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Got a Question for God? There’s an app for that…

Hello World,

The temperature has finally gone down in the A…”from 96 degrees in the shade” to about 87 degrees in the rain, but I guess I won’t complain…

Anywho…Know what? Although I have a blog and a Facebook account, I am woefully behind on and insecure about emerging technology…I mean I am only on my second cell phone, and my parents bought my first one for me a few years back because they correctly deduced as a reporter I needed one…plus I was the only one  in our immediate family that did not have one…nearly unbelievable huh? but it’s true…

Thankfully, however, God has placed people (including my parents)  in my life who have made sure that I have slowly but surely acquainted myself with the latest technology – people like my friend Tess Gadwa who designed my beloved blog for instance…Well about two months ago at the Faith & Fiction Retreat in the A, I met someone who actually designed an iPhone application! Isn’t that impressive?! Who does that? Catherine Helzerman’s app is cleverly named, Ask God.  I knew she had to be featured on this blog…Read on for my exclusive interview!

1. For those who are not technologically savvy or current (me), what is an Iphone app?

An iPhone App is simply any application that is made specifically to run on Apple’s iPhone.

 
2. What is “Ask God?” Why did you develop the application? 

 Ask God is an application developed for iPhone that allows users to easily find Bible scripture on a variety of topics.  The application is designed to offer a fun introduction to those new to the Bible, as well as give Christians a quick way to get a Word on a topic, such as work, faith or marriage.  Favorite verses can be shared on popular social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. 

 I wrote Ask God because I wanted to give people a fun way to get relevant scripture from the Bible.  Too often, Bibles online can be intimidating or not interesting to the new or non-Christian.  My app has fun features such as shaking your phone for verses and sharing them with friends.  Many users who are sharing God’s Word through my app do not even consider themselves “religious.”

3. How did you develop this application? Please tell me all of the nitty-gritty “techy” details. How long did this process take?

 I’m not sure how long it took because I was working on it in my spare time, but the process was somewhat unique.  I felt drawn to develop an application for those needing quick access to Bible scripture.  With no experience in iPhone programming, I purchased a book called “Program for the iPhone in 24 hours,” and I was on my way.  Fortunately my husband and some friends helped with some of the more technical aspects of the program.

4. How does one get access to Ask God? How much does it cost? Have you made any money? Please describe as it think it would inspire people:)

Ask God can be purchased on your iPhone. Go to the App Store and search for Ask God or Bible verses or on iTunes.  You need to have an iPhone for it to work.  It will not run on Blackberry and other phones because the software is not compatible.

Right now, Ask God is free.  I’m working on an upgrade that will enable the application to work on iPad and also give it a new look and feel.  At some point I might charge 99 cents, but for now,  it is free to anyone who wants it.

For a while I did charge 99 cents.  It did not make a lot of money; however, I think part of the reason was that I was holding back on doing a lot of publicity until I got the software right where I wanted it to be.

5. How are you getting the word out about Ask God?  Have you gotten any feedback from “subscribers?” Is that the correct word for people who download the application?

Feedback from users has been great.  Some encourage me to add more technical features –and they’re right.  Much of this has already been done and is available in the version out now.  Many times I will post a scripture to Facebook and get a comment that the Word was “right on time” and what that person needed to hear.  I love moments like that.

Once I have the version out that works on both iPhone and iPad I will promote the software more to get the word out.  I’ll do this through a press release, Twitter, Facebook and targeted publications that cater to the Christian community.  I’ll also ask pastors to share the word about the application if they’re comfortable in informal settings such as weekly men’s and women’s groups, volunteer and outreach groups, etc.

Any thoughts?

Catherine Helzerman has worked in the high-tech industry since the early ’90s for companies including Gateway, IBM and her current company McAfee  In addition to her responsibilities as a communications director at McAfee, Catherine is active in her church Bible Way Christian Center in San Jose, California, particularly in homeless and low-income outreach.  Catherine also enjoys programming and is the co-founder of Snark Software.  Catherine is working on her first book, a Christian fiction novel that will explore how God orders our steps in a way that makes events that are seemingly unconnected and sometimes painful work toward our good.

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My soul mate is married and other conundrums of life…

Hello World! 

If you are anything like me, you are pondering and saddened by the news that American Idol winner and The Color Purple star Fantasia Barrino is recovering after an overdose of aspirin and a sleep aid…Apparently, she took the combination after  feeling “overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention”  concerning her alleged relationship with her married boyfriend Antwaun Cook, her rep told TMZ.com.

Cook’s wife Paula recently filed a lawsuit against her estranged husband in North Carolina, and Barrino is mentioned in the lawsuit. According to WCNC.com, Barrino and Cook made a sex tape and now Paula is seeking custody of their young children, child support and alimony…To me, it’s pretty obvious that Barrino and Cook were not trying to hide their alleged relationship…She has a tattoo with his last name on her shoulder and there are  pictures on the Internet of the couple cavorting all over the world it seems…

Now, the Bible thumping part of me wants to say that Barrino is dead wrong and should leave that man alone – at least until he is truly divorced…But there is another part of me that has a different opinion…Anyone that has lived longer than about 25 years knows that life is not cut and dry…Is it possible to meet your soul mate after you are married to someone else? And if it is possible, what should one do?

In the movie Walk the Line, it was clear that Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash were soul mates — but they were married to other people when they met…And although they fell quickly in love, for a time the only time they could really spend together was on stage…And it appears that at least once Johnny cheated on his first wife with June (at least that is what happened in the movie)…and the two were Christians…Roseanne Cash, the eldest daughter of Cash and his first wife, has written a memoir, Composed, which arrived in stores yesterday.

Christian singer Amy Grant has been accused of having an affair with her now husband country music star Vince Gill. The two were married for years to other people and after they divorced their former spouses, the two married. Though they deny having an affair while they were married to other people, the two admit they felt a deep connection to each other when they first met…

So what say you? What would you do? I think part of the reason that I did not want to get married in my ’20s was that I wanted to wait until I really knew myself before I made that commitment…It seems that in both of the examples that I shared, these couples originally married very early in their lives…Would they have made better decisions if they had waited until they were older? I say yes. I’m not saying that every couple that gets married at a young age is doomed and will meet people better suited for them once they get older…but I do think that when you get older you tend to make better decisions…at least it should be that way…ain’t nothin’ worse than an old fool…

As I alluded to in my title of this post, life can present some interesting conundrums if you live long enough…I’m sure we’ve all heard stories of couples remarrying after they have gotten divorced…Is that wrong or right? Is cheating really grounds for divorce?…A minister told me and a group of other people that many people should not be so quick to divorce after cheating has been revealed, and that he has counseled many that wished they would have forgiven rather divorced their spouses for this offense…

At any rate, aside from all of the philosophizing, we should all pray for Barrino as it’s obvious that this immensly talented singer is suffering right now…

Any thoughts?

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It’s too hot to write aka I have writer’s block AGAIN…

Hello World,

It just was about a year ago that I could barely manage to write a coherent sentence….So there must be a connection with 90 -degree and above temperatures and my uninspired prose…I give you full permission to stop reading here because it’s doubtful that I will have anything meaningful to say…But I will serve up a few of the stories that I find vaguely interesting…When all else fails, celebrity dish is the order of the day…feel free to comment or not…

1. Antoine Dodson – If you have not seen this young man and his menacing but hilarious words to the would -be rapist who attacked his sister, then you must…Since Dodson blew up on YouTube, he with the help of some benefactor obviously has set up a Web site and is asking for donations to help move his family out of the projects…This should not be funny for many reasons but it is…

2. Maia Campbell – If you did not know, Maia is the daughter of deceased prolific author Bebe Moore Campbell. Maia Campbell was recently arrested and apparently has been in jail since July….This must be heartbreaking for her family especially since they recently faced the loss of Bebe Moore Campbell in 2006. I met the author a few years ago at a local Barnes & Noble, and she was very graceful and approachable. Her daughter’s behavior is compelling evidence that mental illness cannot be ignored…

3. Montana Fishburne – Laurence Fishburne must be holding his head in his hands while he ponders what in the world has happened to his daughter…This child wants to be a porn star…Yeah, you read that right…And she is releasing a porn tape later this month…Foolishness I say…

4. Wyclef Jean – I’m sure you heard that he is now running for the presidency of his native Haiti…In the words of Ed Lover…C’mon son…dude, stick to music…experience does count….jeez….

5. Naomi Campbell – Now, this infamous supermodel is accused of receiving “blood diamonds” which were allegedly given to her by former Liberian ruler Charles Taylor who is believed to have used diamonds to fund civil wars in his country – wars that led to the deaths of over 100,000 people…If she ain’t allegedly throwing her cell phone at her servants, she is allegedly receiving blood diamonds from a former ruler who allegedly hand a hand in killing thousands of his countrymen…she is a trip… that is for sure…

6. Alicia Keys – As you probably know, she is now married to Swiss Beatz…My thing is (don’t you just love that phrase?) I wonder how she feels about allegedly taking a man away from his former wife and children…Allegedly, their relationship started while Swiss Beatz was married to another woman…I’m not saying Keys should be worried about losing her husband to someone else but it has been said how you get a man is how you will lose a man…yep karma, is something and even more ironically, one of her hit songs….

7. T.I. & Tiny – I know it took them forever to get married and a lot of their relationship drama played out on the airwaves of Atlanta radio, but I am really rooting for them…Tiny and I went to high school together at Benjamin E. Banneker High School in the CPK. Back then, she used to rock long black hair and a L.A. Raiders starter jacket or bomber I believe…We never talked or anything but she seemed cool enough….Kudos!