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One Way to Shake Off the Doldrums of Winter Darkness

If I’m being honest with you, I have to tell you that I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy lately. The time change and shorter days always seem to do it to me. When it gets dark so early I find it difficult to do much of anything other than stay home after dinner and read, or write, or try to accomplish things around the house.

One thing that gets me out of my funk is to work on a project or do something creative. It always seems to bring some light and life into a too early dark evening.

After dinner tonight I decided I needed to do just that. I went to work on our family’s sometimes annual Christmas card (Do you send out cards every year?). We had a picture taken last month. So I got on iPhoto, began to work, placed the picture into a card template, and started to think about text I could place into it…and before I knew it I was energized and excited about what I was doing.

It’s interesting to me that we celebrate Christmas in North America very near the day that is shortest and darkest. It is a stark reminder that this dark world desperately needs the One who called Himself the Light of the world. The Creative Creator God came up with an innovative way to deal with the world’s sin-fed darkness. In history’s most sacrificially imaginative act, He sent His only-begotten Son to bring color, life, light, and salvation into a world who’s days had been dimmed and shortened by iniquity.

As I worked on our Christmas card, I was energized even more when I found the following passage in The Message:

Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower — Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom, a symphony of song and color. (Isaiah 35:1)

“A symphony of song and color” is exactly what I need at this time of year. That’s what my God gives me as He inspires me to and through creativity. Into the midst of darkness — spiritual, emotional, or physical — He delivers color, light, life.

Ask. He will provide.

How do you shake off the darkness and find the light at this time of year?

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How God Spreads His Creativity Around

One of God’s most basic characteristics is creativity. Go and read Genesis 1. Yahweh Elohim has created the world ex nihilo, out of nothing. Genesis 2 gives us a picture of God as though He is on His hands and knees shaping and molding Adam out of the clay of the earth. What a wonderfully creative and complex creation the Divine Artist has made.

All I had to do was look at my parents’ grandchildren this Thanksgiving (and think of the ones who were far away).God has done His creative work nine-fold.

  1. Natalie: Works for Boeing in St. Louis, where she lives with her husband Ryan. She is a runner, an accomplished food-blogger, and a fantastic baker/cook.
  2. Julia: Is a nurse in the NICU at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. She played college basketball, loves to read, and is an Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Packers fan.
  3. Ashlyn: Graduated from college with a degree in theatre and will be moving soon to Orlando, Florida, where she hopes to perform for Disney.
  4. Ben: Is a singer/songwriter going to Belmont University majoring in Entertainment Industry Studies.
  5. Quinn: Is a high energy college basketball player, theologian, and die hard Green Bay Packers fan.
  6. Madi: Has excelled at running, theatre, and is one of the most compassionate souls I have ever known
  7. Renatta: Is a witty, intelligent, senior in high school, who writes far better than many college students I know.
  8. Clayton: Excels at both football and basketball, and is consistently a top student in his class.
  9. Libby: is a dancer, fashionista, and a girl with a heart bigger than most kids her age.

Better than all of that, each and every one of them lives a life of faith in Jesus as their Savior.  Not only has the Creator created uniqueness in each of them, He has also created the gift of faith.

Take a look around. The Creative God spreads His creativity around.

How does the Creator show His creative hand in your family?


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A Few Words of Encouragement

I want to encourage you today. We all need encouragement. Sometimes life catches up with us. It makes us weary, worried, or weepy.

A word of encouragement can turn a day around. It can propel a person forward and help her clear a hurdle. It can drive the blues away and help him reach a goal.

So here you go. You are:

  • Unique
  • Creative (yes, you…you are!)
  • Smart
  • Funny
  • Gifted
  • Indispensable
  • Exceptional
  • Distinctive
  • Irreplaceable
  • Able
  • Talented
  • Loved by God

There is no one like you.

Now pass it on. Whom can you encourage today?

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5 Ideas for a Creative Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving may not be considered the most creative holiday. Maybe it’s time to inject a little spice and variety into a holiday laden with tradition.

I recently asked a group of children to name one thing for which they are thankful. The majority of them responded that they were most thankful for their family. I am too.

It’s a great answer. It may even be one of the best answers. But it’s probably not the most creative answer. That’s OK. We ought to be thankful for the people closest to us.

But maybe this Thanksgiving can be a more creative Thanksgiving. Here are five ideas to help make it one:

  1. Instead of planning specific items for each course of the meal, do it differently this year. Simply assign people one of the courses, and be surprised by what you get. It’ll make the meal more fun…and interesting.
  2. Before dinner, hand out pieces of paper and crayons. Have everyone draw one thing for which they are thankful without letting anyone else see. Put all the papers in a pile, mix them up, and have each person pick one out of the pile. Everyone must then try to guess whose picture they picked from the pile.
  3. Buy a blank canvass at a local art supply store. Divide the canvass into enough squares for each person in your family. Have everyone draw a picture of him or herself from the shoulders up. Have a family artist paint each drawing, creating a piece of art that will be treasured for years to come. My sister had us do this years ago. She still has the picture hanging in her family room. We laugh every time we see it. It not only brings laughs, but it created great memories.
  4. Write a joint Thanksgiving story. Have every person write one sentence of the story. Keep passing it around the group until the story is complete. I promise you’ll end up laughing.
  5. Watching football? Before the game, fill a bowl with the names of every person in the room. Fill another bowl with Thanksgiving-themed charades. Every time there is either first down or a score, draw a name and have that person select and perform a charade.
What’s your idea for adding creativity to a Thanksgiving celebration?
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What’s So Great About Friday?

You’ve seen it, haven’t you? Just take a look at Twitter or Facebook on a Monday morning and count how many times you see a statement something like this: “I can’t wait until the weekend,” or “When’s it going to be Friday,” or “It’s only Monday…can this week go any more slowly?”

Most people agree: Fridays are great.

Here are 11 reasons why:

  1. Friday evening at 5:00 means you have the whole weekend in front of you.
  2. In many workplaces it’s “casual day.”
  3. In Milwaukee: Fish Fries.
  4. Date night.
  5. Staying up late.
  6. Less stress.
  7. Get-togethers with friends.
  8. Watching a “guilty pleasure” on TV.
  9. Looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning.
  10. For many people (except pastors, emergency workers, medical staff, and others): two full days without the pressure of formal work.
  11. It’s a day that once a year is called “Good.”

Why do you love Fridays?

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An Evening Prayer for Any Time of the Day

I don’t know when you’ll read this. Perhaps you’ll read it when it hits your email inbox at 7 a.m. Maybe you’ll find this as you’re surfing around at 2 a.m. Or maybe you’re reading this as you eat your lunch.

No matter when, consider it the perfect time for prayer. There are so many changes and chances in life that we need a tether to the highest heavens. God doesn’t need our prayer. We need to pray to the God who listens, hears, and answers.

I once heard a memorable sermon on prayer. The preacher said, “Remember the bumper sticker, ‘Prayer Changes Things’? I beg to differ. Prayer doesn’t change things. God changes things.” The power of prayer comes not from the pray-er, but from the Almighty God to whom we pray. God gives us the privilege to speak, ask, rejoice, and request. He answers affirmatively, negatively, or in a way that rewards patience. But He always answers.

I challenge you to keep track of your prayers…and then see how God responds. He will.

One of my favorite prayers is one that is found in the liturgy called Evening Prayer. In the dimly lit church, after the sun has set, candles burning, hearts calm, just a short time before turning in for the night, we pray:

Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

It’s an incredibly appropriate prayer as the sun sets and the day is far spent. But we encounter ventures, paths, and perils throughout our earthly minutes and hours. The prayer is a request for faith and courage as we encounter life. It is reassurance that the strong right arm of God clears the way, and His blood-bought love is the foundation of our day.

Read the prayer again. I encourage you to memorize it and keep it in your pocket for the times you encounter life’s ventures, paths, and perils. Like the one you’re facing this very moment.

What’s your favorite prayer?

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How to Make a Non-Fiction Book Come to Life

The majority of the books I read are non-fiction. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a good story. It’s just that I feel I still have so much to learn. I enjoy new ways of thinking, new paths to creativity, and new perspectives regarding old ideas.

One of the things I recognize about myself is my difficulty retaining what I read. So as I read I underline, make notes, and fold over pages. I often use Evernote to take notes, preserve them, categorize them, and go back to them at a later date. Even after doing all these things, I still have a difficult time holding on to the things I read.

When I recently started reading Making Ideas Happen, by Scott Belsky, I recommended the book to a friend, who also happens to be our church president. He seemed very interested in it, so I suggested that we read through it together and talk about it. He held me to it. He set a date and said, “Let’s get together then and talk about what we’ve read so far.”

We put together our own little book club.

My friend and I discussed the book.  We asked each other questions. We pointed out important passages. We discussed ways that what we read could be translated into our own work and even our church’s governance.

Today I am remembering much more of what I read. I have an action plan to translate into my daily activities what I have learned. I know how I’m going to use this newfound information. My friend and I are going to hold each other accountable to put into practice Scott Belsky’s excellent advice. The things I read, because I have discussed them with a friend, have been brought to life.

Making Scott Belsky’s Action Steps, References, and Backburner Items (see the first part of Making Ideas Happen for more information) come to life has been a blast. Sharing it with someone else has made all the difference. Non-fiction can have skin and bones after all.

How do you make a non-fiction book come to life and remember the major points?

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5 Reasons to Love Milwaukee…Even in the Winter

Today as lacy snowflakes fell outside of my office window, I resigned myself to the fact that winter is once again upon us. I’m famous for telling people that Milwaukee is one of the most underrated cities in the United States….in the summer. Summers here are gorgeous. Winters are brutal and long. They have given Milwaukee a bad reputation. I’ve met people who think it’s cold and snowy here all year.

But I have to admit that even in the winter Milwaukee is an underrated city. Winter in Milwaukee is like summer in Phoenix. During the Phoenix summer people rush from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car to an air conditioned store. During the Milwaukee winter it’s the reverse. We go from one heated place to another.

So here are five reasons to love and appreciate Milwaukee…even in the winter:

  1. The Third Ward. The Third Ward is one of Milwaukee’s oldest neighborhoods. It has recently undergone a renaissance. The area is filled with great, independent restaurants, bars, The Broadway Theatre Center, and unique shops. Bundle up, wear a scarf, and enjoy the old streets of Milwaukee filled with modern entertainment.
  2. Milwaukee Public Market. On the edge of The Third Ward is the Milwaukee Public Market, an open air collection of eateries, a cheese shop (What do you expect…It’s Wisconsin?!), a wine shop, florist, bakery, and chocolate shop. All local. All unique. A great way to spend a winter weekend afternoon.
  3. Milwaukee Art Museum (Calatrava). Not too long ago I was able to spend much of a day exploring all the nooks and crannies of this spectacular museum. Renowned architect Santiago Calatrava designed Milwaukee’s distinct landmark, the Brise Soleil. Inside it’s light, and warm, and filled with fantastic art. This winter I’m going to have to check out Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper.
  4. The Pabst/The Riverside/Turner Hall Ballroom. Three great venues. Limitless opportunities for fantastic live music. Although I love all three places, Turner Hall Ballroom is one of my favorite music venues anywhere. It’s a nineteenth century German ballroom that has been converted into an intimate concert setting. I have seen, amongst others, Shelby Lynne, Rocco Deluca and the Burden, Mat Kearney, and The Civil Wars (twice) in this retro-hip little space.
  5. Brady Street/East Side. Brady Street is a quirky neighborhood filled with hipsters, artists, aging hippies, and college students. It too has great independent restaurants, a wonderful neighborhood Italian grocery, and watering holes filled with regulars. Just around the corner is the Oriental Theatre, which was built in 1927 as a movie palace. The theater is filled with East Indian decor and shows independent, quirky, and artsy films. It’s a great place to escape a bitterly cold Wisconsin night and see some great art.

Milwaukee is a great place to live. Now if only we could get spring to make her appearance much earlier. In the mean time, I’ll try to enjoy my underrated city…even in the sometimes bitter cold.

If you’re from Milwaukee, what are your favorite places? If you’re not from Milwaukee, what do you love about winter time in your city?

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Will We Ever Return to Pre-Modernism?

We’ve lived in a world no longer black and white for a long time now. From politics to religion we live in a world of every shade of gray. We slide deeper into the gray each and every year.

As evidence I need only to read the papers of the college students I teach. This year I took particular note. I gave the class an assignment to react to an article pointing out why one denomination was “right” and another one was “wrong.”

Wow, did I get some interesting reactions. More than ever in the past I had students angry at the author of the article. How could he judge another person’s theology? How could he judge my religion?

Even those that agreed with the author said things like, “Even though I practice the author’s religion, I respect other people for their beliefs.” There is no line drawn, no recognition of absolutes, no black and white. Have we become too tolerant?

In her book, Reaching Out without Dumbing Down, Marva Dawn uses a baseball analogy to show how postmodernism works:

A pre-modern umpire once said, “There’s balls and there’s strikes, and I calls’ em as they is.” Believing in absolute truth that could be found, earlier societies looked for evidence to discover that truth. A modern umpire would say instead, “There’s balls and there’s strikes, and I calls’em as I sees’ em.” For the modernist truth is to be found in ones own experience.

Now a postmodernist would say, There’s balls and there’s strikes, and they ain’t nothin’till I calls’em.” No truth exists unless we create it.”

Even students from a conservative, Christian university straddle the fence between modernism and post-modernism. What will happen when absolutely everything is tolerated?  I fear that it will not end well.

There’s a reason that Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” He Himself is the dividing line between life and death, sin and forgiveness, black and white. And, as intolerant as it may sound, there are absolutes in life. They begin and end with God’s own Word…and with His Word made flesh.

Will pre-modernism ever make a return? Would you want it to? 

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Recovering the Lost Art of Conversation

This past weekend our church celebrated All Saints’ Day. It gave me the opportunity to think about some of the people in my life who now enjoy the full glory of sainthood. For the first time in a long time I thought about my maternal grandfather.

He had a profound influence on my young life. As it usually is when one is young, I didn’t realize it until after he was gone. He died when I was in high school, and I even sang at his funeral. My grandmother selected the beloved hymn, Children of the Heavenly Father. Though my grandfather had lived an entire life here on earth, He was still a child. Of the Heavenly Father.

But while he was still living, my grandfather taught me some great lessons. He and my grandmother lived 50 miles north of us in the small town of Fond du Lac, so we didn’t often see them. When we did, it was usually for a holiday or some other special occasion.

My grandfather was a self-made man. He was a traveling salesman who sold sewing supplies. He faithfully read Time magazine. He loved listening to the Chicago Cubs on his transistor radio. He always wore a freshly pressed white dress shirt, and looked incredibly dapper in a hat. He once discovered that I didn’t have a winter dress coat, so he told me to go out and buy one…on him. It was the first one I ever owned.

But the greatest lesson I learned from my grandfather was the lost art of table conversation. My grandmother was a fabulous cook. We ate meals at the dining room table, always covered with a table cloth. We used the fine china. We ate breadsticks from a local bakery, the likes of which I have not tasted since.

Once dinner was over, even as children, we were expected to remain at the table. It was then that we “returned thanks” and spent significant time chatting and listening to my grandfather hold forth about politics, the economy, sports, and even religion. Topics like those, avoided at other dinner tables, were encouraged around my grandfather’s table.

It was during those cherished conversations that my young mind was shaped by one much wiser than I. I remember sitting enthralled…sometimes even interjecting my own thoughts and opinions. At times they were welcomed. Other times I had to be corrected. But it was always a joy as a child to participate in adult conversation around my grandfather’s dinner table.

In a world filled with screens, cell phones, and other distractions, maybe we’ve lost the art of good conversation. Maybe our children are missing out. Maybe we’re missing an opportunity to pass on the wisdom of our own years with the next generation.

How can we recover the lost art of conversation?