The Sabbath-effect of This Year’s Thanksgiving

“Work six, rest one,” the Lord told His people

“Work the land six years, let it rest one.”

Every seven, give it a break.

You can look at the directive as a rule, or as a principle with man’s best interest in mind. This fall has been filled to overflowing with decisions, change, stress and pressure; all in a good way this time, but change, stress and pressure just the same.

Bethany and Karl’s wedding last weekend, just two days left in the Quality Lab, family growth and changes in how I relate to my now-adult children (I’m loving it, by the way), new opportunities coming into view for Brenda …

So I decided Thanksgiving would be sabbath-like for me.

Rest.
Rejuvination.
Restoration.

Come to find out, Jared viewed the day the same way, and we compared notes. The day was a sabbath of sorts. Set apart. Time to think solely about God, and thank Him for blessings and privileges. Enjoy family. I not only let responsibilities stay on the sidelines for a few hours, I kept them on the bench for the day.

It surprised me a bit, but it took discipline for me. I had to intentionally NOT open my notebook and work on things. I had to tell myself “tomorrow” or “Monday, OK? Not today.” But it was good for me to slow down – intentionally. The holiday weekend is winding down and I’m grateful for it – and for its sabbath-like effect this year.

How about you… anything special about this Thanksgiving you’d care to share?

EXCITED !

I know, I’m old enough I shouldn’t get all excited about things . . . but I am!

• Mom is flying in tomorrow afternoon and will be here for Bethany’s wedding. It’s been a lonnnng time since I’ve seen her and I can hardly wait!
• Bethany’s marrying a champion of a guy Saturday afternoon. I couldn’t be happier – or prouder.
• Brenda looks AWEsome in the dress she’s wearing for the wedding.   Stand back, you all! 
• Jared and Meagan are driving in tomorrow and I’m looking forward to hearing the gentle strains of his guitar, the happy sounds of their laughter… ut-oh, I forgot to ask him to bring his guitar. I hope he does!
• The new job is looking better every day and the folks at GE Healthcare are being way-classy about my transition out.

Lord – I just have one thing to say.
Thank you. You’re TOO kind sometimes! I love You.

Photostory Goes to Church

I can remember as a kid enjoying the stories and testimonies of God at work in places abroad but rolling my eyes when the visiting speaker or missionary said “…so if we could have the lights, please, we’ll show you the slides.” I was just sure we were in for too-long, over-detailed, too-much-information — at least for me. Time for a nap. Or maybe some doodling in the near-dark.

Well those days are gone. We have some tools available now that make sharing photos interesting, even exciting. Several weeks ago we had a visiting missionary give us a quick update on a Sunday morning. As she spoke, images on the screens behind her added context and relevance to what she had to say. I was impressed and raised my eyebrows in appreciation when she came in for a landing, thanked the church for the opportunity to share at the VERY moment her ending logo appeared on the screens. Techie that I am, it almost gave me goosebumps! Somebody had prepared well!

In February I described how to time pictures (we still call them “slides” for some reason) to fit a selected music bed in church. Here’s the link if you want to go see; use the “back” icon in your browser to come back to this page when you’re ready.

Did you know Microsoft Photostory works just as well, perhaps better? Photostory allows zooming and panning, so your photos have a sense of constant movement, along with the ability to add text and captions if you want. It’s a free download and easy to learn.

Why not download it and give it a try? Pick three to five of your favorite pictures and experiment a little bit. Then when you’re ready, try the refrain of a song and practice on it. I predict before the hour’s up you’ll have several ideas in mind, each scrambling to be first. It’s FUN! Especially when a visual transition matches a musical transition just right. If you put your photo-story together using a recording and but plan to use it with live music, be sure to go “soft” on transition timings and give yourself plenty of room at the end so you’re not frustrated when the live tempo varies slightly from the recording you used as your template. And it will – count on it.

I still recommend the x-number of seconds per-slide to fit your music bed for starters, but there are more variables with Photostory, which will probably result in longer prep-time to reach the finished product. My guess, though, is you’ll like the results better than “plain-old slides”. This is a tool you need to have in your media tool belt at church. Here’s another resource link for Photostory use.
Either one is better than yawning through the click-click [slide] click-click [slide] shows I grew up with as a kid, that’s for sure!