straight and curved lines within a church or house

Header Challenge: Straight and Curved Lines Within a Church or House

December 4, 2012

For now, I am going to try to hang in there with the Headbangers.  I hope I can keep up.  Please see the posts submitted by my cohorts Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Sandy and Lew.

hunting for clues - B&W

This is where I go to church.  One evening, some of the kids played a game, where they had to find a note that was taped under a chair.  I liked the idea of geometric framing around the boy's face.

hamster in dollhouse

Chairs are an easy choice for straight and curved lines, don't you think?  Here we have one of our hamsters pretending to be Christopher Churchmouse for us.  I staged this dollhouse pic with my daughter's help.  She was the animal trainer while I used a couple of work lights to make sure it was sufficiently illuminated.

baby, it's cold outside

We haven't had a significant snowfall yet, but this shot was from January.  I like how the snow crystals sparkle.

backyard playground for Rylan

May I assume that lines within a house includes the back yard?  Here is my grandson having a fantastic time with the plastic play sets that we have had forever.  These go back to the days when my wife used to do home day care when we were still living in Chicago.  It was a major chore to scrub and sanitize these pieces, but my grandson is worth every drop of sweat and achy muscle!

The image I selected for my header is a little visitor at church who's curly locks hung down for a series of straight lines.

sneaky church cam

This was a sneaky shot I took at church. I showed that man his picture, and he laughed about the "butt shot." That was good natured self-deprecation, but it was not why I took the shot. I was motivated to snap this pic because I saw something very different. I see a family that is so blessed, it moves me. I know this man personally, and that he takes his role as husband and father very seriously. He is not just a figurehead, but in a very practical way, he serves as the spiritual head of his family. He leads with wisdom and grace. I see how they love each other. The wife is a godly woman who serves unselfishly. That little girl sings at church with all her heart. I've taught their other kids in Sunday School, and these kids know their Bible. One can see that their parents instruct them at home.

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A lot of people have a warped picture of what a Christian looks like. Crusades, inquisitions, picketing funerals and whatnot. For me, a Christian looks like this.

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(f.y.i. -- I'll be running around and probably won't get much time on the computer for a few days. I hope to catch up with you in between errands.)

toe cam

New image from the toe cam. (No, there isn't really any such thing.) This was just my regular o'l Pentax. It's a gorgeous day out there, today. If I had a camera in my shoe, this is what it would look like, here.

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That reminds me. Some folks were talking about what to wear at church, and we had different perspectives on whether it is okay to wear flip-flops or sandals. What do you think? Does it bother you when people wear sandals or flip-flops to church?

choir boy

Early Sunday morning, I found a space where I could be alone, I bowed my head and tucked my chin down to touch my chest for eight counts or so. Then I tilted my head waaaay to the left. Then of course... waaaay to the right.

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Next, I relaxed and sounded a long, steady, smooth, low note with my voice, paying special attention to produce the air from deep in my gut.

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After that, I did scales. They were not loud. I tried to keep the throat relaxed the whole time. Our choir didn't warm up as a group, so I hope my efforts were of some help.

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After that, lots of hot tea--no sugar. Cough drops. I grabbed some bottled water from the case--room temperature... not chilled.

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During the past few weeks, I have been trying to build up vocal endurance by singing (hard) in the car on the commute to and from work. Last Monday's choir practice left me hoarse, and I could barely get through the ending on the last song. Sunday morning, my throat was still a little sore from Saturday night's rehearsal, and I had to find a way to make it through morning rehearsal and then two worship services!

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When we got through with the first four songs, the choir got a break, so that the regular team could do their song. I remembered someone's advice, so I went back into the church office. There, I found some olive oil that we use for anointing. Using a plastic spoon, I measured a quarter-teaspoon and swallowed it. (Not so tasty.) They say it lubes the throat, enabling singers to last longer. I rinsed the stuff off my tongue but didn't gargle. Finally, I prayed, that the Holy Spirit would carry me through, so that --at the very least, I would not be a distraction.

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Easter songs are triumphant. I believe they need to be sung with a certain... gusto! I held nothing back. But between all the hot teas, sips of water, cough drops and swigs of (shudder) olive oil, thank the Lord that I made it through the whole way without crashing horribly.

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Whew! Choir is done, and now I can go back to being the sound guy and hide behind the booth. No bruised uvula or sprained larynx... I think.

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I hope your Easter Sunday was amazing and wonderful, and that you can experience the uncontainable joy of celebrating the Lord's rising from the grave.

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How do you volunteer at your church?

sunset reflections

The church in this photo is a pleasant sight. I'm sure it would make a nice subject for daylight photos. The real beauty though, is the capture of the setting sun at the most stunning moment. The dark foreground creates a contrast that glorifies the colors behind it. If you look carefully, you can see that the church windows reflect a little bit of that radiant splendor. Don't you wish the church would reflect that brilliance even more?

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...Something to think about.

attention: Craver or attention craver

I was asked to do announcements for church this weekend. Here's how it works, there is a page called the flow, indicating who is doing what and when. My part was early, after a certain choral piece. I like to keep things moving, and be standing on the platform as the song ends. Seamless transitions. Really people! Is that so hard to do?

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First, I arrived early. Real early.

Aisle seat. Check.

Handheld wireless mic. Check.

Mic switches turned "on." Check.

Announcement paperwork. Check.

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Hmmm... I saw that this time I could use the podium instead of standing in an open space. Good; I like that. The song they were singing didn't match the song I was supposed to go after. That's okay; I'll continue to get ready while I wait for it. I have plenty of time for my cue. I re-read my "script," because I wanted to do this as smooth as possible. I just hate to be a distraction, you know?

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Then I heard my name. "Paging Mr. Craver... Mr. Craver, you are needed at the podium." The director leaned over the sound booth and paged me to step up to the platform. Oblivious to the change in our program, I missed my smooth entrance. Everybody was laughing. Good thing I hadn't done this in front of a lot of people... except that (gulp) our service is carried over a local television station.

soul siblings

We held an Arts Festival with all kind of exhibits on Saturday. I entered my photographs. Among the artistic expressions was another church's choir, praise team, and worship dancers. Some of their expression may be a little different, but our bond through Christ runs deep, and this is my family, who I will share the rest of eternity with. Think about that... my blood kin will be my family for a few decades, but my church family throughout the planet, those before me and those to come, these will be my brothers and sisters forever!

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I generally don't care for interpretive dance. I'm not condemning it as wrong, or anything like that... it's just not my cup of tea, that's all. But now that I have the disclaimer out of the way, let me say that I found this very interesting, and even exciting. They artistically, and effectively communicated the ideas of their songs. I hope I recognize some of these church people at the grocery store or local parks. I would love to continue the sweet fellowship that began on such a high note.

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Then on Sunday, we had another multicultural moment. This lady got baptized. She is from Haiti, and does not speak English. She spoke in French or Creole (I couldn't tell which) through a translator.

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She has a sad episode in her past. Many years ago, she was a single mom. She joined a church and wanted to be baptized. After 6 months of preparation, she was finally told by her old pastor, that they would NOT baptize her until she was married. I don't have all the facts, but that doesn't sound right to me.

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Wanna hear something cool? This lady from Haiti faithfully attends my English-speaking church every week. Like I said, she does not understand the words, but participates as much as she can, and then hears the message for the first time, when her son translates the sermon at home for family devotions on Sunday nights.

greater glory

Llama In Need preached at my church Sunday. He may not be very active in the blogosphere, but he is and will be a person of great significance in the real, live, flesh-and-blood dimension. He is in seminary right now, and some blessed souls will one day call him Pastor.

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Our seminarian gave an exposition of Genesis 11 and 12, highlighting the contrast between the main people in each chapter. The Babylonians, who settled in Shinar, and attempted to build a tower that would reach to God were marked by pride and they were rebellious toward the Lord. Abraham is known as a man of faith and humility. The people of Babel disobeyed and said they would make a name for themselves. Abraham listened and obeyed, but it was God who told Abe that He (the Lord) would make Abraham's name great.

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Soapbox: Everybody has faith in one sense or another. The difference is were we place our faith. Is it in ourselves? In money or resources? When I talk about faith, I am really talking about foundationally placing our belief in the living God who is absolutely trustworthy.

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A question: Faith and humility. How does a person improve in either of these areas?

first string

The music reached a new high at Easter service. Before leaving I wondered what it would be like if that same level was maintained every week.

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It is not practical though, is it? This worship leader put some crazy hours into the preparation for this program. And we simply do not have the time or the resources to operate at the same level on a weekly basis. But imagining that somehow it could be done...

needing a name

Mrs. Craver and I are forming a new home school support group and we want to operate the program as a church ministry. We need a name for it in order to complete our church’s ministry application.

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This is what we started with: Christian Home Educators of Bolingbrook.

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I think we could do better, so here are some names I came up with.

• Bolingbrook United Together, Triumphantly
• Best Upbringings by Righteous Parents
• Reviewing And Training
• Discipling, Renewing, Individualized Preparations
• Home Educators for Life and Liberty

My suggestions were turned down. Supposebly, 'cause of "acronyms." Whatever. Gimme a break; I don’t even know what an acronym is!

jenga

There is a game in which you begin with a tower of wooden blocks. One-by-one, a piece is removed, until it falls apart. Clearly, some of the components are expendable. What if this game could be played with churches? You pick a community and begin removing churches one-by-one making it unstable. Finally, you remove one that was so critically important that the whole community feels the crashing effect from losing that important piece. This is not a fun game, but it may be a useful diagnostic. How critical is your church to your community?Let’s take this one step farther. What will happen if you-yourself are removed from your neighborhood? Will they sense a gaping hole and mourn their loss? God has planted you there, and you have a purpose. If you are being all that you were made to be, it should make a difference. Now, I don’t want you obsessing over a sinful pursuit of significance, but as we honestly strive to be salt and light, as we seek to fill the needs of our community and maximize every opportunity to make Jesus famous, we should so impact our world that it just would not be the same without us. That’s what will happen when you crave living for and like Christ. (The foundational idea for this post (like many others) is based on a line I heard from one of my pastor's sermons. But I do not plan to mention it every time I glean a concept from him. In fact, there may be times when he looks at my ramblings and says, "That's not where I intended to go with that.")