Monthly Archives: May 2009

OK, that sounds way to …. Well, it is a transformation of sorts! And if you think it isn’t a huge effort, I certainly have some things you can do in your spare time. I need to stop complaining and get to the point. Here’s where we are as of May 8, 2009.

JasonHopeLive.org is converted and being completely managed by Jason and Lauren. This one went very well, but then I expected that because Lauren is smart, professional and on top of everything. Nothing gets past her, and so my job is more as coach than anything else. I appreciate Jason and Lauren’s support and encouragement, as well as their technical expertice and boundless energy. I learned a great deal from converting their site, and now I hope to put that new knowledge to work.

That was the good news folks. Now we come back down to reality.

I am stuck in the mud with HolinessAndUnity.org. I was able to design a home page just fine, and that went rather quickly, if not smoothly. But I can’t seem to come up with a template for the inside pages or the blog. I used some dramatic graphics and probably too much contrast and color on the home page; so that nothing that has any room for content looks even remotely good by comparison. I love that home page and I surely don’t want to part with it, but the entire conversion is stuck waiting for the guts of the site to happen. Maybe they would be happy with just a home page? I need some inspiration, from above please, to get me out of this rut.

FireEscapeMountainHome.org is a new project waiting to get started. I was there tonight, and both Rick and Michelle asked about the webpage. Once upon a time I mentioned something to them about “the first of May.” Now to any graphic designer or programmer, “the first of” really means “any time during — if you’re lucky.” Why is it that clients never understand the fine points of project management and status reporting? Well, I must, must, must, get FireEscapeMountainHome.org done this coming week. I only live 10 miles away from there. They can come to get me anytime, so I have to get this one done.

So that’s May and into June. What comes after that, I can’t say for sure. I’d like to get AfricanChruchPlanting.org converted, because Eva has updates and I am having trouble with them in TYPO3. Actually, I am having trouble with HolinessAndUnity.org updates as well. They take time away from conversions. After Eva’s site, I think I would look at BowmanChurch.org. But by that time, who knows what the priorities might be.

I’ve been doing this ministry since 1998, and it has never gotten any easier. I am always late, short on inspiration, and long on headaches. Still, for whatever reason, God keeps telling me to stick with it. So I stumble along and my gracious Lord makes it all work out just fine.

I’m thinking of putting up a prayer request site. If you have any ideas along those lines, let me know.

Blessings to you.

I just finished the redo of Jason Hope Ministries web site (jasonhopelive.org). You should visit his page and see what is going on there. He has just published his first book, “Field of Grace.” I can’t wait to get my copy!

This website is a milestone for Digital Ministries in that it is our first transition from TYPO3 to WordPress. To make this possible, I adopted a WordPress theme that would alow me to use “child themes” to copy same theme and adapt it for various websites. This structure is important to us for two reasons. First it allows me to become  familiar with one WordPress theme, so that I can adapt it quickly to meet the needs of a variety of clients.  Second it makes it possible for meto help clients with common usage issues. I chose the Hybrid these as the base, and then consulted several child themes to come up with one that would do the job for Jason Hope Ministries. Once I learn “the ropes” on this project, I hope to start converting more clients.