God’s Spotlight

When you’re a photographer, sometimes the oddest things tend to catch your eye.  The pictures below are a case in point. 

I was sitting in my usual chair one recent morning when I glanced over at Nathan’s bed.  The way the sun was falling on it resembled a spotlight shining straight from heaven. It’s a wonderful moment when God’s light shows up--in our rooms, in our hearts, in our lives.

 

 

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From The Comments Section

Q. Sue asked,  After the peach dessert baked for 95 minutes, was it still edible?

A.  Incredibly, it was!  It was a little chewy, a little crunchy, but by no means ruined.  It’s nice to have such a “forgiving” dessert.  And yes, Sarah would LOVE a very loud timer for her wedding! 

Q.  Anonymous asked, “What was the restaurant in PA you mentioned that served pretzel cones?”

A.  It was a family owned restaurant in Grove City, PA called Steeses.  Steve’s parents have known the family for many years and every time we went to Grove City (a couple times a year) we could never leave without going to that wonderful restaurant and getting a pretzel cone.

Q  Random asked if the “ice cream/crackers” thing would work with caramel or peanut butter ripple.

A.  Yes, indeedy!  The more ingredients floating around in there, the better  And please congratulate Paul for being on the cutting edge of dessert fashion and dessert eating!

Q.  (On another topic) Lynie said, “I must admit that one of my pet-peeves is hymns and other songs sung during church being projected on a screen! How does one know how the tune goes? When I am sitting in the congregation I hate that people are trying to sing a song that is so beautiful and it is a mish-mash of tunes and timing. I realize that hymnals are very expensive...is that the only reason more churches are going this direction? Am I the only one with this pet peeve? Probably.”  :o)

A.  Lynie, I also love singing out of a hymnal!  Whenever we visit a church that uses hymnals, Steve and I always get a big kick out of finding the alto/tenor line and singing our parts.  We don’t always get every note but we always enjoy the experience of seeing it all written out.

I don’t think that the decision to use hymnals instead of projected words is based that much on cost; in fact, a church’s projector, screen and computer would cost much more than many cases of hymnals would. I think instead, that the decision is based on a church’s worship and music style 

And since you got my curiosity up, I did a little research and found the following information from Ellison Research:

Five years ago, only 5 percent of Protestant churches used computer graphics presentations at least once a month. Today, projected computer graphics are used in more than one-third (36 percent) of all Protestant churches.

The number of churches using praise and worship choruses nearly doubled in the last five years (from 38 percent in 1999 to the current 74 percent).

I think that hymns have a place in church, beyond any doubt.  In fact, although our church does mostly worship choruses, we do at least one hymn in almost every service, just because we love the history, the heritage and the theology they bring to a service.

The bottom line, I guess, is that we all find a place to worship that speaks to us and changes us and challenges us.  Whether the music is from a book or from a wall, the message being heard is what really counts.

Thanks for the great question!