Monday, July 5, 2010

Heart4God Website Changes












The Father continues to pour forth His grace in many ways. I want to share with you some history on the Heart4God website, and testify to the Father's great grace in this work.

In 1999 the Father directed me to begin an Internet ministry. It was at that time that I created the Heart4God website and began posting the books and articles that the Spirit was directing me to write.

Up until sometime in 2008, I did all the work on the website myself. I had mainly used a website development program named Trellix, which was later sold and renamed CuteSite Builder. This program was wonderful, for it did not require any HTML coding. (HTML stands for Hyper test Mark-up Language. It is the programming language used by websites.) Trellix/CuteSite Builder functioned much like a wordprocessor. I added text and graphics, and when I was finished I clicked on a button and it generated all the HTML code for me.

CuteSite Builder was eventually abandoned by the company that bought it. No new releases have come out for years. This caused me problems when I upgraded my computer and found that the program did not work with Microsoft Vista. At that time the Father laid it upon the heart of a young man in England (Ifeanyi Isitor) to ask me if he could supply any assistance with the ministry to which the Father had called me. Ifeanyi (pronounced Ee-Far-Nee) works in the computer field as a programmer, and was familiar with website design. The timing of his offer was a great blessing, and I knew the Father had prompted Ifeanyi to make this offer.

For the past couple years, Ifeanyi has been making all the updates to the Heart4God website. When I had changes to make, or additions, I would simply send them to him and he would get them posted for me.

Ifeanyi and his wife Lissy, whom I consider to be a son and daughter in the Lord, are being led to make many changes in their lives, and it is no longer possible for Ifeanyi to continue to provide this service for me.

At the same time, I am finding that I am having many more audio messages to post, and I anticipate posting videos in addition to the three I have previously created and posted online. As technology changes and more people are moving to mobile devices and using mobile applications, such as podcasts, the Heart4God website has become out of date. It was created for static content, not the dynamic content of the present Internet.

Knowing that Ifeanyi would no longer be able to manage the site for me, and having many audio files to post at this time, I began seeking to know the Father's will in these things. If I were to take back over the site's management I would have to find another program to replace CuteSite Builder. The time required to manage the site would also add to the current load of responsibilities I have as I travel, speak, write blogs, correspond with the saints through e-mail, send newsletters to men and women in and out of prison, etc..

Two days ago, while camping at Lemon Cove Campground, I looked at the clock as I was getting up. The time was 5:55. The Father has at times used this number to signify that great grace would be seen by His hand that day. When I opened my e-mail program that morning, I found that a young man by the name of Angelo Becker, had written me. He said his brother-in-law (Ifeanyi) had shared the address of the Heart4God website with him and he had been reading some material there. He said that as he awoke that very morning the Father had impressed upon him that it was His desire that Angelo volunteer to do a complete re-design of the website for me, and to assist me with the site management.

Angelo does website design professionally, and I looked at some samples of sites in his portfolio. They are very clean looking sites, revealing a skillful hand. I am in awe of the grace of our Father who always knows our needs and goes before His sons to guide them in the way. Angelo has embraced this task with great eagerness, and has shared with me some of the changes he will make to bring the site up-to-date with present technology. This will include a completely revamped audio section on the site, and the availability of podcasts for those who use mobile devices.

Please be advised that during this time of transition that the Heart4God website will be unavailable for a brief period. When it is completed I am confident that it will be a much improved site for those who visit it.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,

Heart4God Website:
http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog:
www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

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