Embrace the Journey

I have been learning lately that a Christian’s journey through life is full of peaks and valleys. And that this is by design.

There are many reasons why we may go through tough times in life. Maybe we are meant to learn from an experience for which we do not yet understand the cause. Perhaps we don’t see the blessings in disguise -at least, not yet. Or maybe we are going the long way around a disaster waiting to happen. 

Always, God is looking out for our best interests.

In Exodus 13, God chose to lead the children of Israel the long way around the Philistines so that Israel would not be discouraged at the sight of them. Israel did not know the Philistines were on the shorter, more convenient route. But God did. And he cared enough for His people to lead them in a way they didn’t understand, but that was ultimately better for them.

I’m sure you’re like me. You find yourself in situations that do not make sense. Where you can’t see the purpose, much less the finish line. Though I still struggle, I’m learning the importance of embracing the journey as part of the blessing. Because I worship a God that is bigger than my circumstances, and a God that loves me enough to see my anger at Him when I fail to see His providence, and to forgive me.

Weekly Mind Dump 041517… Not So Much

Isn’t it funny that, when you say you’re going to do a weekly post about everything that happened during the week, you get so backed up with actual things going on that you aren’t able to keep track of everything well enough to make a concise blog post about it?

(I have no idea if that first sentence made sense, or if it is, in fact, a sentence.)

Hopefully, regularly scheduled content will reappear next weekend. There is a lot going on, and I will do my best to keep track of it all so I can share it next time.

Weekly Mind Dump 031617

It has been an eventful week. Here is this week’s #nocamowmd…

  • My daughter, Lydia, got to sing Francesca Battistelli’s Giants Fall at Blue Grass Baptist School’s talent show. She did AWESOME! So proud.
  • My church, LBT, is finishing up as sermon series called I Am a Church Member. To wit, I read an interesting supporting article recently.
  • I filled out my bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament and, as of this writing, it has been a mixed bag so far. I think there are going to be a lot of busted brackets out there before the weekend is over. #BBN
  • I got to rent and watch Doctor Strange for the second time. I saw it the first time in 3D, and I have to say I prefer it without the 3D effect. The only 3D presentation I ever saw that I felt enhanced the experience was the movie Avatar. 

Got a busy weekend ahead, so I’m posting this a little earlier than I likely will in the future. Feel free to comment or ask questions on Twitter @jonwellman #nocamowmd.

 Weekly Mind Dump 031117

I’ve been debating on how to be more consistent with content on this blog. I desperately want to keep it going, but I need a way to kickstart content creation. I’ve decided to start taking notes through the week and doing a kind of weekly mind dump every weekend (It just occurred to me that the acronym for this exercise, should I choose to use one, will be WMD.).

Since I just decided to do this, well, five minutes ago, I don’t have much to report today. Here are a few things… Continue reading ” Weekly Mind Dump 031117″ →

I Felt Fake

It seems like a little thing, I guess.

Like many folks in the workforce, I have a LinkedIn profile. I don’t post much on there, but I enjoy the networking opportunities and professional insights it provides.

Still, I felt fake. Continue reading “I Felt Fake” →

Trump Won – My Sleepless Thoughts

I woke early on Wednesday morning to find that Donald Trump has won the presidency of the United States.

America clearly voted against the Clinton legacy, and I am grateful for that. Trump was not my first choice by far, but he has promised to be a proponent for issues which I support, and I trust he will honor those commitments.

Supreme Court appointments, Obamacare repeal, and other matters of importance face our new president in short order. Praying he is up to the task and that he surrounds himself with a good team to navigate the choppy political waters in the days ahead.

As Scott Adams of Dilbert fame recently wrote, now that the election has happened, let’s all try to be useful.

How I Blog On My iPad 


Watch any science fiction movie or show and you will see a common thread – touch screens and tablets are pervasive. Physical keyboards are nowhere to be found. Today, most people’s primary computing device is the phone in their pocket or purse, and that trend seems likely to continue and to escalate.

I happily use my MacBook Air daily for my web design boot camp, podcast editing for my church, recording, and other tasks. But my primary computers are my iPad Air 2 and, to a lesser extent, my iPhone. They are always with me (yes, my iPad too), and are terrific tools for the way I write and manage data. As such, I have decided to intentionally use my iPad as my primary blogging tool whenever possible. I am typing this post on the iPad using the standard iOS keyboard.

Here are three of the tools I use to accomplish this… Continue reading “How I Blog On My iPad “ →

Why Eliminating the Headphone Jack is the Wrong Call

The rumor mill has already begun speculating what new features and form factors will be in the iPhone 7 when it is released next year. As an Apple fan, I follow them with some interest, but I don’t assume that these guesses are correct until I see some hard evidence.

There is one rumor, however, that I hope is incorrect.

It is the removal of the headphone jack. Continue reading “Why Eliminating the Headphone Jack is the Wrong Call” →

I Told Her So

  
I have been trying to get my daughter, Lyddie, to watch Disney’s Robin Hood with me on Netflix for a while. She is more of a Food Network (Cutthroat Kitchen, Chopped) or Disney Channel (Kickin’ It, Girl Meets World) kind of girl.Today, I finally convinced her. She didn’t think she would like it. 

She cackled a lot. She was sad when everyone was in jail. She asked a lot of questions, some of which I could answer. In short, she liked it after all.

I was very glad that a movie like that could translate today.

I had a similar feeling when we went to see the new Peanuts movie a few weeks ago. That was one of the most satisfying movie experiences we’ve had in a long time. It was clean, touching, hilarious… just a GOOD movie. 

Next one I’m gonna try to get her to see? Dumbo. May be a harder sell.