Almost Isn’t Good Enough shares Wayne Elseyʼs story from a teenage boy on the verge of committing suicide to the founder of one of the fastest growing charities in the world. Along the way, Almost Isnʼt Good Enough takes a look into what has made Soles4Souls grow to where it is today.

Almost Isnʼt Good Enough will speak purpose into your life, much like the purpose Wayne discovered when he founded Soles4Souls. 100% of the proceeds will go directly towards furthering Soles4Souls mission.  For every book sold, 10 pairs of shoes will be given to people in need!

Wayneʼs hope is that this book will provide 200,000 shoes to kids around the world in 2011! Soles4Souls is asking you to join in using the book to change the world.

Buy Two, Give One, Tell Five

• When you BUY TWO, 20 pairs of shoes will be distributed to people in need wherever you designate.

• When you GIVE ONE, a message of hope and purpose will be given to someone you care about.

• When you TELL FIVE, you will help Soles4Souls hit our goal of giving away 200,000 pairs of shoes to people in need all over the world.

TELL FIVE by sharing this post on your Facebook or Twitter. Use the hashtag #200kShoes. Sign up and share email updates from the book. When you do, youʼll be providing shoes to an entire village.

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of Almost Isn’t Good Enough:

I chose to leave my corporate career and make Soles4Souls my life’s work. Just because I made that decision doesn’t mean that is the only option you have available. Maybe you’re in your twenties, thirties, fifties, or whatever age and wondering what you can do. You might be discouraged that you can’t leave your job and start a nonprofit organization to solve a looming social problem. Maybe your feet are backed into a corner with your career and family obligations and think there is no way you can get a do-over in life.

If you’re in your twenties, let me encourage you to learn as much as you can about yourself. Surround yourself with people who are better than you at just about anything. Listen, watch, observe, and practice. Change jobs more frequently if you need. Not everyone wakes up one day and recognizes what he or she will do with the rest of their life. With the pace at which technology is changing the world, chances are whatever you are doing today won’t exist by the end of your career. Even better are the chances of you stumbling into a career that didn’t exist when you graduated from college. Use this time to discover who you are, your unique talents,and how you can leverage those skills to help others and yourself.

If you’re in your thirties, keep a balance between work and family. Don’t be consumed with building your career that you leave your family behind. Your family will be there when your job fails you and when the company you have been so loyal to decides they no longer need your services. There is no amount of money that will buy you security you can find in the loving arms of the ones you love and who love you.

If you’re in your fifties or older, it’s not too late. You may be entering a transitional period in your life that is very similar to those who are in their twenties. Perhaps you are on the brink of retirement. Your identity is wrapped up in your work, your airline rewards account, and your membership to the corporate gym. Retirement does not mark the end of your life but an opportunity to invest in other areas.

To purchase your copy of the book click HERE.

Here’s a sneak peek into Almost Isn’t Good Enough:

Last night during the amazing Super Bowl commercials, Apple introduced the world to The Daily. I’ve already stated that I think this changes the game. It’s no secret that I’ve never been a fan of traditional newspapers. What say you?

Going on a mission trip or live in a multi-cultural area? You have got to check out the Word Lens app.

Yesterday, my friend Rob Thomas of Igniter Video posted this video on Facebook. I checked it out and was blown away. This moves me on so many levels. From the old, old story told in new, relevant, contemporary ways to the creativity, innovation and hard work that went into creating something like this. I’m absolutely amazed and encourage you to purchase it HERE and use it at your church this Christmas season. You can check it out below:

Yesterday Facebook announced their New Messages. This is a new way of interacting with people and could definitely be a game-changer for how we communicate. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

If you’d like to sign up to be notified when this is available to test go HERE.

A little while back I blogged about Apple TV and Roku. I gave you some feedback on both and encouraged you to check them both out closely. You can read about HERE if you missed it. Yesterday, LifeChurch.tv announced their presence on Roku. Here is what they blogged:

Now in addition to your computer and mobile phone, you can stream LifeChurch.tv content directly to your TV. The LifeChurch.tv channel is now available on the Roku streaming player.What is Roku? Roku is a little box that allows you to instantly stream content from many sources including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon.com, and now LifeChurch.tv.

Version 1.0 of the LifeChurch.tv channel offers the current and recent message series in up to HD 720P resolution. Additionally, the current Talk It Over video (featuring discussion questions about the messages) is available for small groups. Future releases will offer even more content.

LifeChurch.tv is excited to be able to offer content to the more than 1 million Roku users completely free of charge. To learn more about Roku visit Roku.com. To add the LifeChurch.tv channel, visit the channel store on your Roku streaming player. Not a Roku user? No worries. You can always access our messages at http://www.lifechurch.tv/watch or download from OPEN.LifeChurch.tv to use them at your church.

*** So what do you think of a church taking a step like this? Do you think this is innovative? Effective? Do you think it’s a waste of time and effort? Would your church ever consider something like this? What are your thoughts?

I was very happy to receive my copy of Sun Stand Still in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I knew Steven Furtick when he was a teenager. I remember him going to North Greenville College near where I grew up. Now I get to hear stories of how God is using him and his amazing church in Charlotte, NC. I hope you’ll get a copy. Read what Pastor Steven has to say about it:

When you strip the biblical miracles of their spectacular special effects, a common plot point emerges: extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary circumstances and acts of obedience.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do for a living. If God lives in you, you have the potential to witness God do the impossible. In you. Through you. And around you.

That’s easy to say. But it can be hard to believe. My upcoming book, Sun Stand Still, is all about audacious faith and the invitation to believe that you were made to experience the miraculous on a regular basis. But what I found in writing the book is that it’s easy for me to share my story of audacious faith. It’s easy for me to make applications to other church leaders about how to have audacious faith.

But it’s much harder to relate the concept of audacious faith to people who may not see their life’s work in a very audacious light.

Maybe you can relate. You might be thinking that nothing remarkable—much less supernatural—ever happens to you. Your prayers appear to be rarely and randomly answered. And no agenda item in your life seems big enough to warrant God’s undivided attention anyway. Audacity seems to be reserved exclusively for others—the special Christians.

Clearly, God does special things in a special way through special people. But where does that leave the rest of us?

For instance, how can you be an audacious school teacher?

An audacious parent?

An audacious hourly employee?

An audacious student?

An audacious wife?

What I concluded is that audacity is not simply an activity. Audacity is an approach. Audacity isn’t qualified by what you do. It’s all about how you do what you do. Sometimes audacious faith is defined by the nature of the activity. Being a missionary in a third world country requires audacious faith. Audacity kind of comes with the package.

Other times, audacious faith is activated by your approach and attitude. In other words, it’s possible to approach a simple or ordinary activity with an audacious attitude, and glorify God in a remarkable way. Audacity is every bit as attainable for you, whether you are a stay-at-home mom or an electrical engineer—if you dare to relate to God on a new level.

Here’s what I know: God is able to stir up your spirit, pour out his presence, and reveal his glory in your family, business, or community. And in Sun Stand Still I want to show you that the extraordinary presence and purpose of God will burn brightly in the life of anyone willing to be set on fire.

For more info, visit the Sun Stand Still page.

*** By the way, today I (Greg Atkinson) turn 35. Wow! I’m grown.

This made a splash on Twitter on Wednesday. I’m just now getting to blog about it. I think this has great potential to be a game-changer and will be keeping my eye on the development of this technology.

Check out what FastCompany had to say about this new product:

Ever see something you wish you had on film? Say, a miraculous home-run in the ninth, or your baby’s first steps? A new wearable camcorder called Looxcie (look-see) aims to capture all these shooting-star moments.

Looxcie ($199) is a Bluetooth headset that features video recording–but no record button. Rather, the device is designed to constantly capture video, which can either be viewed live on one’s smartphone, or saved to memory if a YouTube-worthy event occurs. Like any Bluetooth headset, Looxcie fits snugly around one’s ear (it’s a bit heavy), and can make and receive calls. But since the device is constantly on and recording to a temporary storage buffer, one must only hit the “Instant Clip” button, and the last 30-seconds of footage is automatically saved to your Android, and soon BlackBerry and iPhone. What you see is what you record.

“How can I capture things and be fully present in the moment?” says Bob Kron, Looxcie’s VP of marketing. “Everybody gets the splash, but nobody gets the whale–you’re always just a little bit too late. With Looxcie, you capture the moment as it happens.”

To store and record constantly, Looxcie comes with 4GB of flash memory and has a 4-hour battery life when continuously recording video. (Battery life is much longer when the camcorder is turned off.)

What’s more, using the Looxcie app, video clips can be instantly shared via email, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. It’s the camcorder for the social media age–a device that captures tweet-size video which can immediately be uploaded online. And in case the last 30 seconds wasn’t enough, users can always grab up to the last hour of footage through using the Looxcie app.

Though many smartphones have video recording, they’re often sitting in your pocket. It is Looxcie’s TiVo-esque playback feature that won’t let you miss a moment (think: Sully landing the plane on Hudson).

Of course, there’s always the issue of style. Capturing video of your baby’s first steps with Looxcie means you’re probably wearing a Bluetooth headset during your baby’s first steps. It means you’re probably the kind of person who wears a Bluetooth headset around-the-clock. But if you’re comfortable or shameless enough to wear one in public, why not add a camcorder? Who knows what you might see.

Check out the video quality below:

*** What are your thoughts? I can see bank tellers wearing these. I can see police officers wearing these. What uses can you see for this? Do you see a way that this could be used at church? Share.

Top Christian media website, Evangelize.com, has rebranded it’s video download site as MinistryFlix.com. To celebrate this name change, the site is giving away brand new exclusive content each week throughout the summer, created by some of its top selling producers. Please know some of this content you can’t find anywhere else on the web!

The site offers thousands of short videos that give viewers an opportunity to hear about important themes. Videos tackle issues such as gossip, worship, relationships and forgiveness – all from a Christian perspective. Many of the videos feature stars from such hit television shows as “The Office,” “Community,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Glee,” “Saturday Night Live” and more.

The site’s founder, Tom Rice, says “We are constantly bombarded with stories and visual imagery that compete for our imagination and aim to influence the way we view our world. Our imaginations are often led to value what is contrary to God’s teaching. MinistryFlix.com thinks it’s time to reclaim our imaginations,” says Rice.

MinistryFlix.com believes that parables and imagery are just as influential today as they were when Jesus delivered his sermon on the mount. They have put together a vast resource of materials that they believe will help capture the imagination of their audience and lead them closer to Christ.

“People yearn to hear truth that will set them free. Your audience might be your church, your family or perhaps your friends who don’t know Jesus. They’re ready to listen,” says Rice. Rice wants people to view MinistryFlix.com as the top digital resource for offering the best in Christian media for church, small group or individual use. The downloadable videos range from inspirational videos, documentary testimonials, and comedies and often feature recognizable actors. The content on the site is produced through a partnership of top Christian media producers.

Don’t miss that last point – it separates MinistryFlix.com from most of it’s competitors. They screen and filter their videos and won’t put up just anybody. My problem with some companies is they have so much junk on their website that you have to search for hours to find anything usable. Only the top Christian media producers have been selected to be on MinistryFlix.com. It’s really a who’s who of Christian media resources. If you want to save yourself time, it’s worth you bookmarking them and checking them first when you’re looking for a video clip for your ministry.

In case you missed it in the opening paragraph: They’re giving away FREE videos every week. The new Deidox film is only on their site and available as a FREE download. At least go get your free video!

Catalyst 2010 | The Tension is Good from Catalyst on Vimeo.

You won’t want to miss the Catalyst Conference this year, happening October 6-8, 2010 in Atlanta, where 13,000 young leaders will converge for the leadership experience of the year, including high-octane speakers, powerful worship, innovative programming, and an experience unlike any other. I’ll be there and I hope to see you there, too.

Hear from leadership authorities including Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, TD Jakes, Craig Groeschel, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Perry Noble, and Christine Caine, along with several innovative thinkers and practitioners like best-selling author Daniel Pink, charity: water founder Scott Harrison, Gabe Lyons, First Response Team founder Tad Agoglia, and Rani Hong, winner of the United Nations Human Rights Award.

Plus, Catalyst Labs will feature innovative thought leaders like Michael Hyatt, Pete Wilson, Mark Batterson, Anne Jackson, John Ortberg, Mike Foster, Jud Wilhite, Reggie Joiner, Jamie Tworkowski, Alan Hirsch, Gayle Haggard, Chris Hodges, Jon Acuff, Tim Elmore, Charles Lee, Chris Seay, Chris and Phileena Heuertz, and others.

Best Rates on Catalyst tickets end this Thursday, June 24th, so register now. Call 888.334.6569 to speak to a Catalyst Concierge, or register online at www.catalystconference.com. You can use Rate Code FOB for an additional discount off your ticket price. Catalyst will sell out, so make sure and register early!