party tomorrow night …. and I think judging by this clip alone … it is worth the wait!