FredMcKinnon.Com

HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!

Friday – Jan 2.  I’m not ‘officially’ back at work – though I’m taking today to sort of get back to work in my home office and get some things taken care of.  There are currently 305 messages in my inbox – yikes.  I haven’t done my business finances in a couple of weeks – yikes.  I have a bunch of new cases for the new “Aluminum Unibody Enclosure” Macs to add to my e-biz stores – yikes.

That being said – I’ll keep this FreePlay Friday quick with some “bullets”:

• First – prayers for my good friend, one of SSCC’s main drummers, and a faithful “FreePlay Friday” reader and commenter, R.V. Cate.  His mother passed away unexpectedly Sunday, Dec 21.  R.V. still came and played the drums for our Christmas Eve service.  R.V. – we love you, pray for continued peace and comfort, and look forward to drumming with you at practice in the morning.  You and your family are loved and have a special place in our hearts.
• Second – prayers for my good friend, Patrick Eades.  Patrick is the Director of our local CareNet, which is a massive ministry that extends into multiple counties and has a huge impact in our region.  God has blessed Patrick and promoted him into a great position of influence in the pro-life community.  He sent this prayer request today in his “e-care” newsletter:“… While I have you, I want to ask for your prayer as I am preparing for a six day training and consultation for Pregnancy Service Center in Salina, Kansas. I thought I asked weeks ago, but after reviewing previous e-cares I see that I neglected to ask for prayer on this crucial training. I leave very early Monday morning and will return the following Sunday.  This is a strategic location in that it is very close to Wichita where Doctor George Tiller performs hundreds of late term abortions each year and proclaims having provided over sixty thousand abortions since 1973 (http://www.drtiller.com/). Tiller is also infamous in that he has installed a crematorium in his abortion clinic to dispose of the dead babies (http://www.dr-tiller.com/). As a result I consider this a key area in our nation and thus a key need for our prayer. This center’s leadership asked for me specifically as a Care Net Consultant, so I am honored, but humbly seek your prayer. I am grateful for your prayer as fly into Wichita on Monday to prepare for training in Salina for the week.”
  
  (speaking of CareNet, I realized that I never mailed CD/DVD to those who donated to CareNet a while back when I did a promotion – if that was you, PLEASE let me know – I spoke with Patrick and he’s going to attempt to get the names to me)
• Free Music – Michael Cowan, a good friend from college (fellow Theory/Comp Major!) has a great band in Athens, GA called “Scarlet Snow”.  They kicked off the New Year by allowing their new album, “The Needle EP”, to be downloaded for FREE.  Don’t waste a moment – go to “downloadtheneedle.com” and get your FREE ALBUM – no strings attached.  While you are there, if you are into smooth jazz, also pickup Drew Davidsen’s “Mission Drew” track with code “smoothjazz”. Drew is a fellow “IndieHeaven.Com” artist – we met a few years ago, and he’s an incredible jazz musician.
• Free Graphics – Russ Hutto is offering a free “wallpaper” graphic each month – this month is a way-cool one of Psalm 57:10 that you can use as your desktop background on your computer.  Check it out here.
• Locals?  This Sunday is the first Sunday of the month, and that means “Fam  Jam” at SSCC – if you have kids in the 1st-5th grade range and you live nearby – come checkout this awesome service where “kids bring their parents to church” this Sunday at 10:00 AM in the Kid’s Clubhouse Theater.

In closing … I’d like to show you how I disposed of my Christmas Tree:

And that’s with NO gasoline … man, those things go up quick.  I said “I wonder if this thing will burn since it’s still so green” … well, I almost paniced … that fire had to be at least 25 feet high and started hitting the trees above it.  Too bad it only lasted about 2 minutes.  I was always a pryo-maniac.

How did you dispose of YOUR Christmas Tree?  Post your response, and any other random “FreePlay Friday” information below!

Happy New Years Eve

It seems like the thing to do (from what I’m seeing in my blogroll) is share stats today.  So here we go, the stats for FredMcKinnon.Com, just in case you’re interested.

But before I do stats, I’d like to encourage your reply to my “Questions for 2009″ post yesterday.  (click to open it in a new window)

Top Refererers

1.  google.com
2.  Twitter
3.  Facebook (no doubt, as a result of Twitter’s updating my status)
4.  TheWorshipCommunity.Com
5.  (a site that I found out had some bad stuff on it, so I’m not linking there anymore, thanks for the heads up, Chris (what in the world?)
6.  SSCommunityChurch.Com
7.  images.google.com (I guess people love my pics)
8.  webmail.att.net (I guess people actually read my emails)
9.  stumbleupon.com
10.  ragamuffinsoul.com (thanks Carlos)
11.  chrisfromcanada.com (thanks, Chris)
12.  mikeymo1741.blogspot.com (thanks, Mike)
13.  billchia.com (thanks, Billy, what a year, right?)
14.  burnsidewriterscollective.com (thanks Jamie)
15.  rmckinno1.wordpress.com (my brother, Robert!)

Top Posts:

#1 – Palm Treo versus Blackberry (sad, that has NOTHING to do with worship!)
#2 – Mike Guglielmucci Exposed
#3 – The O Holy Night Saga Category
#4 – How He Loves Us
#5 – About Me

Top Search Terms: (redundant keywords and phrases skipped)

#1 – fred mckinnon (duh)
#2 – mike guglielmucci
#3 – palm treo versus blackberry
#4 – how he loves us lyrics
#5 – tyranny of the urgent
#6 – bad o holy night
#7 – gators wear jean shorts (hahahahahahah)
#8 – mandisa god speaking
#9 – steven curtis chapman’s family
#10 – manual worship leader

That’s out of over 60 keywords, most of which have to do with the top 4 search terms.  “bad singer fred mckinnon o holy night” is probably the craziest.  In my search for weird terms in the list, I didn’t find those great ones like “wet my pants” that Mandy has … so I suppose “redneck naked” is the most controversial search term I could find in my Google Analytics at #159.

Well, I suppose I should blog more about controversial topics and head-to-head gadget reviews if I really want more traffic, right?  Nope … it ain’t about the traffic.  It’s about downloading, and hopefully, encouraging someone.

With that said, here’s a reminder to go back and answer these “Questions for 2009“.

Hey Everybody,

So it’s almost New Years … tomorrow will be New Year’s Eve … and in 48 hours, we’ll be celebrating the New Year … 2009.  I’ll be enjoying my family, and hoping the DAWGS can pull out a victory.

I’ve been pondering and thinking about next year – how God would use me, how I’ll invest my time and energy.  Over the years, I’ve invested myself into way more activities than I could ever do great.

One thing is certain – I’m excited about continuing to pour myself into the ministry of my family and my local church position at SSCC.  I believe God will continue showing up and showing Himself strong at our church in 2009, and I pray that I’ll become a better, more sensitive, and more anointed leader for that incredible ministry.

What about blogging?  Has it run its course for me?  I have to confess, I’ve tried to keep the discipline of posting routinely here, but it was increasingly more difficult towards the end of the year.  Another key component to blogging is being sure I keep up with YOU – with your blogs, your lives, and what YOU have to say.  I have gone weeks without having the time to visit the Google Reader, so if you’ve missed me on your blog, I apologize.  Then again, I’ve missed so many of YOU as well.  (and the reality is, if I’ve missed you, you probably won’t be here to read this!)

That being said, I’m praying for a God-given vision and clear strategy for how I should use this space in 2009.  A huge part of my doing this is for my own discipline – to journal, to have something to reflect upon, to have an outlet for me to express myself to clear my mind.  But connecting with you, networking, and hopefully – encouraging you in worship, family, and leadership is also a major objective.

To do that properly, I need to ask you … the faithful readers … what would you like to see in 2009?  How would YOU like to see this space used?  If you continue to subscribe (and thanks to the hundreds who do!), how can I be an encouragement to you?

Sunday Setlists:  this has been a huge success, and each week, I read in the comments about how people love it, and have learned so much by observing what other churches are doing.  I say we keep this for a while.

FreePlay Friday:  this has been my random outlet.  Not the most-visited day, by any means – but a chance for me to break off any specific topic and just be “me”.

New ideas?
I’ve considered doing “Tech Tuesday” – and devoting Tuesdays to postings that are more tech-specific – ie. loops, sound, recording, etc.

What do YOU think?  What about the old podcasts I used to do … I still get asked frequently “why don’t you ever release new podcasts”, etc.

Eager to hear from YOU.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll,

Happy Saturday – I don’t usually find time to respond to being “tagged” in blog posts … but Bridget Willard tagged me and some friends, so I thought I’d actually play today!

1.  Wrapping paper or gift bags:     Wrapping Paper.  My wife gives gift bags all the time, but she doesn’t like getting them!!

2.  Real tree or Artificial?  Real … artificial is … sacreligous

3.  When do you put up the tree?     1st or 2nd weekend of Dec, as soon as we can

4.  When do you take the tree down?     right after Christmas, or 1st week of Jan

5.  Do you like eggnog?  nope

6.  Favorite gift received as a child?    Huffy Bandit

7.  Hardest person to buy for?   My wife

8.  Easiest person to buy for?  Me

9.  Do you have a nativity scene?  Nope

10.  Mail or email Christmas cards?  both

11.  Worst Christmas gift you ever received?   don’t recall?

12.  Favorite Christmas Movie?   The Christmas Story

13.  When do you start shopping for Christmas?  The absolute last minute

14.  Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Nope

15.  Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Haystacks (Melted Butterscotch and chow mein noodles)

16.  Lights on the tree?   Yes, tons of them – white, all through the tree. I’m the light guy.

17.  Favorite Christmas song?  Hmmm .. maybe Sleigh Ride …?

18.  Travel at Christmas or stay home?    We’ll be home Christmas AM, then start traveling at noon

19.  Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?   Of course!

20.  Angel on the tree top or a star?  Either .. we’ve done both.

21.  Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  No, that’s not allowed.

22.  Most annoying thing about this time of the year?  My managing the orders for my e-biz.

23.  Favorite ornament theme or color?  The stuff the kids make.

24.  Favorite place for Christmas dinner?  My parents!

25. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

So, I’m gonna tag some folks – if you can’t do it, no worries … let’s choose:

Jon Morris, Mike, Kit Palmer, and Billy Chia

Hey Everybody -

I’m curious what’s in the playlist of all you folks in this community.  Here’s the deal:

1.  Open your iTunes (or iPod)
2.  Turn on Shuffle > Songs
3.  Hit Play.

What are the first 5 songs that come up?  (note:  if you’re in a hurry, you don’t have to listen to all 5 songs – as soon as a song starts playing, you can hit the “next” button and it will shuffle to another song.

For me, I’m going to do 10 … you can do as many as you want.  Post them below.

Title: Artist  (Album)

1. A Mighty Fortress:  Josh Strecker (8 Hymns)
2. New Mercies:  Melissa Jones (Symphony)
3. There Is A River:  Matt Tommey (Show Your Glory)
4. As Long As You Are Glorified:  Sovereign Grace Music (Come Weary Saints)
5. When Seattle Sleeps:  McKendree Augustas (A View for Opened Eyes)
6. Broken and Beautiful:  Brian Doerksen (It’s Time)
7. Everlasting God:  Todd Fields (North Point Live)
8. The Power of the Cross:  Travis Cottrell (The Lamb Has Overcome)
9. As Long As I Have You:  Mark Roach (Song Discovery #61)
10. UGA Battle Hymn:  University of Georgia Marching Band/Larry Munson (no kidding)

I’m surprised that none of my classical, 1980′s or jazz music appeared.  I think much more of that is on my Mac Pro library at home.  This was coming off my MacBook Pro’s library, used @ SSCC.

What’s in your library?