For the first time in many months, I've been running. I like running for a number of reasons, not the least of which is what it teaches me about faith.  When I run, especially when I'm out of shape, my body frequently lies to me. It says, "Justin, please stop now, we can't continue on like this." My body backs up this plea with healthy doses of pain. At first I'm tempted to believe my body and slow down, but I don't. Instead I try to trick myself. I reply to my body, "We certainly can't keep this pace up for the whole time, but I bet we can for another block or so." Having called my body's bluff I keep going on at the same pace or faster for the remainder of the run. Often when I finish, I realize that I could have gone much faster.
Every time I lace up my shoes and head out the door, I have a little more confidence to push through the pain. I know that not only will everything be alright, but that after I've caught my breath, I'll be stronger and healthier than before.
Trusting God at times can feel counter-intuitive.  You know in your head that God is good and will see you through but it can be so tempting to give up and stop trusting him. But if you stick with it you will find in the end that not only that you are ok, but that you have grown. Then the next situation will be easier to navigate.
Faith is not something that comes easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything, even a new pair of running shoes.

V.O.I.P. is all the craze these days. You can't turn on the TV without seeing a Vonage commercial. V.O.I.P. stands for "Voice Over Internet Protocol", or simply, it's talkin through the puter.  Instead of sending your calls over those copper phone lines, your calls go out over whatever internet connection you happen to have. There are two ways to use VOIP, on your computer or with a regular phone.
    Programs that let you talk over your internet connection have been around for some time. I remember using them way back in 96 (is that right Travis?). If you use MSN messanger or GoogleTalk all you need is a microphone and speakers and you can talk to anyone on your buddy list. The most popular program for calling people from your computer is called Skype. With it, you can call for free anybody else who is signed up. The best part, is that for a small fee, you can call any real phone number. I use skype to conference call with my coworkers in San Diego.
    There are other companies that allow you to use a regular phone, have a regular phone number, but use your internet connection to make calls. Vonage is the most popular but there are a few other good ones out there. Other companies like Comcast and Quest call in "Digital Voice" in a shameless attempt to trick people into thinking it's something else. They charge TWICE as much for the EXACT same thing. DO NOT buy VOIP from Comcast or Qwest under any circumstances, it is a huge rip off.

The Good
    You can save a lot of money over traditional telephone companies. For $25 you can get unlimited minutes and free long distance (Canada too!). They also include lots of other features like call waiting, caller id and voice mail for free. International calls are also pretty cheap.
The Bad
You have to have a good internet connection already. Really you should have cable for it because if you have DSL then you are probably getting it from you phone company at a discount because you use their phone service. So switching to VOIP would nullify that advantage.  Also, if your internet goes down, you can't use your phone either.  Once a month or so we'll have a call get dropped or garbled too.

We've been using VOIP for a year and a half and I highly recommend it. If you have been thinking about getting cable internet it can help defray that cost. If you do decide to switch then find someone who is using it and have them refer you. Both of you will get a good discount.

Today has been a very exciting day for me. We finally launched Imago Dei's new web site. I have been working on this site for many months and I have put many hours into it. The site was designed by an excellent designer at Imago.  It's been fun because Monk (my other job) is developing the backend (how Imago's people update the site). So basically, I work for a customer of the company that I work for. The site is a huge improvement over the last one. The three things I'm most excited about are... 1. Drop down menus, you can find anything on the site quickly and easily. 2. Lots of good info on the home page. 3. Comments, you can comment on anything and everything on the site. So, go check it out!

I like being in control of my computer. I don't want anything taking up my processor power unnecisarally. So when I notice something installed that I never asked for or wanted, it makes me so angry that I could eat a gallon of ice cream (isn't that what you do when you're angry?).
Spyware is any program that uses your computer without your consent. The main two things that spyware will do is try to show you advertisements and try to steal your personal information. They do other things too, but the bottom line is, you don't want them. I would say, the number one reason that computers slow down over time, is because they are bogged down by spyware.
Removing them can the tricky. After you spot the offending program, many times a simple uninstall will not do the trick. Fortunately there are a few programs that can help you out. My personal recommendation is, Adaware. It's free, it's easy and does the job. It's a good idea to keep one anti-spyware program installed on your computer at all times. I also recommend installing a second program every few months or so and find what your main program might have missed. Other programs I recommend are, spybot (free), and spysweeper (30 day trial for free, so it's good for a one time check).

Download Adaware!

If you have never done a spyware scan before, it will tell you that it found 4,304,392 (well a huge number anyway) items. 95% of these are not that important. There may only be two or three critical items. They just like you too see a big number to make their product seem more important.