Fall Reflections

As October draws to a close you can almost sense in many people the anticipation of the coming Holiday Season. College football is in full swing, Halloween and Fall Festivals are being enjoyed this weekend, Wal-Mart and Lowes have Christmas decorations displayed, Thanksgiving is a just a few weeks away, and Tammy is planting Pansies.

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October 2011

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I continue to be intrigued by the whole Holiday season experience. That unique sense of joy, happiness and anticipation that I and many others experience, the family traditions that are celebrated, the classic holiday movies and the focus by many on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I am also reminded that for some the Holidays do not bring the same fond memories that I am blessed with, and that for some individuals the holidays can be quite a challenging time.  Childhood experiences, relationship difficulties, loss of family members, loved ones deployed overseas, and financial difficulties can all bring a chilling effect on how one views the Holiday season.

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I first learned about the Advent Conspiracy movement while listening to a podcast by Rick McKinley a pastor at Imago Dei Community in Portland Oregon. This movement was a grassroots effort to help people refocus their thoughts and actions as they live out the Holiday Season.  The birth of Jesus Christ was a world changing event and maybe how we celebrate can change someones world.

Advent Conspiracy

www.adventconspiracy.org

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Worship Fully

Spend Less

Give More

Love All

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Monarch Madness

In October the Panhandle Butterfly House located in Navarre, Florida holds a weekend event called Monarch Madness in conjunction with an Art's Festival. The Panhandle Butterfly House was formed to;

"..to increase the public’s awareness of butterflies and their important role in the environment."

This year my mother partnered with the Panhandle Butterfly House to help them raise money. My mothers love of origami and nature converged and she was able to make butterfly earrings and pins which she sold at cost to the Panhandle Butterfly House who in turn sells them for quite a bit more and is able to raise money for the butterfly house. My mom has become quite an accomplished artist with her origami skills and loves teaching others especially children the art of origami. 

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Entrance to the Butterfly House 

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Earrings in the middle with the pins in the fishbowl.

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My nephew Luke!

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Grace & Peace

Connect the dots.

Several times over the past few weeks I have started composing a blog posting but for one reason or another I have not completed them. I enjoy blogging and regardless of who may read what I post I personally find it therapuetic to put down on paper or via this blog various thoughts, comments and events that I experience.  Today I will break that cycle and along with the rest of the on-line world comment on the passing of Steve Jobs.

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Today many people have posted comments concerning the death of Steven Jobs, co-founder of Apple Corporation.  Steve Jobs had a most interesting life journey and if you have ever used a personal computer you have most likely been influenced by one or more of the many things he has help create over past 40 years.

If you want to know a bit more about Steve Jobs the man he gave a commencement speech in 2005 at Stanford University in which he talks through three stories from his life.  I enjoyed the address and think there are several messages within it that I believe are valuable especially to the under 20 crowd.

Throughout the day I have read several articles about Steve Jobs and many people seem to be enamored with the image of Steve Jobs the designer, visionary and co-founder of Apple but what I have found most interesting about him as I have read are a few of the smaller more mundane facts concerning his life.

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He was given up for adoption at a young age.

He never graduated from college.

He was "fired" from the company that he co-founded.

He was a Buddhist.

He was a vegetarian.

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Steve Jobs

1955-2011

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Oh and as far as the title of this post is concerned you can watch the commencement address I referenced.

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Shalom