I have always been a huge fan of free and open-source software.  If I can find a program that works as well or better than a major product and it’s free, I’ll give it a shot.  It turns out there are not a small amount of free programs you could try on your computer.  PC World put together a list of 112 free programs. If you’re looking for something to backup your files, free internet filtering software, or a free Photoshop alternative, check out the list.

Posted: March 11th, 2010 under Cool Websites, Helpful Info, Show Notes.
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If I look back at my life, I can see places where God brought me through and kept me doing what he wanted.  Sometimes, it was as simple as helping me avoid a car accident.  You may look at your life and see it’s story and how God is intertwined all over the place.  You might even have a great story of how God brought you through something much more difficult than an almost car accident.  I know of two great places you can share those God stories.  One place is with us at Life 101.9  on our Life Line at 866-515-1019.  The other is with a Life 101.9 artist: Matthew West.

Matthew’s planning on heading out to a cabin to write his new album “Story of Your Life” and he wants to know your story.  You can share it with him, and it might be the inspiration for a song on his new album.  Learn more about the project and how to share you story here.

Posted: March 10th, 2010 under Life 101.9 artists, Show Notes.
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I think as a general rule, if you’re going to get sick from eating potato chips, it should be because you ate too many. And even then, you probably shouldn’t have eaten so many chips. That’s not the reason for the recall on two Pringles flavors. Instead, it’s related to an ingredient recall that could be contaminated with salmonella. So don’t eat those Pringles Restaurant Cravers Cheeseburger and Pringles Family Faves Taco Night flavored chips. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure what you do with recalled potato chips, except dispose of them in the trash.  I don’t think you can “fix” a contaminated potato chip.

Posted: March 9th, 2010 under Recalls, Show Notes.
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The other night we hosted a meeting at our house.  If you’ve ever hosted a meeting, either at your home or at work, church, or somewhere else, you know there are challenges.  You have to stay focused and keep on task while not boring everyone out of their minds.  Here’s three ingredients we had at our meeting that could help.

1. A relaxed environment – We hung out in the living room and just had good discussion on the topics at end.  We didn’t stay too uptight but instead took an attitude of “hanging out” during the meeting.

2. An on-task person – At our meeting, this was my wife Amy.  I love having a relaxed meeting but that always presents the danger of straying off topic or not staying focused.  Amy is good at reminding me to keep at the work at hand.

3. Decaf coffee and cappuccino brownies – They taste good and food always make any meeting better.

Posted: February 19th, 2010 under Life at the Lansers', Show Notes.
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Valentine’s Day is coming up quickly, and I finally figured out a good gift to pick up for my wife, Amy.  Except, I don’t know that gifts are what Valentine’s Day is all about.

It’s not about the cards and candies we’d set on everyone’s desks in grade school.  It’s not about celebrating S.A.Dd (Single’s Awareness Day) because you don’t have a special someone (though I did think that for a while when I was younger).  I think Valentine’s Day is a reminder about intentionality.

We throw around the term “I love you” a lot.  We say it every day to our friends, our parents, our kids, or our spouse as we run out the door.  But love is about more than three words.  It’s about a lifestyle.  When push comes to shove, our love for someone else is written in our actions.

So I encourage you to take this Valentine’s as a reminder, and a challenging question: How are you going to be intentional to those you love?

Posted: February 11th, 2010 under Show Notes.
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