Creativity

October 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Ancient words of Dead Sea Scrolls – Qumran

Creativity makes my soul sing. The word itself feels good on my lips. Its syllables stretch my mouth even as they stir my imagination. Someone once asked me what my favorite word was. I have dozens. Amphibian. Onomatopoeia. Babushka. Coif. Guffaw. Zither. But Creativity tops the list. It’s the plucking of the chord that brings music to my inner ear. It’s the coalescing of colors on a page that delights my eyes. It’s the flight of my fingers across a keyboard that transforms mental images into words and thoughts and scenes. It’s the thrill of discovery.

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Legacy Building

September 7, 2014 by 4 Comments

Making ice cream with Pa

Making ice cream with Pa

I was lucky enough to have all four grandparents deep into adulthood. Each brought something different to the mix that is now me. From Grampie I learned generosity. As a young man back in the early 1930s, he made some money on the stock market. Before investing into what would become his future company, he decided to tithe 10% to a missions project in China. Through the years, Grampie always credited his success to writing that first $2,000 check – even though it hurt. For the rest of his life he gave and gave and gave. And God gave more.

I learned adventure from Gramsie. She loved to travel. Grampie did not so he sent his grandkids instead. Being the eldest granddaughter, I got to go a lot. There was the Grand Tour of Europe at age 16, and China at 23. But my favorite was the year I turned 20 and fell in love with the Holy Land. For me there was a story around every corner: [Read more…]

The Genius of Two

August 25, 2014 by 3 Comments

MtOliveSusy_Eileen

With Susy Flory (R) on the Mount of Olives with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background, built on the exact spot where King Solomon’s Temple once stood.

History is full of creative duos. Some spurred each other on through competition – others through unity and collaboration. Joshua Wolf Shenk’s “Powers of Two” (Aug 2014) highlights the collaborative process through many notable dyads: Lennon and McCartney, Jobs and Wozniak, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Matisse and Picasso.

Many others come to mind: Woodward and Bernstein, Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, even Rocky and Bullwinkle. The list goes on. But one team most people have never heard of is the artistic pairing of Bezalel and Oholiab. Funny names? That’s because they lived 3300 years ago in the south Sinai Desert. They were tasked with the construction of the Tabernacle – the mobile predecessor of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Exodus sets the creative pair in historic context:

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