Archive of posts filed under the Paul category.
ACCELERATE your MOTIVATION (without coffee)
Have you ever forced your eyes open on a Monday morning and dreaded the thought of getting out of bed? I sure have. On some days we feel invigorated and activated; on other days we have little desire to do anything. For many parents, getting our children to practice the piano or finish …
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The Sky is No Limit
A boy swam in a seemingly endless sea of perfect, safety tested plastic toys designed in primary colors. Standing on the carpet of his room; the room with his name on the door, he was fed up. Weeks ago he had already grown weary of his older version of Wii, and several of his friends …
A Different Kind of Place
Yesterday I read an article that inspired me to the core. Someone has invented a new kind of soccer ball. When the ball is kicked, it stores up energy within. The ball can be brought home and plugged in to an extension cord. Fifteen minutes of soccer stores up enough energy to light up a house for three hours. The ball has been designed to provide electricity for poor villages in developing countries.
Talk about creativity! My head is spinning with admiration.
We have a bit of that spirit around here. I really don’t mean to brag, but
Cheesecake Factory
The Truth Will Set You Free to Improvise
Today is Sunday, my day of REST. So its time to have some fun and think about something unusual, out of my normal life pattern. Rarely do I get to listen to some of history’s greatest creative prodigies talk freely about the creative process. This interview with Bill Evans (1929-1980) is worth watching. He was a brilliant and innovative jazz pianist, and one of the most influential creative forces in the history of jazz. His insights into the creative process extend way beyond music. In this video he is talking about jazz technique, but I’m thinking about my life, relationships and work. Notice his persistent idea that the jazz innovation emerges from truth. Here, an artist talks about truth in the realm of music much in the same way that a theologian talks about truth in theology. To me that’s
The Anchor of the Soul
In “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for …” (Hebrews 11:1) In the closing weeks of World War II, the American cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis was churning westward in the Pacific Ocean en route to the Philippines. Just after midnight, an enemy submarine emerged into the balmy air and launched two torpedoes into …
Improv, Creativity and Resistance
THE GREATEST IMPROVISATIONAL ATHLETE in my generation was Ervin “Magic” Johnson, the great point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers. When Magic was gliding down the court no one in the world had any idea what he was about to do with the ball. Whatever he did usually shocked everyone, including his teammates, and it almost always generated baskets.
As great as he was, it would be impossible for Magic Johnson to
A New Creationism
Each morning, we are offered the chance to rise up and worship the Creator. He is so vast and glorious, and yet he is concerned today with the smallest details of our lives. Nothing is beyond the reach of the Artist’s paintbrush. Woven into the entire fabric of divine revelation are tantalizing glimpses of
Beauty
KIERKEGAARD WROTE that, “Christianity does not at all emphasize the idea of earthly beauty …” When I read this statement, I was at first left to wonder how such a brilliant mind could write something so off target. He had to be wrong. I began to read once again through the Bible, particularly the Psalms, looking to prove Kierkegaard’s error. Eventually I had to close my eyes and think for awhile. Slowly I began to grasp Kierkegaard’s words.