Believing is Seeing

It's been a while since I've written.  Thanks for tuning back in.  I've noticed my posts have been developing a bit of a spiritual flavor this one is certainly no exception.

I made a new year's resolution this year to 'go through' the whole Bible in a year.  So far, I've stuck to the plan by listening to the Daily Audio Bible podcast on my hour-long drive to work most mornings.  (The other mornings I listen to Meshuggah).

I believe that this has been increasing my faith as evidenced by a lot more 'coincidences' than usual.  Once I started putting the pieces together, I was reminded of how God so clearly and amazingly speaks to us almost constantly and draws us towards Him and who we truly are.  

I'm going to attempt to capture some of these sequences of events and share them with you here over the next couple of weeks.

Here's a recent story that should serve as an example of what I'm talking about.

Through a series of increasingly sightless decisions, I started smoking cigarettes in June.  I could say "I was struggling with smoking" or "I messed up and smoked a few times" but let's call it what it is.  I'll leave the actual sequence of events out of the story but let's just say that small unwise things lead to less small and even less wise things.

Now, here's where I tell a few seemingly completely disjointed events as accurately as possible and then I'll point out how these things came together in a moment to show how, I believe, God uses so much around us to "speak" to us.

1) There's a park bench outside at work that I regularly go to in order to get some fresh air, eat a snack or maybe lunch, take a break, etc.  It's quite often that I'll see one of my coworkers smoking out there because that's also the designated smoking area.  One coworker, 'C', who I considered to be a good friend, recently had a "change of employment status".  He and I used to sit at the park bench and talk about serious things (including God).  I'd eat an apple, he'd smoke a cigarette.  After he left the company, I sent him a note telling him that "I miss our talks during apple time". My visits to the park bench became known as APPLE TIME.

2) I asked a coworker if he had any cigarettes.  He gave me a whole pack of Camels.  I smoked a few at the park bench and kept them in my desk at work.

3) I had a very nice business dinner with a few coworkers.  I enjoyed one beer before and another during the excellent dinner.  Afterwards, as we were all leaving, I turned to a coworker, 'J', who I know is a smoker and asked if he had any cigarettes on him and could I have one.  He said "I don't have any on me, but I am about to go to Walgreen's and buy some.  You can follow me there".
So I did.  When we arrived and I went through the front door, I saw Tiffany C.  She's a friend from church.  I was quite surprised to see her because we were on Windward Parkway which is quite far from the Church in Marietta.  We talked for a moment and she left.  I assumed she lived nearby.  J and I smoked a couple of cigarettes.

4) A week or so later I went to a very nice dinner with my wife, daughter, and her boyfriend, 'D'.  We had plans to go to Stony River, but when I called to make reservations they said "no problem, but our air conditioning is out".  That was a problem for us, so we made other last-minute plans to go to Ray's on the River instead.  After we picked up D, we discussed directions from D's house to Ray's and decided to take the highway.  At Ray's I had an excellent dinner and a beer.  Afterward, that 'I want a cigarette' feeling came creeping up.  This time I was determined to suppress it because I'm with my family and I certainly didn't want to set a bad example on that occasion.  'I'm not really a smoker anyway' I told myself.  We took the other route back to D's house.  On the way, I noticed a road marked "Apple" and chuckled and pointed it out to my wife.  She said "On yeah, I think Tiffany C lives down there".  Here's a picture from Google street view:

5) Back at work on a Monday morning, I was stumped by a line of code and immediately reached for my desk cigarettes.  I went out to the park bench to have a smoke and think about my technical challenge.  Shortly after I lit the cigarette, J walked outside as well.  We started to have a conversation and immediately I saw a broken tree that was dangerously pointed towards the parking lot.

It was when I saw that tree that a few connections immediately started flashing through my head:

• I was smoking at "apple time" with J when I saw the broken tree.
• I saw Tiffany C just as I was buying cigarettes with J.
• Tiffany C lives on what I had remembered to be Apple Rd (later confirmed to be Apple Branch Drive).

I got distracted by the tree stuff and went around and told facilities about  the potentially deadly situation and urged people to move their cars (including mine which is the black one furthest away in the picture).  I'd like to say that I was smart enough to take the hint, but I went out later and finished smoking that cigarette with J and told him of my curious connections.

He said in characteristic deadpan fashion "oh yeah, and isn't an apple typically used to illustrate the fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the garden of Eden?"

This brought me on to think about further connections:

• I went out to smoke to 'think' about my code.  Adam and Eve's tree was the 'tree of KNOWLEDGE of good and evil'.  Eve saw that the fruit was "desirable for gaining wisdom".
• The connection J made between the Apple and the Tree was further solidified when I confirmed that Tiffany C lives on Apple Branch Drive by asking her husband where they live.
• The broken tree reminded me of my own brokenness.
• The tree, precariously leaning towards the cars, provided a silent but potentially deadly situation.  It reminded me of the potentially deadly nature of my choice to smoke.

I did end up throwing the rest of that pack of cigarettes in the trash that day (July 2) and so far have not smoked since.  I'm still amazed at how, I believe, God used several things to speak to me with such clarity.  Did he send Tiffany to Walgreen's that night?  Why was the air conditioning out at Stony River?  Why was that tree broken off so strangely right near the park bench at work?  The logical answers do not contradict what I believe to be the spiritual truth that God speaks to us and guides us gently and persistently.  Contrary to the popular phrase "seeing is believing", I think that once we BELIEVE, we begin to SEE.

Contraditions in Productivity Part 3 - Think Inside the Box

When working towards a solution to a problem or in developing a new idea, one of the most liberating (yet challenging) things to do is to identify your real limitations.  Is there a deadline this Friday?  Do you only have 30 dollars with which you can solve your problem?  Does your customer require that you use only specific colors?  

On the surface, it may feel like rigid requirements and lack of resources are limitations (especially to an artist).  But in fact, well defined walls provide a solid framework on which to build your talent and find creative solutions.  Loopholes and workarounds don't exist without first having rules.

Learn to Think Inside the Box

Artists need a medium.
Projects need a deadline.
A wise musician practices with a metronome.  An athlete needs the unmovable earth to push against to express his power.  I've noticed that the most successful people around me are able to create boundaries for themselves and have the discipline to work within a limited medium.  The freedom of deciding what you shouldn't do often liberates you to use simpler tools and focus on what you do best rather than toil away on things that are best left to someone else with different interests. 

On the subject of real limitations, many people and organizations need to learn to think within their budget.  It's been said that "If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall".  However, the flip side of that coin is that if we get creative, save, and live within our means, the box will expand, the limitations will lessen, and what was once perceived to be confining will become a source of liberation.

With a nod to my new friend, Tommy Jones, proprietor of theBox, a coworking space in Marietta, Ga, with whom I enjoyed a delightful and refreshingly hopped beverage last weekend.

Share your work in progress

Oftentimes there's a great temptation to keep our creative work hidden until it is finished.
I think that, in most cases, that is a mistake and that we should constantly get feedback from others during the creation process.  (Proverbs 15:22)

Of course, we should be wise about who we share these unpolished gems.  (Matthew 7:6).  Not all feedback will be helpful and not all should be taken into account, but very often someone will have a fresh perspective or a constructive criticism that you'll completely agree with.

Here's the latest version of a project I'm working on now:

I'm making a 'branding' animation for my home based computer graphics venture.  I've started a thread here in a forum full of similar minded artists who may give me some good feedback.    Hopefully I'll share some of what I've learned along the way with their community as well.  (Proverbs 27:17)

I'm really excited to continue the project because I have set the expectation of some of these people, and they're kind enough to encourage me and challenge me along the way.

To whom should you show your unfinished work?