I learned an important truth early in ministry.
“Whenever you schedule a meeting someone out in public for lunch or coffee, make sure you have some work with you in case they are late.”
I have found this to be an increasingly helpful piece of information.
Now that I have an iPhone, I have seen this go to the next level without the clutter that usually accompanies it. Now I can read the Word, listen to podcasts, check and return emails, etc. all while I wait. (I get no kickback. I wish I could ; ) ).
Any similar nuggets you might want to share?
I plan on writing about this kind of thing soon at the Resurgence. Maybe yours will make the cut. Let’s hear ‘em.
I like to always have the following items with me:
A phone with access to YouVersion and all my email.
My iPod with several podcasts, at least one audiobook.
My pack with my print bible, at least one book, my journal and all my pipes and tobacco.
The majority of my time is like cracks in the facade of a dam. I must fill the small parts to shore up the big important parts.
Good thoughts men. And good caution on the iPhone Jason. We all have to watch it.
Never be without a book (already mentioned)! I’m always in the middle of several books and it amazes me how far I can get during these little nuggets of time. Actually, I’ve found my iphone can really distract me from this, as of late, by checking twitter and all. I need to use my phone as a tool not a distraction. This is a work in progress…I could definitely be better with my time!
I’ve spent the entire day today going from one coffee house meeting to another, so I have some thoughts to share in terms of study and message preparation.
I tend to show up early and expect people to be at least a little late. I usually have my laptop with my Logos library, so I can do almost anything I need to with that.
When I don’t have my MacBook, I always have my iPhone. So in addition to what you’ve already described, I would recommend investing in some more serious mobile Bible software.
I’ve put some cash into building my Olivetree BibleReader library for the iPhone. With their new parsed original language texts I can even translate my passage and take notes for my message. I get a ton done with just the phone, which is priceless. They also have a handful of decent commentaries, and, of course, the ESV Study Bible.
I was invited to do a short message at a friends church the night before thanksgiving. I already wrote the entire message just using my BibleReader app using the notes feature. It syncs with Evernote, so when I get back to my computer the notes will already be there waiting in Evernote. So awesome.
One more thing. I’ve started buying most of my non-reference books for the Kindle. I don’t have a Kindle (insert sad face), but I have the free Kindle app for the iPhone.
I’m getting so much more reading done simply because I always have my new books with me. Love it.
Just a note on Bible software for iPhone: Logos also has a free app that comes with a pile of books when you sign up for a free account and if you own Logos 4, will sync with your entire library. Its really quite amazing.