The Bright Side

We were having a group discussion on legalism when a friend shared a situation that had occurred in a church she once attended. People were always gossiping and complaining about how things should be done according to their own personal views or traditions. The pastor became concerned about legalism that had crept into his beloved church. So he placed a large wooden cross in front of the congregation during worship and asked that they focus on it. My friend said that afterward people still complained about aspects of the worship (ie; too loud, too soft, off-key, too many hymns, not enough hymns, too contemporary, etc)... you get it. Shaking her head she added, "someone even complained about the cross being 'in the way'!" We all suffer from this blindness; unable able to see the forest for the trees. Just yesterday in fact, I complained all the way to work about the icy roads when suddenly my attention turned to the majestic snow-capped peaks straight ahead...

One of the challenges I enjoy in my work is designing logos. I am honored when a client trusts me to create something that reflects what their business is about in a simple, recognizable icon that will be used for branding their product. The word "logos" comes from the greek word Λόγος meaning "word", "discourse" or "reason". This is the same word used by the Apostle John to describe Jesus Christ; "In the beginning was the word  and the word was with God and the word was God. The word  (logos)  became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:1). Over and over, Scripture depicts Jesus as the "image of the invisible God". A perfect replica, a precise copy, the exact representation of His being and in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form (Colossians 1:15; 2:9). Phillip once asked, "when will we see the Father?", to which Jesus replied, "when you have seen Me, you have seen the Father". The Jew...

Every weekday, I grumble at the construction blocking my way to and from work. It makes me late. It makes me grouchy. It makes me say things under my breath (and sometimes not) that I shouldn't. The light turns green but what's the point? No one can move. People start laying on their horns as it turns yellow, then red.... repeat. I look into the faces of my fellow commuters and see the so-called "3rd Street Improvement" brings out the worst in all of us. A few days ago, I decided to take a good look at what those no-good construction workers were actually doing. "What's in it for me?" I thought. Then I saw it. They were making a bike trail that will go under the highway. I had an instant flash back of the many times I crossed that intersection on my bicycle knowing that in a matter of time I would become road kill. "Wow", I thought with a smile, "that will make riding to work so much easier next summer... or the one after... or how...

At the end of a recently completed CPR certification class, the instructor said, "with this training, you will now be held responsible if you are in a situation where medical assistance is needed and you do nothing." Suddenly I imagined coming upon one of the terrible scenes we had been discussing. I'm standing there with my hands in my pockets waiting for someone else to take action, knowing all the while exactly what needs to be done. Although it may seem like a no-brainer, it got me thinking about the responsibility that goes along with knowledge and how many of us try to blend in with the crowd when we are equipped to make a difference. Interestingly, new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that in 2010, only 27.3 percent of college graduates actually held jobs that were related to their majors. Why would we do that? Why would we go through the time, expense and effort of learning something without putting it to use? I submit that we all a...

Two months after the weddings of my two children, I enjoy wallowing in the memories daily. The tradition in our country of the bride taking the name of her husband is rooted in Scripture and beautifully symbolic. By changing her name to his, she proclaims that she belongs to him, that she has left her father and mother and has placed her life into the hands of a man to whom she has been given the privilege of “help mate” which God ordained from the beginning (Genesis 2:18). As Eve was presented by God to her husband Adam, the bride is presented to the groom by her father. God calls His Son, Jesus Christ, the “Bridegroom” and His church the “Bride of Christ”. His followers gladly identify themselves with Him. Just as a wife proudly bears her new name, we place our very identity in the name of Jesus Christ, Who is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18). We (his Bride) trust His guidance and the faithfulness of His promises. In the same way, man is to be th...

The woman sitting in front of me was skin and bones. From the back I estimated her to be in her eighties and quite frail. She sat in a barely held together lawn chair that had RYAN hand written on the back of it in large letters. I wondered if she knew Ryan or had picked it up at a garage sale. The band played country folk style as more and more people gathered. I sat on the curb of the sidewalk listening… and watching. Watching small children in strollers with plastic sunglasses, old men with gray beards and beer bellies get in line for their favorite brew, teenagers masterfully dancing with bright hula-hoops. Those have been around forever, I thought, secretly wishing I had invented them. Interesting how things that seemed to become extinct as some point are now reappearing. Some things. Not everything. I contrasted my etch-a-sketch, (which I played with constantly) with the Apple laptop I’m using this very moment. People were huddling together in the shade trying to escape ...

When my sister told me she was going to “dead head” I was confused. Ruling out the possibility of attending a  Grateful Dead concert, I had to ask what that meant. She explained that dead heading is a process of removing dead flowers from plants to encourage new blooms. Made sense, I do that on a regular basis (but didn’t know the technical term). The same process is used when trees cease to produce fruit; the gardener prunes the non-producing limbs to stimulate new growth. Jesus’ parables often involved agricultural references, since His audience was very familiar with planting, farming, and gardening. For example, He referred to Himself as the Vine, those who followed Him as the branches, and His Father as the Gardner. He stressed the importance of staying in relationship with Him because only branches that remain in the Vine are capable of producing fruit. No branch can bear fruit once it is cut off (John 15:5). The very fact that He commanded “rema...