Monthly Archives: December 2011

In the last 3 weeks I have talked with what feels like a TON of people that are struggling with feeling knocked on their rear, flat out, full on depressed than I think I ever have at Christmas. I’m talking about can’t get out of bed, feeling totally unmotivated, full of worry and stress and fear kind of lose your mind, DEPRESSION.

Everyone knows that Christmas is a time of year when people struggle with depression more than any other. This is not news. But I’ve got a theory that it’s actually something much deeper…

I think it’s maybe more accurate to say that Christmas is a giant emotional amplifier. Whatever is running around in your heart going into the season will be magnified, amplified and super-sized as the month of December marches on.

Mild depression turns severe. Light anxiety turns into full blown worry. Stress turns into panic. Concern turns into worry. Have you ever noticed this? Now, the opposite can also be true – contentment can turn into joy. Being centered in Jesus can lead to peace. Feeling forgiven can lead to incredible acts of grace and mercy. But Christmas often will take whatever is running around in your heart and turn up the volume on it for better or for worse to the point that it can drown out all other noises and voices.

So be mindful and watchful for what direction your heart is headed the next couple weeks. It’s worth listening to whatever the volume is being turned up on – it can tell you a lot about what’s been going on in your heart. And if you find yourself struggling with depression, anxiety, worry or fear, etc. name it! What’s that about? where’s it coming from? Is there something here that I need to surrender to Jesus and that I’m not trusting him with? Listening to what’s loudest in your heart will allow you to more actively mix the sound – turn volumes up and down in your heart – so that the right voices end up being the loudest.

Hey Evergreeners!

I thought I’d just take a minute this afternoon to encourage you to check out the NEW Evergreen website at evergreenpinecity.org. Let me highlight some of the changes and upgrades for you as well as say a word about what you can expect to find there as time goes on.

1. SEARCHABILITY: The new site is “Google-able”. What does that mean? It means that our previous website was not visible to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. When you did a search for us on the web and came up with evergreenpinecity.org, it was likely that you got there through a third party such as this blog, the Pine City Chamber of Commerce, etc. But you would not have come across our actual website in a web-search as one of our old site’s limitations was that it was simply “invisible” to the Googles of the world. In today’s day and age when your church’s website is really your front door and people will check you out online and even “virtually” attend a worship service or take in a message long before they even visit you… That’s a bad deal. This is a huge step forward for us.

2. FUNCTIONALITY: On Evergreen’s new site, all of our audio and video podcasts, as well as our creative videos, are in ONE PLACE and visible either through the Apple iTunes Store, OR directly on the site itself. That means every message, both the audio and the video versions, every creative piece we ever make… They’re all… HERE. Gone are the days of having direct people to re-post your sister’s-cousin’s-uncle’s Facebook page link or search for us through hundreds of thousands of videos on YouTube or Vimeo. Everything is available to be watched, listened to, downloaded, or shared right from our website through a media player that’s elegant, easy to use and state of the art.

Additionally, if you’ve checked out the new site on your web-enabled phone or e-tablet, you’ve already noticed that there is a mobile version of the site that’s easier for your device to utilize and load than our full website.

As time goes on, you’re going to notice an even heavier use of video greetings on this site from myself or other staff members along with pictures, links to blogs, upgrades to how you can donate to the church online, integration with Facebook and Twitter, and even an Evergreen Leadership Podcast. The new site is a whole ‘nutha level of functionality for us, and it’s packed with features that both long-time Evergreeners and potential visitors will really enjoy.

3. PRACTICALITY: Our old website was created, maintained and run through ONE single computer at the church. PAINFUL! The new one can be updated from anywhere through the web. And in a church were our volunteers are spread out over a number of smaller communities, this is a really helpful feature for us!

4. AWESOME-LOOKING…ABILITY: The new site is a much better look for us and more in keeping in what you’d expect to see from a church like Evergreen.

5. BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL THE MESSAGES ON THE OLD SITE?? Have we lost them all?? Great question – I’m glad you asked! NO, WE HAVEN’T! If you’re interested in sharing or listening to a message from a message series that ran PRIOR to September 2011, check out www.archives.evergreenpinecity.org. Everything we’ve ever posted on the old site is still there.

Happy surfing, Evergreeners! Enjoy the new site – we hope it’s helpful to you as a resource in sharing the message of Jesus with your friends and family. That’s the reason we do EVERYTHING we do!