"Don't miss the flowers"

Last spring, we planted a flower bed of Vinnias in our front yard near the sidewalk. It was simply beautiful. This beautiful bed of flowers exceeded our wildest expectations. Many people would come by and tell us how beautiful these flowers were. One day a lady passed by our house walking and pushing the stroller of her young son. She stopped and looked at the flowers. I was standing on the front porch at the time and I thought she was just admiring the beautiful flowers. She spoke to me and told me that her son enjoyed seeing “bugs.” Instead of looking at the beauty of flowers, they were looking for bugs.

As I thought about this experience, I was reminded that this is the very way that many people view life. Instead of seeing all the good and beautiful things around them, they concentrate on the one negative element they can find. Some look at the cup half empty, while others look at the cup half full. How do we commonly look at life?

When I visit the mountains, I am amazed at the creative wonder of our God. It is simply something wonderful to behold. Likewise, I enjoy the beach and looking out into the water. There is a sparkle and a beauty that simply cannot be fully described.
How wonderful it is to see the face of a young child full of hope and full of dreams.

We will see many things this week in our lives. Unfortunately, not everything is we see is good. Our world is full of pain, hurt, and heartache. But as we look at our own windows this week, let’s look for the good. We can spend our whole lives looking at the bugs and miss the beauty of God’s creation.

"Coffee and Computers"

I saw a billboard a few days ago that said: "Find a Mercedes-Benz on your coffee break." I must confess that it would take more than a coffee break to fit the price of such a wonderful car into my shrinking budget. Nevertheless, the billboard does remind us of how our computers can assist us in the daily decisions that we make.

One of the standard features for many local coffee shops is the capability for high speed online access. It's not enough to visit the local Starbucks cafe and enjoy a Cappuccino or the coffee of the day, but we want more from the time we spend at the coffee shop. Those in the business community can chat together over coffee while getting some work accomplished. Others enjoy a coffee and a bagel while checking their e-mail. It is amazing to think of the many uses we find everyday for our computers.

While I use my computer for many things, I especially enjoy the opportunity to send and receive e-mail from special friends and family members. If it were not for e-mail, the communication with these friends would be greatly reduced. It is good for each of us to think about ways that our computers can enhance our relationship with other people. I've heard many people express their reluctance to purchase a computer in the fear that it will reduce their personal contact with others. My experience has been a very different one and the computer has enhanced my relationship with other people.

There are some wonderful tools at our fingertips. How will we use them this week? It is something to think about!

"How do we measure Progress?"

We moved into our current home 15 months ago. As we would look across the fence in our backyard, we could see cows grazing in the pasture. What an enjoyable sight to behold every morning and every evening. As I look across my fence today, I see bulldozers, cranes, and tractors. They are converting the peaceful pasture into a lively subdivision of new homes. As I look across my fence, I wonder "Is this progress?"

The county where I reside is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. I am told that by the year 2030, my county will double in population. This requires more roads, more schools, more homes, and more development. I wonder if this is "really progress?"

Progress is sometimes hard to measure. The progress of children in our schools is often measured by testing. We put great value in such tests as the CRCT, PSAT, and the SAT. Do these and other tests really measure progress?

How do we measure progress? While we sit in our coffee shops full of good conversation around the table, we might ask ourselves, "What is really progress?"