Imagination

S flew to New Jersey last month. J and I drove up with him and then drove back home in his car. S's car is equipped with a mechanism which detects the weight of the passenger and will turn off the airbag for smaller passengers. For this reason, I let J right up front with me (he never gets to do that in my car). J got the pleasure of driving the CD player throughout the trip.

We were listening to a CD by Swampfoot -- um -- I mean Switchfoot. (It's a joke S started way back, and we are now stuck calling them Swampfoot.) Anyway, we listened to the whole CD on the way home -- in random order. J would skip around the CD, playing this song and then that song. I think he picked his favorites first, but we ended up listening to all of the tracks. "Mom, have we listened to this one yet?" It's not how a normal person listens to a CD, but J is unique.

Take a look at this waterfall picture from Epcot. Notice anything strange about it? You may have to click on the picture to get a larger view. I stood by this "waterfall" for a few minutes before S and I noticed at it isn't water falling at all. It's a "water-climb" or a "water-up." We weren't sure what to call it, but it is vey unusual. And creative. And imaginative.

I've heard it called "thinking outside the box." Whatever you want to name it, sometimes we need to do it. God used a dangerous and powerful combination when he created us -- he gave us intelligence and imagination. We need to use both of them.

That means we shouldn't just "do it the way we've always done it" -- just because that's the way we've done it before. We all say that, but do we really put it into practice. Do we avoid doing what hasn't worked in the past, just because it didn't work before? Shouldn't we take a little time to figure out why something failed? Is it fixable? Should we abandon it? Sometimes we need to start completely fresh -- no history at all.

What I mean to say is that our future -- the future of our churches, our families, our work -- has limitless possibilities. Our God given imagination and intelligence are powerful tools. Let's not let them get rusty.

Now, if I can just figure out how to post a video on a blog, then I can actually show you the water-climb. My next blog challenge.