We had a baby, it’s a girl!

Chanhassen Grace Crews born on December 23, 2009.  She’s a cutie.

This picture from Josh Oakes:  see more of her that he took at http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshoakes/sets/72157623142157086/

More pictures we took: http://www.flickr.com/joshandstephie
Helpful section: How I increased my productivity 50%

What is it
Pomodoro timer technique: create 25 minutes of pure focus, with 3-5 minute required breaks

How to do it

• Make a list of today’s important tasks
• Set a kitchen timer to 25 minutes
• Work on a task until times up
• Mark an X for each 25 minute block accomplished next to the task that was worked on
• Take a 3-5 minute break, and repeat
• Take a 15-30 minute break after completed 4 “Pomodoros” (25-minute cycles)

Why it works
It’s amazing how much doesn’t get done from our external (other people) distractions and internal (Did I write Frank back like I said I was going to?) distractions.  When the timer is on for a 25-minute block (called a “Pomodoro”), just jot down distractions that you want to come back to and continue on task.

The rules

• No splitting up “Pomodoros”.  If you break a 25-minute sequence, start the timer over.  This is important.
• No taking phone calls, visitors, checking email, twitter, facebook, or doing a little task you just remembered during a Pomodoro.  If it’s that important, just stop the timer and reset it.
• When a distraction comes, write it down and do it AFTER this Pomodoro ends.
• On breaks: don’t think about work.

How to get started
Get a kitchen timer(wind-up kind is ideal), make a to do list
Visit http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ to learn more.

Christian encouragement

This Jesus-died-for-my-sins stuff gets better and better.  It’s like being $100 million in debt; and receiving a check for $500 million from an admirer.  All you have do is sign the back, deposit the check and it’s yours!

Only pride is in the way of cashing the check.  Tell pride to get lost!

Josh

The neighborhood: a commercial property is for sale right across the street

Baby landing well.  She loves sleeping in the bed and being worn in Stephie’s moby wrap.

Went to Jacksonville Beach after Josh’s grandmother’s funeral.  It was great to see the ocean again.

Helpful section:  Change the way you read the internet

What’s a RSS feed reader?
A site like Google Reader that combines all the websites you follow.

What is it?
A feed reader combines the “feeds” (of new website posts) of many websites in to one reader.
Instead of visiting each bookmark when you go online, one site shows you the new posts from all your sites.

Why use it?

1) Saves a lot of time (from visiting 10 websites)
2) Reduces ad exposure
3) Stay up-to-date faster
4) Follow sites that post infrequently

In 5 minutes you can scan everything new and pick out just the articles you want to read.

How to add sites
Get an account at google.com/reader
Look for this button on the websites you visit.
OR
Or a blue icon in the after www.websitename.com in the address bar

Click either of those and you’ll be prompted to add it to Google Reader.  Otherwise you can search and add blogs/websites from inside Google Reader too.
Spiritual encouragement
“Justification” is more relevant than we think.  I am driven to “justify” why I belong on the Earth: why I’m a good worker, a good man, a good husband–it’s really, really draining.
Justification through Christ says “I haven’t earned my spot, and its worse than I thought.  Jesus I receive the validation you bought for me at the cross.”

Josh

Phone: 615-354-4655
Email: crews.josh@gmail.com
Website: www.joshcrews.com

P.S. How Stephie has a new baby blog: http://chanhassengrace.blogspot.com/

Stephie is 34 weeks pregnant.  The baby is due so soon (Jan 20) that we don’t expect to travel for the holidays.

We re-booted our old 97 Ford Escort that we had parked in the backyard.  It’s running great now.  We’ll need it because the truck doesn’t hold carseats well.

Need a truck?  We have a truck that we call “the Lord’s truck” that can be borrowed.

On the house, we had a guy Eric Quiram recommended put in some interior doors.

Our neighborhood (McFerrin Park near Dickerson Rd) is going through a lot of change.  The old councilperson was recalled, and a new one elected.  Also, the historic Roxy Theater kitty-corner to us sold!  Hopefully it will become something cool.
Helpful section: What’s the deal with SEO?
Search engine optimization(SEO) explained plainly

Search engine optimization is making your website appear as high as possible on the Google search terms that matter to you.

For example, what can I (Josh) do to be the top result when someone searches for “Nashville web developer”?

There’s a lot of advice/experts out there; some of it unethical.  Most of it really easy.

Use these strategies, and only pay someone who is using these strategies:

1. Become a writer, and write about your expertise and business.  (How are people going to find you in Google if you don’t have words that can be searched?)

2.  Be helpful at what you write, so that people want to read it.  Google’s main job is finding out what the helpful content is by who is coming to and linking to your content.  The best way to get more links is to write good stuff.

3.  Write about the topics that the people you want to reach are looking for.

A buyer’s agent might right an article:  “How to find the right neighborhood in Nashville for your family”.  Home-seekers follow a link or google search to his page, and some call him up because they a) found him online, b) believe he’s knowledgable about the field.

Google notices the relevancy and popularity of the article, and returns it high in searches for “Nashville home search” or “Nashville buyers agent” or “Nashville neighborhoods”

Consider your ideal Google keywords:  what keywords are people typing into Google that should know about me?

Example:  my friend Matthew Smith writes and performs theologically-rich hymns set to modern music.  Anyone searching for “modern hymn”, “updated hymns”, “hymns with new music” might really like Matthew’s music.  Any blog posts, articles, twitter posts Matthew writes on those topics should help connect Matthew to those searchers through Google.

4.  Make your content easy to find, easy to read, and easy for Google to understand

Easy to find
Make your URL’s (what’s in the .com bar) words and not code.  (Example: http://www.joshcrews.com/2009/11/the-value-of-the-southwestern-experience/ INSTEAD OF http://joshcrews.com/?p=387)

Easy to read
Use headings and sub-headings, lists, and summaries to layout your writing (like I’ve done in this email)

Easy for Google to read
Do the first two steps, and Google will do its part to make your content appear higher in results.

Encouragement for the discouraged Christian

God’s love for his people has nothing to do with how encouraged they feel.  All the accusations that you are worthless, or too far gone have been dealt with.  Who is to condemn?  Is it God who justifies, and there is no higher court that can overrule God.  There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

Josh

If you’ve got a business/project/band/non-profit that needs to get online, and be looking good, you can with a little time and a couple compromises

Using Wordpress.com

1. Create a site at wordpress.com
2. Once logged in to the yoursite.wordpress.com/wp-admin section, click Themes under Appearance.
3. Pick a cool design.
4. Start creating Pages about your self/company.
5. Create posts when you want to add updates (like a blog)

Advanced: Go from yoursite.wordpress.com to yoursite.com (cost $20/year)

1. Go to godaddy.com or other domain registrar and find a .com (or .org or whatever) and buy it.  Should cost $10/year or less.  If your checkout bill is higher than $10, you probably are buying more than just the web address.
2. Go to Domains under Settings in your Wordpress.com dashboard (yoursite.wordpress.com/wp-admin)
3. Add yoursite.com [not literally "yoursite" but whatever domain name you bought]
4. It will tell you to update your “nameservers” with ns1.wordpress.com. Let’s go do that at Godaddy (in a new tab or window)
5. Login to Godaddy
6. Go to domain manager
7. Go to your domain
8. Click Nameservers
9. Fill in ns1.wordpress.com, ns2.wordpress.com, ns3.wordpress.com into the fields
10. Click Update
11. Go back to your wordpress, and click Try Again
12. (it can take 2 minutes – 1 hour for the internet to realize you’ve made this change, so be patient and work on something else)
13. Wordpress will ask you to pay some money ($10/year) to use your own domain name.

Summary
I hope that helps!  You can do a lot with that website setup.

What I do
I do custom web-applications.
An example:  If you were to create NoiseTrade.com from scratch, I can build it.

Encouragement in the faith
The time is coming when all the dead will rise bodily to face Jesus Christ for judgment.  He could damn every one of to hell.  But this judge, our judge, fully exhausted God’s wrath on the cross.

Josh

We’re expecting a baby in January
That’s pretty cool.  We probably won’t know the gender until the baby is born.

Still working on house renovation
Very slowly with a focus on baby’s room.

Changed churches
We now go to Immanuel Church, a new church in south Nashville.  I love it.  I initially found it through the pastor’s blog.

About my job
This is mainly a marketing email newsletter to stay in touch with people about what I do.

What I do
In 2009 I became a full-time web-developer because of my love for

• working on new ideas/projects
• software nerdiness

I really love it.

Do you have an idea for a web application or cool web idea?  Talk to me!  615-354-4655.
Do you have a question about your website that I might be able to answer for free?  Call me.

What is web-development?
It’s

• Software that runs in your web browser (Firefox, etc.)

or

• A website that ‘does something’

Example:  adding features to Facebook takes a lot of web-development.

People you know that I’d like to meet for work
Web-designers.  Your company’s IT director.    People that want to build a business or application on the internet.  Especially in Nashville.
Especially if they are Christians.

How to pray for Josh and Stephie
You know, if you’re Christians and all

• For our neighborhood, McFerrin Park, and that we’d be used for it’s spiritual renewal.
• For our marriage–against Satan’s lies and divisions
• For the new baby–a healty, natural delivery and grace for us as new parents to raise the child
• For my business: that it would prosper under the Lord’s leading

Josh

Phone: 615-354-4655
Email: crews.josh@gmail.com
Website: www.joshcrews.com