These are a few of my favorite things...

So I get this email today from a friend in Texas asking if I'd do sort of an Oprah type "Favorite things list".  They and three others who have contacted me this week were looking for a gift for their preacher relative or friend (I don't know why they didn't just click next to this post and buy them a copy of "A Minister's Heart").

Well, I can't give you each the things that are on the list (like Oprah - or Okra) BUT I am going to give one lucky reader one of the items on the list!!!!  That is if we hit a goal. I went over 10,000 page views here during week 3 of the relaunch of dalejenkins.com. But my highest one day page count is 840.  If I go over 1,000 page hits on this post I'm going to give a neat tech toy away to one of the viewers.

If you are new to the site and want to subscribe either RSS me or write me at dale@edge.net and I'll add y0u to the list to notify when I update any of my pages.  So, let's have some fun: (You might click and listen as you read! :))

My 2010 Favorite things list:

My wife, sons, daughter-in-laws, Family at SM and preacher friends!

A day full of hard work and an evening relaxing.

Sunday nights.

Forgiveness and second-chances in any setting.

People who work well with others and handle it with grace when they don't get their way.

Love. I'm sorry, I'm sappy - I love to love others and I love to be loved - by God, by brethren, by "my" church Family, by my friends. Thank you.

It seems most Favorite lists are all about the stuff - I wanted to start with the intangibles that bring me joy!

Now to the stuff:

1. I'm in love with my mi-fi card:  Mine is a Verizon (I got it before AT&T came out with theirs). I paid $99 for mine and the monthly charge is $60.  I have wireless connectivity (that means I can be on the internet) pretty much anywhere!  Up to 8 others can connect at the same time.  The device is about the size of a credit card only a little more thick.  AT&T has one now, it costs $49.99 and it too is $60 a month. Another company out there is Clearwire. It looks promising but I'm not sure of their coverage.

2. My newest device is the 11 inch MacBook Air.   I bought the original Air when it came out three years ago and really, REALLY liked it but while the thinness was awesome I always thought the footprint was too large and the hard drive too small.  The new Air is smaller - it is amazingly light and it is powerful!  The harddrive is much larger too.  It goes pretty much everywhere with me!

3. I was an early adaptor for the iPad. I am still amazed at it. It is so easy to use and has so many capabilities.  It is wonderful for reading RSS feeds and it shines it very brightest when traveling. If you are in airports much or overnight a lot BUY one!  BUT, be sure you get the external wireless keyboard. You may replace your laptop if you do that.  I have to mention here that I am really liking the feel of the Galaxy Tab.  The screen and size of it as well as it presentation are really intriguing me.  I think before you buy the iPad you ought to look at this tablet.  By the way here is what I asked Mel for for Christmas this year: http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggmate.php

4. This has been my year to "go to the cloud":  At one point this year I was having to use three separate computers to get all done I needed to (don't ask :().  During that time I began to do a lot of cloud computing and I don't think I will ever go back to most of my resources living on a hard drive.  I use gmail for all my email. I love Evernote for any sort of list. I am putting more and more of my documents on Dropbox.  The advantage here is that I can access these files from any computer with internet access.  By the way, all three of those are free!!!

5. Here is what I asked Santa for: It's not that much but it is a charging pad for my wireless devices. It cost from about 50-100 dollars.  It is pretty amazing you just lay your wireless device on it and it charges them!

6. The Kindle:  For less than $150 you can get a Kindle.  Why would I want a Kindle. I wasn't sure but I LOVE it. It is an amazing reading experience. It is so small and so singular and the pages are ... well... pretty! Yes, they make for an awesome reading device.  I love carrying around 25 books at one time pretty much in my pocket (big pockets needed for that to be totally true) and being able to pull them out anywhere!  I can read on my iPad BUT it is distracting. I want to go back and check my email, look at a website, do some word processing. When carrying the Kindle I can just read!

7. I want a Pico or 3M handheld projector: They cost from $150 and up.  I am not sure they are powerful enough yet to warrant buying one but if they are think of a device the size of your phone that is a "PowerPoint" projector.  If you have one comment on them below.

8. My iPhone: I've been an iPhone user for over 3 years. I have had super service. I don't drop a lot of calls. Any problem I've had they have fixed at no charge.  All of that said I have looked at the Evo and the Windows7.0 phone and they have "turned my head" some.

9. Excuse me but you can't buy these. I like podcasts! I enjoy Andy Stanley's leadership stuff, and Ravi Zacharius Let My People Think, and about 60 others. If you haven't gotten into podcasting you ought to look at some. So it was natural that I got interested in doing some podcasting and w Adam started iPreach which ultimately led to TEN (TheEquipNetwork). I also enjoy Student Minister and iMinistry podcasts.  By the way, you ought to look into RSS readers - they're free too.

10. Anything written by Seth Gooden.

So, what is your list?