Photo Friday - Masterpiece

Every Friday I anticipate the email from Photo Friday announcing the challenge for the week. I have never submitted a photo before, but I enjoy browsing the photos of others.

After discovering the challenge each week, I like to anticipate the kind of photos that others will submit. Sometimes I can guess pretty well what to expect. Sometimes I cannot. Almost always there are many who submit photos of flowers. Somehow flowers always relate to the challenge. This Friday was different.

The challenge for today is 'Masterpiece.' I immediately expected to see the traditional classic works of art, the Mona Lisa, David, etc. As I browsed the photos, there were many of those 'masterpieces.' There were also many buildings. One by one I began to notice that most of the submissions were photos of man-made items. I shouldn't have been surprised. I actually expected it. However, I realized the greatest 'masterpiece' of them all was missing, God's greatest creation.

So today, I make my first submission to Photo Friday. Enjoy.

Keep It Simple

I know there are many techno gagdet geeks out there that love a complicated piece of machinery that will do a million and one things. Heck, I'm one of them. I want that new DVD recorder that reads and writes every format known to man. But, have you ever noticed that the simple things in life usually bring the greatest reward?

I was reading a blog post (Presentation Remotes, by Eric A. Meyer) this morning about a remote control for PowerPoint presentations. The speaker had gotten himself a fancy programable remote for his upcoming presentation. He found that it worked miserably (and sometimes not at all) and ended up not using it. At another presentation he borrowed someone else's remote. It was very simple, just a couple of buttons and a laser pointer. And that is what made it so great.

Have you ever been around a toddler at Christmas time or a birthday party? They will get the coolest toys on the market at the time, but what is it they end up playing with the most? Yep, that's right, the box it came in.

And it doesn't only work for machines. It works with people too. Has your day ever been brightened by someone's smile? How do you feel when you hear a heart felt 'thank you' from someone? Think about someone you admire and know personally. What is it about them that draws you to them? I would venture to guess it is the little things, a smile on their face, common courtesy, genuine concern for your well being, etc.

So, make a commitment today to brighten someone's day. Call an old friend just to say 'hi.' Write a love note to your spouse. Tell your kids about how great they are. Bake cookies for your neighbor. But, please don't waste too much time: Bubble Wrap