Writing for me is a little bit like creating a visual art piece, but without all the art stuff. I can type my notes, my intro and conclusion, or other ideas into the margin and come back to them later. This, without fear that they may have dried up from exposure like a blob of paint or India ink. The little time away from those thoughts, words or phrases as I’m filling in other gaps may show them to be as strong as I need them to be, or prove an obvious detriment to the big idea.
Words are important. Appropriately included within a proper sentence, they become more accessible. And so, I believe important ideas are within the reach of everyone.
Have a look at some of my writings and the ideas they communicate. Watch for other examples I may highlight in the future.
1. Prose: So you broke your arm…
For my wife Sally, Feb. 14, 2014
You slipped on the ice in your new shoes and the ground came up to meet you quicker than you were be able to manage. And in the darkness, faster than a gun shot but slow enough for you to realize what was coming. Most girls would just lay there and cry. But you said, please help me up. Somehow you knew the result of what had just happened. You’ve done this before, haven’t you? But like a veteran you almost let it slide. “At least I didn’t break my leg so I would have to hobble around on crutches.” “Oh…and this time, it’s just my ‘left’ arm.”
As the doctor wrapped you up, you held your arm steady and high, like a ming vase or a shiny gold bar, never allowing the pain to show. You laughed through the experience as if you were trying on gloves or shopping for a sweater. When we were done, I wanted to wrap you up and carry you home like a fragile piece just now collected from the repair shop. I was thinking, “Be sure and let the glue dry before you handle it.” You said, “I’ll be OK, it’s just my ‘left’ arm.”
Weeks passed and every appointment showed improvement. The doctor says my bones are “perfect”, it’s healing better than they expected! It’s still a broken arm I was thinking, it must have been a “perfect break” then.
Discard the cast, you don’t need it anymore. Doctor gave you a splint that you can tighten with a little button. It only took us thirty minutes to make it work right. You seemed however, to take this new found freedom with a slight hesitancy. Were you trying to delay physical responsibility. “If you want me to continue doing the dishes for another week, just say so.”
On and off with the splint. Like a forearm striptease. So slow and careful, and almost sexy. The way you asked me to tug lightly on your sleeve, watching you pull your arm free. This must be the foreplay practiced by invalids. Looking back I don’t think you were actually helpless.
Zipping your coat for you after you casually stepped into it never seemed this intimate before. This is not a task I will grumble at again.
Today, the splint is gone. And just between you and me, from something broken, has come something a whole lot stronger.
2. Bulletin Article – Narrative, “Perfection”
Church of Christ, Sunday Bulletin 6/7/2020
What do you think of when you hear the term “perfection?” If you’ve got a very discerning eye, the term perfect may have an entirely different meaning and visual representation. When asked, “what is the perfect date,” beauty pageant contestant Miss Rhode Island replied, “April 25th — because it’s not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket!” Certainly, this is a quote from the movie Miss Congeniality. The character in this part (she was the baton twirler) had a mindset that was coming from a much more wholesome place, and this influenced her answer and perspective.
After I finish any project Sally always says, “That’s great, it looks really good.” I however have a bad habit of replying, “Yes, but it’s not perfect.” There is always something with everything we do that, if we look really close, may prompt us to say, “Yes, but it’s not perfect.”
We base our concept of perfection on many things. Our previous experiences, our tolerance, our patience, even our own abilities.
When I purchase something from the store, not only do I expect the product to be perfect, I pull the one off the shelf that has a perfect (looking) package. Obsessive right?! For me this preoccupation originated with a desire to choose and give the perfect gift, and the visual for me is a huge part of this. Of course, I can never match God in this respect. In James 1:17 it says: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
We have enjoyed watching Haddie Miller change and grow so quickly in her short lifetime. She seems pretty much perfect as we see her over the computer screen on Zoom. Being a dad, I certainly understand Jon and Jamie’s perspective. I’m sure they recognize, as I know they do with Esther, Josh, and Liza, her perfection also. She is a gift from God, delivered in a perfect little package.
I’ve been doing a landscape project that requires pond stone. Due to a shortage at the store, only the bags of rock that have damaged packaging were left. Stones were spilling out from bags recklessly stacked and abandoned. I had to cringe…this goes against my grain. It never hurts to ask however and so, I was able to get a 20% discount on eleven bags of landscape gravel. I saved ten dollars! The store associate even swept up the spillage and funneled it into one of the open and damaged bags for me. As it turns out, the stone from the damaged bags worked just as well as the stone from the “perfect” bags. Who could know?
Within the context of a point about endurance, Hebrews 12 says we should look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. It’s kind of nice to know that God has established a pattern for us. Something that is the same with every season.
In my art classes I like to share with students the example of patterns in nature using the Fibonacci Spiral. This is a geometric pattern which includes a spiral made by linking the corners of neighboring squares such that the latest length of the geometric square is the sum of the previous two. What does this mean?!! God has established something perfect and unchanging, not random chance, and it can be found in natural objects, in our weather, and in the galaxies. God’s perfect creation, I think. And so is God’s creation of us.
It doesn’t matter that I may “appear” to be a damaged bag of stone. God sees us as perfect. He gave us the gift of His Son, and threw in the assurance of a heavenly home. These are His perfect gifts to us. He’s our Father after all.
For other articles visit the archive for 2020-2022
3. Menu blurbs: Stan’s is a fictitious company but still very tasty sounding.
Stan’s Work Bench Sandwiches
8/2021
Copy from menu back cover…
Sawdust, wood scraps, drills, files and glue,
give way to chopped onions, sliced tomatoes,
bacon, mayo with roast beef and provolone too.
Just like Dad’s workshop, a place for everything and everything in its place. Stan’s Work Bench stands ready
to construct a creation that is wholesome yet generous.
And though our “Signatures” stand as diner favorites,
we can work from your blueprint for a
custom creation to satisfy your personal taste.
Come see Stan’s Work Bench
for your next sandwich building project.
Copy from menu inside spread…
“With important work to do, you need the correct tools for getting the job done right. When it comes time to make your sandwich, we step up to the bench, lay out our selection of high quality ingredients and construct a hearty mouthful with flavor to spare. Try one of our Signature sandwiches and discover what everyone is talking about. Come visit our shop soon!”
4. Bulletin Article – Narrative, “Branding”
Church of Christ, Sunday Bulletin 2/16/2020
What is branding? It’s one of those advertising terms that effects us whether we know it or not. It is the ability to create an immediate recognition of a product or service using a repetitious element that works its way into our subconscious. Think… the Target target, the Apple apple. or the Geico gecko.
This familiarity is called “brand recognition.” Most anyone who watches television has seen these icons.
My personal favorite is Coca-Cola. There is something about the bright red can that gets my attention. And, it’s not just that recognition, but rather it conjures a memory of that cold, sweet, fizzy burn you get from that first long sip. Branding is powerful. It appeals to both our visual and emotional senses.
The colors used in “branding” can be very important in establishing this recognition. I once had an advertising customer whose corporate color was Pantone 185. For those not familiar with offset and spot color printing, this number represents a bright, vibrant red. For some reason the client was interested in changing their brand color scheme to some kind of blue. This was a bad idea for several reasons. The greatest being that they had over many years established their brand using the color red and their name and logo were closely associated with this color.
Why is this red so important? It is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Some positive and some not so positive associations. Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. So it quite literally gets your heart pumping.
I’ve done a pretty good job of accidentally cutting myself on quite a number of occasions. I am kind of intrigued by the rich red hue that our blood manifests when it leaks out and meets the oxygen. This, to such an extent, that I don’t always feel expedient about getting it cleaned up and wrapped.
When God chose for his son to die on the cross, he meant the blood to impact us. Again, it can be characterized by things like power, passion, and love. If we obey and are washed in Jesus’ blood, we are representative of the product he offers. This is eternal life. One of the great features of this product is fellowship with the saints.
Remember, in John it says, “everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Our “branding” is Jesus Christ. We wear on our hearts a label that says “child of God.”
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Let people see Jesus in you. This is your “brand recognition.”